The good morning

Henni calls morning "the good morning."  As is, "what are we doing in the good morning?," or "it's time to get up, it's the good morning!"  I love this.  

Oliver once told me about the bugs and how they represent spring - that is, one day all the bugs on the tree fly away and suddenly there are leaves.  I imagine trees covered with butterflies or ladybugs, then the sky suddenly filled with their colors, and then green - green leaves and spring.

It's these little phrases, and glimpses into how my children view the world that I adore.  And I do adore Oliver and Henni.  I love watching them grow up and love being able to do more and more things together, but at the same time I am sad that each new phase means an end to another.

And really, who wants this to end?

Spring is here!  We have been out on the cold days, the wet days, and the warm days.  My boot is filled with sand, mud, hay, and who knows what else.  Davis is not sure I fully understood what walking boot means, but I am pretty sure I do.

Oliver and Henni have started new classes.  Oliver is doing Raccoon Club - exploring the woods of Four Rock with Merrohawke (formally Boat Camp).  The first day he returned covered in charcoal.  Henni has started dance and says she wants to be a "ballerina tumble-ina."  Henni's teacher is amazing and makes me want to do dance too (although we had a dance party at our house last night before dinner and Quinn, who always smiles, looked horrified the whole time I was dancing to our good friend Flo.rida).

We had our neighborhood Easter egg hunt.  850 eggs full of fun this year.

Oliver has his art in a local gallery and the gallery had an opening for the class - the kids found it so special.

Henni has been doing art too.  Here's her most recent self-portrait.

Our Easter egg decorating did not disappoint this year.  24 eggs. 11 eggs eaten during the dying process.

Lion v. Lamb

Oliver's class has been keeping track of March.  Each day the class decides if the weather is like a lamb, or like a lion.  Each day Oliver updates me on what the class decided for that day.  Today he came home and said he was so tired of lions.  And Henni - Henni keeps asking if we can move.  She is a self-declared tropical muffin who is done with winter.

Guess what.  I am done with winter too.  Last year we walked to school all but a handful of days. This year we have been forced to take the car every day because the weather has been so damn chilly.

Grumpy pants off, signs of spring are emerging.  Bulbs are making an effort to break through the ground - and snow and ice.  And Henni is practicing her snorkeling in the hopes that she will be ocean-ready by the time we hit the Bahamas.  

Oliver and Henni are also showing signs of being in school for almost a year.  While I've seen some clear advances over the year - I am suddenly seeing leaps and bounds.  Math has become a favorite activity for both of them, as has writing (unfortunately, lots of writing on the walls), and spelling - everything.

Henni has also been focusing on her fashion.  I have a few pictures of her outfits, but have been considering doing a daily documentation of them since they are all so incredible.  Even more incredible is that they evolve throughout the day - always shifting, always accessorizing, always looking for ways to enhance her already amazing choices.

And with the arrival of spring, so comes the mud pit that is our back yard.  

Words of wisdom

My days have been punctuated with deadlines, mountains of work, pages of to do lists, and a race against time - a race that I will never win.  I have been forgoing sleep in favor of deep dark circles, wrinkles, and getting (not enough) things done.

NPR and I used to be close friends when I worked in Boston, but now my car time is limited, and is generally limited to music which is totally inappropriate for Oliver and Henni, but which they adore, so we blast it as loud as we can (our number one favorite right now - Icona Pop - I love it).   Somehow, however, I managed to time my five minute commute from work to school perfectly - perfectly enough to hear just enough of Brigid Schulte's interview about her new book "Overwhelmed."  A couple days later I stumbled upon a Slate.com review of the book.  

I hate the phrase "my mantra," but I guess that is what I have now.  I have decided to repeat over and over in my head that I am not busy.  I have chosen a select few things from my to do list, and have accomplished them.  I have delegated.  I have breathed.  I have decided that I will force myself to go to a make up counter and get something for those damn circles (the last trip to said counter was before my wedding - before my circles). (Just think of what I could do if I actually read the book!)

The result - a much calmer, happier mommy.  One who is paying more attention to my small friends.

Oliver and I have gone exploring together - leaving the house while the rest of the sleepy heads are still fast asleep) - and tracking animals and laughing our heads off.

We've also started to read chapter books together - all of us loving the adventure and imagination that comes with these books.

Tonight I was thinking about all of this when I was snuggling with Henni at bed time.  I thought she was asleep and was about to leave.  I kissed her head and she turned and kissed me and said: "Mommy, you know you can't do it all alone.  I love you."

I have no idea if she was thinking of something else, or if somehow she had gotten inside my head.  But that little girl, at three, is damn straight.  You can't do it alone - nor should you.

Awesome Opossum

A couple weeks ago Oliver competed in his second ski race.  To say he did awesome is an understatement.  I realize I am biased because I am his mom, but I was blown away by what an amazing job he did and the significant improvement over last year.

Last year the race was dominated by adults.  There were a handful of kids who were under 21 and the conditions were prime.  This year there were only a handful of people over 21 and the upper (headwall) part of the course was sheer ice.  People were blowing out of the course left and right and I spent the time leading up to the race talking to Oliver about how the point of a race is fun - no matter if you finish or not.

Oliver, in true Oliverness, not only remained standing throughout the whole course, his runs were incredible.  While every course is different, a course set on the same slope is going to have times that are pretty close.  Given this, while we can't directly compare Oliver's time last year to this year's time, we can make a loose comparison.  Looking at his combined time (two runs/race), he shaved close to 9 minutes off his time.  And rather than be the little guy everyone was impressed with just for being on the course, he was the guy that put a competitive - even outside his age group - time on the board.

Unfortunately Oliver doesn't realize what an incredible job he did.  He placed second - the same as last year.  The difference being that this year, rather than there being two kids in his age category, there were quite a few - meaning not everyone placed. We've been trying to explain this to Oliver, but he is just mad he got the same color ribbon - and he wishes he got the orange one (third) because he likes that color better.

Henni showed off her amazing skiing skills for us this past weekend.  I do believe that we have now turned that corner - the one that enables us to ski together and without harnesses and the like.  Next year she plans to race - and I am sure she will.

We've been lucky to be able to spend time with friends lately.

And with cousin Quinn.  Both Oliver and Henni are super psyched to have Quinn close.  I am so happy that the kids have a cousin .10 miles away - family is nice to have close by.

Last weekend was the second annual box race.  We designed and built an albatross (royal we, it was all Davis).  This year there were close to 100 boxes and tons of spectators.  Fantastically fun and looking forward to next year - box already planned - watch out!

 Daylight savings time...making my beach mornings rather dark - but beautiful.

The rabbit hole

I am convinced Alice's rabbit hole lies somewhere between Newburyport and Camden.  Somehow time spent in Camden is not only magical, but it is also time that is somehow suspended.

School vacation week the kids and I headed to Maine.  To be honest the week had me questioning being a working mom.  Prior to leaving home I set expectations high - be a fun mom and give the kids a fantastic vacation, but not take any time off doing so.

Just hours in - I questioned my sanity (generally and more specifically my vacation week strategy).  While I managed to bring ski stuff for the kids, I forgot their bags - their bags with all their clothes.  

I dressed the kids in my clothes for bed and in the morning we headed for Reny's.  In fact, I was the person who had my children in the cart and lifted them up to have every piece of clothing on their bodies scanned.  And yes, Henni was wearing sparkle jeans and too much Carharrt to count, and Oliver was at risk of being lost in a forest (he chose all Real Tree gear).

Shortly thereafter we headed to the mountain and were treated with ice coated trees, sun, and endless views across the ocean.  While there may be mountains that are bigger, I doubt there is a mountain that is as beautiful as the Snow Bowl.

Oliver and Henni took lessons for the week and improved greatly.  Oliver is all over the mountain and has mastered the hockey stop.  And Henni not only charmed the ski instructors, but also took her first run from top to bottom - by herself (no harness and not between someone's legs).

Unfortunately I was late to the sign-up game (reoccurring theme) and so coordination with the Stockwells didn't happen.  However, Oliver and Ethan did manage a few runs together.  I loved watching the two of them take on the mountain - each with a different approach, but each with incredible zeal and a love for skiing.  I know Oliver is hopeful to get more runs with Ethan  - and have the two of them do the chairlift together (they are ready, I am not).

Alice's rabbit hole also lead us to a night with Jon.  Always a highlight - magical, amazing Jon.

One of the best things of the week - time with Oliver.  With school, play dates, work, and life, I seldom have time just with Oliver.  Thanks to mom and dad Oliver and I had lots of time together. Most mornings Oliver and I spent a couple hours skiing just the two of us.  It was time that was incredibly special to me - and time that I can not thank my parents enough for giving me.

Oliver's favorite activity during our time together was glade skiing.  Turns out her's pretty good at it too.

During the school week the kids get up around 8.  However, when in the rabbit hole, wake up time is closer to 6.  Rather than curse it, we embraced it.  We watched all the Ice Age movies - and more.  (I do get amazing bed head.)

This kids always spent time with Papa and Lele.  A favorite place - the Children's Museum.

Another special place - the CMCA Art Lab.

Somehow amidst all the fun I managed to work and be productive.  While a big part of it is that crazy rabbit hole, I know that even more of it is my parents.  I am so lucky to have them as parents and that they are such a huge part of our lives.  How I would have managed to get through the week (or through life) without them, I do not know.