Could I be any more specific and exciting? I've had a bit of blogging block so I thought tonight I would just do a general update of all things and happenings here with us.
We've moved, again. My husband pointed out we've moved 6 times since 2005. Scary. But this time it feels really good (even if it is quite a bit colder). We just moved down the street closer to the village part of Brooklyn which has been really convenient for getting the girls to school and kindy. We walk each morning and it feels so liberating not to have reason to get in the car for a couple days at a time. The walk to school and kindy is a very social time and Sophie explained that it makes her "all shaky" with excitement each time we are ready to walk to school. So many of our friends and her classmates walk to school that it's rare for us to arrive at school with less than 5 other people.
The new house is also considerably smaller than our last view filled casa. Three bedrooms and one bathroom. I said to my father in law the other day, nothing brings a family together like one bathroom. It's true that we all have less, how should I say it, personal time. However, I think Jake and I are the only people who notice. :) We have a beautiful back garden that is very nicely designed to be just jam packed with fruit and vegetable bearing plants without seeming crowded. The girls have a playhouse with a slide and a wooden swing on the tree. It's got a great kitchen with a "professional" oven. It's got a spit with built in motor for roasts. I made a chicken on it the other night and it was fabulous! I am so much more at ease in this house. It feels like me and everyone seems more relaxed. Or maybe I am projecting.
Sophie has started children's choir this term and really enjoyed her first session. She is a natural performer and is frequently asking us to be an audience for her dances.
Annoyingly, she's had the same cough for about 17 weeks! I've taken her to two doctors and she's had antibiotics twice (for things other than her cough) but nothing kicks this cough. Her lungs sound clear and she has no other symptoms but man, we all feel sorry for the kid.
She continues to be a texture eater. Each day after we arrive home I unpack her lunchbox and will ask her how her lunch was and why she did or did not eat a certain item. I've been mentally noting her descriptions of what is wrong with various foods. On various days things have been ishy-squishy, spongy, soggy, sloppy, too soft, too crunchy, a little wet, not fresh and wonkey. I pack the kid nearly the same lunch every day! Peanut butter and jelly with either orange slices or apples, then crackers and either carrot sticks or pepper sticks plus a treat of some sort. Ah ha! I just realized the treat NEVER gets any of those nasty texture descriptions. Hm... Looks like the joke's on mom.
Josie has a couple themes going on at the moment. First, she is in love with mirrors. Actually, it's probably more accurate to say she's in love with watching herself in the mirror. Our new house has several full length mirrors (which on a side note are a big motivator for exercise) and Josie never passes up an opportunity to practice over-acting in front of one of them. She cries, laughs, sings, dances, shouts and jokes all just to see what it looks like. She's pretty hilarious unless of course you need her to pay attention then she very quickly becomes not hilarious.
She has also created an alternate family. "My other mommy. Her name is Brandie." The first time she tried this I was trying to explain that I was Brandie but she was pretty certain that it was her other mommy. She comes up with stories about her other family all the time. "My other dad, Mopey, he lives at my kindy." I was really hurt at first. Is our real family so bad she needs to create an alternate one to escape us? Then I thought of a way to use it to my advantage. I tried telling her that her other mommy wanted her to tidy up her room. Well, I crossed the line because apparently only Josie can talk to the other mommy. Not me. Ever. Good times. I wonder what other Brandie thinks about this?
Lastly, Josie is no longer being carried. Yes, I realize she is four years old and why the hell was I carrying her in the first place? Well, she's my youngest and gets tired easily and walks really slow and and and it was just easier for me. Until I realized that she always wanted me to carry her. It just stopped being feasible. So I really had to suck it up and start leaving the house earlier to get to school or pick Sophie up from school. She put out a valiant effort the first day I made her walk at school. We'd discussed it before leaving the house but when it came time to walk up the hill at school you would have thought I was putting screws in her eyes. "Maaaahm! I just caaaaaan't waaaaaalk! Uuuaaaghhh! It's tooo hard! It's tooo steep!" Oh, hi there, tons of other parents. Just don't mind me torturing my child here. No, I don't need to be reminded that it's a big hill. I am very aware of how long this is going to take. "Come on Josie, you are doing great! No I am not going to pick you up." Phew. We made it to the top and collected Sophie. Then, repeat crying and screaming for the entire way down the hill. Thank God that just happened for one day. She put up a little fuss several times over the next week but nothing on the Oscar winning scale of that first day. I needed a stiff drink after that performance. Chilled me to the bone. She does get the odd piggy back now and then but has mostly embraced her new independence and won't ask to be carried.
Is this starting to sound like a family Christmas letter? I was about to write a little note about my arthritis and Jake's awards but I'll save those tasty morsels for a more appropriate time.
Just wanted to say, we're still here and plugging along. Hopefully more updates and recipes will be posted soon.
