A sign of Spring

A sign of spring! We have had a bit of interspersed sun but everything is pretty wet still. See that moss covered fence behind the daffodils? Most of the wood in our neighborhood looks like that. Nothing ever fully dried out since there is so much tree cover, so moss is growing all over. It's actually quite pretty if you are not the one who has to maintain the wood.

New camera lens and RAIN AGAIN.

Not that I'm complaining about the weather but it is freezing cold and raining today.

Those who are not interested in a play-by-play account of how I got my new lens should just quit reading here: I got my new lens.

In other news, the new camera lens is here! Remember a few weeks ago when I rented those lenses to try out? And I decided on the 50mm 1.4? Well, as soon as I decided to buy it, the price went up about a hundred bucks on Amazon. And stayed there for the next week. After doing a little research, I learned that there are 5 Canon production plants in Northern Japan - you see where I'm going with this? One of them is about 5 miles from the now infamous nuclear reactor that is scaring the bejebus out of all of us. So, earthquake hit, plants halt production, lens price goes up. Make sense? (Note: I am not in any way making light of the disaster in Japan because it slightly impeded my purchase of a camera lens. )

So after much searching and researching (cause that's what I do...) it came down to purchase the lens now, for the original price from a local store, or wait until Christmas time (when lens prices are supposed to go back down) to buy it. Oh there was much nashing of teeth about this one. On one hand, I had a credit at Amazon that I won, but I would have to pay 100 bucks more for the lens and most stores supplying it were out of stock, making the chances of  actually getting one a bit slim. On the other hand if I bought it locally I would have to pay for it but I would still get the original price. I sat on that for a few days and then 2 miraculous thing happened - my ipod broke and I got my check from work.

Can I insert a note here: boo on my ipod breaking. 1 year and 3 months after buying it, the thing is completely broken and out of warranty. Stupid Apple and their expensive, alluring, desirable and breakable products.

I figured I would use my Amazon money for the replacement ipod and get the lens today. So I DID! I could not be happier. I can't wait to take it to Spain and so far I love love love it.

Sorry for the long purchasing post but Peter has had to listen to my agonizing for 2+ weeks now and has been VERY gracious in offering advice and letting me stress about something as fluffy as buying an expensive piece of electronic equipment. Thanks honey for not being as annoyed with me as I probably would have been with you. (Isn't that the honest truth about marriage?) You can talk about bikes all you want to me and I will listen nicely.

Swim Lessons

Mr. T started swim lessons again today and it was fraught with anxiety. He was so nervous. So so nervous. Even though it was the same level he took last time, even though he knew he could do everything they asked. He insisted that I take him to class - which I did even though it meant a morning off of work for me.

And he was fine. He had the same wonderful teacher as last time and she was as excited to see him as he was to see her. He hopped right in the pool and did everything she asked. Peter and I were both relieved. Mr. T is so nervous in the water, both in swim lessons and when he is swimming with us. It kind of ruins his enjoyment of vacations with pools, going out on a boat and family swim trips. I'm not a great swimmer but I'm good enough. Miss E is pretty good, and of course, Peter is great (because he's good at all physical stuff). I want Mr. T to feel that enjoyment as well. Maybe after a few hundred bucks worth of swim lessons he will.

I'm having a love/kind of annoyed relationship with our preschool this year. This is our 4th year there and our last. I love the program, his teacher and even (kind of) the parent teaching. The parent/school drama is getting to be a bit much. None of that affects Mr. T's day to day life there so we are happy overall, and he LOVES his teacher - which in preschool is really important.

Since the beginning of the year, the sand pit has been his favorite place on the playground. Every time they are outside he can be found there with a group of kids, mixing "soup", digging holes and covering them with boards, filling buckets with water and mixing in rocks and sawdust. Today Peter was parent teaching and on this day, this is how Mr. T was making mud. In the washing machine? I don't know.

Trucks and Dolls and Everything in Between

This is my little niece, playing with Mr. T's trucks today. And this illustrates one of the very things I love about having both a girl and a boy.

When I was growing  up, I only had a sister and we had tons of "girl" toys - dolls, doll houses, doll clothes, etc. It was all dolls and stuffed animals all the time. And to my parents credit, I don't think that either Honore or I would have ever ASKED for a truck. Or a train set. Or even legos since back then (way back then...) lego's were mostly for boys. Just like I don't think Mr. T would ever ASK for a princess doll or Miss E would ever ask for a race car for her birthday. But, my children do gravitate naturally to their specific gendered toys, for the most part, so our house has both fire trucks and princesses, a bat cave and dolls. And this means that both kids get to play with both things. Miss E loves running the ambulance to calls and Mr. T drives his sisters princess carriage around. Lately I have seen the princess castle and the bat cave set up next to each other as their own little "city". Miss E used to say to me that she liked "boy" stuff and my response is always "there is no boy stuff or girl stuff, only stuff" and she is starting to repeat that to Mr. T.

My niece and her brother are the same - ponies and construction trucks, doll houses and building sets. Sometimes I feel disappointed that as kids get older, toys seem so split more clearly along gender lines but I have found, if you look carefully, that there are fun lego sets that either boys or girls would like, same with building stuff, vehicles and dolls. The thing about having one of each though, is that it doesn't feel forced. I am not handing my daughter a fire truck and telling her to play with it just so she plays with something besides dolls. Instead she and her brother play together all the time and just mix their toys.

Gardening

This weekend my sister and her family came to town so they could see a concert in Portland and my parents could babysit. We spent most of the day hanging out at my parents house, me lounging around, the boys watching kids and my sister (a gardener by trade) worked in my mom's yard. Pretty soon Mr. T said that he wanted to go out and "help" Aunt Honore so I let him and of course, my little niece wanted to follow along. They spent about almost an hour out there with her, pulling weeds, looking under rocks and I'm pretty sure Mr. T talked non-stop. But he learned how to use a weeding tool without smashing his fingers in the process! So, I think that's a win.

See that huge bush in front of her? That's a Blueberry bush. An enormous, gorgeous, fruitful blueberry bush that come this spring (summer) will be filled with tons and tons of yummy blueberries. The entire row in front of the house used to be planted with them but my mom keeps ripping them up to put in huckleberries or something else. She's not one to let grass grow under her feet if you know what I mean. That bush though? She's going to have to go through me to take down.

Flying in the Tree

The kids came home today! I made them a special dinner of homemade mac and cheese, asparagus (first organic ones of the spring!) and little doughnut muffins for dessert. They were restless after being in the car so they went outside with Peter to build a fire pit. I have no idea where that came from - the fire pit, not the restlessness.

Miss E climbed high enough in this tree that I couldn't watch. Between her wearing her rain boots, that tree being soaked with water for the last, oh, 6 months and with moss growing all over it, it was a slippery, slimy accident waiting to happen. But, I let my kids climb trees so I spent most of the time in the kitchen trying not to watch. When I came out to snap this picture she yelled "look mama, I'm flying! I've always wanted to fly". And that made all the potential arm and leg breaking worth it. Well, until someone actually breaks an arm or leg. That would suck.