Illustration, photography, and all-around geekery
Someone turned four last week. I would have made this post earlier, but something always got in the way.
Then I realized, maybe the reason I’ve hesitated to write this is because I’m having a difficult time accepting that my “baby” is four years old.
It’s so much harder the last time around.
Happy birthday, Gwen. No matter how old you get, you’ll always be my baby.
Gwen: “Knock knock!”
Me: “Who’s there?”
Gwen: “The interrupting butt.”
Me: “The interrupting bu —”
Gwen: “TOOOOOOOT!”
Gwen: “Knock knock!”
Me: “Who’s there?”
Gwen: “The interrupting horse.”
Me: “The interrupting ho —”
Gwen: “MOOOOO!”
Me: “Moo? I thought it was a horse.”
Gwen: “Yeah, the cow kinda got in the joke.”
Gwen: “Roar needs boots! And a hat, and mittens, and a jacket. Oh, and a parachute. Roar needs a parachute.”
Gwen: “I’m tired. Wanna go to nap.”
My child is some kind of magical, mythical creature, like a unicorn. I’m beginning to doubt she exists.
…to write something for once!
Halloween was a bit of a non-event this year; I decided not to pretend to be Mother of the Year (who am I fooling, anyway?) and bought costumes for the kids rather than trying to home-ec it. Ellie wanted to be a ballerina, making it easy on us, since we knew she’d be starting ballet lessons and needed the gear. Gwen wanted to be a witch, so I went to Target and found a costume that was cute, relatively inexpensive, and should last through many dress-up play sessions long after the Halloween candy is gone.
The actual trick-or-treating was even more low-key; we hit up a grand total of six houses before the kids lost interest, then went to an old friend’s Halloween party, which proved more fun (for both adults and kids) than wandering the streets in pursuit of buckets of sugar. Halloween: Accomplished.
Ellie started ballet lessons last month, and so begins the phase of parenthood where we shuffle kids to and fro for various activities. She was pretty discouraged after her first lesson — she takes after her mama and doesn’t like to do anything she’s not perfect at — but after her second lesson seemed to settle in, plus she has a bunch of friends from school in the class. I don’t know how we’re going to keep up with her social life.
We rung in the first of November with a massive winter storm that knocked out the power and dumped 21 inches of heavy, wet snow on the ground. It’s not unusual for us to have snow before Halloween, but two feet is a local record. I haven’t recovered from last winter yet, so having fall cut short is not my idea of a good time. At least the kids were thrilled.
I’ve kept myself busy with writing…but not the book. I considered doing NaNoWriMo this month, but given everything else that’s going on decided against it. I don’t need another book right now. I need to finish the series I started, and stop getting distracted by vignettes and short stories. Although now I have this idea in my head for a Walking Dead/X-Files crossover fic…
Speaking of zombies, I’ve been walking more lately, thanks to the treadmill, The Walking Dead on Netflix, and Fitbit’s new Weekly Challenges feature. One of my coworkers started a work-week challenge, so I’m keeping a closer eye on my step count. Also, I’m a teensy bit competitive. And now I really want to set up the treadmill with a desk or shelf of some kind so I can walk while I work.
We’ve been mostly sitter-less for the last couple weeks, so my patience has been worn to a fine thread. I love my children, I really do, but I think a date night is in order very soon.
Three years ago at about this time, my water broke after what felt like eons (read: 41 weeks) of pregnancy, and eight hours later I delivered this charming little monkey:
Of course, at the time, she looked more like this…
The addition of Miss Guinevere made our family complete.
It also marked the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
She’s grown too fast, but as I am quick to remind her, she’ll always be my baby girl.
Happy birthday, Gwen. Thanks for keeping us on our toes from the beginning. 🙂
I love these photos; they illustrate the girls’ different personalities perfectly.
Ellie is cautious, but still curious, and does everything at her own pace. She refused to touch the frog without pulling her sleeves over her hands, and just look at the reserve-slash-wonder on her face! Priceless.
Gwen is relaxed, not afraid to get her hands dirty, and wild but gentle. Note the mischievous finger-in-the-mouth grin. She was responsible for capturing the frog, and then she kissed it. Twice.
Come to my house and you might find me standing in my pantry in the dark, eating an ice cream bar and hoping the kids won’t think to look for me.
Two more days!
A brief conversation with my two-year-old. I can’t believe this kid is going to be three next month.
I’ve been working on a post about fanfic writing and how that’s coming along, but it’s pretty uninspired. Ironic, given I’m feeling otherwise inspired about writing; I guess writing about writing is too meta for my muse.
The last month has been a bit crazy with travel, which is why the blog has been quiet. After Miami in May, Tim traveled to Saratoga Springs for a week, then I had a barely-two-day fling with Florida, this time for CSS Conf.
The conference itself was great, but the next time I say I’m going to fly to the opposite end of the country for a one-day conference, and fly back at 6 the next morning, just slap me. I’m claiming brain damage from a too-long winter and sunlight deprivation, because who in their right mind takes a “day-trip” across the country and back with two connections? Me, apparently.
But I did get a bright pink t-shirt out of the deal, so I’m calling it an overall win.
This week, Tim’s galavanting around in Scotland with our colleagues while I try to work around the kids, both of whom are home for the summer. This amounts to 100% less getting up at ungodly hours to get Ellie on the bus (win), and 100% more whining about all the random things five-year-olds whine about (lose). This is the part where I thank my lucky stars for our amazing nanny and the abundance of parks within driving distance.
Oh, and Ellie got a haircut!
As for the two-year-old, she’s requested Cheez-its for breakfast every morning for the last month. “Accept no substitutes” is Gwen’s motto, and she applies it liberally to every aspect of her life. That tells you pretty much everything you need to know.
Meanwhile, I’ve discovered the joys of cold-brewed coffee, and am dominating the DVR with David Duchovny movies and old X-Files episodes since Tim’s not here to roll his eyes at my weird and/or obsessive taste.