Tuesday, Jenn invited us to meet at a local elementary school so the kids could practice their new tricycle skills. The school is closed for the summer and has a fenced blacktop area around the basketball courts, so there was plenty of enclosed, safe room for the little ones to race around.
Juliette is already a near-expert rider, probably because (at four years old in October) she was developmental ready for the task. I am tempted to repeat this scenario in the future: when it comes to physical challenges, Juliette becomes incredibly frustrated if presented with a task before her body is prepared to handle it. Instead of some parents who buy their kids proper bicycles at age five (with training wheels), like our neighbors, we may just hold off until she is more than ready. Otherwise, her frustration will overwhelm any enjoyment.
Ilsa, however, has never had issues with physical challenges. She does not pedal her tricycle yet, although she will try if I ask her to, but she does walk it around with her feet. I have this image of how it was when she learned to walk... she just walked when she was ready. No practice. No indication that she was nearly there. She just walked. The tricycle will be the same way. One day, I will look over and she will be peddling along. In the meantime, she contented herself with walking up and down steps... over and over... and over and over. The girl is a little odd sometimes.
Calvin was very tired from a long night the day before, so his tolerance for excessive heat and exercise was limited. We retired to Jenn's house after a half hour or so. Jenn made this fantastic casserole called Stuffed French Toast made with cream cheese and caramel sauce. I told the girls it was whipped cream, and they ate it up. Calvin, however, was having a bad night. Jas was out golfing, so Jenn was there with him by herself. I have never seen her so at wit's end with the boy. So we hung around until it was well and solidly Calvin's bedtime.
And as a special treat, the Pakistani family that moved in across the hall was having a big party when we arrived home. When I said HI and mentioned how nice the food smelled, they insisted on making me a plate! I was already so full from the French toast, so I saved thier food offering - curry, rice, nan bread, a cucumber salad, more curry, and even soup - for lunch the next day.
Wednesday, we were shuffling around the house with no goal or purpose until I noticed that Pride and Prejudice had arrived for me at the library. Outing! I was unwilling to pay for the thing, but I was eager to see it. So we journeyed downtown for a quick library trip. I used the opportunity of driving the truck to that branch (normally we ride the bus on Farmer's Market Saturdays) to stock up on a huge, giant stack of books.
Afterwards, we went to a park with a picnic lunch. The girls ate their lunch while I allowed my gaze to stray toward a 3-on-3 basketball game going on some short distance away. College boys. Shirts vs. Skins. Juliette said, "Those guys are playing basketball." Yes they are.
The playground equipment was too hot to use for long, but I did push Ilsa in the swings until Juliette and I were thoroughly bored by the venture. Ilsa NEVER tires of swinging, but since she is generally so amiable, she does eventually agree to get out of the swing at my prompting. Then we walked to Lake Wingra (the third largest of four Madison lakes), which was not so much fun. The lake access at Monroe Park is a boat dock, so there was no shallow-depth beach. Instead, we sat on the dock with our feet in the water for a little while, watching ducks. I was thoroughly contented with the moment, but missing Keven.
Yesterday, Jenn and I had planned to meet at our usual beach at 3pm. Drat. Canceled on account of rain. We even checked the weather forecast this time, as opposed to our last planned outdoor outing, but the storms that had been forecast for today arrived 24 hours early. We decided to show Calvin the film Madagascar, the kids' new favorite, so they came over for movie time - complete with popcorn.
However, Calvin's stomach had other plans. He threw up all over the hallway and into the kitchen, managing to peg Jenn as well. Jenn was mortified, as I would have been in reverse circumstances, but I felt more sorry for the little guy. He cried. We thought maybe he had a bit of popcorn stuck in his throat. Jenn dunked him in the bath, I put his clothes in the laundry, and we kept the girls away as we cleaned up the bright green vomit (he'd had sherbert that morning with a playgroup, so the color was unreal). But it was not the popcorn. Jenn called me later that afternoon and said Calvin had a fever. Sounds like the same thing Juliette had. Now I only hope Ilsa has not been re-exposed and that it is not a new virus.
We do not have sickly children, really. But I do write about their puke quite often, it seems.
That evening, I planned to spend a quiet night watching Dear Frankie, but Katka called around 6pm and suggested ordering Chinese together (free delivery with orders over $10!). I had not seen her since our dinner two weeks ago, so we had a date. We always DISCUSS watching a film together, but we wind up talking for hours instead. The girls had not napped because of Calvin and Jenn's visit, so they went straight to bed. The food was great. We laughed and talked. Then, after she left, I stayed up too late and watched the movie anyway.
Juliette is already a near-expert rider, probably because (at four years old in October) she was developmental ready for the task. I am tempted to repeat this scenario in the future: when it comes to physical challenges, Juliette becomes incredibly frustrated if presented with a task before her body is prepared to handle it. Instead of some parents who buy their kids proper bicycles at age five (with training wheels), like our neighbors, we may just hold off until she is more than ready. Otherwise, her frustration will overwhelm any enjoyment.
Ilsa, however, has never had issues with physical challenges. She does not pedal her tricycle yet, although she will try if I ask her to, but she does walk it around with her feet. I have this image of how it was when she learned to walk... she just walked when she was ready. No practice. No indication that she was nearly there. She just walked. The tricycle will be the same way. One day, I will look over and she will be peddling along. In the meantime, she contented herself with walking up and down steps... over and over... and over and over. The girl is a little odd sometimes.
Calvin was very tired from a long night the day before, so his tolerance for excessive heat and exercise was limited. We retired to Jenn's house after a half hour or so. Jenn made this fantastic casserole called Stuffed French Toast made with cream cheese and caramel sauce. I told the girls it was whipped cream, and they ate it up. Calvin, however, was having a bad night. Jas was out golfing, so Jenn was there with him by herself. I have never seen her so at wit's end with the boy. So we hung around until it was well and solidly Calvin's bedtime.
And as a special treat, the Pakistani family that moved in across the hall was having a big party when we arrived home. When I said HI and mentioned how nice the food smelled, they insisted on making me a plate! I was already so full from the French toast, so I saved thier food offering - curry, rice, nan bread, a cucumber salad, more curry, and even soup - for lunch the next day.
Wednesday, we were shuffling around the house with no goal or purpose until I noticed that Pride and Prejudice had arrived for me at the library. Outing! I was unwilling to pay for the thing, but I was eager to see it. So we journeyed downtown for a quick library trip. I used the opportunity of driving the truck to that branch (normally we ride the bus on Farmer's Market Saturdays) to stock up on a huge, giant stack of books.
Afterwards, we went to a park with a picnic lunch. The girls ate their lunch while I allowed my gaze to stray toward a 3-on-3 basketball game going on some short distance away. College boys. Shirts vs. Skins. Juliette said, "Those guys are playing basketball." Yes they are.
The playground equipment was too hot to use for long, but I did push Ilsa in the swings until Juliette and I were thoroughly bored by the venture. Ilsa NEVER tires of swinging, but since she is generally so amiable, she does eventually agree to get out of the swing at my prompting. Then we walked to Lake Wingra (the third largest of four Madison lakes), which was not so much fun. The lake access at Monroe Park is a boat dock, so there was no shallow-depth beach. Instead, we sat on the dock with our feet in the water for a little while, watching ducks. I was thoroughly contented with the moment, but missing Keven.
Yesterday, Jenn and I had planned to meet at our usual beach at 3pm. Drat. Canceled on account of rain. We even checked the weather forecast this time, as opposed to our last planned outdoor outing, but the storms that had been forecast for today arrived 24 hours early. We decided to show Calvin the film Madagascar, the kids' new favorite, so they came over for movie time - complete with popcorn.
However, Calvin's stomach had other plans. He threw up all over the hallway and into the kitchen, managing to peg Jenn as well. Jenn was mortified, as I would have been in reverse circumstances, but I felt more sorry for the little guy. He cried. We thought maybe he had a bit of popcorn stuck in his throat. Jenn dunked him in the bath, I put his clothes in the laundry, and we kept the girls away as we cleaned up the bright green vomit (he'd had sherbert that morning with a playgroup, so the color was unreal). But it was not the popcorn. Jenn called me later that afternoon and said Calvin had a fever. Sounds like the same thing Juliette had. Now I only hope Ilsa has not been re-exposed and that it is not a new virus.
We do not have sickly children, really. But I do write about their puke quite often, it seems.
That evening, I planned to spend a quiet night watching Dear Frankie, but Katka called around 6pm and suggested ordering Chinese together (free delivery with orders over $10!). I had not seen her since our dinner two weeks ago, so we had a date. We always DISCUSS watching a film together, but we wind up talking for hours instead. The girls had not napped because of Calvin and Jenn's visit, so they went straight to bed. The food was great. We laughed and talked. Then, after she left, I stayed up too late and watched the movie anyway.
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