Visiting Papa's Barn.

Finn proudly shows off to Mommy all of his tools and what he has learned to do with them through the years working with Papa while Tess intently examines Pap's clamps in the background. The miniature replica of papa's workbench he is standing in front of was originally built for a different little boy named Andy.

Making Friends

Q: Why did the turtle cross the road? 
A: To meet Ms. Tess of course. 

Tess making friends with a baby snapper in front of Papa's barn (we explained to her that the term "snapper" is to be taken literally in this instance, and she maintained a friendly distance).

Three Barber Generations

Cousin Paul is here with the Bobcat to help Papa rip up the old driveway while Finn looks on enthralled. Note that Finn has mastered Papa's stance.

Pigtails

Rogues Gallery

Micheal makes one of his rare East coast appearances and promptly provides the children with massive amounts of sugar right before bedtime. 

Daddy doesn't mind.

Love you my brother. Always. 

Funny Papers

Back from an exciting trip to NYC to meet up with many dear friends. After all that exhausting travel, it was a delight to stop at Mimi and Papa's for dinner and a quick bath before heading home. They especially liked having Papa read the funny papers to them!

After the funny papers had been read (and in the case of some strips re-read) Finn returned to his all consuming work with his trucks while Tess, as usual, preferred to stay and cuddle with Papa.

Separation Anxiety

Our little girl doesn't always like it very much when I leave. We have a new book called "My Working Mom" that is her new favorite because it explains what the kid's witch/mommy does when she leaves for work on her broom. Tess gets particularly ticked when I go to yoga. For example, today.

T: where are you going?

Me: I'm going to yoga while you have quiet time, then we will make a plan.

T: NO YOGA!!!!!

Me: yes, only for an hour.

T: (whimpering) Can't you do yoga at home?

Me: I like to go to a studio, with a teacher.

T: I'm a teacher.

Me:You're not certified.

T: I'm certified.

Me: No, you're not.

T: I am. I really am.

The short story is that after a couple of books, I went to yoga and she is sleeping in her big girl bed - everyone wins.    

Shhh

Fine, if you say I must take a nap, I shall. But I shall fall asleep on the pillows next to my new giant bed, whilst wearing my owl costume, atop my favorite Rapunzel dress. See you verily in a couple of hours!

Status

Tess is almost back to her normal self. Right now they are both completely zonked out napping, probably because its 95 degrees out. So glad my little girl's "ammonia" is gone!

Memorial Day weekend

I don't want to be a big ol' wet blanket but this weekend has been a huge drag. Windy, cold, literally freezing. More importantly, Tess didn't really bounce back last week after taking 5 days of antibiotics, and on Saturday we left a really fun birthday party after an hour because "she just wanted to be home." So sad. I almost took her to the hospital that day but we waited until Sunday - good thing we went then, though, because the pediatrician sent us to the hospital for an X-ray which informed us that she does indeed have double pneumonia. Wha?! Thankfully she's now on an oral steroid and antibiotics (both of which I'm not a huge fan of, but the steam showers and thyme oil route didn't seem terribly practical.) This morning she woke up coughing at 6 a.m. and immediately asked for the nebulizer and Lalaloopsy on tv. Finn lucked out and spent the night with Mimi and Papa last night and Tess slept through the night at home and seems much better today. We will probably skip the pool opening today, seeing as how it's 59 degrees outside.

Anyway, I wanted to post some photos Papa took a couple of weeks ago, along with his narrative. It's difficult to remember what it was like to be hot ... although it's supposed to be in the 90s by the end of this week again. Crazy weather seems to be the norm anymore!

(From Papa, May 6): Finn started his usual playing with chains, shackles, etc – hooking them to the tractor bucket while I did a couple of piddly things I could do and still watch his exploration.  I decided he needed some sun screen so we came in to see Mimi and get that (Tess had just started her nap).  As we were leaving the garage he asked if he could drive the Jeep out to the barn – I said sure.  One thing led to another – he decided that the Jeep could be a tow truck.  He loaded all the small chains, the big can of shackles/hooks and then went and got a lot of his tools.  As you can see he did repairs on the Cozy Coupe as well as lots of towing.

Red

Tess is home sick from school today. She had quite a fever and the dr thought she might have pneumonia yesterday. (Scary! But she seems better now.) I wanted to take her picture but she wouldn't let me... I loved this shot of her strawberry waves all the same.

pipeline

Finn brushed aside environmentalist protests and pressed ahead with his plan to run a pipeline through our sun-room today. 

lax practice

Exhausted at the end of practice. I am not sure I was even aware of the existence of lacrosse as a sport when I was four and a half...

Finn hearts Casella

Casella is our garbage hauler service, and they do a terrific job (they show up and don't leave anything behind, don't require us to sort out recyclables and even accept those oddly shaped blue wine bottles, etc.) Finn is really impressed by them and earlier today drew this picture to display his admiration. We're hoping for a free month.

first tee golf

Finn started the spring session for Golf today and was super excited. He did great and is especially strong on the long put (he made a "hole in one" today). As usual Finn was the youngest by a significant margin but he really holds his own (with the exception of the drive in which he tends to hit ground a couple inches short of the ball). . 

Instructor: "How many people here today are seven?"
Nine or ten hands go up
Instructor: "How many people here today are six?"
about three hands go up
Instructor: "How many people here today are five?"
No hands
Instructor: "How many people here today are four?"
Finn raises his hands
Instructor: "OK -does anybody have any questions?"
Finn raises his hands
Finn "When do we get to learn how to drive the carts?

mechanic

Eavesdropping on a conversation:

Finn -What seems to be the problem?
Tess -My Car is broken.
Finn -Well, you've come to the right place.
Tess -Its an electric car.
Finn -(pauses, puts hand in face for a moment then looks back up) Oh wow...this is going to be expensive.

Look Who's Three!

Tess had a big kid bike waiting for her at breakfast. She is so excited!

Snooze

You know the feeling when you were a little kid and you've been out playing all day and it's just ... too ... hard to stay awake at the restaurant that your family has decided to go to at 6:00 ... And this happens. Finn sleeping across my lap, sweet little guy.

wheels

Finn is equal parts thrilled and terrified about the new bicycle we bought for him (impulse buy at L.L. Bean this weekend ... it was so cute, we couldn't resist.) He is super excited about the water bottle and also the NINE reflectors on the bike. As long as he doesn't take it apart with an allen wrench before he  learns to ride it, we'll be all set for long rides around the park this summer!

Best Friends

Tess and her friend Caroline were born 19 days apart. Caroline's birthday is today and we were happy to celebrate with her!! Three years have gone by awfully quickly.

Carousel

We went to the mall in Rochester yesterday and rode the carousel. As usual Tess went straight for the horse and Finn chose a less-intimidating bench. As my friend Pam said, what an adrenaline junkie!!

In his defense, when they rode it again on our way out, Andrew coerced both of them onto horses and it was a big hit :)

easter funnies

Sorry we've been a little short on photos lately ... it's getting old taking photos of the kids in their winter coats, hats and mittens but stay tuned ... in the meantime, here are a couple of conversations from yesterday.

Finn: The Easter Bunny is just a person dressed up in an outfit, right?
Me: Um ... yeah. Yeah. It is.
Finn: See, Tess? The Easter Bunny isn't real. That's what I thought.
Me: But the Easter Bunny can be a feeling, you know, like how we love each other?
Finn: I'd like a Go-go-squeez.

Tess: Can I say grace?
Me: Sure.
Tess: Thank you for the food we eat! Thank you for the water we drink! AND WE DON'T DRINK SODA! AMEN!

Grocery Shopping

Me: Maybe we'll go to Wegmans after church.
Finn: We could go to Tops in Waverly.
Me: But Wegmans is right here.
F: I like Tops.
Tess: I like Talbots.

SPD

This was taken last Sunday and many of you probably saw this on Facebook but for those who didn't, here are our leprechaun explorers.

Wynwood Art Walk

Our last day in Miami ... We are seeing some amazing art on the walls of the Wynwood art district while Katy gets her hair done!

Tropicalia

We went to the Fairchild tropical garden in coral gables to see beautiful plants and butterflies. Having a great trip with Katy and Dario and their cousins!

Countdown to the Beach!

We are leaving for Miami the day after tomorrow! Bring on the sun and sand! Playtime with cousins! Yeah!

Mimi brought an adorable new swimsuit for Tess and she had to try it on immediately. Finn took this photo of her dancing around the kitchen.

who said it?

Guess which child said which quote (all said within the past hour and a half.) Answers at the bottom!

1. "Maybe you should try some exercise."
2. "You're not old, Mommy. You're young."
3. "It's the biggest poop in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD!"
4. "Did E.B. White use an iPad?"

1-F, 2-T, 3-T, 4-F.

Not Ready for Naptime!

Once there was a lady who used to see lots of live music back in the day, but since having kids hadn't had the chance to see many shows. Lo and behold, she noticed that a really great kids' musician was playing in Ithaca, so she conspired to take her two kids. At first they resisted, but after listening to two songs on YouTube, including one called "Obsessed by Trucks" ... well, they were also obsessed.

So after church, the lady piled the kids into the car and up they drove to the show, which was as fun and lively as they had hoped. (There are truly few things that make one more happy than watching one's kids dance together and sing and jump up and down and spin in circles.)

After the show, they wanted to buy some CDs from the singer, who remarked how much he enjoyed watching F&T--especially T, as F was a bit tired--dance. He said she looked like a little version of Annie (as in the Broadway play.) He signed the CDs and they said thank you and drove home and talked about how much fun they had. The End.

PS. If you have kids, take them to see Justin Roberts and the Not Ready for Naptime Players!

Not a normal Sunday

This is how poor Finny has been all weekend. This is his second nap of the day! I sure miss my little firecracker. Even though having lethargic kids has allowed me to cook all day, it hasn't been as much fun without them. Hoping his ears feel better tomorrow so that he can go to school, he is looking forward to seeing his peeps.

sick house

So this is what a nebulizer is.

Such a sad photo of a sniffly little girl! At least she managed to keep her Tinkerbell sticker intact, and notice how it matches her kelly green sweater so nicely.

The kids have been sick on and off for what seems like weeks. No, it has been weeks. Today I took them both to the pediatrician and Finn to the chiropractor and the verdict is, bronchialitis for T and double ear infection for F. And the snow is falling, we will probably get 8" overnight and I'm hoping for not much more. We will be inside tomorrow doing breathing treatments and making valentines (and maybe I will have a glass or two of wine in order to maintain my sanity.)

Chillin'

Where do we like to play? ON THE KITCHEN FLOOR?

How do we like it? COLD AND ONLY KINDA CLEAN!

Half birthday

Finn "turns" 4 1/2 on Thursday so it's appropriate, I suppose, that he was talking about his birthday cake this morning. Aunt Heather, are you listening?

Finn: When I turn five, can I have a cake with bad guys on it?
Me: What kind of bad guys?
F: The kind from World War II.
M: You're not going to have Nazis on your cake.
F: Well, the good guys are shooting at the bad guys.
M: You're still not having a cake with Nazis on it.
F: How about a frosted tarantula driving a dump truck.
M: (mom look)
F: Ok, how about a combine.

Privacy, please

Tess is sitting on the toilet and asked me for some privacy, so I'm taking advantage of the next five minutes by posting quickly. The photo of the kids in our snowy driveway was taken last week and thankfully Finn is as enthusiastic about shoveling as I am (for real - some weeks it's the only exercise I get!) We were out yesterday for an hour and cleared the way for the 50' degree weather heading here in a couple of days. I can't WAIT. Even though it's only a respite in winter, it will be a welcome one.

The big news in our house is that our new Vitamix blender arrived this weekend and we've already made a half-dozen smoothies (sneaking in vegetables, heh heh) and fruit juices and WOW. How have I been feeding my family without this thing? Last night after dinner I made peach sorbet, it took all of 3 minutes and tasted delicious. But halfway through her bowl, Tess told me she was "sorbeted out." In her defense, she is on Day 5 of a pesky cold, but still ... I've never been sorbeted out in my life so I'm not sure where she got that one.

weekend trip

We scooted up to Rochester for a quick road trip this weekend and had a great time. This photo was taken at Eastview Mall, which has real stores, unlike our local mall. Tess has a thing for merry-go-rounds so she was pretty much in heaven. Finn is less of a daredevil and prefers to sit on benches. Benches on the merry-go-rounds. Because moving up and down on the horse is too intense. He is a funny kid.

Tess has discovered the art of using the potty to avert naptime. This afternoon she was jumping in her crib yelling, "I need to go POTTY!" So of course I relented and took her to the bathroom, where she had been approximately five minutes before, and ten minutes before that. She asked for some water and said, "I'm going to pretend that I'm a grown up. I'm sitting on the potty. And this is my wine."

Never a dull moment around here!

Super Juniors

Finn had his first golf lesson this morning - that's him in the white shirt. Andrew said he did great despite being the youngest kid there. He now knows more than anyone else in our house about golf.

First pigtail

She was so proud. Maybe by the time she's three she will have sufficient hair for two pigs!

Merry Christmas!

I insist that you have a happy holiday!

We are having a great day and wish you a Merry Christmas from Corning.

"sugar" cookies

While I went to yoga this morning, the kids stayed home with Daddy and made cookies out of their new play-doh (which was supposed to be a Christmas present ... I should learn to hide things better!) We made REAL sugar cookies yesterday and unlike me, they must have been in the mood to make more. Maybe next year we'll try out some of these cool frosting colors!

Merry Christmas eve-eve-eve! says a very serious Tess.

MMMMM!

Granddad jams

Finn loves it when I tell him he looks like granddad in these pajamas. He's even holding the paper for the full effect!!

Silent Night

The first in what will hopefully be a series of impromptu holiday recitals by our little songbird.

Art

I'm looking for a little bit if levity after hearing about sad things happening to good people and lo and behold, I stumbled upon the Sock Santa that Finn made last year in school. I think he needs his own Etsy store.

Transcript

I was typing sneakily while Finn was using the bathroom, because I really wanted to give you an idea of what we talk about every day:

Slimey and Wormey live in a house that's even bigger than ours. They don't know if the public is the right type of buildings that they need if they use cranes, so they use bucket trucks that they just SLAM onto the wet concrete foundation and stick the wood on the concrete and add grout if you want to put tile there. And they build all of the skyscrapers and hotels and Dollar Trees and houses in all of the North Carolina. The New York City. The Corning. They need cranes for all of the skyscrapers. And then on Christmas they eat cake with their family. They celebrate every day with the star on top of the tree and they make the cake and Slimey buys some and Wormey and the others make the cake. All five of them. Wormey, Slimey, their sister and their mom and dad. So that's five. Two and two make four. One and two and two make five. That's five.