Clemintine

Masie and Yosie showed up yesterday for a semi-surprise visit on their way to Ohio. We were so happy to see them in our drive-way seeing as our plans to spend Halloween with them had fallen through.

Eva always takes a few minutes to warm up to any company, including people she loves. But Masie and Yosie have perfected their entrance and sped up Eva's warming up process by pretending not to see her when they arrive. They "search" high and low all over the house calling Eva's name, pretending not to see her. Eva becomes so eager for them to "find" her that she usually ends up running to them in excitement screaming, "I'm right here, guys!" They then proceed to show their astonishment by bringing their hands to their faces and saying things like, "Oh Eva, we couldn't find you but we're so glad to finally see you!" Eva giggles uncontrollably and the hugs and kisses begin.

This morning, after I had put Izzy down for her morning nap and put a bit of laundry away upstairs, I came down the stairs to this...

Eva and Yosie coloring. Eva and Yosie discussing which colors to use and which princess to color and why that particular princess was wearing what she was. It went a little something like this:

Yosie: Well, my princess wants to wear this color because her prince really likes it.

Eva: Haha...yeah.

Yosie: And I think she wants to wear a little bit of black because she's a punk rock

Eva: You so silly, Yosie

Yosie: Her momma didn't teach her not to be a punk rock

Eva: Yeah

And then they proceed to singing a verse of "Oh my Darlin'."

Unexpected

Paul and I took the girls down to Theodore Roosevelt Island in DC yesterday. Paul and Eva had been there before and he was eager to show me all of the sights. I was eager to finally get our Christmas picture out of the way and we agreed that Teddy Island would be the perfect spot for our portrait. No, no you won't see it in this post. I'm saving it for the Christmas cards we plan to send out in a few short weeks (my head is still reeling that it's already the 9th of November!).

Anyway, as we loaded the girls into the stroller and began our leisurely stroll through the trails of the island, I readied the camera eager to capture every fleeting color of fall. We stopped here and there to snap a quick shot and we eventually captured our family portrait. Once we had accomplished the perfect pose, the pressure was off and we eased our pace even further to take in the sights and unusually warm air.

The girls were tired and therefore somewhat quiet during our Sunday walk and Paul and I fell easily into conversation. We shared a Bosc pear and I embarked on my usual ritual of trying to convince him why we should get a dog. He chuckled and mumbled something about my persistence. I don't know why but all of the sudden I found myself thoroughly enjoying the time. We weren't alone, we weren't on a romantic date and there were no roses or the sound of Tony Bennet playing softly in the background. It was me and Paul and our little family and we were talking about how much we liked photography and taking trips as this one. I looked over at my husband more than a few times with pure satisfaction in my gaze. He really is my best friend. I really do love being with him.

We walked some more and came to a platform that looked out onto the swamp. The only thing separating us from the murky waters were two thick ropes that connected to sturdy wooden beams. I dazed. I looked closely at the worn ropes and this is what came to my mind

"Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist. A cord of three strands is not easily broken." -Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

It was a wonderful excursion with with an unexpected twist. I fell in love just a little bit more with the man I married.

Lord,

Thank you for this man that you've brought me. He's patient and kind, firm and steadfast. He's an amazing father and a bosom friend. Thank you for the trials that you've walked us through. They've only worked to grow us together and to more tightly form the cord of our marriage. Thank you Lord, for my best friend.

Amen.

Lack of Empathy?

Perhaps. But in all fairness...

this specific tantrum was over a banana.

I mean c'mon...can you blame me!?!

Caught

As I was fixing my hair the other day, I noticed that I hadn't heard Eva in a while. It was weird. Especially since Eva has made it her mission to be making some kind of noise at all times in recent weeks. I mean, it's always a bit more quiet than usual during Izzy's morning nap, but this was unusually quiet...like, trouble quiet.

I called out for Eva...no answer. I surveyed the section of hair that was currently wrapped in my hot curling iron and decided that it needed a few more seconds. I called for Eva again...still no answer. I urge the curling iron to hurry up! I call her once more, this time with a sense of authority mixed with a hint of fear. She answers back, but barely. She's mumbling. I'm interrupting something, but I can tell her voice is coming from the breakfast room.

With one hand stuck on top of my head grasping the curling iron, I pushed the bathroom door open ever so slightly with the other hand. I squinted my eyes and peered through the crack between the door and the door frame to find this...

creative, constructive quiet.

Not trouble quiet.

Heavy sigh of relief.

Just like her momma. Cannot be bothered when a project is involved :)

A Fall Drive

I took a drive around base last week. There were a few trees that I desperately wanted pictures of. Here's what I found...

Halloween Scare

Our plan was to wake up on Saturday morning and leave the house by 9am for our 3 and a half hour trek down to Chesapeake to spend the holiday with Paul's brother and his family. The plan was that Eva and Izzy would be able to trick-or-treat with their cousins and celebrate their Uncle's birthday with him and we'd be able to take adorable pictures of all of the kiddos decked out in their Halloween attire. That was the plan. I was comfortable with that. It was a good plan.

And then this happened...

Yep, Izzy woke up at 5am with a fever of 102?!? My neighbors had Swine Flu last week. I feared the worst and called the triage nurse at our local Johns Hopkins satellite clinic. She asked me a bazillion questions and eventually discerned that Izzy just had regular old influenza. I was relieved. BUT, she was still sick and in no condition to handle a long car ride. And we, of course, didn't want to share our sickies with all of our family down in Chesapeake, so at 6:45am, Paul and I made the final decision...we weren't going.

Even though this was an agreed upon change of plans, it was still a change of plans and I don't do well with those. at all. I believe that there should be legal documentation and approval committees (of which I'm the Chair person) before plans of any kind are changed. Unfortunately, life doesn't work that way and so I've had to develop several methods of coping.

First...cleaning. It was the perfect storm of restless energy and germaphobia. My house was spotless within hours and completely sanitized!

Second...more planning. I know, I know it sounds crazy but I've noticed that if my plans get changed, I just plan for something new. Seeing as it was Halloween day, I was acutely aware that in less than 24 hours, it would be November 1st and the official beginning (in my book) of the Holidays. So what did I do, I plotted out Thanksgiving dinner and then inspected all of my current decor only to decide that it was insufficient.

Third...Shopping. I went to Michaels. I spent a little too much money but I justified it by calculating how much gas money we would've spent had we made our trip down to Chesapeake and allowed myself to spend exactly that much in Michaels. Paul hasn't heard this justification yet. He'll go for it though...right?

Fourth...crafting. Once I came home with all of my booty, I got to work. I'm more than happy with the finished products...oh and there will be more.

And finally, more planning. After all, Christmas is right around the corner!

Snow White

Eva wanted be to Belle from the Beauty and the Beast (or "Belle-Beast" as she calls her). We went to the Disney store last month and bought her a beautiful Belle-Beast dress. I was happy. Belle is my favorite princess.

Then, last week Eva decided that she no longer wanted to be Belle-Beast. She wanted to be Snow White. This worked out well because she already had a Snow White dress (as many of you who've been reading my blog for a while already know). Still, I was a little disappointed because Belle is my favorite princess and well, lets face it, Snow White is kind of whiney, don't you think? But, I kept my opinion to myself and agreed that Snow White would be a good choice.

Saturday came and even though our original Halloween plans had fallen through (don't worry, you'll hear ALL about that!!!), Eva was still so excited to dress up and be able to trick-or-treat with her neighborhood friends.

She looked so cute when it was all said and done. From the red ribbon in her hair all the way down to her sparkly red shoes.

Don't tell her I said so, but I think that the whole Snow White thing actually turned out to be better than Belle-Beast would've been. Still, I'll push for it again next year. After all, we still have the brand new rejected Belle costume upstairs in her closet!

***All photos in this post by Paulie Wallie (he LOVES it when I call him that)***