When I was in eighth grade, I was hit by a car. The car wasn't going fast and I just ended up with some stitches in the back of my head and a bruised leg. I don't remember how I walked in front of a car, but I do know that they installed a nifty crosswalk because of my accident.
Yesterday I crashed into pillar. Don't panic, please. I'm fine. Bardo's fine. Pippi was at school. The car will be fixed. Even the pillar is fine.
And I 'm reminded of how great my husband it. I was scared he was going to send me to the Arctic tundra and leave me for the wolves when he heard the news, but when I finally told him he said, "Oooo, maybe we'll get a new car." He then spent the rest of yesterday car shopping. I'm so glad I married a man who does not punish me for a mistake I'm already suffering the consequences of. I know he's "ticked," but he's being very very kind to me. And for that I'm grateful. I'm also grateful that I have strong legs for walking, a school for Pippi merely a mile away, a stroller, enough food to last until the weekend, and a nice bath tub.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Princess for a Day
Our second day at Disneyland, I tried to take Pippi to the Coronation ceremony. But she first saw the princess store and decided to do a little shopping. She brought quite a bit of money to Disneyland, and she had found the store in which she wanted to spend it. And spend it she did on that beautiful Belle dress you see before you.After she had done her shopping, she refused to go the coronation. She wanted to go back to the hotel. Immediately when we got there she put on the dress. And every time thereafter when we would step foot in the hotel room she would run to the bathroom with her dress and change into it. Our third day at Disneyland, she decided that she wanted to go to the "coronation ceremony" after all. She slipped her dress over her clothes and she was off. After the ceremony she wanted her face painted, and she decorated a paper crown with sticker jewels. Many of the Disneyland employees bowed and curtsied at her when they saw her walking towards them. All day long, she looked and acted like a princess.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
What is it about sand?
We're putting in a patio. I'm not sure it's going to be as fun for the kids to have a finished patio than it is to have a halfway finished patio.
Last day of vacation--Pictures
All of the other pictures are on the Warlock's computer. He says he gets to post about the vacation. We'll see. Anyway, these pictures were taken the last day of our vacation. Don't we look lovely? But we did have so much fun--too much fun as you can see from the bags under our eyes.
This picture is evidence that we got the Warlock on Dumbo (with a wait less then 15 minutes).
Bardo did incredibly well during the whole trip. He especially loved the tea "pups."
Our longest wait in the park was to see the Aladdin show--40 minutes. Luckily we all like each other, so we didn't mind. We were disappointed when the cast member made us pack up our UNO cards and stand in line rather than sitting in line.
And here are our only group shots during the entire vacation. We really need to get better at this.
We also had lunch with the princesses.
Pippi and Nadia (or Nahnah, as Bardo calls her) rode on the bumper cars together. Pippi drove. They were stuck in one place most of the time. That always happened to me when I was a kid, too.
At the end of the day, we were tired, and just waiting to use our fast passes for our final ride (Soarin' Over California). So we took some pictures and had a snack. I love my beautiful children.
And then Pippi took some flattering candid shots.
This picture is evidence that we got the Warlock on Dumbo (with a wait less then 15 minutes).
Bardo did incredibly well during the whole trip. He especially loved the tea "pups."
Our longest wait in the park was to see the Aladdin show--40 minutes. Luckily we all like each other, so we didn't mind. We were disappointed when the cast member made us pack up our UNO cards and stand in line rather than sitting in line.
And here are our only group shots during the entire vacation. We really need to get better at this.
We also had lunch with the princesses.
Pippi and Nadia (or Nahnah, as Bardo calls her) rode on the bumper cars together. Pippi drove. They were stuck in one place most of the time. That always happened to me when I was a kid, too.
At the end of the day, we were tired, and just waiting to use our fast passes for our final ride (Soarin' Over California). So we took some pictures and had a snack. I love my beautiful children.
And then Pippi took some flattering candid shots.
Easter Eggs
Every year I dye eggs with the kids. Every year, they have so much fun, but I feel in constant panic. Having a workable kitchen with breathing room and a responsible 6 year-old that knows how to listen to reason made all the difference this year. And I put Bardo to bed first. And I learned the "right" way to make hard-cooked eggs. The thought had never even occurred to me that there was a wrong way.
Pippi was very particular about the way that we display the eggs. In this picture, her eggs are in the pink basket. My eggs are in the green. The blue basket was reserved for the "group picture." Whatever.
Pippi is especially proud of this egg. She says she's not going to eat it until days after Easter. Hopefully not too many days...
Pippi was very particular about the way that we display the eggs. In this picture, her eggs are in the pink basket. My eggs are in the green. The blue basket was reserved for the "group picture." Whatever.
Pippi is especially proud of this egg. She says she's not going to eat it until days after Easter. Hopefully not too many days...
Friday, March 21, 2008
Nostalgia
Returning to Disneyland was pretty special. I thought the place was pretty magical when the Warlock introduced me to the Tokyo version nearly 5 years ago. I couldn't help but catch "the spirit" that day when there was a typhoon keeping the lines nice and short. Of course I did have to change the kids' clothes several times (even though they were wearing rain ponchos), but the hard parts of negotiating 2 toddlers around a theme park in the pouring rain are completely forgotten when I remember a three-year-old Stacy skipping down the path to the Disney music towards the Magic Kingdom. And then I remember walking out of the park, with music playing, fire works booming, and the sky aglow. No, those are not sad memories.
We visited Disneyland a couple more times that summer, but nothing ever compared with the first time. I didn't really even want to go again. I had the "been there, done that" attitude, and I could not understand why the Warlock kept on wanting to return.
Nevertheless, the Warlock's excitement is contagious. So after he passed the NY bar 2 and a half years ago, I was happy to accompany him on his "reward." These pictures are so precious to me.
Pippi was almost 4. She was on the brink of giving up sucking her thumb because she did not want to be like Prince John from Disney's Robin Hood. She didn't enjoy many of the rides because she didn't like wild and crazy and scary things, but she did like Goofy's Bounce House, which is no longer there.
This is a picture of the girls with their adored Cinderella. Stacy dressed up as Cinderella (thanks to Mom) one of her days at Disneyland.California Adventureland, actually had Stacy's favorite attraction. It's a challenge course. She scaled a wall, horizontally, that is, and loved climbing the ropes and sliding down the slides. She climbed other things, probably not meant to be climbed, as well.
This is Stacy duplicating for the camera her face as she was riding Space Mountain. She went on all the scary rides with Nick. When I tried to take her, she always backed out.
When we went back this time, I relived these moments, and it felt so good. The Warlock told me that when he goes to Disneyland he isn't just a thirty-something taking the kids. He's the 7 year-old, the twelve year old, the 16 year old, the twenty-five year old who surprised his wife with an anniversary trip to Disneyland, the recent Columbia Law grad, and it will just keep going. I just wish we could have picked a less expensive place to get our nostalgia fix.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Vacation Anticipation
So, apparently the Witch has granted me posting privileges on here, and, despite the fact that I've been far too lazy to post on my own blog, I'm going to use this opportunity to perform a preemptive strike of sorts.
Bar exam #2 is now over. I'll make a Post About the Bar, in which the Warlock Makes A Friend over on my place shortly (or not, as the case may be). It may or may not be funny but will certainly involve a fictitious person drowning in a vat of cow dung (there was actually a question on this). In keeping with tradition (sample size = 1), we are about to head out on a family vacation.
I should note that family vacations we took when I was a kid were often mixed bags. The typical vacation I remember involved a six hour trip to Idaho in a Volkswagon Vanagon (think VW Bus, minus the smell of pot and sitar music) to see my grandparents. These vacations could be good or bad, depending on how many times Dad made good on his threat to pull the car over to the side of the road and/or how often we got locked outside of Grandma's house with their rabid evil Satan dog with giant fangs and bloodshot eyes (I'm pretty sure he spent every night binge drinking) that ate kids for breakfast. There were other vacations (camping, Boston) that were more or less fine, but still were a bit short of the Gold Standard: Disneyland.
While we flew and had multi-day trips to Disneyland when I was older, our first trips were more of the stuff of legend. We'd pile into a car (usually without A/C) and drive the 13 or so hours to California. Typically the parents would take steps to make these trips better than the ones to Idaho; I specifically remember laying in the back of a truck with a camper shell with a trillion sleeping bags, watching movies on a small TV/VCR that was running off of a generator that was bolted to a plate that was welded to a trailer hitch.
We'd get to Burbank and stay with my Great Aunt, who was very sweet and kind (even though she had a personality befitting a role as a yenta across from Topol, and an ethical system akin to David Duke) and hardly sleep that night. The next morning, we'd pile back into the car and drive the hour or so down to Anaheim, fighting traffic the entire way, until finally we stopped and hiked the 18 or so miles from the parking lot (now California Adventure) to the main entrance. We'd pace around nervously for the three hours it took Dad to buy tickets, and then we'd finally go in and see this:
Everybody knew this was the magic portal. Once we pass through this, we'd see the castle, and Space Mountain was just around the corner, and our parents would invariably refuse to go to the Tiki Room, and we wouldn't care because we'd just go ride Pirates 10 times in a row, and then we'd stay until we crashed, and fall asleep on the way back to Burbank. We never had enough time to do everything and we didn't care. This was the one place we kids never fought among one another and all the bad things in life didn't exist. (I'm sure Mom and Dad remember it differently). It was only one day, usually, but it was the best day to be a kid.
We probably went (I'm guessing here) about once every three years or so, on average. Later we would start flying there and having multi-day trips and my brother and I would go off alone and do ridiculously stupid things, like wait in line for 3 hours when Splash Mountain opened - and then do it again right after the ride was over.
Even as an adult, that tunnel (non-existent at Walt Disney World, I believe, but it's there at Tokyo Disneyland) is a special magical barrier. We've gone several times as grown-ups; once we went to Tokyo Disneyland in the middle of a typhoon (five minute waits for everything, and Dumbo was shut down!). Another time we accidentally woke up 2 hours earlier than we needed to and didn't realize it until we were halfway there. Another time I completely surprised the Witch (with the help of a cast of friends) and took her there for an anniversary (she'd not been to Disneyland proper until then). And it's the last family vacation we took before our oldest daughter died. Each time, that magical barrier is where I get all teary-eyed with anticipation and joy and memory.
So it won't surprise you that we're going to Disneyland AGAIN for our post-bar vacation. And it also won't surprise you that (and this is the part I'm preempting) that the person most excited about it is ME. Oh, Pippi is bouncing off the wall to be sure (we've been planning it since last November, and it was a bigger deal to her than opening Christmas presents - on Christmas Day!) and the Witch is certainly happy (not least because we're flying in my little sister to help out with the kids - and she's getting a free vacation, so she's not sad either). But I'm the one who is going around the house humming the Splash Mountain song, or singing the Tigger ditty, or watching YouTube videos of the Haunted Mansion, or downloading software to optimize ride/wait time, or making reservations for the Blue Bayou 60 days in advance, or spending hours reading up on tips for making sure kids or happy, or any number of other things. I am a seven year old with a paycheck.
Bar exam #2 is now over. I'll make a Post About the Bar, in which the Warlock Makes A Friend over on my place shortly (or not, as the case may be). It may or may not be funny but will certainly involve a fictitious person drowning in a vat of cow dung (there was actually a question on this). In keeping with tradition (sample size = 1), we are about to head out on a family vacation.
I should note that family vacations we took when I was a kid were often mixed bags. The typical vacation I remember involved a six hour trip to Idaho in a Volkswagon Vanagon (think VW Bus, minus the smell of pot and sitar music) to see my grandparents. These vacations could be good or bad, depending on how many times Dad made good on his threat to pull the car over to the side of the road and/or how often we got locked outside of Grandma's house with their rabid evil Satan dog with giant fangs and bloodshot eyes (I'm pretty sure he spent every night binge drinking) that ate kids for breakfast. There were other vacations (camping, Boston) that were more or less fine, but still were a bit short of the Gold Standard: Disneyland.
While we flew and had multi-day trips to Disneyland when I was older, our first trips were more of the stuff of legend. We'd pile into a car (usually without A/C) and drive the 13 or so hours to California. Typically the parents would take steps to make these trips better than the ones to Idaho; I specifically remember laying in the back of a truck with a camper shell with a trillion sleeping bags, watching movies on a small TV/VCR that was running off of a generator that was bolted to a plate that was welded to a trailer hitch.
We'd get to Burbank and stay with my Great Aunt, who was very sweet and kind (even though she had a personality befitting a role as a yenta across from Topol, and an ethical system akin to David Duke) and hardly sleep that night. The next morning, we'd pile back into the car and drive the hour or so down to Anaheim, fighting traffic the entire way, until finally we stopped and hiked the 18 or so miles from the parking lot (now California Adventure) to the main entrance. We'd pace around nervously for the three hours it took Dad to buy tickets, and then we'd finally go in and see this:
Everybody knew this was the magic portal. Once we pass through this, we'd see the castle, and Space Mountain was just around the corner, and our parents would invariably refuse to go to the Tiki Room, and we wouldn't care because we'd just go ride Pirates 10 times in a row, and then we'd stay until we crashed, and fall asleep on the way back to Burbank. We never had enough time to do everything and we didn't care. This was the one place we kids never fought among one another and all the bad things in life didn't exist. (I'm sure Mom and Dad remember it differently). It was only one day, usually, but it was the best day to be a kid.
We probably went (I'm guessing here) about once every three years or so, on average. Later we would start flying there and having multi-day trips and my brother and I would go off alone and do ridiculously stupid things, like wait in line for 3 hours when Splash Mountain opened - and then do it again right after the ride was over.
Even as an adult, that tunnel (non-existent at Walt Disney World, I believe, but it's there at Tokyo Disneyland) is a special magical barrier. We've gone several times as grown-ups; once we went to Tokyo Disneyland in the middle of a typhoon (five minute waits for everything, and Dumbo was shut down!). Another time we accidentally woke up 2 hours earlier than we needed to and didn't realize it until we were halfway there. Another time I completely surprised the Witch (with the help of a cast of friends) and took her there for an anniversary (she'd not been to Disneyland proper until then). And it's the last family vacation we took before our oldest daughter died. Each time, that magical barrier is where I get all teary-eyed with anticipation and joy and memory.
So it won't surprise you that we're going to Disneyland AGAIN for our post-bar vacation. And it also won't surprise you that (and this is the part I'm preempting) that the person most excited about it is ME. Oh, Pippi is bouncing off the wall to be sure (we've been planning it since last November, and it was a bigger deal to her than opening Christmas presents - on Christmas Day!) and the Witch is certainly happy (not least because we're flying in my little sister to help out with the kids - and she's getting a free vacation, so she's not sad either). But I'm the one who is going around the house humming the Splash Mountain song, or singing the Tigger ditty, or watching YouTube videos of the Haunted Mansion, or downloading software to optimize ride/wait time, or making reservations for the Blue Bayou 60 days in advance, or spending hours reading up on tips for making sure kids or happy, or any number of other things. I am a seven year old with a paycheck.
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Pippi's Quote of the Day
Pippi rummages through her bathroom drawers, throws up her hands in defeat and says, "I work so hard to stay organized, but Bardo always takes my toothbrush!"
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Charlotte Mason Quote
"It would be well if all persons in authority, parents and all who act for parents, could make up our minds that there is no sort of knowledge to be got in these early years so valuable to children as that which they get for themselves of the world they live in. Let them once get touch with Nature, and a habit is formed which will be a source of delight through life. We were all meant to be naturalists, each in his degree, and it is inexcusable to live in a world so full of the marvels of plant and animal life and to care for none of these things."
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