Kevin went to The Netherlands on a business trip for a week, during which the boys and I were extremely happy to welcome Gran-Gran to the Menagerie House. I just remembered that I did post about her toy-induced trip to the ER, but really, other than that one bad night, we all had a wonderful visit. Our only complaint is that it was too short, but the good news is that she will return, hopefully for Kiri’s birthday party at the end of March.

Since Kiri is a bit young to care much about the specifics of his party, his brother was happy to step in and take charge of the situation. He was more than happy to instruct Kiri as to the importance of a desirable theme for his party, and he came up with two themes. He couldn’t decide which one, robots (since “Kieran needs to learn about robots”) or food (since Kiri has yet to meet a food he dislikes), was best, so I asserted my maternal rights and picked a Spring theme.

That was partly because I’ve had enough Winter, and partly because I want to make the cake. I’ve gotten all into decorating cookies this winter, and I would like to expand my horizons a bit and try a fancy cake. I’ve had my eye on this bunny cake pan for a while, and with a recent sale at my favorite baking store, Fancy Flours, I was able to finally able to fit it into our budget. I think I will have to make two bunnies for his party, and then possibly I’ll make some egg and baby bunny shaped cookies for the children to take home. I thought it would be cute to make carrot cakes, but they are so moist I don’t know if they’d really make stable 3-dimensional bunnies. I may punt and make one chocolate and one French vanilla, or possibly lemon. Perhaps I will think about how to decorate them and draw inspiration from that. Also, I’d best got on the mission of consulting a calendar and picking a date for the fiesta.

While I’m on a creative segment here, I’ll mention that I have joined Chichimama’s latest knit-a-long. I would love a pair of nice warm mittens, so these will be for me. Since being frugal is so very necessary chic these days, I turned to my stash for yarn and found a nice variegated purple-pink heavy cotton yarn. My only concern is that the colors are so busy that the main artistic point of the mittens, a long cable running from wrist to fingertip, will be hidden. Then again, I want to make this “Just Enough Ruffles” scarf at some point, so maybe I’ll go ahead with the pink and purple first for fun and to get mitten knitting experience, and then pick up a pretty solid color color later to make a second pair of cable mittens and a JER scarf in the same color. I’m almost finished with my gauge swatch and it looks like it’ll be spot on, which rarely happens for me, so clearly the variegated yarn would be quite usable for this pattern. I just have to sew together the sweater I’m working on for Kiri to wear this Spring and then I’m free to make the mittens.

Speaking of creative pursuits, Santa left an easel for Liam this year. He loves to use it on days when he is willing to stay still for a few minutes, and Kiri has taken quite a shine to painting himself. When I chose the word “himself” I didn’t mean it in the literal sense…

..but Kiri took it that way.

The statement, “Kiri, we only paint paper!”

…does not stop Kieran, the All-Surface Painter.

Now, of course, if one is decorating cookies with frosting then one obviously has edible media on  hand…

…and on face. How amazing is that???

But the best part – the most exciting artistic discovery ever…

…is that a loyal dog makes such a huggable canvas!

In other news, we are seeing the beginnings of sibling rivalry these days. It is clear that the boys adore each other. When he is unaware of adult eyes Liam will not uncommonly watch Kiri play for a few minutes and then walk over, give him a big kiss, and whisper “I love you, Kiri K!” And every day at 8:30 A.M. the saddest boy in the world is Kieran. That’s because Liam’s kindergarten starts then and we have to leave him at school for a few hours. As we get into the car, Kieran will point to Liam’s car seat and shout, “Yee-Yee! Yee-Yee! Mommy! Yee-Yee! Now!” (He hasn’t gotten the hang of the “L” sound yet.) And the tears, they flow. On days when Kiri is inconsolable I will turn into the driveway of the house immediately behind the school. It belongs to one of the faculty members, and it affords a good view of the kindergarten play yard where Liam and his classmates are at play. We watch for a few minutes until I am able to calm Kiri enough to make it through the morning.

On the other hand, however, there are loud and screechy daily battles over my lap because neither child will share that spot with the other. And when Kiri misbehaves, Liam is not above reminding me that whatever the crime (large or minute) in question is, well of course, it is most certainly not his doing.

“Mommy, good job cleaning Kiri up. You see, I am old enough to know that painting my face is wrong, wrong, wrong. And Kiri…is not.”"

Point taken, kiddo. Now, enough crowing already.

Valentine’s day is upon us. It’s not a holiday I pay much attention to, but it is a big one with the grade school set. Liam’s class had a Valentine’s Day celebration today. Each child brought in a Valentine of his or her making, and then they had a swap…

..and Liam got to bring home this beauty.

And then, after snack…

…they made heart necklaces from felt and wool roving…

(not the best photo with part of Kiri’s head there, but it shows off the hearts the best of the ones I took)

…and made Valentine’s Day ornaments. I have never seen an ornament like this, and I think it’s gorgeous.

Liam was especially proud of this one since he made all of it himself with the exception of tying the knot on the thread. “I even sewed the ribbon into a loop by myself, Mommy!”

And here it is in its place of honor on our “Valentine’s Day tree.” The boys and I made Valentines and hung them on the tree while whiling away our Snow Day last week.

The Snow Day was also a great time to play with the ferrets…

…get them all rowdy…

…and more than ready for a nap!

This is Pippi enjoying an afternoon siesta.

I’ve spent way too much time on this post already, so I will end it here. These, my friends, have been the highlights of the last couple of Menagerie House weeks. Lots of everyday fun and games about sums it up, and I am not complaining one bit. So come back soon, ya’ll, and I’ll give you a knitting update (with pictures) and a collection of Cute Conversations.

Happy Valentine’s day!

Now it’s time to sit back and enjoy the holiday. Bring on Christmas!

“Mommy? Mommy? OK, Santa’s a nice guy and he gave me a fun cowboy rubber ducky and all, but
can you tell the dude to put me down?!!”

Instead, every night the children left their slippers out in a row on the benches outside of the classroom. With the short attention span of small children, the slippers were passing into history and turning more into decorations than anything else. But this Monday, the class was busy playing inside after their snack when they heard a knock at the door. One of the boys ran to answer the door, but no one was there. Instead, he noticed that the slippers had been moved and that each slipper had something peeking out the top.

It seems that St. Nicholas stopped by to leave treats in the children’s slippers, and they were so engrossed in their play that they neither saw nor heard him. He left a tangerine, some pecans and almonds, and a very special golden walnut. Mrs. C told the children that if they whispered “Thank you!” to  the golden walnut, St. Nicholas would hear them and he would answer. And Liam is absolutely sure he heard a man say, “You are welcome.”

This is the really fun, magic part of the Christmas Season.

This is Liam’s assessment after he, Kiri, and I spent an hour exploring a local toy store and debating the pros and cons of various toys. (The true object of the toy store visit was to purchase a birthday gift for another child while getting me up to speed on the prices of Liam’s most-wanted toys.)

Liam: “Mommy, don’t you think it’s really nice of adults to open toy stores so us children can go in and play and figure out what we want for Christmas?”

Me: “Well, I never thought of it like that before, but yes, it nice that you can go in there and play with the toys.

Liam (beaming): “I love it when adults are so nice to children!”

Five years ago tonight, on a Thanksgiving evening, you came to us and changed a husband-and-wife duo into a family. At first, and for a long time after, you were a Mommy-only baby, but eventually you reached out and allowed others into your life – Daddy, Gran-Gran, Pop-Pop. You were ever so shy around anyone you didn’t know; I thought you would be hiding your face in the crick of my neck forever.

Then, last year, with the start of nursery school, and more so this year, with your move into Kindergarten, you have lost a lot of that baby shyness. Your world has grown so, and while your Daddy and I are clearly still the center of that world, you are reaching out more and more to friends, old and new. With those big blue eyes, inherently sunny disposition, and your uncannily adult-like speech you can bring a smile to almost anyone’s face. You are very sensitive towards others, and cautious about new situations.

I’ve watched you grow from baby to toddler to big boy. You still have a lot of growing ahead of you, my dear, and although I would never rush you along in life, I do sometimes imagine the young man you will one day be. And when I dream those dreams, I see a man with the sensitivity, intelligence, and eloquence that it takes to be a real force for good in the world. Maybe it’s the not-so-fine times our country is going through these last few years, but I feel the world needs all the help it can get from the force-for-good department.

That’s a lot to ask from anyone, so while I thank you for indulging my dreams for a moment, all I really want for you right now is for you to keep on playing, making friends, inventing songs, stomping in puddles and doing all those happy and important childhood things you are already doing. And as you grow I hope that your love of life, people, and animals is unblemished, that your boundless curiosity remains unfettered, and that your intellectual and emotional strength help you to lead a strong and centered life. Or to cut to the chase, I want you to be happy and able to overcome the major and minor obstacles that show up in the road of life.

Today I give thanks for the blessing that is you. I can’t wait to see how you’ll grow and explore this next year of your life, and you know that Daddy, Kiri, and I will be right there loving you every step of the way. Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Birthday, Mr. 5.

Love,

Mommy

This year I have some good news to report in that I actually used the NO! word several times this week (granted I spoke it politely), and now I am very glad I’m not stressing over three extra things tonight. I’m beginning to see why kids love that word so darn much.

Anyway, though, I am worked up about Saturday evening. You see, I said “Yes!” to hosting my town’s MOMS Club Thanksgiving celebration. That means that Saturday at 4:00 30 families will drop by our house for an informal Thanksgiving meal. Yes, I meant 30 families, not 30 people. Our house will be bulging at the seams for a few hours there. Fortunately it’s a pot-luck meal, and the party committee planned the menu, the kids’ activities, and the decorations, so in theory all I have to do is open a presentably clean house to the Club and its families. We even have people charged with before party prep work, and others charged with clean-up. So it shouldn’t be anything to get worried about, right? Other than the fact that I spoke up for the vegetarian members of the club and volunteered to make a kid-friendly vegetarian main dish. (You wouldn’t believe the number of people who assume turkey is OK for vegetarians since it isn’t a red meat!) And a couple dozen cookies because I like to decorate them. Also, Kevin’s been in England all week, and he’s returning Friday. I hope he can handle the mix of jet-lag and children running amuck.

Yeah, OK, there’s a bit of stress there, now that I write it down. It could be worse,though, and so for that I’m grateful.

And then there Liam’s birthday party. His birthday is 11/27, which means he’s got a Thanksgiving birthday this year. We can’t have his party the Saturday after Thanksgiving since so many friend will be gone. So we went for the next Saturday, the 6th. Liam picked his invitations and we had them printed. They came yesterday and they are very cute. I almost started sending them out immediately but got distracted. Good thing, too, because today I found out that the Winter Garden celebration at his school is running that day. Given that we have everyone in his class on the list of invitees, we decided to punt and move the party to Sunday, the 7th. We’ll just have to do a little editing on the cards. I really have to get started on those. So, moderate stress from the Birthday Party Department.

However, I’m sure this will all work it’s way out, and we’ll have some wonderful memories made along the way, I just have to remember that part about breathing, and enjoying the moment!

But that day it was not to be – he was indeed feverish and cranky. I’d never been called to come to school to pick up a sick child before, and I hope we don’t have to do this again anytime soon – poor Liam was sure he’d done something wrong to result in his teacher asking him to go home. He stayed home with me yesterday due to the fever. Last night, both Kiri and I became feverish and cranky, so I found myself in the pickle of entertaining two sick boys who both want to hang out in my lap and read books. The catch of course, is that neither child feels that my lap is big enough for two, so a certain amount of shoving and pushing results. And they never agree as to literary selection either. So we went the domestic arts route today, and by gosh we had some giggles by the end of the day!

Liam and I started out by making a new lemur tail for trick-or-treating tomorrow night. (SuperLemur is back in action for Halloween ’08, but somewhere over the summer we lost last year’s tail.) The new one took a good chunk of the morning, and it actually looks much better than last year’s creation. I’ll post a picture tomorrow when I get a full photo of SuperLemur.

By that time we were all cranky, so we watched some Sprout and took a nap. Kiri kept on sleeping, so Liam and I took advantage of that to make some dough for cut-out cookies. We got them all baked and decorated:

Special note to all you grandmotherly types out there – yes, he was feverish in this shot, yes, I know he has no shirt on, and yes, I know he should have shirt on. Liam remained unconvinced by all my logical explanations and hissy fits, so we went about life with a shirtless Lemur.

This is the first time I’ve ever frosted cut-out cookies - usually we put sprinkles on before they are baked and call it good. But the frosting allows for more creative decorations, plus wow, is it yummy.

We were on the clean-up phase when Kiri came back. We offered him a cookie, and then he got busy helping Liam clean the counter:

This is the two of them hunting down the last drops of icing, plus all the spilled colored sugar and non-pareils.

This was Kiri’s first ever time as bakery assistant, and he was pretty much wowed by the job.

“Mmmmm, I love to put things away already, but I never knew clean-up time could be so sweet!”

And with that we made it to the end of the day. Liam is definitely better, Kieran’s about the same, and I’m about the same, too, but at least we’re all happy and got some constructive things done today. I am willing the boys, especially Liam, to feel better by tomorrow so they can enjoy Halloween – I don’t want to be the one to have to explain to SuperLemur that he’s too feverish to go out! I will keep everyone posted, I promise!

Time is a bit tight around here right now, but I wanted to post some pictures of the now healthy boys on Mother’s Day. Liam’s poor scraped knees have completely healed. Both boys and Kevin have recovered from the tummy bug that we had visiting last week. (And our house has returned to Full Shrieking Normalcy because one baby and 4-year-old can together make an amazing amount of noise when they are in top form.)

Anyway, these pictures are from Kiri’s very first ever ride on the Jersey Shore Boardwalk. Kevin and the boys went to the Shore for the day on Mother’s Day, and left me at home to hang out in peace and marvel at the stillness and lack of shrieking. The boys had a great time eating pizza, playing games, and riding every ride they were allowed to. Liam one his first prize ever by playing Whack-a-Mole. He walked in the house carrying this enormous red and white chimp that dances and sings Wild Thing. He looked so proud of himself that I wish I’d had the camera then.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, it was sooo quiet here! It was wonderful. Casey and I spent time reading, surfing the web, and feeding Pippi. (More on that to come.) Thank you for my day of peace and solitude, guys – I love you all more than you can know.

And if you’re wondering about last week’s other disaster, Pippi – well, he’s on the road to recovery, too. Turns out he developed a really bad bleeding ulcer. So bad that he lost dangerous amounts of blood through his stool. He spent three days at the vet hospital on IV fluids, IV antibiotics, and Pepcid. He was in bad shape, and even when he came home we really weren’t sure he would make it.

We got to bring him home Friday. He was (and still is) on a soft diet, and he wouldn’t eat well without hand-feeding until yesterday morning. (Yet another reason for me staying home Sunday. Feeding a ferret means feeding every 2-3 hours.) He’s still very, very thin, but just yesterday he started eating like, well, a very hungry ferret, and there’s definitely some spark in his eyes this morning. It’s going to be a few more weeks of antibiotics, but finally I’m truly believing he’s going to make it.

It was a fantastic Mother’s Day  – I felt all relaxed and happy by the end, and all three boys had a blast. It wasn’t traditional, but it sure was wonderful.

(Thanks to Aimee for the neato button!)

****

I found out Wednesday morning that I was the designated person responsible for acquiring bouquests for the teacher’s assistant and for the aftercare teacher at Liam’s school. This was not a problem as I was sure I could get FTD or somesuch website to deliver two bouquets to our house Wednesday afternoon that I could take to school for the Christmas party on Thursday. I called, and sure enough, I was guaranteed that two beautiful winter bouquets would be delivered by 5:00 PM. At 8:00, there were no bouquets, and the customer care center at the website was closed, as was the local florist. So I went to a nice grocery store, grabbed one of every kind of wintery flower they had on hand, and made two really nice bouquets for the teachers.

The next morning, I took my bouquets and both kids to school, had the party (the teachers really liked their flowers), and came home. On the porch were the two bouquets I had ordered the day before. They were very pretty and looked nice in my home, but since they had been ordered for another occasion and were late, too late in fact, I called the website back. They promptly refunded my money AND we got to keep the bouquets. So yay for flowerssenttoday.com!

********

Liam came down with an ear infection Monday. He did make it school this week, more because he wanted to go than because he was really up to going, but he’s still a little tired. His pediatrician got herself fired for telling him rudely that his symptoms don’t make sense, and his ears don’t hurt when she peers inside.

(There’s a long story here, but I’m not going into it now. Suffice it to say a change in medical staff is necessary.)

*********

Kieran caught the bug from Liam, and ran his first high fever – he woke up at 3:30 Friday morning with a 101.3⁰ temperature. But with Motrin and TLC, he seems better by this weekend..

********

I caught the bug from the kids, and spent this morning in the ER. I thought about waiting and calling my internist tomorrow morning, but really, that’s crazy. I don’t even know if the office is open on Christmas Eve.

********

My husband is wonderful. He’s handled both kids pretty much by himself since Friday afternoon, except for nursing duties.

********

Yesterday, Kevin and the boys made these yummy white chocolate chip-cranberry cookies. They are so good!

********

And, while waiting for my antibiotic prescription to be filled, I bought Kevin and me a bottle of champagne for refreshment while playing Santa tomorrow night. I hope the kids cooperate and stay asleep.

(Don’t worry, I didn’t buy anything requiring complex assembly.)

*******

I don’t know if I’ll be back before the Big Day, but if not, Happy Holidays to everyone!
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