Why I Love My Farmer's Market

Today I got 24 impatiens, 8 marigolds, 8 lobelia, 8 gazanias, 8 verbena, one hanging impatiens basket, 4 tomato plants, 1 basil plant, 1 qt of organic strawberries and 1 bunch of asparagus. Total: $38.25.

Addendum - Why I love our new CSA: this week's share included strawberries and a tomato plant AND they include recipes for everything, which is good, considering I've never used swiss chard or broccoli rabe before.

Three Times the Charm

Today, my baby turns 3. I realize at some point I’ll need to stop calling her “my baby,” but I swear it won’t call her that in front of her teenage friends.

This is the year it feels like Nora really came into her personality. She has long been a smiley and energetic kid, but now those traits are easily on display for everyone she meets, not just those she’s closest to. I didn’t realize this until several months ago, when a friend commented that she could really see what Nora was like now.

And what is she like?

Dear Nora, dear, dear expressive and determined and enthusiastic Nora. Your emotions are right on the surface. Sometimes, when you’re upset, you shoot your dad or me a look of such disgust that I feel like I’m staring back at a teenager. But, luckily, you’re just as emotive about your joy. There is nothing I love more than making you laugh. Your whole face instantly lights up and you smile big with your eyes. And boy, do you love to laugh. Just tonight you egged me on in an all-out tickle-fest "now my feet, now my belly, now my neck," and the whole time you were a wiggly pile of giggles, with the occasional snort thrown in. So dainty you are.

You’re also very quick to change emotions, for better or for worse. Oh, you have a temper and when something doesn’t go your way, you cry huge tears and yell and scowl, often while throwing yourself on the ground and emphatically describing your disgust. "I don't like that, I don't want to." But as fast as it starts, it can end. Sometimes, mid-tantrum, you’ll catch sight of something that stops you cold, and the screaming is over. I’ve learned that, for the most part, we just need to patiently wait out these scream fests.

"For the most part" is accurate, because you do have quite a stubborn streak, and waiting doesn't always do the trick. Some nights it's a battle of wills to get your naked, running-around-the-house body into pajamas. And when you're in these moods, you laugh off directions and threats of punishment and actual punishment. Grrr. I should have known that you'd be a feisty one. You arrived into this world with a bang -- almost faster than your dad could get back into the delivery room -- and you were screaming mad.

I looked at your birthday entry from last year, and one thing that caught my eye is that I made note of some of your language, that you called bread “bay” and applesauce “ah-saws,” and that we could understand you, but others couldn't. Well, those days are gone. Bread is now "bread" and applesauce is "applesauce." Pretty much anything you want to express, you can. You’re still working on proper grammar, some of which I correct, and some I let go, because it makes you sound like the little girl that you are. One of my favorites of late is the exchange we often have about grown-up activities. It goes something like this:

What’s in your cup, momma?

Coffee.

Can I see it?

(I show her the liquid in the cup.)

Oh. When I was a grown up, I can have coffee, right?

Yes, Nora. When you’re a grown-up, you can have coffee. This same type of exchange can focus on many different subjects. The other night, you informed Jon that when you “was” a boy, you’d have whiskers.

This was a year of change in many other forms, too. For one, you managed to pretty much potty train yourself. Last fall, your daycare teacher said that she thought you were ready. I wasn’t so sure, but figured, what the heck, and so we started putting you in underwear during the day. To my surprise, you took to it immediately and now you're virtually accident-free.

You've recently taken to all things princess, especially Cinderella and Snow White, which are the only two princess movies we have. Yet you're still my little shark. For Halloween I’d imagined that you could be a butterfly (to go with Owen’s chosen costume of a caterpillar), but no way, you wanted to be a shark.

You still love books, and you always take at least one or two to bed with you. Sometimes you’ll cry for us to come back up to your room and when we get there to see what’s wrong, you inform us that “I need more books.”

You are an adventurous one. We joined the YMCA over winter and when we go swimming, you’ll fearlessly launch yourself between Jon and I. You and Owen both prefer the same bike – his old tricycle, even though your legs aren’t quite long enough to reach the pedals.

You can dress yourself. You chew gum (though you swallow it a bit too much for my liking). You’d brush your own hair and teeth and serve yourself breakfast if I’d let you. You like Bruce Springsteen and Jenny Lewis and Spoon and Alicia Keyes. You’ve started going to movies with us. You still refuse to use public toilets (and you cover your ears when I flush). You got your first freckles last summer. You continue your attachment to your yellow bear blanket. You grin at yourself in the mirror when we wrap you up in your lamb hooded towel after a bath. You love your brother, but are more likely now to want to do your own thing rather than join in on every plan he dreams up.

For now, you’re still sleeping in your crib. Someday soon, we’ll move you to a twin bed, but honestly, I fear where your independent streak will take you post-bedtime. When your brother was this age, we’d moved him out of the crib to make room for YOU. It’s weird to look at you and realize that you’re two months shy of the age Owen was when you came along. You seem younger than he did then, but I suppose some of that is the natural way that an infant makes anyone seem older. And why the youngest is always the "baby."

Nora, you are a joyful presence in our lives. I often wonder how I got so, so lucky. Happy birthday, little girl!

bob loblaw

Mostly random happenings, musings and such. (In other words, blah, blah, blah...)

-The other day when we pulled in the driveway after school/work, Owen leaped out of the back seat and exclaimed, "Look, the dandelions are back!" Nothing like youthful enthusiasm to put a positive spin on weeds. Yesterday, he and Nora brought in a bouquet of lawn grass and some unidentified weed. 

-After an almost 3-year hiatus, I am wearing my own wedding ring again. I had to have it cut off when Nora was about a month old because I decided to try to force it back onto my pregnancy-swollen finger, which promptly began turning purple. Not sure why it took this long to get it fixed (well, I have reasons, but none of them are good). For all this time I've been wearing a combo of my engagement ring and my grandmother's wedding band. I'm happy to be matching my hubby's ring again. Feels right.

- Nora has taken to wearing a pair of turquoise, plastic, 1/2-inch heeled Ariel slippers. She's in the midst of a princess phase and was understandably excited when I fished these "shoes" out of a bag of hand-me-downs. Oh, and the heels light up with every step. They're like her dream shoes right now.

-I got a promotion about 2 months ago,  have I mentioned that? I'm now the executive editor for my magazine group and oversee about four different magazines. It was time for a change after almost nine years with the same magazine. It's still scary though.

- We had one of our dear cats, Tilly, put to sleep a few weeks ago. She'd been diagnosed with cancer, so it was only a matter of time. It's crazy to think about how many changes she went through with me. I'd lived with her for almost 16 years. She showed up at my college workplace -- a movie theater -- as a kitten and my roommate and I took her in and that was that. Sometime, she really deserves her own post...

- I'm once again contemplating bangs. Seems to be an annual ritual: Consider. Blog.b Decide against it.

- The spring planting season snuck up on me again. I know this because the peony sprouts have gotten too tall for me to use the grow-through supports I have for them. It just happens so fast. One day it's cold and everything is brown and before you know it it's still cold but everything is green. Ah, spring in Wisconsin :)

- I've been watching a weird mix of new TV shows lately. Somehow I've gotten sucked into Castle (which Jon calls "Cancelled") and Cupid.

Well, it wasn't Ft. Lauderdale

Oh, how very sad my blog has become. So neglected. So lonely.

I had vacation the week before last because it was Owen's spring break (which, by the way, was seven school days off -- seven!) But, unlike last year when I stayed home with both kids and blogged about our daily adventures of exploring Milwaukee, this year, spring break coincided with another annual activity -- Trivia.

I have to admit, at first I was disappointed about the overlapping schedules. Trivia takes us out of town for about 4-1/2 days, and last year I so enjoyed just having a week to loligag around the house with the kids. But I quickly got over that when I realized that instead of being stressed and tired going into a 54-hour trivia contest, I was able to remain (mostly) well rested and could prepare/pack/gather during the week instead of cramming all of that in after work. (And, as a bonus, it even allowed me to save some vacation for two other fun trips later this year -- to NYC and...Indiana!)

And, we did do a few fun spring breaky things. Owen had his first sleepover at his friend Matthew's house. Oh man, and once we planned that thing, it was ALL Owen could talk about. The day of the sleepover, we met Matthew and his mom at the zoo for lunch and to let the boys get a little energy out. But they were soooo not interested in the animals. They just wanted to go to Matthew's house and get the jumping around and general craziness part of the sleepover started. I barely got a kiss good-bye as he leaped into their vehicle.

The next day, after Nora and I picked Owen up, we went to the YMCA for the first time in a couple of weeks. The kids played in the play center while I tried out a new elliptical machine (and boy, did my thighs say "no thank you" the next day), and then we all got into our suits and went swimming.

By Wednesday, I was ready to just stay home and pack. Thursday, we left for Stevens Point and then Jon and I left the kids with the grandparents on Friday and went to start Trivia thatafternoon. It was a lovely, lovely day -- sunny and warm, which always feels like Trivia to me. So we enjoyed a great weekend of laughter and old friends (and a bit of tequila). On Sunday, Owen came up to visit the Trivia house for a bit, and he tried to impress everyone with his delivery of such retorts as "whatever" or "poopy party." All in all, by midnight Sunday, our Trivia team ended up in 13th place. Not too shabby -- especially for a team that has as much fun as ours does.

The kids had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa. They were dirty, tired and left behind n energetic dog that may actually have tired of chasing balls hit off Owen's tee. But I think we were all ready to get home on Monday.

A week later, there still are a few things left in our suitcases and some still packed bags on the porch. I'll get to it, later. This week we're preparing for a trip to Illinois to visit the other grandparents. Owen has been itching to drive their four-wheeler again...

Oh, Summer Daze

Owen has figured out how to change the desktop picture on our computer. Last night, when I sat down at the computer, this is the photo he chose.


It's actually the perfect picture to be looking at for Wisconsin in March. Because, while we had a few wonderful 70-degree days last week, it has been cold here this week, and tonight, they're even predicting 7 inches of snow.

And so, we dream of warmer, hazy days.

6!

I'm going to have to sound a bit cliche for a moment here, and be yet another parent wondering how in the world their child got so big. Because today my baby turned 6. 6! And I have no idea how he got to be so old. I think I blinked.

Owen,

It has been so amazing over the last year to watch you figure out the world. Sometimes, you'll bring up an experience from months ago and relate it to something that is going on right now. Lately, you've been fascinated with cemetaries ("are the rocks on top of the people, momma? "they're underground because that keeps them warm, right?") and as we drove by one, you asked if my grandma was buried there. I didn't even think you remembered her, she died over 3 years ago and we don't talk about her that much, but yet here you were, pulling out a memory, perfectly in context to what was going on at the moment. It's just so grown up.

You're truly becoming your own person and it's so fun to share the exciting things of life with you. You got just as wrapped up as we did in the Brewers run for the playoffs last September. In fact, you and I were home alone watching the game that clinched a berth for the Brew Crew and we were both jumping around like maniacs after they won. You even created impromptu confetti out of colored paper, and later put up a sign in the front yard.


This year you became obsessed with making art projects. Scissors, staples, tape, colored paper, post-its...these all are part of your creative arsenal to make books, signs, flags, you name it. What you wanted for Christmas was post-its and paper. So I went all out and accumulated a box of Post-its for you to open on Christmas morning. I think you liked it.

You're still into just about anything about space, and lately you've been questioning the exclusion of Pluto from the list of planets. It upsets you greatly and can't understand what has happened to poor Pluto.

This year, you read a whole book to me for the first time. It was about monarch butterflies. By the end, I'm pretty sure I was grinning widely and tearing up a little. Reading was such a big part of my life growing up, to watch you figure out those words and hear the story, it's just amazing. Your teachers say you know all the words you need to know for kindergarten and that you're reading at an early 1st grade level. So I'm hoping that reading soon will become important to you, too. And speaking of school, where in the world do you get your math skills? On your recent report card you were graded as above expectations in math -- you can count to 100 and have even started to do some addition. They also say that you have a "cute sense of humor." I think that means you make funny faces and noises to make your friends laugh.

You helped me raise butterflies this year. You'd done it with your 4-year-old kindergarten class, so I decided to tackle it at home, too. We raised some black swallowtails and some monarchs, and this picture even ended up in the March issue of Birds & Blooms, one of the benefits of having a mom who's an editor.


You also discovered books on tape, er, CD. Every night lately you go to bed listening to either Froggy's Baby Sister or Froggy's Day with Dad. And when we read these books to you, you try to mimic the "ding" turning-page noise from the CD. That, and insisting we read the author and illustrator's name at the start of the book. The writer's guild would be proud. 

We decided to do t-ball again last summer and you ended up on a team made up almost entirely of kids from your class. That made it a really fun experience for all of us. You also started trying to hit balls with dad, without the tee. And you'd do pretty well, too. It was fun to take some balls and a bat down to the park after school for a bit.

Your best friend still is Matthew, and though the two of you are in different classrooms this year, we hear that you seek each other out on the playground during recess and we know that you, he, Aidan and Jordann are like the Four Musketeers in the after-school program. Last year for your birthday party, we were just meeting many of your friends for the first time, and now we know who they are, we know their parents, we cluster together at school functions. It's all actually very comfortable. We get you and Matthew together from time to time to play, and it's funny to watch the two of you wrestle and giggle.

Six is an age of changes. One thing we're doing as of today is putting away your baby blankets. We got you a nice fuzzy red blanket that will stay on your bed and the green and blue blankets that you've had since you were born will be going into a box somewhere. Of course, I'm a bit emotional about it, partially because I know you're attached to your blankets, and also because I can remember you being this old when we had this blanket.

You'll also be moving into a real seat belt booster, since at your last checkup, you're officially 1 pound over the limit on your car seat. You've moved into the 90 percentile on height and weight and are clocking in at 56 pounds and 47.75 inches. I know there was a big growth spurt sometime in there because one week it seemed like your pants fit and the next week you were walking around in high waters.

This last year you learned how to whistle and snap your fingers. You started shooting baskets in the adult-sized baskets at school (and making them). You're a really good big brother and you do try to protect and guide your little sister, though she often feels she needs no such guidance. The two of you are either happily playing together or fighting. But at least it's about equal of the two extremes. 

I love your spirit. I'm so proud to be your mom. Happy birthday, my Owen.