the OTHER mother

The Princess Within

They say that every young girl imagines themselves a princess, but I never did. Just to verify this assertion, I double-checked in with my mom. She confirms it. This Baba skipped the princess phase with no regrets.

Of course They say a lot of things, but I suppose that most of them are true.

 

Here's the story of my recent birthday. I walked into the house at 5:30 pm on a Wednesday afternoon. Pearl and Marcia were doing the usual things, and Carrie was *hiding* behind a chair. She jumped out, yelling in her loudest voice: SURPRISE!

Carrie (let's call her Party Planner Junior) had worked out everything--decorations, food, and activities. Baba's favorite color might be blue, but at this birthday party, all was pink, pink, pink. Everyone got a pink princess cap except for me--as the honoree, I got to wear the tiara.

We ate drank, ate, opened presents, and other jolly activities. Then the two younger princesses performed a special birthday dance for the elders. Carrie seemed to be air-bending while Pearl's moves resembled break-dancing.

And while the royal children "did their thing" so did the royal kittens. Napping in the laundry, naturally.

 

For this *princess*, parenting has taught me one thing: never say never. Celebrate.

When the Grrrls Go Back to School

I know, I know, they've been back in school nearly a month now. They're learning the ropes, memorizing the rules. They are back, and here are the pictures to prove it.

Home Is Where the Art Is

New house, blank walls. You know the story. So yesterday, while Marcia was completing a work project, Pearl, Carrie, and I whipped up an art project.

I read about this project here and was planning to do it on my own, but the grrrls were interested in helping. The white lines are made with painter's tape, and each field is a different color, so it really is easy enough for children.

I like the way they turned out. Pearl's comment = they look like they were painted by real artists! Carrie's comment = don't worry Baba, I'll finish them tomorrow while you're at work.

Meet the Secrets

The Secret Kitty Club has somehow exceeded its own lofty ambitions, and today Grrrlville welcomed not one but TWO new kittens. Meet Casper and Finn!

 

The brothers are very sweet. Everyone seems to agree except for Cody (the dog) who is still unsure.

Grrrlville on the Move

We moved. Correction: we moved!

I asked Marcia to make a list of what she likes about the new pad. Here's her list:

• the French doors in the master bedroom 
• the decks
• the red front door
• the sparkling pool
• the trampoline
• chandelier over the claw foot bathtub
• the glass doorknobs
• the windows over the farmhouse style porcelain sink
• the hardwood floors
• the little white porch swing
• quirky little nooks in the hallway
• gigantic pine tree that's shaped like a bonsai
• magnolia trees
• solar-powered gate opener
• flagstone path connecting the cabana to the main house
• that the house is painted a Menil shade of grey

Papa and Nana came to help us move. (Nana and Papa rule!) Here's Nana's list:

• the white porch swing in the front yard
• the beautiful landscaping a la better homes n gardens
• Marcia's little nook of an office--so adorable
• all on one level
• of course the pool!
• my little adorable cabana

I asked Pearl for her list but she was in dog mode and all her answers were in a foreign language, i.e. barking. I waited a day, and she made this list.

• the pool
• the big yard and the trampoline
• the "other" house
• I love that we don't have to walk Cody as much because of the yard.
• the good hiding spots!
• my bunk bed
• that we kept almost everything that was in our old house
• There's going to be lots of fun things going on there.
• I feel good about almost the whole thing.
• I like living close to a donut place.

Carrie says:

I like the bunk beds, and I like the trash can because it opens "like this."  [In the kitchen one of the cabinets pulls out and is a trash can. Top secret!]

 

This Is Me, Bald

I'm sure that Carrie (age 4) is not the only one out there who wonders, on occasion, "What would Baba look like if she were bald?" Motivated by generosity, no doubt, Carrie has provided us with this artistic rendering that answers the (above) question. Grrrls with crazy hair find this picture particularly hilarious, by the way. So now you know.

This is a picture of me when I was six, which is Pearl's age now. For some reason, it seems to me the photograph of a writer. In retrospect, of course.

The Secret Kitty Cat Club

There's been a lot of whispering in Grrrville lately, but it's not me--I swear it! The Secret Kitty Cat Club is so secret that I haven't even been invited.

As you may recall, our cat Moriah died in December. She was 20 years old, and I got her when I first moved to Houston. The day she died, Carrie had an idea: let's get Baba a kitten! 

Marcia explained to Carrie and Pearl that when someone loses a loved one, you let them grieve for a while. You give them time. And they've been patiently waiting. A birthday kitten, maybe that would be the best way?

Well, the plot to buy Baba a kitten has definitely thickened. Pearl seems even more excited than Carrie. The whispering has become almost deafening! And my next birthday, Sept. 22, is not so far away.

The Secret Kitty Cat Club has meetings, minutes, everything. I imagine there's even a gavel and Robert's Rules, although I can't say for sure. According to these notes--which I "borrowed" from the kitchen counter for an hour or so--the big event is in the offing. But until then, I know nothing! And neither do you, okay?

 

Pearl at Writing Camp 2010

Carrie at Writing Camp 2010

Kindergarten, Coming to a Close

This is Pearl at the Awards Ceremony in her class at Kindergarten. She was very serious about it, as you can tell. Pearl has had a wonderful year with an amazing teacher and friends. I just keep thinking: WOW. WOW. WOW.

Spring Flings Itself Into H-Town

These girls are springing into all sorts of new things.
  
 

Spring Break 2010

Greetings from Galveston Island. If there's one thing we've learned about parenting--and it's possibly the ONLY thing we've learned--it's this: there's an amazing chemistry between kids and beach. It's golden. 

Pearl Turns Six

Yes, SIX! Can you believe it?

 

This year the theme of her birthday party was dragons. We had a gigantic red dragon pinata with yellow spikes and orange wings. Almost her entire Kindergarten class came to celebrate. It's making me feel totally nostalgic, this birthday, so I though I'd share with you a few sweet memories from the days of yore.

Birth of Pearl (2004) with special recipe for smothered okra

Pearl's 3rd Birthday (2007)

Pearl's 5th Birthday (2009)

Kindergarten has been a great year for Pearl, so far. She loves it all!

¡Feliz Año Nuevo!

Yes, pals, it's time to ring in a new year. Happy 2010! Click here to check out the Holiday Sound Poem 2009. [time = 1:23] Remember it's audio, not video, so you won't see any pictures.

You can also check out a few of our previous holiday missives:

2008 holiday poem

with bonus grrrlville impossible video

2007

2006

If you miss the blog and want to keep up with our comings and goings, add Marcia and me as your friends on facebook. Hope it's a wondrous year for you and yours.

Grrrlville

Closing Down the Shop

After five and a half years of blogging, I've decided to stop. Thank you for reading, responding, and just being there. I've enjoyed the process and hope you have too. If you are in the habit of following along with our family and want to stay in the loop, please add me and Marcia as friends on facebook (let us know how you know us) and also on twitter. We would love to stay in touch.

Be well. Enjoy each day,

Grrrlville

Sneak Preview (Boo!)

Two somebodies discovered the trunk full of costumes this week.

Be not afeared, gentle reader. It's Carrie and Pearl!

Pearl Jam

Saturday night Pearl was really jamming. Rock on, sweetheart!

A Stallion Gallops Beneath the Waterfall

watercolor by Pearl (Aug. 2009)

I think it might be a scene from a movie she likes.

Aw, Shucks

Friday has been Carrie's favorite day for quite a while now. Last year at her old school she had show and tell on Friday, as did Jacob and Pearl, her favorite classmates. This year she goes to a school that only has classes Monday-Thursday. On Fridays Pearl goes to school, I go to work, and Carrie stays home with Marcia. So this year Friday is her super-favorite day! Marcia says this year she likes Fridays a lot too. 

Carrie is an awesome helper, especially in the kitchen. She loves to cook and set the table. She feeds the pets. Last Friday she shucked corn for the whole family, and we had a lovely Shabbat dinner.

Really Roxy

This past weekend our friend Kevin gave Pearl and a dozen other neighborhood kids their first surfing lesson. We traveled the one hour to Galveston beach in a caravan of minivans and station wagons.  Marcia and I were amazed that Pearl not only stood up on the surfboard but stayed up. We, the parents, were squealing like teeny boppers at a Jonas Brothers concert. Pearl, however, remained completely nonchalant. Just another day.

Spain Colored Orange Rocked

in the rain Sunday afternoon at Discovery Green, ushering in a deluge. The music stopped and the kids started. They played in the rain with extreme delight, exhibiting a fervor that I suspect is reserved solely for children.

Spain Colored Orange

Pearl's New Bike

A Backwards Glance

Here are pictures from Grrrlville, yesteryear to the present. You can click on each photo to find the corresponding blog post.

September 2004

September 2005

September 2006

September 2007

September 2008

Now (2009)

Musical Beds in the House of Grrrls

The season of Back-to-school causes stress, and stress affects sleep, among other things. Lately the sleeping arrangements in our household reads like one of those logic problems on the LSAT test.

In a house lives a family. There are 2 mothers, 2 daughters, and 2 pets. There are three bedrooms containing four beds, each a different size:

    toddler

    twin

    double

    queen

Any given morning, nobody wakes up in the bed they began in the previous night. Except for the dog. Viva la crate training!

Bedtime Stories

I *heart* rituals, and the bedtime story ritual is one of my favorites. I also like this book; have you read "And Tango Makes Three" yet? It's a true story about the two daddy penguins who had a baby in the Central Park Zoo.

Sometimes You Ask Yourself...

How did we get here?

Tonight was the first parent night at Pearl's new school, so Marcia and I both attended, and Marty the babysitter came to hang out with Pearl and Carrie. We are delighted with all the people at the school and feel fortunate to be a part of the community. The teachers are professional and passionate and attuned to the individual child. Our teacher said she wanted to be Lucy Caulkins when she grew up. I was impressed with that.

Nevertheless, the feeling of being parents in a PTA is a bit of a shock to the system. We didn't notice any other two-mom or two-dad families at the event. The discomfort was nothing a good frozen margarita with salt ($4 special on Ladies Night) couldn't quell however. When we got home, the babysitter told us Pearl's last words before she went to sleep. She sat up in bed and screamed: MARTY, I'M IN KINDERGARTEN!!!

She Who Loves Livestock

Have I mentioned that Carrie is infatuated with horses lately? Her favorite request--and she wakes me up saying this in the middle of the night--is: "Baba, let's talk about horses!"

 

If you have a favorite horse book that you would recommend, please let us know!

Tie-Dyed Pancakes

Carrie likes to cook. These pancakes have rainbows in the batter. It's her secret recipe. They turn out so pretty that she won't even spread raspberry jam on them because it would ruin everything!

School is Cool, but Fred is Dead

[Warning: Headline contains spoilers!]  Pearl cried when Marcia left her in the kindergarten classroom this morning, and although I didn't ask, it seems somewhat possible that Marcia shed a tear herself. But when she picked Pearl up this afternoon, she was a happy student. She reported four (yes, four!) things that had happened in class and said her teacher "has some cool ideas." This is high praise, coming from Pearl.

Unfortunately Marcia had sad news for Pearl when they got home. One of her African Dwarf Frogs, Fred, had died. Because of who she is--and no doubt amplified by the anxiety du jour--Pearl was heartbroken and sobbed for over an hour. Eventually, though, Pearl helped clean the aquarium for Tad, who has always been the more exuberant of the two frogs. By the time I got home, a pizza party had started. Carrie had had a great day at her new preschool. They were ready to celebrate.

Marcia's word for today was "bittersweet," and it's fitting. One of the books we read tonight was Cynthia Rylant's Dog Heaven. Afterward Pearl imagined Frog Heaven, the new home of Fred the frog. One day, we'll all be there together, swimming.

Kindergarten Begins for Pearl

Here are pictures of Pearl's first moments in kindergarten.

Pearl's classmate Nathan shares a funny book.

(Thanks, Diana, for taking these photos. We forgot our camera.)