Pokey and Sam, meet Annabelle

So Peter is officially THE BEST DAD EVER. "Why?" you may ask. I'll tell you why. The other day Lily announced to Pete that she wanted a doggy. Never mind that she has two already. Well, we spend enough on dog food already, so Peter came up with an alternative. He proceeds to get out one of his tube socks, four of Lily's little socks, and cuts out pieces of his ratty-tatty Ice Bats shirt that I was trying to get him to get rid of just the other day. Then he stuffs practically an entire roll of TP into the tube sock, and asks me where the sewing kit is. I dig it up and blow the dust off it. (Sorry Mom, I TOLD you I wasn't planning to actually use the sewing kit. But I DID know where it was.) Then, this wonderful man actually begins sewing. He sews Lily's socks on the bigger tube sock to make legs, he sews the ratty Ice Bat shirt pieces on to make ears and a tongue, and he sews buttons on for eyes. He finishes by tying the end of the tube sock to fashion a tail, and dons a maroon mesh ribbon on it. Presto, a new doggy for Lily. Which she promptly names Annabelle. Now just how many men do you know that would do that?! OK, there's probably a few, but this particular sewing god belongs to Lily and me. And we're awfully lucky to have him.


P.S. Bonus - the ratty tatty shirt is now tucked in the trash. Yea!

Lullaby...and Good Night

The other night, Pete walks into the bedroom and asks me, "How's your pipes?" I was puzzled, wondering briefly if he'd spotted a leak in the kitchen or bathroom, when he then clarified and said he was speaking of my singing voice. Lily it seemed, had requested me to sing lullabies. I asked him why he couldn't sing her lullabies, and he CLAIMED he didn't know all the words. Yeah, sure... In any event, Lily was camped out, or camped "in" as it were, in her giraffe tent in the living room. So after dispensing with a couple of lullaby standards, I decided to take advantage of the computer proximity and surf for music videos of real singers singing drowsy diddies. A few clicks later, and Harry Connick was crooning "Edelweiss" to The Bug. Mid-song, she piped up. "Mommy, I like it when YOU sing lullabies better." No, I couldn't have heard that right, could I? At its worst, my singing voice is screechy. Even at its best, it's still off tune. She couldn't possibly choose my voice over Connick's smooth, satiny vocals, could she? But she did. You know the old saying, "Has a face only a mother could love." Well, I have a voice only a child could love. But love it she does, inexplicable though that might be. And with those sweet words, I too, got a good night's sleep.

Art Appreciation

Luck fell upon Lily and me today, as my fellow working-mom friend April had the day off and we arranged a playdate with her son Rex. (I cannot get Lily back to school and among her fellow 4- and 5-year-olds fast enough, lemme tell ya). In any event, April suggested we take advantage of free museum day in Austin and head out to the renown Blanton Museum of Art. The start of the museum jaunt was extremely auspicious, as there was a sculpture (of sorts) outside that resembled spaghetti hanging to dry.





The spaghetti invited people to run through it gleefully, not unlike a human car wash, so of course it was a magnet for the kids. Thus began Lily's cultural education. Then we went inside.
There was a nice temporary exhibit on Japanese prints, not that I saw much of that since Lily decided at that point in time she had to make her once-a-day potty run. There was also a lovely European painting section that held almost no interest for the kids. Also a Greek plaster cast exhibit (ditto). But much of the museum is occupied with contemporary modern art, both of the painted and 3D, multi-medium variety. All I know is when it comes to modern art, I just don't get most of it. Lily summed it up even better, I thought. Roaming into one of the galleries, she said, "Look, a room full of scribble scrabble!" Gotta love it.

No Bed Bugs Here

It's 8:14 p.m. on Sunday, and I am sitting, exhausted already, on Lily's bed, with an even more exhausted Lily breathing deeply three feet away. I could escape now, but for some odd reason I don't. "Odd" may be a bit of an understatement, since solitude is something I've craved nearly all day, but it's not once presented itself. No, it's been a day that's been filled with even more "Momma, momma, momma"s than usual. "Do this, do that, I want this, I need that." Silence, even momentary, seems a long forgotten memory. I am ever so grateful it's a weekend and Peter's not on call, and he's handled more than his share of the umpteen requests this day. But now I sit beside her, oh so very aware that her body is just recharging itself for another round of "Pummel the Parents" tomorrow. But she's so still right now; the only movement is that of her belly rising and falling with her breath. I'm happy that in spite of all the energy and emotion she exudes during the day, she can still find peace at night. She may be almost 5, but is sleeping the sleep of a baby, completely unemcumbered by what the world (...and I) throw at her. And that gives me peace as well. So I think I'll stay here and soak it all in a while longer.

It's All in the Numbers

So today, en route to Westgate Lanes for Lily's first-ever bowling game, she was apparently remineiscing about the beach trip. "It took 6 days to get to Gammy's house," she said. "No," I began correcting her, "it took two days to get to Gammy's house." Her logic train uninterrupted, she promptly reminded me that it took 4 days to get to the beach and 2 days to get to Gammy's from the beach. Hence, 6 days. I was so bowled over (pun intended) by her obviously astounding memory that I failed to notice my 1+1+1+1 year old had just completed a MATH equation. And done it correctly, at that. Lily left the number 6 in the dust just a short time later after completing her 10 frames with a whopping score of 34. Nearly twice the score that her mother achieved during her first bowling game. Yes, I still remember my score of 19 points at the Girl Scout Father-Daughter bowling day. It was enough to capture the 2nd place trophy, and Dad's 200 points had nothing to do with it. But back to Lily. Numbers weren't just on my brain today - they were on hers as well. As proven when we were driving back and the jingle came on for the local radio station. Then, what to my wondering ears did hear, but the sound of the radio and one tiny rein....no that doesn't work. But I did in fact hear the jingle on the radio, accompanied by a wee little voice in the backseat. "Mix, 94.7...."

The Sleepover

After returning to Austin following our summer sojourn, Lily was, shall I say, a mite eager to play with some of her friends. I rack my brain, thinking which of her friends might actually be home on a weekday, and come up with the little girl down the street - Priyanka. Scroll through phone book, dial Priyanka's mom Deepa, and yea for all, Priyanka is available to play. I walk Lily down the street, and leave her happily esconced in Priyanka's backyard. Two hours and a trip to the pool with Lily and Priyanka later, the two princesses have colluded and have somehow managed to convince both Deepa and I that they are ready for a sleepover. The event planning for the sleepover is less complicated than the wedding planning, but only slightly. But finally all the details are in place. Fast forward four hours, and Lily and I begin the second walk of the day to Priyanka's house. Lily is happily attired in her pajamas and carrying a backpack carrying the essentials - panties, toothbrush, teddy bear. Or maybe it was the stuffed sea lion, I don't remember. I haul the sleeping bag. Arrive at Priyanka's - last minute reminder to Lily to behave, hugs, kissses, and I depart without a fuss. Maybe this will work out after all. Peter and I start making bets on how long this sleepover will last. I say 11:15 p.m. He takes the under. Peter wins. At 9:43 p.m., I am summoned back to Priyanka's house. Lily tripped over her puzzle, got an invisible boo-boo on her knee, and despite the medical administrations of Deepa (an M.D. by the way, not just a mere mortal mom), she decides she wants to come home. Pack up sleeping bag and backpack, walk Lily back home with Priyanka wailing in the background at Lily's departure. Deepa agree to try the sleepover again sometime - as in sometime after the girls turn 6. The milestone still awaits.