What a Day This Has Been

A Day of Love

We are typically not known for our grand Valentine’s Day celebrations, but this year we made up for it. We had a Wharton Kids’ Club party in the morning where the girls ate way too much chocolate and made Valentine’s crafts to their hearts’ content. Then we took valentines around to our friends and neighbors. Josh came home in the evening with a bouquet of flowers for the girls. Jane was already in bed, but Kate was giddy with delight as she arranged the flowers in a vase. Once both girls were asleep, Josh and I snuck out of the house. We have a great little restaurant across the street from us and Josh had made a reservation. I checked on the girls between courses, but mostly we just had a really nice night out together. I ordered Seafood Risotto. Josh had Filet Mignon. And, we even had dessert!

A Day of Work

Tuesday was back to reality. I taught preschool. We cleaned the house. Josh went to school and we had a “To Do List Diminishing Party” in the evening.

A Day of Running Here and There

Wednesday was exhausting. We had a make-up gymnastics class in the morning, went to the grocery store and ran other errands, and then helped out some friends in the afternoon. We drove all around town in the evening picking up YM and YW, taking them to our activity and then returning them home. By the time we parked our car and started walking toward home both girls were in tears begging to go to bed. We may have done well on the productivity side of things, but were somewhat lacking in the parenting department.

A Day of Spring

We had one day of gorgeous Spring weather this week. Thursday was so pretty we didn’t even have to wear jackets. Fortunately, we planned an outing with our friends to the zoo. We couldn’t have asked for a prettier day. I think the animals were loving the break in the weather as much as we were. They were so active. The black panther and the jaguar were happily prowling around. The snakes were moving. The otters were playing. We saw a joey in the pouch of a mother Kangaroo. The gorillas were running around their outdoor play area. The orangoutangs were swinging. Even the tortoises were strolling around.

A Day of Recovery

Kate was the star of gymnastics on Friday. She was smiling from ear to ear and did a great job in her class. Jane still had a hangover from Wednesday, so after gymnastics we cam home and took it easy. Jane napped, Kate the Indian played, and Mom worked on taxes. Not too exciting, but nice to have some down time.

A Day to Remember

Saturday was nearly perfection. Josh and the girls let me sleep in. We had German Pancakes for breakfast. We went for a family run in the wind. Well, Josh ran. I was defeated by the fact that I had to turn backward to breathe and felt like I was on a treadmill because the wind was blowing so powerfully in my face that I was making dreadfully limited forward progress. We made up for the misery, however, by heading to Longwood Gardens after lunch. I have been wanting to go see the orchid festival and Josh was able to make time to join us. It was beautiful! I took picture after picture, filled my lungs with the sweet fragrance of the flowers, and enjoyed every moment of being in one of my favorite places on earth.

As if a taste of paradise wasn’t enough, we drove back into the city and went to a local cafe that specializes in chocolate! We ordered hot chocolate. This was not your ordinary hot chocolate, more like melted chocolate bars in a mug. It was too rich for Kate, but Jane was in heaven. She relished every bite with a look of complete satisfaction on her face. As we were driving home she said, “THAT was a good dinner!” A girl after my own heart.

Josh is still very busy at school this semester, but he usually makes it home before the girls go to bed. They are loving having some one-on-one play time with Dad in the evening. Kate and Josh ride around on stick horses and play elaborate Cowboy or Indian games. Then they practice numbers or play ball together. Jane gets her Dad to play Mulan or Winnie-the-Pooh or polly pockets. Then they usually end with some story time. I love watching the girls delight in time with their Dad. I don’t think they love anything more than having his undivided attention.

I’ll close with a couple good quotes from the girls. I had to pull Jane away from coloring one day so we could get out the door. As I buckled her into the car she said, “Next time we should buy a red car.” I, somewhat absentmindedly said, “Oh, yea, why is that Jane?” She matter-of-factly responded, “because white doesn’t show up!”

One evening during dinner the girls were planning a game of Mulan they wanted to play with Dad as soon as they were excused from the table. They were discussing who Josh should be. Jane wanted him to be Chen Po, the friendly fat soldier. Josh wasn’t so keen on that when I told him he was the fat one. So, Kate helpfully offered an alternative. She said, “Okay, you can be Ling. He’s REALLY skinny like you.” Josh convinced them both he should be Shang.