Making Up for Lost Time

With Brian gone from the beginning of May until the end of August, there was no doubt that a family get-away was in order. And granted there isn't really anything that can compensate for our main man being gone that long, but for Ella and Samantha, Disney World has so far proved to be a close second. After Day 1 in the Magic Kingdom, the girls agree that the two-day drive might have actually been worth it. Have 2 girls ever had so much fun in one day?


The girls seem to be rather unphased by the lines (which haven't been too bad, considering it's off-season), and Ella is working diligently on collecting all the characters' autographs.

We met most of the princesses today, and the awe and fascination with them is really fun to watch as a parent. Samantha wanted absolutely nothing to do with Mickey and Minnie, perhaps their big plastic heads were a little disconcerting. But a princess? She siddled right up next to each of them. And when Belle saw Ella and Sam's dark hair and eyes, and asked if she could be sisters with them, I thought Ella's little heart melted right there on the spot.

And when Ella told Cinderella her name, and Cinderella responded that they had the same name, I thought Ella's little face would never stop smiling. The last thing Disney needs is more endorsement, but "magical" really is the adjective needed to describe the girls' princess experience.

The classic rides: teacups, Dumbo, It's a Small World, were all thrilling.

And then Ella was cast as Lumiere in Belle's Story Time.

She played the part brilliantly.

Samantha cooled off in Ariel's grotto, while

Ella visited with Ariel. This is Ella's favorite princess, and poor thing was too overcome with adoration that she couldn't manage to get a word out. Ariel was so sweet to Ella, and as we left, she called out "I hope you find your voice!"

And I thought I'd never get Sam to part with the "neighs" (horses). She would have spent the night on that horse if we'd let her.

There is much more fun to be had over the next five days: much more Disney magic to partake of, friends to reunite with (we got takers on our offer to come play!) , and uncles and cousins to play with. We will undoubtedly have some very tired girls at the end of the week, but we can only hope they'll sleep it off during the two-day drive home.

Belated Birthday Posting

In recounting the past couple of months, a birthday post is needed for our 2-year old Samantha. August 24th was her big day, though we celebrated a day early to accommodate our party guests' schedule. The beautiful thing is she didn't know the difference.

Samantha has had a case of the terrible twos for the past year, so I'm glad she's finally two. Given that Brian and I are both fairly mild-mannered, never did we expect to have such a curly-haired fireball. The girl has spunk. She dances to the music in restaurants with her two little pointer fingers as her drum sticks, attempts to dive over pews in church, spins in the middle of the room until she falls down from dizziness, climbs the highest monkey bars and slides down the biggest slide she can find, eats fruits and vegetables like candy (a novelty in our house) and physically intimidates her older sister.

(As a side note: I took Sam to my ultrasound today. She sat in her stroller, beneath the large tv screen that shows the scans of the baby. For the entire 15 minutes of the ultrasound she clutched her baby doll to her chest and covered her hands with her eyes. I kept asking her if she was okay, and she wouldn't respond. Perhaps she is sensing what is about to knock her world upside down in about three months. Very funny.)

The party in pictures.

The cake. The candles and the singing were apparently sensory overload and she stuck her little fingers in her ears. In the bustle of party preparations, I somehow neglected buying candles. An emergency phone call to our next door neighbor fortunately produced two--the only ones they could find...their Hanukah candles. It did nicely. Yom Huledet Same'ach.


Once the singing ceased, Brian did get her to blow a little. And I tried a new recipe, which didn't turn out so well. I guess better to save those experiments for non-birthday events.

The guests. Well, as many as I got in one picture.

Opening presents.

Enjoying the boxes more than the presents.

And the mystery present for the girls as a combined gift for both of them (Ella's birthday is in October)....

Minnie Mouse ears to inform them of their trip to Disney World the end of this month. If you care to join us at the "Happiest Place on Earth", I have a feeling we're going to need some companionship to bring us some true happiness. Think about it, seriously. I'll send you the dates.

And I better not forget...it was Brian's birthday bash, too. Poor guy spent his birthday in Idaho and so we delayed festivities and combined them with Sam's--and then the celebration was of course overshadowed by the two-year old. He did get a new briefcase, though! Would I have been such a good sport had it been my supposed birthday festivities? Probably not.

In any event, Happy Birthday Brian and Samantha. You're both irreplaceable.

A New Rhythm

I’ve been told when keeping a family record, that the easiest place to start is present day and work your way backward. It seems less daunting that way. I feel that I have a summer’s worth of documenting to do, and so the only thing that is making me sit down and start writing is to start at the here and now.

September quite often feels like it’s the beginning of the year. Maybe the Jews have the whole New Year thing right. The onset of fall and the beginning of school offers me a fresh start at routines and goal-setting. Finding a new daily rhythm, if you will. And this past week was certainly a fresh start. We’ve had two weeks in between our trip out West and school starting…and boy did they drag. I lost the motivation to plan fun outings, well, because I couldn’t think of any more to do. The girls were sick of each other. I was beyond antsy to be done with my single-mother status (Brian returned PERMANENTLY from Idaho on August 20, which deserves a post of it’s own.) It was hot.

I was a mother truly done with summer.

I love my Ella to pieces, but it was time to get that girl into school. Any anxiety or trepidation I might have felt about sending my first-born to Kindergarten was tempered by how much I wanted summer to be over. Sure, Brian and I had a moment together, of “can’t believe we have a Kindergartener”, but we were done with that in about 1 minute. We tried to make her send-off as special as possible. Sunday dinner was her choice, Monday breakfast hers as well. A new outfit. A new backpack. And as we walked out the door Monday morning, so did her two little friends on either side of us, also starting Kindergarten.

They’re not in the same class together, but it has been sweet to see them beg to walk to and from school together, figuring out how they can see each other at lunch, and playing on the playground together after school because they missed each other.

Dad came along for days 1 and 2. Day 1 we were allowed to accompany her into the school to her classroom. Day 2 we had to say our good-byes at the front door of the school and let her navigate her way to her room.

Lined up outside her classroom on Day 1.

Week 1 has brought smiles all around. Ella smiling for making new friends, liking her teacher and feeling grown up to find her classroom by herself. Samantha smiling for free reign of Ella’s room during the day and more 1-on-1 time with me. Mom smiling for nice walks to and from school every day, a quiet house while Sam is napping, having Ella occupied for 6+ hours a day and the enjoyment of watching Ella become more independent. And Dad smiling…because the rest of us are smiling.