Ainsley, my Ainsley.

Where has the time gone? My Ainsley is two years old today.

It doesn't seem like it's been two years since I woke my husband up and said "I've called the midwife, could you come take a picture of my pregnant belly while I can still smile?" I thought that the fact that I could still smile meant that I had hours left to go. Thirty minutes later, he was doing this...


Then I was doing this...


Hannah's birth woke the mother in me. Ainsley's birth showed me how strong I was.

I don't think I ever laughed harder in my life than I have since I've had this child. Enjoy this glut of mother-love. I could have pared the pictures down - but really, I tried. And I couldn't.

Contentment.

One of the ways we spend our days.

"Mother, we're going to do a show. Come watch our show."













Don't ask why they wanted their hankies tied on their heads like this. Maybe they had a toothache...

Fall is here.

Napping on the lawn in the afternoon involves blankets now.

New aprons

My mother made my girls aprons.

As soon as Hannah saw them, she wanted to put seeds in them and go plant in the garden.

Then she saw the kittens. They got first dibs - whether they wanted it or not - on the pockets.

Twenty minutes later, she remembered that she wanted to plant seeds, and out to the garden we went. It was too cold for any of them to germinate, but far be it from me to discourage the desire to plant.

We were having a family wrestling match this morning and Matt tackled me. Then he tickled me. Then I lost all pride and screamed for my daughters to save me. Then Matt screamed. Apparently someone had bitten him - on the butt. The lengths my girls will go to to save me. Matt was laughing too hard, so I asked who did it and Hannah said "Ainsley did! That's because she's a HERO!!!"

Ainsley was quite proud.

Happiness is...

Collecting beautiful rocks.



I say it'll be two years, max, before our entire driveway is in our mudroom. You can't blame the girls, though. Those are some mighty pretty rocks.

FINALLY.

A candidate I can get behind!

Talent show

During our last visit to Grandma and Poppa's house, we had a talent show. See, it was too cold outside and it was dark, to boot. So the kids all practiced their talents and then performed.

Hannah told tales of dragons and balls and princesses.



All Boy demonstrated his super speed and amazing ability to get by aunts without being caught. True story.



Little Zee and her mom did shadow hands on the wall.



It ended up being an audience participation talent.



I don't think this kid performed. He sat beside me looking at Grayson like this the whole time. His talent was, apparently, being too cute for words. Luckily, a picture's worth a thousand words, so you get the full impact.

Hannah came up to me today when I was working in the garden. She laid her hand on my arm and said "Mother? I want you to know that when I grow up and get enough money, I'm going to buy you another border collie."

I couldn't see my kale very well for the next fifteen seconds.

"Take a picture of my hair", she says.

Daddy fixed it so bee-uh-yootifully and I want a picture so that you can fix it like this later.



"Take one from the top too. You need to know how he does it. He's very smart."



Heaven help me.

Moms say the darndest things.

I was on the phone the other day with a good friend. Her daughter was trying to do a craft included in a magazine she'd gotten. About three minutes after the daughter got the scissors and started working on it, I heard much sadness on the other end. Then I hear my friend say to her "Don't worry sweetie, you just cut his head off. It's not that big of a deal."

Wise Women

As a feminist mother of a daughter who loves all things princess and fairy tales, I started looking for stories I could tell her that would answer her need for fantasy, make believe, and larger than life scenarios, but would have women not taking the parts of damsels in distress.

I came across a book - Wise Women: Folk and Fairy Tales from around the World. Retold and Edited by Suzanne I. Barchers.

I've been able to glean several stories that fit two criteria: Hannah likes to hear them and I don't mind telling them over and over and over and over....

One is Kumba and Kambili, an African story of a magician who terrorizes villages until a local hunter's wife steps in. Another is Princess Sivatra, an Indian story about love literally conquering death. Princess Maya, another Indian story, is about a princess who is clever enough to save her husband's life. The Learned Servant Girl is a Chinese tale about a servant who stopped a war. The Twelve Months, from Greece, emphasizes generosity and good-naturedness, while The Poppet Caught a Thief (from the Ozarks in the US), The White-Haired Old Woman (Native American), and The Wise Woman (Algerian) emphasize the wisdom available when grandmother figures are appreciated.

The book divides its stories into six sections:
Daughters: Clever and Courageous
Sisters: Resourceful and Steadfast
Maidens: Clever and True
Attendants: Ingenious and Loyal
Wives and Mothers: Devoted and Cunning
Mature Women: Bold and Wise

Although some of the stories I like best have marriage as a key part of the story, the marriage is a partnership, not the "end". It's nice not ending a story with "and then they got married and lived happily ever after." It's also nice that the women are not described as "beautiful" or "lovely" - in fact, I'm trying to remember a story when the heroine's looks came into play at all.

I've added this book to my Amazon wish list. It's worth owning.

No drilling! (No, it's not about Alaska)

While cuddling in bed this morning:

Hannah: Can we go to the bank and buy three suckers today, Mother?

Mother: The bank's not open today. We'll have to wait until Monday.

H: But Monday's after Sunday! That's a long way away!

M: Not too far. Sunday's tomorrow. Then Monday.

H: Then Wednesday.

M: Actually, it's then Tuesday, then Wednesday.

H: Then Thursday and then Friday. What's after Friday?

M: (surprised that after no drilling or 'teaching', she's pretty much got the idea behind a cyclical rotation of periods of time) Saturday.

H: That's today!

M: Yup.

H: Will you miss me when I'm grown up and gone?

M: Very much.

H: If you promise to come to my wedding, I'll live with you forever.

M: Done.

H: Can we go to the bank on Monday and buy suckers? We need to get three because my sister will need one.

Happiness is....

new toys!!!

Today we changed out toys. The girls chose some toys to put in the basement and when we got down there chose some of the boxed up toys to bring up and play with.

This really is the cheapest way to go toy shopping.

A brand new, exciting toy!

Of course these were toys that had been boring enough to be taken down into the basement earlier this year.

But now? Now these toys are sooo much fun.

Grayson ignored us.

Even when I tried to get in his face, he ignored us.

He pretended to be fascinated with the grass. I know he was just playing hard-to-get.


Finally! Now I'll see that sweet "Oh, HI Mom!" smile that I love so much.

Or not.

Hannah laid on the grass with me and we talked of princesses and fairies and dishes that I didn't want to do. She told me that I was like Cinderella and her Daddy was like the stepmother. Very astute, that child.

Grayson ignored us.

Ainsley talked Hannah into running back and forth on the lawn with her.

Hannah loosely interpreted "run".


And taught her sister how to curtsy to her.

Here's Ains coming to curtsy to me and call me "Or Eyeniss" Sometimes copying your older siblings isn't such a bad thing.

This... This is how this child lives her life. Pure contentment. Pure anger. Pure love. Pure pain. Pure bliss. Pure despair. Pure joy. She does nothing -feels nothing - by halves. It's all there for you to see. I won't show you a picture of pure anger. My camera won't work during those moments. It's scared. It waits for moments like these.

Waiting for me to start the race. Yes, Ainsley changed. Yes, she's now wearing an apron. No, she's not wearing anything else. She's two. No, I will not show you the pictures of the race. I was taking them from the back.