ladies' afternoon

At first I couldn't believe it was happening. I couldn't believe the house was quiet (except for a few giggles) and the girls were sitting on the floor "reading" to themselves and each other. I had to pinch myself and then grab my camera to prove 1) I wasn't dreaming and 2) this really did happen.

Then again, this does happen. In between the tears because you cut up the sandwich of the kid who doesn't want their sandwich cut up and the chasing each other naked through the house before baths and the fighting over who gets to sit in the green chair, the days are just as full of sweet moments as moments that make you want to rip out your hair. You just have to look.

the fortress in the attic

The children like to build fortresses in the attic. While this may sound dangerous and suffocating, it should be noted that the attic isn't actually an attic. It's the parents' bedroom. I call it an attic because the stairs leading up to it are steep and frightening and it's unbearably hot up there in the summer and any man over six feet tall--or maybe slightly under six feet tall--would have to watch his head in certain places. I spend as little time as possible up there, and I think this mystique that I've created, which started with me referring to it as "the attic" in the first place, just makes these guys even more eager to get up there and do something. That's where fun Alex, fortress maker extraordinaire, comes into the picture.

When Alex is home the kids beg him to make a fortress in the attic. Their pleas go something to the tune of "Dad, can we make a fortress? Dad, can we make a fortress? Dad, can we make a fortress?" (Now repeat 50 more times). Eventually he caves under this [no so] subtle form of torture, and our bed becomes a tangled lump of sheets and pillows. I wait patiently downstairs for approximately 3-5 minutes when I hear the first booming thump followed by shrill cries--somebody bumped something on something, and now the party is over...until next time.

look of the week

This was Scout last week on the first day of her second preschool (she's attending two schools this year). The look is totally Scout...and totally Austin.

afternoon torrent

I don't know if it rains like this in all of Texas or just Austin, but the rain we get (generally speaking, I don't want to offend the weather-enthusiasts of the world) comes in short, dramatic downpours...or sometimes long, dramatic downpours. There's no soft, Seattle-like mist about the rain in Texas--it's go big or go home. We had another brief deluge this afternoon. It was long enough to hold the interest of the little guys for a couple minutes but short enough that it had tapered off significantly by the time they thought of going outside to play in it. There's always hope for tomorrow.

you want me to do what?

So...I kept the hair that they gave me from Tillie's first haircut for a day. I kept it until I realized I don't keep things like this, and I didn't feel guilty about getting rid of it. I mean, this hair that was probably swept off the floor (I didn't see)...is that something I want to come across when I'm de-cluttering some room in 20 years?

dancing in the rain

A few things should be noted about today (in no particular order...or are they?):

1. It rained (for less than five minutes, but still...).
2. The Packers (as in Green Bay) played their season opener.
3. Tillie got a haircut (her first).

farmers' saturday

The pumpkin spice latte is back at Starbucks, football season is upon us and we're two weeks into the school year. By all accounts it should be fall...or at least feel like fall. In the spirit of feeling like fall this morning, I decided to take the littles on a trek down to the Sustainable Food Center Farmers' Market.

It was 90 degrees at 9:00am, Catcher didn't like his popsicle while Scout over-liked hers, and our sunscreen had all but melted off by 10:00. In my mind the farmers' market conjures up visions of long sleeves, lightweight jackets and scarves accompanied by hot coffee. That was not this morning, but at least these guys kept themselves busy building with some blue foam block things.