Mother's Day.

My biggest priority on Mother's Day is always, always getting in the picture. I maybe get in one shot a month all year long, so I figure Mother's Day is my May photo op! I make sure to leave that camera close by before I go to bed on Saturday night so that my loving husband can snap a few after he brings me breakfast in bed. He really does. Every year. I am so lucky.

And I leave it out so that when I get together with my own mom later that day, I get a picture of she and I together too!

I did take one photo myself on Mother's Day, because we woke up to find that three of the four robin eggs had hatched overnight, just as Alla predicted. I wish I could just cut away those deck boards for a better view! Happy Mother's Day, Mama Robin!

Ten on Tuesday.

1. I had quite a nice Mother's Day that began with breakfast in bed. Any day that starts like that is going to be a good one. Thank you family!

2. We woke up on Mother's Day to find that Mama Robin had three (of four) babies! Yesterday the fourth hatched, and now it should be about two weeks til they start hopping out of the nest.

3. Two weeks too long for Ron, who is waiting so patiently for these robins to do their thing so he can re-deck our deck.

4. The next two weeks at school are the busiest of the year, as in every evening I will congratulate myself if we get to all events on time, have some semblance of a healthy meal eaten mostly together, and return home with all members of our family.

5. We are, however, in our very last full week of the school year, a fact I had to double check when a teacher said it, but, yes, it's true, the rest of the weeks all have only four school days in them. Holy Bagumba!

6. Fisher goes to the doctor for a re-check on his broken pinky tomorrow. Fingers crossed everyone, because it is really hard to be seven and decked out in your baseball uniform and have to sit on the bench.

7. I heard we lost The Mindy Project, but in fantastic fall TV news, The Muppets! The Muppets!

8. Because of #4, reading has slowed down a bit, however I did finish the book the kids and I were reading (A Year Down Yonder), plus my own book (The Honest Truth), and on Sunday I read Roller Girl. So, finished two and enjoyed a graphic novel. Very satisfying.

9. I had to return Echo, however, because my slowed-down reading pace couldn't get it finished before it was due. Instead, I'm starting All the Light We Cannot See, which has been sitting on my nightstand since my birthday. Treasure!

10. And with that I'm off for a short run, volunteering in Fisher's class, picking them up at separate times, trying to do some of the things in #4, and heading off to Reading Hall of Fame ceremonies tonight!

Ten on Tuesday.

1. We got through Annie weekend, and Alla did beautifully. She had fun, she shined.

2. The official photographer wanted to get through all of the pictures by today, but sadly that looks unlikely.

3. Tonight we're back at it with the National Anthem at the Twins game!

4. Due to this singing, we will not be fiesta-ing tonight, but perhaps we can make it up on the weekend.

5. I am reading The Honest Truth.

6. I am reading A Year Down Yonder to the kids.

7. With Ron off doing Air Force Academy duties last night, the kids and I went out after dinner for a lovely spring walk. Goodness the blossoms have the air everywhere smelling so sweet!

8. We had Asian Meatballs last night, thanks to my friend Jennifer, and they were divine.

9. Last week we made Quick + Easy Lentil Quesadillas, and I'm so glad I froze half of the filling so we can pull that deliciousness out in a week or so.

10. There are four beautiful eggs in our robin's nest and we are thinking that baby number one make make his or her debut on Mother's Day!

Ten on Tuesday.

1. It happened. My little girl turned TEN. She declared herself a 'Tween, for heavensakes.

2. The weather. Oh, when you see that gorgeous string of days that all stay above 60 you just sing out.

3. Fisher broke a finger over the weekend, just being a boy, rockin' out with other friends at our Saturday night progressive dinner. Puts a damper on baseball, and he is nothing short of crushed about that. But he'll be back at it soon.

4. In the meantime lots of soccer and kickball are happening, and he's holding that bandaged hand up like a frickin ridiculous T-Rex.

5. This is the big Annie week! Friends, if you're local, Alla is playing Grace Farrell in her school musical. We'll be at it all weekend. Well, not Sunday, that will be rest day.

6. Question of the day from Fisher: "When can we grill hot dogs?"

7. Still working on The Penderwicks, and sadly am coming to the end of it. I have two books sitting on my nightstand that I'm really looking forward to, but I'm not ready to let go of the Penderwick family just yet.

8. Oh trees, just finish up already, my eyes are just not good.

9. I just loved seeing Alla open her gifts this year, and it really seems like people know her. She got lots of crafty stuff, and books, and clothes, and just really thoughtful things. I'm loving seeing her get a few minutes each day (it's Annie week, did I mention, and also there's orchestra and track at the moment) to craft with new things.

10. Today on my run I saw a mama duck walking across a lawn with what seemed like at least ten teensy ducklings. I just wanted to scoop them all up, so sweet were they!

Almost ten.

Alla will turn TEN on Sunday. TEN. Trying to wrap my brain around double digits. No, it doesn't seem like yesterday that she was turning two or four or six or seven, but it does feel like it went mighty fast, and that every single day I'm just keeping up, barely. Mostly I wish to just put it all on hold for even a few hours, call them in sick, tuck us all under the covers with a pile of picture books and no place to be.

 

At ten you see the essence of a person. I don't know if she'll end up becoming a vet or if she'll have animals or if she'll paint or write stories or all of it, but I would bet that when she decides on all of that, we will look back at these photographs and see her, think yes that's who you've always been.   

Always a free spirit, always happiest in nature, climbing, digging, singing, swinging.

I'm so very lucky to be her mom, to be in her life every single day.

Ten on Tuesday.

1. It's birthday week around here. At the end of this week, I'll have a ten year old. Dear.

2. It's also allergy time. Poor Fisher wakes up sneezing, and my eyelids have become actual sandpaper. I can only hope when the darn trees finish blooming we'll be out of our misery.

3. We watched two movies this weekend. On Friday night with Ron out at an Air Force banquet, the kids and I watched Maidentrip, which we all gave 5 stars. It took two nights for Ron and I to get through Boyhood, which was much longer than we thought. Verdict? 4/5 stars from me, and only 2.75/5 for Ron. Not enough plot for him.

4. I am thoroughly enjoying the new Penderwicks book! Highly recommend.

5. Saw the Okee Dokees this weekend in concert with the Minnesota Orchestra! We asked the kids afterward if the orchestration enhanced their music. Fisher decided he likes it better stripped down, just the banjo and guitar, and there is definitely some truth to that. It was very beautiful, and full, and so very cool to hear all of those instruments playing together the tunes we love. But we also remember when it was just those two guys, a rudimentary sound system, and Jed on a lucky day, in our local library.

6. Ron built me a fresh new garden bed this weekend. It is beautiful.

7. The week ahead looks cool, as in, maybe not planting anything in that lovely new bed just yet. And also as in, it is a bummer to run in 40 degrees after a whole week running in 60s and 70s.

8. We made Sunbutter Blondies this weekend - truly delicious, easy Friday evening treat.

9. Here's a great little arm workout.

10. We are the appetizer stop on our neighbor friend progressive dinner this weekend. Any great ideas? Ron suggests artichoke dip, Alla wants chips and guacamole, and Fisher will eat anything that's safe for him.

Florida vacation: The rest.

I mentioned that we spent one day at the Magic Kingdom and that was it. Would the kids have gone back? Probably after a day of rest, though Fisher would have been happy to spend fifty cents a game on air hockey.

So what does a Florida vacation look like if you're not filling it up with theme parks? Like this.

We visited Lake Eola, where a small island in its center houses hundred of birds, most of them my favorite egrets!

On the bank of the lake there are pairs of swans everywhere, nesting. You can see how this was a dream for Alla.

We took in an Astros v. Nationals game at my brother's old stomping grounds.

After an entire winter without baseball, Fisher just loved this surprise.

We spent a day in the Atlantic at Cocoa Beach.

We stopped by Ron Jon, salty as heck ourselves.

There were lots of hours spent in the pool.

Lots of time spent on the balcony.

And in the end, four peely faces, happy, warm, and full of vitamin D.

Disney pics!

It's funny for people to ask me if we traveled over spring break, and for me then to say, why yes we took the kids to Disney World, because in fact, we took the kids to Florida and had a myriad of lovely experiences, Disney being just one of them. But if I were to say that we went to Florida, the exact next question would be, Did you go to Disney World? So in fact I'm just cutting to the chase.

These are the pictures from our one day at the Magic Kingdom, which was, in parts, magical, and long, very very very long. But really great, and memorable.

I'll have to put this one up again, because I love the early pink sky and because it's part of the story. I still can't believe that when we got on ferry to head over to the Magic Kingdom at approximately 7:32am, on the bench right next to us sat another family from our school!

Because we arrived so early, we got to do quite a bit, including taking a few pictures without hoards of other people in them!


The last time Alla was at Disneyland, she was three and a half, and we basically waited several hours to meet princesses and then that's all she wanted to do the rest of the day. We did a good job waiting til she was much older to go again, when her interests had broadened a bit. We did see Tiana, though, on our way to It's a Small World.

We escaped to Tom Sawyer island with our cooler for lunch on an open picnic table (imagine!), and I believe Alla will tell you this was her favorite part of the day, feeding this very friendly squirrel. Anyone who knows my daughter is not one bit surprised by this.

We were so excited to find out that a Mickey Bar is safe for Fisher! So he got busy eating his the proper way, and his sister tried to eat all the chocolate bit first, and discovered that when it's 85 degrees that isn't the best plan.

The Killins family consensus for favorite ride? The People Mover. Actually I've always loved that one, but was happy to see my people love it too.

Lest you think we didn't tackle the big stuff, though, we did, and here we are heading into Space Mountain with our 8:00 Fast Passes.

At some point you just figure, you've been up since six, you got there for Rope Drop, you made it through the warmest part of the day, Disney made a special Fisher-safe meal, and it's going to take awhile to get back to Main Street and monorail back to the car, etc., so we just kind of made a decision to stay, why not, and make an entire long day out of it and see the fireworks. But after that we hightailed it out and just crossed our fingers that the kids could keep up.

That was our magical day! But, no, we didn't want to go to anymore theme parks after that. We're good.

Ten on Tuesday.

1. Ever have one of those days where you feel like you have just done nothing?

2. I have at least made a fresh batch of granola this morning, and organized the pictures I've just dumped from my camera.

3. We are very nearly out of wine.

4. I am seeing a pair of robins flitting about and hunting around for, we hope, their old nesting spot under the deck. They left this lovely one last year and we're hoping the next ones will be just as industrious.

5. Over the lovely Easter weekend Ron and I got to go out for a nice dinner at a two person table where he had a lobster grilled cheese with a fried egg on top, and I had a massive arugula salad with wild boar hot link. I mean, just getting down all those scrumptious words for posterity. Thanks Nana + Pappi for taking care of the kiddos!

6. We even saw Furious 7 after! I mean, so adventurous and hip staying up past midnight.

7. This afternoon is my volunteer time in Fisher's classroom.

8. Tonight's dinner = tacos and black beans leftover from last night.

9. Finished Everything I Never Told You, which was worthwhile, and I've moved on to Fish in a Tree.

10. Spring is here, I hear, but it's not super evident, and I'm very bundled up. I would like my book and a hot cup of tea, but alas I have to leave the house (see #7). Here's hoping it's colorful where you are!

The Florida Trip: part 1.

When the kids found out we were going to Florida, and leaving in two hours, they were immediately torn about what friends to bring. In the end, the very best ones tagged along and the rest spent a week on Fisher's bed reading books. They're no worse for the wear.

Meanwhile, we traveled from four o'clock in the afternoon, through a very long layover in Milwaukee, and landed in Florida around one in the morning. This here is pretty much what the kids did for all those hours.

Luckily when we got there, we had loads of time for cuddling, or, wrestling, depending on what it looks like is going on.

And eating outside. For like every meal.

Are you wondering where the Disney pictures are? Obviously I haven't gotten to those yet. There are about five million of them.

The pool at our condo, however, was almost as exciting. Needless to say, we spent a great deal of time there.

When we headed over to Downtown Disney to explore and pick up our Magic Kingdom tickets, we saw this awesome human statue. Do they have other, better, fancier titles? I don't know, but he was very cool.

 

And all the while, diabetes traveled with us! We brought a cooler on the plane, we brought it along for our entire Magic Kindgom day, to the beach, to the pool, to a baseball game. Every time Fisher needs to (wants to) eat, we stop, we check blood sugar, we give insulin. For lemonade, for French fries, for a Mickey bar, for an apple, for a sandwich. But it doesn't stop us!

Ten on Tuesday.

1. So ends another month, but this one was a spectacular month, a month in which we saw snow and rain and single digits and sixty degrees.

2. And also a month in which we were able to pull off the surprise of their lives!

3. I think you can feel the excitement and the amazement looking out at that very early pink sky toward the Magic Kingdom for this princess.

4. A month that let us relax together. In warmth. In Florida.

5. And also a month that celebrated the baby of the house turning seven. SEVEN.

6. Try as I might, I cannot seem to stop them from growing.

7. Here, his official 5:46pm photo.

8. In March I read three and a half fabulous books: If Not For This, Gracefully Grayson, The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace, and I'm halfway through Everything I Never Told You. I would recommend any of them to any of you, they are all outstanding.

 

9. In March, I added a new recipe to the repertoire of meals that every single person in our family likes a whole lot. Thank you, Elizabeth!

 

10. Thanks, March. Keep the goodness coming, April.