Reminiscing about our teenage years

This past Friday, Lester and I met up with Stacey and Hugo to go to the St. Pius X festival, a small community fair held by a local school/church community.

It was a beautiful Friday evening, and there were a ton of families out, enjoying the fried food and ice cream, fair games and spring weather. There were rides and cupcakes, a book sale and a flea market. It was just perfect!

Hugo and Cary, firefighters on duty.

This one wanted no parts of the rides.

Dean and Hugo loved this helicopter ride.

But Cary was happy just to do the train, safe, on the ground.

They had so much fun!

 

There were also a zillion teenagers strolling around the grounds and hanging out on the steps of St. Pius X high school. They gathered in groups or meandered in pairs, couples all immersed in starry-eyed young love. Seriously, there was so much lust and hormones in the air, it was almost palpable. I felt like I needed to shower after all the heat generated by those kids.

Lester and I found ourselves staring at these kids -- most of whom were taller than I am (that's not hard, but still) -- and we were hit by so many of the same thoughts.

Look how old these kids look. Can you believe our kids will be this big one day?
Look how young they are!
The pheromones in the air are off the chain!
They think they're so cool -- remember when you cared about being cool?
They look so cool!

At one point, Lester said to me, "I can remember being these exact kids, walking around a festival just like this. I remember having thought about what I was going to wear for days and days. And when I was there, with my fresh new sneakers on, I thought I was the flyest thing at the festival. I distinctly remember feeling that all eyes were on me -- and that every move I made was for someone else's benefit."

I so totally remember that feeling! Being at a carnival with my friends and thinking half of every second, "There are BOYS here! Are they looking at us? Is [insert cute boy's name] here? I hope he comes!" Or being at an amusement park with my boyfriend and thinking, "How should I stand so I look my most adorable and cool and like I like him but I'm not, like, OVERLY liking him?"

Boy am I glad I'm past those days! Just thinking back on that time period makes me exhausted! But also, so, so weirded out to imagine that one day, our boys will be walking through the St. Pius X fair, checking out the girls and looking like mini-men.  One day, our daughter will be one of a gaggle of adorable girls, tossing her hair and trying to look disinterested in the "immature" boys who are walking through the fair, checking them out.

One day, our kids won't want us to walk around the festival with them, snapping photos and waving as they ride the kiddie rides. We'll be an after-thought, an ATM, an enforcer of the curfew.

As much as I complain about my kids being crazy and defiant and tantrum-y and irrational, Lester and I looked at those teenagers at that fair and saw our pasts -- and our future.

And it made us oh-so-grateful to have a few years more in our present.
 

Fire party!

Our friend Hugo turned 4 in April and his Mom and Dad planned a fabulous fire station party yesterday.

Seriously, this might be the best birthday party idea EVER.

We got to ride on a real fire truck - around the block. Sirens and all!

These boys almost peed themselves, they were so excited.

Clair wasn't exactly thrilled about the riding on a fire truck part. She clung to me like this the entire ride.

The kids got to spray the fire hose! ZOMG!

Dean was serious about putting out the house fire.

Cary was even more serious about it.

Clair was seriously mad that Matty was with us all weekend, horning in on everything in the world that OBVIOUSLY belongs to her and only her!

We got to hear all about how the firemen put on their gear, and how much all the gear weighs and how fast they can put on all 70-pounds of gear and on and on. And we even watched a fireman slide down a pole! (I won't tell you how many stripper jokes we heard at this party. It's embarrassing how a firepole turns every adult in a 5-mile radius into a 13-year-old. Including me.)

There's the birthday boy up front in the center. You throw the coolest parties, Hugo!

We also just got to be super stylish in a fire house. Who's on fire? Clair, of course! 

 

C&D in front of a huge fire engine tire at the party. And this is the two of them at Hugo's party last year - at the streetcar museum. Look how babyfaced they look there!

Of course, there was also cake and pizza and fruit and juiceboxes and just all in all a seriously fun time!  These kids sure are lucky to have friends who throw super-cool parties. Because this Momma is Duncan Hines cupcakes and Party City balloons all the way. They'll see this weekend when Cary and Dean turn FOUR!

OMG. Where does the time go?

And did I mention there was ice cream -- from the ICE CREAM TRUCK -- on Saturday? 

Weekend museums, hikes and chai tea

This weekend Lester took Clair to the Science Center and I took the boys to the Walters Art Museum for some art-making and museum-exploring.

The activity was called "A Horse of Course," and was really fun. There were scissors, markers, "model magic" and pretend hay involved. How could it not be?

"Drop-in Art Activities: A Horse of Course - Saddle up as we explore equestrian artwork throughout the month of August. Drop-in, make, and take a fantastic piece of art home." 

The theme was horses. The boys made horses out of clay and stables. I helped Cary with his, but he drew the eye and the nose himself. And he did the legs and ear.

Dean insisted on making his all by himself,  without help, as you can see.  (I did casually mention that horses have 4 legs and not 6, so he took two away.) The instructor lovingly called his creation "Horse-o-saurus."

The boys did so great at the museum -- even on our hour-long walk throughout the building, looking at all kinds of things that are not really for 3-year-olds. But they loved it, and didn't want to leave.

But food was calling all of us. So we stopped at Kumari, my favorite Indian/Nepalese spot for lunch buffet. It was a rainy day, so chai tea was in order. I even let the boys sip some. Afterward, Dean said, "Mommy, I don't want my water. I want adult tea."

I love that my kids eat Indian! What they didn't eat, I happily finished!

While we were gone, Lester -- who wasn't feeling so well -- stayed home and rested with Clair, who took an epic 3-and-a-half-hour nap.

But the next day, the boys had a playdate with Hugo! So Lester took her to the Science Center, on a Daddy-daughter date. Lester said she had a ball! And the three musketeers and I went on a "hike" along the Herring Run.

Dean, Cary, Hugo and I explored exposed roots, mud puddles, the rushing stream and hidden caves.

It was a great weekend -- the temperature was ridiculously perfect -- and I am starting to get sad that the summer is almost over.

Streetcar museum and the many moods of Clair!

Our friend Hugo turned 3 this week and his party was yesterday, at the Baltimore Streetcar Museum.

Hugo's mom Stacey nailed this one -- what a place to have a party!! The boys got to ride on two different kinds of trolley cars and they absolutely loved it. There was a real conductor (gasp!) and he let them ring the train bell (double gasp!) There were stoplights and train tracks and cupcakes and juice boxes and all the kids there were in heaven.

Standing in front of an old trolley. Look how big and handsome my boys are getting!

Clair found this gizmo to be irresistible.

The conductor was straight out of central casting.

The boys sang train-related songs to themselves and shouted, "I'm the train master! Chugga-chugga!"

Why can't I have a FOURTH juice box????

This watermelon is deeeelicious. Before the party is over, I will have decorated my entire body with it.

We had a great time at the party, and I'm sure we'll be back at this museum many times.

This weekend, Clair also had her own party at our house, destroying the cabinets again, and "reading" books to herself.

Please check out the expressions on this girl. She is a trip.

What? You don't like my artwork?

Your looks of frustration crack me up! Do it again, Mommy!

The boys were napping and I was cleaning up the kitchen. Clair was quiet, so I tiptoed into the living room to see what she was up to and caught her sitting, quietly "reading' Brown Bear Brown Bear. So sweet.

This is the face she made when she noticed I was taking her picture.

At Hugo's party, one of Stacey's friends said to us, "I bet there's never a dull moment at your house."

She is so right. Not with these three characters! And I'm loving every minute of it.

New foods weekend

I love okra. Okra and artichokes are two vegetables I really love but never know how to cook.

But this weekend, I finally got around to trying this wonderful recipe my friend Stacey gave me from a traditional Jewish cookbook she has at home. Called "bamia," it combines okra, tomatoes, lemon juice, cilantro, garlic and onions in such a beautiful way, I cannot even tell you. It is yummy! And very pretty to look at, too.

Look at all that yummy okra!

Some recipes I've seen for bamia call for meat, but I decided to make this one vegetarian because lately I've been feeling like our family eats a lot more meat than we probably should.

(Don't worry. I'm not going all vegetarian on you. Never, ever, ever will that happen. Just trying to have a little pity on my intestines every now and then.)

I made it, put it over a quinoa and brown rice mix and braced myself for the Negative Nellys. But, much to my surprise, my kids loved it! Cary and Clair especially. Dean was more like, "whatever." But no one said, "Ewww!" or refused it. And then the two boys made up an okra song and danced around the house. (Okra is a funny word, I'll admit.)

And since I was in a try-out-new-foods flurry, I decided to make a saucy chicken, mushroom and artichoke dish, which also has lemon juice, and a little yogurt. It is sooo good, and is chock full of artichokes! We didn't try that out on the kids, but I'll bring out leftovers tonight at dinner. We'll see if I can go two for two with new veggies they'll eat (and like).

Speaking of Stacey -- and new foods -- yesterday the boys and I went to her house for pancakes. Much to my surprise, she makes hers with buckwheat. My boys have never had buckwheat pancakes and I was worried they'd turn their noses up, but -- true to form -- those two greedy-greedies stuffed themselves with pancakes (with bananas and blueberries) and turkey bacon and drank up all Stacey's milk and now I feel like I owe her money. That's how much they ate! (I kinda ate a bunch of food myself, so I can't blame it all on them.)

We had a great time playing with Stacey and Hugo and eating all their food. They ate so much, I think they grew. See for yourself!

Who are those big boys?? Good grief.

(Thanks so much to Stacey for the pancakes, the playing and the recipe for okra-tomato-goodness. I love my friends!)