Play Ball!

A while back, Kathleen, Madeline and I were playing at our friend Amy's house when we watched Kathleen do something pretty amazing. We'd been playing outside with bubbles. Amy has an impressive collection of different bubble wands, which the kids dipped in a shallow tray filled with bubble solution. We replenished the bubble solution with one of those giant bottles of bubbles -- you know, the kind you can buy at Walmart for just a few bucks. Anyway, when Kathleen was tiring of the bubbles (after about an hour!), she picked up a ball, balanced it on the top of the bottle of bubbles, and proceeded to hit it with a plastic baseball bat. Wow! Apparently Kathleen was just born knowing how to play tee ball!

Since then, we've been meaning to get Kathleen an actual tee ball set. Last weekend we finally did. And it was a (pardon the pun) hit!

Without any prompting, Kathleen slung the bat over her shoulder as though she'd been walking around with one her whole little life.

Fortunately, Daddy was available for some tips on proper form.

Kathleen can really hit! (And sometimes she doesn't even knock over the stand!)

Madeline was impressed by her sister's skill with a bat, but was more interested in the ball herself.

I think there's a whole lot more baseball in our future!

Back to the Beach

Last week the girls and I took advantage of a sunny weekday to head to the beach. It was an adventure for us, and a bit of a leap of faith for me.

Last summer Kathleen and I made it to the beach two or three times during the week. (We didn't bother going on the weekend, since it would be crowded, and since Jim was in Iraq all the days seemed the same to us anyway.) In fact, it was our favorite way to spend the morning. Kathleen and I got some great exercise and had lots of fun, and then Kathleen would take a good nap when we got home. What's not to love?!

We haven't been nearly as good about getting to the beach since Madeline arrived. Generally, we'd only go if we could get someone else to go with us. So, when Nan and Grandpa visited, we made it to the beach. Or when a bunch of moms from the neighborhood decided to go together, we tagged along then, too. But just me, Kathleen, and Madeline? That seemed too scary! Two small girls, one me, and a gigantic body of water? A recipe for disaster!

But then a particularly gorgeous morning last week made me reconsider my position. The day was too beautiful not to go to the beach! So, we packed up our beach bag, took a deep breath, and a gave it a go. And boy, are we glad we did! Kathleen couldn't have been happier.

We splashed in the water. We jumped over the little waves. We built sandcastles and knocked them down again. We ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. We watched the planes fly overhead. We just enjoyed the lagoons.

Madeline wasn't so sure she liked the beach. While she was happy to sit on a beach towel and watch the goings on, she was distinctly displeased with the way I set her down on the sand at the water's edge.

Hawaii's waters might be warm, but apparently they're not warm enough for Madeline! She was much happier on my hip, where she spent the rest of the morning. Perhaps if we keep going back, we can convince her to love the sand and the water the way Kathleen does!

Scenes from the Circus

The girls and I were in the car yesterday, headed for Walmart, and Kathleen made it quite clear that none of our regular radio stations were up to par.

"It not good, Mama," she said, "Turn it off."

Then she launched into her own version of the song from "Super Why," a PBS program about reading, which she's watched a few times lately. She sang for a while about the Super Readers and how they saved the day.

When she'd finished up her medley, she paused before continuing, "Coming up next, Clifford, the Big Red Dog!"

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Kathleen's Saturday morning gymnastics class has been a big hit. It has helped her learn to jump (one of her favorite activities) and somersault and swing from any horizontal pole. A few nights ago, she was trying to somersault on the living room floor. However, she'd forgotten about how to walk her feet up to tip herself over, so she was mostly leaning over with her her head on the carpet, looking frustrated.

"Mama, help!" she cried, "My head not working!"

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The girls and I had run into the PX to fax some papers (since I'd forgotten to switch our homeowner's insurance, seeing as how we're no longer homeowners!). Because it was a quick trip, I just had Madeline on my hip and Kathleen held my hand. Our trip took a short detour to ride the miniature merry-go-round, which, to my delight, played the circus theme as it spun around. The spinning delighted Kathleen.

After that we headed back out to the car, only to discover that it was raining. Now, rain isn't a big deal here, really. It's nice and warm, so no worries. But it wasn't just raining; it was pouring. I thought about staying around the PX longer, but our nap schedule only allows for so many errands. We HAD to hit the commissary, since we were out of milk. So we decided to make a run for it.

"Let's run in the rain, Kathleen!" I said. And so we held hands and dashed into the parking lot. Kathleen kept yelling, "Run! Run!" And we were both giggling. And Madeline must have known how silly we looked, because she started laughing. And then the three of us were laughing -- really laughing! -- as we ran through the rain to the car. Anyone who saw of us must have thought we were a little crazy. And they'd be a little right.

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We've been potty training around here. We've made good progress, though we're not entirely accident free yet. Consequently, we talk a lot about "big girl panties." We talk about how they're so much better than diapers or pull-ups and how we keep them clean by using the potty. Kathleen loves her panties with "princesses" on them. After a quick hug in the morning, the first thing she does when I get her up is open her drawer to pull out her "big girl panties."

Kathleen was in the bedroom with me as I got dressed the other day.

"Oh, Mama!" she exclaimed, "You wearing big panties!"

If that's not motivation to keep running, I don't know what is.

In the Kitchen

I've found that the only reliable way to get dinner ready is to entertain the girls in the kitchen while I work. Sometimes I can set Kathleen up with a puzzle or some other game and let her play in the living room while I prepare dinner, but all too often there's some sort of mischief while I'm distracted. And now that Madeline's mobile, leaving the two completely unsupervised is a recipe for disaster! Madeline only wants the toys that Kathleen's already using. And if she doesn't want toys, she's testing out new death-defying tricks, like trying to stand while hanging onto the infant swing or a floor lamp.

So, into the kitchen it is!

Like generations of babies before her, Madeline is easily entertained with a few kitchen tools. Whether it's a pot or a bowl or a collander, as long as she has a spoon to hit it with, she's completely happy. Here, she's playing in the kitchen while I empty the dishwasher in the morning:

Kathleen needs a little more direction. Luckily for me, though, she's an excellent helper. I measure, she pours. She stirs. She seasons. (Only, she calls it "shake-a-shake-a".) But mischief occurs even in the kitchen. The other day, I had turned away to check on something in the oven, and when I turned back, this is what I discovered:

Wow! That's a lot of soap bubbles. (I've now taken to keeping the soap on the window ledge, where it's a little more difficult to reach!) Still, aside from the occasional bubbly sink, keeping the girls with me seems to be the best way to get work done in the kitchen. Now, if only I could come up with a decent plan for entertaining them while I mop the floors...

Pardon Me?

Kathleen's at a stage where she loves a glue stick. I think perhaps I've mentioned this before, but her love bears repeating. Nearly every day the two of us sit down at the big dining room table or spread out on the floor (linoleum does have its advantages) for some "crafts." Most of the time we color with markers and crayons and use the glue stick to attach pieces of paper that I've cut with some scrapbooking punches. Kathleen loves to decide who will receive her creations; lately Nan, Linda, and Daddy have been the big winners.

Yesterday we collected some new supplies on a trip to Walmart. We picked out a big tub of foam shapes (hearts, circles, squares, triangles) in primary colors, and Kathleen couldn't wait to put them to use. In fact, by the time we got home and had lunch, it was too late to begin "crafts," because it was naptime. Kathleen accepted that, but it was the last thing she asked about when I put her down, and the very first thing she said to me when I picked her up two hours later. "Let's do crafts!"

The thing about Kathleen's love affair with crafts, though, is that she can't really say "crafts." Her version of the word sounds like nothing other than a word that begins C-R and ends with a P. Madeline was sitting on my lap, reaching for some of the fun yesterday, while I had a difficult time containing myself, because Kathleen was scolding her:

Baby Madeline! That's my crap! Don't touch my crap, Baby Madeline!

We've been working on enunciation since then.

And the winner is. . .

Stanford!

(Photo from our November trip to California.)

Surprised? So were we!

Over the weekend, Jim and the administration at Stanford were able to broker a deal that made Stanford more of a possibility than we'd previously believed. Now it looks as though he'll be able to finish his coursework and get a good, strong start on his dissertation in the three years we'll spend there. With those administrative changes, Stanford suddenly became a lot more appealing!

We're excited that we'll be moving the circus to Northern California this summer. It's good for so many reasons -- Jim gets a top-notch political science program with truly amazing resources, we should easily adjust to the mild weather (we're so spoiled), and we'll be near to Nan and Grandpa and the rest of the O'Connors (including an O'Connor cousin, who should be making an appearance in the next few weeks).

We're sad that choosing Stanford means not choosing any of the other places, and not being near some of you, dear friends. But perhaps you'll consider a visit to California? It's not Hawaii, but we hear it's nice!

C is for. . .

Confusion
No, we still haven't decided yet. It's excruciating. Maybe it's a good thing the Army makes most of our major life decisions. . . We don't appear to be very good at it!

All kidding aside, we'll let you know when we decide. Until then, though, here are some of our recent amusements, brought to you by the letter "C."

Corn on the Cob

A few days ago, Kathleen had corn on the cob for the first time in recent history. She loved it! I'm sparing you the truly messy photos, but trust me when I say that "C" is also for "clean-up."

Crawling

This video is from Easter, when Madeline first began crawling. I'd meant to post it long ago, but didn't want to test the lumbering old computer with a video... So, here it is, two weeks late. Madeline's crawling has steadily improved and has lost the hesitant, wobbly aspect it has in the video. She can now cross a room (or leave a room!) to get to a person or a toy she wants. She's speedy, that one! Sometimes she'll put her feet under her when she's crawling and wind up in a straddle position. And today, for the very first time, she grabbed onto Kathleen's toddler bed and pulled herself up to stand. I'm in big trouble!

Chameleon

Our friend Luke is the proud new owner of a Jackson chameleon, and we went to vist the two of them (and the rest of the family!) yesterday afternoon. I think Luke's mother Amy is very brave, since owning a chameleon means feeding a chameleon crickets, and something about that just makes me shudder. Still, the children weren't shuddering at all. They loved the chameleon, whom Luke named Jackson. Apparently some chameleons hiss when they're upset, but it seems that Jackson is one laid-back guy, because he did not exhibit any sort of displeasure when the gaggle of neighborhood children fawned over him. Yesterday alone, Jackson went for a swing on the swingset, took a ride in the stroller, and checked out a tree fort. Kathleen was fascinated by Jackson's eyes and the way he'd curl his tail up in a little spiral. She touched him once, with a lot of encouragement from Luke's sister Grace, but she was really much happier just looking at him, which suited me just fine!

Coasters

My friend Linda came over a few days ago, and thanks to her I finally got around to making the Criss Cross Coasters that Paula mentions on her blog. They're fantastic! I'm in love! They were so easy, and I think they're really cute. And now I've been digging through all my extra fabric, thinking about all the fun coasters I could make. Given the amount of patriotic fabric lying around here, I could make 4th of July coasters for everyone!

Cute

Honestly, how cute are these girls? Here, they're watching basketball together. The photo's from a while ago -- they were actually cheering on the Irish. Although that didn't work out the way we'd have liked, they've still enjoyed March Madness. Kathleen really liked to say "March Madness!" and now says, "Final Four" whenever she sees basketball. That, too, is pretty cute!

Indecision 2008, Continued

No, we still haven't decided where to go to school. We're working on it, honestly, we are. We're considering all sorts of factors. And thanks to the folks at wikipedia, we've got a whole new category to consider! For your amusement, here's just a sampling of that (obviously critical) category:

NOTABLE FICTIONAL ALUMS

Stanford
Andrew Shepherd, The American President
Christina Yang, Grey's Anatomy
Chuck Bartowski, Chuck
Bob Kelso, Scrubs

Princeton
Bruce Wayne (as revealed in Batman Begins, although it's not clear whether he graduated)
Doogie Howser, Doogie Howser, MD
Sondra Huxtable, The Cosby Show
Sam Seaborne, The West Wing

University of Chicago
Harry Burns and Sally Albright, When Harry Met Sally
Indiana Jones, The Indiana Jones Series
Gil Grissom, CSI
Jack McCoy, Law and Order

Indecision 2008

Jim's home from his graduate school travels (and I've gotten that military ID replaced, in case you were wondering). Here's what he has to say about our current decision-making...

So...for once, my decisiveness is severely lacking. We've had months to research the various programs, I've visited all four schools where I spoke with professors and graduate students, and we've attempted to weigh all the pros and cons. We've prayed and sought guidance from trusted friends and mentors. We've even created a spreadsheet comparing the characteristics (25 of them, including proximity to family, cost of living, weather, academic requirements, quality of professors, etc.) of all our choices, but we still can't pull the trigger and just pick a school!

Part of the problem is that we thought our decision already was clear. We had planned on attending Stanford all along, but then we realized that their class and teaching requirements were significantly greater and much less flexible than some of the other programs. There are two officers there now, and both seem to be having a tougher time with the administrative hurdles than they are with the academic work. Not that the academics are a joke...when I called one of them this morning at 10:30am (on a Saturday), he was still working. It would be unfortunate to go to a school near family, and then never be able to see them.

Fortunately, there are tremendous resources and institutional support at Princeton and Chicago...and both seem to be quite willing to work with Army officers on a condensed timeline. Princeton has a long tradition of supporting Army officers coming through the PhD program that dates back to the 1950s. Chicago is a bit of an unknown. Although several officers have attended Masters programs there in the past, no one has attempted a PhD yet. Given the fact that I have to complete a 6-7 program in 3-4 years, it could be tough to be the trailblazer who has the figure out how to jump through all the hoops.

So we're stuck with a can't miss decision. There really are no bad options. We're sure we'd be happy at every school, but somehow we still are having a hard time making our decision. So we will continue to pray, and make one last ditch attempt to solicit advice as we near our decision deadline! We'd love to hear what you all have to say. And if we still can't make a decision, we'll just leave it up to Leenie to decide!

This girl is ready for an adventure...

A Lesson

I have a theory that viruses and vehicles know -- they just know -- when our husbands deploy. Cars stop working or start overheating or simply won't start. Kids get sick. Even better, you get sick. Whenever Jim leaves, things inevitably start getting weird. And this phenomenon is not, I've learned, limited to a deployment. Jim's current trip to the mainland has been no exception.

Just after Jim left, the girls came down with some sort of bug. What sort of bug? Well, I'm not sure about all the details, but suffice it to say that it was a stomach bug. (It is another astonishing fact of parenthood that, even though I was the one doing laundry, mopping floors, and being thrown up on, the only person I felt badly for was Kathleen, poor baby.) Neither Madeline nor I caught it with quite the same vengeance as Kathleen, but we were off for a few days, too. By the end of the week we were all recovered, and we even made it out for lunch with a friend and to buy fabric for my next sewing project.

But then, just as we were hitting our stride -- seeing the outside world, accomplishing our errands -- we were waylaid again. On Saturday morning we were nearly on our way to the post office (to mail a stack of baby gifts -- babies Frost, Whitman, Huie, Krattiger and Jarvis, I have NOT forgotten you!) when I realized that I couldn't find my wallet. A frantic search of the car and house and diaper bag turned up nothing. A visit to the commissary (the last place it was used) and the MPs was equally unsuccessful.

So, while it's not exactly car trouble, my car can't be used! I've no military ID, no driver's license, and no credit card. I've been working on replacing those surprisingly essential pieces of plastic, but even that's a challenge. As all you Army wives know, in order to replace an ID (in the absence of a husband), you need a power of attorney. "No problem!" I chirped, as Jim's first sergeant rattled off the things I'd need, "Of course I have a power of attorney." And I do. But it expired months ago! Who thinks about replacing a power of attorney when the guys get home?! (Another thing that's expired? My passport. Seriously, I couldn't prove my identity if my life depended on it!) I'll not be getting that new ID until Jim returns, which thankfully is in just a few days.

Anyway, the upside to our complications is that they have made our life surprisingly simple. We can't go anywhere. We can't buy anything. And that's just fine. We've got everything we need -- and then some. We've got a full pantry and refrigerator. We have exactly the right number of nighttime pull-ups to last until Jim comes home. (The day after he gets home, actually. Even better.) Without my lengthy (self-imposed) to-do list, our days are calmer and happier. We've been using watercolors. We've been playing with playdough. We've been doing lots and lots of make-believe. (More on that later.) We've been to the park at least twice a day. We had a marvelous Sunday picnic of peanut butter and jelly, right in our backyard. And I've made quite a bit of progress on my newest sewing project, my first quilt.

When I realized my wallet was missing on Saturday morning, I was really annoyed. "What a colossal headache! Another thing to make my life more challenging," I thought. I had to change my plans, and that annoyed me more than anything. And then I read my friend Paula's recent post, in which she quoted this scripture:

If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.
Matthew 6:30-33 (The Message)

These verses helped me see more clearly what I'd been experiencing over the weekend. I'd been fussing over the lost wallet, focused on the plans I'd had to abandon. I hadn't given a thought to "God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions." In reality, my inconvenience hadn't made me miss out -- it had given me more. When I was tempted to believe that God wasn't caring for me, He was actually giving me what I hadn't known enough to ask for. How like Him.

So for now, I'm just learning to relax, to be happy with what we've got and where we are. And it's a pleasant lesson. But we'll still be happy to see Jim when he returns Wednesday night (and to eventually replace that ID)!

Laundry

So, as you can see, eating is still a very messy proposition around here. And it's not the sort of messy that a mere bib can solve. But I've got to say, this is some of the cutest dirty laundry I've seen...

A Spring Surprise

A few weeks ago, my friend R. invited me and two other friends to join her at Waimea Falls one Saturday for a surprise. Waimea Falls is a park on the North Shore, just across from the famous white sand beach, Waimea Bay. The park is gorgeous -- it's lush and green and, as its name suggests, even boasts a waterfall. Who could refuse an invitation to such a garden paradise? R. was very mysterious about the surprise, which only added to the appeal!

That Saturday R. and Sarah and I met up at the park and walked in together. Madeline accompanied me in the jogger; Jim and Kathleen attended Kathleen's gymnastics class, instead. (Kathleen refers to the class as 'nastics, which amuses me no end.) R. came with her own jogger, although her boys stayed home! I was still in the dark as we made our way through the park, but when we stopped at a table in a part of the park that used to be an ancient village, the surprise became clear. R. unpacked her loaded jogger to treat us to tea!

R. had brought everything we needed to enjoy a special "welcome spring" tea in our tropical paradise. Table linens, china, hot water, Hawaiian teas, and scrumptious food. We had tea sandwiches, fresh fruit, scones, cookies... We never even touched the cheesecake. I'm full just remembering it. And look at how beautifully it was presented!

It was such a sweet surprise. We three friends were able to sit under the tropical canopy, sipping tea, indulging in R.'s tasty treats, and savoring one another's company. In the calm and quiet of the park it felt as though we'd left all the hustle and bustle of our lives behind us. We could truly enjoy the moment. As we sipped and talked, R. explained that the tea party was part of a spring tea competition for a blog she frequents. Sarah and I had to laugh, because we know R. is nothing if not competitive! You can read R.'s version of the day (with more and better photos!) here. When our tea was finished, we packed it all back into R.'s jogger and meandered through the park and up to the waterfall. Madeline (who'd been an absolute sweetheart) fell asleep on the way.

Soon our quiet, laughing, chatting break ended, and we headed our separate ways. But what a lavish treat for us. Everything about it was beautiful and blessed. Thank you, R., not just for tea, but for friendship. I promise to host our next tea!

Easter Treats

Our Easter started bright and early with an Easter egg hunt for Kathleen. It had been a bit rainy, so we abandoned any hope of doing the hunt outside. Instead, Kathleen hunted in the living room and on the lanai. There were colored eggs, plastic eggs, and chocolate eggs for Kathleen.

Kathleen loved hunting the treats. She'd run to get something and then stop, jump, and say, "My found it!" Every now and then she'd yell, "My love it!" And as the eggs became a little more difficult to find, she'd say, "My keep looking. Here somewhere..." She sampled a few of all the treats, and kept asking Daddy to unwrap more for her. We laughed out loud when, after a few tentative licks, she stuffed an entire Peep in her mouth. You can probably see it (or at least her chipmunk cheeks) in some of the photographs!

The dyed eggs turned into a bit of a mess for us. We'd stored them in the refrigerator (they do have to be refrigerated, right?) and put them out just before Kathleen woke. The combination of the cold eggs and the humid Hawaiian weather made for some sweaty eggs. The dye got all over Kathleen's hands and her little duck nightgown before we realized what was happening. Fortunately for us, we were able to pat the eggs dry after that, and everything washed clean eventually, anyway!

And lest anyone think we'd forgotten about Madeline, there were baby rice crackers all over, too. As Kathleen found each one, she'd say, "Baby Madeline's cracker! My put it in her basket!" Madeline certainly appreciated Kathleen's hard work.

Both sets of grandparents generously sent books for the girls, among other treats. Jim and Kathleen took a little break to read through one:

Nan and Grandpa O'Connor also sent the girls bunnies, which they loved. Madeline promptly set about eating Peter Rabbit.

Peter Rabbit wasn't the only thing that caught Madeline's fancy. She also seemed fascinated by the Easter grass that had fallen from Kathleen's basket and would go to great lengths to try to grab it. Apparently Easter grass was the motivation she needed, because on Easter morning she learned to crawl!

Our church offered an Easter breakfast, but we were having so much fun that we skipped it. We stayed home to eat breakfast in our pajamas (it wasn't all chocolate, we promise!) and sneak in a few extra snuggles before heading to service.

If you ask Kathleen what Easter is about, she'll tell you, "Jesus!" She follows that up with, "Jesus loves us!" We hope that your Easter was filled with the sweetness of our Savior's love -- and some candy, too!

Reconnected

Well, blogosphere, you can't keep me away!

Just before Jim left, we recalled that our old desktop was gathering dust in the hall storage closet. Last night I spent a few minutes pulling it out of the closet and setting it up. That took surprisingly less time than I'd imagined. I'd waited until the girls went to sleep because I thought it'd be an ordeal. In less than five minutes it was all set up. Of course, there's a reason the desktop has been in storage. It lumbers, rather than runs. (Setting it up took under five minutes. Starting it up took far longer!) Occasionally it doesn't even run. But until Jim returns, it'll be good enough.

The girls and I easily could have survived the next week or so without a computer. The world won't end if I don't blog or check e-mail. But having access to the computer certainly simplifies things. As he visits schools, Jim is carrying on e-mail conversations with a number of professors. Their messages will be an important part of our decision to attend a particular graduate school. We'd tried having Jim relay the most important parts of messages to me when he called, but after a while that just got sort of awkward and inefficient. Now that I can read the e-mail traffic, things should go a little more smoothly. Our lumbering old desktop means that I can actually participate (at least a little more intelligently) in our decision about where to attend school. And as long as it's up, I may as well blog. Thank goodness for technology, even the lumbering sort!

Incommunicado

Well, dear friends, it will likely be about ten or eleven days until you hear from our circus again. Jim is taking a whirlwind trip to the mainland, in which he'll visit three graduate schools (Chicago, Princeton, and Ohio State) and, sadly, attend the funeral for one of his soldiers, who died in a motorcycle accident last weekend. Although the girls and I are staying at home, e-mail is the most reliable way for Jim to stay in touch with work and the various programs he'll be visiting, so our happy little laptop is taking the trip with him. Thus, no blogging for a bit. We'll be back, though. And I'm sure we'll have plenty of misadventures to share when we return.

In the meantime, if you have a moment, please say a prayer for Jim -- that he'll travel safely (without lost baggage!), that he'll be a comforting presence to the family of his soldier, and that the visits to graduate schools will give him the information he needs to make a wise decision about the best program for him to attend. Thanks, friends. Perhaps when he returns we'll have news of where we'll go!

Eggs, Eggs, Eggs

Our self-imposed quarantine ended on Thursday, just in time for the battalion Easter Egg Hunt. I had to wake both girls from their naps in order to go, but once we arrived there weren't any complaints!

Kathleen jumped right into the fun, testing out the bounce house.

After a bit, the egg hunt officially started. It took a little explaining, the whole "hang onto your basket, pick up an egg, put it in your basket, look for another" thing... But eventually Kathleen managed to collect a respectable number of eggs. Whenever she found one, she'd shout, "Hooray!" She was even more enthusiastic after the hunt, when she realized they had candy!

Kathleen and Jim also competed in the egg toss. Although they didn't win, Kathleen loved throwing the egg. She has quite an arm.

Miraculously, neither of them got egged!

Kathleen was considerably less excited about the Easter Bunny. Our unit chaplain -- good sport that he is -- played that role for the day, a job I didn't envy in the heat! Anyway, no amount of coaxing would convince Kathleen that she should get close to him. When asked if she wanted to hug him, like her friend Grace did, she replied with a strong, "NO THANK YOU!" Even though Daddy held her, she wasn't even sure that she wanted her photograph with that Bunny.

However, when we explained that the Easter Bunny had brought all the candy, she did thank him -- and sweetly, at that!

Having practiced the art of egg hunting, on Friday we worked on some egg decorating.

Madeline loved watching the colorful commotion. We had to watch out, though, because her reach is quite long -- she almost got dyed herself! Kathleen was also delighted by all the colors, but seemed to favor the orange dye. That's probably because it was closest to her. You can see her influence in our completed eggs... there are a lot of orange ones!

We hope that your preparations for Easter have been as much fun, and we wish you a joyful blessed Easter.

Our Days Indoors

Fortunately, we seem to be finished with hand-foot-and-mouth-disease. We're glad of that, because we were getting a little stir-crazy, cooped up inside. We'd read books, colored, done puzzles. . . we'd done everything! So we decided to mix up some fun and made playdough.

If you've not made your own playdough, I highly recommend it. It's inexpensive, it's easy, and you know exactly what your toddler is putting in her mouth, if she's inclined to taste her toys . . .(Not that that ever happens around here.) Even better, the salt in the recipe makes the surreptitious tasting a little less appealing! If you need a recipe for playdough, here's the one we use:

3 cups flour
1.5 cups salt
3 Tbsp oil
2 Tbsp cream of tartar
3 cups water ( If you're making colored playdough, add food coloring to the water. Make it really, really bold, because once you add it to the other ingredients the color becomes a lot lighter. Pink playdough is easy. Red playdough, not so much.)

Combine all ingredients in a large pot over low heat. Stir continuously until no longer sticky. (Really, just keep stirring. It'll come together, but it takes a while. Stop stirring and it might burn. Ick!) Store in an air-tight container.

Kathleen requested purple playdough. Even though it looks grey here, it's purple. Sort of. I think I need to go back for some sort of color tutorial! Playing with playdough kept Kathleen occupied for some time. Her favorite toy -- my old garlic press. At least someone's using it!

Madeline didn't get to play with the playdough, but she was hard at work, too. She's more and more chatty. She's babbling and squealing all the time, making her own little running commentary on our circus. I think when she actually speaks, she's going to have a lot to say! Also, as I've mentioned before, she hasn't quite worked out the whole crawling thing. She's got all the component parts -- she can sit herself up, she rocks back and forth on all fours, she moves from a sit as though she's going to crawl, she scoots around on her bottom or on her tummy, mostly backwards. And out of nowhere the other day, she managed this:

(I do have a cover for that outlet, but I'd just finished vaccuuming in there, which is why it's off. Just so you know!) Anyway, I've been saying this for weeks now, but I think this girl will be on the move any day now!

An Afternoon at Our House

Last week (before the onslaught of illness) we spent an afternoon in our front yard, whiling away the time until Daddy got home from work. We meant to meet him out front, but by the time he actually came home, we'd all eaten supper and the girls were in the bath... Still, we had fun.

Madeline played on a quilt on the lawn. Although she hasn't quite figured out crawling, she's quite good at scooting and wiggling around on her bottom. She kept moving herself to the edge of the blanket so that she could snack on the lawn. She had a whole basket of toys to entertain herself with, but she prefered the lawn. Eventually she settled for munching on a bug toy. At least it was a toy!

Kathleen "painted" the front walk for me, with an old paintbrush and a little bucket of water and foodcoloring. (Good thing it's just food coloring, because she prefers to paint things pink, which might not be Jim's first choice!) It's one of my favorite distractions for her, and one I loved as a little girl. My sister and I spent hours "painting" the patio in our backyard. When Kathleen announced that she'd finished, we decided to water the flowers and the lawn. But Kathleen can't resist a sprinkler, it turned into a little more waterplay than we'd first imagined. Still, you have to love the good, clean fun of a sprinkler!

We're grateful that spring here is more like summer, so that we can sit in the sun and run around in wet clothes in the beginning of March. There's a good chance there won't be much of that next year, wherever we wind up!

So much for the luck of the Irish...

I'm beginning to think that "the luck of the Irish" isn't actually for those of Irish descent. Because if it were, as an O'Connor (well, formerly, at least), I'd be having a fairly lucky St. Patrick's Day. And for the second year in a row, that's just not the case.

Poor Kathleen seems to have hand-foot-and-mouth-disease. I say "seems to have" because thanks to the whims of Tripler Hospital and Tricare, getting Kathleen seen by a pediatrician right now will take an act of Congress. . . I realized that her diaper rash wasn't actually a diaper rash when she was taking a bath on Sunday night, and I noticed that she had little bumps and blisters on her hands and feet, as well. A quick google search reinforced my suspicions -- it looked just like hand-foot-and-mouth disease, which I remember having as a little girl. (What did parents do before the internet?!) Although we couldn't get to a doctor in person, we spoke with our favorite doctor, Aunt Angela, on the phone. She assured us that there's no treatment for the lovely hand-foot-and-mouth-disease. All we can do is use tylenol for fever or discomfort and try to push liquids. And since it's "highly contagious," we've got to stay away from any other children. Poor little Kathleen.

That being said, Kathleen doesn't seem too uncomfortable. She has been a little cranky, but that's to be expected. (And, frankly, knowing that she is sick explains the past couple days of crankiness. I kept taking her temperature, because she sort of seemed sick, but the thermometer said she was fine, the liar!) Still, being home-bound wasn't exactly what we had planned for St. Patrick's Day. In fact, most of our plans hinged on being able to get out buy some things at the commissary. Thankfully, Daddy was our hero and came to our rescue, making the all-important commissary run at lunchtime!

So, we celebrated St. Patrick's Day in a subdued fashion. We'd intended to decorate cookies for all our little friends, but that suddenly seemed distinctly unkind. Since we'd been talking up the cookies for days, we still decorated some, but only enough for our family.

Kathleen used the green, orange, and shamrock-shaped sprinkles with abandon, decorating the cookies with all the subtlety of a two-year old. You can't see it in this photo, but the tray has about a quarter-inch of sprinkles all around!

We enjoyed the cookies after our dinner of Irish stew and soda bread, a meal Kathleen rejected in favor of kiwi and only kiwi. (At least it's green. And a fruit. It could be worse, right?) Madeline also passed on the stew, instead enjoying a sampling of some of her favorite homemade purees -- pears, prunes, and butternut squash. That doesn't sound like much a celebration to me, but she seemed pretty happy.

We hope all of you enjoyed a happy and healthy St. Patrick's Day, and that you're enjoying the luck we haven't had!

Celebratory Pancakes

The circus stopped for a celebratory breakfast Friday. Even though it was a workday, the four of us managed to get to the Koa Pancake House for an omlette and some banana pancakes in enough time for Jim to zoom into work. (Banana pancakes -- another thing I just didn't appreciate until we moved to Hawaii. I'm not a banana person, really, but I love banana pancakes.)

We're so proud of our daddy!

We were in a celebratory mood on Friday morning because Jim heard from not one, but two of the PhD programs that he'd applied to. And both said yes! They were the last two graduate schools to notify us and it felt like we had been waiting forever. Hooray for acceptance letters!

In addition to being excited about Jim's acceptances, the news made us happy because we now know at least a little more about where we'll be headed next year. We'll be living in one of the following places: Chicago (University of Chicago), Columbus (The Ohio State University), Princeton (Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton), or Palo Alto (Stanford University). The only school that didn't want us was the University of California at Berkeley. And considering all the nonsense that's been going on there about the Marine recruiting office, I'm not sure that's entirely bad thing. (My favorite coverage of the demonstrations in Berkeley has been from The Daily Show. If you're a fan of the show, you might want to check it here.) Even though we haven't decided where we'll go, it's nice to have four, definitive options. Only Army life could make you feel like four choices is really narrowing down your options!

Practicing for Celebrity

We recently asked Kathleen what she'd like to be when she grows up. To our surprise, she answered, "Singer." We were thinking more along the lines of doctor. Or mommy. But, hey, she does like to sing. She sings all the time. I actually love listening to her over the baby monitor when she wakes in the morning or before she falls asleep at night, because she belts out her favorite tunes. (Her lyrics are a bit muddled, but she's got time.)

She must have been practicing for her intended career as a musical superstar the other night when we went for dinner at our local hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant. For whatever reason, she decided to wear her sunglasses for the meal. Perhaps she was going incognito:

Come to think of it, she does always travel with an entourage...

And if the photos aren't enough to convince you that our firstborn is destined for stardom, check out her dancing!

Enjoying Our Island

We've already begun to think about the next place our circus will pitch its tent. We're not leaving the island this week, or next month, or even the month after that. But sometime before next fall our family will find ourselves somewhere else entirely. (Where? Good question. I'll let you know as soon I find out.) Knowing that, we've been trying to make the most of our time here on this island paradise. And on Saturday afternoon we did just that.

After the girls woke from their naps, we loaded everyone up in the car and headed for Waikiki. Now, although Waikiki seems to be "the" destination for every tourist to visit the island, we don't actually visit it much. There's almost always ridiculous traffic and crowds of people. We'd much rather visit the closer (and more laidback) North Shore, or take the girls swimming in Ko 'Olina's lagoons. But Waikiki has lots to offer, too, and we sampled some of it...

We headed right for the Waikiki Aquarium, which we love. Now, if you live somewhere where there's a large, impressive aquarium, you might not love our little aquarium. But we do! It has just enough for our girls. They don't have an attention span that's long enough to justify a big, fancy aquarium. The Waikiki Aquarium is right on the water at Kapiolani Park, so its setting is gorgeous. And it has some lovely exhibits -- we like the tidepools, and Kathleen loves the seals and the sharks. Plus, the girls are free and we have a military/kama'aina discount, so it's not particularly expensive. We like to go, visit the aquarium for an hour or so, and then stroll through Kapiolani Park and right into the heart of Waikiki.

Kathleen loved watching all the brightly colored tropical fish. It's really a shame she's not old enough to snorkel!

And I discovered my new favorite sea creature:

(Thanks, internet, for the photo! None of mine turned out...)

It's called a weedy seadragon, which is a great name, to begin with. They only live off the coast of Australia, the smart little guys, and when they're swimming their little flipper-things move so quickly that they're just a blur. They look like something that came out of special effects for a movie!

The last time we'd visited the aquarium was more than a year ago, the day before Jim deployed to Iraq. It was wonderful to watch Jim and Kathleen together and to know that we'll have lots more time like this in the years ahead. And it made me realize how much happens in the time the guys are gone. . . Just look at Jim and his baby girl last February:

And look at them now!

After we'd checked out all the fish, we headed back through Kapiolani Park, watching the water and all the people enjoying the sunny weather. We made our way through all the tourists, feeling rather smug that we don't have to pack our enjoyment into just a few days. We had a leisurely dinner at Duke's, where we spent some more time watching the water, and particularly the sunset. We ate opah, or moonfish, breaded with macadamia nuts. . . It was so delicious that I couldn't even feel guilty about eating the pretty little things we'd just been admiring. And we finished our meal with some hula pie. I'm definitely going to miss hula pie!

All that, and we managed to get the girls home and into bed less than a half an hour later than normal. Now, that's an enjoyable evening!

Off-Season Fun

We don't have fall here. We do have the start of the school year (although it's at the end of July), and we do have Halloween and Thanksgiving and all that. We just don't have seasons. Not really, anyway. We don't really get a fall or a winter or a spring. So far as I can tell, we have summer and cooler-and-rainier-summer. But even though we don't have fall, we do have leaves!

Last week, while Madeline was taking a morning nap, Kathleen and I headed outside for a bit of yardwork. After we'd watered our flowers (they're still doing great, Grandpa!), we decided to rake up all the stray leaves in the backyard. At first Kathleen just wanted to play with the rake. Eventually, though, she decided the leaves were more fun...

Crunching the leaves...

Whoops!

"Cover up me, Mama!"

Just imagine when she sees autumn on the mainland!

Tea for Three!

Kathleen and I have been enjoying tea parties since she first received her tea set. As she's grown, our little tea rituals have become more complicated. Kathleen can now pour tea, add a little milk, and spoon in some sugar. (All imaginary ingredients, of course.) She's an attentive hostess and will frequently ask if you'd like a "yiddle more" tea. She's also more than happy to whip up a treat upon request. Scones, clotted cream, cookies -- you name it, and she'll hand it to you on a moment's notice!

Occasionally our tea parties have been attended by one of Kathleen's stuffed animals (usually her giant Olivia doll from my Aunt Sharon). Lately, however, we've been having tea parties with Madeline! Now that Madeline can sit on her own and (perhaps more importantly) can grab things, she's a happy, if slightly rambunctious, addition to our tea parties.

Would you care for some tea, Baby Madeline?

Why thank you, Kathleen. I don't mind if I do!