It's not that we weren't enJOYing the cold -- I mean, look at these wonderful women I got to mini-vacation with at Mohonk! It felt like we had the place to ourselves (a few mockable, whiny Long Islanders aside) and we took to the trails, the outdoor skating rink for some Southeast Asian interpretive ice dance and time trials (well, Big J did time trials... against herself), great meals with endless buffet choices, outdoor mineral pooling, indoor big pooling, yoga, more food, massages, and a lot of goofing around. It was 36 hours that felt wonderfully like a week's escape. I hadn't been away from Fiona for a night since my rugby girls' weekend this summer when she weaned.
I apparently missed 36 hours of unremitting snuggling, sometimes with boxer balaclavas.
But luckily it was still frigid and cozy when I got home.
And on the first gorgeous, sunny day in the 40s (!!) we ventured out to the Plantations for a romp around.
Then the cold came back and we knew it had only been a dream to breathe through our noses without pain. As usual, Fiona was the first kid to the Sciencenter Saturday morning so she waited patiently with her bunny (thanks, Auntie Diane!).
To her disappointment she was placed in a carbon nanotube when she finally was allowed in.
A Montessori girl discovers Cuisinaire Rods. Oh the fun we'll have! Especially when she can count more reliably than, "one, two, fwee, fowa, nah-EEN!"
Gross motor skills in the winter involve a lot of wrestling with Pop after building with blocks on his back.
And then... it happened!
It was warm enough to play on the porch!
She ran in frenetic static-gathering (oxymoron?) circles diving down the slide, hooting, figuring out how to slide backwards, and giving her stuffies and balls turns too.
Heh heh.
In my effort to maintain/reclaim a varied and interesting and rewarding existence I bought a fresh box of VanDorens and fired up the ol' horn last week. It's a little challenging to play with a little one grabbing at the buttons but hey, it's also fun to help her play it.
We've been getting our music on and, it turns out, Elmo's not bad at the harmonica.
And we've got some good projects going.
And by "we" I mean Elliott.
Fiona's helping with the craft beer production.
Ain't he handsome and rugged?
And we've all been dipping our fingers into the simmering sap on the stove.
So, occasionally, not more than once a week, whether she needs it or not, we bathe this goofball.
xoxo, happy almost spring!
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