Warning to all future Baryshnikovs

Today while Bitty Girl was admiring herself in the mirror or washing her hands or ripping out the ponytail I had so carefully put in, I came in to find her with spit drooling down her chin.

"No spitting," I said. "That's gross."

Bitty: "But I'm a ballerina, Mommy!"

Mommy (thinking I might be able to use this ballerina thing to my advantage):
"Oh, no. Ballerinas are graceful and polite. Ballerinas don't spit."

Bitty: "Well, this one does."

More big than Bitty

(No, this is not his first day of school outfit. He starts next week)

Bitty Girl went to preschool today. Same classes where her brother went two years ago.

Actual conversation on Tuesday:

Brother: "I think Bitty Girl is going to be a little more nervous than I am this year because she's going to a new school and I'm just going into a new class."
Bitty Girl: "I'm not nervous!" (scampers away giggling)

And she really wasn't. Just tired. Good thing she doesn't go again until Tuesday.

Lots of kids, mostly boys, crying. She went right for the ponies and didn't give me a second look.

The "Special Dinner for the Night Before School Starts," Part I

(Part II comes Monday for her brother)

She requested the flowers on the table, eating in the dining room, macaroni & cheese, soft carrots with brown sugar sauce, strawberries, and chocolate cake with pink frosting and lots of writing on it.

RIP

Time for zucchini hospice. We seem to be losing the battle to powdery mildew as the zucchini season winds down.

I googled some info and have sprayed a milk/water solution on it, but it doesn't seem to be working. We tried to trim some of the big leaves to get it more light, and then trim off some of the dead leaves, but it's just not looking good.

Chalk it up to a new gardener who will catch it faster next year, I guess. Anyone w/suggestions, let me know...

Audrey Junior, we have enjoyed all your zucchini this summer. You were such a surprise to us - we had no idea you would grow so fast or so big.

Just a few short weeks ago, you looked like this:

And now, I can barely even look at what you've become. We're sorry we weren't able to take better care of you at the end. We'll do better next time.

On a more positive gardening note, our tomatoes are still growing like crazy.

We had aphids nearby and I used some organic Neem oil spray that seemed to work.

Please join us in bidding farewell to Audrey Jr. the zucchini .

We hope she'll make great compost, even with the mildew issue.

Somehow Seaside Survived

Danger Girl, out for a spin on the Promenade at Seaside.
Many unsuspecting vacationers thought they were just out for a stroll on a cloudy August morning.

(cue foreboding music...)

Little did they know they barely escaped being mowed down by a pink Princess Huffy with rainbow streamers. At least the training wheels rattle so you can hear her coming!

Did you catch the absolute GLEE in her eyes as she sped up (doing her "magic trick") and whizzed past us? You might have missed it because of her extreme speed. Yes, we really had to run to catch up.

We are in trouble. Very soon. Capital T.

And on the Danger flip side... The Boy, perfecting his tricks. Guaranteed to make his mother's, grandmother's, and great-grandmother's heart skip a beat.

Like sands through the hourglass

Who are these big kids and what have they done with my babies?

Bitty Girl got a haircut and suddenly she's not so bitty.

(and who looks just a wee bit like her big brother?)

The Boy lost his first tooth

and then his second one a week later!

The Tooth Fairy is tired, and Mama isn't quite sure how we got here so fast.

Let's get something straight.

Straight out of Bitty Girl's mouth tonight:

SCENE: Throwing a ball in the backyard with Daddy. Bitty Girl throws ball to Daddy. Daddy throws it back, but the ball rolls under the pine tree. Daddy retrieves the ball.

Bitty Girl: Daddy, come sit down over here by me. We need to have a discussion. (motions for him to come sit on the deck with her) You need to know that on our team, we don't throw the ball under the tree. Got it?

He got it.

We are thankful

that she came fully assembled. Bossy, but assembled.

In a desperate attempt at organization, we have been busy with some RTA furniture. I'm actually fairly impressed with these ClosetMaid cubes so far. The main reason I'm impressed is probably because I was able to put them together myself, which is a miracle in itself. Pat is usually the furniture man around here, but this week it's Mama and the Drama King and Queen.