pink pajama mama

We decided to visit the nonfiction children’s section of the West Tisbury library today just to mix things up. Henry wanted a book on Superman, and it occurs to me that we weren’t able to find it because any books on the caped crusader would have been in fiction, but in any case, we filled our book bags with as many books as we could carry. I love introducing the kids to Picasso and Georgia O’Keefe and Jazz musicians, so when we got home for our cozy read-a-thon ( a read-a-thon is when you pull out blankets and pillows on a covered porch in the rain or in front of the fire and load up on snacks with a stack of books and READ!!! They were my favorite days in Elementary School) I pulled out a book with an amazing cover called “I Am Marc Chagall.” We opened it up and were captivated by the illustrations. The story itself? Let me tell you how interested a 3 year old and a 6 year old are by the Russian revolution. After our read-a-thon, we decided to have a dance party. We watched some professional ballroom dancers for inspiration, and one of the ladies had a costume that started out as a shirt but unrolled into a skirt. Annabelle said “It’s a cape!” and Henry said, “It’s a butt cape!” And it really was a butt cape. Henry then taught me a dance he invented he calls “I-shock.” It’s kind of a slow motion martial arts style dance with the occasional sharp quick karate leap. He’s very particular about the movements and I often do it wrong. But he corrects me, in slow motion, and we keep going. And the rain started to fall and the air turned cold so we brought in all our flowers from the porch and put them on a towel and now our kitchen is more beautiful than ever, covered in lush flowers. And I wish I could slow these days down to slow motion, they’re so perfect…

Oh my, magic everywhere! Today we went to Carly’s house to swim and have dinner. She is so magical and amazing with the kids! She told Annabelle there were all sorts of magical secret places in her house that only kids can go to, no grown-ups. Watching Annabelle and Henry run down the thick green grass pathway surrounded by  wildflowers on all sides and towering trees, the fairy tale house behind us. Annabelle was ecstatic. Every knob and nook and cranny in Carly’s house is pure magic. Swirling stained glass knobs, velvet pillows, the most gorgeous curtains I’ve ever seen, and every room a different fantasy. One area painted like a little farm by Margot Datz, then swirling stairs painted like you’re emerging from a pond with the lotuses into her bedroom with the most gorgeous desk you’ve ever seen, like the desk of a pirate/wizard. Then out onto a balcony with stunning views and through a lavendar door into the princess room that overlooks another lavendar and blue princess room, down more swirling stairs and into more magic, pink clawfoot tubs, hanging glitter purses, just MAGIC! There was a little tiny door going up the steps that she lifted Henry and Annabelle into and gave them a flashlight. She asked Annabelle what she found in there and Annabelle said, “Junk. Just a lot of junk.” Annabelle did pull a grammy out of there. Up in the bedroom, Carly encouraged Annabelle to climb under all her stunning clothes and find “the little man” which turned out to be her Oscar and a Golden Globe. Many more twists and turns later we were in the honeymoon cottage and then walking down a rambling old path to the horse ring. My allergies were so bad at this point I could barely open my eyes, but I hung in there, carrying the little prince on my hip who also has an eye swollen shut from a  bug bite. From there we entered the kitchen which has cathedral ceilings and a fireplace and literally glows from the colors of the woods–and she has a lavendar dishwasher–and a girl came in and sang for us and her voice was just staggeringly beautiful. It was completely unnatural to hear someone open their mouth and sing like that, no problem. Carly’s son, Ben, is so cute with the kids.  When he saw Henry’s eye swollen shut, he said, “If I see the bug that bit you, I’m going to give that bug a knuckle sandwich.”

Today we went to see Kung Fu Panda and there were some striking similarities between me and the great panda, namely our love for cookies and kung fu abilities. I attended boot camp this morning and we went to a big field and did all sorts of things–sprints, lunges, jumping jacks-it was like football training for older women. And it was a blast. It’s early–6am!!– but it’s beautiful out that time of day and running through the dewy grass in the soft morning light with the birds chirping and my heart pounding and sweat pouring off me, I have to say it feels good.Yesterday we went swimming in a gorgeous pool at the dreamiest house. A picturesque little stable and horses running through fields of wildflowers. The pool had a white picket fence and archways dripping with pink flowers. Henry, Annabelle and I swam and threw the ball for a little poodle. That dog was like a circus dog, leaping in the pool from raft to raft. She will do anything to get that ball! Finally, a damper was put on things when the poodle pooped next to the pool and Annabelle vomited a little in the pool because she swallowed too much water. It was actually lovely because yesterday was one bad day. Hot as Hades and full of turmoil. Let’s see, I had a little altercation with the rude toothless man at he dump because he was trying to charge me to throw away a tiny bit of stuff and I didn’t have my wallet on me. Then an insane trip to the walk-in clinic to find out I have tendonitis in my wrist. But taking a curious two-year-old in there was like putting dynamite in a jelly jar. He was jumping on the scale and running everywhere and kicking and he insisted on bringing his giant swimming noodle in with us everywhere we went–the Dr.’s, the pharmacy, (where he knocked boxes and boxes of bandaids off the shelf), the sunglasses store where Henry and Annabelle tried on the most expensive sunglasses they could find along with scarves and hats and strutted in front of the mirror, laughing hysterically, they climbed on teh raised platform for trying on shoes and Henry started singing Hannah Montana at the top of his lungs. “Best! Of Vorld!” Whew! What a doozy!

I have been wanting to take Henry and Annabelle to toddler time at the Native Earth Teaching Farm for years. We’ve never made it.  Usually our mornings are very slow and lovely. The kids completely disappear in their own play worlds in the morning and I absolutely love making them something warm and delicious–pancakes, oatmeal, english muffins. This morning I had a double whammy of delight and made pancakes AND chocolate chip oatmeal cookies. I then dressed each child (a lot like trying to capture seals in the water) and finally made it to the car at 10:10 am( toddler time started at 10). I tried to coerce George into coming by saying we’d only be an hour. He disappeared back inside the house, and I figured he wasn’t coming, so I backed out of the driveway, only to see him running out of the house, one leg in his pants, trying to flag me down. There are only three main roads on the island–North, South, and Middle. Still, I managed to get lost. Annabelle sighed and I said, “Annabelle, it’s not about reaching our destination. Getting lost is really fun. That’s when you really find magic!” ”I know, Mom,” she replied. “I’m just tired of being lost.”Luckily, the roads we were on were staggeringly beautiful. We finally made it to the Farm, and we were the only car there. George started to laugh. He usually doesn’t do well with things like getting lost or arriving somewhere to find it closed, but today, he rolled with it.The farm was so picturesque. We were immediately drawn to a handsome little Billy Goat named Joey. This goat had the most gorgeous beard I’ve ever seen–long, think, lustrous, clean. I asked the farmer, Rebecca, who also had a beard, if she brushed the goat’s beard or if he took care of it. She said he took care of it on his own. (I couldn’t help but picture him with a hand mirror and a moustache comb). She said he didn’t like to get it wet and he would run into his little house at the first sign of rain. Incredible. As I watched Rebecca talk, I was awestruck by her utter lack of vanity–her full beard, her braless boobs swaying under her layers of farm clothes… One might think I’d let go of some of my own vanity in the face of such earthiness, but one would be wrong. I thought that gorgeous beard was wasted on a goat and would look much better on me–not as a beard of course, but as hair. We saw all sorts of amazing animals. Henry was especially delighted by the butting heads of the pygmy goats, and I loved the exotic white royal turkeys. I’ve never seen such beautiful turkeys! THey looked like marshmallow snow birds! They’re endangered and the farm is trying to breed them and help bring them back. Annabelle had a verbal exchange with another billy goat, a black one named Blackberry. He would make a mooing sound and she would make it back to him. This went on for sometime until she finally said, “This goat doesn’t know how to baa very well.”On the way home, we stopped for a little picnic at Alley’s. There was a darling weeping tree that Annabelle turned into her house. “That boy can come in here,” she said. “That boy Henry?” I asked. “Yes, that boy,” she said. Henry came trotting over and she swept aside the branches and said, “Come in, Darling, welcome to my house.” They held hands and sat down, and when Henry got up to leave a few minutes later, she said,  ”Sir! Gentlemen can’t leave until they help up all the ladies sitting down!” Henry obliged by offering his hand, helping her up. “Oh thank you Darling,” she said, grabbing his head and kissing it.George looked at me. “Where does she get this stuff?” “I have no idea,” I replied. 

Oh my beloved blog!! It’s been so long! We’ve been traveling since December 5 and we’re now on Martha’s Vineyard without internet! I did just happen upon a rogue signal, so in a nutshell, we’re having the BEST time! We went on a walk at Felix Neck Sanctuary today–I love that word, sanctuary, and it was wonderful to see HEnry and Annabelle’s cheeks rosy from the cold, their noses turned red, and they had a ball running on the paths, picking up pine cones and twigs, climbing on fallen tree trunks… just perfect. There’s no snow on the ground here, and the temperature is in the 40’s, so it’s not bad, but still cold for those of us accustomes to New Orleans weather.Annabelle has taken to wearing my long silky nightgowns–they drag on the floor behind her. She especially likes my cheetah print one with the feathers. She put it on today with my high heels and said, “I’m going to a party darlin.” She pronounces “darlin” like a country western singer. She said Henry couldn’t come because he didn’t smell good, but that I could since I smelled like flowers. I prtested that Henry smells like an angel, so in the end, he was invited to her party. The party involved somersaults over the pillows and a lot of jumping on the bed.In a nutshell, our trip began in Springville Utah at my parent’s on Dec. 5. We have the best time with them. They’re amazingly fun for 70 year olds, and they keep us laughing. We kidnapped my dad nearly every day and made him hang out with us The kids adore him and my mom. Marlise, my little sister, has 6 kids!! Four of her own and two she adopted last year form Haiti. They’re 2 and 3, perfect for playing with Henry and Annabelle. There are so many cousins up there it’s just one long party. Then, we went up to Snowbird and George joined us. Snowbird was a BLAST!! I forgot how much I love to ski! My girlfriend Sally came and said she skis like a ” bat out of hell” which is a pretty good description of my skiing. My parents came and babysat while we skiied and went out at night. So much fun!Then, we went to San Francisco and stayed at the super deluxe Four Seasons. The lap of luxury! They had tiny white robes for Henry and Annabelle and all sorts of treats. The best part was meeting up with two of my best friends who I haven’t seen in two years, Zar and Tanya. We went to school together in Paris in  1990 and backpacked around Europe  and Greece together. Zar and I found a new wine we love called Hope and Grace and she helped me push the monkeys around the city in strollers. Aside from teh lame ass at the Hermes store (what a stuffy store!! ) telling Annabelle she couldn’t ride their damn rocking horse, we had a great time. Zar and Tanya bonded immediately with the kids. I’ve never seen Herny take to someone as fast as Zar who played with him on the stairs “down-down” as he calls them and Tanya had Annabelle in hysterics running her around with the stroller.The worst day was the day we all got up at 4 to go to the damn airport to leave for New Hampshire, a stressful plane trip with two little ones, and dragged all our stuff into the airport, only to find we were at the wrong airport and wouldn’t make it to the other one in time!! George got on the phone and got us the last three seats on  a completely different airline, and $1,000.00 later, we were on several different planes to NH. Henry vomited on me first thing, so I smelled especially good the whole day, and then my suitcase didn’t make it, so I spent the entire next day in George’s pajamas. Aside from this, the kids did great and it wasn’t a bad trip. New Hampshire was a winter wonderland with about four feet of snow, and we made cookies for Santa and played and lounged before our big road trip the following day to the Balsams in northern NH. The drive was spectacular with these picturesque New England farmhouses with tiny candles in the windows and the moon hanging nearly full and low–just beautiful. The Balsams was a bit of roughing it after the Four Seasons. WE had ordered a Christmas tree and were expecting it to be a six-footer, but it was a one foot tall bush, not even shaped like a tree. It looked like they hadn’t painted since 1863, but other than that, the service was impeccable, and once I got used to it, I loved it. Their skiing is all baby hills so I tried out some trick skis–those tiny skis about the size of ice skates-to challenge myself and I had a ball. I think I may have a future in the senior citizen olympics between trick skiing and ice skating…This trip has been long and i’ll never do this much traveling again at once with the little ones, but we’ve had a ball every step of the way. I’m sitting here looking at the fairies we made today, the sticks we collected today, and watching my rosy-cheeked cherubs sleep, and thinking how incredibly lucky I am. All my christmas wishes warm and sleepy in my big cozy bed. 

We had so many perfect days on Martha’s Vineyard this summer. So many moments of watching Henry stand on his head looking through h is chubby little legs for a new view, watching Annabelle play mermaid, watching George swim while holding both kids in his arms, watching the fog roll out, the magic hour purple roll in, the sailboats float in the mist, waling barefoot through the woods on teh powdery white sand, flowers dripping in the trees, telling Annabelle stories of Bigfoot and Fairies, the reflection of the sunlight on the water making the air sparkle–so much magic, so much joy. So many moments of me thinking this is it, this must be what heaven is like, at least this is heaven to me.

At fourteen months, Henry is almost done nursing. It’s bittersweet for me. I’m elated to buy beautiful lingerie again. I will be burning my terrifying nursing bras I’ve been wearing for three years straight now! I’m excited to have my very own breasts again. And I’m sad to have this most beautiful and sacred time with him come to a close. So, as we walked along the sea yesterday, he wanted to nurse. I sat down on the warm sand, the waves gently lapping my legs, the sun warming my back, and fed him. The ratio of salt to water in the ocean is almost identical to amniotic fluid. I felt so connected to something bigger than me, something ancient and beautiful, sacred and staggering. Just a moment, a moment I will always remember, and always cherish.

Ah yes. Another dinner with the inlaws. Our stoned waiter with waist-length dreadlocks kept tripping over chairs, Grantine (she will NOT be called Grandma!) lit her napkin on fire, put out by GW (he will NOT be called Grandpa!), burning a hole right through the center. Annabelle got angry and threw her bread at me. Henry, who is always studying Annabelle for social cues (Monkey See-Monkey Do), promptly threw his wooden toy at me. With the perfect aim of a one-year-old Babe Ruth in training, it landed right in my coconut red bean soup, splashing warm liquid all over me. Thank goodness I was wearing red! I couldn’t stop laughing, the food was delicious (Anguillan food!) and overall, it was a fantastic dinner.

sprinklers provide hours of entertainment.