pink pajama mama

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. 

I haven’t written in so long! We’re in Utah at my parents, reveling in the snow and the mountains and all the “Ho-Ho’s” (Henry calls Santa Ho-HO) aroudn the house. My mom is the chachke queen! (That’s a mouthful!)We’ve had really fun exhausting days. Today we stayed in our pajamas all day until we changed into new pajamas after baths! We didn’t even comb our hair! It was wonderful! We puttered around the house, watched the snow, and I reveled in watching Henry and Annabelle in full action. Henry spent a long time tonight making himself dizzy. He turns in circles until he’s stumbling and laughing and then does it all again. He’s also fond of “bonking” his head on various things, such as other people’s heads, chairs, walls, etc. He thinks this is hilarious and will walk all the way across the room to “bonk” his head on Grandpa’s. He also likes to pull a tiny doll chair up in front of the tv so he can be comfortable while he pushes the buttons and attempts to destroy Grandpa’s careful tv settings.My parent’s received a roll of wrapping paper as a gift from neighbors and Annabelle said “come ride the horse with me Henry!” They both spent the next half hour galloping around the house on this roll of paper, Henry clicking his tongue like a horses’ hooves.I just watch their imagination in complete and utter wonder.