Change in Plans

I was supposed to be in DC this week, attending a training course that I must take before I can be eligible for my next promotion. Instead we ended up extending our stay in Colorado for medical reasons. A quick surgery later, and I am fine. Family and friends came out here to visit since our week in VA and my jaunt to NYC didn't happen. Aside from some hand-wringing over health concerns and recovering from surgery (not lift ten pounds for a week? ha!), I have enjoyed three weeks with my family. Turns out, I like Husband and these kids. Also turns out, Boy does better when he's not in school. He's been really great the past week, usual three-year-old meltdowns aside. I've been particularly impressed by his newly developed restaurant skills. In general, there has been a lot of scraping knees, throwing sticks and rocks into creeks, running around barefoot, and other child-worthy pursuits.

This whole trip has been food for thought on many fronts, not least of which is the parenting one.

We didn't lug the Canon with us, for lack of an arm to carry it. I've been relying on the iPhone and other people's cameras to capture our trip, which is a bit of a shame because the natural light in Colorado is killer. Below are a few more of our exploits. More to come, including pictures--and possibly even video--of Boy in his new tap shoes.

Family playtime in the kitchen.

Girl plays with her sensory box and Boy and Husband construct a painters' tape airfield.

Girl enjoys putting random things in an ice cube tray. Who knew?

Where'd-It-Go? hands.

Boy explores Garden of the Gods.

Your Friendly Blogger and Dzadza.

Grandma and Dzadza.

Girl sporting her Argentinian poncho: adorable.

Running to Husband.

Going in for the cuddle.

Hiding in a little cave.

So many rocks for the throwing.

Pike's Peak

Exploring, faithful Taggie in tow.

Ditchin' Daddy.

Happy Boy

I think someone was tired of the Estonian winter.

I'm Over Here

...on R&R. The Colorado sunshine is lovely. We'll have to catch up soon.

Thanks to Cyn for the pictures.

Kids with Grammy

Boy strolls through Garden of the Gods

At the Manitou Springs penny arcade.

The Clap is Coming!

One recent morning, I escaped from the chaos that is a house of small wide-awake children to brush my teeth. Behind me I heard Boy in his best Voice of Doom, sneaking up on me in the quiet.

"Watch out, Mommy, the clap is coming!"

This got my attention.

Boy was holding this, the gonorrhea germ I gave Husband for Christmas several years ago, long before I worried that someday our preschooler would brandish it in my bathroom. At the time, I thought it hilarious that Husband could say I gave him gonorrhea for Christmas. In the bathroom, I thought it less hilarious that Boy might tell his teachers his parents gave him the clap.

Okay, that would have been hilarious, but highly inappropriate. When combined with the black eye he had from falling on the corner of his train table, they might question our parenting skills more than our parental fumbling really warrants.

Turns out, Husband--ever helpful--answered truthfully when Boy asked what the plush toy was. By the time he stalked me with it, he had mastered "gonorrhea" as well as its less scientific nickname.

I quickly convinced him he really should just call it a germ.