Ha ha, made you look.

Calvin's favorite new car entertainment is calling out each red barn he sees and telling us where to look for them ("red barn [out], Calvin's window," or "red barn, daddy's window").  This afternoon's car conversation sounded like this:

Jon: "there's a red barn out daddy's window..."

Calvin: "yeah"

Calvin:  "red barn, Calvin's window!"

Jon: (said gently, so as not to disappoint) "I don't see one..."

Calvin:  "Calvin teasing daddy!" (cracks up)

Yeah, we see where this is going.  No one is safe anymore, but the kid sure has one well developed sense of humor.

To mothers everywhere...

Happy Mothers' Day

Sense and Sensitivity

Kids have an almost inhuman way of tugging at the proverbial heartstrings.  Even the hardest of souls can be softened by a baby's coos, or a toddler's kind word.  I'd like to believe that we run a tight ship around here, but every once in a while we, too, just go all to mush.  Today was was my once in a while.  Calvin and I went to the library today to enjoy a presentation given by "the local farm lady," who brought a chicken and a duck for the kids to ogle.  Calvin was absolutely enthralled by both the woman and her birds.  He spent the entire forty minutes sitting in one spot on the floor listening to her with rapt attention, and when her talk was over he waited patiently in line for his turn to get close to the two farm fowl.  Wally, the enormous white duck, really drew his attention, and when it came time for the feathered friends to go home, my sweet, sensitive son was absolutely beside himself.  I was not at all prepared for the torrent of tears or the soft, sorrowful whispering - "Wally, Wally, go home, Wally."  It wasn't at all a temper tantrum - he was being quiet and obedient - it was just pure and utter sorrow.  We sat outside and talked for a few minutes about how hard it is to say goodbye, and that it was okay to cry quietly (which he was doing), and about how Wally was probably quite happy to be going home where he could play outside, and would Calvin like to go play outside?  "Nooooooo, Waaaaallllllllyyyyyy." And that's when the heartstrings finally broke, my inner reserve went completely to mush, and I lost all touch with my common sense and we walked from the library to a downtown giftshop where Calvin, still tearfully, picked out a duck of his own to take home and care for.  Wally joined us for lunch, he joined us for quiet time, he joined Calvin for naptime, and even now both Wally and Calvin are safely snuggled, along with blanket and froggy, of course, in bed for the night.

More than just tulips.

Tulips are in full bloom everywhere that they've been planted that the squirrels haven't found.  Though the bulbs we planted at our old house never really did us the favor of growing buds, our new garden surprised us with several different kinds and colors of tulips this spring.  But if we can see tulips anywhere, then why do we have a tradition of driving two hours to the city of Holland, Michigan, to attend the annual tulip time festival?  Well, there is the fact that there are few places closer to us where one can find so many tulips in one place.  And part of the answer has to be the annual offer of a free place to stay right on beautiful Lake Michigan, which makes for a great mini vacation.  But to get to the heart of the matter, you'd have to know that Calvin is about as Dutch as a little (over half) Dutch Boy can be.  Heritage, genealogy, tradition - all of these things are very important to us, and the Tulip Time Festival in Holland, Michigan is more than just a celebration of those pretty flowers;  it is a celebration of the Dutch heritage that is still strong in the area.  On Monday we visited Dutch Village where we fed goats, tried on wooden shoes, watched a Klompen Dancing demonstration, then tried our own feat at it, and enjoyed a traditional Dutch meal.  Monday evening, after walking the beach, we spent in Centennial Park enjoying not only the beautiful flowers but also another Klompen Dancing performance, this one by high school dancers from the area who filled the streets surrounding the park.  Calvin loved the dancing, and we loved seeing so many young men and women involved in keeping this part of the heritage alive.  And today we spent in Windmill Island Park where we climbed to the top of and learned all about the country's oldest working authentic Dutch windmill, De Zwaan, tiptoed through rows and rows of beautiful tulips, ate another authentic Dutch meal, and listened to the street organ while playing on the wide lawns of a replica Dutch village.  The weather was fabulous, and the crowds low thanks to it being mid-week, all adding up to a great mini-vacation.  The only downside?  Our garden of tulips looked suddenly quite modest upon our return home.

A profusion of Tulip Time pictures can be found in that album. 

Soynut butter. It's what's for lunch.

Doctors take all the fun out of life.  No peanut products until at least three years?  But isn't that what all kids crave after a long morning on the jungle gym - a peanut butter sandwich, carrot sticks, and milk?  This is worse than no swimming for one hour after eating on a hot summer day at the lake.  But have no fear!  There are always work-arounds.  Every time we've fired up the stove to sear a veggie burger, popped a leftover dinner in the microwave, or preheated the oven to make a quesadilla we've longed for the easy days, still a year away, of quickly slathering a piece of bread with that nutty, creamy concoction readily available in a (glass) jar, and now we have our answer.  Soynut butter.  No, it's not the same thing, but don't tell Calvin that - he has nothing to compare it to, and obviously he's in heaven with it.  Can't you tell by the soynut butter mustache?  It's his new favorite two word phrase, and it's what's for lunch.