Tuesdays

Tuesdays are good days. Before the kids turned one, I began to realize that play groups are more for the moms than they are for the kids. Quite serendipitously, a group of five, and then six moms materialized and we've been meeting on Tuesdays ever since. At 6 moms, 12 kids and 3 on the way, we are quite a crew. I love these women. I love that we have been able to share our lives for the past year and a half. They are so dear to me.

Sunday afternoon

Everyday stuff.

I love this picture --to me a captures our normal life right now, completely full of energy and spunk. Now that the kids are talking more, we have very sweet toddler conversations, especially when we are in the car. I'll give a few snippets of our conversation on the way home from Bible study this morning. I write this so that I don't forget it.

Noah: Momma, Bites! (translation: Mighty Bites, his favorite cereal)
Mom: Noah we don't have any Bites in the car. You ate them all.
Noah: Momma Bites!!
Mom: Noah, I don't know what to tell you. Bites all gone.
Noah: Bites!
Ella: Gee Gee, Gee Gee, Gee GEE! (translation: her beloved Froggy)

I look back and see that Noah has stolen Gee Gee from Ella's clutches, probably out of frustration that there are no Bites to be eaten.

Mom: Noah, that is not kind. Gee Gee is Ella's.
Ella: Aya Gee Gee. (translation: Ella's Gee Gee)
Noah: Noah Gee Gee.
Mom: How about you share? I'll count to ten while Noah holds Gee Gee and then it will go back to Ella.

I give Gee Gee to Noah.

Mom: One, two, three.
Noah: Four, five, sax, seben, eight, nine, ten!
Nicole: Okay Noah, time to give Gee Gee back to Ella.

Amazingly, he gives it back to her without a fuss. Noah continues to count. Ella mutters about Gee Gee. I deal with the construction traffic that has sprouted up on Roosevelt Road by heading into the neighborhoods. We drive by a park.

Ella: Momma ark!
Mom: Yes, Ella, a park!
Ella: Aya ting! (translation: Ella swing!)
Mom: Not right now Ella. Ella swing later.
Ella: Momma ark! Aya ting!
Noah: Noah ide! (translation: Noah slide!)
Mom: Yep Noah, you like to slide. Did you go to the park with Aunt Debby this week?
Ella: Aunt Deaddy! Aunt Deaddy ting!
Mom: What else did you do at the park?
Noah: Ide!
Ella: Ducks! Quack, quack, quack.
Mom: I heard that you saw ducks.

Noah starts in with quacking noises followed by snoring/oinking noises (to them, it is the same noise). Ella imitates Noah. The car approaches a train track.

Ella: Choo, choo!
Noah: Freight train!
Mom: Yep, that is where the train goes...

Ella and Noah make train noises for a few minutes and then go back to quacking and oink/snorting. And that is it --I love the simplicity of these conversations.

He is risen

I'm a bit late for an Easter post, but that is okay, right? As the liturgist at church asked: if the resurrection is as significant as Christians believe it to be, then why don't we celebrate Easter for longer than just one day? Me? I need to ponder the cross again and again --to see that Jesus entered our messy world and willingly took the wrath of God so that we might know God.

After the service we attempted another family shot with about the same success rate as last year.

And then Noah smothered me with tickles. (I know, I need to cut his mullet. I'm getting there. In my defense, it was extra poufy that day.)

Following church, we headed over to Nana and Boppa (his new name) Potoshnick's home for a celebration dinner and egg hunt. Noah was all about finding eggs and depositing them in the basket. Ella was more of a delegator--she'd spot and egg and then tell Noah to go and get it.

Discovering that the eggs actually have stuff inside.

Following dinner, the kids devoured candy and then insisted the Aunt Liz and Uncle Stephan lift them high in the air over and over and over again.

Matt and I got such a kick out of watching them approach their baskets once we were home. Ella opened each egg and dumped the treasures in her basket. Noah made neat piles of each item.

So there you have it --Easter greetings from the Potoshnick clan.

Best Part of the Day

Welcoming Daddy home from the train --you can't see it, but they are running to him.

As some of you know, Matt has a new job. Same company, different role and different schedule (that would be code for travel.) We've been trying to figure out ways to bridge the gap when Matt is 1000 miles away and we had success last night with video chatting. The kids were so thrilled to see his face on the computer and to hear his voice. Ella smiled, chatted and told about the day while Noah attempted to engage Matt in a game of hide and seek.