The Chitlins

pool bucket
Originally uploaded by Wingates.

The Pool Bucket

We hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. We didn't do anything fancy; just stuck around here and sweated in the heat. It was close to ninety degrees all weekend and we were inspired to create our own pool out of a large bucket. As you will see in the video, there's just enough room for two and not much room for swimmming. But it was a hit with the kids and kept them occupied for several hours.

Oh that hair...

Bath time
Originally uploaded by Wingates.

It will be time for Oliver's first haircut soon. Several people have inquired in the last few days whether he is a boy or a girl. But it's so hard to think of cutting it....

Parade press

Kate got local news coverage in the paper and on television. Here's a link to the newspaper article.

Teeth!

About four nights ago Oliver didn't sleep so well. He was cutting a front bottom tooth, so we figured it was bothering him. The next night he slept even worse, waking up every two hours or so, obviously agitated. The next morning Kate felt around in his mouth and discovered about four teeth coming in at once. Premolars are pushing through on top to help with all his chewing.

Some doctors say that teething pain is mostly a myth and that it doesn't bother kids at night. They are obviously childless doctors. Teeth are like the proverbial watched pot that never boils--their progress is agonizingly slow, especially when your sleep depends on them. We're hanging in there but looking forward to more than two hours' sleep at a time.

Cora is down to one and a half more days of school before summer vacation. She is very excited. We just can't believe it's summer vacation already.

Kate and Phyllis

Kate and Phyllis
Originally uploaded by Wingates.

Mothers Day Parade 2006

fruity mama
Originally uploaded by Wingates.

What a day -- Nashville's First Annual Mothers Day Peace Parade was a huge success and went way beyond my (Kate) expectations. We had a great turnout, young and old, in strollers, on legs, in wheelchairs, riding trikes, joyfully celebrating our human family and the awesome contributions mothers make to world peace each and every day. As with Anne and Nate's wedding, the gods were smiling on us and decided to part the rain clouds just in time for our parade to begin. Not one harsh, derisive word was utterred, not one negative response from the passersby, -- it was truly a celebration of our common desire for PEACE, regardless of political leanings. Plus, I got interviewed by our local news channel and will hopefully make it onto the 10:00 news tonight! Click on the pic to see more photos from today, and I'll send links to media coverage in another post, to come soon. I hope you all had a fabulous Mothers Day -- I did!

Spotted at the Wedding...

Deranged Baby Businessman
Originally uploaded by Wingates.

Where am I....where is my Blackberry?....must have left it in the car with my sippy cup.....who are all these people....I'm feeling a little woozy...really must master this walking thing soon...

Wedding Weekend Part 2....

So yes, the mountain air was chilly. And sweet and clear and moist. Wonderful to breathe. G'ma Carol snatched Oliver up and Cora started playing with Mary Grace. We stayed until dark and Cora played tag and hide and seek with flashlights in the dark. I reunited with some dear friends. None of us could sleep that night--we were too keyed up. Cora was awake until 11:30, much to our dismay.

After Friday's rain, Saturday morning came with a clear blue sky and a light breeze. Perfect weather. It reminded me of my second season at Omega when a group of Peruvian shamans came for their first workshop in the United States. The day before they arrived, a huge storm hit the campus. It raged into the night and we all had to sleep in one of the meeting halls for safety. Some large trees fell in the wind and it felt like we were in a hurricane or a tornado. The next morning, the sky was brilliant and the campus felt like it had been scrubbed clean by the storm. Then the shamans arrived. It's impossible to say for sure, but it felt like a supernatural storm, and these were supernatural voyagers. Perhaps they wanted to clear the energy before their arrival. It certainly felt that way. And perhaps someone was smiling on Anne and Nathan too, clearing the space for their ceremony.

Wedding Weekend Part 1...

Due to the epic nature of any road trip with children, this post will be written in several installments. Pictures will be coming soon. We neglected to take any of our own because we were having too much fun.

Rain greeted us Friday morning as we packed the car for the trip to Asheville. It intensified as the day progressed, buffeting the car on the highway and limiting visibility to ten feet at times. Tractor trailers in front of us kicked up plumes of spray that swallowed our car in a misty fog. Not a good omen for an outdoor wedding weekend.

The rain followed us sporadically all the way there. Whenever Cora needed to pee the rain would miraculously stop. Once we got back on the highway again the deluge resumed. This happened probably three times, and Cora found it quite amusing.

After almost seven hours in the car we pulled into Deerfields with the rain still coming down. But there is something so peaceful about the North Carolina mountains that rain seems more of an embellishment than a nuisance. As we left the paved road for the single lane dirt road into Deerfields I felt like I was in familiar territory. The little road led up to a lake flanked by two log cabins and ringed on one side with a white gravel drive. We unpacked the kids and joined the fray of wedding preparations. The rain continued to fall and water poured in rivulets from the unguttered cabin porch roof. The mountain air was chilly.

Road Trip coming up

on his own....just making sure
Originally uploaded by Wingates.

We're preparing for a grand weekend road trip to Asheville, North Carolina, for Anne and Nathan's wedding. We went by the library today and stocked up on CD books for the drive.

Ollie's New Shoes

Today Oliver and I (Kate) took a trip to Stride Rite to get him some new sandals for summer. On our last trip there, we bought him his first pair of shoes, insanely overpriced (I mean, these things cost more than MY shoes, for pete's sake!) but assured to aid him in his newest hobby, walking. The saleslady measured his feet on that first trip, and proclaimed him to be a size 5XW (the XW standing for extra wide). Well, his extra wide feet have worn those sneaks down, and now that summer is here, his piggies need to breathe a bit. So today, on our return trip, he again stepped on that cold metal scale I remember so well from my trips to the shoe store as a kid. Now he's a 5 and a half 2W, which, the saleslady interpreted, is one size WIDER than the XW! So his feet are only getting WIDER! I must admit, their resemblance to fat, juicy sausages is quite remarkable. Then she said to me, "They usually outgrow this (the wide-footedness) by the time they're 3 or 4. And if not, then you're really screwed." How reassuring. I assume she means we will be forced to continue to pay through the nose for these "special" shoes until he slims down. Don't worry, though -- we won't be putting him on a diet anytime soon. His fat feet are worth the extra expense....

Happy May

Happy May 1st to everyone. This marks Cora's last month of school and her last year at Abintra Montessori School. She has been there full time since she was two years old. It's hard to believe she is fast approaching five already. She practically spilled her cereal at breakfast when we told her she will be five in two months.

We went to a spaghetti dinner/fundraiser at the school we hope Cora will attend next year. It is a public school near us that uses an approach called Paideia. Kate has visited several times and I had my first experience there at the spaghetti dinner. The school reminds us both of our own elementary schools, back in those golden years, oh so long ago. The teachers are enthusiastic and all the parents rave about the school. Cora is 8th on the waitlist now and it looks likely that she will get in before the school year starts.