Here and there

Frances took her last “bunny pictures” the other week.  Her preschool has taken them every year since she was 4 months old.

That is a mere 4 years difference, my friends.  The only thing that goes through my head when I look at these two pictures is that often-quoted phrase – “the days are long, but the years are short.”  I can’t believe my girl will start Kindergarten next year when I can still feel her tiny, pink body in my arms as she nursed those early morning hours away.  I am really going to miss her next year when she leaves us every day. 

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I can still hear it now - "Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiish!"

And speaking of missing Frances, George is the only person who just might miss her more than me when she starts school.  He just recently went from calling her “ish,” his name for her for at least the last year, to calling her “Francie.”  Although I love his new call, I have to say miss the “ish.”

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Sugar, how I miss you.

I decided several weeks ago to greatly curb my sugar intake (or at least as much as this self-diagnosed sugar-holic can curb).  And while I would love for a few stubborn pounds to melt away, my most recent deprivation isn’t weight-related.  I realized that my sugar chow-downs during the day (most often M&Ms while emailing or blogging) were making me feel miserable in the afternoon.  I was snippy, easily irritated and tired. 

A part of me wishes I could cut sugar out altogether, but I love Will too much to put him through that craziness.  So for now I am cutting out my main offender—desserts.  So far, so good; although I am now realizing that some of my late afternoon snippiness is just a part of my personality (and very likely a casualty of this job description) and can’t be blamed on sugar.  Shoot. 

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Part of our neighbors’ tree fell into our yard during the last snow storm and the kids went right to work creating an entire tree house, complete with a doorbell and a donation bucket (I’m thinking that last idea was Frances’s, but who knows.  George is starting to understand the value of a dollar, too.  The more dinero, the more Thomas the trains.  Enough said).

They have been out there nearly every afternoon since the snow and particularly since it has been ridiculously warm this week.  The environmentalist in me is concerned with the hotter forecast, but the mother in me is jumping up and down with joy as we head to the park for the fifth day in a row.

And as this weekend promises more glorious weather (at least in Virginia), I wish everyone a happy, happy Friday!  I order you to spend as much time as you can outside—I promise, you will not regret it.