My Faith and Joy… and Boys!

I feel like a real New Englander now, thanks to a trip Jim took me on today (and thanks to my in-laws for taking such good care of the girls while we were gone).  I can officially say, along with New York’s elite, that I was a “weekender in the Hamptons.”  Of course, when I say “weekender,” I mean to say we spent a few hours there; and when I say “in” the Hamptons, I mean to say we drove through while ogling the massive mansion-lined streets.  So even though I may be reaching a bit with my definitions, I can still say we had a lovely afternoon in a beautiful place. 

Here we are on one of the Hampton’s famous beaches.  We snuck onto the beach after hours and tried to peek into a few of the luxurious backyards of the oceanfront properties.  However, we were slowed down by our lack of proper beach footwear, a driving wind, and the sheer distance between the houses due to the size of the lots.  And our lack of physical fitness.  We were huffing and puffing after the first house.  Don’t I look a bit winded?     

Of course, these weren’t exactly small places we were trudging past.  Below you can see the only property we made it past on the beach, which actually included three individual structures, each entirely covered in glass along the backside.  I shuddered to think of having to clean all those windows. 

But that building really wasn’t my style.  I figure if I’m going to spend twenty or thirty million on a weekend place, I want it to look like it’s been there a couple hundred years, not like it was dreamed up by some architectural grad student who wanted to impress his professors with his daring avant-garde designs. 

No offense to architectural grad students.  I think I just don’t like flat-roofed houses.

Here is one of my favorite houses we came across in our drive.  Although I don’t know if I can classify the building as a “house.”  I guess it’s more an estate, and a jaw-dropping one at that. 

We capped off our wonderful outing to this classy neighborhood with a dinner at a classy restaurant.  Because nothing says a meal fit for the rich and famous like a burrito from Chipotle.

Okay, so maybe we’re a little too fond of fast food and chain establishments in general to be considered a blue-blooded Hamptonite.  But it was sure fun to visit! 

I appreciate our library’s efforts to make itself child-friendly, from the buckets of Legos and train sets to the oversized stuffed animals and bean bag chairs.  I am especially grateful that the librarians aren’t concerned about the noise level in the children’s area.  But I sometimes wonder if making the library into a free-for-all play zone has its drawbacks.  After all, my girls now associate it with toys, not books.  When we went there this afternoon, I kept waving different books in their faces in an attempt to remind them that we are at a library after all, but they just ignored my eager selections and dove back into the Legos. 

Every once in a while, they would acquiesce to at least hold a book in their hands (along with a handful of other items), if not crack it open.

But overall, I suppose I’m glad that the girls have such positive associations with going to the library.  They view it as a place of enjoyment, rather than stuffy boredom.  Time will tell whether the girls will transfer their excitement from the toy bin to the bookshelf.  In the meantime, we’ll just enjoy the fun!  

The bug has struck again!  It seems that Becky must indeed have had some sort of virus last week, because Susie was sick this morning.  Fortunately, it’s only been a one-time event so far, even though she was weak and clingy all morning and afternoon.  But two long naps, lots of Sesame Street and extra cuddle time perked her up by this evening.  Need proof?  Here are some quick pictures I snapped – you’ll notice that several are blurry because the child wouldn’t hold still.  That was a welcome change from this morning, when all she did was sit in my lap and suck her thumb.  I’ll take a blurry, busy, goofy girl any day!   

Unbeknownst to the world (until today), I have had an ongoing internal debate.  It may not be an important topic, but it is one that consumes my thoughts nonetheless.  I frame the issue in terms of creativity versus catastrophe.

Creativity is dear to my heart.  I have loved to draw since I was a child, and I want to instill the same love of art in my children.  But avoiding catastrophe is similarly crucial in my life, and I hope it will be to my girls, as well.  And when it comes to toddlerhood, I struggle to encourage creativity while also avoiding catastrophe.

Each week at the library story hour, our fearless leader sets up a rather intricate craft that usually involves markers and crayons and paper and glue (she sent out a warning e-mail this week that our upcoming meeting will use paint.  Paint!  That has catastrophe written all over it!).  And each week, without fail, Susie bites the heads off the crayons and Becky sucks on the glue sticks.  And that’s about it.  They have no desire to actually USE the implements to, you know, do a craft.  I understand that this is probably age-appropriate behavior, but it is headache-inducing behavior all the same.  And like avoiding catastrophes, I also like to avoid headaches.

But I have been wracked with guilt (okay, not really wracked – but it’s crossed my mind once or twice) that my girls get NO craft or art time at home because any artsy product I introduce ends up consumed, broken, or spilled.  Even though I am not averse to letting the kids get dirty (I’m fine with doing laundry, and I think grass stains lend a certain seasoned maturity to jeans), I’m just not thrilled with the screaming matches that ensue when one girl wants ALL the crayons, or when her sister wants ALL the paper.  I have enough trouble teaching the art of sharing that I don’t have energy leftover to teach art itself.

However, today we had a bit of a breakthrough.  I have had a wonderful product stashed away at the bottom of the kids’ toy bin (more precisely, toy cardboard box) called an Aquadoodle.  It’s a travel-sized mat that kids can “paint” on using water.  I have pulled it out before, only to  quickly yank it away from the girls, because it only came with one writing instrument, and that’s a certain start to WWIII.  But I recently purchased a second brush, and my oh my, I think this may have solved my long-standing internal debate.  The girls happily scrawled away without making a mess or starting a fight.  Susie may have even drawn a moon, based on her emphatic declaration of “Moo! Moo!” Either that, or she had drawn a cow, a movie, a motorcycle or she was asking for “more,” given that all those words sound the same.

Here are the girls demonstrating their proper Aquadoodling techniques.  And sporting the appropriate Aquadoodling headgear.  Because being creative requires wearing a hat, apparently.

(Yes, Susie still tried to eat the brush, but at least there was no harm done.  It’s a much more painless process than crayon-biting.  I can’t tell you how much I dislike picking crayon bits out from between her teeth!).