If we’re in town on Easter, we like to visit the Union Street Spring Celebration. (Look how little the girls were four events ago!) We didn’t make – or win a prize – for a hat this year, but we still had fun. Here’s a pic from our time there on Sunday.

-M

For a long time now, the girls – and Zoe in particular - have enjoyed playing school, running restaurants or spas, and putting on various shows; they can spend hours doing it at home. During a recent mellow day, Zoe got the idea to put on a magic show, and flyers (along with attached tickets) like the one below were put up all around the house. The opening line – “Attention magician lovers!” – got my attention.

-M

The girls celebrated Purim in school today: There was a parade and carnival, among other activities. Avery wanted to use her Halloween costume again and dress as a witch; here she is (in the back row, of course) with her classmates.

(As for Zoe, she didn’t like the idea of wearing a costume – uh oh, has she gotten too old for that? – but opted to wear a fun clown hat and wig instead.)

-M

The girls came home from school one day last week inspired to do a project: Avery had made some sort of dough in class and they wanted to replicate it. They said they knew the recipe, and they whipped on their aprons and out came the flour, the corn starch, and a few other kitchen staples. Their project wound up being very, very messy (thankfully, Q cleaned up what the girls couldn’t), but they had a lot of fun.

-M

The girls didn’t have classes today (parent-teacher conferences), and I gave them the choice of going to school for “extended care” or staying home with me while I worked. Their choices say a lot about their personalities: Avery wanted to go to school, where she could run around and play with her friends, and Zoe wanted to stick to home, where she could read and play quietly.

Zoe was, indeed, quiet and mellow; the more independent of the two girls, she barely needed anything from me all day. And I had to laugh when I commented how quiet it was and she answered, “Yeh, it’s just so relaxing when Avery isn’t here.” (The girl needs some sister-free time sometimes, and that’s okay!)

-M

Each year the girls’ school opens its doors to grandparents and special friends for one afternoon; this year Safta flew into town to serve as the girls’ guest. I love this photo from their afternoon together.

-M

A few days before her sister celebrated St. Patrick’s Day, Zoe’s class got into Pi Day. As described in the school newsletter:

Students in third grade used Pi Day as a segue into their new Singapore math unit on geometry. In pairs, third graders measured various-sized circles using string. Through this activity, students discovered that regardless of the size of the circle, the ratio of the circumference to the diameter was always approximately 3.14. “As we tallied up our result [of the circle-measuring activity], students were excited to see who came closest to 3.14 with their measurement of the various circles,” says teacher Lori Galante. “One group actually got 3.145!”

We don’t celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, but Avery’s teacher does! Today Avery walked into a holiday-themed classroom, and Safta was there to see it.

-M

It’s been raining like crazy here the last few days. But that didn’t stop Avery from stopping to admire the trees and flowers (as she likes to do) on a recent walk.

-M

As readers and friends know, the last two weeks have been rocky, with both girls taking turns being sick. Avery, in fact, was sick for almost a full week – which meant a lot of juggling of schedules for me and Q. There were a few comically bad moments (think: comforting a girl who is about to throw up while being on an important conference call) and more than a few times when I felt as if we would never get back to normal. But we are back to normal now, and in retrospect things weren’t that bad. Avery, despite having a fever that wouldn’t go away, never really acted all that sick (“You’re such a good patient,” I would tell her, to which she would teasingly respond, “I’m not a patient – you’re not a doctor”) and I enjoyed getting to spend so much non-Zoe time with her. In addition, I’m left feeling very lucky to have a job that affords me flexibility (with no nearby family and no outside help, that’s a must) and a husband who is an equally hands-on and caring parent. Mostly though I’m just happy that we’ll soon be heading off to where we belong: school and work!

-M

Before Avery got sick, she got to partake in some early St. Patrick’s Day-themed fun at school. Her teacher, a huge St. Patty’s fan, brought in some green milk for the kids to eat over Lucky Charms – who wouldn’t like that?

-M

I haven’t written in awhile because most of our family has been under the weather… First Avery got a cold, then Zoe developed a fever, then Avery came down with a fever, and finally I got a cold. We’ve been spending lots of quiet time at home: reading, watching cooking shows on TV, and doing crafts; here were the girls earlier today.

-M

The four of us did something fun – and meaningful – on Sunday afternoon, when we volunteered at the SF-Marin Food Bank, an organization that sends out 100,000 meals worth of food each day. (A first-grade mom at the girls’ school had organized the event, and more than 30 Brandeis families participated.) We spent two hours measuring and filling up one-pound bags of rice; Avery quickly took on the role as scooper, while Zoe was the measurer and bag sealer.

Zoe had been at a sleepover the night before and was extremely tired (read: grumpy) when we first arrived, so I was wondering how our time would go… But both girls wound up being enthusiastic workers, and they couldn’t believe when the two hours were up. (“That’s it? But that was so fun!” Zoe said.) I’m already thinking of going back with the girls on a regular basis…

-M

I put this on Facebook, also, but it’s too good to not share here. We were in the car the other morning when Zoe asked me a question. I can’t remember how exactly I answered, but I must have said it in a nice tone because Avery piped up with, “Oooh… Mommy is learning to be sweeter.” (Um, thanks?)

-M

Zoe, too, had a lot to show us during open house: She had prepared an informational book on swimming, contributed to the class’s San Francisco Landmarks book, and co-starred in a short film in Hebrew. Below is the cover of the landmarks book; in the “about the author” section inside she had written:

My name is Zoe Browdy. When I went to the Painted Ladies I enjoyed taking pictures because where I went it was not crowded at all. I play piano. I live in San Francisco, CA. My favorite food is burritos. I like to swim. I love reading.

-M