I recently wrote about how difficult dinnertime can be – but the other night, with PopPop here to entertain Avery, there was little to complain about.

-M

Safta and PopPop arrived to spend the week with us, and one of the first things on their agenda was hugging the kids. (Luckily, it didn’t take too long for Avery to warm up!)

-M

Dinner can be a frustrating time for me. The girls rarely want to eat the same thing and sometimes don’t want anything I offer them – and Avery occasionally prefers to play with her food rather than eat it. In an attempt to keep my sense of humor about it all, I turn to a line from the cult classic Napoleon Dynamite; “Eat your food, Tina!” I’ll say to the girls. (Tina, for those of you haven’t seen the film, is a llama.) After hearing this several nights in a row, an exasperated Zoe recently said to me, “I am NOT Tina. I do NOT like it when you call me that.”

Woops – I guess I’ll have to come up with another coping mechanism for dinnertime!

-M

We’ve been patiently waiting for Avery, whom I once referred to as “my little baldie,” to get some hair. I’m happy to report that these past few months have really delivered: We’re seeing a lot of curls, and it may even be time for a cut. (Zoe’s first one was when she was Avery’s exact age.)

-M

Something fairly amazing happened yesterday afternoon. When we got home from work/school/Elena’s, the first thing Zoe did was ask Avery if she wanted to play; the girls then flung off their shoes, ran off to Avery’s room, and plunked themselves down on the floor to play Legos. Together. Without me.

There have been other moments like this: times when the girls were busy playing and not really paying attention to me. But it rarely happens in the afternoons (when I’m most tired and most in need of alone, or least quiet, time), and it rarely lasts. This time, though, the girls entertained themselves for a good 20-30 minutes, giving me time to buzz around the house, put away laundry, and check e-mail without interruption. (Again: amazing!)

I’m mindful of the fact that there will come a day when the girls won’t want to have much to do with me. They’ll want to be by themselves and go straight to their rooms after school. I’ll no longer have a toddler tugging at my pants or pleading “up, pease” with her big, grey eyes, and I’ll have all the time in the world to be by myself. I don’t want that day to come anytime soon – but, for now, I’ll certainly welcome a few moments of solitude!

-M

We had dinner with one of Zoe’s classmates and his family the other night, and Zoe was super excited. When I had told her about our plans earlier that day, she jumped up and down and started clapping. And when it came time to end the evening, there was a looooong good-bye and a lot of hugs involving Zoe, Zachary and his little sister.

-M

It has, indeed, been a happy day for me. The four of spent the day at a spring street fair (this one just east of the city, in Alameda), I received nice notes and calls from lots of friends and family, and Q and the girls were sweet enough to give me a few presents – including a strawberry plant that Zoe planted at school and a little picture frame (courtesy of Elena) from Avery. More trinkets for this mom to treasure!

-M

Yesterday, prompted by a drive past our old place on Noe. St., Q and I started counting up the number of places in which one of us has lived. We told Zoe that she has had only one home, and she responded by saying, “I know another place! I lived in Mommy’s tummy!” I thought it was a pretty appropriate pre-Mother’s Day comment, as I’m very much thinking today of the time when she was in my stomach and when I first became a mom. I’m so grateful to both her and Avery for coming along and helping make me a better, happier (yet busier and slightly more exhausted) person. And I’m grateful to my mom and Q’s for having paved the way.

Happy Mother’s Day, everyone!

-M

It’s been really warm and sunny here – a real treat for late spring. Today wasn’t quite as nice (it was a little windy, as you’ll see in the video), but that didn’t stop me and Avery from joining friends at our favorite playground.

-M

The girls received Giants hats as little gifts at our recent AT&T event. Avery tried hers on the other night, and I think the Giants colors (though not pink) suit her!

-M

A few recent stories:

-Earlier this week we received a report from school that Zoe had pinched her right hand while moving a chair. (Minor incident: No blood, she’s fine.) “Did you cry?” I asked her. “I did not. I was super brave,” she responded.

-I usually pick out Zoe’s clothes for school, but one recent morning I asked Q if he could. From the other room I heard Zoe tell him, “Pick out something good so Mommy won’t yell at you.”

-On the way home the other day Zoe commented that the microwaves weren’t working at school. “Oh, right – because the electricity was out,” I said, recalling a note I had seen a few days earlier. “Yeh. Did you get the e-mail?” she asked. (Did you get the e-mail? I felt like I was talking to a teen-ager!)

-One day, a tired and grumpy Zoe squirmed away from my attempted hug. “Zoe,” I told her, “If you don’t want to be hugged, then you shouldn’t be so cute.” (That’s a line I learned from Zia Angela.) Exasperated, Zoe told me, “There is no way for me to be not cute!”

I was enjoying myself by sitting and watching Avery play on her own the other morning; after a few minutes, I decided I should take a video. (Quiet time with Avery is a rarity in our house, and I wanted to capture the moment.) Here she is – making funny faces and doing a little cooking.

-M

Last night during dinner, a sad look came across Zoe’s face. She didn’t want to go to school today, she told me, before adding, “I wish the next 100 days were family days. And I want to be with you all summer.” As a mom who works outside the home, it would be easy to feel guilty when hearing something like this. But, knowing that Zoe actually really likes preschool (and only complains about it on the occasional Sunday night), I just took her comment as a sign that she had a really fun weekend!

-M

Many years ago, our friend Fink and I had a running joke about our requirements for a good party: A hot-tub, live band and a keg or two were a must. These days, with kids, the requirements are quite different – a bouncy house, face-painting and balloon twisting are key – and Fink certainly delivered when he invited us to his company’s party at AT&T Park. The event marked our second time at the ballpark in recent months, but this time around we practically had the place to ourself. And among the highlights: Q, Fink and Zoe batting behind home plate (with their name on the scoreboard), and the girls running around the bases and meeting Lou Seal.

No, there was no hot-tub, live band or keg – but we still had a fabulous day. (Thanks, Fink!)

-M