How did March get equated with basketball? Does everyone in the country really follow the college sports that closely? We were at a party last year during March and someone there was genuinely appalled when I told him that I don’t pay attention to any of it and couldn’t even name the “Big Ten” teams (or whatever they’re called!).
As parents, our March Madness looks a little differently. First of all, our girls don’t seem to show any interest in sports, which is fine with me. I even took them to a Hoops for Heart basketball tournament at my school a few weeks ago, thinking it would be a relatively easy way to pass the afternoon. Not five minutes after we arrived, all three were whining, “When is this thing going to be over?” I can’t say I was disappointed.
On the other hand, when we went to see the musical Mary Poppins last week at the Buell, the girls were thrilled. As usual, Isabella couldn’t wait to get all dressed up, and had a minor tantrum about her lack of fancy shoes. They loved watching Mary Poppins fly across the stage, and even up into the audience at the end, and were singing the songs and practicing their tap dancing moves for days afterward. I think we might just have ourselves a house full of artists!
This March is especially crazy because I am training for a half marathon, so running like crazy four days a week, still keeping up with all the Girl Scout work, and the girls have just finished their skate lessons in time for all three to begin swim lessons again. Since we’ll be gone all summer in Kentucky, we had to slip the lessons in at an indoor pool starting at the end of March. Meanwhile, we have been filling our days with bike riding, visiting the park down the road that has a new “train” playground, and trying to keep the antsy-sick-of-winter girls busy and happy on cold, snowy days that always plague us at this time of year, just when we think spring has sprung!
And now that all three girls are mobile (truly mobile–able to walk long distances without dragging their feet or complaining too much) and potty trained, I must admit that trips to places like the zoo, museum, or mall are actually more pleasurable. No longer do we have to lug a stroller or a diaper bag every time we go out. I thought for sure I would miss the baby years, and in many ways I do, but I must say, I am enjoying being able to take my girls to places and not having to worry about all the things we must carry. That right there is the best way to handle March Madness: ignore the basketball scores and be thankful for what really matters. And we all know what really matters: kids who can wipe their own butts and walk up four flights of stairs to your balcony seats. 
Tags: diapers, March Madness, Mary Poppins musical, parenting, swim lessons
I have added a new page, called Photos, to our blog. Currently this new page allows you to see the 20 most recent photos I have uploaded to our SmugMug page. SmugMug is the photo sharing site I use to store and share some of our photos. Since most of those photos do not get published here on our blog, I decided to create a new page for you to easily view the most recent here on The Vittetoe Times. The new Photo page will automatically update itself when I upload new photos. All you have to do is visit the page once in a while to see the new photos.
If you would like to view the new page you can get there by clicking the Photos link in the menu bar at the top of The Vittetoe Times page, as shown in the image above. You can also go directly to the page by using the link http://vittetoetimes.com/photos/.
I hope you enjoy this part of our site. Please leave some comments if you have any suggestions on how I can improve the new page or any part of The Vittetoe Times.
Tags: Photos
It’s hard to believe that Isabella has been alive for seven years. I still so vividly remember the day she was born, the day she smiled for the first time, the day she pulled up and took her first steps, the day she put a shrimp in her mouth and sucked on it for half an hour, toothless as she was. How could that be the same child who can read and write and says things like, “It is not OK for you to treat me this way” when I raise my voice?
She can do so many things for us now–get Riona dressed in her pajamas, fill everyone’s water cup, empty the trashes and recycle bins, clean up her room, dust the shelves, put away the lower dishes. And so many things for herself–ride a two-wheeler, roller skate, in-line skate, ice skate, read the Magic Treehouse books, write letters to and about her boyfriends, read the instructions to and complete her homework… it’s almost too much to take in! Is she still a little girl? Am I still allowed to refer to her as a little girl? I think by the time she’s eight she might be as tall as me!
She decided on an all-girl tea party for her seventh birthday celebration, and when I told her that it would be three hours long, twice the length of most of the parties she attends, she replied, “Three hours is not long enough for me.” And after three hours of tea, sandwiches, cake, eight games, two crafts, and nine screaming girls, she put on a pouty face when it was over and asked, “What now?” Limitless energy! She is the last to go to sleep and the first to awaken.
Isabella, my oldest daughter, still relishes in being the center of attention, just like when she was the baby and was not only the first child, but the first grandchild. She will always be a social butterfly, always fight for her rights, and always know just how to manipulate every situation to her liking. Gee, I wonder where she gets it??
As sad as I was when she began first grade this year, I have come to accept this new age. Seven. Wow. Soon I will have a tween, a teen, a college student, a bride. And I know I will enjoy all of her ages, as screaming and wild as they may be. Happy birthday, little (big) girl!
Tags: bike, birthday, daughter, love, oldest child, seven years old, two wheels
Yes, another girl has entered our family… our extended family. After a long first labor, Elizabeth gave birth to Lucy Elizabeth Danks at 11:25 p.m. on January 29, weighing in at 8 pounds 11 ounces! I guess she and I were destined to have a few giant girls! Of course our girls are thrilled and can’t wait to meet her. From the pictures we’ve seen, she looks just like Elizabeth did as a baby but with a tad less hair, though it’s just as dark. Lucy has adjusted well and Elizabeth is lucky enough to not only have Zak home this week, but also her mother-in-law.
We will not get to meet Lucy until the summer, but then we’re really going to get to know her. Picture this: a green minivan with a topper on the luggage rack, a bike rack on the back bumper loaded down with three bikes and a trailer, several suitcases, toy boxes, pillows, blankets, food boxes, a cooler, and electronic devices piled up inside, oh, and a family of five, a dog, and a cat. That’s us driving to Kentucky the day after school gets out. We’ll be spending the entire summer there so that Lucy doesn’t have to go to daycare! It’s going to be one crowded house, as Elizabeth and Zak already have a dog and two cats–oh, and did I mention just one bathroom? But we’ll make it work. Family is what it’s all about!
Anyone need a place to stay in Aurora this summer? LOL…
