random things and a visit from an important bunny

Well, we made it through March, a month whose only bragging rights are that the sun is noticeably warmer than it is in February. Sometimes your car will actually heat up and you have to crack the window.  Oh, and we change the clocks so it doesn't get dark during supper anymore.  I know I'm grasping but I don't have much to work with. 

The only other thing March can brag about is its mud, and since it knows better, March remains quiet on the topic. 

March is the most bi-polar month in Maine, not sure if it should lean toward spring or stay rooted in winter.  This March was no exception with a few spring days and a monster snow storm that allowed us to use our last scheduled snow day. 

Personally, I would have preferred to have summer start a day earlier, but that's just me.

This time of year has me dreaming of the succulent heads of lettuce from our farmshare, wearing flip flops with brightly painted toe nails, sleeping with the smell of lilacs on the night breeze, running at dawn in shorts and eating dinner outside.  But for now I will just celebrate getting the snow tires off the car and stowing the snow shovels. 

Here's what we've been up to as we tredded water through March and gleefully sailed into April where dirty snowbanks and brown turn into the color that our eyes desperately crave: green.  

Sandi made a batch of molasses taffy with the girls that didn't get heated to the proper temperature and turned into a fantastic gooey mess. Instead of twisting the taffy into golden strands, it glopped and plopped all over. 

It was awesome.

Maya had a cold that led to croup but, mercifully did not lead to an airway crisis or an ER visit.  Managing her at home with the array of drugs, inhaled and oral, is a delicate process of method, guesswork, luck and prayer.  When she was home sick one day with me we played blocks and she made this:

You don't know what it is? Well, it is a hospital bed, of course.  That is the patient lying under the finish line and that red block standing off to the side is Sandi getting ready to administer anesthetic agent.  Duh.  

Maya has been working on this learning program at home with math and phonics and she is doing a great job.  She has a short list of words that she can actually read now.  We played number bingo using Honey Nut Cheerios until the wonderful moment when we could shout "BINGO!"  Maya was really into the shouting part. No surprise there.

Ella has really been missing her teacher who is out on maternity leave.  When she found out her teacher was coming back a week earlier than expected the made this announcement on our white board.


"At the end of April vacation Mrs. Fitzpatrick is coming back!"

Maya finished level two at gymnastics and got this medal she has been coveting for weeks.  Unfortunately, she hid it in a "very important" spot that night and we have yet to find it.  She speaks of it wistfully.

For Easter this year we headed to Beals.  Luckily the Easter Bunny knew of our travel plans and visited us there.

 

With Tia as the very tall Easter Bunny egg-hiding assistant, it was game-on for the egg hunt.

It was a truly gorgeous morning on the ocean and we took full advantage with a beach walk with Sandi's parents.  Dwight found a high quality buoy washed up on the beach that was not marked as another fisherman's so he carried it out.  Maya is Grampie's girl and was psyched when she found an old, beat-up buoy of her own to carry.  

Now there's a downeast girl for you.  

In other news, I got out for my first bike ride of the year today!  With a pair of toe warmers keeping my feet from frostbite I could totally deal with the 45 degree temperature and wind.  I had some gear issues wherein my low gears wouldn't hold so each time I would climb a hill my gears would switch on their own, nearly causing me to faceplant.  Still, I was thrilled to be pedaling again. 

This year I am doing the Trek Across Maine again and Sandi is doing it too!  The Trek Across Maine is a fundraiser for the American Lung Association.  It is a 3 day, 180 mile bike ride across Maine June 14-16.  It is, in a word, incredible.  My experience  last year  had me itching to do it again.  The minimum fundraising goal is $500 per person and since Sandi rarely sees the light of day anymore, I will be raising $1000 for the two of us.  We would LOVE sponsors!!  You can sponser me or Sandi by clicking on the link to get to our personal page.  No amount is too small since it all counts! 

Happy spring to all of you!