Evy on Punishment

Said through tears with all earnest six-year-old angst:
"Mommy, you've ruined my whole day.
I don't like punishments! I wish God never made them!
I'm going to pray about that!"

On the First Day of First Grade

Meet my daughter, the Navagator.

Funny Girl

Our family is sitting around the dinner table one random night talking about a trip Dad will be taking. Evy is trying to decide what to give Daddy to take with him so he will think of her. She decideds on Pinkey Blanket (a nightly companion for my sweet five-year-old.)Mom is playing up how much fun they'll have while daddy is away and Evy glances toward her baby brother. "I wish it was just me and you mom," she says and you can almost see the lightbulb blink on above her angelic head. "I changed my mind, Daddy," she says sweet as anything, " For my thing for you to bring, I pick Henry. You should bring Henry with you to Costa Rica."

A Special Note for Laura Webber

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Spring is Near

The date was February second; we were on a mission.
Weeks earlier Evy had told me she would like to see the groundhog on groundhog's day. February first I'd tucked Evy into bed with the promise of a morning excursion to Mr. Groundhog's den. Afterall, we must find out the future of winter and spring. Howell Nature Center has a wonderful groundhog celebration, and best of all...it's FREE! The info said you've got to be there by 8am--tricky for the schoeb family doddlers.
7am: I woke Evy up and we started to get ready. I was feeling good. We were all hustle and bustle and I was congratulating myself for being such a good mom. Look at me making the ordinary special. This is just the kind of parent I dream of being.
7:35: I press down the growing desire to get rushed and stressed. I'm Cool Mom. I'm Go With the Flow Mom. What does it matter if we're 5 minutes late? It's the whole experience. Still, I urge Evy to hurry through her breakfast.
7:50: I have the address in my head. We start to get hats and coats and mittens on. I know we'll be late. I keep reminding myself it's not a big deal if we're late. I want to remember this day as a good day. I'm Go With the Flow Mom. I'm Go With the Flow Mom.

We finally get into the car. I know I'm driving a bit fast, but we can still make it. We can still make it. (I'm still resisting the urge to be completely "Plan A," can you tell?)How likely is EVERYTHING to hapen right at 8am, right?
I drive down the winding dirt road. I turn around, I curse GPS that doesn't work and keep driving.

8:17 We pull into the nature center just as 3 news trucks are pulling out. Go With the Flow Mom still showed outsite, but inside Never Quite Gets it Right Mom was having her way.
"Where's Woody, Mom?" Evy asked innocently, "She's not in her tree."
(They had this incredibly cute little display set up, but Woody seemed to have already made her appearance and returned from whence she came.)
We'd missed it. The whole thing. The newspaper reporters were getting final notes on thier stories and everyone was heading into a little lodge.
"Could I see Woody?" Evy asked a man in a nature center coat.
He smiled kindly and said he'd go get her. I was so relieved. We'd missed the whole thing, but Evy didn't know. She was contented to pet the groundhog as the very kind man told her that Woody had not, in fact, seen her shadow and spring was on it's way. We went into the lodge and had some juice and a donut. I silenced Never Quite Good Enough Mom with a cup of coffee and the promise of getting it right next year. Even late, we had a lot of fun.
And most importantly, SPRING IS ON IT'S WAY!
(I have tried to post a picture of Evy and Woody, but alas, I can't get it off my phone. Maybe later!)