MADELEINE: (pointing) Mommy, what's that in the window?
ME: Uh, hang on, let me come look.
Here's what she was pointing to:
MADELEINE: (brightly) Oh yeah! Those are dead bugs! Mommy, those are just our LITTLE BUDDIES!
She was extra delighted to discover we had more little buddies on the adjacent window screen. I don't blame her for her excitement. Is there really anything more inviting than dead, belly-up Japanese beetles??
Although she loved her little buddies, her attention was soon drawn to Ethan, who had decided to work from home today thanks to the croupy virus that has been going through our house. After some rough-housing, squealing, and tickling fun, Madeleine didn't seem ready to part with her daddy as he went to set up his computer and start his work day. I guess receiving "tummy toots," which is our household name for blowing raspberries on someone's belly to tickle them, was just too much fun for her to let go of.
MADELEINE: (shrieking) DADDY!
ETHAN: (coming into the living room) What's wrong, Madeleine?
MADELEINE: Daddy, come here!
ETHAN: Madeleine, do you want a kiss?
MADELEINE: No, I don't want a kiss.
ETHAN: Here, give me a kiss.
MADELEINE: No! I just want you to DON'T TOOT on my tummy!
Ah. Very subtly played, Madeleine. You call your father back in and then get frustrated when he can't read your mind that you want him to give you tummy toots, so you use sneaky reverse psychology to tell him that you DON'T want him to toot on your tummy. What a wily way to get what you want.
Since our town pool closed for the season last Friday, we haven't had our usual free swim afternoon outings to keep us busy, and in addition, until Julia's barking seal cough has ceased, I am hesitant to take the kids to public play areas and risk infecting other children. So our afternoons this week so far have been filled with backyard play, although today I tried to change things up a little and initiate some driveway playtime. Since we've spent the majority of our outdoor time this summer swimming, the kids have definitely neglected their bikes, so I thought it might be fun for them to get some riding time.
You are all probably well aware of the idiom "It's like riding a bike;" however, you wouldn't know that to be true watching my kids hop on their bikes for the first time in awhile today. While Julia was back up to speed by the time we put the bikes back in the garage today, she started off as if she had never been on a two-wheeler before, moving her legs sluggishly to complete a few slow pedals, then hopping off her bike and walking it along before hopping back on. Madeleine had an even harder time, struggling to push the pedals hard enough to get moving from a stationary position. "Mommy, I need some HEEEELP!" she wailed, and great motivator that I am, I encouraged her to keep pushing because she needed to practice working those leg muscles to really learn how to pedal. Totally wrong answer. Next thing I knew, Madeleine scrambled off her bike in frustration, stomping off, shrieking: "My bike doesn't LIKE ME! My bike doesn't LIKE ME SITTING ON THE SEAT!"
And there I was, uttering what are probably the most ridiculous words of consolation of my life: "Honey, your bike DOES like you," before gathering her into my arms.
So, in order to encourage Julia to give more than a half-hearted effort towards riding, and in order to convince Madeleine that her bike does in fact like her, I went all out and decided to create a whole village along the driveway.
There was Julia's home:
And Madeleine's home:
There was the college that Julia, who decided to be 19, went to:
There was also the office that Julia worked at when she was not in class:
Before I knew it, the girls were riding to and from school, work, the grocery store (which I had also drawn, but neglected to photograph. I can assure you it's no must-see work of art), and their homes. Madeleine even made up with her bike and was able to do a lot of pedaling by herself. Next thing I knew, Madeleine and Julia decided to have a play-date at Julia's house, so Madeleine biked on over. Now, given that Julia was 19 in this game and Madeleine chose to be 4, it's an interesting age difference for friends, but hey, they seemed to get along just fine. In fact, Julia chose the play-date activity, which was a game of "Hop Gymnastics." Lest you think that Hop Gymnastics is just basically Hopscotch, I have a video to prove to you that this is not the case. I'm telling you, this is the new up-and-coming schoolyard game; just watch and see as Julia demonstrates this game's moves with her usual light-footed grace:
To end our driveway play, the girls asked to have their bodies traced. This is one of their favorite things to do out in our driveway. While it makes our house look as if it was the scene of multiple homicides (or death by falling out of windows), the girls love to color themselves in after they've been traced. Julia requested my tracing handiwork:
Poor Madeleine got stuck with Julia's tracing skills, so that her silhouette came out looking kind of like the Pillsbury Dough Boy, but she thankfully didn't seem to mind:
What better way to cool down after a wild and crazy game of Hop Gymnastics than to lay your whole body down on the driveway while someone traces you? A perfect end to our afternoon of driveway adventures.
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