Hugo Loves Papa

 

Photo Day

I didn't do much today but follow the girls around with my camera phone.  Or was it that they followed me around, and I so happened to have my camera phone at the ready?   The above pic was taken while Cesar was out driving Hugo to school.  I was dressing and the girls showed up pointing out my bum and my tummy and my knees and my toe nail polish saying, "What's dat?" as I dressed as fast as I possible could.  Goodness!  Sabine spied Evie on Papa's side of the bed and ran across the room from me.  Marlo followed quickly behind.  Normally, the girls are pretty gentle with Evie the Cat, but that was not the case today.  Today the girls each had a bit of the devil in them at the very same time, poor Evie.  So they scrambled up onto the bed, rushed the cat while bouncing and roaring and slapping her.  I didn't see it coming.  Evie the Cat vanished in half a second.  Look close below and you'll spy her speedy escape.

Mid morning we had snack time with milk, nectarines, strawberries and cheese sticks.  My feet were chilly so I left the girls at the kitchen counter with their half eaten snacks for the warmth of the fireplace.  Marlo was the first to follow and then Beanie showed close behind.  They climbed all over the sofa and beamed big smiles at me.  I've promised myself that when we buy new furniture for the living room... no more eating on the couch!  At least no eating on the couch if you are under 4 feet tall!

After dinner tonight I had all three kids line up against the inside of the door frame of our new closet in the dining room.  I measured their height to confirm what I already had guessed, Marlo is an entire inch taller than her sister Sabine!  Marlo weighs 30lbs, Sabine 21lbs., Marlo wears a size 7 shoe while Sabine is still a 6.  They both wear 2T clothing but the way the clothing fits their bodies is soooo different.  Amazing.  These sisters couldn't be more different.

Hugo is on his way to being a very good reader.  We are proud of him and his willingness to learn and try new things.  Hugo is happy about most things happening in his young life except for one very important thing.  Hugo hasn't lost any teeth yet and doesn't even have one loose tooth!  He doesn't like this bit of information much. 

Huntin' In The Burbs

Cesar bagged a mad hungry, attic wrecker, nest maker of a squirrel today.  This marks his second squirrel shooting since moving into the house.  The furry rodent had been busily shreding and striping the bark off a cedar tree near our kitchen window.  Cesar was lookin' for more pesky squirrels about the yard to aim at, but they had their bulbous eyes on him and all hid in their tree holes.  I had to remind him that only a few short months ago, Ira the Squirrel had melted our hearts.

Toula wanted to eat the squirrel.  I felt bad for the momma squirrel.  Hugo was fascinated with the dead squirrel.  Thank heavens the girls and Evie the Cat were all sleeping in the house and had no idea what was happening outdoors.

Before long, Hugo wanted to shoot the air gun.  Papa let him.  Hugo hit his target and is now gun crazy.  Thankfully, thankfully, Hugo asked his Papa to buy him a cork gun. 

Armies of Chickens

Hugo didn't want to bathe with his sisters tonight.  This was a first.  The girls were more than happy with the extra room in the tub.  Toula watched and watched from the edge of the bath.  I'm not sure if she was curious what the girls were doing in there or if she was nervous for them or if she wanted to be in the tub at the very same time as the stinkers.  I just don't know.  The girls were funny as they poured water over each others heads and slathered bubbles upon themselves and then their partner in crime.  They each screamed with anger as I pulled them one by one from the water to dry them off with their bunny towels.  Then I bathed Toula, while the girls watched from the outside edge of the tub.

Once the girls were tucked into bed, I called Hugo into the bathroom for a trim.  His hair was cut at the sink.  I let him play with the iPad for a bit to help him keep still for me.  It worked for a wee bit of time.  Eventually I had to bribe him with stories of chicken wings popping out of his hair and tales of armies of chickens on the move about his scalp.  I suppose it sounds very silly, but it works for Hugo.  He'll still sit very quiet for me so that I may rid him of these armies of chickens and he wiggles to try to see them in the mirror as I pretend to point them out.  I've been telling him these stories for a long, long time now.  I love that he trusts me so.  Means I have to push myself to be a better mom for him with all this trust.

Another first for Hugo tonight was a shower.  He has always hated them and refused for the last few years to even try one.  Tonight was different.  Hugo jumped in the shower before the water was warm.  I warned him it wasn't ready, but he said it was wonderful.  A second later he jumped from the spray saying it really was too cold!  Mean momma me pushed him back into the cold water and we laughed and laughed as I got wet too.  Soon the water was warm and Hugo loved it.  Said he never would bathe again, only shower.  Well la-di-dah!  Imagine your parents might have some good ideas!  I shampooed his head and stayed to help rinse the soap out of his hair, Hugo piped up with, "Privacy please!"  Privacy?  This word coming from my flasher of a son was laughable.  It's like, with a new hair cut and his first lone shower my babe imagined himself all grown up.

Hugo & Marlo

Hugo seems to prefer his sister Sabine over Marlo most of the time.  I think he likes Sabine's gentleness and quiet ways.  He has always preferred her in one way or the other over her twin Marlo.  Yet when he wants to play, to be silly, Hugo hangs with his sister Marlo.  I don't think he is aware of this.

I bathe my three kids all at once.  Bing, bang, bong and the work is done.  They all hop in the warm bath water, splash in the bubbles, play with some toys and then I begin to scrub them up.  Marlo is usually my first victim.  Then Sabine, followed by Hugo.  Once all three have been scrubbed I usually take leave for their rooms to ready their night clothes, tidy the beds, play with Toula and wander back into the bathroom to check my email, play a game or two of solitaire on my phone all before announcing my very cruel intentions of ending bath time.  Sabine used to always jump up to exit the tub first, now I have to drag her out.  I must note here that once she realizes my intentions and begins to voice her refusal, Hugo votes her out.  As I dry the screaming Sabine and carry her into the nursery, Hugo and Marlo turn the bath into their pretend pool and Marlo copies every little detail of Hugo's play.  She is going to be a fish this summer.  I look forward to the day when Hugo realizes that he likes to hang with his sister Sabine for one reason and his sister Marlo for another. 

Breakfast

Hugo has been a stinker about breakfast lately.  He doesn't want to eat cereal anymore.  Let me rephrase that...  Hugo doesn't want to eat non sugared cereal anymore.  He has always eaten Cheerios or Honey Bunches of Oats or something along those lines.  Now he'll only eat Cheerios when forced and he wants nothing to do with raisins anymore.  Or so he says.  I ran out of the classic black raisins last week.  Cesar pulled out a bag of golden raisins I had squirreled away in a cupboard for baking.  When Hugo saw the golden raisins in her cereal instead of the classic black raisins, he freaked.  Went nutso.  Swore up and down that he would not eat the yellow raisins.  "Well," I said, "ya eat yellow grapes, right?!"  He didn't budge. 

During the long winter months, one thing I look forward to is all the yellow and pink grapefruit in the markets.  I looooove grapefruit!  I have memories of GG peeling grapefruit like an orange and eating the sections as she sat in her chair in the sun room.  She'd slice the the fruit in half and around each section for me.  I'd sit at the tiny table in her kitchen, beneath the window, and eat the grapefruit with a special spoon GG set out for me, it had little teeth to aid in scooping out all the tangy flesh and they sometimes hurt my lips.  The spoons also had bamboo handles and I've often wondered what became of those grapefruit spoons.  To get me to eat the crust of my toast, GG would slather the discarded crusts with more jam.  Her trick worked.

Last winter Hugo finally tried a bite of grapefruit with me, he loved it.  The past few days he has been devouring an entire grapefruit all on his own.  Once finished, he waits for me to squeeze out the juice so he can drink it down.  Yum!  My tongue is all salivating thinking of the delicious juice. 

I do sprinkle a wee bit of sugar on the flesh of this winter fruit.  Not much mind you.  This morning I left the sugar bowl out on the counter.  I didn't do it on purpose.  I didn't even remember not putting it straight back into the cupboard as I usually do.  I figured it out as I dressed the girls this morning.  Sabine had something stuck all over her face and in the front wings of her hair.  I was stumped as to what it was.  A memory of Hugo crawling over the counters to lick the sugar bowl on a daily basis popped into my head.  This memory is exactly the reason why I now put the sugar bowl up in the cupboard right away after each use.  Sabine.  Silent, but deadly.  Sure enough, the kitchen counter had scattered sugar bits here and there.  The top and sides of the sugar bowl were crusted over with a thick layer of toddler licked sugar goodness.  Even the stool she climbed down from was covered in sugar snot. 

My father swears that he remained so skinny throughout high school, because my Grandmother Ruby made him eat half a grapefruit each morning. 

Bingo Night & Sledding

Hugo has a Bingo night at school tonight.  Cesar volunteered to stay home with the girls so that I can spend some alone time with our boy.  Over breakfast this morning I was talking to Hugo about our playing Bingo together tonight.  He didn't sound very excited about it so I began to mention names of his friends who I thought we might see.  The conversation went a little something like this...

Me:  I bet we'll see Emma and her Dad tonight. 

Hugo:  Umm, okay.

Me:  I bet we'll see Rowan and his brother and Mom tonight.

Hugo:  Good.

Me:  I bet John Carlo will be there.

Hugo:  Oh, I like him!

Me:  Really?

Hugo: .... no response ....

Me: I bet we'll see Sarah.

Hugo:  I don't like her!

Me:  That's not nice to say.  Why don't you like her?

Hugo:  Well, she always blames me for things I didn't do.

Me:  Like what? 

Hugo:  Well, when I swing my arms back and forth, like this... , she says that I hit her on purpose.

Me:  I think you should try real hard to not swing your arms around when you are near Sarah.

Hugo:  I like Phaedra.

Me:  Really?  You like her?

Hugo:  It could be love.

Me:  Love, huh?!

Hugo:  But it's not.

Me:  Why not?

Hugo:  Because I'm going to get married!  Remember???!

He didn't mention Nicole's name, just that he was getting married.  It warms my heart to know that his love runs deep and his heart is constant.  I hope he will grow up to be a man who is always kind and tender and loving toward his wife.  Hugo loves his sisters and is a good big brother to them.  For the most part he shares his toys and will watch their princess movies right along with them.  He is anxious to hug and kiss them.  Now, to just promote this family closeness all the way through the teenage years! 

*If you scroll down through the photos, you'll see a series of three where Sabine had been on the tube all by herself.  She wasn't too sure about sledding at all, and then... Hugo pretty much did her in by stepping in front of her flying tube.  The choice of her big brother's action, caused a crash, and tossed her into the snow.  She was not happy.  I'm not sure if she'll sled again this winter, even if we actually do get more snow.  So, in case you were wondering if I was trying to say that Hugo was the perfect big brother... What I really meant is that he is a perfectly normal big brother who happens to have a soft heart!  I love you Hugo!

 

Today Is Friday

So my time has disappeared a little something like this...

Last Saturday:  I walked down the steps to the first floor with a tray full of sandwiches for lunch and discovered it was freezing.  "Cesar it feels really cold down here" I complained.  "Come to think of it, I haven't heard the furnace turn on in a while."  He ran down to the basement and sure enough, the furnace was out and could not be lit.  Cesar called our plumber at 12:30 pm, the guy didn't show until 6:30 pm.  We were mad, mad cold people.  The plumber got the furnace going but said he needed to return Sunday at noon to finish cleaning the furnace.

Sunday:  My new dining room floor was threatened by an axe.

Upon returning home from church, there was no plumber in our basement and there was no heat from the furnace.  Another hour or so later I realized that the plumber had left a message on my phone saying that he wasn't coming.  He said he had 5 other calls to get to and we needed to rescheduled for later in the week.  Cesar was hopping mad.  I was hopping cold.  Cesar called our contractor for his plumbers number.  The new plumber arrived and got the furnace back up and running.

Monday:  Cesar went to work on the Good Wife.  Mike the Contractor arrived with Steve and they began to install the floor molding.  Jin, Amy and Hannah came over for a late breakfast due to the kids having Martin Luther King holiday at school.  All was good and fun and happy and relaxed and warm.  The kids went down for bed easy and I slipped into a flannel nightgown and was about to make some cocoa when Cesar called.  He had just crashed the truck on the George Washington bridge.  Crashed the truck.  But he was fine.  What?  I was kinda in shock.   At first we thought I would need to drive down to pick him up so I called around to find someone to watch the kids.  Brother Harris came over and gave me a blessing and a few minutes later... Cesar called and said that our insurance would pay for a tow home.  Yay!!  I had not been looking forward to driving in the storm.  Cesar finally made it home at 2 am.

Tuesday:  Cesar was on the phone and computer all day.  The contractors were back working away at finishing the trim and cleaning up a closet.  I don't know if I remember anything else about our Tuesday.

We opened a contract with a new home heating service.  They sent a guy over to do his own tune up of our poor furnace.

Wednesday:  No contractors.  No word on the truck if it will be totaled or not.  No fruit left in the house, no time to got shopping.  I cleaned and cleaned and washed laundry all day long.  Had to rid the house of all the sawdust so that the girls and I can breathe.  Started to realize I hadn't showered in a while and that I was still wearing my flannel nightgown.

Thursday:  As I prepared Hugo's lunch with the kitchen swarming with children and a hungry puppy, Cesar asked if I knew what day it was.  Now he didn't ask the date, that for sure I didn't know, but I normally can tell you which day of the week it is, but not this day.  I answered, "I think it's Wednesday because I was hoping we could take the girls to playgroup, but it might be Thursday.  But I think it's Wednesday."  Cesar, "Do you think it's Friday?"  Me, "I know it's not Friday, I think it's Wednesday or Thursday.  Don't you have your phone in your pocket??!"  Turned out, it was Thursday.

Cesar and I drove around catching up on errands.  I forgot about my Visiting Teacher coming over at 10:30.  Last on our list was for me to drop Cesar off at Enterprise so he could pick up his rental car.  Check.  Driving home Marlo fell asleep in her car seat.  I had high hopes of a nap myself once the van was unloaded.  I was warm and hopeful that life was ironing itself back out.  Then Sabine barfed down the front of herself and the car seat straps.

Our oil tanks were filled back up by the new heating service company.

Hugo came home from school with a note from his teacher and the school nurse stating that someone in his class had been exposed to pink eye.  Me, "Hugo, this note says that someone in your class might have pink eye."  Hugo, "Yeah, Mrs. Monroe thinks it's me!"  What????

I called my Visiting Teacher mid afternoon to apologize for standing her up.  She called me back at dinner time to remind me that this is my families week to clean the chapel.

Friday:  My phone rang at 6:12 am, it was a recording from Hugo's elementary saying that there was a two hour delay this morning.  I tried my best to sleep in.  Then I made waffels for the family with my new iron that my Mother-In-Law gave me for Christmas.  Things have to get better.  Or at least slow down!  Pretty please....