Red Sox Doodle Dandy
I taught Doodles to say he was a Red Sox Doodle Dandy, as I know his father wouldn't approve of him being a Yankee Doodle Dandy. It's very cute to hear him say it. It comes out something like, "I'm a Red Sox Doodle Dander," which I imagine is the type of Doodle that makes a lot of people sneeze.
Anyway, we had a very exciting, very busy 4th of July. I tend to go overboard on the nonsecular holidays like Thanksgiving and Independence Day, because I like to be able to celebrate with all my friends. Plus it gives me an excuse to give in to all my Martha tendencies.
Our day started with the neighborhood parade. It is the cutest thing I have ever seen! It's a bike/trike/wagon parade and all the kids decorate their vehicles and we march up and down the neighborhood streets. Some parents were pulling a wagon with a boombox so we had some honest-to-goodness parade music, flags were waving, streamers flying. The kids took it all quite seriously, and Doodles loved riding along on his trike, waving to the folks who popped outside to look. Sweetie was in her stroller, looking very much like she had better things to be doing.
After the parade, it was time to get ready for our annual July 4th BBQ. There was corn to grill and salads to make and fruit to cut and decorations to put out. While I got ready, Doodles was able to entertain himself watching the launch of the space shuttle. The kid is all about space these days and he's already asked a number of times for a rocket cake for his birthday. Adam and I went back and forth on whether to set up inside or out, as the skies were threatening rain. Finally, it seemed that dryness would prevail and we set up outside, which was good as we were expecting (and had!) over fifty folks.
Adam grilled hot dogs and chicken sausage (Sweetie, by the way, ate an entire spicy chicken sausage herself, along with roasted red peppers, and the star-shaped Rice Krispie treat she violently yanked from my hand and shoved into her mouth before I could stop her; I don't care how much I love you, nobody steals my Rice Krispie treats!) and I kept the food coffers filled and tried to be social. Pie was in great form and I ended up with my new technique: the hand-n-dash. That's where I hand her off to someone and then escape as fast as I can before she can be handed back to me. I do it in love, I promise! The kids were all terrific; I had pulled out a zillion toys, and thanks to Oriental Trading had patriotic rubber ducks, gliders, tattoos, straw cups...
Everything was going along swimmingly when it started to, well, go along swimmingly! Adam said to me at one point, "Um, should we move dessert inside?" I blithely asked, "Wh--?" and then the rain began coming down in sheets. No light drizzle start, just a sudden, violent downpour. Everyone grabbed a dish of food and we all headed inside. I consider it a sign of the party being a success that no one ran off; we just continued hanging out inside, the kids taking over the playroom and the grown-ups in the living room.
The party wound down around 8ish and we got Sweetie to bed and Doodles into a bath. I was pleased with our 4th, positive that I'm providing great memories that my children will look back upon fondly. Reveling in this feeling, I asked Doodles about the day:
Me: Doodles, what was your favorite part today?
[I wait anxiously. I'm guessing it's going to be watching the space shuttle, but maybe it was the parade? Perhaps it was blowing bubbles during the party or running down the front steps in the rain with his pinwheel...]
Doodles: Um. [makes his thinking face; thinks for about a minute] The cupcakes.
Me: The cupcakes were your favorite part of today?
Doodles: Yep. Eating cupcakes.
Me: Okay. Well, what else did you like doing today?
Doodles: [again with the thinking face] Um. Hmmm. [pause] The chips.
Me: Chips?
Doodles: Yeah. The chips. I liked the cupcakes and the chips.
Note to self: Next year, skip the parades and parties. Just serve Doodles a plate of chips and cupcakes and call it a memory!
Anyway, we had a very exciting, very busy 4th of July. I tend to go overboard on the nonsecular holidays like Thanksgiving and Independence Day, because I like to be able to celebrate with all my friends. Plus it gives me an excuse to give in to all my Martha tendencies.
Our day started with the neighborhood parade. It is the cutest thing I have ever seen! It's a bike/trike/wagon parade and all the kids decorate their vehicles and we march up and down the neighborhood streets. Some parents were pulling a wagon with a boombox so we had some honest-to-goodness parade music, flags were waving, streamers flying. The kids took it all quite seriously, and Doodles loved riding along on his trike, waving to the folks who popped outside to look. Sweetie was in her stroller, looking very much like she had better things to be doing.
After the parade, it was time to get ready for our annual July 4th BBQ. There was corn to grill and salads to make and fruit to cut and decorations to put out. While I got ready, Doodles was able to entertain himself watching the launch of the space shuttle. The kid is all about space these days and he's already asked a number of times for a rocket cake for his birthday. Adam and I went back and forth on whether to set up inside or out, as the skies were threatening rain. Finally, it seemed that dryness would prevail and we set up outside, which was good as we were expecting (and had!) over fifty folks.
Adam grilled hot dogs and chicken sausage (Sweetie, by the way, ate an entire spicy chicken sausage herself, along with roasted red peppers, and the star-shaped Rice Krispie treat she violently yanked from my hand and shoved into her mouth before I could stop her; I don't care how much I love you, nobody steals my Rice Krispie treats!) and I kept the food coffers filled and tried to be social. Pie was in great form and I ended up with my new technique: the hand-n-dash. That's where I hand her off to someone and then escape as fast as I can before she can be handed back to me. I do it in love, I promise! The kids were all terrific; I had pulled out a zillion toys, and thanks to Oriental Trading had patriotic rubber ducks, gliders, tattoos, straw cups...
Everything was going along swimmingly when it started to, well, go along swimmingly! Adam said to me at one point, "Um, should we move dessert inside?" I blithely asked, "Wh--?" and then the rain began coming down in sheets. No light drizzle start, just a sudden, violent downpour. Everyone grabbed a dish of food and we all headed inside. I consider it a sign of the party being a success that no one ran off; we just continued hanging out inside, the kids taking over the playroom and the grown-ups in the living room.
The party wound down around 8ish and we got Sweetie to bed and Doodles into a bath. I was pleased with our 4th, positive that I'm providing great memories that my children will look back upon fondly. Reveling in this feeling, I asked Doodles about the day:
Me: Doodles, what was your favorite part today?
[I wait anxiously. I'm guessing it's going to be watching the space shuttle, but maybe it was the parade? Perhaps it was blowing bubbles during the party or running down the front steps in the rain with his pinwheel...]
Doodles: Um. [makes his thinking face; thinks for about a minute] The cupcakes.
Me: The cupcakes were your favorite part of today?
Doodles: Yep. Eating cupcakes.
Me: Okay. Well, what else did you like doing today?
Doodles: [again with the thinking face] Um. Hmmm. [pause] The chips.
Me: Chips?
Doodles: Yeah. The chips. I liked the cupcakes and the chips.
Note to self: Next year, skip the parades and parties. Just serve Doodles a plate of chips and cupcakes and call it a memory!
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home