Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows

The crocuses and daffodils are popping up all over the neighborhood, but there is frost on my windshield. Spring is here. Spring is full of promise.


Spring means birds. Trinity stepped outside with Nancy yesterday morning to get the paper and was treated to the sounds of robins and starlings and cardinals and sparrows. Our normally wiggly girl sat perfectly still, listening. Nancy asked her if she liked the birds' singing. "Yeah," she whispered. This bodes well for Trinity who has a grandmother in Maine who says things like "I heard a Veery in the woods today."


Spring means playing in the yard. Walking through the backyard this morning, I can see what Peanut has been doing back here all winter; and now I can start to clean it up. (Dave and Trin have already taken a couple of forays into the minefield and come away clean, but that luck is going to run out soon enough.) Frankly, nothing really says Spring like the sight of a little boy playing with his trucks and tractors in the dirt, or running around the yard being chased by his dog. David, by the way, is in L O V E with Peanut, following her around and hugging her and singing little songs like "Peanut, Oh, Peanut/ Rinky Dinky Doo."



Spring means riding bikes. We took Dave and Trin out for a spin around the neighborhood last Saturday and had our picture snapped by a photographer from the newspaper. And there we were on Monday morning: the kids looking sporty, and me looking like I weigh about 300 pounds. They say the camera adds about 10 pounds, but this is ridiculous. Dave is a monster on his bike. He's 100% mobile now, except when her veers off the sidewalk and into the mud; then he's 100% helpless. Trin can't push the pedals of her bike hard enough to get going and so she must be pushed. This wouldn't be so bad, if she would steer. She CAN steer but chooses not to. She's a gazer like my great aunt Helen who, legend has it, was so fond of looking in people's windows as she drove by that she was always in danger of driving off the road.


Spring means new sneakers. Trinity's ready for the basketball court or an all-girl pop band (maybe called "Sugar Stick"!) with her new high-top pink plimsolls!

Spring means birthday parties. Both David and Trinity celebrated birthdays this month: David turned 3 on the 24th; Trinity turned 2 on the 14th. We've been eating cupcakes ever since. The cupcake recipe that Nancy used comes from Amy Sedaris. You can find the recipe here:

http://www.amysedarisrocks.com/recipes.htm#amy

David's birthday was almost solely a Thomas the Tank Engine affair. He got new tracks and lots of new trains and t-shirts, and conductor's overalls, and a hat. Trinity's was a little more varied, since she doesn't show a marked preference for any particular kind of toy. The big present was a dollhouse. Of course, David likes to play with it more than she does. And, sadly, Nancy and I like it maybe even more than either of them. It turns out that Trinity's toy animals fit almost perfectly into the dollhouse, presenting us with an irresistible opportunity to create miniature scenarios depicting things like potty training among the woodland creature set.

Spring means baseball and softball. While the real athletes report to camp and negotiate unfathomable salaries, increasingly soft-in-the-middle used-to-bes like me struggle into our cleats for another season of slow-pitch home-run derby, complete with lumbering.

And, of course, Spring means Summer is coming, which means more time to spend doing the things that Spring always promises, such as...