Aren't We All in a Bottle, Really?

I'm here, I swear. I haven't forgotten about this blog, I've just had no idea what to write lately. Can I just say? That OH, THESE KIDS... they are really exhausting me. That is just the plain truth. And I don't want to come off as someone who complains about her kids constantly, or who takes no joy in them. So I haven't been writing here. I don't want Finn and Lucy to read this space one day, and think I was miserable (even if sometimes I was).

Rather than dwell on the not-so-good stuff that I haven't been able to/wanted to articulate, I'll instead use this little drive-by-posting as an opportunity to write down a few of the cuter/funnier things my kids have been doing lately.

Finn saw a picture of bin Laden on the cover of the Economist this past weekend, and insisted he was a genie. I bet Xtina would think twice about asking him to rub her the right way.

While Lucy still does everything in her power to get me to NOT brush her hair, she has taken a shining to pigtails. It's difficult creating the latter without the former, but I am trying my best to get that point across. As you might imagine, she looks quite adorable with pigtails.

Lucy has also taken to saying "later" or "maybe later" when we inform her that she cannot do something. It comes in very handy, actually, and I am eternally grateful to the little girl she learned this from at daycare (transient though I'm sure this habit will be). For example, picture this conversation, which has actually happened.
Lucy: Lucy read more books.
Me: No, Lucy, it's time for bed.
Lucy: Maybe later (meaning the books, not the bedtime).
And then that's it - we get compliance. It doesn't work everytime, but when it does, I swear I hear angels singing.

Finn has finally mastered bike riding. Last fall, he could pedal forward on his tricycle and/or bicycle, but only if headed downhill or on flat land. He lacked the coordination and strength to power himself up any kind of hill. But now, the kid's nearing mastery - he's a lean, mean, bike-riding machine.

I thought I had more for this post, and likely I did LAST NIGHT, when I actually PLANNED to write this, before Blogger ruined my best intentions (and deprived my grandmother of pictures of the kids - they're coming, Mimi, I promise!) by being completely, utterly inaccessible. But that's all my weary brain can come up with for the moment. Expect some random, non-kid-related posts in the next few days and weeks as I try to get over this blogging dry spell. And those pictures, of course.