fine dining, fine motor skills, fine-tuned neediness, and fine art

Whoa, that's a lot of fines.

Fine dining: Dad and I had a great pizza dinner with the twins last night (that also provided some much-needed leftovers for my dinner with the girls tonight.) I'm sure my dad has never met a pizza he didn't like, and it was fun to go out on his last night here. Francois and Simeon left early early yesterday for a trip all the way across the country until Wednesday, so it was super nice to have Dad's company and assistance for at least the first day they were gone. We even took the girls to a playground and taught them to say "Wheeeeee" on the slide. Taking each of our three kids to playgrounds as young toddlers has always been one of those tangible, inescapable reminders for me that everything we know in life, we had to learn at some point. Case in point -- nobody knows instinctively that the way to go down the slide again isn't to climb UP the slide, but rather to go AROUND to the platform way over there and climb up until one reaches the top!

Fine motor skills: Eloise and Annamaria have learned how to stab stuff with a fork. This is great! They've been trying it out for a long time, but it required lots of patience and a warm body sitting there waiting to load up another bite over and over again. Fortunately, Simeon was thrilled to have this job now and then, but often I was trying to get him to eat his own food at the same time, so I got to be the Fork Loader Upper Person. It didn't help that recently, both girls not only needed help getting food on the fork, but also had very specific ideas about who should be wielding that fork when the food got on it. (i.e. Only Simeon. Or, not Mama -- just Grandad.) So, yesterday when you could see them trying, and today when they really got it were both occasions to celebrate. The other good news is that now I can get them to eat almost anything, as long as it's cut up small and able to be stabbed. They're both so thrilled with their new ability that it doesn't matter what's on those prongs!

Fine-tuned neediness: What person, when given the option of an educational and entertaining baby einstein farm video, complete with a nice couch pillow to sit on, a stuffed animal, a cool sippy cup of water, and a twin sister next to her, chooses instead to follow her mama into the kitchen and get tangled in her legs while she's trying to warm up leftover pizza? If you guessed Annamaria, you're right. I've never seen a Cady kid who won't sit still for a movie, but she likes to break the mold, this one.

Fine art: HURRAY FOR LILAH, who graduates tomorrow with a masters in it. Media world, look out! It took F and S fifteen hours door to door to get to Boston for the occasion, so I think we made the right choice to keep the girls behind this trip.