Brainy Doyle

our gafa girl

The Rest of the Story

So, Chris comes home tomorrow--yay!--and in case I've made it seem like things have been super-easy without him, I thought I should tell the rest of the story. I should start by mentioning that in the time we've known each other, we have endured long distances and two six month deployments, both of which put relatively short business trips like this one in perspective. Chris' absence has definitely reminded me of all he does on a regular basis to make my life easier and to support me in everything I do. It also made me exercise my "independent woman" muscles. A good thing. Of course, I have had a lot of help from my right-hand girl Madeleine. The best thing she did by far was to start reading two chapters nightly of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. She knows bedtime is challenging when Chris is gone so she picked up the book one night and now, her sisters look forward to bed time, stay in bed and fall asleep before she stops reading. Magic? Madeleine. Thank you!

As for the not-so-great stuff over the two weeks...our most definitely two-year-old Ella colored the rug with a Sharpie, painted the refrigerator and cabinets with nail polish and dumped the entire contents of my purse at least three times (fortunately, I don't keep much in there). Not to be outdone, Grace poked Sophie in the ear with a pencil, tormented people while they were doing their schoolwork by making loud, annoying noises and cut her hair--again. She told me she got the idea from The Parent Trap. On top of all of that, I've had the usual bickering that drives me the most crazy. What I haven't had much of is quiet or time alone. As I told an employee at Barnes and Noble the day the girls were all calling "Mommy" at once, vying to get my attention, it may be time to change my name. Not for too long though. Because I love my loud and crazy, wonderful life. I really do. And I can't wait for Chris to jump back in with me.

Now for some photos of the happenings at Casa Doyle over the last two weeks:

Fun with Bendaroos

I found a box of these on clearance at the grocery store. Talk about a great buy.

I brought them out one afternoon and the girls spent a happy two hours creating all sorts of things. The best part was being joined by our neighbor friends who left later with creatures of their own.

Watch out--scary shark!

The best of the bunch.

I like how Ella is proudly holding up her cup.

Ice cream guaranteed to produce peaceful feelings.

Along with her tremendous ice cream sunday, Mia has been hard at work on domino mazes. The one above took awhile because the book was a precarious surface and either Mia or one of her sisters kept knocking the whole thing over.

So, she took the whole production outside

Speaking of outside, we went on a bike ride one day to collect pine cones and things for fall arrangements and decorations. I rode home with these sticks hanging out of the back of the bike trailer. Madeleine says they look scary but I like them. The best part? They were free. I also have a very nice pine cone arrangement and we collected so many that we will be ready to make turkeys in a few weeks.

Here--a scene from a little play the girls are working on.

Any guesses as to the story?

Not mortally wounded.

My helper

Sophie has helped quite a bit with the cooking since Chris has been gone.

Here, we're making Rice Krispie Treats for our Pippi Longstocking tea party.

I used some pink marshmallows that Chris and I picked up at a latino market. They made the cookies look like they'd been dipped in pepto bismol. Pink Lady Sophie didn't mind a bit!

In position

So here's the background--we've slowly been reading our way through Pippi Longstocking, an old favorite of mine. A recent chapter had Pippi and her friends Tommy and Annika in a tree enjoying tea and cakes. I thought that sounded like fun. Up a tree is always good. The girls agreed so we decided to try it.

At Pippi's tea party, they threw the tea pot, cups and saucers to the ground and broke them all. Ours are plastic and they all survived.

Later in the day, when their friend Emily came home from school, the girls did a reprise of the tea party. They gathered their own food and drinks and Emily joined them up the tree. I have a feeling they will not soon forget the experience.

Next, Sophie wants to do a Mary Poppins style tea party. That might be a bit trickier.

See you next time!!

Adventures in Austin--a photo explosion

Because of all the photos you're about to see, this post took much longer than most. I go to the trouble of uploading all those photos--five at a time--painstakingly slowly--because Frodo Seven has become a kind of family scrapbook. Scrapbooking as a hobby gradually went away as we welcomed baby after baby and it was harder to deal with all of the "stuff" involved. So, now, Blogger is doing our record-keeping and I have captured much more of our daily life than I ever did before.

Our weekend trip to Austin was so much fun as you will see. It had been a long time since we had last seen Neil and gang and of course, we'd never met Baby Josie. We reveled in all of the family time.

Neil and Martina are in their first year of homeschooling. It was fun to talk about that and I saw a definite change in my nephew Jonathan (9) who, in the past, didn't want a whole lot to do with Mia (8) because she's not a boy. This visit, the two of them played chess, checkers, monopoly and more over and over. It's amazing how much difference the change in environment makes in kids.

We're planning to host Ashley for a week in November and Jonathan sometime after that so we will be seeing more of the Austin Kreitzers very soon.

Saturday, we went to the St. William's fall festival

I think the kids would be happy to do that every weekend

The biggest treat for me was an exposition of Baile Folklórico.

The various dances and costumes were from the different states in Mexico.

It was an impromptu culture lesson, relevant to the girls' Spanish classes.

I see some broken candle holders in my future.

The girls really liked this dance.

The smaller kids were my favorite.

The little guy on the right was clearly having the time of his life.

This is more like it for Sophie.

Fortunately, she did not eat it all!

One-handed fishing

The sack race: Grace, Mia, Paige

I love Grace's expression

On to the three-legged race

At the starting line

We're number one!

The teen-agers

In this photo: everyone who got hair dye!

We got up early for Mass Sunday morning. Jonathan was serving which made it exciting for everyone. Sophie spent the whole Mass craning to see him. I really enjoy Mass at St. William's because it is such a beautiful church. Its large hispanic population also has a big influence on the decor and the environment. The statue of the Holy Family above is one of my favorites ever.

The four evangelists and their symbols

The girls and I took a close look at this one because we have been talking about the evangelists and the specific people each one wrote to.

And this has always had special meaning for me.

Good buddies

Me and my god-daughter, Paige

photo by Sophie (I think the camera's a little heavy for her but she does a good job)

In the afternoon, we took all of the ice cream coupons Mia won at the festival to Sonic.

Free ice cream for everyone!

Strike a pose

Ice cream bath

Then we went to the playground

I see you, Drew

So that's all. Whew! Ta-ta till next time!

Say Almost Anything Famous

My brother-in-law Kevin, author of the world famous blog "Say Almost Anything Famous" just posted some really great photos of their recent visit. Click here to check them out.

Real

So, I am writing tonight in a very dejected state. Doyle Dame number four, our pint-sized pixie princess informed me tonight that her Harriet--or "Hairy It"--is not "real". The conversation went something like this. We were just in the door from Austin and were scouring the house for the mangled mermaid who hadn't made the trip. I asked Sophie if she thought maybe Harriet had found new friends to play with and where she would be if she were Harriet. "Under here?" "Or wait, maybe she wanted to be in the nice, dark closet. We have to think like Harriet, Sophie. Where would you hide if you were her?" "I don't know, Mama, but anyway, Harriet's not real." It was like a knife to my heart. Not real? That poor, chewed up, extremely loved on, precious doll--not real? I explained to her about the Velveteen Rabbit and how the boy's love had made him real. Sophie's response? Well, that can happen in stories Mama but it's not real. That word again.

I remember the first time I read Little Women. I was in seventh or eighth grade and, like most books, I read that one up my favorite tree. I walked around in a sort of dream-state for days afterward. The language of the book filled my head and Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy, Laurie and the rest were very real to me. I'd say that's true of most beloved characters in literature, movies etc. If they capture our imaginations, they become, in a sense, real. Good reason to be a vigilant gatekeeper of the mind.

So, the question of the night is--how did someone like me end up with such a pragmatic four year old? And--is the Hairy It real? Here's my answer--yes, Sophie, she's very real. She's woven into the fabric of your babyhood, is an irreplaceable part of your memories and you love her. Of course, your confusion over her "realness" may be due to the fact that she did not utter a cry when you chewed off both her arms. I don't know what to tell you about that, dear girl.

Coming Up: Adventures in Austin. We had a great weekend. Thanks for everything to all the Austin Kreitzers!

Game On!

Den Haag, NL

To my little Octopus Assault Team:

Would you like to play a game?

Look at the pictures below and write your own captions to tell the story of what Daddy did today. Each picture shows an activity in the order I did it. See who can figure the most out! (Hint, sometimes you might have to look at a picture before or after the one you are working on to get an idea for the context.)

Put your answers in the comments section...and have fun!

#1: ____________________

Our Answer: From Start to Finish (I also like Sophie's response Shoe, Shoe, Paper, Money)

#2: Ok, a little help on this one.

This is my good friend and co-worker, Milind Dalal. Great guy.

He is from India, so for this picture,

please also name a country that borders on India.

Our Answer: Walking the Bike (We're still working on the geography question--one thing at a time.)

#3: ____________________

My Answer: Everyone's a Philosopher. Other answers included Love Sign and Inspirational Food. Mia, good catechism student that she is, pointed out that the real purpose in life is to Know, Love and Serve the Lord.

#4: ____________________

Our Answers: At the Place Where He Orders Coffee (Sophus), Wake Up to Love (Mia and Mommy combined effort), Love and Caffeine (Madeleine)

#5: ____________________

Our Answers: A Song for Mary (Madeleine), Early Morning Mass and Going to See Jesus

#6: ____________________

My favorite answer for this one came from Grace: Having a Sleep-Over with his Men (Apparently she's under the impression that you're away having sleep-overs under twinkle lights with other guys. I'm thinking you should take her to work with you one day. Mia's response: Night with the Indians and Madeleine and Sophie chose Saturday Night Lights.

#7: ____________________

Responses were mostly about a dinner out. Mine: Going Green

#8: ____________________

Answers: Dinner Music, Music at Dinner and Tres Músicos

Ok, Bye for now!

I miss you guys! See you soon. Love, D.

Muchas gracias for the game! It was fun but we'd much rather have you home. See you soon and Mia says to tell you "I love you and I miss you and I want you to COME HOME!"