When does Fall start?

I'm sure I'll long for these hot, sunny August days in January...but for now, all I can think about is jeans and sweater weather. It's just so darn hot and humid. Our grass has turned crunchy and a shade of yellow, the flowers start wilting an hour after I water them, and you could hear a pin drop when you walk outside our door, whereas during nice weather, the sounds of kids laughing can be heard from the playground just down the street. The girls get red faced and cranky after just a few minutes of being outside, and our car is an oven most days when we get in - so the temptation to just stay inside all day and play is always there, which means we're experiencing a winter-like cabin fever. Luckily, the girls are easily entertained - they spent a half hour the other day climbing in and out of a cooler.


Which gave them close quarters for some open mouthed kissing (HA!)


There's just not a lot to do with 13-month olds, particularly when they're not content to sit in a stroller for any period of time (otherwise I'd be spending far too much time at the mall). Whereas Nashville is full of opportunities for pre-schoolers, from pottery painting and cooking classes to the new planetarium at the Adventure Science Center - taking young toddlers to those places is like throwing money down the drain, as I learned after paying the $13 admission fee to the Nashville Zoo in June and spending half of our time in front of the drinking fountain (the girls' favorite attraction, strangely enough).


During the week, my moms' club is a true sanity saver. We're headed to the library later today for their story time hour, which is such a completely awesome, free event. The last time we attended, the girls weren't walking yet - and so even though Margaret insisted on climbing into this other mom's lap four times in a row (apparently her lap was more comfy than mine), they generally stayed in my vicinity and actually paid attention to the story and puppets for about 5 minutes. I fear what today will be like, though, with their being proficient walkers - and sometimes runners (!). Luckily, the story time presenters don't seem to mind their audience making a lot of noise and moving around.


I've also signed the girls up for a music class on Thursdays at a bookstore, which I'm really looking forward to. I'm hoping Anna and Margaret will show off their rhythmic swaying/bobbing moves to the class. I hear the high-energy instructor is awesome but insists on all parents full participation, which means I'm going to make a fool of myself for an hour straight while I sing along and make the associated hand gestures to songs like "The Wheels on the Bus." I just always pray in those situations that no other adult is watching me.

Our weekend was nice and relaxing, although I ended up getting a head cold/sore throat/earache that was worse than any cold I've had in years. I guess I'm lucky to say that it really was the first time since the girls were born that I was too sick to take care of them - and so father of the year Joey stepped in and took the lead in tickling/chasing/throwing/singing to/feeding/and generally exhausting himself for 2 days straight, while I layed on the couch and watched. At the height of sore throat aching, all I could think of was eating a popsicle, so we took the girls to Dragon Park with the ultimate plan of walking over to Fido for a Las Paletas popsicle.

We had the park to ourselves, of course, and I adore this place - it's located directly across from Vanderbilt Children's Hospital and features a fully handicap-accessible playground, which is also quite awesome for wobbly toddlers not quite ready for the monkey bars and slides.




The Water Sprayer - which was quite a hit until the wasps started to surround us

Oh, and the Las Paletas popsicles? Totally hit the spot. We highly recommend the Mexican Caramel and Strawberry Pineapple Banana flavors, although Joey and I got a mere taste whereas the girls devoured them. I'm not even sure they stopped for air.

Well, I'm off to get a shower while the girls are still sleeping. Have a good one!