Abundance!

Clare likes to have LOTS. One Thomas train is not enough. She wants to watch videos with the whole group. And a pegasus!

Arms feel best when they are FULL!

How many ponies does a girl need? I think the answer was 28 at last count.

and bears and bunnies and mooses and...

And BIRDS! especially birds.

She's not a commercial girl, though. She enjoys the homemade stuff at least as much as the store-bought. I made her these stilts for Christmas, and she spent most of the day on them.

She said, "I can do anything on these that I can do with just my feet", and I said, "Except dance", to which she replied, "Unless it's a waltz".

It used to bother me to buy her MORE ponies, or MORE babies, because I thought she had enough. Luckily, I discovered that she doesn't care if they are new, and that thrift stores always have ponies & babies. And who am I to decide how many is enough?

Back in the USSR

What do you get when you have a daughter wanting matryoshkas and a husband who's a Russian history buff? Nesting Soviet leaders, of course!



These came from one of my favorite online places to shop, American Science & Surplus http://www.sciplus.com/index.cfm We've gotten some cool stuff from there.

President Clare

My sister Laura sent Clare this dress - as "filler" in a Christmas package. While she thoroughly enjoyed the gifts, this dress was much more than "filler" for Clare. She took one look at it and said, "That's a presidential dress". After some discussion, I figured out that it was at least partly due to the sash - which says "Miss America", but since Clare doesn't yet read, and has never seen a beauty contest, she associated it with the only character she's ever seen in a sash - Mayor Quinby on the Simpsons, of course.

Gingerbread Abode

This would have turned out more elegant (Clare's latest favorite word) if her mother hadn't been a stickler for following directions. I can't help it, it's the darned schooling! They said to add "5 tablespoons plus one teaspoon" water to the icing mix. So that's what I did, but then it was too thick to squeeze out of the decorating bag. I tried to thin it, it got to be a real mess, so we ended up finger-painting it on, for a more rustic look. I don't think Mr. & Mrs. Gingerbread mind one bit.

Proud Mother of TEN

We gathered up Clare's babies the other day for this group shot. Not in picture is her newest, a Cabbage Patch Kid who she named Lily, after her new baby cousin.

Clare goes with me to deliver bookkeeping work sometimes, and yesterday at a client's she was telling them how many babies she has. "Ten, all at one time!". The ladies gasped at the thought of it!

Clare loves to pretend being a mom. She acts exasperated, saying "It's a lot of work, keeping up with ten children!" She's not afraid to ask for help when she needs it, though. "Can you be my neighbor and come over every day to help me? This is more work than one woman can handle". She is a very loving mother, keeping up with her babies' needs, nursing on demand, responding when they cry. Makes my motherhood experience seem pretty simple in comparison!