Here we go marching rattley bang

Helena's favorite book this week has been A Baby Sister for Frances by Russell and Lillian Hoban. You probably know Frances. She is a sassy badger who is wont to make up clever little songs to express her feelings (about eggs, little sisters, and mothers who sometimes forget to buy raisins) and is the character in children's literature I probably most readily identify with. In A Baby Sister for Frances,  she is feeling a touch neglected after the arrival of her baby sister, Gloria. She is under the kitchen sink singing one of her little songs and realizes that her parents aren't responding in quite the way she thinks they should, so she tries a new tactic. She goes to her room and gets an empty metal coffee can, which she then fills with some gravel she was keeping for just such a time as this. Then she comes out of her room, rattling her can and singing, "Here we go marching, RATTLEY BANG!"

I feel like doing that sometimes.

We went to a back-to-school thing at the husband's school last week. This first one would have probably made it on the Christmas card this year, if only the sweet girl who offered to take the picture had actually focused the camera first. Ah, well. That pretty girl in the middle is Keza, the mascot:

This was also the night we realized the husband of a certain VERY FAMOUS gymnast from the 1984 Olympics (Carrie! I know you know) is going to be coaching football at HBU. Several of the other professors' wives and I are already creating elaborate scenarios through which we can "accidentally" meet our childhood heroine and make her our BFF, and also have her introduce us to Bela Karolyi.

We have our first day of Classical Conversations tomorrow, which means we have to wake up early and get dressed in presentable clothes and shoes and pack our lunches and our backpacks while maintaining happy hearts and gentle dispositions.The kids are going to be taking an art class in the afternoon, and then Hudson is going to have an hour of Taekwondo. He is very excited about this endeavor, and is pretty sure he will be breaking boards with his pinky on the very first day. He is also super fast on his bike these days, now that the weather is cool enough after dinner to go ride around the cul-de-sac.

Harper has decided she is going to be a scientist who develops droids when she grow up. Until then, she has "created" Hudson the Helpful Droid who, in spite of his inherent freedom, is often willing to do his sister's bidding while using a mechanical voice. When he is not in the mood to be a droid, I notice that she has started using flattery to get him to help her do things. She actually said, "Hudson! you are so big and strong I just know you can carry those blocks upstairs for me!" I fear there will be a real need to put her in some sort of locked tower when she is a teen-ager.

While they were riding bikes a couple of nights ago, Harper said to Hudson, "Let's play follow the leader!" and I knew with 100% certainty (a truism, if you will) what her next sentence would be:
"I will be the leader!" and he, in his infinite good-nature, always replies, "OKAY!"

We went to this restaurant called Ruggles Green last night and there is a big, rectangular grassy area for kids to play outside. It makes finishing one's dinner a little challenging. I showed Hudson how to hike (is this the right word?) a football through his legs and then run so I could throw him the ball. I've just begun watching "Friday Night Lights" on Netflix, and that definitely had something to do with it.I think I even directly quoted Coach Taylor at one point. I need to write an entire post about FNL. I have opinions. MANY. Clear eyes, full hearts, much weeping.

Helena looks really cute when she runs. She does this funny thing with her arms so that her fists end up curled under her armpits and her elbows kind of swing wildly like chicken wings.

I think that will be all for today.

RATTLEY BANG.