Getting a handle on this 'sister' thing.

Just me and the bitches this week, I'm so tired I could die. Sisters be sistering, though.

Box car racing.

Jugo Juicing.

Playing 'bird' (that is the nest).

Blanket forting.

Book reading.

Book having-read-to-ing.

Fish watching.

Water painting.

Hand washing.

Horsie riding.

MOREsie riding.

Leaf stomping.

Park sliding. 'I will catch youuuuuu!'

So it ain't been so bad.

Grandma-ing, schooling, dancing, park.

So it rained for Grandma's whole weekend here, and it was lame.

But Eleanor's first day of school was lovely and clear.

I left Geneva with Grandma and took Eleanor to school, and I'm just this terrible paranoid person who's always convinced something's going to go wrong, like I've scheduled her for the wrong day or I have the wrong start time and we're going to show up late or just as it's ending. I had a moment of SHEER PANIC when we walked up to the lockers and I couldn't see her name.

Because duh I was looking at the school buses. Anyway. We went in and Eleanor went straight to the painting like she belonged there.

She was so chill, and the teachers were like, You can stay as long as you want, and Eleanor was like BYE MOM so I left and bought new pants and had a cinnamon bun.

I got back a bit early so I could creep on her through the window and see how she was doing. She was finishing up her snack, and then the teacher called everyone to the carpet and she got up and wandered dreamily throughout the room until physically guided over to sit down. After the story, her teacher was like, Now you'll take off your school shoes and go put them in your cubby, and all the other kids got up and went

over to find their cubbies, and Eleanor sat there, like, peeling off her name tag and sticking it to her neck. Like, she was MAXED OUT, her brain function was completely used up. Preschool is a LOT.

She started her dance class Tuesday night as well, IT WAS A BIG DAY, and it was exactly as ridiculous adorable as you expect, and we weren't allowed in the studio so all the moms took turns peeking in the one window through the crack in the blinds, and then they let us in for the last five minutes so they could give us a 'show' of marching and skipping and fluttering, and then they all got stickers for like participation or attendance or something I dunno look how thrilled she is though.

Geneva spent the whole day being like YAY EVERYTHING because having an extra person around to give her attention is her absolute favorite.

And then hey, look, our weather turned nice.

There were like a bajillion bees in these flowers and Geneva was positively livid that I wouldn't let her pet them.

Whatever, go play in the swamp while it's still on, you tiny toothsome creature.

We are at our little park basically every evening now, even though the pool is closed. Josie and I were talking about how every sunny second that you spend indoors right now feels WASTED.

Another day of school,

I got my hairs cut and my nails did and then had a loaded poutine while I waited to pick Eleanor up again.

Grandma took us to A&W before flying out Thursday night.

It was AMAZING having her here, being able to orchestrate those first few days of classes without having to drag Geneva along behind us, running frivolous errands all on my own.

Joel was home for the weekend, and now he's gone and it's just me and the tiny bitches for six days. What am I going to feed them for supper. (Pancakes, probably.)

AHHHHHHHHHH

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

It is too much. I cannot. 

GRANDMA IS HERE.

The weather is terrible.

But we are going to the festivals anyway.

Where else am I going to get a balloon narwhal?

(I asked the Balloon Funn Man if he could, purely on a hypothetical basis, make a narwhal, and he was like...Do you want me to make you a narwhal? Because I totally can.)

But the weather, though. Even the bouncy castles were soaked, so rain suits all the way.

Geneva got her face painted, and the painter was like, As long as you keep sitting here so still I'm going to keep adding fancies.

She's so fancy. Eleanor, obviously, is a blue bat.

She can flap his wings by waggling her eyebrows and why I didn't get a video of this, I'll never know.

We rode in the tiniest ferris wheel. There was, like, nobody there so you just rode the ferris wheel until you hammered on the side and then he stopped and let you off.

The princesses came, and Eleanor was all, LOOK AT MY BLUE BAT I CAN FLAP HIS WINGS WITH MY EYEBROWS

and then I'm like, Hey Eleanor, smile for a picture, and suddenly she's all like *stoneface*

Anyway, it was mostly just wet and cold and not actively raining, and I ate a deep-fried bread pudding so SUCCESS.

We went to the farmer's market. Geneva does this thing now where she affectionately blows on you, but she, like, WINDS UP for it.

Like, it's this huge production and it is hilarious and I cannot stop laughing at her doing it. It continued to be cold and damp but not actually raining, so.

Then Joel and I went on a date and I wore my best expandable dress

because of all the sushi I wanted to eat.

By this morning, we were done being cold and wet so we just went to the Fun Factory to rearrange their furniture.

Joel left for his week-long rural stint, and we threw ourselves a party because it's a big day.

Tomorrow is a big day, too.

Summer's out.

Summer is over and it is a bummer. I AM BUMMED OUT. Eleanor is not bummed out. This is why I keep her around. LOOK AT THE LOVELY YELLOW IN THOSE LOVELY TREES. And then I think of all the things that are coming, all the holidays (since November 1 of last year, Eleanor has wanted to be a wizard for Halloween this year, with Geneva as a lizard), all the activities that shut down for the summer - the soccer center, the toy library.

And school. ELEANOR IS STARTING PRESCHOOL next week. We picked up her school supplies last week and she has been talking of nothing else ever since. Look, mum. I ORGANIZED them.

Sometimes I go stand outside her door while she's waking up from her nap, just to listen to her chat with herself, and the other day she was like, But I won't be scared! Because all of my friends and my teacher will be there. Bye mom! Bye dad! is what I will say, on my first day of school.

And I just. She is so big and brave. Also, this is a thing that is happening.