Week in review

We joined a CSA this summer (if that's a new term to you, go here). In the early harvest weeks it has meant a weekly truckload of lettuce—really and truly, just so much more roughage than anyone could ever hope to consume in seven days. To be honest it's been a little suffocating. The worst part is that we are nowhere near finished with one week's supply before the next comes, so it accumulates, and we're now knee deep in the stuff.

However, as we get deeper into the season, we've started receiving treats more exciting than Romaine, like bundles of fresh mint. Sidamo and I spent a couple afternoons last week turning it into the most delectable mint chocolate-chip ice cream I've ever tasted.

Iron Chef Preschool, here we come.

Saturday we went to the annual Dragon Boat Festival held at a lake nearby. We missed the races, but we got to see some of the welcoming ceremony in which monks chanted and beat drums before following the dragon on a little jaunt.

When he saw this, Sidamo pushed through the crowd yelling, "Sidamo try? Sidamo try?"

Happy boy

Dorfman, Greg is rockin' the Cuse shirt in your honor.

Somehow no matter where we went, we kept finding ourselves in the circuitous path of that dragon.

And, of course, no summer festival would be complete without the snowcone. Here Sidamo is having a go at Greg's after throwing his own on the ground.

Sunday Lisa and Scarlett came over with Great-Grandma for a funfilled visit. They even brought lunch, bless them.

Serious work, those puzzles.

Great-Grandma and her Great-Grands.

In Nora news:

• We've had some more real smiles, which so far only Sidamo and I have seen. She's holding out on Greg, who doesn't seem too concerned. He says he's sure he'll see it eventually.
• The other night she slept for four hours straight. It was blissful. Of course last night she was up every hour, but that's because of the next piece of news (I hope).
• Nora and I both have a little cold, courtesy of Big Brother and his preschool germs. It stinks. I feel cruddy, so I'd imagine she does too. She wants to nurse nonstop but isn't too interested in the actual milk, so she gets fussy and frustrated and just wants to be held all the time. It reminds me how strange it is that I'm someone's mother (even stranger that it's two someones!)—that I'm the person they want when they're not feeling well, when they fall down, etc. That, to me, is the definition of a mother, and it's a pretty weighty responsibility.
• Nora's been reading the blog. She understands that sympathy for her cries is waning, so she has started producing real, liquid tears. It works; whatever she wants is hers.

Here's how she has spent her week. I wish I could get better pictures of her; she doesn't usually look this ruddy and washed out.