"And the sign says: You've got to have a membership card to get inside."

Here are some of the most recent notes, signs, and drawings that Marley and Rudy have either left lying around, or taped with earnest pride to their bedroom door.

1.  After a night that lasted just a little too long, the fifteen minutes before Marley was in bed spiraled into some championship whining, yelling, and crying.  Sometimes all it takes is missing that twenty-minute window when everyone seems to be happy and companionable.  This is no surprise because, why would you want to break that fun up, and then, oh, here's why: because then the meltdown never happens at all.  We've had later nights this month because it is now the middle of my SAT prep course and the second week of the high school lacrosse season.  And in February, Marley had gymnastics classes that ran past 7 p.m.  Here's what: I'm looking forward to May, when the weather is warmer and my SAT class is over, when I only miss dinner twice a week because of games, and when the dinners we have together are grilled and outside on the back patio. 

2.  Rudy drew this one last week, and I plan to frame it. It's so careful and thoughtful: Rudy's blue eyes and Marley's brown ones, Lambie thinking about a flower and Pandie thinking about the sun.  And this will make sense to no one but me: the stretched, sloping rainbow just reminds me of Toot, sloped and stretched herself while racing along and laughing.  When I asked Rudy what she and Marley were up to here, she answered, "We're about the touch the butterflies because we just love butterflies so much."  Oh, for crying out loud.  

3.  This is currently hanging on the girls' bedroom door.  My daughters do not always get along, but when they do, they found things like a Sisters Club, an impressive organization known for discussions about "magicle things" like "fariys."

This sign is so adorable that I want to punch something.

4.  Marley and Rudy set up a spa specializing in manicures and pedicures in our living room last week.  They set up MagnaTile shelves on the metal frame of our fireplace insert to display bottles of glittering polish in red, green, blue, and pink. When I returned from a full day of helping to coach and keep statistics for five lacrosse scrimmages, I helped Marley find a yoga playlist on Songza, and then I had to leave to play an adult league field hockey game before I could get an appointment at the spa and soak my chilly toes.  Anyhow, Marley later created this emblem for the girls' spa.  And days later, most of Rudy's fingernails are still mostly covered with pale pink glitter, so I would give the Ying Yang Spa my endorsement without hesitation.