Birthday Sleepover

Tonight is Madeleine's long awaited birthday sleepover, with her two best friends from school.  Julia is feeling a bit too mature for this crowd so has opted out of hanging out with them and watching a movie, although she did make a brief appearance to eat some pizza.

I made it clear to Julia that she was absolutely welcome to watch the movie with Madeleine and her friends, but I guess that would be too much of a disturbance to Gallop Time.

JULIA: I better not, because before too long I'll start feeling like I need to, like, MOVE AROUND, because that's what always happens when I watch movies.


Madeleine and her friends are perfectly absorbed in the movie; Madeleine opted to show them her old favorite, "Song of the Sea."  Although Madeleine hasn't seen this movie in awhile, she still remembers every detail of the plot, so she's able to fill her friends in when they have questions or concerns.  We just recently got to the scene wherein it's revealed that Ben and half-selkie Saorise's mom was, in fact, a selkie.

FRIEND 1: Oh, I think that Saorise is a selkie because she was born in the water.
ME: Well, you can see that she has her mom's genes, and that's how she's a selkie.

Thoughtful silence and attentive movie-watching for a few moments.

FRIEND 2: Uh...I never LOOK at her pants, so I didn't notice.

Another moment of silent thought at watching.

MADELEINE: Wait.  Why are you talking about pants?!?
FRIEND 2: Because jeans.
FRIEND 1: Oh!  Biological genes are different from pants jeans.
FRIEND 2: Oh.

Back to movie watching.


There is more to come in this exciting evening, including cake, ice cream, and a pinata, so I'm sure the rapt attention and focus they're displaying right now will soon lead to some raucous partying later in the evening. For the moment, I will enjoy the relative quiet!

Escape the Room. Or not.

This evening, the Rowes plus Auntie Shannon went to try out "Escape the Room" in Boston.  Madeleine was really excited to go, even though she couldn't manage to escape the bathroom without help.  For whatever reason, Madeleine decided to revert backwards in time to the days when she needed me to wipe her butt for her, repeatedly exclaiming in anguish, "I can't FINISH!" at me as I sat trying to write an email to her teacher about Madeleine bringing in a white shirt for her class to sign on her birthday.  Because every mommy should be able to wipe her nearly eight-year-old's butt AND email the teacher at the same time, right??

I guess Madeleine's inability to finish in the bathroom was a harbinger for us, because, alas, we did not escape the room.  I am gung-ho to try this out again, though, because we were awfully close and I want another chance!  Julia was able to take our failure in stride; however, Madeleine went into the experience certain that even if we didn't succeed, we would be given a little leeway.

MADELEINE: So, Mommy, if we don't escape the room, do you think we can just ask for, like, five more minutes?
ME: No.


To prove our complete and utter inability to solve anything this evening, we had two further failures.  We grabbed dinner at a Mexican restaurant next door to the Escape the Room site, and Julia decided to challenge Ethan to a game of Hangman.  Ethan came up with a Hangman for Julia, reminiscing back to the good old days of Butt Crocodile.  Julia was completely stumped, so I helped her figure out what letters to guess until she had almost completed the puzzle.

JULIA: (looking helplessly at "B U T T  C R O C O _ I L E)  Uhhh...."H"???



Then, to rub salt in our wounds of failure, NONE OF US could figure out how to get out of the parking garage with our parking ticket.  Ethan, Shannon and I repeatedly inserted our ticket into the wrong slot instead of realizing we were supposed to hold it under the scanner, and it took a call to the MBTA and an employee coming out to help us before we could get things working.


All in all, a totally productive day!

It's a good thing Madeleine had a 2+ hour swim practice this afternoon, because I think she had a LOOOOT of energy to burn.  Here she is, moments before we left the house for the Y:





The music-making continued throughout the car ride.  Here's a highlight from when we were stopped/crawling while stuck in a long line of traffic at a stoplight:






I think this kid might be a musical genius.

Another One Bites the Dust

To be a figure in a drawing by Madeleine usually means suffering a cruel fate.  While this is not quite as bad as being attacked by a shadow demon or being the subject of medieval torture, it still doesn't look particularly fun getting concussed by a falling coconut:

(Not to mention the faceless severed head that also appears to be suffering a coconut blow to the noggin.)



ME: Hey Madeleine, why is this girl getting hit on the head with a coconut?
MADELEINE: Oh!  I'm writing an "American Girl: Get-Together" book!


Okay.  That totally answers my question.

Classwork of All Sorts

Madeleine's latest math classwork was TOTALLY up her artistic alley:

I honestly don't think I could have completed this as well as she did.

In other schoolwork matters, Madeleine's American Girls are learning an important cultural lesson:

In addition to this white board sign, Madeleine's lesson plan includes a paper that says: "Cival war may NOT come back!!  CARE ABOUT PEAPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BLACK LIVES MATTER!!!!!!!!!!  Sighn created by Madeleine Rowe."

On the other side of this paper is her new marketing plan, guaranteed to ensure that only the 1% can own guns:

So,  yeah, we may need to work on that strategy a little, but all in all, I'm pretty positive that the American Girls appreciate their Headmistress having such a great social conscience!

My Strict Parenting

In the car today, Madeleine opined on the advantageous situation her two best friends have at home.

MADELEINE: Well, their parents aren't as STRICT about their kids telling them things, so, like, their moms don't even know about playing "June and Jementa."
ME: Wait.  Do you really consider me strict?
MADELEINE: Well, like, you say that we should ALWAYS tell you everything.
ME: Well, do you think that I'm honest with you about things?
MADELEINE: Yeah.  You tell us the truth about everything.
ME: So, I just want to encourage you and Julia to be able to talk to me honestly and not feel like you have to hide anything from me.  I'm not making it a rule, I just want you to be able to talk to me.

Several minutes of silence.

MADELEINE: Okay, Mommy, since we're having this CONVERSATION, I guess I'll tell you something.  It happened in first grade, but I never told you because I was afraid you were gonna be mad at me.
ME: Okay.  What is it?
MADELEINE: Well, we were starting to play this game but it was time to come to the rug, and we just kept playing, and...the teacher had me take a break.
ME: You mean you had to sit in the "Take a Break" chair?
MADELEINE: Yeah.
ME: Honey, I would never be mad at you for that.  Sometimes at home you have to take a break or a time out in your room.  Kids can't be perfect all the time.

Julia was covetous of her sister's enviable experience.

JULIA: The only time I ever got to sit in the "Take a Break" chair was when the teacher had us all take a turn to see what it was like, and she called us one by one from the rug to try it.  And, like, for some reason, I was SO excited to sit in it!


I guess you gotta live a little more dangerously, Jules.

And More Madeleine Quotes

More of Madeleine's input.

On how she felt exiting the YMCA with wet hair in her pajamas last night:

MADELEINE: Mommy?  I'm the kind of "a little" that's on the verge of FALLING DOWN into the MIDDLE.  That's the level of chilliness I was at outside.



On the ideal chin positioning:

MADELEINE: Mommy?  Would you rather have a DOWNY chin, or a...a...a...very UPPY and LUMPY chin?
ME: A downy chin.
MADELEINE: Me too!  I don't like uppy, lumpy chins.  That's the kind of chin on the "cha-cha-chin" card at school.
ME: Oh, like on a phonics card?
MADELEINE: Yeah.
ME: What is the chin like?  Can you describe it to me?
MADELEINE: Well, he's a guy, he's facing to the side, he's tilting his head UP, he's smiling, he looks like a NICE GUY, and his chin is long and LUMPY.


Well, at least he seems like a nice guy, despite his chin being a huge turn-off.



On why she kept spilling her milk every time she took a sip:

ME: What happened?  Why does your milk keep spilling?
MADELEINE: It just keeps FLOWING down my cheek.  When I feel it on my cheek, I stop drinking IMMEDIATELY.
ME: But why is it spilling in the first place?
MADELEINE: I dunno.  Maybe the shape of the cup?


I mean, the cup is a little bit warped, but it's still basically the normal shape of a cup.  How the milk is winding up on her cheek is beyond me, but I guess, despite her stopping drinking IMMEDIATELY, it just keeps flowing down.

Maybe the guy with the uppy lumpy chin doesn't like flowy, milky cheeks.  Then he and Madeleine can be even.

.

Curriculum Night

Last week was Curriculum Night at the girls' elementary school, so I got to explore their classrooms and meet their teachers.  I have come to the conclusion that Julia has come out of her shell more, but is still a bit reserved, while Madeleine is brimming with confidence as a 2nd grader.

Some of their work:

Julia's "me-mobile," full of pictures of swimming, band/chorus, and our Utah Vacation

Julia's 5th grade goals

Madeleine's letter for her parents.

Madeleine shares her expertise

Madeleine's self-portrait, complete with adjectives to describe herself

Madeleine is an important person


I loved getting to see their classrooms and their class work, as always.  And I totally made sure to remember that school rocks!

Conversations and Observations by Madeleine

A few of Madeleine's observations and conversations this week.


#1: On Wanting Bedtime Snuggles
MADELEINE: (coming out of her bedroom after reading for a bit last night) Good-night, Mommy!
ME: Good-night, honey.  I love you.
MADELEINE:  Love you too!  (pause) Well.  You KNOW what I'm gonna ask for.
ME: What?
MADELEINE: S-N-N-U-G-L-E-S.
ME: Sa-na-noogles?
MADELEINE: Uh...S-N-U-G-L-E-S?
ME: Snoogles?
MADELEINE: S-N-U-G....uh...
ME: Two G's.
MADELEINE: S-N-U-G-G....
ME: Sure, I'll give you snuggles.
MADELEINE: (visibly relieved) Oh, phew.  Okay.

Yeah, I let her off easy on that one.  I coulda been all: "spell snuggles wrong?  FAIL.  No snuggles for you tonight!"


#2: On Starbucks "You Are Here" mugs
Noticing the Starbucks "Copenhagen" mug Ethan had brought home from his trip to Denmark.

MADELEINE: (reading) Copenhagen.  (reflecting for a moment) Looks preeeeeetty different there!

I see what she means.  The Starbucks "You Are Here" mugs are absolutely accurate representations of the differences you'll see in the places you travel.  In fact, why even travel at all, when you can just look at the mug?  I'm glad Madeleine was able to recognize how foreign a place Copenhagen is by seeing a mug with some buildings on it:

You can clearly see how different Copenhagen is from cities in different countries that also have buildings, like Chicago:

or Montreal:

Am I right??




#3: On a good, but not GREAT, day:
ME: How was your day?
MADELEINE: GR-  uh.... GOOD!
ME: Good, not great?
MADELEINE: Yeah.
ME: What made it not great?
MADELEINE: Recess.

It turns out that Madeleine and her two best friends couldn't quite agree on the way their pretend play game was going to progress, and one of the friends got frustrated.  They made up over lunch afterwards, so all is well again, but I sympathized with Madeleine.

ME: I'm sorry, honey. I know it can be tough when friends are getting frustrated or grumpy.
MADELEINE: Yeah.  And...it's OKAY with Julia, because she has HORMONES, but it's not fun when it happens with my friends.

Maybe once her friends have hormones Madeleine will be able to let it slide a little more easily.

Creative Language

Madeleine has recently invented a new language, called "Creative Language," and she spends a lot of time singing songs in this language and trying to teach me words.  The main problem with the vocabulary of Creative Language is that Madeleine often forgets the gibberish she came up with and can't replicate it later on.  For instance, yesterday I was informed of how to say a bevy of words, including "house," and "tree" in Creative Language, but neither Madeleine nor I could possibly recall how to say any of it.

You may be wondering what exactly Creative Language is.  Madeleine offers an illuminating, clear-cut explanation:

MADELEINE: Creative Language is a language that *I* made up, and...everybody can make up their own names, and...it's CREATIVE!  And NO ONE can change any words, like from "urine" to "pee."

You must be dying to hear this language uttered.  Never fear; I have video footage of Madeleine performing a lovely Creative Language song.  If you want to know what it's about, Madeleine informs me that it's mainly about "Hocus Pocus."  (The movie, not the Kurt Vonnegut book.)

Guest Blogger

Today's blog post is brought to you by Julia:

Swim team started on Tuesday. I went to night practice instead of morning practice. I think I swam the New Englands time for the 50 butterfly at the Wednesday night practice. I have swim team tonight. I really love competitive swimming. My goal for this year is to make New Englands. I probably can’t, though. The times are really fast.

I want to audition for Honors Band. I really hope I’ll get in. I’ve already perfected “Sawmill Creek” and “Morning Mood.” Me and the other flutes are going to perform “Au Claire de la Lune” for the 4 graders. It’ll be fun. We have to be taken out of school to do it, though. It’s during the 4 grade chorus and part of the 5 grade chorus.

To: mario_bros.871@gmail.com From: princess.peach418@gmail.com. PEACH: OMG Mario there’s a like new like sweater at like the mall it’s like so like cute. MARIO: Let’sa goa. We cana geta spegghetti and meataballas! Those are Mario and Princess Peach’s email address.

Clara’s sitting on me. She’s in an extra me mood this morning. She’s also been extra cute this morning. One time she conked out on me. It was really adorable She also keeps doing very loud pleasure noises. And she was really leaning into the pets I was giving her.

Madeleine's Accomplishments

When Auntie Shannon got home from work today, Madeleine was full of exciting news updates.

MADELEINE: Guess what?  You'll NEVER believe what I did!
ME: (to Shannon) She has been waiting to tell you about her accomplishments.
MADELEINE: Yeah.  I think I had the MOST ACCOMPLISHED DAY I've EVER had in my life!
AUNTIE SHANNON: What did you do?
MADELEINE: First of all, I swam with the Navy group and I *totally* kicked butt!  I was the FASTEST in my lane and I was even faster than a FIFTEEN-YEAR-OLD!
AUNTIE SHANNON: You got moved up into the Navy group??
MADELEINE: Yes!  Okay.  SECOND of all, when we got home, I hung my swim bag up.
AUNTIE SHANNON: You could reach the hook??
MADELEINE: Yes!  I hung it up all by myself for the FIRST TIME EVER!  (thoughtful) Well.  The first time ever without having to JUMP.
AUNTIE SHANNON: Great, honey!
MADELEINE: And.  Third of all.  This is the one you'll be MOST excited about.  (pointing at Auntie Shannon's chihuahua Clara) It has to do with CLARA.
AUNTIE SHANNON: What is it?
MADELEINE: (pausing for suspense) I picked up Clara!


Auntie Shannon showered praise on Madeleine for overcoming her fear of picking up the dog, and Madeleine beamed with pride.  And then Madeleine had more to say.


MADELEINE: Oh, AND - we had my FAVORITE kind of P.E. today!
AUNTIE SHANNON: What kind of P.E.?
MADELEINE: A hard work kind of P.E.!  The kind where you are like, working really hard, and you're really tired when you're done.  That's my favorite kind!


Ahh.  To be a kid.  If only adults could find a way to feel like bouncing off the walls with giddy excitement over things as simple as hanging up a bag on a high hook or having your favorite kind of hard work gym class.  I'm so glad that Madeleine found such delight in her most accomplished day of her life!  Hoping there are many more to come!

The Somnambulator

Last night, as I lay in bed trying to fall asleep, I suddenly heard footsteps in the hallway. Julia came bursting through my bedroom door and flicked on the lights, looked around in confusion, then turned the lights off and left, closing the door.  I hopped out of bed to see if she was okay.

ME: (coming out into the hallway) Julia.  What's up?
JULIA: (not answering, continuing to look around blindly)
ME: Julia.  Julia.  Are you okay?
JULIA: (groggily) Yeah.
ME: What did you come in for?  Do you need something?
JULIA: I was looking for the trash can.
ME: The trash can?  I don't have one in my room.
JULIA: (continuing to look around in confusion)
ME: What do you need the trash can for?
JULIA: To *pee* in.

With mild panic, I steered Julia into the bathroom, turned on the light, and pointed at the toilet.

ME: Here.  Sit down on the toilet.  That's where you pee.
JULIA: (standing and looking at me in confusion)
ME: The toilet, honey.  You pee on the toilet.  Here.  Get yourself on the toilet.
JULIA: (pulling down her pants and sitting on the toilet, letting out a flood of pee)
ME: There you go.  Honey, I think you're sleepwalking.
JULIA: No I'm NOT!
ME: You are, sweetie.  You said you were looking for the trash can to pee in.
JULIA: I'm awake.
ME: You're sleepwalking.  You wanted to pee in the trash can.
JULIA: (irritably) No, I meant the BIG trash can!
ME: What big trash can?  Why would you pee in a trash can?
JULIA: (blinking, looking startled, then focusing on me) I don't know.  (bursting into confused laughter.)
ME:  Yeah.  You were sleepwalking.  But it's okay, you're in the right place now.


Julia sleepwalks every so often, but man, that was a close one.  Albeit not as close as the time she dropped trou and hung her bare butt over our laundry basket, causing Ethan to leap out of bed and scoop her up and make a mad dash for the toilet.  I have mentioned before that all of her dreams seem to have something to do with swim team, but I'll now add that her sleepwalking incidents always seem to have something to do with trying to pee in a receptacle other than an actual toilet.

Crisis averted!

Last Pool Days

I took the kids to the pool today to get one last summer hurrah before it closes for the season.  I tried to get a photo of the girls by the water.  It went really well.  I couldn't even decide which photo to use, because they all came out so well:

Laundry Lazies

The girls seem mostly recovered from jet-lag, but I'm still SO exhausted.  This evening, after dinner, I laid down on the couch and then remembered I hadn't brought the laundry up from the dryer.  Julia had come over to join me on the couch, and I lamented my position to her.

ME: Ugh, Julia, I forgot to get the laundry from the dryer.  Can you un-lazify me so I can go get it?
JULIA: (with anticipation and excitement) I'll be right back!

My thought process as I lay on the couch: Oh my gosh!  What a darling daughter I have!  She's going to go down and get the laundry for me and surprise me.  I can't believe how sweet she is.  But wait.  Will she know to empty the lint from the filter?  I guess that doesn't matter.  I can show her about that later.  The important thing is that she's actually getting the laundry.  Maybe this means I don't have to be the only one responsible for laundry in the future.  Even if I am, it's just so adorably sweet that Julia is doing this for me right now.  


JULIA: (returning, holding not the laundry basket, but her faux magic wand, which she then points at me) Un-LAZIFY YOU!


Oh.  Well, I guess I got what I asked for.