Halloween!

The Autumn Fairy and Angelica Schuyler would like to wish you a Happy Halloween!:

And for a little extra Halloween magic, the Autumn Fairy has a special trick for you to view:









Happy Hauntings!

Discussions with Madeleine

Madeleine and I were discussing Halloween lawn decorations, from the mundane to the scary, on our way to swim practice tonight.  I expected that she might be a fan of the scary sightings, so I asked her about the sensation of getting spooked.

ME: Do you like the feeling of being a little bit scared, or do you not like anything to be scary at all?
MADELEINE: Well, I like being SURPRISED, but I don't like scary things.  I always feel DISAPPOINTED when there's scary things, like I'm DISAPPOINTED that I fell for it.
ME: Oh, I see.
MADELEINE: And Mommy?  I don't think that I have ANXIETY, it's just that I have a REALLY ACTIVE imagination, so sometimes I start IMAGINING things that make me feel scared.
ME: Yeah, I agree.  You do have a big imagination and I can see how it can get carried away.
MADELEINE: Yeah, like, when I couldn't see the other side of my American Girl balance beam, I thought it looked like it was a SNAKE.

Or like when she saw her Halloween costume in the dark and she was convinced it was Earl.


Not only is Madeleine confident about her really active imagination, she was brimming with self-affirmation after swim practice today.

MADELEINE: Mommy, it was SO AWESOME.  It was the MOST AWESOME swim practice EVER!  I did SUCH an amazing job.  None of the coaches even COMPLIMENTED me, but I just KNEW I was doing an amazing job swimming my fastest EVER.


If only we could all live life with the degree of aplomb that Madeleine possesses.

The Most Ridiculous Fights Ever

These are the things the kids are fighting about today.


1.) Madeleine wanted a turn with the tablet but Julia was using it, and when Madeleine tried to dramatically fling herself off the couch to hide under the coffee table, Julia got her foot stuck in Madeleine's pajama top.  Madeleine found this UNFORGIVABLE.


2.) NOBODY LIKES MADELEINE because Julia wanted her to stop army crawling around the living room floor whimpering like a dying puppy.


3.) Madeleine put the rake back in the wrong place in the garage and Julia had to put it in the right place but SHE DOESN'T KNOW WHAT THE RIGHT PLACE IS AND EVERYTHING IS FALLING OFF THE HOOKS AND IF SOMETHING GOT SCRATCHED, IT'S NOT HER FAULT.



4.) Julia somehow managed to foresee that Madeleine would be making an American Girl "Twins of the Year" drawing today when, a year ago, she (Julia) drew American Girl "Girls of the Year" who are twins.  Madeleine now cannot cope with life because Julia COPIED her when she made the Girls of the Year a year ago because it's BASICALLY THE SAME THING as Twins of the Year and Julia CAN'T copy her because it's Madeleine's idea.



It's only 12:14.  I cannot even imagine what else they will find to lose it about during the remainder of the day.

Julia Belongs in Finland

Hat-tip to Nana and Gramps for today's post!  As they pointed out, this obscure sport which is super popular in Finland seems to be Julia's calling.  She would CRUSH her competition, Mintz-style!:


http://nationalpost.com/news/world/hobby-horsing-is-a-popular-sport-in-finland-its-very-bizarre-for-other-people-to-see

Julia Spaces Out

Julia is usually hyper alert to anything I happen to be saying to any other given person, even when I'm purposefully trying to talk without her hearing.  Madeleine tends to be more unaware, getting caught up inside her own head and often not even listening to things I'm saying directly to her.  This is a completely common conversation with Madeleine:

ME: Okay, Madeleine, when we get home, you need to get your swim stuff together because we have to leave for practice in 10 minutes.
MADELEINE: Okay.  Wait.  What did you say?  I wasn't listening.


Therefore, I was pretty surprised when it was Julia who went off into outer space the other day, as she, Madeleine and I were hanging out in the living room.  I was expressing my love for the girls, at first directly addressing Madeleine, who was cuddling up to me on the couch.  Julia was standing by the edge of the couch, staring out the window.

ME: Do you know that I love you so much I can't even stand it.
MADELEINE: I love you too!
ME: (pointing at Julia) And I love YOU so much too, do you know that?
JULIA: (turning to look at me blankly)
ME: (waiting expectantly for a response)
JULIA: (speaking with slow deliberation) FARM OUT.
ME: What??
JULIA: I was thinking about the song in my flute book called "Farm Out."
ME: So you decided to say "Farm Out" instead of "I love you too?"
JULIA: Wait.  I didn't know you were talking to me!  I thought you were saying that to Madeleine!

"Farm Out" (which is basically just "Old MacDonald" with a different name.)


I promised Julia that from now on, my new response in lieu of "I love you too" will be "Farm out."  And don't worry, we've all held to that.  My recent text exchange with Ethan is proof:

Little did the editors of Julia's band book know what a legend one of their song titles would become in the Rowe household.  And with that, I'm signing off.  Farm out!

Hey, I Just Wanna Say "Meow!"

So, this happened tonight, just as Julia was getting cozy on the couch to do her reading homework:

A New Cousin!

Madeleine and Julia have a new cousin, baby Owen, born to Auntie Caitlyn today!  We have all spent time fawning over his pictures, and although we won't get to meet him in the flesh yet, we have enjoyed getting to watch some video footage that Caitlyn sent.

Auntie Shannon, however, got a sense that Madeleine was concerned over her own status in the family.

AUNTIE SHANNON: (talking to me in private) Do you know that Madeleine has asked me twice if I'm gonna love Owen more than her and Julia?
ME: No.  I wonder why she's worrying about that.
AUNTIE SHANNON: I don't know.  Maybe she feels like I'm the last family member standing without kids of her own, so she has to cling to me hoping I won't have anyone to replace her and Julia.

I decided to talk to Madeleine about her fears tonight at bedtime.  I lay beside her in bed as she was doing her bedtime reading, and when she finished a chapter, I broached the topic.

ME: Honey, you know that I love you and Julia more than any other kids in the world, right?
MADELEINE: (confidently) Mmm-hmm.  I know.
ME: More than the kids I teach, and all the kids we know.
MADELEINE: (confidently) Yeah. I know.
ME: And I love Owen, but I will always love you and Julia the most.
MADELEINE: Yeah.
ME: Were you worrying about that?
MADELEINE: Uh, no.
ME: I heard you asked Auntie Shannon if she's gonna love Owen more than you.
MADELEINE: (with utter conviction) Well, I was more wondering if she's gonna love US more than she loves him.
ME: Oh, you're worried she loves you guys the most because she knows you so well?
MADELEINE: Mmm-hmm.  Is that GENEROUS?


I should have known that Madeleine wouldn't be worrying over being loved.  She's totally secure in the idea of her own importance.  In fact, she's secure enough to worry that she might be SO loved that she's precluding Auntie Shannon from spreading the love equally enough.  Don't you worry, Madeleine.  Auntie Shannon's got a bounty of love to go around!  And never you fear, baby Owen: Auntie Shannon and I are over here BRIMMING with love for you already, and we haven't even held you yet!!

Irrational Fears

RIDICULOUS THINGS THE KIDS ARE AFRAID OF:

#1. Clowns

JULIA: (running inside from playing on her swing in the backyard) I had to come inside because I was afraid there's a clown in the shed and it was gonna come out and get me!


#2. Clowns, again

JULIA: Auntie Shannon came into my room to say good-night and I thought she was a clown and I *freaked out.*


#3. Madeleine's Halloween fairy costume

MADELEINE: (as we lay snuggling in her bed at bedtime) Mommy?  Sometimes when I see the shadow of my costume hanging, I get scared that it's Earl.
ME: That's silly.
MADELEINE: I know.  (silence) Mommy?  Can you please turn on my light and put my costume somewhere I can't see it?
ME: Why?
MADELEINE: Because I'm afraid it's Earl.
ME:  Honey, you know it's your costume.  It can't turn into Earl.
MADELEINE: Please Mommy?  I'm really scared.
ME: You don't need to be scared.
MADELEINE: But I am!  I'm afraid it's Earl and it's gonna come to life and start moving.


#4. A Flashing Light

JULIA: (coming into our bedroom with bedhead at 10:30 pm) There's a FLASHING LIGHT in my room and I don't know what it is!
ME: Maybe it's your watch.
JULIA: No, my watch isn't even in there!  Is it lightning?!?
ETHAN AND I: No.
JULIA: But I saw a flash and I'm scared.
ME: Honey, whatever flashed can't hurt you.  Just go back to bed.  It was probably a car driving by and its headlights flashed.
JULIA: But I saw it TWICE!
ME: I think you might have dreamed it.
JULIA: No, I saw it!
ME: Just go back to sleep, honey.  There's nothing to worry about.
JULIA: But I'm SCARED of it!


An hour later Julia re-emerged from the bedroom, looking even more disheveled, and began trying to go downstairs to the basement.  When Ethan asked her what she was doing, she told him she can't find her exercise bike and she was going to look for it.  He gently steered her back to bed.

Forget clowns, costumes, and flashing lights.  The thing I'm most scared of is what unpredictable thing Julia the Sleepwalker is going to do next!

Church Talk

Discussion on the way to church this morning:

MADELEINE: Mommy?  I think that in families with THREE children, it's best to be the MIDDLE, because then you know what it's like to be...to be...to be...
ME: To be older AND younger?
MADELEINE: Yeah.
ME: Yeah, I've never known what it's like to be a little sister, because I'm the oldest.
MADELEINE: Oh.  I can teach you!
ME: Okay.
MADELEINE: (after a thoughtful silence) Uh, Mommy, it would probably be better to do it when we get home from church.

Darn it.  I was hoping she was going to teach me while I was driving through Harvard Square.


Madeleine was certainly not acting very little in church today; in fact, she paid way more attention than usual.  I had the girls with me in the choir, and Madeleine spent the beginning of the service happily drawing pictures of witches on the pieces of blank paper I'd brought for her.  Then suddenly her conscience must have kicked in because she put the papers away and began standing up, looking at me with baleful eyes every few minutes.

ME: (leaning down to whisper) Honey, you can keep drawing if you want.
MADELEINE: (whispering vehemently) No, I can't!  I have to stand!
ME: (whispering back) It's okay if you want to sit down.
MADELEINE: (whispering vehemently) No it's NOT!
ME: (whispering back) It's okay with me.
MADELEINE: (whispering with fierce vitriol) I'll get KICKED OUT into the PARKING LOT!

Yeah.  That's the punishment for sitting.  Banishment to the parking lot!  Maybe God will smite you, too.

Meanwhile, Julia, who complained of being tired from the moment we set foot in church, happily sat her butt on the pew next to me without reservation.  I think my children have swapped bodies.

Home Response Journal

I think I'm in love with this Home Response Journal letter from Madeleine to me:

It's simply EQUSQUISIC, do'nt you think?  Here.  I'll make it esier.  Some things I think about this letter: Madeleine is adorable and her letter is STUPENDIOUS!

Traffic Light Magic

Driving Julia to swim practice tonight, starting to push on the gas as the traffic light turns green.

JULIA: (with awe) How do you and Daddy always KNOW when the light is about to turn green??
ME: Uh...because I saw it turn red on the lights on the other side of the intersection?
JULIA: (with wonder) Oh!!  I never thought of that!  Daddy did it yesterday and now you just did it and I was like...
ME: You were like "Gasp!  My parents are amazing!"
JULIA: I thought you had some power to, like, predict the lights changing, or, like, you could see the light turn a special kind of shade of red before it turned green!

I should've gone with special powers instead of giving her the real answer.  That would be way more exciting.

Foot to the Face

Julia has had her fair share of accidental swim collisions while at practices, the worst of which was at a swim clinic at Harvard.  The lane coach hadn't realized that Julia was still swimming back to the wall and let the next swimmer dive in; that swimmer subsequently dove right into Julia's face and broke her goggles in two.  Madeleine, unfortunately, had her turn tonight at swim practice, getting kicked in the cheek right where a very loose tooth is.  The tooth didn't come out, but it started to bleed, and Madeleine approached the wall in tears.  I went out onto the pool deck after her coach beckoned to me, and I gave her a little TLC and cleaned up the tooth.  She was able to get back in and finish the practice, but her little brush with danger brought a lot of concerned swimmers over to check if she was okay.

When practice was over, I got more details from Madeleine about what had happened.

ME: Did the person who kicked you say sorry?
MADELEINE: I don't think he even knew he kicked me.  I don't even really know who did it!
ME: Well, he probably didn't realize what happened either.  I saw a lot of kids asking if you were okay, though.
MADELEINE: Yeah.  One boy asked if I was okay when I got back into the pool, and another boy asked if I was okay after I did my "Underwater SOB," which is what happens if I have to cry when I'm at swim team.

On our way out of the locker room, a swarm of girls came over to ask Madeleine if she was okay, and as we left the Y, Madeleine proclaimed cheerily, "They're so NICE!"

In the car on our way home, Madeleine asked me if I was going to write about this on the blog, then deduced, "Probably NOT, because it's more SAD than funny, and I get the feeling that your blog is about FUNNY things."  I told her that I do usually try to write about funny things that happened, but that I could write about her foot-to-the-face incident if she wanted.  Madeleine then had another thought about what absolutely MUST be included on the blog.

MADELEINE: Wait, did you put "Refrigerated Veggies" on the blog??
ME: Uh...what?  No...what?
MADELEINE: You *have* to put it on!  It's so funny!
ME: What is it?
MADELEINE: Julia  sings it!

So, for your viewing pleasure, I now have a recording of Julia singing the world's most beautiful, not-at-all-likely-to-get-annoyingly-stuck-in-your-head jingle:




Yeah.  You're welcome.

Visit from the Grandparents

Auntie Shannon and Clara are away for the weekend, but we Rowes were joined by Nana and Gramps, aka the Vermont Rowes, for a weekend visit.  The girls had a blast with their grandparents, with Julia lending a beloved book she read to Nana and Madeleine setting up her "Museum" of puzzles.  This involves Madeleine doing every puzzle she owns and displaying them on the play basement rug, then donning a faux fur vest because that's just part of her Museum costume.

MADELEINE: (shouting up from the basement Friday afternoon) When are the grandparents coming?
ME: Tonight.
MADELEINE: Okay, good.  I *really* love this game, and we play it every time they come!


Nana and Gramps, we thank you for being such good sports and enthusiastic Museum visitors! ;)

Julia split her time between hanging with her grandparents and, alternately, galloping.  Gramps even commented to us, "Do you think one day in the future, Julia will be in a serious relationship, and when her boyfriend proposes, she'll say, 'There's one thing you should know about me.  Every day I have to stop what I'm doing and gallop for fifteen minutes or so?"  I mean, I'm guessing her boyfriend will already know about her galloping habit; if he spends any time with her, how can he not be aware of it??

Our guests just recently left, and they had not been out the door more than thirty seconds before Madeleine lamented their leaving.

MADELEINE: Don't ya just miss Nana and Gramps already?  And NOW I'm missing Auntie Shannon!
ME: You always get sad when people leave.  Remember you were sad when Yiayia left this summer too?
MADELEINE: Yeah.  YOU know what happened there.  TEARS.

I get it, Madeleine.  It's hard to live states away from your loved ones.  It's never easy saying good-bye!


While our guests were here, The Rowe household had an ongoing game of Hearts with Madeleine, Julia, Ethan, Gramps and I all vying for the win.  Julia ultimately ended up losing the game by going over 100 points, with Gramps and Madeleine neck and neck for the win.  I guess Madeleine just isn't ready for the Hearts fun to be over with, because she set up a four person game and dragged Ethan into it.

MADELEINE: Okay, Daddy, you're passing to Massager, and I'm passing to Mirror.
ETHAN: Wait.  How many people are playing this game?

Take a look: it's Ethan, Madeleine, a Bath & Body Works Happy Massager, and a Princess Mirror, all going at each other in a cut-throat game of Hearts:

I'm overhearing various game moves as it goes on.

ETHAN: Okay, well, Mirror took it.
MADELEINE: Wait!  It's Massage-it's massage- (changing to an affected speaking voice that I guess is supposed to be Massager's voice) It's my turn, right!
ETHAN: Mirror's like, "I'm gonna play a three."
JULIA: (galloping by) Is this game actually fun?
MADELEINE: (giggling) Not really!

I never quite understand what is going on in Madeleine's brain...

Dinner

Walking into the house at 4:45pm after I picked up Julia from Honors Chorus


JULIA: I'm SOOOOOO hungry.
ME: I'm gonna feed you girls in 15 minutes because you need to eat early before swim.
JULIA: (sighing in bitter disappointment about having to wait 15 minutes)
MADELEINE: Wait!  Mommy, I never had snack! (scampering off to the kitchen and emerging eating a granola bar)
JULIA: Can I have some cinnamon bread?
ME: No, not right now.
JULIA: Then can I have some chips?  I'm so hungry!
ME: Honey, I'm going to feed you in nine minutes.
JULIA: I can't wait that long!
ME: Fine, I'll heat up dinner for you right now.
JULIA: How come Madeleine got to have a granola bar???
ME: She never had snack.  You had Goldfish for snack before chorus, remember?
JULIA: (sighing again in frustration)
ME: (heating up leftovers for both girls)
JULIA: Can I eat downstairs while I watch a show?
ME: If you're careful.
JULIA: I will be! (taking her plate downstairs and turning on "Full House.")
ME: Madeleine, there's dinner on the table for you.
MADELEINE: Uh...okay...(not moving an inch from her American Girls and their gymnastics set)
ME: Your dinner is ready, honey.
MADELEINE: Okay. (still not moving)
JULIA: (from downstairs) UGH!  Mommy!  I spilled my dinner!
ME: Pick it up!
JULIA: I'm trying to!  Clara.  Clara!  No!
ME: How much spilled?
JULIA: Uh...a LOT!

I ran downstairs to find Julia's dinner in her lap and Clara gobbling it up.  Meanwhile, Madeleine had finally clued in to dinner and was bringing her own plate downstairs.  Julia ate the little bit she'd been able to salvage and put back on her plate.

JULIA: Mommy?  Should I have a cupcake or ice cream??



Sigh.  At least Clara got a nutritious dinner.

Eight Years Old!

Can't believe this kiddo is eight years old!:

Even though she has been so excited about her birthday, Madeleine was so exhausted after her sleepover party that she slept in this morning.  In fact, I had to wake her up so she'd have time to get ready for school.

Things were off to a slow start, and Madeleine proved that age is just a number as she sat on her bed with one pajama leg off, methodically picking her nose.

ME: Come on, honey, get dressed!

A few moments later, I guess she had a change of heart, because before I knew it, Madeleine appeared buck naked in the dining room with an urgent announcement.

MADELEINE: Mommy.  For being eight, one thing feels different.
ME: Mmm-hmm?  What?
MADELEINE: You *might* be ASTONISHED.
ME: Okay.  What?
MADELEINE: (bristling with anticipation of her impending astonishing announcement) I don't feel like picking my nose!
ME: Great.  Can you go get dressed?


After she was finally dressed, Madeleine got to open a bunch of birthday presents, including an outfit from Auntie Shannon, Lego Friends from Auntie Caitlyn and Uncle Chad, a puzzle from Nana and Gramps, "Faerie Tale Theater" DVDs from Yiayia, an American Girl gymnastics from me, and some Ever After High dolls from her sister.  Julia also included another gift, a special set of stories to whet the thirst Madeleine has had for scary tales ever since reading "The Tell-Tale Heart."

Wow!  Julia managed to dig up the writing of Edgar Allen Poe's descendant, Julia Poe!  This is sure to be a totally twisted set of tales!  Can't wait to dig into them myself!

HAPPY 8TH BIRTHDAY MADELEINE!!!!!!!!!!