Week End Update

As the school week comes to a close, here are a few quick updates:

-Julia was named Student of the Month in her cluster!  I'm not sure if anything special comes with being Student of the Month besides the title, but it's still exciting.  Apparently the teachers have been lax in their appointments of Students of the Month, so they covered the past several months in one go.  So I'm not entirely clear on which month Julia is officially student of, but it's an honor nonetheless!

-Madeleine came up with the idea that she wants to save up for a super cool electronic device.  After spending an hour searching on Amazon for an idea of said device, she finally settled on an anime-style Harry Potter backpack with a water bottle holder.  Because... that's clearly an electronic device.

-I got to give Parent-Teacher conferences at work looking like this:

Book and Concert

I can't wait to see what this book of Madeleine's entails!:

And in other news, Julia had her Select Choir concert this evening, and I'm so relieved my concussion symptoms have abated and I was able to attend!  Madeleine dutifully sat through the 7th and 8th grade boys' AND girls' choruses until Julia's group performed, although she got a lot chattier and a LOT more full of questions as the night went on. 

MADELEINE: (pointing to the program) What does "arr" mean?
ME: (whispering) Arranged by.
MADELEINE: (loud whisper) ARRANGED?
ME: Because it was written for a different sort of ensemble.
MADELEINE: (pointing to the program) What does "Trad" mean?
ME: (whispering) Traditional.
MADELEINE: (pointing to the program) Jim Papoulis.  Is that Greek?
ME: (whispering) Yes.
MADELEINE: Then why is this song in Spanish?

Etc. 

Here's a link to one of the songs Julia's group performed.  It was their least polished piece, since they only learned it in the last few weeks, but the harmonies are difficult and it's a cappella to boot; I was really impressed with their ability to pull it off as well as they did.  In fact, you might say I was
STUNNED (when you really meet a shark):

Black-Eyed Courtney

Well, sporting a lumpy head and a black eye can make one feel ugly, but Madeleine made sure to give me a boost on my appearance.

MADELEINE: Hey Mommy!  It kind of looks like you're wearing EYE SHADOW!

Yup, it does.  Except for instead of just on the lid, it's like I'm wearing it all around my eye:

Meanwhile, I continue to recover and get plenty of sleep.  This morning, after sleeping in, Ethan and I were just about to sit down to a homemade brunch when Madeleine decided she wanted to read "Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone" aloud to us.  I had been looking forward to listening to a podcast while eating brunch and sipping my coffee, so I tried to deflect Madeleine.

ME: How about you read silently to yourself on the couch while we eat?
MADELEINE: But I want to read a chapter ALOUD to someone.
ME: Why don't you go into your room and read it to your American Girl dolls?
MADELEINE: No, they INTERRUPT too much.  They ask TOO MANY questions and they don't really LISTEN.

Those unruly American Girl dolls.

Julia took a MAJOR ONE for the team and offered to go in Madeleine's room and let Madeleine read aloud to her.  THANK YOU, JULIA!  This allowed Ethan and I some peace and relaxation for our morning, which was exactly what my concussed head needed.

Madeleine has been busy in other way besides reading aloud.  She is working hard on whatever this is:

Now, I know my brain isn't necessarily operating at 100%, but I'm a little stymied by a few of these clues.  I mean, I obviously know that #4, _____ screen, is "sun."  But does anybody have any ideas for #1?  "A delightful, classic summer mash-up"?  Hints welcome!

Concussed

Yesterday, I wiped out while running and fell on my head.  Now I look like this:

I spent a few hours in the ER and was discharged with a concussion, told to limit my screen time and avoid visual and aural stimulation.  Which doesn't leave a lot to do.

Madeleine made me a board game at school so that I would have something to play during my recovery.  ♥️

Here, she explains how to play "Student Driver":




We already played it and we're about to play again.  Guess I better get off my computer and avoid any more screen time for the day!

6th Grade Concert

Last night was the 6th grade band and chorus concert for Julia.  In 6th grade, students must choose either chorus or band for a music elective.  Because Julia loves to sing as well as play the flute, she chose band for school, and sings with the audition-based Select Choir after school.  The Select Choir is made up of grades 6-8 and is an extracurricular activity; the spring concert is next week.

When I arrived at the concert, I saw the band onstage warming up and chatting.  I walked up near the stage to get a picture of Julia.  The moment she saw me, her face turned to a grumpy tweenagery scowl.

JULIA: (seeing me trying to take a picture) No.  No,
ME: I just want one picture!
JULIA: No.
ME: Just smile quickly.
JULIA: No.

She finally gave me an embarrassed half-smile, proving once again that she has the COOLEST MOM EVER.

Yeah.  That's right.  How many other moms are walking up to the stage taking pictures?  None.  I AM THE COOLEST AND NOT EMBARRASSING AT ALL.

After the band had finished warming up, the 6th grade chorus walked onto the risers to begin the concert.  The band filed off to sit in the side auditorium chairs and listen to the singers.

At this point, Madeleine, who goes with me twice a week to pick up Julia after school from her extracurricular Select Choir, suddenly seemed to forget that Select Choir is not part of 6th grade curriculum.

MADELEINE: (with a wounded expression) They KICKED Julia out.
ME: (whispering) What??
MADELEINE: They kicked Julia out of chorus, because she's too BAD of a singer.
ME: Julia is in band.  She's not in chorus.
MADELEINE: (looking at me in utter disbelief and consternation)
ME: Remember how we've been to her other band concerts?  She's in band.  Not chorus.  Select Choir is not chorus.
MADELEINE: (brightening) Ohhhh!

Never mind that we previously attended the winter 6th grade band and chorus concert,so Madeleine has seen that Julia is not in the 6th grade chorus.  In her opinion, the 6th grade music program is so cutthroat that they just KICK YOU OUT if you're not up to snuff.

After the concert, Julia was bright and cheery upon seeing me, and declared happily, "Okay, you can take my picture now if you want!"

TOO LATE, JULIA.  You blew it with your grumpy reaction to my photo attempts earlier. 

Just kidding.  I totally took more pictures.

Next week, when we go to see the concert of extracurricular ensembles (Select Choir and Select Band), will Madeleine freak out thinking Julia got kicked out of Select Band for being too bad of a flautist?  We shall see!

Math Business Project

In math class, Julia is working on a project with two partners, in which the students must come up with a business idea and plan out the financing.  Julia and her friends chose to create a Gluten-Free Bakery.  In order to get a clear sense on pricing and supplies, Julia was required to visit an actual business of a similar sort and take notes on figures.  I was dismayed when she was looking to visit a legit Gluten-Free bakery several towns away, but luckily for me, she and her partners settled on a bakery in our town that serves both regular and gluten-free cupcakes. 

Julia made plans to walk to this bakery after school today with two friends and get picked up by her friend's dad.  I'm not exactly sure how much math they actually did at the bakery, however.  Within a period of minutes, we had the following text exchange:

JULIA: I'm at Treat with my Sadie and Laura.
ME: Okay.  Thanks for letting me know.
JULIA: I got a salted caramel cupcake.  Now I'm at Walgreens.


I mean, this kid is a great student and I trust that she got done what she needed to get done, but the fact that she was in and out and the main comment was on the cupcake she bought herself makes me wonder what the heck else they bothered to do in the bakery.  Maybe Julia felt it was her moral duty to be a patron of the establishment if she was going to walk in there with questions, so she bought something to make sure she was contributing to the business.  Or maybe she just wanted a cupcake for snack.  I'm betting on the latter.

Julia came home for a couple of minutes to pack some sleepover stuff and then headed over to one of the cupcake-goers houses for a sleepover.  Madeleine was hosting a play-date with a boy from her class, and barely registered Julia's coming and going.

JULIA: Bye, Madeleine!  See you tomorrow!
MADELEINE: Bye.
MADELEINE'S FRIEND: Where is your sister going?
MADELEINE: Uh, to a play-date.
ME: Well, to a sleepover.
MADELEINE'S FRIEND: And why did she get home from school so late?
MADELEINE: Uh...I don't know.
ME: Because she had to go to a bakery for a math project.  Now she's sleeping over at her friend's house.


Clearly Madeleine paid zero attention to my part in the conversation.  This literally just happened:

ME: Okay, Madeleine, time to brush your teeth.
MADELEINE: Okay.  But Mommy.  Is Julia SLEEPING OVER somewhere? - because she's still not home!
ME: Yeah, she's sleeping over at Sadie's.
MADELEINE: WHAT?   Why does SHE get to have a sleepover?!?  Nobody every TOLD me she's sleeping over!
ME: Madeleine, that's why she said "Bye, see you tomorrow" when she was leaving.
MADELEINE: No she didn't!
ME: She actually did.  And that's why I told you she's having a sleepover when you said she's having a play-date.
MADELEINE: No you didn't!  Nobody every TOLD me.


I definitely don't spend my days feeling like I'm talking to a wall.

Daddy Portrait

Ethan was fortunate enough to have the famous Madeleine Rowe draw his portrait this morning.  Check it out!:

I dare say it's not a bad representation, although Ethan is chuckling over the fact that his whiskers are growing all the way up above his nose. 

As for Madeleine's apology "(Sorry I made you look like an ugly old man on the cover of a Who Was? book.), I can definitely see the resemblance to the "Who Was..." cover art.  I think Madeleine may have a future career as the cover artist.  The only thing missing is a teeny tiny little body on Ethan rather than a somewhat proportional neck and torso.

I'd like to request Madeleine do my portrait next!

Today's The Day

Well, I didn't get my clay elephant for Mother's Day, but Madeleine was SUPER EXCITED to greet me this morning nonetheless.

ME: (sitting on the toilet upon first waking up)
MADELEINE: Happy Mother's Day!  So Mommy.  I was GOING to make you an elephant figurine, but I ran out of time, so I made you something ELSE instead.
ME: Okay.
MADELEINE: (running off and returning with a card) And Mommy, we made you something at SCHOOL, but it's just a SCHOOL thing, so that's why I wanted to make you something else.
ME: Okay.  Let me finish going pee.

I moved from the toilet to the sink and began brushing my teeth.

MADELEINE: So here's your card-
ME: Mmmhmmmppphh.
MADELEINE: We made them-
ME: Hang on, honey.  Lemme finish brushing my teeth.

Once I was done in the bathroom, I went to the couch to receive the school-made card and a home-made flower in a plastic cup.  And that's not ALL Madeleine did for me!  She decided to leave me little presents around the house, like a yellow plastic Easter egg with "Crack Me!" taped to the front and a scrap of paper saying "Happy Mother's Day!" inside.  I also got a note paper with music notes on it saying "Feeling sad?  Well, you should be glad."  Let me tell you: this kid spoiled me.

Julia really went above and beyond by making me a slide show about all the things she appreciates about me.  It was truly touching, although I wasn't able to thoroughly read each slide until I looked at them as individual still shots, since Julia had the pacing set so fast on her presentation.  But even without reading through each slide I was overwhelmed with gratitude, and it was even better when I got to really sit down and get every detail!


Here's a snapshot of the various homemade gifts I received:

                                                                       My faux flower

                                                                              My card

                                                       Some of my hidden surprise gifts

                                             The start of my lovely slideshow from Julia


I'm one lucky mommy!  Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there!

Mother's Day

For those of you who did not see this on Facebook, Madeleine suddenly seemed to remember that Mother's Day is right around the corner.  Here's the long version of our conversation:

MADELEINE: (out of the blue) What do you want for Mother's Day?
ME: Umm...hmmm...well, did you already make me something?
MADELEINE: Yeah, but it was something we did at school.
ME: You don't have to make anything else, honey.
MADELEINE: Well, I just FORGOT to look at the calendar to see when Mother's and Father's Day are, and so all of a sudden I was like, (gasping) "It's Mother's Day this weekend!"
ME: You don't have to worry about giving me something else.
MADELEINE: Well, what's something that you WANT?
ME: Hmmm...let me think...
MADELEINE: I mean, like, NOT something you buy.
ME: Oh. Uh. How about you just write me a note saying all the things you love about me?
MADELEINE: No, I mean something BIGGER than that. Something like an ELEPHANT. That's made out of CLAY.
ME: Oh, boy.
MADELEINE: (thoughtful for a moment) I've GOT it! (skittering off out of the room.)

I'm kind of a little bit scared to see what concoction she produces for me.


Speaking of Madeleine's productions, I found this drawing she'd made in her backpack today.  I sure wish I knew the back story to this one:

All I can say is "MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"

A Morning Adventure

Ever since we had our oil tank replenished last week, we Rowes have been noticing a strong fuel smell every time the heat comes on.  This is not uncommon for the first day or so after a refill, but after a few days, it seemed the smell was growing stronger.  By Monday when we all left for work or school, we determined the smell was bad enough to merit calling the energy company to see what was going on.  Ethan texted me while I was at work to say he'd scheduled someone to come the following morning.

By the time I got home from work, the smell was so strong I was nearly gagging.  I turned off the heat and opened all the windows, but the girls and I still smelled the lingering odor.  We wound up having someone from the energy company come out that afternoon.  He found a leak, told us he'd fixed it, and headed on his way.  The weather had warmed enough by then that we didn't even need the heat on, so the smell dissipated substantially.

This morning, however, I woke before my alarm to the smell of fuel once again.  It apparently woke the girls too, because before I had even sat up in bed, Madeleine came bursting through the door to tell me she smelled oil.  Ethan was showering in the downstairs bathroom, and the girls and I all crowded into the upstairs bathroom to get ourselves ready for work and school.  Julia was cleaning her overnight retainer, and I blew my nose to discover a soot-filled tissue. 

ME: Uh-oh.  There's black stuff up my nose.
JULIA: EW!!  Wait.  Does that mean you're gonna DIE?
ME: I doubt it.  But I think I must have inhaled soot from the furnace.
JULIA: (looking at her reflection in the mirror, tilting her head upwards to see up her nose) Wait, I have black stuff up MY nose too!
MADELEINE: Do I? (showing her nostrils to Julia)
JULIA: Yeah, Madeleine, it looks black inside yours too.

The kids began to freak out about this, but little did they know they were about to get WAAAAAY more freaked out.  Just as Julia had finished with her retainer and Madeleine was about to brush her teeth, a high-pitched chirp rang out.  Over and over.

JULIA: (in terror) WHAAAAAAT'S THAAAAAAAAAAT?  Are we gonna DIIIIIEEE?
MADELEINE: (in terror) Mommy!  Something's BEEEEEEPING!
ME: Hang on.  Let me see what it is.

It turned out to be our Carbon Monoxide detector, which was beeping and flashing a blinking light next to the word "evacuate."

Both girls succumbed to pure and utter panic.

ME: Girls.  Girls.  We need to evacuate.  Let's just all go out the front door into fresh air and figure out what to do.
JULIA: But what about DAAAAAAAADDDDYYYYYY?
ME: I'm sure he hears it.  He's in the shower.
JULIA: But we can't leave him!  He's gonna DIIIIIIIEEEEE!  (running downstairs to alert him)

I brought both girls outside to our front steps, where Julia collapsed into hysterical sobs.  Madeleine remained a bit more matter-of fact.  Standing there in flip-flops, holding a toothbrush, she turned to us and asked, "Anybody have any way for me to brush my teeth out here??"

Julia continued her wails of doom, even as Ethan, clad only in a towel around his waist, was standing in open front doorway telling us we had to calm down. 

ME: Ethan, go get dressed so you don't have to stand there in a towel.  I've got this.
JULIA: But he CAN'T go back IN THERE!  He's GONNA DIIIIIIIEEEEE!
ME: Honey, he's just getting some clothes on, then he'll come outside with us.
JULIA: (hugging me, crying)
ME: Honey, you have to catch the bus soon.  What do you need from inside?  I'll go get it.
JULIA: (clutching me in terror) NO!  MOMMY!  Don't go in there!  You're gonna die!
ME: I'm not going to die.  Just tell me what you need and I'll get it for you.  And try to calm down because any minute all the neighbor kids will be out walking to the bus stop and I don't think you want them to hear you.

Julia told me what items she needed and I ran inside to fetch them, and she managed to pull herself together well enough to head off to the bus stop.  Madeleine and I went inside to get anything we needed and brought it out to the back deck, where we had our breakfast.  It was only in the 40's, so I had a winter coat, hat and gloves on, and Madeleine decided to immerse herself entirely underneath one of the new "burrito" blankets Ethan had bought.  Ethan, for his part, used a burrito blanket along with a hoodie to keep warm:

Once Madeleine was off to school and I was off to work, Ethan started his work day on the deck.  The energy company sent someone out later in the morning, and another problem was detected and fixed.  The 40-degree day warmed up into the mid 70s, so Ethan was able to really air the house out and rid it of the smell as best he could.

AND, if our neighborhood didn't already notice something was up while Julia stood hysterically sobbing on our stoop this morning, they sure did by this afternoon, when two fire trucks were parked right outside our house, engines on, lights blinking!  Thankfully, the Fire Department had agreed to come do an extra-thorough carbon monoxide test to make sure it was truly no longer detected. 

Madeleine spread the word throughout school, as well.  Upon dismissal, she announced, "I told everyone that we have CARBON MYOXIDE at our house!"

I can only hope and pray that this is the end of this heating oil saga and that we awake tomorrow to the normal smell of our house, with no alarms going off and no more black sooty nostrils!

Symphony Hall

Today was an exciting day!  Julia's Select Choir got to perform in the Gold Medal Showcase at Symphony Hall!  This was a concert put forth by all the ensembles who had won Gold at the MICCA competition.  The not-fun part of it all was the fact that Julia had to be at the Middle School by 7am this morning to take the bus into Boston.  That meant not only did she need to get up at 6am, but I did too; luckily, Julia is pretty fast at getting ready in the morning, so we were able to get to the school with plenty of time.  After I dropped her off, I headed home, where we got the rest of the Rowe Household ready.  The 3 remaining members drove into Boston to see the 9am performance by Julia's group.  We parked on a side street a few blocks from Symphony Hall and made our way by foot to the concert venue.  Ethan wore a dress shirt and jeans, while I wore a somewhat casual top with dress pants.

As you can see, Madeleine was dressed in an haute couture mish-mash style:

When we arrived at Symphony Hall, a High School group from another town was performing, so we had the pleasure of listening to their excellent chamber choir.  Afterwards, the 8th grade choir from our town performed, followed by Julia's Select Choir (which is an audition-only choir of 6th-8th graders.)  Because we were seated in the balcony, I couldn't get a great close-up shot of the group, but here are a few from farther away:

I was thrilled to see my daughter's experience on the Symphony Hall stage!  I texted Julia immediately afterwards to extend my congratulations and compliments.

ME: I am so proud of you!  Yours is the only middle school choir to get gold!
JULIA: It was scary


Okay then.

Lucky for Julia, she was not one of the members of the Select Choir who had to perform double (actually, triple) duty today.  In the afternoon, we Rowes headed to a town performance of a musical called "Alice in Oz," which featured several of Madeleine's third-grade friends, as well as several members of Julia's Select Choir.  We saw the afternoon performance, but there will be another production this evening.  Talk about an exhausting day for some of these singers!

All of us enjoyed the show, but ONE of us was rendered inspired by it.  Any guesses as to who that was?

ROWES: (exiting the show)
MADELEINE: So, I got inspired to do our OWN show with our family!  So, like...(launching into her ideas for our family-produced musical.)


I think we've had enough excitement for one day, so perhaps we'll pick up on the family musical thread somewhere down the road.

Forgotten Items

I don't know if it's spring fever or temporary amnesia or what, but my kids are forgetting EVERYTHING lately.  And by forgetting, I mean forgetting important items that they have managed to remember all year long.  Here is a list of some of the most important forgotten items.


DATE: Thursday before April vacation
CULPRIT: Julia
ITEM FORGOTTEN: Her flute
LOCATION OF FORGOTTEN ITEM: Chorus room at the 7th-8th grade school, where she has after-school Select Choir twice a week.
IMPORTANCE LEVEL OF ITEM: Uh, pretty high.  Seeing as it was two days before school vacation and Julia does not attend that school, only taking the bus there after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays, she was looking to be without her flute for over 10 days.
REACTION TO REALIZATION OF FORGOTTEN ITEM: Epic meltdown.  Followed by stubborn denial that there was any hope to the situation.
SAVER-OF-THE-DAY: Me.  We drove back over to the school once Julia realized she'd forgotten her flute, and although all after-school activities were over, there was luckily one entrance still open - contrary to Julia's insistence that the whole school would be locked up.  The Select Choir Director was still in the chorus room, so Julia was able to retrieve her flute.



DATE: Tuesday of this week
CULPRIT: Julia
ITEM FORGOTTEN: Her I-Pad
LOCATION OF FORGOTTEN ITEM: Her bedroom
IMPORTANCE LEVEL OF ITEM: Again, high.  Sixth graders receive school-issued I-Pads at the start of the year, and ALL assignments are done on the I-Pads, ALL assignments are submitted through the I-Pads, and all schoolwork is recorded in the I-Pads.  It's kind of required that you have yours at school every day.
REACTION TO REALIZATION OF FORGOTTEN ITEM: Inner panic, leading to very polite text asking me to drop it off at the school office.
SAVER-OF-THE-DAY: Again, me.  And let's face it: Who DOESN'T want to drive all the way across town to drop off an I-Pad before work?  Especially when work is back in the total other direction from the 6th grade school?  Makes for a fun adrenaline-pumping morning!



DATE: Wednesday evening
CULPRIT: Madeleine
ITEM FORGOTTEN: Her water bottle
LOCATION OF FORGOTTEN ITEM: The car
IMPORTANCE LEVEL OF ITEM: Medium.  I had dropped the girls at swim team practice.  The coaches require everyone to bring a water bottle, because they are sick and tired of kids using "I'm thirsty" as an excuse to get out of the pool, trudge through the lobby dripping pool water all over the place, and use the water fountain.  That being said, I'm pretty sure Madeleine can make it through an hour's workout without a water break, or, if worst comes to worst, get permission to drip on through the lobby to use the water fountain.
REACTION TO REALIZATION OF FORGOTTEN ITEM: Near tears (according to Julia, who very politely and apologetically texted me to see if I could drive the water bottle back over to the Y.)
SAVER-OF-THE-DAY: Me.  Again.  I don't think I would have bothered if I'd actually gotten home, but since I was still driving, I figured I could manage to turn around and head back.  It elevated my grumpiness level but wasn't enough to send me off the deep end.


DATE: Thursday evening
CULPRIT: Madeleine
ITEM FORGOTTEN: Her bathing suit
LOCATION OF FORGOTTEN ITEM: The Y
IMPORTANCE LEVEL OF ITEM: Meh.  At this point I was ready to just let her take her chances and see if it was there the next time she went to swim.  It's not like she doesn't have other bathing suits.
REACTION TO REALIZATION OF FORGOTTEN ITEM: Calm and matter-of-fact.  "Oh shoot.  I think I left my bathing suit at the Y."
SAVER-OF-THE-DAY: Ethan.  He hadn't reached the level of saver-of-the-day weariness that I had, so he offered to drive her back to the Y so she could look for it.  She found it in the locker room and all was well.  Again, all would have been well whether or not we went back for the suit, but I am extremely grateful to Ethan for taking one for the team because I wasn't up to it.  And to Madeleine for not melting down about it.  In fact, that's the main reason why Ethan was so willing to take her back to the Y to retrieve it, because she had handled the realization so maturely.


In a nutshell: these kids have GOT to get their brains screwed back in.  Get it THE HECK together, girls! 

Jesus Christ, Superstar

As is tradition in the Rowe household, every year during Lent leading up to Easter, we listen to the soundtrack from "Jesus Christ, Superstar."  The girls beg for it every time we're in the car, and various tracks have made it onto playlists that we listen to in the house. 

Recently, as we listened to the track "Pilate's Dream," Madeleine remarked on her vision of Pontius Pilate.

MADELEINE: I always picture Pontius Pilate kind of like Pilot Penny.
ME: Pilate Penny?  What do you mean?
MADELEINE: Like...Julia's Pilot Penny.
ME: What?
JULIA: Oh, yeah, Pilot Penny.
ME: Who's Pilot Penny?
MADELEINE: You know, she has, like, a blue helmet on her head?
ME: Are you talking about the Little People figure?  Pilot PAULA?
JULIA: Oh!  I thought it was Pilot Penny!
ME: It's Pilot Paula.
MADELEINE: Oh!  Then I picture Pontius Pilate like Pilot Paula.
ME: You know Pontius Pilate is not a pilot.  It's P-I-L-A-T-E.
JULIA: What?!?  It IS?!?
ME: You thought it was "Pilot" too?!?

I guess this is who Madeleine thought Pontius Pilate was:

Today, as we walked home from school, Madeleine told me she had a part from "Jesus Christ, Superstar" in her head.  After she sang it to me, I identified it.

ME: Oh, that's Pontius Pilate singing to Jesus.
MADELEINE: Yeah.  And Mommy.  This is how I picture Pontius Pilate: He's an average height man, and he has grayish-bluish eyes, and has peach skin that's a little bit tan, and has weird hair that's, like, smooth but wavy-ish too.  And he has a double chin and double cheeks, and his lips are only a tiny bit pink, and, like, they're also the color of his skin, and yet his hair color is dirty-blonde, sort of.

WOW.  She has SURE changed her vision from Pilot Paula. 

Too bad there was no photograpy back in the BC era.  Now we'll never know which of Madeleine's two mental images is more accurate.