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!!