Madeleine busts a move (whilst Julia gallops):
Yeah! Woo-hoo! I think *I* saw the sign too!
Friday, March 8, 2019
Wednesday, March 6, 2019
Talk of Spring
Discussion with Madeleine on the way home from swim practice.
MADELEINE: Mommy? You know why I'm excited to be in HIGH SCHOOL - uh, (laughing) - even though it's a LONG time away?
ME: Why?
MADELEINE: Because teenagers who are in high school can go for runs by themselves, and *I* want to go on a run, but I'm too little.
ME: Oh, well you could go for a run around our block. I used to let Julia do that when she was your age.
MADELEINE: You DID?!?
ME: Yeah. It's only a half mile.
MADELEINE: Oh! Well, maybe I'll do that when it gets warmer.
ME: Yeah, like in the spring.
MADELEINE: Weeeell. Mommy. I think I'll wait for MID-spring.
ME: Yeah, it's not likely that in a couple of weeks it will suddenly really feel like spring even though it will officially change seasons.
MADELEINE: Yeah. And besides. The beginning of spring is, like, the WORST time. It's SLUSHY, sometimes snowy-
ME: And usually cold.
MADELEINE: But in MID-SPRING, ohhh, you can be in a tee-shirt, maybe even a TANK TOP, and just HANG AROUND on the monkey bars, and...AHHH, it's so FRESH and you can finally get to see GRASS again! And you can smell flowers. Oh, I *love* smelling the flowers in spring! I love going around our garden on the weekend when it's so breezy but warm, just smelling all the flowers in our garden!
Well. Madeleine sure waxed poetic on that topic. I was not expecting such an eloquent response. Her description of spring sure gives me something to look forward to, as I gaze out the window at the 15 inches of snow in our yard!
MADELEINE: Mommy? You know why I'm excited to be in HIGH SCHOOL - uh, (laughing) - even though it's a LONG time away?
ME: Why?
MADELEINE: Because teenagers who are in high school can go for runs by themselves, and *I* want to go on a run, but I'm too little.
ME: Oh, well you could go for a run around our block. I used to let Julia do that when she was your age.
MADELEINE: You DID?!?
ME: Yeah. It's only a half mile.
MADELEINE: Oh! Well, maybe I'll do that when it gets warmer.
ME: Yeah, like in the spring.
MADELEINE: Weeeell. Mommy. I think I'll wait for MID-spring.
ME: Yeah, it's not likely that in a couple of weeks it will suddenly really feel like spring even though it will officially change seasons.
MADELEINE: Yeah. And besides. The beginning of spring is, like, the WORST time. It's SLUSHY, sometimes snowy-
ME: And usually cold.
MADELEINE: But in MID-SPRING, ohhh, you can be in a tee-shirt, maybe even a TANK TOP, and just HANG AROUND on the monkey bars, and...AHHH, it's so FRESH and you can finally get to see GRASS again! And you can smell flowers. Oh, I *love* smelling the flowers in spring! I love going around our garden on the weekend when it's so breezy but warm, just smelling all the flowers in our garden!
Well. Madeleine sure waxed poetic on that topic. I was not expecting such an eloquent response. Her description of spring sure gives me something to look forward to, as I gaze out the window at the 15 inches of snow in our yard!
Sunday, March 3, 2019
American Girls
MADELEINE: (wandering around the hallway) What should I do??
ME: Uh...whatever you want. You've got about a half hour until swim.
MADELEINE: Okay (wandering into her room)
She got busy with her American Girl dolls, while Julia galloped back and forth by her doorway. Julia overheard Madeleine talking her dolls and poked her head into Madeleine's bedroom.
JULIA: What are your American Girls doing?
MADELEINE: (looking up from her play) Talking to Michelle Obama.
Wow - what an exciting day to be an American Girl!!
ME: Uh...whatever you want. You've got about a half hour until swim.
MADELEINE: Okay (wandering into her room)
She got busy with her American Girl dolls, while Julia galloped back and forth by her doorway. Julia overheard Madeleine talking her dolls and poked her head into Madeleine's bedroom.
JULIA: What are your American Girls doing?
MADELEINE: (looking up from her play) Talking to Michelle Obama.
Wow - what an exciting day to be an American Girl!!
Thursday, February 28, 2019
Sort-of Superheroes
2 Hour Delay this morning due to snow. Perfect opportunity to fit some extra big sister criticism into the day!
MADELEINE: So, Mommy: I'm writing a new book. It's called "Sort-of Superheroes." It might even be a series! And it's called "Sort-of Superheroes" because it's like: well, so YOU were born with the ability to do beautiful music. Julia and I were born with the ability to swim-
JULIA: We weren't BORN able to swim, Madeleine. We had to LEARN.
ME: But she just means you were born with a natural talent.
JULIA: But we weren't BORN with the ability. We-
ME: She just means you had the talent, honey.
JULIA: But-
ME: Julia.
MADELEINE: So, Lavender-Lilac can, like, help people with things that can hurt them from gardens, and she loves gardening. Sky, she can fly, and, like, she's really good at making stuff. Ocean has extra heating in her body and can hold her breath for a really long time and she's really good at swimming. Star, she can, like, navigate in the night to help people and stuff. Andromeda, she can like go out into space, and can go through crazy stuff like wormholes. Savannah, she can, like, run really fast, and go in hard terrain.
JULIA: Madeleine, Savannah means, like a PRAIRIE with lots of flat, open space and dead grass.
MADELEINE: But I just mean-
JULIA: Savannah is NOT-
ME: Julia.
MADELEINE: And Ocean has a tech suit, and I made these designs-
JULIA: Madeleine, a tech suit does NOT have designs. It's ONE color.
MADELEINE: Well, this one has designs-
JULIA: Madeleine, you do NOT know what a tech suit is.
ME: Julia. It's her book. It's fiction. She can make her tech suit have designs.
JULIA: But she doesn't KNOW what a tech suit is!
ME: She can make it however she wants in her book.
JULIA: But she's not making her book REALISTIC!
MADELEINE: It's fiction, Julia.
JULIA: But-
ME: Julia.
Two minutes later they were STILL fighting about the tech suit.
ME: Julia. Come here.
JULIA: (grudgingly walking into the living room to sit on the couch with me)
ME: It is HER story. It doesn't matter if the details are exact. She gets to decide. She's writing it. She can write it however she wants.
JULIA: But I don't want her to write it however she wants. I want her to write it however *I* want- (recognizing the ridiculousness of her comments and breaking into laughter.)
At least she came around.
MADELEINE: So, Mommy: I'm writing a new book. It's called "Sort-of Superheroes." It might even be a series! And it's called "Sort-of Superheroes" because it's like: well, so YOU were born with the ability to do beautiful music. Julia and I were born with the ability to swim-
JULIA: We weren't BORN able to swim, Madeleine. We had to LEARN.
ME: But she just means you were born with a natural talent.
JULIA: But we weren't BORN with the ability. We-
ME: She just means you had the talent, honey.
JULIA: But-
ME: Julia.
MADELEINE: So, Lavender-Lilac can, like, help people with things that can hurt them from gardens, and she loves gardening. Sky, she can fly, and, like, she's really good at making stuff. Ocean has extra heating in her body and can hold her breath for a really long time and she's really good at swimming. Star, she can, like, navigate in the night to help people and stuff. Andromeda, she can like go out into space, and can go through crazy stuff like wormholes. Savannah, she can, like, run really fast, and go in hard terrain.
JULIA: Madeleine, Savannah means, like a PRAIRIE with lots of flat, open space and dead grass.
MADELEINE: But I just mean-
JULIA: Savannah is NOT-
ME: Julia.
MADELEINE: And Ocean has a tech suit, and I made these designs-
JULIA: Madeleine, a tech suit does NOT have designs. It's ONE color.
MADELEINE: Well, this one has designs-
JULIA: Madeleine, you do NOT know what a tech suit is.
ME: Julia. It's her book. It's fiction. She can make her tech suit have designs.
JULIA: But she doesn't KNOW what a tech suit is!
ME: She can make it however she wants in her book.
JULIA: But she's not making her book REALISTIC!
MADELEINE: It's fiction, Julia.
JULIA: But-
ME: Julia.
Two minutes later they were STILL fighting about the tech suit.
ME: Julia. Come here.
JULIA: (grudgingly walking into the living room to sit on the couch with me)
ME: It is HER story. It doesn't matter if the details are exact. She gets to decide. She's writing it. She can write it however she wants.
JULIA: But I don't want her to write it however she wants. I want her to write it however *I* want- (recognizing the ridiculousness of her comments and breaking into laughter.)
At least she came around.
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
The Curse of the Suit
Madeleine got to debut her brand new Valentine's gift bathing suit on Valentine's Day itself, sporting the suit to evening swim practice.
In the wee hours of the following morning, she began her barf-fest that left her couch-ridden for the whole next day.
Fast-forward through the Cookie Classic swim meet and the following day's swim practice: Madeleine wore her new suit to mid-week swim practice, nearly a week after her stomach bug. I decided to make a prophetic joke.
ME: Okay, you're braving this suit again, huh? Let's hope you don't wind up puking in the night again!
At 10pm that evening she barfed in her bed.
Ethan did bedroom clean-up duty while I did Madeleine clean-up duty. While Madeleine stood under the shower head and I squirted shampoo into her puked-upon hair, she lamented.
MADELEINE: (in doleful anguish) It's the SUIT. I'm NEVER wearing it again!
I would have been a little more convinced by my own assurances to her that the bathing suit couldn't have caused her to vomit if I hadn't cursed myself with my earlier foolish joking comment.
At any rate, as Madeleine was getting ready for swim practice last night, she approached me with the new suit.
MADELEINE: Do you think I can wear this one again?
ME: Sure. (but secretly, irrationally panicking that I'd be cleaning up vomit in the night again.)
Madeleine wore the suit. She slept through the night without barfing.
I was in the shower this morning when Madeleine burst triumphantly into the bathroom.
MADELEINE: I made the night!
ME: Hooray!
MADELEINE: And Mommy? I was so WORRIED about it that I even DREAMED I threw up! But then when I was awake I was like, "Oh, phew, it was a DREAM!"
I am as relieved as she.
The curse of the suit is over!
Saturday, February 23, 2019
Skiing
So, at long last, the Rowe Girls got to try out their dad's old sports past-time:
We took them to a small ski area close to where we live and enrolled them in their first ever ski lesson.
Things were not off to an auspicious start when, even after arriving an hour early, it took so long to get through the line for ski boots that we were still without skis with 8 minutes to go until the lesson. I finally flagged down one of the employees to ask if there was an expedited line for kids enrolled in lessons, and she very kindly let us jump the line.
While this was going on, Ethan was holding our own spot in the line so that he and I could get skis, so I was on duty to get the kids set and to their lesson. Julia couldn't get her ski boots on without help, and as soon as they were on, I was told to hand one of each kids' boots to the employee to fit them for skis. We then couldn't get Julia's boot off and she was starting to panic and there I was yanking on her boot in a crowded line full of people with various amounts of equipment, bonking backwards into them as I struggled to get the boot free. Once we finally had the skis, I then had to carry two pairs of skis as the girls each limped with one boot on and one in their hands to find a less crowded area to get everything on. I managed to get them to the lesson waiting area only to discover we hadn't been given helmets.
ME: Uh-oh, we never got helmets.
JULIA: Great, so then we're more likely to DIE than the other kids here?
I hobbled back inside in my own ski boots to get helmets and returned to the girls with them.
ME: (handing a helmet to Julia) Here you go. (putting the other helmet on Madeleine)
JULIA: Why does MADELEINE get all the help??
OMG. I was sweating and ready to lose my mind by the time Ethan texted me to say he needed one of my ski boots because he'd finally gotten through the line to get our skis. I hobbled back inside, and in my efforts to get the boot off while standing up, I pulled a muscle in my back. That's right, folks: I injured myself BEFORE I even went skiing, which is how winners do things.
Luckily, I was still able to ski, and Ethan and I enjoyed heading up the chair lift to ski down together while the girls had their lesson. I was reminded of how different Ethan and I are when it comes to risk-taking mentality.
ETHAN: (as we rode the chair lift) I always wanted to jump off the chair lift, but I never did.
ME: What, you mean, like, midway up??
ETHAN: Yeah. A bunch of us wanted to. There were always people who did it, and they got their ski passes cut when they were caught.
ME: Okay. That's not how I do skiing. I don't do any shenanigans.
Ethan willingly spent the afternoon shenanigan-free with me. I appreciate him dumbing-down his skiing to go with me, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching him ski the harder course solo.
When we returned to the girls, they were nearly done with their lesson, so we hung around to watch the end, then took them for several runs on the easier bunny hills to practice a little longer. Julia had caught on pretty naturally and was able to make it down a larger hill with me.
JULIA: It was fun but also TERRIFYING.
Madeleine's sense of balance remained on point. As we were leaving the ski area, she exclaimed joyfully, "I can't WAIT to go back to school and tell everyone I learned how to SKI!"
Definitely a pro, right?
We took them to a small ski area close to where we live and enrolled them in their first ever ski lesson.
Things were not off to an auspicious start when, even after arriving an hour early, it took so long to get through the line for ski boots that we were still without skis with 8 minutes to go until the lesson. I finally flagged down one of the employees to ask if there was an expedited line for kids enrolled in lessons, and she very kindly let us jump the line.
While this was going on, Ethan was holding our own spot in the line so that he and I could get skis, so I was on duty to get the kids set and to their lesson. Julia couldn't get her ski boots on without help, and as soon as they were on, I was told to hand one of each kids' boots to the employee to fit them for skis. We then couldn't get Julia's boot off and she was starting to panic and there I was yanking on her boot in a crowded line full of people with various amounts of equipment, bonking backwards into them as I struggled to get the boot free. Once we finally had the skis, I then had to carry two pairs of skis as the girls each limped with one boot on and one in their hands to find a less crowded area to get everything on. I managed to get them to the lesson waiting area only to discover we hadn't been given helmets.
ME: Uh-oh, we never got helmets.
JULIA: Great, so then we're more likely to DIE than the other kids here?
I hobbled back inside in my own ski boots to get helmets and returned to the girls with them.
ME: (handing a helmet to Julia) Here you go. (putting the other helmet on Madeleine)
JULIA: Why does MADELEINE get all the help??
OMG. I was sweating and ready to lose my mind by the time Ethan texted me to say he needed one of my ski boots because he'd finally gotten through the line to get our skis. I hobbled back inside, and in my efforts to get the boot off while standing up, I pulled a muscle in my back. That's right, folks: I injured myself BEFORE I even went skiing, which is how winners do things.
Luckily, I was still able to ski, and Ethan and I enjoyed heading up the chair lift to ski down together while the girls had their lesson. I was reminded of how different Ethan and I are when it comes to risk-taking mentality.
ETHAN: (as we rode the chair lift) I always wanted to jump off the chair lift, but I never did.
ME: What, you mean, like, midway up??
ETHAN: Yeah. A bunch of us wanted to. There were always people who did it, and they got their ski passes cut when they were caught.
ME: Okay. That's not how I do skiing. I don't do any shenanigans.
Ethan willingly spent the afternoon shenanigan-free with me. I appreciate him dumbing-down his skiing to go with me, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching him ski the harder course solo.
When we returned to the girls, they were nearly done with their lesson, so we hung around to watch the end, then took them for several runs on the easier bunny hills to practice a little longer. Julia had caught on pretty naturally and was able to make it down a larger hill with me.
JULIA: It was fun but also TERRIFYING.
Madeleine's sense of balance remained on point. As we were leaving the ski area, she exclaimed joyfully, "I can't WAIT to go back to school and tell everyone I learned how to SKI!"
Definitely a pro, right?
Friday, February 22, 2019
Genius Comments
Proof that my kids are geniuses:
#1:
JULIA: Mommy? I saw this commercial for a medicine for arthritis, and I was like, "I don't think this person really has arthritis," because I got mixed up and I thought that arthritis was schizophrenia.
ME: Uh...they're pretty different, honey.
JULIA: I know but I got mixed up!
#2:
MADELEINE: (taking a bite of bread, then putting her bread to her ear)
ME: What are you doing?!?
MADELEINE: (matter-of-factly) I'm listening for fairies! (resuming eating her bread.)
Clearly, they are both living on some other, genius-level dimension where it has been discovered that schizophrenia is the root of arthritis and fairies exist and live in dinner rolls.
#1:
JULIA: Mommy? I saw this commercial for a medicine for arthritis, and I was like, "I don't think this person really has arthritis," because I got mixed up and I thought that arthritis was schizophrenia.
ME: Uh...they're pretty different, honey.
JULIA: I know but I got mixed up!
#2:
MADELEINE: (taking a bite of bread, then putting her bread to her ear)
ME: What are you doing?!?
MADELEINE: (matter-of-factly) I'm listening for fairies! (resuming eating her bread.)
Clearly, they are both living on some other, genius-level dimension where it has been discovered that schizophrenia is the root of arthritis and fairies exist and live in dinner rolls.
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