Recently, we decided to go out to dinner and the girls wanted to dress "ooo la la fancy" like Fancy Nancy. Madeleine is on the left and Emily is on the right and they each picked out their outfits (all by themselves...complete with sweaters on a day of 95 degrees)
This was a day where they woke up way too early from their naps and it was shampoo night anyway...in an effort to waste some time, and please overly-tired little ones, I suggested we put curlers in our hair like Fancy Nancy after our shampoos....so we took an afternoon bath and then groomed one of our bears. (Madeleine on the left, Emily on the right)
Emily (left) and Madeleine with their Lego house.
These "dresses" are actually very stretchy scarves Aunt Liz gave to us two years ago....however we discovered they are basically tubes and have converted them into evening wear. Emily on the left, Madeleine on the right.
Madeleine and Emily have been having a wonderful summer (aside from the random bug bites that seem to prompt all kinds of skin reactions - especially from Miss Emily).
We began the summer by discovering ice cream. In the interest of nutritional value the girls' mother had previously tried (repeatedly) to introduce ice cream and was met with total disdain. However, the stars must have aligned this time because on a trip to Baskin Robbins we were rather taken with the wide variety of options and both chose the most God-awful flavor available. A Flavor Of The Month, striving for patriotism in the form of being red, white and blue, called "America's Birthday Cake" (it was about 6 weeks before July 4th). This concoction was a combination of yellow cake, strawberry ice cream and blue frosting! The girls' mother had the sense to choose the same flavor or risk 88 questions about an opposing choice as well as rejection of the pre-schooler-selected-flavor. The ice cream was a hit (and we were even marginally polite to the two British couples who happened to sit near us) and Emily and Madeleine are now "culinarily" equipped to handle any romantic disasters that may be in their futures.
Emily
Madeleine
The local movie theater is once again running kids movies Tuesday through Thursday at 10 AM. We now make it through about 30 minutes at a time. Sadly, our TV viewing skills have improved, so I would hazard a guess we may make it through a feature-length film next summer. Currently, the main reason for attending seems to be the purchase of a kiddie popcorn (no butter please) and the joy brought about by watching other kids. Two weeks ago I made the mistake of referring to the 10-year-olds in front of us (who were jumping all over the place, being loud, etc.) who were there as part of their day camp as "awful"....I am now asked "Where are the awful kids?" when we enter the theater. I believe I was warned about little kids taking everything in and repeating who knows what.
Emily on the left and Madeleine on the right. Don't worry, it is my Diet Coke in the cupholder...the girls drink water!
We have also discovered The Muppet Show. I was a fan of the show when I was the girls' age and was happy to see it is out on DVD. However, one is never sure what will be a hit and what will be a miss and I didn't want to buy a miss... so I used Netflix to get disc one of season three. We are fans! Madeleine always chooses the episode with Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge as the guest stars (it is a hoot to hear her say "Kris Kristofferson") and Emily is the only three-year-old I know who is a devout fan of Gilda Radner, the guest star for Emily's favorite episode. The girls do not know there are three other discs in the season and will not discover this until we are airborne on the way to Spokane (alas aboard Southwest and not Rocket)....watch, it will be the idea of other episodes that will be the miss! I finally broke down and bought a portable DVD player for this trip...I hope it is worth it.
Speaking of traveling with kids I saw the following on a website and loved it "I'd like to say a few words to every crabby traveler who responds with disgust whenever a baby cries on an airplane. Perhaps you don't know how babies work, but there's been a study, and it turns out that giving a 4-month-old the stink eye doesn't actually accomplish anything. Either have a little compassion or a little Ambien." I'm seriously thinking of printing this on cards and handing it to the people who glare at the girls because they have the unmitigated gall to board an airplane and walk past people in their seats during the boarding process!! I hand out small packs of M&Ms to people around us once we find our seats (not kidding) as a peace offering - sad thing is you can actually buy people off for the 21 M&Ms in a minpack....may start handing candy to nice people and cards with this quote to mean people...my life as Santa's apprentice!
Upcoming trips aside, we recently attended the James City County Fair. For those readers who live in the vicinity of the Puyallup Fair, or even those who attend the Spokane County Fair...this would have fit in the parking lot! However, it was the right speed for our group. The girls went on their first pony rides (their shirts have stickers stating it is their first pony ride) and loved it. They sat there and held on as if they had been doing this equestrian stuff for quite some time. They also met some officers from the local police department who gave us classic texts such as "Police Officers Are Your Friends" and "Making Good Choices: Say No To Gangs", we each also got an ID card which made Mom happy and plastic police officer hats. Continuing our intro to emergency personnel...we got to see inside an ambulance and talk to an EMT who let us play with the doo-hicky they put on your finger to check your oxygen level. I learned that there are carseats built into the seats in an ambulance; there is a toddler seat that folds down from a seat and an inflatable infant seat that pops up from another. I hate to admit it, but this is reassuring as I have literally wondered what would happen if I was alone with them and one was seriously injured, what do you do with the other? You don't want to take the time to transfer carseats but you want her safe in transport, you can't leave her alone, we have no family here to call ...turns out ambulances are equipped to transport the whole family. We also learned that there are teddy bears on board who often need the pediatric patient to "take care of them" in transit by applying rolls of gauze and band-aids. Finally, we got to sit in a fire truck....all and all a big day!
Madeleine on Rosebud.
Emily on Ike.
Officer Emily on the left and Officer Madeleine on the right.
Emily
Madeleine
The girls have very much enjoyed being in separate Mother's Day Out classes. Madeleine goes to "school" on Thursdays and Emily goes on Fridays. On the day your sister is at school you get "alone time" with Mommy. One day I do the grocery shopping and the other day I do the everything-else-shopping at Target...the biggest challenge is to keep track of who went to which store last week so they can go to the other store this week. If there is a repeat and one girl goes on the same errands two weeks in a row; there is a serious scolding. When in the house we do exciting things like empty wastebaskets and fold laundry (shockingly these are the activities that are listed as the favorites....must encourage this love of chores).
Next Monday Madeleine and Emily start their first session of swimming lessons at the Y. It seems so much of parenting is having reasonable expectations. My expectation is that our two will be the two who sit on the side of the pool and howl while refusing to put any part of themselves, whatsoever, into the water....we'll see, I may be pleasantly surprised.
Happy (upcoming) Birthday to Aunt Liz and Uncle Kyle (the girls are glad to know there are other "tins" in the family!).
