Things you learn

Amelia has pneumonia, which stinks, but she's been feeling pretty good so she's been great company the last two days that she's been home from school. (She gets to go back to school tomorrow).

This afternoon it was sunny, so we headed out for a "run-bike" (Amelia's term--Momma runs, girl bikes). I took her on my favorite trail along the Sammamish River. It's a paved trail that goes for miles, and it's just a 5 minute drive from our house. 

This was our first time on an intentional "run-bike" and Amelia did great.  (We had many unintentional run-bikes last summer as she was learning to ride, but hadn't quite figured out the braking yet).  I loved running while talking with her (yet another reason why I love having big kids).  And we learned a few things.  

• Stay in your own lane and try not to drive like a drunk.
  
• Don't focus on the duck-muck or you just might end up in it.
• It's not a good idea to run over your mom.
• You don't need two legs to ride a bike.
• The playground isn't as much fun without your sister.

New additions

One of my resolutions for this year is to acknowledge what I'm grateful for more often.  So I'm adding a little gratitude journal to my sidebar.  I'm going beyond the obvious (family, home, health, etc.) and looking for the little things I take for granted.

The other thing I'm working on is seeking out a daily happiness.  Yesterday I woke up and had a list of many things I "should" do, while the only thing I wanted to do was cuddle up on the couch and read a book.  So many times I will talk myself out of doing something I want to do, because there are so many things I "should do."  So yesterday I gave myself a pass.  I let the laundry and dishes sit and I read my book.  It felt decadent.  And guess what?  Nothing fell apart.  I had a little more to do today than I would have, but I was far happier doing it because yesterday was so nice.  So I'm going to try to consciously seek out that little indulgence every day and I'm adding that to my sidebar too.

Personal expression

I usually try to offer gentle guidance when my children get dressed in the morning.  When I don't, this is the fallout.

Now this absolutely adorable outfit was chosen on a Saturday, and I'm all about boosting my girls' self-esteem and creativity on the weekends.   However, much to Kolby's horror, Madeline wore a very similar outfit to school on Thursday because the girls were so excited to go play in the garage (yes, you read that correctly) before school that they dressed themselves without consulting me first.  And I, being raised by a mother who believed choosing your own outfit is key to good self-esteem, bit my tongue and let her wear it to school.  I kind of think she rocked it.  But I'm not sure what her fellow 3rd graders thought.

So I don't know.  What are you judging me the most for?  

1. Letting my girls out in public looking like this.
2. Not letting them freely choose their own outfits every day.
3. The fact that the most exciting thing they have to do is play in our horribly disorganzed and freezing cold garage on top of a mattress leaning on its side against the wall.

More retro-blogging

I thought I'd share another old post.  (FYI--I started that blog on my Mac account, and then realized it was $100 a year to maintain it, so I think it only had four or five posts before I ditched it.)  The pic above is from our weekend trip to Seattle in January, 2007.  Right before this picture was taken, Amelia threw a doozy of a tantrum because I forgot the top to her swimsuit.  And since the only real reason to go on vacation is to swim in the hotel pool, this was a problem.  I thought wearing her cover-up skirt would solve it.   But Amelia did not want to wear the damn skirt as a top.  Nor did she want to go topless.  And there was just no making the world right.  And yet somehow, we all survived.  Amelia is a far more reasonable child now.   (She might argue that I'm just a much better packer than I was then.) 

February 13, 2007

"What happened at school today?" I asked Madeline, as I do every day when she gets off the bus.  And as always, she responded, "Nothing."

"Nothing?  Nothing fun?  Nothing exciting?"

"Um.  I can't remember."  Which is also part of the daily script.

Madeline's best friend Sean gives his mom the full report.  He always has plenty of concerns about who chased Maddie at recess, who was bad in class, etc.  Sometimes Erin calls me to make sure Madeline is okay, because from Sean's recap of the day, Maddie was in great peril at recess.  But always the same shrug from Madeline.  And on days when I really press her for details, she will say, "Call Sean's mom.  I'm sure he told her what happened at school."  This. From my first grader.

But yesterday I didn't think to probe any further after getting the usual answer.  And then this morning I woke up with an email from the principal explaining that the heating system isn't working in the school due to the FIRE they had yesterday, and the kids would need to dress warmly.    It went on to say that the kids did a great job evacuating the building quickly, and waiting calmly outside while the FIREMEN put the FIRE out.  All of this happened at 2:00 p.m., just an hour before my child came home from school with nothing exciting to report.  

I woke Madeline up this morning and said, "Hey? Remember when you told me nothing happened at school yesterday?  What about the fire?"

"Oh.  Hmm. Yeah.  I guess they said that was serious."

These days, without the amnesia-inducing bus ride home from school, I get a much more thorough update on Madeline's day.  Birthing cats and all.  

Spelling it out

Amelia is suddenly very excited about writing.  In kindergarten they write phonetically, and since Amelia still says her r's like w's, it makes for some pretty adorable writing.  Last night I came home to this note:

And speaking of r's like w's, I'm going to be very sad to see her grow out of that.  It makes me belly laugh every time I hear her say "cwotch."  Yes, I know.   I'm sure your kid never says it (they probably don't laugh when they fart either),  but it's better than "nuts" which my girls claimed to have for a while. 

I just came across my old abandoned blog, and thought I'd add some of those entries to this blog to save for posterity.

12/24/2006 (written by Kolby)

"Ouch! I hurt my nuts."

Not a phrase that we hear often in a house with three girls.  Nevertheless, references to nuts are becoming commonplace with Madeline (6) and Amelia (3).  While the exact origin of this word isn't confirmed, I'd bet my own right nut that it came from the house full of boys across the street (who shall go unnamed here.)

Madeline has been set right, as I've explained to her what "nuts" are, as well as the fact that she doesn't have any.  So she modified her saying, to "Ouch!  I hurt my girl nuts!"  Which I guess is an improvement.

Amelia has not yet made the appropriate adjustments to her use of the word, as she has explained three times in the last two days that something was so funny  that "I laughed my nuts out."  

Which is why, two years later, I still prefer her use of the word cwotch. 

Stimulating the economy, one purchase at a time.

I got new running shoes yesterday, and I can't help but believe that they will solve all the world's problems.  They will most certainly solve all of mine.

Ski Bowl

My daughters are going to be much better skiers than I am, and I could not be more pleased.

In 4 weeks, Madeline has gone from barely being able to make it down the bunny hill, to making beautiful parallel turns, something I didn't learn until I was 14.   Her teacher pulled us aside after class to #1 recommend we get her into racing, and #2 thank us for getting her a helmet.   He said she has a lot of natural talent, and a love for speed.  

Now if you know Madeline, the speed part is just so shocking.  It's really incredible how slowly that girl can move.  But put her in skis, and Bizarro Maddie emerges.  Thus the helmet.  After seeing her ski so fearlessly last week I realized a helmet was no longer optional.

And Amelia made huge progress today too, gaining some confidence and declaring herself "awesome!" more than once.  

I tell ya, I absolutely adore having big kids.