Sunday, September 25, 2011

New News

1. We seem to have successfully gotten rid of the paci. Kate gave her paci to Elizabeth to give to the Statue of Liberty a few weeks ago and hasn't asked for it lately (after a handful of weepy episodes in the days following). Looking good!

2. Maggie's still loving school. She drew a picture last Friday of her and Kate playing in a pile of leaves. Kate was SO excited that Maggie had included her in the picture and Maggie seemed proud of it, too. Sweet!

3. Kate's had two nights now of sleeping without a pull-up on and we haven't had to change the sheets yet. Fingers crossed!

4. We're currently in the middle of wrecking our downstairs bathroom. I scraped the wallpaper off a couple of weekends ago, only to find mildew behind it. So after I bleached and scrubbed the walls, Mike spackled the bajeezus out it (our house's construction is probably 75% spackle at this point), sanded half of that off, shop vac'd the destruction, primed with Killz twice, and is now up to the actual painting. We de-wallpapered and repainted our entire kitchen in about 2.5 days, but it's taking us a month to do the same to a tiny powder room. 3% less ugly!

5. Maggie is on week three of getting an allowance. We talked it over and she chose feeding the cats as her preferred nightly chore and we added putting away toys as our preferred chore. I made a chart for her to check off each task every day, and she hasn't missed a day yet. We have to remind her, of course, but that girl loves dollar bills, y'all. She has a little tin box in her undies drawer that now contains three one dollar bills, and they are her pride and joy. She's growing up!
6. I'll try to get some photos up soon of M&K riding ponies last weekend at Mike's company picnic. Adorable!

Monday, September 12, 2011

1st Day of School



First day of school and so far, so good! Maggie walked right in, left me in the dust to put all her stuff away, found a table with play dough set out and another girl already playing there, and it was all "Bye Mom! Don't let the door hit you on your way out!"

She didn't actually say that to me, by the way. She said goodbye, gave me a hug and a kiss, and went right back to her play dough without looking back. And that's just the way I like it.


Being a cheeseball this morning when Dad was trying to take her picture.


She picked out this outfit as her special new school clothes outfit.


So preppy!


With Miss Kate. Mike had to buy Kate that water bottle because she was upset that Mags got a new lunchbox and thermos. She also insisted that I fill it with water so she could take it with her on the drive to school this morning. Little sisters!


Goofs.


(Kate will NOT let me put a barrette in that hair. It's bonkers.)


4 years old... going on 14.


Looking pitiful and sad pre-pretzel

Poor Kate. She was SO EXCITED to go to school this morning. She also took off as soon as we walked in, and then I had to chase her down because she heard me say goodbye to Maggie and she knew she couldn't stay. She didn't throw a huge tantrum, but I did have to carry her out with her head on my shoulder crying pitifully. All the teachers made sad faces at us and said, "See you next year, Kate!" Afterwards, we went to our nearest Barnes and Noble to drown her sorrows in a big cheese pretzel and chocolate milk (and coffee for me - yay coffee! I need to figure out how to set our coffee pot to make coffee while I'm in the shower so I don't have to wait until mid-morning for my fix like I did today)! We then headed over to the children's section to kiss and hug all the stuffed animals and pick out a couple of new books about New York City. New York City and specifically the Statue of Liberty (a.k.a. The Green Lady in the Water) are Kate's current obsessions, so she was super happy on the car ride home. She admitted over lunch that Mommy and Kate Day wasn't so bad.



When we picked up Maggie after lunch, she was far more interested in the lollipop they had given her than in telling me anything about her day. She had a great time, she can't wait for Wednesday, she played with a girl named Aubrey (NOT Audrey) who had sparkly shoes, and she did arts and crafts. Her name is Maggie and she likes to go to New Hampshire.

Her look of disdain tells me that she can't figure out why we're making such a big deal out of all of this. She is too cool for school!

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Preschool!

The open house for Maggie's new preschool class was on Wednesday morning. Mike stayed home with Kate while she and I ran over to meet her new teachers, check out the classrooms, and get all the info on where to go and what to do. She had a BLAST and I think it's going to be a great experience for her.




Coloring her apple to put on the classroom tree. (Sorry all these shots are so crappy - I didn't think to take a camera.)


Eating a snack


Coloring a picture with some other girls


Nothing is more fun than other people's toys! I had to practically drag her out of there when the open house was over. We were some of the last few kids there!

She will be in the Mon/Wed/Fri 4-hour class, which means she will take a lunch in her new lunchbox and I will pick her up after that. They have tried to divide the classes into mostly 3 year olds in the 3-hour class and mostly 4 year olds in Maggie's class, but the two classrooms are adjoining and they share a playground, a kitchen, an arts and crafts room and bathrooms. Also, they have decided to have the five teachers float around both rooms over the course of the morning so that all the kids get to know all the staff. I thought all the teachers seemed great, and all but one are early childhood certified - and that last one is a long-time aide and is currently in college working on her degree. Three of the teachers sent their own children to this program not so long ago!

So many people have asked me if I'm ready for this or whether I think Maggie is ready for preschool, and I never really worried about it because I'm certain that she is going to love school and I'm excited for her. What I have not thought too much about is Kate. Maggie and I had to run out the door Wednesday morning while Mike held Kate as she wept, clinging to her shoes, and called out, "Wait for me, Maggie! Wait for me for school!" I'm almost crying just typing it now! And then when we got home, she ran to get her shoes again and asked me if it was her turn to go to school now. I'm kind of dreading the possibility that Kate may be my kid in tears Monday morning as I peel her fingers off the door frame at Fidelity House and drag her away from Maggie's next big adventure.

*sigh*

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Trip to a Field

Yesterday, we took a trip that I've been meaning to do with the girls all summer. We went to Drumlin Farm in Lincoln, MA, which is a Mass Audubon Society property and a real working farm.


The Learning Garden


Chicken on the loose!


Display on field mice


Maggie loved the mice! She said she's going to have a mice farm when she grows up, like Mr. Brice.


Running to the pig barn


The biggest pig I have ever seen in my whole life! Kate was afraid of it!


Hayride


The Tack Room


Maggie's turn


Maggie says she really likes milking cows


Barn cat - we had to circle back around to pet this guys three times.


That goat is sticking his tongue out at us, Mom!


Picnic lunch


This was the only part of the trip that Kate admitted to liking (well, lunch and the ice cream push up pop I bought her at the gift shop before we went home). She spent the whole day saying Canwegohomecanwegohomecanwegohomenowcanwegohomecanwe? Maggie loved everything and wanted to live there forever. She actually told me in the car that she and Kate were the Country Mouse and the City Mouse. I really do wonder...


Thursday, September 1, 2011

Progress

So our carpenter is still AWOL, but it's kind of too late in the summer to hire another - they'd be just as backed up as he is and wouldn't get here until October either. October! Our painter decided to come back and paint the actual color over the primer on as much of the house as he could finish. This protects the primer coat, which only lasts for a few months exposed to the elements before it would have to be repainted, and means that we will only have the new shingles unpainted over the winter (which won't hurt them as they are preprimed at the factory). Our painter will probably have to come back next spring to re-prime and paint the new shingles the carpenter puts on in October because, by the time he finishes, the weather will be too cold for the paint.

Anyway, the new color is exactly what I had in my mind that I was searching and searching for and fretting and fretting over, so everything has turned out fine in the end. Whew! I am so relieved. :)