Stop! Maggie Time...

So, you say, what's up with Mags these days?

Well, here's a photo I took on Saturday of the Dead End sign she made for Dance Baby Dragon Town, which is the town where she lives... in her mind. She put the Dead End sign up on the post in the kitchen because that corner of the room is, apparently, a dead end. She has mentioned this Dance Baby Dragon Town to me now a few times, because she likes to tell me what is and isn't against the law there and how it applies to her current situation, in which she has usually broken a rule that exists in the town that I live in (reality) and which is NOT a law in Dance Baby Dragon Town.



If she doesn't become an entomologist, or an accountant, or a fry cook on Venus, she's going to be a lawyer. I'm pretty sure of it.

Here's some more of Maggie's art:



This image is Maggie's portrayal of our Skype call the other night with my parents in which our computer crashed and we couldn't finish the call face-to-face. Nana is on the left there, and that's Papa on the right. The big X represents the crash. I suppose an art therapist would tell you that she was quite distressed by this event. By the way, I think the likenesses are quite good. You can see the family resemblance there.

And finally, I took this video of Maggie at her request demand this evening. She wanted me to make a video of her giving a bouquet of leaves to her Dad.



We might need to add performance artist to her list of future professions up there. I never understand what those people are trying to accomplish either!

Katie Sez...

I almost gotta cry, Mama!

[As we arrive home from Wendy's yesterday with chocolate Frostys]

Me: Why did you almost cry?!

I was so sad for Daddy!

Why are you sad for Daddy?

Because he had to go to work!

...then her mournful expression turns into a grin and she digs into her Frosty...

***

Four years ago I was jealous most days that Daddy got to escape to the office, but as the years go by, there are more and more days when I also feel a bit sad for Daddy that he has to go to work. Lucky for him, Monday at the office is Sundae Mondae when everyone brings ice cream and toppings and they have nothing but sundaes for lunch! I should probably plan to serve something very meat-oriented for dinner...

Adventures in Beantown

As our gorgeous cool/sunny weather continues, I decided we should take advantage and take the train downtown for a day of adventures. I had intended to do a lot more days out in the city this summer, but Kate's potty training has kept us at home more than I planned. I kept my fingers crossed and threw lucky pennies in all the fountains we passed, because the single greatest problem with Boston is the serious lack of public bathrooms, but she did great and didn't have any disasters.

As soon as we got out of the T at Park Street, we headed across the Common and into the Public Garden. The girls always love the Make Way for Ducklings statues and immediately ran to sit on the ducks.






Kate did not love sitting on Mrs. Mallard with Maggie and did not want to wait for me to take a picture. Maggie however loved it.


Here's a photo of them on the same duck last year. My how time flies!!




Maggie loved the real ducks, too. She cried when I dragged her away (because she was taunting the ducks by throwing leaves in the water and getting them all excited for snacks)!


On the bridge watching the swan boats. We didn't ride them because the line to get on was outrageous and it was lunch time. We headed out of the park to get pizza and pink lemonade instead.


After lunch, we headed over through Quincy Market and out to the Greenway where we hit the carousel, of course!


Kate wouldn't let me take her picture, so I surprised her and got a shot in the mirror above us. Sneaky Mom! She kept trying to tell me something all throughout the ride, but the calliope music was too loud. Finally I realized she was saying, "They're chasing me, Mom! The horses are chasing me! Up and Down! Come on guys, Come on!" She's a riot!






After the carousel, we cut over to the harbor to look at the boats and try to find an ice cream shop, but...


We ran into a playground instead. The only thing that got us out of there was that Kate ended up needing to go potty, so we just HAD to run over to the North End to Caffe Vittoria (my favorite!) and get some gelato and iced coffee!


These girls know all the tricks to keep the paparazzi at bay.


She just can't help being cute.


Yum!


I was positive that we were going home now as it was somewhere around 2pm, but we had to walk back through the Greenway to get to the T station and Maggie spotted the fountains!


She wasn't leaving without getting totally soaked. Here are a couple of videos of the girls cavorting in the spray:

Revenge

This post is an open letter to those people (several of you; you know who you are!) who like to call me up in February and mock me because I live in a frozen tundra and you are wearing shorts and grilling hamburgers outside on the patio.

I would just like you all to know that today, AUGUST 22nd, I am sitting inside my house with all the windows and screen doors open and no air conditioning on. It is currently 74˚F outside, sunny and breezy with only 47% humidity, according to the Weather Channel. In short, a very lovely day. And now that I have rubbed it in, I am going to sit outside on the deck with a cup of coffee while the girls play in the yard... a cup of HOT coffee!

I told you I would get you back come August, so yeah, uh... nanny nanny boo boo and go stick it in your ear!

And when you call me back in six months, I am going to email you a link to this post, so be forewarned. (And then I will wipe away my tears with the slanket I wear around the house like a backwards coat to keep warm because it's only 47˚ in my kitchen, and that's with the oven on.)

Pretty Pretty Princesses

Then after I turned off the camera, Maggie said, "And now is when we are supposed to kiss!"



I know two girls who've been watching too many Disney movies lately! There are also some Evil Witch and Cut Out Her Heart games going on as well. We may have to switch over to being a strictly Pixar-only household!

Katie Sez...

... Mama, I sorry for your mad.

This afternoon she threw a HUGE tantrum because I said no to playing in the basement. We had to do a time out and then have a little talk about who is in charge, me or her. Then when Mike got home, she told him I was mad and then came and apologized to me. She sure does make it hard to hold a grudge.

Update on the House

The house looks crazy right now because 80% of it is scraped and primed a lovely blue-grey color with big splotches of old turquoise here and there where the shingles that are in need of replacement weren't worth scraping. We are now waiting for the carpenter to come and do the shingles and trim repairs before the final paint job can be completed.

When will the carpenter be here? Two weeks. When will the painter be back after that? Two weeks.



We'll just have to wait and see!

A Grand Day Out

Last Friday, my friend Erin and I took the girls on a day trip to Star Island. We started off bright and early in the morning, driving up to Portsmouth, NH, to catch a ferry boat over to Star, which is one of the Isles of Shoals.


Star Island from the ferry - Star is about 6 or 7 miles off the coast, which is an hour's ferry ride. The girls loved it! And although it was overcast and chilly and the water a bit choppy, nobody really got sick.


Erin and Maggie


From the dock. The main building with the red roof is the Oceanic Hotel. The island is small - only 46 acres - but people have been living on it since 1677!


In the lobby of the hotel - the girls loved this round couch!


The island has a marine science center with fish tanks and touch tanks.


Kate was quite scared of the crabs and starfish, but liked watching the fish. Maggie wanted to touch everything! I think we have a budding scientist here.


The larger of the two gazebos on the island, this one is referred to as the Summerhouse.


The view of Gosport Harbor from the enormous veranda on the front of the hotel.


Don't take my picture!


The girls had so much fun just running around exploring and playing on the playground.


The hotel veranda has tons of rocking chairs on it. It would've been the perfect place to just sit and relax if I hadn't been chasing a couple of crazy monkeys. Actually, the island is so small that if they were just a couple of years older, they could have roamed half the island by themselves and still been visible from this chair. Something to look forward to on future trips!


Crazy monkey.


Finally, after lunch the sun came out!


This bag of pretzels was a good snack, but we decided going inside to get some ice cream and iced coffee would be even better!


Gosport Harbor sail boats in the sunshine


White Island Lighthouse and Seavey Island


The Oceanic from the Summerhouse and the back side of the island


The Summerhouse has benches and picnic tables in it and gorgeous views of the sea.


Quintessential New England Seaside Views


It turned out to be a beautiful day and we all only got a little bit sunburned!