yikes, I'm behind...

Wow, the last week has flown by and somehow my blogging didn't keep up. Catching up will take a couple of entries...

Last Monday Arnie took Grace to Omaha to spend a couple of days with my parents and then Tuesday morning Arnie, Maggie and I headed for Illinois. Arnie has a meeting every fall in Schaumburg and the last 3 years Maggie and I have gone along and done lots of fall/winter shopping. We have a great circuit of outlet stores, Ikea and a few other shops we like plotted out. We were only there for about 26 hours and we made good use of our time.

We came home Wednesday afternoon and Grandma brought Grace all the way back to our house (Thanks, Mom!) and then we started getting ready for our weekend camping trip. That will be my next post.

The best story from the last week was Wednesday night while Arnie was tucking Maggie in. Last week was 'C' week at school, at Montessori they teach letters phonetically, so to Maggie it was "ca" week. Wednesday night Arnie and Maggie were talking about how Chicago started with a 'c', and Maggie said "I've been somewhere that starts with a 'rrrrrr', do you know where?" Arnie thought about it for awhile and told Maggie he just didn't know where she'd been that started with an 'r'...she said "rrrrrth" (earth). Sometimes she's too smart for her own good. We laughed so hard, we almost cried!


Good morning mom, let's shop till we drop!!



Maggie thought this witch hat decoration was pretty funny.



We went to Jason's Deli for lunch shortly after we got there, once Maggie realized they had ice cream cones....she suggested we come back again for lunch on Wednesday.....so we did :)



Working on her letters while we wait for daddy to finish up. We just made this box last week, I thought it would take her a little while to get all the letters....I was wrong, she didn't have any trouble with any of them, she recognized them all and could tell me the sounds of almost all of them.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

I guess I should get out her sleeping bag...

I just went in to check on Maggie, she's taking a "rest". (Don't call it nap time around here or you get a nasty response.) Here is what I found....


You might not be able to tell, but Maggie is laying on my caseless pillow and she is sleeping inside the pillowcase.

Who knows??!? Lucy is here for the day, Dick and Betti went to Tucson for Uncle Sid's funeral. We're so sorry for the loss the Taren's are experiencing.  I'll never forget the first time I met Uncle Sid, we were in Arizona for Evan's college graduation, Sid was well into his 80's (86 or 87, I think) and he came jogging into the hotel lobby after finishing up a 5 or 6 mile run.  He was something else and will surly be missed. He was married to Grandpa Arnold sister Bette, they used to live in Omaha and he worked for Robinson Metal, which I believe was a scrap yard that spun off from Norfolk Hide and Metal....but I could be wrong.  I'll check my facts and update later for historical accuracy.

Yesterday Arnie, the girls, Dick, Betti and I flew to Emporia for the NIM-Emporia family picnic and celebration of their 10th Anniversary. It was fun to be there with people who we either don't see very often or have never met in person but hear about alot.  Gracie was her usually calm, easy-going self and Maggie loved every minute of it.  She came home so sweaty and dirty that I thought I was going to need to clean the shower after she got out.

Maggie was telling Knock, Knock Jokes....she thought she was hilarious.

Grace napping (and thinking) at the picnic

"Grandma, I think I'd like to have a snowcone."

Maggie's first snowcone....

Maggie's second snowcone...

"Mom, Pops said I could have another one!" = Maggie's 3rd snowcone

One sticky, sweaty, drity little girl.

Maggie is very excieted by contrails behind airplanes right now, so PJ announced a few when he saw them out her window.

Grace wasn't so excieted...

Today when I picked Maggie up at school she announced that she made it to the second bar on the monkey bars...she was thrilled!!

MISS LAUREN!!!!!!

Yesterday Lauren had a softball game in Omaha, so Arnie, Maggie and I went to watch.  Maggie was so excited to see Lauren after a couple of weeks without her and I think Lauren was pretty happy to see Maggie too.  Miss Lauren had a great hit, made several outs and her team won the game...I think that makes Maggie her good luck charm :)

Maggie and Dean watching Lauren bat.

 

Scott giving Maggie throwing lessons.We spent Friday and Saturday in Omaha.  Dad brought Grandma's camper home and made sure everything was in working order, then he showed Arnie and I the different things we needed to know. Yesterday after the softball game Arnie headed to Lincoln for the Husker game and the girls and I set off down the highway with the camper in tow.  We're going to clean it up and get it ready to use this week, then next weekend we're going to have our first family camping adventure. Thankfully mom and dad are going to come with us next weekend, so if we don't remember all the stuff dad told us, he'll be around to help....BUT I pulled the trailed all the way home without any trouble, then when we got home, I decided I'd try to back it into the driveway and unhook it....

and I did GREAT....I'm not sure my dad believes that I did it, but thankfully I have a 3 year old witness :)

A few more pictures from the last few days...

Maggie's accidental 80's workout video impression...

"MMMMMM...thanks for sharing your ice cream Gramma."

"That wasn't all, was it???"

"Gramma, I WANT MORE!!!"

Arnie and Maggie are working on a pinewood derby car...Grandpa was giving them a quick tutorial on the saw...

So far Maggie seems to think filling the water tanks is about the best part of getting ready for camping.

Projects...Projects...Projects...

Maggie loves to do projects, she especially loves anything with paint, glue or glitter.  I HATE glitter...we are officially going to have to stop doing glitter projects when it gets to cold to do them outside, there is no way we can make that kind of mess in our house.  I HATE glitter.

Currently Maggie wants to hang her projects all over the house, her favorite suggestions are my bedroom, my bathroom or Gracie's crib. I try to be flexible and "deal with" kid clutter all over, but I just can't do random pictures taped to whatever wall, mirror or piece of furniture was holding still long enough for Maggie to get it. SO, I set out to find a solution...it had to be cool enough that Maggie would choose it over my walls and it had to be a way to showcase all of her beautiful artwork and projects..... here is what we came up with.  It's a great decoration for her playroom wall and hopefully it will keep all the projects contained. I'd like to think of some kind of catchy saying to put on the wall above it...but so far I'm not having any luck...if anyone has any suggestions, holler.

(yes, that's right, Maggie's shirt does say "Hola"...Grandma Betti found it in Arizona and it couldn't be more fitting for any other little girl.)

Today Maggie and I read a library book about creatures in the ocean, and then we made fish and turtles like the ones in the book.

 Maggie did a great job and it was the ideal project for her. Paint, glue, cutting and even a little glitter glue. I'm not sure what the look on Maggie's face is about....probably, "mom, get that camera out of my face."

 Gracie must be taking a lesson from Papa, those pants sure are pulled up high.

The happy girl showing off her sitting skills. You can't tell in this picture, but she's been a little fussy the last couple of days. If things don't seem better tomorrow morning, I think we'll make an appointment to see the doctor while we're in Omaha. Based on Maggie's history and Grace's behavior it seems likely she may have an ear infection...

I can't believe...

...that Maggie is 3 years old and today is the first time we've ever been to the library. I'm embarrassed to admit that, it's not that we don't read, we read all the time and she has tons of books at home, but for some reason I've never thought about going to the library, until today. She loved it. We got a library card, read a few books, picked 10 books to check out and came home with a bag full of new stories! Duh....why haven't we done this before. Needless to say, we'll be going back, I think it's likely it will become a part of our weekly routine.






This afternoon Maggie and I made a new snack...she did all the mixing...





...then tonight we all enjoyed her creations.





Maggie and Arnie making their fantasy football picks during the draft...Maggie kept saying "pick the cute boy" and she couldn't understand why daddy, Uncle Evan and Uncle Jeff were having a "giraffe" on the computer...(draft, giraffe...whatever.)



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

All about Maggie...

My days seems so routine right now that I can't imagine forgetting what they're like, but I know someday the memories will fade...so I'm going to start summarizing them and asking Maggie a few questions every once in awhile to see how her answers change. This would be a good thing to do every year at her birthday, maybe that's when I'll do it from now on.....

Maggie is 3 years old, she weighs 40 lbs and she is 41" tall. She goes to preschool at Montessori and she LOVES to play outside, do projects, help mom and dad, play with her baby sister, play games, read books and play with her baby dolls and stuffed animals. Maggie HATES to go to bed at night. She usually goes to bed about 9pm, at bedtime we read a story and her daily devotions, say a prayer and sing a couple of songs. In the morning I can usually only convince her to drink Carnation for breakfast before school. She loves preschool. She's a great eater, she loves cheese, red peppers, cucumbers, fruit, ice cream and M&M's. In the afternoon I convince her to lay down for a rest and about half of the time she falls asleep. Maggie loves her little sister and is a big help. She especially loves helping to pick out Grace's clothes in the morning and changing diapers. Maggie has an unbelievable memory, she can recite books word for word, tell you little details of things that happened months ago and sing songs she's only heard a time or two. She's extremely adaptable and 'goes with the flow' remarkably well.

Here are a few questions I asked Maggie about herself, the answers are exactly what she said.....

What's your favorite food?
"steak"

What's your favorite color?
"pink...and purple, both. (actual "bowf")"

Where is your favorite place to go eat?
"in Omaha it is where we got get the food...hula hut." (HuHot)

What do you like to do at school?
"play with the house"

What do you want to be when you grow up?
"Maggie! and a teenager, then a crack-out doctor then a photographer, then can I be gymnastics teacher?"

Who are your best-friends?
"Carly and JJ"

What's your favorite thing to do after school?
"Make ribbon and do projects"

What does mommy do all day?
"does boring stuff. and take pictures and go down-stairs and work in your office"

What does daddy do all day?
"he just works and steals steel. goes to Norfolk Iron"

What's your favorite thing about being a big sister?
"holding Gracie"

What's your favorite animal (besides Reagan and Peanut)?
"the giraffes at the zoo and Sam and Topper. I love Zebras."

Where is your favorite place to go?
"Omaha"

What are you going to be for Halloween?
"A frog....Um no I changed my mind to a pink Minnie Mouse."

What do you like to do in your playhouse?"
"Color and play and play food and do that stuff and color.

What's your favorite tv show?
"Mickey Mouse"

What's special about Maggie?
"She's a good girl. She is the sweetest girl in the whole wide world."



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

My favorite thing about Husker Football...

...is definitely the cute outfits my kids get to wear.

My second favorite thing is that 99% of the state wears red on game day and because everyone is dressed alike people seem to be a little nicer.

That's right my favorite things have nothing to do with football. Here's the secret...I really don't care about football (yikes, that could get me in real trouble). I like when the Huskers win and I think it's fun to watch everyone get excited, but it has way more to do with watching the happy kids with pompom's (and face tattoos) and the comradery that comes with cheering for the same team then it has to do with downs, yards, plays, penalties and the like.

Yesterday the girls spent the day with Grandma & Grandpa while Arnie, Vadim and I went to Lincoln for the football game. We asked Maggie if she wanted to go with us, she went back and forth several times, and then asked if she "could go for about an hour." When we told her no, she had to stay for the whole day, her mind was definitely made up!

This morning we went out for breakfast and when Maggie wasn't paying attention Arnie put a piece of bacon on her plate (she LOVES bacon). Grandma told her the bacon fairy must have done it. She was pretty excited about the idea of a bacon fairy. Arnie repeated this bacon sneaking a few times, and each time she squealed about the bacon fairy. She was less then happy when the bacon was gone and we told her the bacon fairy was done for the day. We have already had to answer several questions about the bacon fairy...does she fly? does she steal bacon from other people? why doesn't she have more bacon? etc.... I can only imagine what she'll think of next....Who needs a tooth fairy when there is a BACON fairy!!







You'd think this poor little girl had such a tough life, wouldn't you?? She sure can scowl when she wants too.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad