http://www.blogger.com/html?blogID=1755139666841541603 about a dream: January 2012

Monday, January 30, 2012

real quick blog post before bed!

we had a lovely, lovely weekend. it was warm (40 degrees!), sunny, and my old college buddy jess came for a visit! such fun!

on saturday we took her to see the botanical gardens. we had the place almost to ourselves (i saw another car in the parking lot, but i never saw the occupants). the girls had a wonderful time. maggie was very eager to visit the story barn in the children's garden, but first nina wanted to see the tree house and the bear cave. when we were done there, i asked maggie, "do you want to go see the story barn now?"

she thought for a moment and then replied, "i would be delighted."

!! what a cutie!

on sunday we took jess to church with us (i gave each of the girls a dollar for the collection. maggie held it eagerly. then she saw the man with the basket approach, and she hid the dollar behind her back. she told me she wanted it keep it for the "vender machine").

after church, jess left, and we took the girls skating. nina is doing an incredible job! we took a video, but it's on the ipod and i haven't downloaded it yet. i will eventually, and then i'll have to put it on you tube because the ipod videos are too big to host here on the blog. so, not tonight, but soon hopefully. she loves skating, and it's so fun to take her.

oh, and there's a book fair at nina's school right now. i bought nina 3 books, and she had already finished one of them by the time i was done with my tutoring! thank goodness for libraries!

Sunday, January 29, 2012

nothing is cuter than...



girls in braids!!!

girls in funny glasses!

girls sharing a huge winter coat!

cutest kids ever!!

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

not so much going on this week

maggie had dance (she was very well behaved!), and while she was there, nick and i played tennis on the Y's indoor courts. very nice! we only got a half hour because there's a tennis club that practices on both courts at 10 every wednesday, but it was still fun. then we both ran around the track a bit, and i lifted weights, so all in all a very fit morning for us.

our only other news is that we got cable TV. well, we had the most basic package already, but that was just the regular networks, so we upgraded to full cable. it was a whim, but it's been fun. did you know they still show little house on the prairie? nina loves it.

that's all i can think of. oh, yesterday or the day before, maggie said to me, "your butt is ginormous. whoa. it's huge." just an observation i guess, i didn't ask for her opinion or anything. it's a really good thing i'm skinny, or else she might have hurt my feelings! i just told her that it's impolite to comment on other people's bodies. but then i told mom and nick what she said, so i'm sure that her takeaway message was that commenting on other people's enormous butts is a barrel o' laughs. i'm sure i will regret that. oh well, live and learn. or live and don't learn, whichever.

Saturday, January 21, 2012

can you picture us with pet mice?

well, we might have some next year. yippee. (sarcasm)

we took the girls to PetCo today (wow, they really love that place!), and the mice were an especially big hit. the girls were watching them run around in their little cages and laughing with glee. at one point two were in one of those hamster wheels, and they kept spinning each other upside-down, and maggie yelled joyfully "the mice are doing parkour! they're doing parkour!" and they both laughed uproariously. so yeah, mice, a bird, and nina still wants a dog. oh my!

yesterday, maggie and nina were playing this game wherein maggie was an orphan, and nina was a nurse who was taking care of her. they'd been playing for quite a bit when i heard nina say "maggie, i don't want to play this any more. it makes me sad that you don't belong to me."

aww! she's so sweet and loving, that she can't take even pretending that maggie isn't hers. so maggie said, "arrrgh, fine, i have parents." then they were sisters again and nina was happy.

too cute!

Thursday, January 19, 2012

yesterday was quite a big day

i tried writing this yesterday, but maggie woke up when i was just a few words in, and didn't get back to sleep until almost 10:30. so, i'm doing it now!

so, yesterday nina had a field trip to the planetarium in portland, and maggie and i went along too! there wasn't room on the bus for parents, so maggie and i drove. our friend jenn and her son wyatt drove with us, which was great. the two kids entertained each other the whole way there and back, and jenn and i got to catch up. win-win!

the planetarium show was fun. it focused on the solar system, and the size, temperature, and appearance of the planets. very appropriate for the 6 year old audience, and maggie liked it too.

after the show, we all ate lunch at the USM student union. the kids were very well behaved. they're all such good kids.

then, we drove to eartha (the giant globe at DeLorme in freeport). the girls love eartha, so this was fun as usual. and, we got 2 more glow in the dark rubber dinosaurs. can't have enough of those!

from here, nina drove back with us. we dropped jenn and wyatt off at the school, and then i took the girls to the ebb tide where they had a late lunch/early dinner by themselves! that's right, a sisters' lunch date! mom was there, and there we no other customers, so we decided to give it a go! i had to go to the bank, and they really needed to eat before the next half of our day (oh yes, there's more. much more!), so we decided to give it a go. they're so grown up!! they split a shrimp dinner and ate like champs.

then, it was off to nina's dance class. it runs from 3 to 4:30, so pretty long. maggie and i ran on the track and then shot some hoops in the gym. then, at 4:30, maggie's new dance class started. that's right, dance from 4:30 to 5:30. oh my! but it was a hit! this class is tap and ballet, and she loves the tap. running around the track and shooting in the gym for an hour and a half before dance class was helpful too, because she has so much energy that she actually needs to get some out before she can be calm and focused enough to dance.

then, home. whew! the girls ate dinner just before 6, and maggie was conked out on my lap by 6:30. three hours later she woke up and said, "i never got to eat dessert!" so, she came downstairs, had a few snacks, and was out again about an hour later.

it's friday now, and i'm still pooped!

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

it's not the end of the world!

sometimes maggie's responses to life's dissappointments are--shall we say?--a bit overly dramatic. so i've been trying to teach her to take a deep breath, calm down, and get some perspective. "it's not the end of the world," i'll tell her.

well. today there was a misunderstanding, based on how similar "burrito" and "dorito" sound. when she realized that we had the former in the house, but not the latter, it was too much to bear.

"noooo!!!!" she wailed. "it's the end of the week! it's the end of the week!"

haha! she's so cute, even when she's distraught over doritos.

i told her i was sorry, but that i was offering her burritos, leftovers from dinner last night.

"nooooo!" she wailed again. "i want doritos. the orange ones that papa likes. in the blue bag!"

those are the "cool ranch" (or perhaps "cooler ranch") flavored doritos. nick was impressed that maggie knew exactly which ones she wanted.

well, nick can't take that dorito sorrow, so he picked up a bag for our little dear when he took nina out to Y arts. so don't worry, the week isn't ending after all!

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

finally we're in the calmest part of winter

even though mid-january is typically the coldest time of year in maine, it's become one of my favorites. it's calm, quiet, and peaceful. the ice rink is finally frozen enough for good skating, and we even have snow on the ground. ahh. i tried to take the girls sledding after school today, but they didn't want to go, can you believe it? nina really wanted to get home and play some wii. i guess they'd been talking about it at school, and she was just in the mood. well, they didn't have to twist my arm about it!

monday was no school because of martin luther king day. nina had learned all about him at school, and said she wanted to celebrate by watching an episode of the wild kratts, a new cartoon on PBS, because one of the kratts brothers' name is martin. fitting! i told her we were going to have a playdate with the triplets too, and she said, "what? on martin luther king day??" so cute! i had to explain that it's a holiday, but it's not like christmas or anything.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

BRRR!

the coldest, darkest days of winter are upon us! it's supposed to go below 0 tonight (and windy!), with a high of 15 tomorrow and down to single digits again overnight tomorrow. good thing we don't have any plans to be outside!

this morning i went to a retreat for sunday school teachers, and mom and dad took the girls to brunswick. they had a great time! highlights were china rose buffet and a trip to petco (better than the zoo!) maggie did totally fine, she's in such an affectionate phase right now. the other day she told me, "i just love grandma so much!", and today she even wanted to sit on her lap! who is this kid?! i love it!

it's almost 9 and nina is still awake, coloring. nick's watching football, and i'm doing the blog and consulting on colors with nina for the picture she's coloring. such a peaceful evening at the halter house.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

we had a snow day!

what a fun day! of course, we went out in the snow (maggie for about 10 minutes. she likes the snow, but she doesn't like when it's snowing. can't say that i blame her, i'm not too fond of the shards of ice in my face feeling either). nina lasted much longer, but it was warm enough for the snow to be pretty wet, and wet makes for cold kids. so in for hot chocolate we went!

the girls have requested new pink princess dresses (sort of similar to sleeping beauty's dress), so i spent some time sewing today. nina really wants hers done tomorrow, maybe i'll have a picture for you tomorrow night.

thank goodness the hippo swing is still up, the time outside wasn't enough to expend all of their energy, so that got some more use. even i gave it a go!

oh, and we finally got to watch godzilla vs. the thing on netflix. "the thing" was, i think, an egg of mothra's. at the end it hatched two larvae. so, in case you were wondering, now you know.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

"fingers crossed tightly"

i was just looking at my previous post, and it reminded me of the way maggie has said both "i slept tightly," and "i slept with all my might!"
i love her little expressions!

today she also corrected my grammar. nina was saying that she saw her friend grace at chorus tonight, and i said, "oh, how was grace?" and maggie looked at me and said, "no, it's 'how is grace.'" can you imagine how they're both going to be correcting my german a year from now? they're going to be so embarrassed by me!

snow update: the forecast varies from 3 to 8 inches, depending on the amount of rain that mixes with the snow. i guess right here on the coast, it's a tough call. i'm hoping for 8, the girls would be so excited! either way though, most of the forecasts are calling for rain on friday, so that would pretty much ruin it. well, i'll keep you posted!

will it snow? will it??!!

we have our fingers crossed tightly tonight!

Monday, January 9, 2012

you know what my number 1 clue to growth spurts is?

the fingernails. they need trimming every other day (or so it seems) when the girls are growing more rapidly than usual. however, maggie's signs also apparently include more tantrums than usual (which is a lot), and crashing for the night at 6. duly noted!

nina finished reading beezus and ramona, and she loved it! she can't wait to start ramona the pest tomorrow. i think she really relates to beezus, and sees the similarities between ramona and maggie. what a perfect gift that was for her!

yesterday maggie was talking about being a grown-up (she's very anxious for that!), and i asked her what she wanted to be when she's grown up. "a scientist," she said.

that's my girl!

Saturday, January 7, 2012

ice skating today!

it was so beautiful today! who knew january in maine could be so lovely? nina was feeling even better today--she was mostly better on friday, except for occasionally have some nausea or stomach pain, and sneezing and sniffling--so we decided to go ice skating. what fun! nina is doing a great job, her skating is becoming smoother and smoother (more and more smooth?). she has so much fun!

maggie started out on her double blade skates, but she really wanted single blades. there was only one pair in her size in the skates shed, and i thought at first the the buckle on it was broken. anyway, i was happy, i didn't think she was ready for single blades. she agreed to wear the double, big mistake on my part. the doubles make being on the ice way to easy. first she got her friend casey's hockey stick and tried playing hockey. then she started running all over the place. then i looked up and saw her jumping up and spinning (and crashing on her bottom). what the heck maggie! you're too young for a triple toe loop. too young!

so, i asked her if she wanted to try the single blades, which were fine now because i righted the wrong buckle and they were fine after all. we started out holding hands, or nick and i each holding a hand, and she was really getting a feel for them. after about 10 minutes (maybe 10 minutes), she let go of my hand and took off on her own. i freaked out at first! but she really did a good job. her feet were getting cold and her socks were wet, so thankfully she wasn't out there for too long. that child truly has no fear, and i am going to put a helmet on her before she goes out again (don't worry, most of the kids wear helmets on the ice. no one will think i'm a crazy mom).

nina started to feel sick again during dinner, unfortunately (maybe fondue wasn't the best choice after all). her stomach was upset, and she took a while to fall asleep. nurse pat did say that this has been going around, and it lasts 3 to 7 days. hopefully this is just the last little bit of it, popping back up when she's really tired.

hippo swing, as promised!


i noticed after i took this picture that the butt had slid down, so i raised it back up before i took the next 2.


she's a thing of beauty, ain't she?

Thursday, January 5, 2012

poor nina is sick

she went back to school happy and healthy as could be on tuesday and was fine tuesday night and wednesday morning. then at 9:15 on wednesday morning, just as i was about to head out the door to take maggie to dance class, my phone rang. it was nina, and she said she had a stomach ache. i told her i was on my way out, and would pick her up in 10 minutes.

i had to take maggie to dance class, and i asked nina if she wanted to stay and watch maggie dance, but she said no, she didn't feel well enough. i knew we were in for some trouble then, because she loves to watch maggie dance whenever she gets the chance. so i ran her home, settled her on the couch with a pillow, blanket, and stack of books, and turned back around to pick maggie up from class. by the time i got home, nina had thrown up (props to nick for getting her to the bathroom on time!). her stomach really, really hurt too. for the rest of the day she bounced between seeming totally fine, to having strong stomach pains, to throwing up, and to feeling good again. she didn't eat much, but she drank a bit, so she didn't get dehydrated.

maggie had a tough time dealing with nina's sickness. but nina really understood how maggie felt, since she'd felt similarly about maggie's splinter. unfortunately, maggie reacted by throwing one tantrum after another, and climbing onto my lap (and trying to push nina off) whenever i was cuddling nina. yup, it was a loooong day. and, i really and truly am glad that in between bouts of illness, nina felt great, and energetic, and hopped all over the house... but can't i get a kid who just lays on the couch all day when she's sick? do mine have to have so much energy all the time? really, i'm happy they're so healthy... i just want them to be healthy and still every once in a while.

nina did amazingly though. she never once threw up all over everything. i've never had a sick kid before and not had to do tons of laundry. so nina, thank you.

it's been almost 24 hours since she threw up, and was doing really, really well all day (to the point that i had to create and install a piece of functional art that we have dubbed "hippo swing." pictures tomorrow, i promise!). i thought for sure she'd be all better and i could send her to school tomorrow. but then, out of nowhere at 4 pm, she spiked a fever of 102. poor kid! so, there's no way she'll be able to do school tomorrow. oh well, hopefully she'll be fine and we'll be able to play outside.

well, even though last night was great in the sense that i wasn't remaking the bed at 2 am, i was still up a lot, and i'm pooped, so i'm going to bed soon. cross your fingers that nina is 100% better tomorrow, and that no one else gets this! (though i have a nagging feeling i'll be posting about maggie puking in the near future. here's to hoping though).

a little post-christmas merriment

maggie was trying to cheer nina up yesterday, so she sang some songs. i've put a video on you tube, since it's way too big to host on the blog.

unfortunately, something is wrong with the mic on our ipod, and the videos record really, really quietly. so turn your volume all the way up to hear it. then don't forget to turn it back down!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3Ugc95QOoA&feature=youtu.be

enjoy!

Monday, January 2, 2012

dr. mommy to the rescue!

maggie got a splinter in the bottom of her foot today. it was tiny, and at first i couldn't see anything, so i figured it was just a tiny scratch on her foot. but then about 15 minutes later, her body had pushed it out just enough to see it. barely, because it was so tiny. there was enough sticking out that i could get it with tweezers, and i asked nina to sit by her head and talk to her to distract her. she was totally willing, until she realized that i was going to pull the splinter out. then, she wailed, "no! don't do it! i can't watch!" and ran upstairs. this did not help maggie calm down.

so i decided instead to put maggie in the tub, in the hopes that the splinter would just fall out. nina couldn't even talk about it, except to say that she wished it was her with the splinter so maggie didn't have to go through it. what an incredible sweetie! mind you, maggie was totally fine. she only cried briefly when she got it, and briefly when it started to poke out and hurt (which is how we discovered it was there). mostly she didn't seem to notice or care. and it was so small that if it wasn't sticking out of her foot, perpendicular to her skin, i probably would have just left it.

well, it didn't fall out in the tub, but i could tell it was just barely in, and i knew a quick pluck would painlessly remove it. nina didn't want to be there, so she left the tub. i just hid the tweezers from maggie's sight and she didn't bat an eye when i pulled it out. there couldn't have been more than half a millimeter of it below the skin.

it was definitely more difficult for nina than for maggie!

Sunday, January 1, 2012

happy 2012!

we had our new year's day party today, what fun! what madness, but what fun. i don't even know how many kids we had today, i guess about 20. not all at once fortunately, but pretty close. our neighbors art and pat came at the peak of the mayhem, and they were totally scared off. they lasted about 5 minutes. fortunately it was beautiful today (high 40s?), and we just threw them all out when it got to be too much. the kids loved the ATV too.

tomorrow though, we are just going to relax. and eat!