What's Going On

Hi Everyone! Once again, I'm way overdue for a post around here. Things have been crazy to say the least. Take our normally super-busy life and throw in a home renovation and a few illnesses and...well, you get the picture.

Our house is coming along slooooooooooowly, but we expect it to be finished in the next week--only 2.5 months after we started our "4 week project." I'm looking forward to not having contractors around almost as much as I'm excited about the finished product.

Marlee is out of school for the summer, and I'm loving having the girls all day! We have lots of crafting and adventuring planned for the next couple of months. I'll do my best to take pictures and share stories, but I think we all know I'm not so great about that these days!

Singing

Eloise has become quite the little singer. She sings along to many songs, but her favorites are Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and the theme to The Cat in the Hat Knows A Lot About That...she can sing those all by herself! We couldn't figure out where she learned Twinkle Twinkle. We don't sing it much at home, but I learned that Papa sings it to her when they swing at the park!

Oh, and she sings the alphabet! Her accuracy varies, but it's pretty good :)

It Starts

My sweet sweet Marlee June had her feelings hurt. And it hurt me. Like physically hurt me.

She was quiet in the car the other day. She is rarely quiet in the car. Suddenly she says, fighting back tears, "Nobody ever picks me for napkins."

"What, Baby?"

"On birthdays. Nobody ever picks me."

Turns out that when a child in her class is having a birthday celebration, he or she chooses a friend to pass out the napkins to go with the birthday muffins. And no one ever picks Marlee. Heartbreak.

I told her that they probably didn't know how much she wanted to do the napkins. This apparently sparked a conversation with her friend Maya, whose birthday is this week.

"I asked Maya that may I pass out her napkins because we are favorite friends and she said I could."

Oh, Maya, please remember your promise and choose Marlee on Thursday.

**UPDATE: It was Tuesday, not Thursday, and Maya chose Campbell. Tears at carpool :(

Chatter

THINGS MARLEE JUNE SAYS

"I see perfectly fine, thank you." -when told that eating carrots would help her see better

In a conversation about Chinese New Year

Me: You know where China is!

MJ: Yes, Asia.

Me: And where is Asia?

MJ: It's just it's own place.

Me: In which hemisphere?

MJ: It's in two hemispheres.

Me: (Racking my brain to think if east Asia crosses into the Western Hemi. I later found that it in fact does, but that's irrelevant.) No, sweetie. Is it in the East or West?

MJ: I know, Mommy, East! But you forgot Northern Hemisphere, silly!

Touche.

I am weaning Eloise, and was trying to distract her when she was wanting to nurse.

"Don't say that to her mom! If she is thirsty, you give her milk!"

THINGS ELOISE SAYS

"I want snack."

"That's mine phone!"

"I want juice, please."

"This mine chair."

"I call Papa."

"Giggy's here!"

"Daddy's in shower."

"Where's Marlee?"

"It's my turn!"

"I LOVE YOU!"

Well That's Sad

I just received a notice that my blog background has been retired. I have to pick a new one, or I'll be sporting an error message February 1. I really like the look of this blog...so much that I designed the girls' bedroom after it. But alas, nothing lasts forever. Here's to a new year, a new look.

A Fancy Day

Last Saturday, I took Marlee to see Beauty and the Beast at the Fox Theatre. We began our day with brunch at Livingston restaurant at The Georgian Terrace Hotel. Marlee could not believe all the food and that she could have whatever she wanted. And seconds! Our server was very nice and treated Marlee like royalty. She ate that up too, of course.

Brunch

Before the Show

Mrs. Potts Facepaint

Loving the beautiful theater!

Unfortunately, we had to leave a short while into the second act...Marlee said she wasn't feeling well. Before we even made it home, she had started vomiting in the car. Despite the sad end, we still had a fun and memorable day!

Pitching In

In an effort to keep our home neat and running smoothly--an effort that is so far failing, but an effort none the less--and to teach our kids responsibility, independence, and citizenship, each has her own chores.

Eloise's are pretty simple...

-diapers in the diaper pail

-dirty clothes in hamper

-put away silverware from the dishwasher

-brush teeth

-clear her dishes from the table

Marlee's are a bit more involved...

-self-care (dressing, teeth, hair, etc)

-setting table

-clearing her dishes

-feeding and watering George

-picking up toys (she's not very good at this, unfortunately. i get to distracted to always enforce. :()

-folding the dishtowels and rags we use in place of paper towels

Both girls love to help me when I clean...dusting, sweeping, washing baseboards, etc. Marlee loves to cook and is my designated sous chef.

I'm hoping that everyone's chores will become a habit, and I'll hear less, "Mommy will do it," which is often Marlee's response when Michael asks her to do something :(

What do your kids do to pitch in?