Thanksgiving, Indeed

Our third and final round of out-of-town visitors is over, and all is now quiet on the home front. Greg and Connie stayed with us Wednesday through Saturday, and we had such a wonderful time. Chris prepared an amazing Thanksgiving dinner that was quickly devoured by all, and Emma fell in love with cranberry sauce. We went downtown to the Christkindlmarket and feasted on cheese fritters, potato pancakes, stolen, bratwurst, hot chocolate...yum, my mouth is watering just thinking about it! Emma met the German Christmas fairy ("Mama, she's so beautiful...just like the princess in 'Dora Saves the Crystal Kingdom'!"), and we braved the crazy crowds to check out this year's holiday window display at Macy's (forever Marshall Fields to me).

But mostly we just relaxed at home, enjoying each others' company and watching the girls rope Connie and Greg into any and every game that they could. In the span of one week we've had family visit from Florida, Indiana and Missouri. Em and Sophie are going to be so lost tomorrow without any adoring grandparents around to spoil them rotten! I am so grateful for all the tremendous love that surrounds us. We are very lucky and very blessed.

Gigi and the girls playing with one of Sophie's birthday presents. Holy blocks, Batman!

Don't they look thrilled? Yes, I've become that Mom - making my kids pose with holiday accessories on their head. So sue me...at least Gigi gave them candy bracelets to help sweeten the deal.

Connie and Greg playing "horsie" with the girls.

Giggles with Gigi and Paw Paw.

The Mathews clan in front of the Daley Plaza.

Happy Birthday, Sophie!

My baby turned 2 today.

Mom, Cara and Cadin drove up from Indiana (six hour round trip!) to help us celebrate, which meant more to me than I can ever properly articulate. My sister took time off from homework, mommy-work and work-work (she goes to nursing school AND works full time AND raises three kids), and Mom put in a 14 hour work day yesterday just so they could all see Sophie on her big day. Jayme wanted badly to be here too, but she had a test she couldn't miss. (She also goes to school and works full time...we are a family of multi-taskers.) The day felt so much more special because we were able to share it with loved ones, and in the spirit of the season I wanted to take a moment and express how incredibly thankful I am for all my family's love and support. I seriously have the best family EVER.

Their arrival was a surprise for the girls, and Sophie lit up when she saw the three of them waiting outside our apartment after dropping Emma off at school. But Emma's face when she got off the school bus to find Grandma waiting for her was absolutely priceless. We only had a few hours together, but we packed in some good play time. Here are pics of Sophie blowing out her candles and the kids playing with new toys, hanging out, and goofing around.

My baby turned 2 today.

Sorry. I just had to type it one more time because, honestly, it still doesn't feel real.

Are You Smarter Than A Kindergartner?

This is the work Emma brought home from school today.


I know it's Chinese, but I have no idea what it means.

I can't understand my kindergartner's schoolwork. This is alarming, right?

Pics

A few family pics...

A couple of weeks ago we cat-sat our feline niece and nephew, Willow and Oz (Aunt Jayme & Aunt Tammy's kiddies...er, kiTTies), for the weekend. The girls were in heaven. Chris furthered his campaign for a future Mathews cat, and I must admit that even a lifelong non-cat person like me enjoyed their company.

Oz hanging out on Chris's neck...one of his favorite spots.

Willow and Oz chillin' with Emma.

And speaking of kitties...Grandma and Grandpa Kitty were in town this weekend. The girls were in heaven. We toured Emma's classroom, watched the Festival of Lights parade downtown, enjoyed many yummy dinners, and held the first of several birthday celebrations for Sophie.

Sophie modeling Emma's new beret, straight from the streets of Paris (courtesy of G&G Kitty). Work it, girl!

Emma and Dave horsing around.

Cupcakes!

Sophie & Emma with the grandparents Kitty.

We have more family visiting throughout this upcoming week and weekend, and I'm so very thankful for all the love in our lives. Happy early Thanksgiving!

School Photos

Here is Em with her kindergarten class. Aren't they a good looking group? (Emma is 3rd row from top, 5th kid from the left.)
And here is Em's individual school picture...
This photo cracks me up. She looks like there are little monsters standing just outside the shot, aiming hot pokers at her feet and demanding, "Look happy, look happy!"

There seems to be some kind of unspoken rule that school pictures must always be...well, a little off. I suspect the photographers purposely miss the mark just to keep the horrid tradition going. Personally, I think it's great. Whenever I weed through our family photos at the end of the year, only the best make it into the album. So I figure, the girls' school pictures can be a really cool chronological record of their most awkward moments growing up. All the better to embarrass them into submission when they get older.

And the winner is...

Emma is pumped to see Dooby, Dooby, Moo at Lifeline Theatre on Sunday. We've read the book several times over the last couple of weeks, and Em's become quite familiar with all the little nuances of the story. Our friend Craig plays Farmer Brown in the show, and he warned me that the stage adaptation is a bit different from the book. After imparting this news to Emma, she decided to bring the book with her to the play so she can follow along and note how the two differ. I launched into a list of reasons why that might not be a good idea, but she remained undeterred.

Finally, I explained that she won't be able to read during the play because the house will be too dark. In the same simple tone one would use to state their hair color or shoe size, Emma replied, "But I have night vision."

Sigh. Okay, I'll admit it...she stumped me with that one.

These times we live in

Emma in the car today:
"The other day at school we had a Code Red drill. A Code Red drill is when a stranger comes to our school that nobody knows or when a student acts naughty and tries to hurt somebody. When Mrs. Parker shouts 'Code Red,' we hurry hurry hurry to our special hiding place and make ourselves really small and don't move or make any noise. We sit and pretend to be statues and stay really still and silent, and no matter what we hear, even if it is scary, we don't stop being statues or come out of our hiding place until our teacher comes to get us."

Hearing these terrifying words come out of my baby's mouth just about froze my heart. When I was a kid, we practiced what to do in case of a tornado or a fire. Emma just finished her first quarter of kindergarten, and she's already had three test runs on how to react if some psychopath attacks her school.

Some days, it takes all of my strength just to let her out of my sight.

Sophie

I feel like I've been posting a lot of Emma stuff lately, so here's a funny Sophie story from today and some recent video moments of our mercurial almost-two-year-old...

A heavily perfumed woman dressed in a shiny leopard-print jogging suit sat next to us at Jiffy Lube. Her face was caked with makeup - sloppy red lipstick, bright orange rouge, ice blue eyeshadow, mascara-clumped fake lashes...the whole nine yards. Sophie, true to form, immediately climbed into my lap at the sight of a stranger. The woman got right into Sophie's face and started shouting, "Hey! Little girl! Don't be afraid of me, I won't hurt you." Every time Sophie leaned away, the woman leered ever closer. Finally, Soph buried her face in my chest and begged, "No clown Mommy, no clown."

Sigh

As I was closing the door of Em's room after tucking her in tonight, she called out, "Mommy, I'm scared to go to school tomorrow because I'm afraid I'll be bossy and get my card moved to Yellow." [Green = good, Yellow = ruh roh, Red = call to parents.]

Emma has never received anything less than "Excellent" for behavior on her weekly reports, so I did an immediate double take at this news. "What did you say?" I inquired as neutrally as possible.

"At school Friday, Mrs. Parker said, 'Emma Bloom Mathews, if I hear you being bossy one more time, I'm going to move your card from Green to Yellow.'"

Of course, Emma accused of bossiness is no big surprise. (Understatement of the YEAR, but I digress.) However, I was surprised to hear she was being reprimanded at school, and I told her I was disappointed. I explained that she would have to work on paying attention to herself and not others, like we've talked about many (many many many many) times at home.

"But...," Em interrupted.

"No, Emma. Listen to me, please. You must stop telling other people what to do."

"But...," Em tried again.

"No, Emma. No buts. No excuses. You simply have to stop."

"But sometimes the bossy just comes out of me and I can't help it!" she cried.

"Well, you'll just have to do your best," I said. "I know it's hard, but let me be clear about this: if your card gets moved to Yellow at school, then there will be a consequence to face at home."

Emma lay there contemplating this new development, clearly distressed by the entire conversation. I thought for a second she was going to cry. She kept hugging herself and shaking, literally trying to hold in all of her frustration. Finally she bolted upright, unable to contain herself any longer.

"Uggh!" she shouted. "It's all that stupid Gabriel's fault! He doesn't listen to a word I say! If he would just listen to me, then everything would be fine!"

Master Negotiator

Em: "Mommy, for my sixth birthday, can I have my party at Chuck E. Cheese or Go Bananas or somewhere fun like that where there are lots of fun things to do so my party won't be boring like last year?"

Me: "We'll see. That's a long time away."

Em: "Yes, well, I think it would be good to have the party somewhere fun, and the parents can just relax while the kids play. And you can visit with your friends so it's a party for you too! And you won't be stress-ed about all the food and stuff. And we won't have to clean up!"

Me: "Good point."

Em: "Yes. I will still need a present from you though. I thought about it [reference to MANY previous conversations when I told her if she wants a big party then that will be her only present from us], and I don't think it's fair. It is your job to get me presents. You are the Mommy! So the party will not be my only present. I want to be clear on that. Are we clear on that?"

Me: "Um...no, we are not clear on that. I hear what you are saying, but I do not agree."

Em: "Oh. Well...you know, let's just think about it awhile, okay? That's a long time away. A looooongggg time away. Maybe you will change your mind."

Me: "Don't count on it."

Em: "Why would I count on it? Do you mean with numbers? I don't understand a word you are saying. Just talk to Chuck about it, okay?"

Me: "Chuck? As in 'Chuck E. Cheese'?"

Em: "Yeah."

Me: "I think it's your Dad I should talk to about it, don't you?"

Em: "Oh. Sure. Talk to him too. And then get back to me when you've changed your mind."

Blow it out your...

Emma keeps complaining that she can't breathe because she's so stuffed up, yet she refuses to blow her nose. I explained that mucus buildup leads to post-nasal drip, which contributes to her sore throat and phlegmy cough. She looked at me in disbelief. "How do you know that?" she demanded. "You didn't go to body school."

Ashes

Emma told me that a boy on the bus today was mean to her. I asked what he said that was mean, and she jolted me with a guttural "Shut up!" I asked how she replied. "I told him to stop it and he said no, so I asked a teenager for help." (Emma thinks the older kids on the bus - a.k.a. "teenagers" - are grown ups because they are tall, even though I've explained otherwise to her several times.) I theorized that teenagers might not be the best people to ask for aid. Em insisted, "No Mommy, really, it's okay. The teenager told the boy she'd kick his ash if he was mean to me again." I then inquired as to whether or not Emma understood what the teenager meant by the phrase "kick his ash." Emma confessed, "Not really. But I know it's something really bad because the boy stopped being mean to me and got really scared about his ashes being kicked."

Goofballs

Beauty and the Beast

In celebration of Emma's Belle costume for Halloween, we decided to watch Beauty and the Beast this morning. One part of the film that's always confused Em is why the Beast is so mean in the beginning. I tried to explain again that the beast is just very sad, and that makes him angry. "You mean he's sad because that old hag turned him into a scary beast?" "Yes," I said, "but there are other reasons too. Watch closely and you will see." She took my directive seriously and sat rapt throughout the story.

When the Beast turned back into a prince at the end of the movie, Em looked at me with a huge smile and said, "Look, Mommy! The Beast isn't sad anymore!" I asked her if she understood why, thinking she would say it was because he was no longer a beast. Instead she answered, "Because he finally has love in his heart." I pretty much shut up after that.

Which princess rules the roost?

Check out this video and you'll quickly find out...