Big Enough!

On our way back from Tahoe, we stopped at the Nut Tree and let the kids go on rides. When we got to the bumper cars, Madeleine and I had to sit it out, since she was a wee bit too small. She was good natured about the whole thing and helped me root on Marc and Matthew as they crashed into cars and walls.

Since then, she finds every opportunity to let us know she's big enough for the bumper cars now. When she sits on the big potty I often tell her, "Oh Madeleine you're such a big girl now. See, you're too big to fall in the potty (her fear)." She always follows up with "big enough to ride the bumper cars!" A big grin across her face.

When I try to pick her up and she's really heavy I'm often led to say "You're getting SO big these days!" She doesn't miss a beat, and reiterates her entitlement "big enough to ride the bumper cars!"

I'm always amused by her bumper car fascination and determination to be "big enough". Yesterday was the funniest one of all. We were walking hand in hand and she noticed our shadows. She pointed to each of us on the side walk and said "Mommy and Madeleine". She took her pointer finger out again and said "Big and big enough!" She tipped her head back, put on her huge grin and added "big enough to ride the bumper cars!!!" Marc and Matthew were a few strides behind us and joined us in a big belly laugh.

The Trumpet

Marc brought home another instrument from Sony last night. He kept it a surprise. The kids were bursting with excitement by the time he came home. They couldn't wait to find out what it would be, plus they were happy about being able to stay up late.

Matthew was hoping it was a trumpet and he got his wish. We all joined in on the fun. I had actually never tried a trumpet before. The kids had trouble getting it back!

We weren't sure if Madeleine could pucker her lips and make a sound, but she did and she was fantastic! It was too heavy for her to hold, so Marc gave her a hand.

Matthew was able to hold it himself. He told his dad he'd "take real good care of it". He liked pushing the buttons and trying new sounds. He also liked polishing and cleaning out the spit.

After all the fun, we cuddled together on the sofa for the Olympics. We watched the women's 200m. We "knew" someone racing. Marc's brother Andy has a son. His son is Aaron. Aaron has a teacher named Mrs. Felix (we're getting close). Mrs. Felix has a daughter named Allyson, who won a silver in the 200m in the last Olympics and who was a contender for gold this time. She got silver again, but it was fun watching her and we felt a "little" closer to it.

Stitches

Madeleine is doing much better since her big fall opening night of the Olympics. And I'm doing better now too since I got a chance to see the ceremony at my friends house on her DVR the other night. :)

Here she is on her way to get the stitches out. The abscess that developed is gone, the swelling is down, and the portion of the cut that didn't require stitching is mending great.

The doctor had a hard time getting the stitches out. He attributed her uncontrollable screaming and lashing to emergency room post traumatic stress. I think I'd be a little pissy too if someone put me on a stretcher, strapped me in with a straight jacket, and started pulling string through my chin. She gets a pass from me.

Madeleine is always happy, but the week after her fall she told us she was mad and didn't like her mommy, daddy, or her house. However, once the doctor came in with a razor blade to cut the stitches out she quickly started screaming for her mommy and daddy to take her back to her house!

The doctor said a scar is likely, but we have faith that our prayers can change this course and that her chin can completely heal. Please pray for little M that her boo boo heals swiftly without scarring and that her trust in doctors can be restored. While you're praying, please also put in a good word for Matthew. He has been battling eczema on his chin and upper lip and could use some relief. I don't know what's going on with our kids and their chins!

Marc brought home a child size violin from Sony today. Matthew and Madeleine both LOVED it and performed for us all night. Little M took on the Olympic spirit and didn't let her injury get in the way. Matthew told us he was performing Gershwin, thanked his audience for being so polite and took a bow. They both seemed so delighted at the opportunity to play the violin and looked so adorable doing it. It was definitely the best concert in town tonight! Free too...can't beat that! No unions in our house yet.

Tahoe

Tahoe was great fun this year. We took a pic in our best white and blues with the trees and lake behind us. We started doing this last year. It should be fun to see how things change each time. All together we had my Aunt Diane (Dad's sister), my cousins Barbara, Kathy and Steve, Steve's wife Nancy, their son Clayton, and us.

On the way up we stopped at Rubio's for the best fish taco's ever. I don't even like fish, so that says something.

Next, we pulled off in Colfax to see the train station. No trains around, but there was a free hot rod car show. Matthew liked a couple cars that reminded him of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. They both enjoyed the ice cream shop. We got a cup of fantastic ice cream for only $2. Each cup had 2 flavors and the scoops were HUGE. The boys shared one and the girls shared the other. Madeleine doesn't eat as much, so I think I got the best deal.

We started out each morning relaxing, playing with the kids and eating breakfast. I personally spent a good amount of time perfecting my latte. I remembered my coffee and my traveling frother, but forgot my favorite mug, drip filter and special pouring cup. I found some make-shift parts in the cabin and made it work. It was tops to sip my coffee, look out at the lake, joke with my family and watch the kids play together.

After this we'd get some water time in at the pool or lake. They are both close to the cabin, which made things easier for trips back for snacks, more water toys, etc.

Barbara
swam next to the boat and pushed Matthew out into the lake. She does this for him every year. It's tradition now. Thank you Barbara! Madeleine stayed back with me and threw rocks into the water. Marc walked out a bit and made a sign in the water using rocks that said "I love (heart) Christine". It took him a LONG time and the rocks were heavy, so I really think he loves me. That was one of the sweetest things anyone ever did for me. Too bad for him that I have a long name. He scored tons of points on that one!

On white shirt night we ended up with a nice picture of the two of us on the deck at the cabin. After a busy afternoon, we'd all come back, clean up, get the kids in PJ's and start happy hour. It was a wonderful life. We all took turns on dinner duty. Every night people out did each other. We ate really well.

We'd finish off the day with a game of Balderdash, Yahtzee or Scrabble and then turn in for the night.

One day we diverted from the norm and took the kids out to play their first ever game of pee wee golf. They had the best time and were really pretty good at it! Madeleine wised up quickly and made a habit of walking the ball to the hole, setting it down and hitting it in...why try to hit it under castles and moving objects? That's just a waste of time, right?

All in all it was a fantastic time with the family. We even stopped in at the Nut Tree on the way home to take in some rides and listen to some free Dixieland music in the courtyard.

Matthew is 5!

Matthew's 5th birthday was a lot of fun. I can't believe it took me this long to put something on the blog. Getting ready for, going on, and unpacking from vacation was part of it. Matthew moved away from transportation themes (trains, fire trucks, trains again) of past birthdays and moved toward character themes. It was tense deciding between Wall-E, Buzz Lightyear, pirates, and The Magic School Bus. I think he wanted me to somehow combine aspects of all these. Perhaps an adventure on The Magic School Bus that explores space and runs into Buzz and Wall-E on the same planet and then takes to the seas and finds pirates. I tried, but had trouble imagining a cake that would incorporate all of this, so I decided to take him to the party store and let him hash out his ultimate desires. There wasn't any Buzz or Magic School Bus supplies to be had and this made things much easier. He likes space, which made Wall-E the clear winner.

Matthew had seen a movie at the Chabot Space and Science Center about kids that made a cardboard rocket ship in their yard and flew to different planets. He wanted to do this for his party. We decided to build one together and have all the kids get in and blast off to different planets. After arriving at each planet they played different games/activities. The kids seemed to like the "moon rocks" (a baking powder and water paste) the best, possibly because there was a little toy that was revealed after placing it into a "special solution" (vinegar) at the "space laboratory".

I was surprised at how difficult it was to find recycled cardboard, when you don't already have some in your garage. I called lots of local stores to no avail. When Home Depot told me to come at 6am to pick out pieces before they went in the crusher, I complied. However, once there I was denied because of liability worries...what if there was a hazardous material on the cardboard which caused harm. I bet they could find a few clean pieces. I went home blurry eyed and disappointed.

I finally met up with a guy who had a truck FULL of it in front of the local mall. It was here that I found myself negotiating with a cardboard dealer and realized there is a cardboard underground. I asked the nice man if I could just have a couple pieces. Silly me...he explained that it took him 8 hours to gather his truckload and he didn't want to do business with someone who only wanted this petty amount. I asked where I should go and he told me Home Depot!!! Sorry, tried it already.

He proceeded into the GNC and promptly came out with 3 boxes full of nicely broken down and folded cardboard. He obviously had a connection! I don't have relationships with stores, so I decided to be persistent with the middle man. I gathered up all my courage and approached him again and asked if he could please work something out with me. I used the same sad eyes Madeleine gives me when she wants something bad. He understood this face despite the fact that we spoke different languages. He wanted $5 for 2 of the GNC boxes of boxes. I showed him I only had $4 on me and he took it. Sweet success! A mother who wants to fulfill her child's birthday dreams will prevail in the end!

I think Matthew had a good day. I enjoyed watching them play. This is the first party where the kids have been old enough to really get into the games and use their imaginations. It's really fun to see them so delighted and joyful in their creative world. I'm very analytical and am mystified by their ability to fully immerse themselves.

The kids also liked coming back to earth and settling down for old fashioned baked mac and cheese and the quintessential party food...CAKE!

It's hard to believe how big Matthew is these days. It really does go fast. He enjoys learning and exploring. When he grows up he says he wants to have 2 jobs...a fire fighter and a scientist. He's hoping the CA fires are still burning when he's old enough to help. He also likes doing "experiments" like putting a crayon in the frig and seeing what happens. He wanted to see if it would blow up but it just got cold. He has learned lots of things about the digestive tract, bugs and space and will gladly talk at length with anyone who will listen. The other day we got a book at the library about weather systems. We learned so much together. Exciting times!

Yummy Cantelope

A love affair with an afternoon snack. Good thing we just finished painting...Madeleine was prepared donning a smock.

Photo Journal

In my last post I had a lot to say. This time I'm leaving most of it to pictures...

Madeleine in braids. She wanted to be like her "dolly".

We've done a lot of visiting these past few weeks. Here's our kids with friends Max and Aiden watching a movie.

Here are Madeleine and Aiden painting...this time at their house. I can't take credit for this pic, since I took it from Margaret's blog. Thanks Margaret!


Madeleine's friend Havah came over to swim in our little whale pool, take a bubble bath and hang out on the pink bean bag chair together.


More visiting...here is Madeleine and cousin Dayla. The 2nd pic in this post I swiped from another blog. Thanks Ginette and Daniel!


We saw Dayla at Nana and Grandpa's house. Here they are with little M. I actually took this one.


And then my Dad and Chris came over from Hawaii. While they were here our family celebrated my Aunt Lorraine's 90th birthday at the St. Francis Yacht Club. You go girl! This one and the next I took from my cousin's Shutterfly slide show. Shameless! That's why they are so small and I'm really skinny.Matthew got a new bike from GAD and the rest of the Magner Clan as an early birthday present. Here he is on his 1st ride. He likes to make skids.


We've also been to museums lately and the kids have gravitated toward things to do with flight. We went to the Chabot Space and Science Center with their Grandma D. and to the Hillel Aviation Museum with their Popo and Tutu.

Open for Business

Matthew had a great idea. Instead of having a lemonade stand, he wanted to sell french fries. I thought it would be a lot more work to cook and keep hot, but it was his idea and it was original.

He thought of it last Fall. Marc and Matthew built the stand and it sat in our garage until now. There was renewed interest in it this month, since we started teaching him to use his own money to buy toys.

He used his life savings (all the dollar bills in his cards over the years, etc) to buy his pirate ship. The pirate ship was a big purchase, after he went to buy it we informed him that he had enough for the ship but not the tax. Right away he wanted to know all about tax...what it was and why he had to pay it. He did a bunch of chores at home and earned enough for the whole thing.

While he was at the store buying the ship, he made sure to make note of the next thing he wanted. The Toy Story character, Woody. Why did they name a toy Woody? Now kids run around excitedly saying "I have a Woody". Anyhow, back to Matthew. Lucky for him Grandma knew about his venture into purchasing and gave him money at graduation. Still, he had to do more chores to have enough. So, back to work taking out the garbage and watering the plants. He was focused on the goal and he completed.

Realizing the potential of having control of his future toy acquisitions, it seemed that the sky was the limit. Whenever I go to the store, he wants to peruse the toy aisles searching for his next move. Knowing that he has very little left in the bank and that money from chores adds up very slowly, he quickly turned his attention back to his idea of a french fry stand. He opened for business this week and hired his sister as his assistant. Here is his 1st customer, our neighbor Cybele. He cleaned up with her. She bought 1 cup and then came back for another for her sister. Plus, she brought grapes for the workers to snack on during their busy day.

We all had a lot of fun with it. He definitely has a flair for business. He was having trouble flagging down the cars to get customers, so he thought about how he could get them to stop. His idea was to take the masking tape we had behind the counter and roll it out to the street. When the cars touched the tape it would pop their tires. Once stopped, they would look over and say "oh look, a french fry stand". Thus leading to increased traffic and sales. Once one car stopped there would be more behind it.

We've had all sorts of conversations about supply/demand, marketing and the like. At first he wanted to set the price at "all the money in your wallet". I couldn't change his mind so I let it play out. After the first customer, he realized that it didn't work very well and decided to charge 50 cents per cup of fries instead. The next day he wanted to raise the price. I explained that he could only do that if he had lots of customers. Otherwise, if traffic was slow, he'd have to lower it.

He got the concept right away. Later we were talking about how high gas prices are right now. He said to me that we should write a letter to all our aunts, uncles, grandmas and grandpas and tell them to only have one person at each gas station. He said, "that way the price will go down and down and down until it will be free". I like his idea! Who told him about chain/grass roots email? I held back on explaining subsidies, flat production and Israeli threats on Iran.