Chit chat.

Most mornings Adam and Cecilia are the first ones awake, and then Ruby runs downstairs for her breakfast shortly after. I am NOT a morning person, so I'm a little slower to get up 'n at 'em. Around 7AM, when all three come back upstairs to start getting ready, Ruby crawls into my bed to snuggle up because she's not really a morning gal either. But what usually ends up happening is a few minutes of alone time for me and Rubes where we talk about all sorts of things, from her friends at school to what we should make for dinner tonight to the weird dreams she had last night. Some days it feels like we're really bonding, and other days I laugh until I have tears in my eyes.

Ruby. A great way to start your day.

Pajama Day.

On Sunday Cecilia told us that Monday was "Pajama Day" as part of their Valentine's Day festivities. They sometimes do this for special days or as a class reward, so I didn't give it a second thought. At bedtime she was giggling about how she wouldn't need to get ready before school because all she needed to wear was her jammies, and went on to add that she could also bring a blanket and stuffed animal. Fine fine. Go to sleep.

And off she went in her pajamas. About 1/2 hour later the phone rang, and it was my darling daughter on the verge of tears telling me that it was NOT pajama day. I told her we'd run some clothes to school ASAP and tried to reassure her that was not a big deal and not to worry. I also sent a Valentine's cupcake and a note telling her how much I love her because I was so worried about her well-being.

And then I hung up the phone and started to cry like the baby I am.

You know that feeling when you show up somewhere and realize you've done something wrong? You brought the wrong thing or wore the wrong thing or went to the wrong place? I hate that feeling. And, while I acknowledge that I'm more than a little neurotic, I think everyone has had an experience like that where they felt foolish in front of people they didn't want to look foolish in front of. Like the time my sister was giving a fake eulogy for a speech class in high school and actually started to cry. Because she was sad. About our mother's FAKE death.

At any rate, Cecilia was able to get changed without anyone discovering her error (thank goodness for a t-shirt under her jammies and snowpants over the top to buy some time). Because she's stable and lovely and has plenty of self-esteem, she came home laughing about the whole thing and wasn't nearly as traumatized as I was. I think her middle school years are going to destroy me.

But from here on out, no jammies to school unless I have something in writing.

Word Play and Play Play

We have a new game at our house called Bananagrams. It's similar to Scrabble in some ways, but you have the ability to continually rearrange your words. It's very fun and Cecilia and Dadam are regular players (and inevitably there is a "Mom! Can you come help me?!" so I get to play a lot, too).

But sometimes, because she's only 8, Cici has to check to see if she's spelling actual words, and sometimes the results are pretty hilarious. For example, yesterday I overheard her ask Adam if "tit" was a word. I chuckled listening to him explain what slang is, and Cecilia laughed at herself when she learned she was asking about a naughty word. Then, only moments later, she asked about another word that - frankly - is too vulgar for our gentle, regular blog readers (Hi, Linda!). In this instance he simply told her that, no, that was not a word and that was that. Yikes.

Ruby used a word the other day that I've been meaning to jot down here, and that word is "mastitious." Given the context I knew she was combining two words, mysterious and suspicious, but I think Ruby's word says it all. Also, totally adorable.


Finally, yesterday was Cici's last basketball game of the season and it was a NAIL-BITER! It actually game down the buzzer and the game ended in a tie. We are a little sorry to see the season end because she loved it so much and we had so much fun watching her, but we're already planning to put up a hoop on the garage once the warmer weather arrives for good.

Sporty Saturday

Yesterday morning we went to the University of MN to watch my cousin Stephenie dive (she did a terrific job!), and the girls enjoyed watching the 1-meter competition. Things got more interesting for Ruby, however, once the diving was over and my cousin Kari decided to take Ruby on a field trip to the top of the diving tower. Some of you might remember that Kari has done this before with Cecilia (I think she was under 3 at the time), so it was only fair that Ruby got a turn up at the top. I took some video of this, but until I can figure out how to get the video off of my phone an onto the internet, you'll have to be satisfied with this:


It's hard to see her at first, but she's up there at the very top of the 10-meter being held up by Cousin Kari. They proceeded to walk out to the very end of the board, lay down on their tummies, and poke their heads over the edge to look down at the water below. If you're not sure what the 10-meter is, think back to the last summer Olympics you watched when they showed the diving from the tallest platform and it seems like the divers are falling for an eternity. That's the 10-meter. According to Ruby it wasn't the least bit scary, but according to me it was a near-death experience. My girls both aspire to be divers some day, but if they get on anything other than a 3-meter we're going to have problems.

After the diving meet we had to rush over to Cecilia's basketball game, and I'm sorry to report they suffered yet another loss. The upside is that Cici is improving by leaps and bounds and still loves every second of the game, even the ones that end in defeat. Here is a blurry shot of her making TWO OF TWO free throws after she was fouled while taking a shot.

The ear-to-ear grin she wore after making both free throws was the absolute highlight of the game.

And speaking of sports, we need to get things together so we can go to a Superbowl party and root for the Steelers...

G&T (Not the Drink.)

Today we received a letter from the school district informing us that Ruby has been identified as "gifted and talented" just like her big sister. This means that she will have the opportunity to attend the G&T magnet school with Cecilia provided she makes it through the lottery system (they do not have sibling preference). We very much hope they can be at the same school next year.

We knew when the test was administered back in December, and I have to admit it's caused me some anxiety in the time between then and now. Because we see so much of ourselves in the children - Cecilia being a clone of her father and Ruby like me in so many ways - I was worried about Ruby's test score and what it said about her mother. Of course Cecilia was going to be a smarty-marty because she's just like her dad. But what about Rubes...?

Nothing to worry about, it seems. Smart as a whip! Too bad she had to ruin our excitement over the letter by getting sick and barfing a few times before bed.