Counting the Seconds

The girls went to bed tonight and it was quiet for a while, and then Cici hollered for Adam to come look at some work she had done. It turns out that Ruby wanted to know how many seconds until Easter, so Cecilia just went ahead and figured it out for her. She did all the math by hand (we saw the evidence), and she was exactly right: 604,800 seconds.

It's not just that I love how she was able to solve this problem on her own, but she did it to answer her little sister's question.

And not just that, but she did it for the same sister who told a room full of people today, "Sometimes Cici is a pig with popcorn."

Nerd Alert!

I walked by the girls' room the other day and this is what I saw:


The glasses are fake, of course, but I really like the overall effect - especially the part where she chose to read all by herself.

Mittens!

A big shout-out to Auntie Melissa who recently sent a surprise package for the girls. She made them the most lovely mittens for all our spring outings and the girls love love LOVE them.

Thank you!

Pneumonia

Ruby: The child who can't get just a little bit sick. When it comes to illness, she likes to go big.

On Monday she was sent home from school with a terrible cough and on Tuesday morning she was diagnosed with pneumonia. On Wednesday she was sent home (after being cleared to go back to school) because the meds she's on caused her to act like a hyper maniac all morning and then crash with exhaustion in the afternoon, and then we spent the evening fighting with her about whether or not she could go outside to play.

The upside is that we spent some time watching a Top Chef marathon together, and her insights were fascinating. For instance: Why don't the contestants just make spaghetti? Everybody loves spaghetti.

So true, Rubes. So true. Now get better.

Big Head

This might be the greatest video I've ever seen in my life. It is Cici's own creation and even though I've watched it about 50 times already, it still cracks me up.

And here is a bio she wrote for herself to accompany her animal research report for school. I find it beyond charming.

Cici K------ goes to --------- Magnet School. She has a mother, a father and a sister. Her favorite animals are her cats, Cutiehead and Peanut. Her favorite color is turquoise. She has written a poetry book. She lives in ----------, Minnesota. She likes ice cream. Her favorite flavor is lemon-lime. She has four aunts and five uncles on her mom’s side and one aunt and one uncle on her dad’s side. One group of her grandparents lives in Wisconsin, the others in Minnesota.

Routine.

The girls are back and it's Monday morning! This means we're back to our regular routine - organizing backpacks and choosing snacks and coaxing Ruby out of bed and into her uniform. Yay!

The girls had a terrific time in Wisconsin but seemed pleased to get back to their home turf and the cats. In fact, just last night Ruby was snuggling with Peanut and, voice filled with love, said to me, "Mom, even if Peanut was dead I would still take care of him." Such a thoughtful girl, isn't she?

It was a lovely little break for us, too (we saw TWO movies!), but we're so happy to have our foursome back together again.

Empty Nest

I have nothing to report because the girls haven't been home since last Friday morning. They're enjoying spring break with Grandma and Grandpa K, and we're stuck here at home, all alone.

[Sigh.]