Quiet Time
This past weekend after the snow started to melted away, we decided that we needed to get out of the house in a bad, bad way. So we made grand plans to hit the road and stop by and visit my grandparents and go on a walk without the dogs. (Since we have Sparky with us for a while, walking without them seems like a luxury!) When we arrived at my grandparent’s Maggie instantly checked the corner where all the noisy Christmas toys had been and discovered that they were gone. Not one to be disappointed, she headed to the back room, while dragging my grandma with her, and the two of them worked to carry some toys back out to the living room.
I love that she is familiar enough with their house to know exactly where they keep her toys. I also love that some of the toys that she plays with are the same toys that I played with as a child, I suppose that means they’re vintage. But the toys weren’t really the highlight of the visit, it was the washcloth that came out with the toys that seemed to garner the most attention. At first she placed the washcloth on Sue’s head and they had a game together, where we discovered that Sue has the ability to talk exactly like Grover from Sesame Street. But I digress….
Maggie proceeded to place the washcloth on everybody’s head and we all went along with it; however, when she put the washcloth on my grandpa’s head, he went wild in his typical Grandpa Elvrum fashion. My grandma instantly tried to sush him, which I found hilarious because my grandfather doesn’t do quiet. It just isn’t in his nature and we love him all the same for it. But his reaction to this game was the same that I know he has had for all of his grandchildren, he just has such an unabashed adoration for us and now Maggie too, his first great grand child. He is a grandpa through and through.
Eventually the game ended and our conversation picked up, but a few minutes later I looked over and noticed that Grandpa and Maggie were quietly looking at the North Dakota picture book of our trip this last summer. You know what? Maybe he does do quiet after all.
family , Grandparents , MMM , Uncategorized
I love it, but then I hate it too. The snow just isn’t giving up and I’m no longer thinking that we need to move to Montana because I’m pretty certain that there is more snow there than the twiddly amount I can see out my front door. I haven’t driven in almost a week because last year when I drove in the snow/ice I eneded up running into a pickup truck stopped in front of me. I had Maggie in the car and it was pretty scary, even though we were all fine.
That has meant that when I have the urge to strap Maggie into her car seat and skate over to somebody’s house, I decided that the backyard will do just fine and if we’re really crazy a walk around the neighborhood. I hate feeling like such a weather wimp. Then I remember that the news said it might be “impossible” for people to drive and that anywhere I could go is wholly unnecessary. So we’ve stayed home and I’m learning to embrace it.
Chaya came to visit the other day and we’ve dug out most of the Christmas presents that got stashed away for a day just like today. Tomorrow we’ll probably set up the basketball hoop from Greg and Linda, that’ll entertain us for who knows how long. Maggie doesn’t seem to mind being home…heck, she probably has a better deal out of it because she gets some one-on-one time in a major way without the distraction of a trip to the grocery store or other errands. (That said, Maggie’s story time and music class we started with Caroline & Thomas are things I’d rather she didn’t miss.)
Cora gave Maggie a bunch of stamps for Christmas and we were able to use them and Maggie fell in love with pushing them onto the paper. The girl has a knack for making sure the ink gets pushed onto the paper, check out her face! I had a very hard time containing my laughter and by the time Chaya came over Maggie was practically a stamping expert. If you need anything stamped, Maggie’s your girl.
Besides stamping, Maggie has been assisting Barry in various tasks outside…..like wiping snow off the car I never drive and hitting snow off the bamboo that I hate with a stick. Yesterday we spent far too much time outside making a movie about Barry hitting snow off a tree in our backyard. In a strange way I hope you get to see it, but it probably wouldn’t make your life any better if you do.
So we’re surviving the big snow of 2012. I was informed today by Maggie to be quiet (imagine her curly head and index finger like a librarian shuuuushing me) because her baby was sleeping. I had to laugh because I totally get it, the need to be quiet when you’ve finally got your babe to sleep. Mags is such a good mama to her babies, I keep finding them swaddled around the house and earlier today I found one of her babies “reading” a book that Maggie had propped up.
I love it. I hate it. The snow really is beautiful and we’re fortunate enough to have a warm, warm home and lots to entertain us while we watch the flaky whiteness fall from the sky. I love the taste of fresh snow. I love the sound of snow….or the way it makes me really listen. I’m not going to make a list of what I hate about the snow, but I will say this: I’ll be glad when the roads clear up.
complaints , doing stuff , family , MMM
I feel so lucky that some of my very best childhood friends also have children that are about the same age as Maggie. When we’re all in town at the same time (aside from Erin who now lives there!!) we try to make a point of it to get together with the kids. Most recently Erin and Lara came out to my parent’s house with Thomas and Maggie and we ended up going to see the cows next door and eating large amounts of popcorn.
Mara is old enough that she understands what it means to go on a walk, but when it comes to Thomas and Maggie, their still a little hopeless when it comes to directions or walking distances without getting distracted.
By the time we made it to the cows, and picked up some pussy willows on the way, it felt like we’d reminded both of them that we were going to see the cows many, many times. The cows weren’t really sure what to do about a bunch of kids staring at them, so they just stared back. Sydney, on the other hand, decided that the best thing to do was to charge at the fence, which made me nervous because there was one cow that looked like it wanted to eat Syd for lunch.
My parents have a collection of toys that stay at their house and it is always fun to see what other kids, besides Maggie, glom onto. Thomas was all over the fruit cutting station, the hammer, a truck, and also my dad. He kept bringing my dad different things and made sure that my dad noticed it. It was all sorts of cute.
While the kids played with play-dough my mom started to pop some popcorn and by the time the first kernel had hit the bowl, nearly everyone was done playing with playdough. As the adults and kids both huddled around bowls of popcorn, we started talking about all the different groups of people that have enjoyed popcorn at my parent’s kitchen table. It was a long, long list and it seemed fitting that Maggie would be shoving handfuls into her mouth with two of her buddies by her side.
I only wish I could have understood their conversation as they each reached for handfuls. Mara is pretty quiet, so much of the talk was between Thomas and Maggie. It wasn’t long after that both Erin and Lara had to leave, but lucky for Mags and me, we got to stay and keep eating and chatting around the popcorn bowl.
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