Maeve and Lilly

• Wizard Teeth: “When will my Wizard Teeth start coming in? Do you think I’ll have to have them out?”
• Caramel: “Our ears are only caramel… Did you know that sharks are totally made of caramel?!?”

You may remember that I’m trying to not only introduce the girls to new music but also encourage them to talk about music through. The CD Check Out Program is in full force. The girls listen to a CD for a week or two and tell me what they like or don’t like about it and then I pick out something based on their feedback.

Lilly: Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers – Greatest Hits (catchy, good words) > Superchunk – On the Mouth (can’t understand the words) > The Cure – Boys Don’t Cry (loved the music and accent) > The Cure – 17 Seconds (too depressing) > Echo & The Bunnymen – Crocodiles (not catchy enough) > Denali (verdict still out…)

Maeve: Her only directives continue to be “no words, lots of drums and different instruments from the orchestra… Beastie Boys – The In Sound From Way Out! > Darediablo – Bedtime Stories > Cinematic Orchestra – Motion > Drums And Tuba – Vinyl Killer

To be continued…

Well, kids start middle school at grade 5 instead of 6 like we did back in the day. Apparently this comes with a whole new set of social constructs.

• Birthday party RSVPs are done in person, NEVER by phone.
• It is NOT cool for your parents to yell goodbye and wave when you get on the bus.
• Parents are embarrassing, especially when laughing too loud at your little sister’s swimming lessons.

“Momma, you are soooo yesterday.” And then in response to Lisa’s question about what “hip” is: “Well, it’s not what you’re wearing.”

Maeve came home with a phone number on a scrap of paper the other day. Apparently a boy in her class gave it to her and said, “Call me sometime. You can come over and see my guinea pig.” And is she going to call him? “No way. He’s weird.” When asked why she took the number in that case, she said she didn’t want to hurt his feelings. So it begins…

Maeve: Lilly, in 10 years, you’ll be 20. [editorial aside: wait... what?!?!]
Lilly: Nice observation Maeve. (said a bit snarkily)
Maeve: That’s not an observation. That’s MATH!

Lilly began bugging me early about doing a lemonade stand this morning. I really didn’t want to be bothered and kept putting her off. She was very persistent and quickly enlisted her sister as a business partner and nuisance-in-arms. When they made motions to cut open the lemon from the fruit basket, I gave in.

“OK. But you guys are going to have to do it yourselves and put up your own money.” They quickly agreed. I figured this would be a valuable lesson about not thinking a business plan through. (Selling lemonade in a semi-rural area on a road with no sidewalks and a speed limit of 40 mph?!?)

Off we went to Pick’n'Save for cups and lemonade mix (total cost $6). I got them started and helped put signs on either side of the road to entice approaching traffic. Right away they started flagging people down and most of their customers paid double their 50-cent price. An ambulance crew even stopped, turned on their lights and bought three cups for $5.

At the end of the day after backing out their change and their expenses, the little stinkers ended up making a profit of $16.60. The age-old marketing lesson that was reinforced (for me at least) was that cute girls can sell anything. Hopefully the girls learned something more pragmatic and less demeaning. The planning ahead and thinking through details was great but I wasn’t overly enthusiastic about the $$ in their eyes. How I hope I haven’t just created another generation of capitalists.

I drove to Toledo with the girls and meet Nanny and Grampy at exit 52 off the Ohio Turnpike. The girls then spent three glorious weeks in Canandaigua with their cousins, first Ethan and Aidan, and then Liam. There was lots of boating, swimming, ice cream, amusement parks, shopping, and quality time with Nanny and Grampy. They were a bit homesick, but I think the fun and excitement far outweighed it. Three weeks later I, the Fords, and the girls did the trip in reverse, again driving 850 miles in 14 hours. Whew. It was good to have them home again, just in time for school.

Maeve was wearing a bunch of bracelets this morning and I casually made some reference to Madonna. Who? they asked. I grabbed the first self-titled CD (yes, I have it on vinyl too — call it a guilty pleasure). Of course they wanted to hear it. We’ve all been singing “Lucky Star” at the top of our lungs.

Photos from the train journey to New York and back are now up. Marvel at the beauty of the girls and giggle and the antics with their baby cousin Adrianna.

At left, Maeve in the Rochester station with a freight train hurtling by outside.