Maddie and Emma check out the new minivan! Please note who is in the driver seat! :-)
Sunday, March 25, 2007
A new era...
The Miles Maschger family has entered a new phase of life...the minivan phase. SIGH!
As one who SWORE to never...EVER...be a minivan mom, I must now admit that I have succumbed to a tiny, little thing called "reality"! Anyway, all drama aside, after months and months of searching for the elusive "perfect" deal, we finally purchased a minivan yesterday. While Maddie and Emma are very excited, and Miles and I are very pleased with the overall vehicle, we are both a bit bewildered that we are at THIS point in our lives. I realize that there are many of you out there who would advise us to cherish every moment because it all flies so quickly...that is good to know, because from the driver seat of our new minivan I wonder "WHAT have I done?" :-)
In other weekly news, this week Miles and I had a wonderful conference with Maddie's teacher. It was extremely positive, and we are continually amazed at the miracle that is our daughter. While her overall progress has slowed significantly, she is still making critical steps in the right direction...which is miraculous. Currently, they are planning on having her return to the special ed. preschool classroom in the fall...however, if all goes well, it is entirely possible that our little girl could be moved into a mainstream preschool class by January 2008! This is a FULL year and half earlier than they had originally projected Maddie's potential mainstreaming...can you believe that? We are so grateful to each and everyone of you for your prayers and loving support!
In other Maschger adventures...we attempted potty training AGAIN this week. SIGH! I am beginning to warm up to Cousin Lyn's comment that, "You don't see too many 30-year-olds who aren't potty trained." We have tried this potty training thing at least a half dozen times in the last year...with DISASTROUS results. This time is proving to be just as disastrous, however we are telling ourselves that this time we will prevail. I'd place my bets on the girls! :-)
I think that pretty much wraps it up for this week...I mean a new car, potty training, and a parent-teacher conference...it was a FULL week. Miles took a day off on Tuesday, and he and I farmed the girls out and made a mad dash to the temple. We spent Tuesday morning working in the temple...and Tuesday afternoon cleaning the house...is there a comment here about cleansing the inner vessel, and then the outer?
We love you all!
As one who SWORE to never...EVER...be a minivan mom, I must now admit that I have succumbed to a tiny, little thing called "reality"! Anyway, all drama aside, after months and months of searching for the elusive "perfect" deal, we finally purchased a minivan yesterday. While Maddie and Emma are very excited, and Miles and I are very pleased with the overall vehicle, we are both a bit bewildered that we are at THIS point in our lives. I realize that there are many of you out there who would advise us to cherish every moment because it all flies so quickly...that is good to know, because from the driver seat of our new minivan I wonder "WHAT have I done?" :-)
In other weekly news, this week Miles and I had a wonderful conference with Maddie's teacher. It was extremely positive, and we are continually amazed at the miracle that is our daughter. While her overall progress has slowed significantly, she is still making critical steps in the right direction...which is miraculous. Currently, they are planning on having her return to the special ed. preschool classroom in the fall...however, if all goes well, it is entirely possible that our little girl could be moved into a mainstream preschool class by January 2008! This is a FULL year and half earlier than they had originally projected Maddie's potential mainstreaming...can you believe that? We are so grateful to each and everyone of you for your prayers and loving support!
In other Maschger adventures...we attempted potty training AGAIN this week. SIGH! I am beginning to warm up to Cousin Lyn's comment that, "You don't see too many 30-year-olds who aren't potty trained." We have tried this potty training thing at least a half dozen times in the last year...with DISASTROUS results. This time is proving to be just as disastrous, however we are telling ourselves that this time we will prevail. I'd place my bets on the girls! :-)
I think that pretty much wraps it up for this week...I mean a new car, potty training, and a parent-teacher conference...it was a FULL week. Miles took a day off on Tuesday, and he and I farmed the girls out and made a mad dash to the temple. We spent Tuesday morning working in the temple...and Tuesday afternoon cleaning the house...is there a comment here about cleansing the inner vessel, and then the outer?
We love you all!
Sunday, March 18, 2007
A Tea Party...
Here it is Sunday evening...Miles is off at a youth fireside...the girls are in bed, "asleep"...and I am taking a moment...
I'd like to "post" once a week, at least, and Sunday evenings seem the perfect time. Every other day of the week I have to surrender the computer to Miles so that he can work on school...Sunday evenings he is either gone, or prepping a uniform...polishing shoes...or other military prep stuff he has to do before a new week...so the computer is all mine...HA...HA...HA...:-)
Anyway, we had a fairly uneventful remainder of the week. Maddie returned to school Thursday morning, and while her teacher reported that all went well, when Maddie came off the school bus she clung to her Mommy, and refused to be put down. However, she got up Friday morning all excited about a "school bus" day...so that is a good sign.
Last night we went to our ward's annual chili cook-off. What an adventure! To begin with, once we arrived Emma split...she just took off and joined the mass of children who were running pell mell through the cultural hall. Maddie?? Maddie found a seat, sat down and refused to move until she had some chili! :-) It never ceases to amaze me what she grabs onto and just won't let go...once she had consumed a bowl of chili, she was off with the rest of the kids! I had the wonderful opportunity to be selected, at random, to participate in the judging...to appreciate the irony I might explain to those of you who don't know that I really am not a big fan of any kid of soup, and chili is one of my least favorite of all "soups"...additionally, I really do not have the "hot food" gene...mild often leaves my eyes watering, and me reaching for another LARGE glass of water. So, here I was tasting no less than 20 different chilis all competing for "sweetest", "most unusual", "best overall" and "HOTTEST!" Needless to say after one bite of what would become the winning chili in the "HOTTEST" category, I couldn't taste anything else the rest of the evening...my mouth burns just thinking about it. Miles, who did receive the "hot food" gene...in abundance...did admit that the winning chili was "pretty warm"...SIGH!
The only other moment I wanted to share was our first Maschger Family "Tea" Party. Emma received a "tea" set for her birthday, and whereas she has had many tea parties with her sister, her friends, cousin Katy, and Mom...this was the first time we got Dad involved. This proved to be the coolest "Tea" party of all, because Dad insisted on providing cookies, and marshmallows (a favorite food of our girls). So, yesterday morning, we set up all of our tea party finery, Mom poured the milk, and Dad passed around the cookies, and the girls had a blast! Ever since...mind you that was less than 36 hours ago, both Maddie and Emma have asked for another tea party at least a dozen times each! It is the little things! :-)
Ahhh...I am off to put my little girls who are "asleep" back into bed! :-) Bring back memories anyone?
We love you!
I'd like to "post" once a week, at least, and Sunday evenings seem the perfect time. Every other day of the week I have to surrender the computer to Miles so that he can work on school...Sunday evenings he is either gone, or prepping a uniform...polishing shoes...or other military prep stuff he has to do before a new week...so the computer is all mine...HA...HA...HA...:-)
Anyway, we had a fairly uneventful remainder of the week. Maddie returned to school Thursday morning, and while her teacher reported that all went well, when Maddie came off the school bus she clung to her Mommy, and refused to be put down. However, she got up Friday morning all excited about a "school bus" day...so that is a good sign.
Last night we went to our ward's annual chili cook-off. What an adventure! To begin with, once we arrived Emma split...she just took off and joined the mass of children who were running pell mell through the cultural hall. Maddie?? Maddie found a seat, sat down and refused to move until she had some chili! :-) It never ceases to amaze me what she grabs onto and just won't let go...once she had consumed a bowl of chili, she was off with the rest of the kids! I had the wonderful opportunity to be selected, at random, to participate in the judging...to appreciate the irony I might explain to those of you who don't know that I really am not a big fan of any kid of soup, and chili is one of my least favorite of all "soups"...additionally, I really do not have the "hot food" gene...mild often leaves my eyes watering, and me reaching for another LARGE glass of water. So, here I was tasting no less than 20 different chilis all competing for "sweetest", "most unusual", "best overall" and "HOTTEST!" Needless to say after one bite of what would become the winning chili in the "HOTTEST" category, I couldn't taste anything else the rest of the evening...my mouth burns just thinking about it. Miles, who did receive the "hot food" gene...in abundance...did admit that the winning chili was "pretty warm"...SIGH!
The only other moment I wanted to share was our first Maschger Family "Tea" Party. Emma received a "tea" set for her birthday, and whereas she has had many tea parties with her sister, her friends, cousin Katy, and Mom...this was the first time we got Dad involved. This proved to be the coolest "Tea" party of all, because Dad insisted on providing cookies, and marshmallows (a favorite food of our girls). So, yesterday morning, we set up all of our tea party finery, Mom poured the milk, and Dad passed around the cookies, and the girls had a blast! Ever since...mind you that was less than 36 hours ago, both Maddie and Emma have asked for another tea party at least a dozen times each! It is the little things! :-)
Ahhh...I am off to put my little girls who are "asleep" back into bed! :-) Bring back memories anyone?
We love you!
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
A quick Emma moment...
Emma, our budding entertainer, provided us with some dinner-time hilarity tonight!
To set the stage, after placing the dinner on the table, I had laid my oven mitt off to one side of the table...the side closest to Emma.
About halfway through dinner, Emma announces that her food is hot. Miles and I were thick into a conversation of the day's events, and prompted her to "blow" on her hot food (which I might add was anything BUT hot!) As Miles and I continued our chat, something caught Miles attention and he quickly turned to Emma...
...who had placed the oven mitt over her hand (and all the way up her tiny arm), and had miraculously managed to pick up her fork with her mitt-ed hand, and was attempting to scoop up some rice....all the while grinning from ear to ear. She had solved the problem of her "hot" food. Additionally, she had center stage as all of us...Mom, Dad, and Maddie...laughed and laughed and laughed at her attempts to eat with an oven mitt on her hand! :-)
We love our girls!
To set the stage, after placing the dinner on the table, I had laid my oven mitt off to one side of the table...the side closest to Emma.
About halfway through dinner, Emma announces that her food is hot. Miles and I were thick into a conversation of the day's events, and prompted her to "blow" on her hot food (which I might add was anything BUT hot!) As Miles and I continued our chat, something caught Miles attention and he quickly turned to Emma...
...who had placed the oven mitt over her hand (and all the way up her tiny arm), and had miraculously managed to pick up her fork with her mitt-ed hand, and was attempting to scoop up some rice....all the while grinning from ear to ear. She had solved the problem of her "hot" food. Additionally, she had center stage as all of us...Mom, Dad, and Maddie...laughed and laughed and laughed at her attempts to eat with an oven mitt on her hand! :-)
We love our girls!
Home at last...
We have returned from what we might call, "the vacation that wasn't really a vacation"! After my last glowing post, Emma got VERY sick...quickly followed by Maddie. After several days of fever over the 102 mark, we took Emma into an Urgent Care facility and learned that she was suffering from a double ear infection...so not only was our bouncing bundle of joy cutting all 4 of her 2-year molars, she was suffering from an ear infection. You can imagine how much fun she was during this time. :-( Maddie started her fever a few days after Emma, and being the quick parents that we are, we just took her straight into the Urgent Care, and pre-empted the days and days of misery. Anyway, Miles and I spent a large portion of our vacation dealing with very sick children...not really on anyone's list of a dream vacation.
However, Friday night Mom informed Miles and I that we were to get out of the house...NOW. So, we left Maddie and Emma with Nana and Papa, and Miles and I enjoyed a children-free evening! We also had a wonderful time with Mike, Caryn and their spouses...once again, children-free. As an interesting side note, while Mom and Dad were gone, Maddie and Emma had a wonderful time playing with Nana and Papa. Maybe next time we'll just drop the kids off, and take a cruise! :-)
Anyway, here we are back at home. Maddie was soo excited when we arrived home last night...she was excited to see our "blue car", and she even pointed which way we should turn as we wove our way through our subdivision. While she ate dinner she kept saying, "I at Maddie's house", accompanied by a cute little dance! Emma? Emma took one bite of her dinner, and announced that she was ready to go to bed now...a full day of traveling was a bit much for our little Emma. Miles is back at work this morning. Another lesson learned on this trip...if possible...take a day of leave AFTER returning from vacation...he came home and had to get his uniforms prepped, and then was up and out the door EARLY this morning for the wonderful D.C. commute! Maddie was supposed to return to school today...however, she is still asleep and I am NOT going to wake her up. She has had a CRAZY couple of weeks...she can go to school tomorrow.
Overall, our girls did extremely well (minus the illnesses). Both girls traveled well, and they transitioned very well...aided by lots of cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents to entertain them. Our first few attempts at family "vacations" are legendary...the 1000 mile road trip with 3-month-old Maddie, and a dog in our tiny Honda Civic...or the trip from Augusta, GA to Colorado Springs, CO with a 2 year old and a 10-month old (no dog) but still a tiny Civic...or the flight from Atlanta to MO just one week after Miles surgery, a 14-month old, and I was 7 months pregnant with Emma...after each trip Miles and I swore to never again leave our home...NEVER. Our experiences this trip (minus the illnesses) were so positive...everything from how well the girls traveled, to how well they adapted to the new environment, to how much they enjoyed playing with their cousins...that we actually look forward to our next trip, instead of dreading it for weeks and weeks in advance!
Ahhh...I am hearing the sounds of waking children, so I must hustle off to "mommying"! We love you all!
However, Friday night Mom informed Miles and I that we were to get out of the house...NOW. So, we left Maddie and Emma with Nana and Papa, and Miles and I enjoyed a children-free evening! We also had a wonderful time with Mike, Caryn and their spouses...once again, children-free. As an interesting side note, while Mom and Dad were gone, Maddie and Emma had a wonderful time playing with Nana and Papa. Maybe next time we'll just drop the kids off, and take a cruise! :-)
Anyway, here we are back at home. Maddie was soo excited when we arrived home last night...she was excited to see our "blue car", and she even pointed which way we should turn as we wove our way through our subdivision. While she ate dinner she kept saying, "I at Maddie's house", accompanied by a cute little dance! Emma? Emma took one bite of her dinner, and announced that she was ready to go to bed now...a full day of traveling was a bit much for our little Emma. Miles is back at work this morning. Another lesson learned on this trip...if possible...take a day of leave AFTER returning from vacation...he came home and had to get his uniforms prepped, and then was up and out the door EARLY this morning for the wonderful D.C. commute! Maddie was supposed to return to school today...however, she is still asleep and I am NOT going to wake her up. She has had a CRAZY couple of weeks...she can go to school tomorrow.
Overall, our girls did extremely well (minus the illnesses). Both girls traveled well, and they transitioned very well...aided by lots of cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents to entertain them. Our first few attempts at family "vacations" are legendary...the 1000 mile road trip with 3-month-old Maddie, and a dog in our tiny Honda Civic...or the trip from Augusta, GA to Colorado Springs, CO with a 2 year old and a 10-month old (no dog) but still a tiny Civic...or the flight from Atlanta to MO just one week after Miles surgery, a 14-month old, and I was 7 months pregnant with Emma...after each trip Miles and I swore to never again leave our home...NEVER. Our experiences this trip (minus the illnesses) were so positive...everything from how well the girls traveled, to how well they adapted to the new environment, to how much they enjoyed playing with their cousins...that we actually look forward to our next trip, instead of dreading it for weeks and weeks in advance!
Ahhh...I am hearing the sounds of waking children, so I must hustle off to "mommying"! We love you all!
Monday, March 5, 2007
On Vacation...
Here we are in Missouri, finally getting our "Christmas" vacation! We arrived on Thursday afternoon, after miraculously dodging several snowstorms! Both Maddie and Emma are having a TON of fun playing with their cousins...and are getting lots of attention from Nana and Papa! It is so good to be home...to be surrounded by those we love...and to have LOTS of people willing to watch our beautiful girls. This morning Miles and I woke up when we were ready to...no screaming children, or beeping alarm clocks...vacations are the best! We are looking forward to spending an entire day together tomorrow...just Miles and I...while Aunt Carrie watches our girls. We also have a hot date planned for Saturday night with Mike, Caryn and their spouses. We are so grateful for our family!
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