Some Recent Pics

Nick, Kate and Liam yesterday after the first "normal" day in a week! :)




Nick and the enormous and insanely cute Liam!




Ponytailed Kate getting ready to go for a walk with her Dad.




Kate and her Easter basket.



Uncle Packy over to visit on a bummer of an Easter Sunday - holding the sicky Liam and snuggling the Sicky Kate while Maggie was taking care of the Sick Nick. Blech. What a great brother he is!!!!

Saga

Last week was one FULL of challenges for me. In fact, the past month has been one of worry and frustration --- I have not blogged about it because I had no answers and did not want to raise alarm in anyone. But now that things are clearer, I feel ready to talk about it.

Kate has been ill for about 5 weeks now. She has had recurring, persistent fevers for over a month. Every single day she will have a regular temp of about 99.5 – mild enough, but when her base temp is a cool 97.6, 99.5 is warm for her. Then each day the fever would spike at some point to 101 or 102 and she would be miserable. The color would drain from her face, she would be lethargic and incredibly cranky. Then when the fever would break she would be absolutely drenched in sweat. This repeated itself every day for a month. About 2 or three weeks in, she started to lose her appetite on top of all the lethargy and irritability and getting her to eat anything was close to impossible. She is already a tiny peanut, so to see her get even a little more skinny was frightening. We had to figure out how to get her to drink those awful vitamin shakes. Through all of this, we had at least one doctor appointment a week, trying to figure it out. Initial general bloodwork showed all was well. Then there was a urine sample which turned out to have white blood cells in it, so they thought maybe it was a bladder infection/uti. They put her on antibiotics and nothing changed – and the further urine culture came back normal. So they took her off antibiotics. They continued to check her to make sure nothing was changing – no swollen lymph nodes etc. She continued to present healthy as can be save for the fevers, lethargy and no appetite. It was SO frustrating. This is why, when in Miami, we kept it pretty low key with no major time at the beach etc. and why Kate has been missing so much school. I just wanted my personality-plus Kate back. She was not down for the count constantly. She would be fine and then all of a sudden it would hit her. Then she would be fine again. It was a mystery.

Anyway – last week started with both Nick and Liam being seriously sick on Easter. Not to mention Kate! So I was nursemaid all of Easter Sunday. Our friends the Dunns, who we were supposed to have dinner with, brought Easter dinner to our door instead. So sweet. But it was a pretty gross Easter otherwise!

Then Monday brought Kate a trip to an Infectious Disease Specialist referred to us by our pediatrician because we all wanted answers. Kate had to have some major blood work done. They took 4 vials and I had to hold her on my lap while she SCREAMED at the TOP of her lungs. At one point she looked at the nurse drawing blood and yelled in absolute fury and with complete conviction, “GET THAT OFF OF ME NOOOOWWWWWW!!!!!” She was poked and prodded, xrayed etc. and I tried very hard to remain positive and calm. Nick was with me at the appointment so that was great for me AND for Kate. Then we waited.

On Wednesday, Nick left for Boston on business (therein lies a whole other blog entry….let’s just say I was absolutely GREEN with envy – he visited some of our friends, walked the old haunts, and got to dine at an amazing restaurant for work). That left me alone with the kids - - - and remember that my Ever After Gowns event for which I plan for an entire year is three days away at that point. Kate woke Wednesday with a slight fever. She did not get off the couch. By 11am she was asking to take a bath (a strange request). By 1pm she was literally shaking violently with fever and her temp was 105. I called the pediatrician to find out what I should do given all the other issues Kate has been having and was put on hold for TWENTY minutes while Kate and her glazed eyes lay there whimpering that she was “fweezing” even as her body burned up. The ped then told me to call my specialist since it was in his camp now. Guess what, the specialist was out of town, I was informed by the receptionist. She said she would have another doctor call me. I called my ped back – on hold forever, hung up. Still no doctor call from the specialists. I gave Kate some Motrin and snuggled her. She whimpered and would not answer any of my questions and I came thisclose to calling 911. Then there was a break – my sitter called out of the blue and said “I got off work early today and I know you have a busy week with Ever After Gowns and Nick being out of town – do you need anything?” THANK YOU GOD! I had her come over to watch Liam so I could tend to Kate. I called the nurse at the specialist office who was wonderful and walked me through what to watch for with Kate. The motrin kicked in and she got down to 101/102. Between Lindsay and I, we managed to keep her comfy. I had Kate sleep in my bed that night. She spiked fevers, but was ok.

Thursday we had another appointment with the specialist to review a skin test they had given her. That came back fine, but we finally got some results. Kate has something called CMV, or Cytomegalovirus (spelling?). It is a virus that pretty much everyone in the world can catch and carry, but it does not usually activate in people. Kate showed both antibodies in her blood, meaning not only does she have it, but is battling it. It causes mono-like symptoms as in long term fever and lethargy etc., from what I understand. There is no cure for it and there is not much you can do for the patient other than make them comfortable. It will go away. Most things I have read say it lasts a few weeks, so I don’t know why kate has had it for 5 weeks, but that is something to ask the doc at the follow up. So it is nice to have some answers. She will be just fine.

It does not account, however, for the high 105 fever. The doc wants to explore that a little. She could have just caught a bug given that her immune system is pretty worn down from fighting the CMV for so long. But he wants to keep an eye on her and watch for some other things to make sure it is not anything else. But she has been great this weekend, so that is promising.

SO – that is the Kate saga. All will be well.

There is more, though! So I had spent all day Wed and Thurs. with a hugely feverish Kate and trying to keep an eye on Liam. Also trying to make sure Ever After Gowns preparations were secure. I was so tired. Thursday night I was sitting with the kids and went to go grab a quick bit of food in the kitchen. I took a bite and, well, my darn tooth broke! I was eating BREAD, people. My back molar must have been cracked and piece of tooth just fell off. Awesome. Called my dentist and left a message on the emergency line because I kind of consider a tooth broken in half an emergency. Can you believe he NEVER called me back? Even today on Monday, still no call. So I called another dentist and got an appointment for first thing Friday morning. So my cracked tooth and I put the kids to bed and waited for Nick.

When Nick got home, we were relaxing on the couch, enjoying the peace and quiet, and I happened to look up and see a water stain spreading across the ceiling. We both lept up and after much scrambling, some bucket placement, and stealthy investigation of the bathroom next to the kids rooms while they slept, called a plumber.

So Friday morning saw Nick taking the morning off work while I went to the Dentist at 7am for my cracked tooth (I need a root canal, by the way – that is scheduled for tomorrow – woo hoo), and the plumber came and literally took our toilet apart to the point where the toilet itself was sitting in another part of the room. $300 dollars later, it was fixed. Phew.

The sitter showed up and I went to drive to our event venue to make sure it was set up properly. I was driving down the highway and suddenly heard this awful sound coming from under the car! A flat maybe? I had no idea. I had to pull over the car at rush hour on the highway and found a part of my front bumper hanging off the car and dragging. I was quite a picure - bracing myself against the car and prying the mangled piece out from under the car as vehicles whizzed by at 60mph. I threw it in the backseat and drove off....nearly having a heart attack at merging into full flow highway traffic from a dead stop to 60mph. Seriously. Is all this really happening?

Saturday was our event and it was awesome. It was so so so so great. The most comical moment, however, was when Nick called me from home and said “So, is potpourri dangerous”? I asked in what context and he answered “if it is ingested”? I assumed it was ingested by Liam and was correct. Nick said Liam was in his playpen, but it was positioned near a china hutch we have. Liam somehow managed to open it and Nick found Liam chomping on some potpourri from a nearby bowl and holding a crystal Waterford champagne flute. Classic. Turns out potpourri is not poisonous, in case you are wondering.

Soooo….temperatures, tooth, toilets, travel, and more…..it was quite a week. I kept my head above water and most of it, really, is nothing when dealing with a health mystery like Kate’s. But the hits DID just keep on coming and I am glad that it is behind me!

There are still ripple effects to deal with. Have to take the car in to get the bumper fixed. Have a root canal tomorrow. Still have some doc appointments for Kate. But all will be well. This, too, shall pass.

Thanks for all the help and reassuring phone calls, everyone! Thanks to my Ever After people for an amazing event where we had 200 girls invited to come select free formalwear for their prom. Thanks to God for silver linings and strength.

Anyone want to go out for a drink? I could use one! ☺ Maybe we can munch on some potpourri and chat…..

Coming soon....

To a blog near you. The tales of Maggie and her entire week of events that can only be explained by the theory that someone, somewhere, has a voodoo doll of Maggie and is poking the heck out of it. Here is a teaser of separate incidents- temperatures, teeth, travel, toilet, traffic incident.....and so much more! The good news is, my good humor remains intact and all will be well. On a side note, we just had our MOST successful Ever After Gowns Boutique yet! I am blissfully tired and pleased with the results, yet glad it is over for a while!

More blogging soon!

Lessons Learned and Lotto Odds

Well, we are back from Miami! It was a wonderful visit with my folks at their beautiful home! I have to say; my Mom and Dad are two of the coolest most “Hip and With It” people that I know! They live in the coolest area, surrounded by great restaurants and architecture AND their building is so high tech, that Nick and I had to get fingerprinted in order to even gain access to their unit! We had to have our fingerprint scanned to even get in the elevator! Mom and Dad were very gracious and watched the kids so Nick and I could go grab dinner or lunch or jump on the metro to grab a coffee and stroll around. And it was great fun being able to bring the kids to the Seaquarium and the Beach and so much more. A HUGE “Thank You” to them! Here are some tidbits from the trip…..

 Kate is a fish. She LOVED swimming. She loved it so much that she would OD on swimming in the pool, and therefore unfortunately most swimming experiences ended with a meltdown – but then she would just go upstairs to the condo and nap like there was no tomorrow, exhausted by sun, water, wind and whining - so it worked out ok! ☺

 Liam is not so much a fish. He would love the water at first, but would get chilly pretty easily and would rather snuggle in a towel in the sunshine. He also was not a fan of the ocean waves (plus it was pretty chilly water), while Kate wanted to jump in the waves and was really brave!

 In a cruel twist of fate, the child who LOVES the water and sun must be slathered in SPF 4 Million lest she burn to a crisp while the child who would prefer to be in the cabana with a beverage seems to have Nick’s much more “tannable” skin. Go figure.

 Along similar sun matters, the sun gods convened and made the decision to add insult to injury when it comes to the sun and me. As you know, I am what they call “fair skinned”. Translation: practically translucent if not for my freckles. I have never been one who could get a really great tan – though I can get some subtle “color” if I take it slow and build it up in increments. As a teen this was the bane of my existence as my best friend could lay out in a neon bikini, slathered in baby oil and look like a California Dream Girl while I looked more like I had had all the blood drained out of my body and, had I dared to put baby oil on in the sun – would not be here to type this blog as I would have spontaneously combusted on the trifold plastic lawn chair in the backyard in 1992.

I DIGRESS. I was talking about how the sun gods decided to further punish me for reasons unknown. It seems that my RA drugs (that nasty methotrexate) CAN cause photosensitivity. Well, of COURSE in me it DOES cause it. It is not just that I burn more easily. I get blisters. Big ones. All over my body wherever sunlight has hit. And even without getting a sunburn. It actually is quite vampire-like, where I go in the sun and my skin cries out “noooooo!!!!” and blisters form.
(Ok so there is some slight artistic license there) Hence, while in Florida on our first vacation in who knows how long, I - who despite being pale really DO love the sunshine and take proper precautions so I can enjoy my time in the rays – looked like I had a disease. Well, a whole other one on top of the one that I actually already DO have! ☺ So on my arms, chest, face I have these unattractive, but at least flesh colored, bumps. OH WELL. They will go away. Though I will admit my vanity took hold and I seriously considered heading to the salon in Miami to go get a new haircut that included bangs just to cover my blistered forehead. I joke with Nick about how when we said “in sickness and in health” we did not expect me to be creaky and bumpy at age 31. Maybe in 50 years……

 In the world of “what are the odds????” - Guess who sat DIRECTLY in front of us on the trip back from Miami to Minneapolis? You guessed it, THE DEMON TODDLER!!!!! I guess that is what I get for blogging about it for the world to read. They sat in the row in front of us and the little man did not disappoint! He was in tip-top tantrum form, so Nick got to get a dose of it this time! Only THIS time his Mom was sitting with him and I slipped her a lollipop and the little guy was silent after that! C’mon, parents!!!! BRIBERY!!!! There are circumstances where it is perfectly acceptable – such as in crowded pressurized tubes for instance. Also at wedding ceremonies where your children are present and various other crowded events. I recommend NOT bribing to avoid tantrums in long Target and Grocery store lines because it acts as a signal to the managerial staff to please open more than one lane for every 20 shoppers and to perhaps staff them with people who know the difference between a cucumber and a zucchini so they can ring them in properly.

Once again – tangent.


 So finally, we left gorgeous, warm, blister inducing Miami to return – in the month of April - to Minneapolis where we landed in the middle of…..a snow shower. And today it is a balmy 26 degrees Fahrenheit, without the wind-chill. Awesome. My see-thru skin could not be happier. And my vanity thanks the opportunity to wear turtlenecks and hats to cover up my “sunkissed” blister body! ☺

Here are some pics….my posts may slow up here for a while. My Ever After Gowns event is the weekend of the 14th and I am SOOOOOO busy!!! I cannot wait to tell you all about it because it has grown so much and is going to be an amazing event!


Here are a couple of pics of the kids at the beach....there were major riptides that day so we opted out of going in the water and instead stopped by while we were in South Beach. The pic of Liam is him just hating the beach. :) Too cute!!!!!

Fun in Miami

Kate and Nick crashed after fun in the sun!




Nick and Liam on Liam's first carousel ride.




Kate on the carousel.




Kate reading on the balcony!




Kate and Nick reading together on the balcony.

Kate and Liam - The Ice Cream Sequence

Here are pics of Kate and Liam enjoying some Ice Cream in South Beach. They both loved it. Liam leisurely shared my chocolate cone while Kate requested, sampled, then ATTACKED her Strawberry Cone. She is like an Ice Cream Diablo here!!!! The last picture absolutely sends me into fits of laughter.

Have Children Will Travel

So the kids and I are in Miami right now visiting my wonderful parents in their beautiful apartment that literally hangs over Brickell Bay in downtown Miami. It is very hip and trendy and amazing. Picture the opening scenes of CSI: Miami (minus any gruesome crime) and you get the picture. Everything here is clean with modern lines and seemingly in High Definition! :) Inside my parents home it is warm and cozy and wonderful, as always. I commented to Mom and Dad that - despite this being my first time seeing their new place here - it feels SO much like home. I think that is because I pretty much grew up in apartments during the formative years, and our place in Tokyo was an apartment, too. It just feels normal to take an elevator to our front door. ;)

I was SO nervous about getting here, though. Take my adult-onset irrational apprehension of flying and combine it with the nerves of flying with a 3 year old and a 1 year old and I was pretty much a short-tempered mess by the time we boarded the plane. I should have been hoping for the best and not expecting the worst - it was such a waste of my energy to do otherwise! :) Kate and Liam were absolute ANGELS. Now I may be jinxing the trip BACK by saying so, but they really were terrific. To be fair, I had my Mom helping me out - she flew back with me since she was visiting us in Minnesota. She came in extra handy when it came to Liam since he weighs a gagillion pounds!

The kids were so good, though. I was super prepared with snacks and little travel surprises tucked in the carry-on. As their attention span waned on one thing, I was able to whip out, and really "sell" the wonders of, the latest and greatest game of "go-fish alphabet edition", or the most comforting and soothing teething ring ever invented in the history of the world! Ear pressure? How about a nice bottle for Liam and a sucker for Kate? I wondered, when packing, if I was overdoing it, but I really believe that flying in a pressurized tube, with my nerves on edge while sharing the tube with 100+ other passengers is NOT the time to teach kids to entertain themselves with air sickness bags, laminated emergency procedure cards, or a tube of Pringles that costs flippin' FIVE BUCKS from the unreasonable irritable and arrogant Northwest Airlines flight attendant. But that's just me.

So cut to this scene...this acutally happened. My little loves were being sweet, perfect kids. Smiling, being quiet and polite. The passengers that initially gave me glaring looks of death as I seated our gang next to them were smiling and nodding and commenting on the adorable-ness of them. Then the kids even fell asleep, practically causing the other passengers to buy ME a five dollar can of Pringles out of admiration and appreciation. But then someone else's Toddler in 17G woke up. Two rows back. Oh boy.

I feel so bad for that mom. She had three kids with her. And her husband was the fourth. He was NO HELP. He was the kind of guy that kept telling his wife to make "her" son be quiet. The poor little boy was beyond hysterical. He had been sleeping, but had been awoken by the aforementioned arrogant, irritable Flight Attendant who I forgot to mention was unable to control the volume of her voice and spoke VERY LOUDLY. So cranky toddler starts crying, then screaming, then thrashing. The child literally sounded like a strangled goose. Passengers were huffing and glaring and I felt so bad for that mom because he was just beyond being consoled. Sometimes kids just get on a roll and there is nothing you can do. She was practically in tears over this. And her hubby was just an ass. The plane was not full and people were getting up and moving. You know, all extra huffy with extra large movements. Like they could not just unbuckle their seat belt and stand up, it had to be with a dramatic click, throwing the belt so it hits the arm and clangs and then standing up with a giant heaving breath etc.

I sat for a while debating on whether I should offer one of my lollipop suckers. Something like that could either stop the crying immediately or only make it worse. Plus I did not want to offend the parents and imply that they could not handle it. But no one could. This kid was on another planet. It happens. I mean, it could easily be - and has been to some degree in the past - me and my kids!!!!!

So after 30 minutes or so, I stood up like I was going to walk to the back of the plane. The other passengers who had noted my well behaved children looked at me with wild frustration as if trying to get me to agree that this kid was the Devil himself riding in 17G. I had tucked a sucker discreetly in my hand and when I noticed that the Dad of the Toddler Terror caught my eye, I sort of flashed it like a drug deal or something and mouthed the words "would he want a sucker"? Really just sweet and laid back like I was not in the least bothered. All the adult passengers saw this and watched the whole exchange with great hope. The dad -who by the way, TOTALLY had highlights in his hair and was uber-tan and all gelled while poor mom was rockin' the tired ponytail, jeans and a sweatshirt...when does SHE get a spa day, buddy? - anyway, the dad looks at me and practically yells at me "NO! NO SUCKER FOR HIM. HE HAS TO LEARN"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Passengers literally threw up their hands. Did the kid have to learn NOW?!

So, despite my angel babies, we all listened to the kid in 17G "learn" for NINETY MINUTES until he cried himself to sleep. I should have just passed my bag of suckers around the whole plane.

More Miami tales to come! Nick arrives tonight and we are looking forward to pool time with the kids, the Miami Sea-quarium and many more sunny adventures.

Fairies and Firetrucks

Kate is very much into fairies, princesses, and fairy princesses. Most moments you can find her involved in imaginative play as one of those. As often as you see Kate playing fairy princess, you find Liam pushing around his toy firetruck, or a car or truck of any kind. He just loves pushing them around the floor. It is so cute. I get a great deal of pleasure out of watching their little minds put toys and props and imagination into action. Today Kate told me this:

"Mom, I have a lot of homework, but when I am done, I am going to set up for the fairy party. You have two choices. You can come to it, or you can not come. What do you choose?"

Now I love dissecting this on so many levels.
One. I don't know where she got the homework thing. She obviously does not have homework at preschool. But she kept talking about homework all day as if it was a great "big girl" privilege.
Two. Set up for the party. My little "martha" too cute.
Three. The comment about choices. We are always giving her choices. They are set up to make her feel empowered and in control but really are not much of a choice. For instance, "kate you have two choices. You can clean up your mess like we asked or you can go to time out - which will it be". So the choice thing is having an impact as she gave me choices today.

There really is no point to this - I just find her three year old mind fascinating.

She is also becoming more assertive and tricky! Tonight she was playing fairy - complete with fairy wings and fairy crown. She was doing "fairy dances and twirls" all over the house and even the simple task of picking up a toy just HAD to be done with a great fairy flourish. I told Kate to set the table because it was time for dinner. She informed me in a tone that suggested that I was completely inept, "MOOOOM, Fairies. Don't. Eat. Dinner." (insert eye roll from the 3-year-old". I just casually disagreed "No, I am pretty sure that they do! They need energy through food otherwise they run out of fairy dust! In fact, I know for a fact that Elena (her favorite fairy) absolutely loves to eat buttercups and dewdrop tea". Kate was a bit put off, I could tell. She was frustrated that I was besting her in fairy knowledge.

So she inserted a classic kid-ism. "Nuh-uuuhh", she protested.

I told her, "Kate, I promise you that fairies do, indeed, eat dinner."

Kate, standing her ground in her purple and pink wings, fairie crown askew, arms crossed and hip jutting out a-la the famous fairy Tinkerbell, says to me (and I forgive her grammer considering her age), "WELL THIS FAIRY DON'T"!!!!!

Needless to say "this fairy" ate a full dinner. And liked it.

He Walks! He Talks! He's got Rhythym!

Well, Liam is walking! Though his main mode of transport still is crawling, or walking while holding onto things, he has taken those groups of 5 steps at a time from a short point A to B. It is wonderful! I was bursting with pride and, admittedly, even got a little teary because he is such a big boy now and it is bittersweet! :) He also LOVES to boogie. Just put music on and he bops away. And to the beat. Best of all is his communication, though. He is really making himself understood and has all kinds of fun words and actions that melt our hearts. Here is a list of some of his words and "party tricks".....

"Tee-too" - means Thank You
"Wooow" - quite simply, the word "Wow" (he says it in this really deep voice, it is so funny)
"Kah" - "Kate"
Mama, Dada - duh
"ta-dah" - "Touchdown"....he says this while making the touchdown gesture with both arms in the air
"bee boo" - Peekaboo, complete with gestures
"Ahh Duhhhh" - "all done" after eating
"Ha-woo" - hello
And, of course, the famous:
"NO"!!!!!!!! - no means no, you know.

He is also great at blowing kisses with a big "mmmwwwooh" sound. And lately he imitates everything NIck does. If Nick is "Purelling" his hands, Liam will rub his own hands together. If Nick sneezes Liam will pretend to sneeze. If Nick is on the phone Liam will put his hand up to his ear and babble like he is on the phone. It is priceless. And speaking of the little man, I have to run. He is getting into some things - as usual! So curious!

Only in Minnesota....

Living here is so interesting. Minnesotans are very unique and tough and loyal.

Unique: You don't cook casseroles here. You make "hot dish". Not "A" hot dish. Just hot dish. Also, the letter "A" is not pronounced as in most areas of the USA. If the letter "A" is in a word, you say it just like the letter (as in a long "a") instead of ever using the "short a". For instance, my name is not Maggie. It is MAY-GEE. I do not carry a Bag. I carry a BAYG. Also, the word cute is pronounced - Cue-eh-et. Say it real fast, you will get the idea.

Tough: I saw a quote from Talk Radio Star Garrison Keeler that sums it up pretty well....."Minnesota is a place that seriously tries to kill you and if winter doesn't get you, March makes sure you know what a hangover feels like even if you dont drink." That is so darn true. Just a perfect description. And I am toughening up. I remember when I lived in Hong Kong and it would get down to about 50 or 60 degrees F and we would all be wearing giant puffy coats and hats and gloves. NOW.....as soon as it hits 32 after a long winter, I am running around without a coat at all.

Loyal: I was out and NCAA March Madness Basketball was on the TV. Awesome! I love it! Well....someone switched it. To U of MN Gopher Hockey. And people cheered. Now, I have been to Gopher games and they are awesome. I think it may be some sort of tourney or playoff for the Golden Gophers, even. But wow it just highlights the fact that people here LOOOOOVE them some Minnesota!!!! Sometimes I feel like Nick and I, along with a small circle of friends, are the only people that did not grow up here and go to college somewhere in this state.

The Things We Do For Love....

Tonight was possibly one of the greatest nights of Kate's life to-date. Tonight we attended "Disney Princesses on Ice"!!! Kate was in absolute heaven and I honestly cannot think of the last time that I smiled so much - my cheeks hurt! - just from observing her sheer joy. It was so fun. And as you can see, I am not above making a fool of myself to get a laugh out of her - and out of all of you. So enjoy a chuckle at my choice of chapeau.

We started off the evening with our friends the Dunns. We surprised the girls (Kate and Maggie D.) with the whole "big girls night out" and a "big girl" dinner. Kate, ever the social butterfly, even ran into some other friends from school at the restaurant. It was such a fun night out with the Dunns and Nia. Then we all proceeded to the MAIN EVENT. The show was actually pretty spectacular with all the major princesses, some pretty incredible pair skating and some super fun effects and sets. Even actual fireworks that exploded out of the top of Cinderella's coach. We had seats right on the ice, so Kate got lots of waves and winks from the cast as she proudly wore her twinkle crown and waved like crazy to all the "princesses". It was quite grand.

Kate's favorite - of course - was Ariel the mermaid, who as you probably know wishes for human legs so she can marry Prince Eric. When Kate got home, we had to move all the furniture so she could "ice skate" around the living room. We were treated to all kinds of swirls and slides and "weaps" as she calls leaps. With lots of "pah-tend faiwy dust". You could see her hit the figurative wall of exhaustion after so much excitement and the meltdown ensued as we carried her up to bed while she sobbed - in full Ariel mode - "oh noooo. I have human legs!!!! I have human leeeegggssss. Ooohhh noooooo". Poor little mermaid.

I cannot wait for tomorrow. I am sure our lives will be princess-centric for a while now.

Note to those of you considering going to a Disney Ice Event - you may want to consider taking a second mortgage out on your home to pay for the various wares for sale there - sparkling magic wand? 25 dollars. Princess coloring book that you could get for free by printing pages at home off the internet? 20 dollars. Picture taken with a fake plastic Cinderella? 18 dollars. Memory of Kate twirling on "ice" in the living room while wearing her favorite party dress and 15 dollar sparkle crown? Priceless.

PS - The Flounder hat came with the cotton candy! 2-for-1!! I am always looking for a bargain!

Disclaimer - no, I have not lost my mind. Those were merely listings of items for sale. No, I did not buy each and every one of them. Sheesh!


Some of the skating spectacular-ness.



Smiling with Dad in a post-show burst of energy.



Showing Mom and Dad the program and explaining all her favorite moments from the show.

Liam is ONE!!!!

Happy Birthday, Dear Liam! Happy Birthday to You!!!

Well, I cannot believe our baby boy is one! He woke up on his birthday with a terribly runny nose but was his usual happy, smiling, sweet self. It was almost like he knew that today was "his day". He was just an angel face all day long and Kate was a super sweet big sister - singing "Happy Birthday" to Liam at regular intervals and just being so loving and fun. She helped me make Liam's Birthday Cake and was a big big help! We still had some snow come down today and all the kids in the Twin Cities had a snow day from school so it was fun to hear the squeals and giggles of the kids on the block as snowballs flew and giant snow sculptures were made. With well over two feet of snow on the ground, there was plenty to work with. Kate and Liam watched the college-age neighbors build a giant sculpture of a "snow mouse" complete with icicle whiskers that they grabbed off of the eaves.

Tonight we had a little birthday celebration for Liam. It was great to celebrate the day he came into this world which also just happens to be the day that I lost 30 pounds in one day! :) tee hee So, Nick, Kate, Patrick, Ryan (my good friend from college that lives here in St Paul now!) and I had a casual night in with Pizza and beer and soda (and milk for Kate!). We watched Liam open his presents and had cake and Kate got to watch 'Mulan'. It was a great family evening. Liam loved it all! Despite his red nose and a bruise of unknown origin on his face, he lights up in the pics. After some hesitation at first, he dug into his cake and then spent the rest of the night climbing on everything he could - including the "garage" he got for a gift. Such a big boy.

He is just joy and sweetness wrapped up in 27 pounds of adorable. We love him so.

March: In like a.....Polar Bear?

So for the second time in a week, we are bundled up and cozy in our teeny toasty house while mountains of the white stuff pile up against our house outside! We already had about 13 inches of snow on the ground. We are expected to get another 12-18 inches right now, so you do the math! There will be mile high drifts with this wind, too. I guess most people are not shocked to hear that, given that we live where we live. And, frankly, this is the kind of weather we expected when we moved to Minnesota - it is just that this is the first winter of any that we have lived here that we have actually experienced this kind of snow. And in MARCH! In fact, the Twin Cities have not seen this much snow in one week in over 25 years!!! In case you don't know - I am a major weather nerd and am fascinated by it.

But it is gorgeous. And fun. Kate and I baked cookies while the wind blew SHEETS of snow past our kitchen window. We bundled up and trudged through the drifts and delivered several batches to neighbors as "Thank Yous" for helping to shovel us out. It is so nice how everyone just pitches in with each other here. Our next door neighbor just took his snowblower and did the sidewalk up the whole block. So kind. And I was just outside - up to my knees in snow - in the dark and the cold during one of the light snow bands and I love how the snow mutes everything. There is no traffic because it is beyond impossible to drive right now, the air is crisp but it is not bitterly cold. And the snow just sparkles at night - before all the kids tear it up and dogs do their business on it and before the plow churns up oil and asphalt into the drifts. Right now it is gorgeous.


I really like it here in Minnesota!

PS - Nick heard the funniest comment on NPR today. Due to the terrible storm, NPR was running through a litany of cancellation notices. Here is NIck's fave "The Seminar at the UBS Center in downtown St. Paul on The Burden of Global Warming is cancelled due to the Blizzard"

Creating a Scene

Kate is very into making scenes these days. Not the tantrum kind, mind you. More like tableaux.

Examples:

I went into my bedroom the other day to find all kinds of dolls lying flat on their backs in a row, each with a pillow under their head, staring at the ceiling as dolls tend to do. Dolls on the dresser, dolls on the bedside table and on the carpet. Of varying sizes such as her tiny dolls that go in her dollhouses in one grouping, Barbies in another grouping and doll-babies in another. Clearly "Kate was Here". When asked about the scene Kate calmly explained to me (in her funny little pseudo-Boston-accent where she still drops her "R"s) - as if I were a total dunce - "Mommy, they are watching the fireworks! They are in different pahts of a big, big pahk and they are waiting for it to get dahk to watch the fireworks show!" Well, of course.

I then moved into the bathroom where I discovered a number of "My Little Ponies" lined all along the bathtub edge. I turned and, without even having to ask for it, Kate explained to me that the Ponies were "Running fwoo the Pwains and got TIRED and came to the WIVAH because they are THUHSTY". Well, of course!

Later I went to vacuum the dining room and, upon moving the dining room chairs, discovered a congregation of "Fisher Price Little People" under the table. Well, you must know by now that they were camping, yes?!

And the stuffed animals trailing up the stairs are mountain climbing.

And the other "My Little Ponies" hanging off of Kate's bed rail (which is at it's core, metal, and did you know that My Little Ponies have magnets in their feet just so they can hang upside down on metal?) are "in the circus".

Kate is like those secret renegade artists that perform public art that is questionable when it come to the law. Like a "wrap artist" that will in the dead of night wrap a building in saran wrap as an unintelligable statement against society. Or those anti-smoking people that attempt to startle Manhattan-ites by filling a corporate lobby with thousands of body bags. Sometimes you see Kate staging things and can try to protest but you don't want to necessarily curb the imagination process.....so you can tell in advance that, in a few minutes, there will be a feather boa tied around your laptop and a stuffed dog wearing a tutu on your printer intake shelf. Sometimes, though, you walk into a room to retrieve a book only to find (insert creepy horror movie music) that is full of pastel colored ponies. Lined practically wall-to-wall (our home is small) in military precision and they all have had their heads turned at the exact same angle by a slightly compulsive three year old and all of the ponies are Staring. At. You.

And you cannot figure out WHEN she had the time to execute this and how you missed it.

So - it is funny. But as impressive as her statements are....getting her to clean them up is a whole other story. It is amazing how she managed to transport 20 ponies into the downstairs bathroom from her upstairs playroom, but she INSISTS that it is IMPOSSIBLE to get them back up the stairs. Or that the "little people" will be devastated if their camping trip gets cut short....'But Moooommmy, I CAAAAAN'T put the camping twip away yet because they have not made toasty Marshmewwows yeeeeeeet".

Clever girl.

By the way, I just stepped on a Barbie shoe! Maybe she will try to butter me up by creating a tableau of the Nordstrom shoe department! :)

EVEN MORE MINNE-SNOW-TA

In the words of "H-ahnk and Fr-ahnk" from "Father of the Bride" in regards to photography, "Thank GOD snow is WHITE, it just WORKS!!!"

MORE MINNE-SNOW-TA

MINNE-SNOW-TA

So, we got a winter wallop this weekend! Depending on reports, we have somewhere between 10-15 inches of snow, but the drifts are MUCH higher - some up to three feet or so. It is so FUN! We have become true Minnesotans in that is does not phase us. Nick and Ryan went out in the height of the storm last night to, in a most dedicated fashion, cheer on Golden Gopher hockey - followed by midnight reveling in driving snow at a local bar. Cheers to them! Today the snow finally stopped and we all bundled up and went outside for some family time in the white stuff where we enjoyed the sled and built a snowman....actually a snow mountain because basically it was a foot of pure powder and not very good for packing. Oh, and while the playing in the snow was great, bundling a preschooler into the snow clothes is even more of an adventure. Has anyone ever seen the episode of "The Cosby Show" where Bill bundles Rudy and all her pals into snow gear and then bathroom breaks are required by all? Yeah - it went something like that.

Anyway - enjoy the pics! There are tons!

Balmy

So today we went to the zoo. Does that sound weird? The zoo in Minnesota in February? We have a great zoo here called Como Zoo that is FREE. And I just found out that it is open 365 days a year! Anyway, today it was positively sweltering at 35 degrees F!!! So after going slighty nuts after weeks of below-zero frigidness, the kids and I were ready to get OUT. So we joined my friend Paige and her kids for a day at the zoo. The kids just loved it and Kate and Paige's son, Luke, just hit it off and had so much fun. They were such little buddies. There is a new - indoor and very toasty steamy - tropical exhibit and the kids had so much fun exploring the plants and trees and snakes and sloths. It was great.

Anyway, here are some pics - AND I am debuting here Kate's first photo - as in the first one she took with a real camera! It is of me, so pardon the seeming self-promotion. I wish it were of Liam or a plant or something. But after she took it she asked if I would "post it on the bog" and how could I refuse?


Kate and Luke strolling at the zoo!




Group hug at the zoo! Huddling for warnth! :)




Mags and Liam - ready for an outing!




Mags and Kate - she was so excited for the zoo.




"Mommy" - Portrait by Kate Harris. Love the angled view - she is so artistic, no?

Kate the Scolder

This past weekend Nick and I were talking about how freezing it has been in Minnesota (see earlier entry of frozen clothing in our dryer for reference) and I made a remark about how I was "Freezing my butt off" (oh, if only!). Well, Kate overheard this and GASPED at me in total horror. She proceeded to admonish me in a very stern tone, "Mommy! DO NOT talk about people's BUTTS!!!!! That is PRIVATE!!! Do you hear me, Mom? BUTTS are PRIVATE!". She stood there staring me down with her hands on her hips as Nick and I used EVERY ounce of self control not to burst out laughing. Biting the insides of our cheeks we hung our heads (mainly to hide the wavering smirks) and mumbled that Kate was absolutely right and we do not talk about people's butts. Point taken.

Thou Shalt Not....

....Make fun of Jesus! I am pretty sure that is encompassed, though not explicity in those terms, somewhere in the Ten Commandments. Kate is still learning, though, so I think God will give her a break. Allow me explain as I share this anecdote with you - I have been meaning to blog it for a while. A while ago Kate was in our bedroom while I was getting ready for the day. On our dresser we have a prayer book and a replica of the papal crucifix that Pope John Paul II displayed on his papal staff. It was given to Nick and I on the occassion of his conversion to Catholocism and my confirmation. Anyway, long story short, the crucifix is a good depiction of what a crucifixtion would do to a person. It is a silver cross and, on it, Jesus is painfully thin and is hanging down off the cross - not like he is a mirror of the cross as in some depictions.

Anyway - Kate said to me with some urgency as she held the cross, "Mommy!! WHAT is THIS?!!!!!" I told her "That is Jesus on the cross, honey!" She said very loudly with great conviction - as if I were teasing her "NOOOOOOO it IIIIIISSSN"T!!!" I reassured her it was and she said to me in a very know-it-all voice, with a touch of sympathy towards me for NOT knowing, "MOM, it is NOT Jesus. THIS is ONE SICK SCARECROW."

Sheesh.

Being a Princess is Tiring, Ok?!

Kate is in full-on "princess mode". She is such a little girl! Today she insisted on wearing a red dress because it is what "Annie" wears in the movie. She also sung "Let's Go to the Movies" from "Annie" for about 45 minutes straight at the top of her lungs. She is SO DARN CUTE! Yesterday, she put on one of her "princess dress up dresses", complete with magic fairy wand, and twirled and danced and insisted on being called "Princess Kate" while she called me "Queen Mommy". I ran upstairs to put some laundry away and came back downstairs to find Princess Kate absolutely zonked out on the couch in all her purple and pink princess finery. Here are a couple of pics!

It is SO COLD......

"HOW COLD IS IT?"

Well, it is so cold that when I accidentally forgot to push the "Start" button on the clothes dryer, we discovered a couple hours later (when going to fold what we thought were dry clothes) a dryer full of FROZEN CLOTHES. They were literally frozen through. Sleeves were frozen at odd angles and folds and creases were frozen into place. It looked like a bunch of little clothes sculptures! :) I guess the -30 degree air coming through the exhaust vent back into the dryer was enough to do the trick! Here is a pick of Nick holding up some frozen items...though we should have had him hold the one shirt upside down so you could see the sleeves sticking straight up in the air! These were little blocks of ice - no gravity working here.

Brrr......

Brrrr Baby

Ok. Right now, with the wind chill, it is -29 degrees. That would be NEGATIVE 29. It is beyond chilly. When you go outside, the inside of your nose freezes and it literally hurts to breathe. The cold does not phase Kate at all - looks like she is a true Minnesota girl! She loves it. Not that we are spending a great deal of time outside in these dangerous temps - but in the dash from house to car to grocery store to car to house, Kate is not phased. Liam, on the other hand, dramatically gasps and gulps to catch his frozen breath. Poor baby.

Hence, we are spending a lot of time toasty warm in our home! Nick was away in Cleveland all week and so it was just me and the kids 24/7. They get a little stir crazy - especially Kate - when it is this cold out, but I try to keep them busy. Liam's favourite games are to knock down block towers and climb on top of furniture. Kate is currently fascinated by all things "Mary Poppins" and "Annie" and I have been treated to many a "show" in recent weeks. She is really into tap dancing and asks for "Mommy to do the show with me" a lot. I am having a lot of fun singing "Together at Last", "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious", and "The Sun Will Come out Tomorrow" with her.

Liam and Kate are best buddies and she is so good with him. In Liam's eyes, Kate is the greatest person on earth. He adores her and follows her everywhere. It is beyond cute. Here are some pics of them bonding after bathtime, just before the bedtime ritual. Following that are some other tidbits of news....







In other news, all is well here - Ever After Gowns is soaring right now. Go to our website (www.everaftergowns.org) to check it out. I had a radio interview and we have had some great press which has led to some great professional partnerships and success. Nick is working a ton but has been having some great success - which cannot be discussed or I will have to kill you due to all those SEC regs! :) He actually has time on weekends now, though, and is not glued to a computer 20 out of 24 hours in the day. YAY! Socially things have been fun, too! We actually have managed to get out for a couple "date nights" and tried some fun restaurants and music scene stuff here in town. So fun. And last weekend my sister came to visit and we had a whole "girls weekend", which was our Xmas present from our husbands. Rin and I went to our Kappa Alpha Theta Founders Day Brunch which was so fun, window shopped a tad and then went out for Japanese and - wait for it - to the Justin Timberlake concert! (Insert Beatlemania-esque scream here). Rin and I are fans. Ok, fine....big fans. There is a mortifyingly embarrassing picture that Erin took of me at the concert which basically is me clutching my heart with mouth agape and eyes bugging out at the PRESENCE THAT IS JUSTIN. HA HA HA HA HA. She has been ordered to destroy the picture. Anyway - it was GREAT fun and we followed it up by a Spa Day on Sunday. Just what I needed because I have not danced that much in years and my meds made Sunday kind of tough. SO WORTH IT THOUGH! Thanks to the hubbies for taking care of kids and giving us a whole weekend to be girlyl! Without having to change diapers and wipe up spit and listen to 'The Wiggles'.

So - that is the basic version. Lots to look forward to. I have a lot of business meetings for Ever After. Nick will be traveling more which is exciting for him (is it wrong for me to envy his totally uninterrupted silent nights of sleep in a quiet dark hotel where there are no children?) ha ha! Kate has lots of fun school stuff coming up and Liam turns ONE next month! How time flies.