Little House in the Big Woods

Eve was sick today (cough, low fever) and I took the day off to stay home with her. Alan was with them Monday and Tuesday while I was doing parent conferences. She started feeling bad on Tuesday and Alan said she kept going to the window and asking if mommy was coming home yet. He said it started around 10am and he promised her I’d be home around 3pm… then I got lucky she fell asleep because I didn’t make it home until 4:30pm! But I was home to wake her up at 5:00. Anyway, she wasn’t up for school today and I wasn’t up for leaving her (and Alan wasn’t up for a third day off from work) so I stayed home with her.

We have been reading really stupid fairy books that she loves and she promised me that when we finished the series she would let me pick the next book. Today I chose Little House in the Big Woods and she protested. She argued and refused. I was annoyed, but tried to be patient with her. This evening she basically put herself to bed and when I went up to read to her I found her in bed with the lights off. I asked if she wanted me to read a few pages of the book and she agreed, granted I let her lay down and if she got bored we could stop.

Turns out she loved it! Also turns out I either have not read this book or completely forgot the entire first chapter. The whole thing is about them preparing for winter, which means killing and slaughtering many animals, and it goes into great detail! They even describe in detail how to roast a pigs tail and how delectable it is. Yuck! I kept asking her is she wanted to stop and she said no. Either she liked the book a lot or she liked seeing my yucked out face! When we finished the first chapter she said we should read more tomorrow.

I bugged her so much to read it I can hardly say no now. Note to self: preview books, don’t rely on memory from long ago.

Quotes from Eve

“All they want is money! That’s all they care about!  That’s why I want to buy things from them.” said Eve, while looking through an American Girls catalog.  3/3/14

“I want to be a famous artist so I can make a lot of money and buy lots of cats!” said Eve. Moments later she amended it to “pets” because she wants dogs, bunnies, and hamsters too. 3/2/14 

Artie

Eve’s class is studying penguins this month and as a special treat they have a friend named Artie who visits each student. Eve was overjoyed when she found out Artie was coming to spend the weekend with us! We had some errands to do after school, so Artie came along for the ride.

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Artie came to the Co-Op with us.

 

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Artie had fun at King Arthur Flour!

 

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Artie and Eve built block towers together.

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Artie joined us for dinner wearing a fancy hat and veil.  Artie likes reading Calvin and Hobbes.

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At bedtime Artie put on Pjs…

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… and shared giggly secrets with Eve.

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Artie enjoyed the bedtime stories Eve read him.

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The next morning Artie got dressed. Eve assured me that Artie likes pink polka dot skirts and flower crowns. :)  Her hair is wild in this picture! 

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Artie came with us to CAOS at the Ava Gallery. Turns out Artie is very creative!

Dear Mrs. Burriss.  This photo was just staged and Artie came into no real contact with messy art supplies.  We took the utmost care of him. :)

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Later that day Artie made a few phone calls and ran up quite a phone bill! Calls to the Antarctic are expensive!

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We had a movie night Saturday night, but the kids chose to watch a NOVA episode about genetics instead of a movie. Artie was fascinated!

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This morning Artie joined us for a playdate and got a sneak peak at a house he’ll be visiting later this month.

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Four silly kids, a cat, and a penguin. What more do you need for a great playdate!

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This evening Artie put on Eve’s paint smock and did some more (pretend) painting. Artie also helped Eve with her math homework, but I wasn’t around to take a picture of that.

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Artie ended the weekend cuddled up with Eve and Alan, reading bedtime stories.

Eve has very much enjoyed her visit with Artie.  She was even in tears (put-upon tears) last night that she loved Artie so much and it would be just too hard to give Artie back.  We had a little conversation about all the other kids in her class who hadn’t had a chance with Artie yet.  She decided that seeing Artie in school each day would be enough.

Final Christmas Cookies

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Eve remembered this morning that her art teacher wasn’t there the day before Christmas vacation and didn’t get the cookies Eve brought in. She was very concerned that day that her art teacher would have no holiday cookies. :-)  She has art today and insisted on bringing her teacher cookies.  Fortunately I still have a batch of peanut butter cookies in the freezer. I think her teacher will be surprised!

Friday folder

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I love the Friday folder. :-)  This is a picture Eve drew of the little in their room.  I love that she drew them in bed (green smiley faces) and that she drew their comforters (princess on her bed).  Notice her name? She has developed an interest in cursive so I taught her how to write her name. 

Wiggle wiggle

Eve has a loose tooth!  Her very first one.  She’s pretty excited about and and keeps telling me about how it feels.  Often starting with, “I don’t know if this is usual or not, but…” then onto her story.  She is an awesome child.  She also has four molars coming in all at once.  There’s a lot going on in that mouth of hers.

I wonder if that explains the fevers, headaches, and earaches from a few weekends ago…