Happy Halloween 2007

A few quick pictures from the Princeton Children's Halloween Parade last night. This is one of my favorite events of the year as the kids march two blocks from the Library Plaza to Palmer Square. The Princeton Marching band, the Town Crier and Headless Horseman lead the parade. And of course, there were hordes of adorably dressed children in costumes. It is the cutest thing ever. Lily's our little zebra. And Elsa is dressed as a lion. This year they decided to wear different costumes.

Sadly, everyone in our house is a bit under the weather. So, the girls were not at their perkiest. Poor Lily went to the ER on Saturday night with a nasty case of the croup. Croup is a type of flu bug that inflames the upper respiratory symptom. Most kids will just get a low fever, runny nose and a sore throat. But, some younger kids get full blown croup with a seal-like barking couch and horrible wheezing inhalations. I was still solo-parenting while Mark was on his way back from California and Lily had a coughing fit where she could not catch her breath and it was extremely scary. So, we packed up for the hospital where they gave her a dose of steroids and a breathing treatment. I finally fully understand the drama from Anne of Green Gables when she nurses Diana's little sister through the croup all night. It is really really scary. You don't ever want to hear a kid gasping for breath like that. I learned that the first thing you should do if you kid is having an attack like that is to take them outside. The cool air opens up the air passages and helps them breathe. This makes sense as Lily immediately got better as I took her outside on our way to the hospital. I felt a little foolish bringing her in as she was barely showing any symptoms. But, the doctor said that croup almost always gets worse on the second night. So, we were lucky to head it off with the steroids. You can also try the classic cure of taking them into a steamy bathroom.

I was really nervous handling both girls in the emergency room by myself with Lily feeling so sick. But, they were really really good. They still love hospitals and medical equipment. So, it was pretty exciting for them to sit on a hospital bed and see all the doctors and nurses. The staff was really cute and brought us two of everything. So, Elsa got to wear a pulse oximeter and a breathing mask, too. They brought 2 doses of apple juice medicine (Lily's was spiked with the steroids). Lily slept great after the steroid (after being up all night for the two previous nights), so taking her in was the right decision. Just wish we didn't have to make such a dramatic trip to the ER. Why do our kids always get sick on Saturday nights after the doctor's office is closed?

Lily's feeling much better now and Mark's back to help us. Her fever is gone, but she has a lingering deep cough. Unfortunately, Elsa has been having a low grade fever and runny nose for the past couple days. So, we're making her take it easy, so it doesn't turn into the croup. Poor kid had to miss the Halloween Party at school today. So, we baked some special cookies this morning. If she's feeling better tonight, we may try trick-or-treating.

Well, that's the news for now. I still need to update with information from our first parent/teacher conference and the girls' 3 year physical.

New Hope and Terhune

This weekend, we were busy having adventures. On Saturday, we took the girls to New Hope, PA, to ride the vintage trains. They've been obsessed with watching The Polar Express, so I thought it would be the perfect thing.


As you can see, Lily and Elsa weren't as impressed as I had hoped. They liked it, well enough. But, I'm pretty sure they were more excited by our $2 ride on the local Dinky NJ Transit. What can I say? I pretty sure we have city girls. They'd rather look at buildings than trees. The New Hope train was really cool, though. It was pulled by coal powered steam engine. Our car was 82 years old with real mahogany paneling. I think the girls' favorite part was the conductor who wore an old fashioned uniform and punched their tickets. We got a neat little history lesson as we rode through Bucks County. Learned more about George Washington as we were near the site of his famous crossing of the Delaware River. They just LOVE George Washington in this part of the country. For some reason, this always makes Mark and I laugh. I mean, George Washington is cool and everything. But, these people are obsessed. Princeton is loaded with signs that say things like "George Washington drank water here." Route 206, less than a block off where we live, is formerly known as "The Kings Highway." Washington marched his troops right past our house during the Battle of Trenton. George Washington, Woodrow Wilson and Albert Einstein, the hallowed men of Princeton.


Sunday, we took the girls' over to a Fall festival at Terhune Orchards. I'm pretty sure every other family in town was there, too. It was packed. Here are 3 of my favorite people (L,M,E) looking down from an old wagon. The girls' thought it was pretty cool.




Elsa is just about 3 feet tall. I think the measurement's a couple inches short as the rock she's standing on is a bit below the ruler markings. Monday, they have their annual checkup. So, we'll find out how tall they really are.



We also went through a corn maze which made them a little nervous. So, Mark told them the story from when he was little and he and Clint got lost inside a cornfield in Southern Indiana. He said they wandered for hours. Not sure if that made the girls feel any more comfortable!


And Elsa picking out a pumpkin for Daddy. The girls picked out their pumpkins earlier in the week on their class field trip. They had the best time and are totally impressed with "riding the bus." They felt like such big kids.

Before I close, just wanted to record something funny Elsa told me yesterday. She had a case of the hiccups and was getting quite frustrated. I told her "Oh, poor girl, you have the hiccups."
And she very seriously gave me a huge eyeroll and said "Mommy, you are NOT a doctor." For some reason, I found this very amusing.

October happenings

We had a 30+ degree temperature drop since my last post. Now it feels more like October. Our radiators have turned on, the leaves are changing colors, our neighborhood squirrels have been very busy gathering acorns and it is time for sweaters and jackets again. They say Fall is one of the prettiest times here in Princeton and I agree. There's something very "East Coasty" about strolling downtown and campus in the crisp air. I like it.



We've decorated our house a bit to celebrate. Isn't Elsa's scarecrow fantastic? She picked it out on our last date to the craftstore. (We try and have one-on-one dates with the girls as often as possible). Elsa picked the tallest scarecrow of the bunch. This week the Fall goodness continues as they have their first fieldtrip to the pumpkin patch. Their entire class is going on yellow school bus to a farm for a hayride and pumpkin picking. The kids are beyond excited.


A quick picture at the "Little Park." This is the little playground in our complex that we visit nearly every day. The girls adore the little playhouse. Sometimes it is a house, or a store, but most often they pretend it is a school. They like to take turns being student and teacher and usually like me to pretend, too.

Real school is going well. I can't say enough good things about it. Their teachers are doing such a great job. Mostly, I just think of how overwhelming taking care of only two 3-year olds can feel. Then, I stand in awe that they can manage 16 at once! Last Friday, I was helping parent again for the first time since early Sept. (Mark and I have been taking turns). I just can't believe the improvement. All the kids were listening so well during circle time. And they were doing such a great job playing together and taking turns. Right now, the class is focusing on good manners. So, they make a big production of passing food around the table to each other at snack time. They are even pouring their own juice and water. What a feat.

On Helping Parent days our girls get to be the "Helping Children." So, that means they get to do special things like ring the cleanup bell, check the weather and be line leaders. They also get to bring in Show and Tell. This week they brought in Bunny and Duckie. The told the class about their special toys and Lily, especially, just talked and talked. Then the class passed them around and gave the toys special hugs. How fun!



Here's Elsa giving Little Baby a hug. Little Baby was one of the students at "pretend school."




Just a few more pictures of their pretend games at home. These are bunkbeds in case you didn't know. (L, bottom)(E, top)




And here they are in their rocket ship. (E,L) The pillow on top is the seatbelt. I asked.

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Blastoff!!!!!!

A day at the beach

This weekend, we've had one last(?) gasp of summer. The weather has been very sunny and warm. So, we had a little roadtrip back to Island Beach State Park. We took the girls' friend/neighbor/schoolmate Jacob and his dad Mischa. We had so much fun frolicking in the waves and building sand castles.


The perfect bliss of being three . . . The thing I find so completely charming about this age is how much delight they take in the world around them. Everything is magical. Seeing how much they enjoy life is such a gift. L,J,E. The kids were having such a good time together that somebody asked me if they were triplets. Must be all that curly hair!


A very happy Elsa runs to the waves. We didn't expect to be able to go swimming in October, so we didn't even bring suits. But, the water temperature was almost 70 degrees! There were all kinds of interesting jellyfish and crabs in the sand. My heart is warming to the Atlantic. I'm still homesick for the jaw dropping scenery of the Pacific in Northern California. But, it was so cold your feet would start aching after just a few minutes of wading. It is really nice to be able to actually swim in the water off New Jersey. We live close by to some really nice sandy beaches.


We spent the better part of the afternoon building an elaborate castle and moat. Then, the tide came in and washed it away. The kids took it in stride. (L,J) Jacob is so cute. He just moved from Berlin and speaks Russian and German. He's learning English quickly. But, he is really obsessed with the PBS show "Bob the Builder." He repeats this one tag line from the show with great enthusiasm "Can we build it? YES WE CAN!" He had the greatest time doing castle construction.


The weather is supposed to drop 20 degrees by the middle of the week. I'm glad we got to appreciate one our last days of summer weather.

More pictures here.

Weekend update

Can you believe it is October already? Where does the time go? We had a really good weekend. We went to dinner parties on Friday and Sunday. And on Saturday, we got to see our good friends Matt and Mo with went to school with Mark at Berkeley, but now work at Penn State. They were up visiting family in NJ.

Going to dinner parties with 3 year olds is an interesting experience. The first one was the welcome reception for all the fellows in the Council of Science and Technology where Mark gets his funding. Luckily it was outside at a professor's house. Lots of fancy finger food and wine glasses. Lily and Elsa were intrigued by the food, but they'd take one bite and try and put it back on the plates. I'd turn my back and find half-eaten finger sandwiches placed back on the platter! Elsa also couldn't understand why she was not allowed to dip her finger into the peanut sauce and lick it off. Luckily, there was a gaggle of children their age. So, the girls spent most of the time running around the yard. We found out that a bunch of the new fellows live in our apartment complex, including a nice young family from Minneapolis. The girls are enchanted by their 3-year old daughter who has flaming red hair. Mark and I are excited to find some fellow Midwesterners around here. What a novelty.

On Sunday, we got invited to celebrate the birthday of one of our neighbors. Their son Jacob is in the girls' class and sometimes we carpool together. The guest list included a bunch of neighbors, humanities post-docs and school families. It was interesting to spend time with a bunch of non-scientists for a change. We also found more new playmates for the girls. Yay! The girls love making new friends. Unlike their mother, who used to hide behind her parents' legs at big parties. The girls are just so excited to play with the other kids. They run right off to join the gang. We had to drag them home.


Some pictures we took before school this morning.


The girls ran to the window this morning to watch our garbage collection. The university has these miniature garbage trucks that drive down our sidewalks. The girls' think the little trucks are extremely cool. (E and L) (L is standing our her tippy-toes, the girls are still very close in height).


Making a silly face at Mom.


Happy girls getting ready for school. I love when they wake up in good moods. (L,E)