Turning seven in the suite life looks like phone calls from the front desk telling you *another* package has arrived. Turning seven in the suite life looks like opening a check from Grandpa and telling all of the business men on the elevator that you are "RICH because you just got ONE-HUNDRED-DOLLARS" (displaying for all to see - and all are impressed). Turning seven in the suite life means ordering a cookie cake from the mall but telling Mommy that "I still like your cookie cakes best". Turning seven in the suite life looks like video chats and emails full of birthday wishes. Turning seven in the suite life looks a lot like this....

Because our new suite life includes cable, the girls have been a bit over-exposed lately to all the cable television holds for children - namely mediocre programming and tons of toy commercials. I don't want to be the mommy who says NO (with that mean pinched face) to my children to every plastic creation ever, but I know they like more than what the TV tells them.

So, in anticipation of a certain someone's seventh birthday (ugh, did I just type that, ouch), I have assembled the following super-compromising gift ideas - she'll love them all, I'll just smile and nod through a few.

1. Moon in my Room - um it's a remote-controlled moon... IN YOUR ROOM! Hello.

2. Pocket Microscope - did my daughter see this and say "gee mom, I would really like to own my own pocket microscope!" No. Will she like to own her own pocket microscope, without a doubt.

3. Sky Umbrella - what is it with kids and umbrellas? Well, this one would make a great photo prop AND my daughter would be on cloud nine.

4. Creationary - its like Pictionary with Legos. Maybe she'll like it, maybe I'll LOVE it.

5. Marble Run - Yes plastic, yes she wants, yes I loved it as a kid too. So this is a win-win-win.

6. Barbie Designable Hair Extensions - at least she has to be creative to make it work.

7. REI Gift Card - this could mean so many things for our little climber, I think her little exploring head might explode when she walks into this store!

8. Knitting Dolls - I have no idea how these work but they are adorable and under $5. I am fairly certain they function as some kind of crafting device.

9. Fur Real Walking Pup - she for real wants this, and I do not get that, but I promised I would add it to her wish list so here you go.

[It's a few weeks late, but you still have to hear about C's day at Cubeville!]
I felt guilty waking her at the crack of dawn,

that's life in Cubeville for ya.

Welcome to Take Your Child to Work Day!

She was all smiles for half-hour drive.

And of course we had to stop for a frap enroute.

The other little children of Cubeville all gathered for exciting talks about engineering
and a good bit of brainwashing to ensure a bright batch of future engineers!

C was right in the thick of it...
and then I talked about Civil Engineering and she announced to the entire room

"That's my mommy!"
It was cute. Really cute.

I had the kids engineer a marble race track using recycled materials,
cause nothing says 'real live engineers' like marbles and cardboard...

They raced marbles.
If you're ever looking for a band name, that might be a good one.

Back in my cube Carolyn showed off her circuit board.

We seriously want to crank out the next generation in a few short hours...

We even taught them to answer the phone

And gave them their very own business cards

Needless to say, she was wiped out by the end of her day in Cubeville!

My big girl keeps loosing teeth and growing older by the minute and it's kind of freaking me out. Tonight she graduated from Kindergarten and sang "I'm a first grader" the whole drive home. She and her best friend posed for the celebration photos and I had to wonder if tomorrow we'll be doing the same thing at a high school graduation and then at their weddings and then I thought that would be pretty great, and it will be, when it's time. And it will be time soon, and we'll just soak in as much as possible between here and there as we skip along the waters of life faster than the smoothest stone.

Carolyn's First Easter - 2005

As we sat eating dinner tonight Brandon prompted Carolyn, "Why don't you tell Mommy about what happened at school today Carolyn?"

"Oh!" she replied. "A boy in my class kept blowing kisses at me, and I was like *what*!?! And then he sang me this song, and it was all about love and love and love and stuff, and I was like *what*!?! *what*!?!"

"And what are you going to tell that boy if it happens again?" Brandon continued.

"I'm just going to say 'Take a chill medicine'"

"Chill pill" Brandon reminded her.

The text came from B at 3:48 in Cubeville:
"My worst nightmare is living itself out right now... I am about to pull a tooth"
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To the photo man no prospective duty of parenthood could be worse than the loose tooth. For six long years he has dreaded the day when a dangly chunk of white calcification hung from his child's mouth into which he would have to dig deep and deliver for the Daddy of the Year award. Deliver he did. At 3:49PM Carolyn Schultz, age six, lost her very first tooth!
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In approximately ten minutes the Daddy of the Year award will be solidly his as he gently and ever-so-cautiously moves her sweet head to replace the tiny tooth with a shiny dollar coin. And tomorrow morning there will be very large toothless smiles all around!

image

A conversation at our house tonight...
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C: What happens to vampires when they go in the sun?
K: Vampires are pretend
C: Ya, but what happens when they go in the sun?
K: Nothing, they aren't real
C: Ok, but if they go in the sun, then what happens?
K: Whatever the author wants, they're pretend
C: They probably catch on fire, huh?

I remember when she learned to walk. I remember those first fateful steps that said "I'm growing! I'm growing! Watch me mama... don't take your eyes off me! I'll be all grown up before you know it!" And I was happy, and she was happy, too.
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And then she learned to run, and swim, and dance, and sing (oh boy can this girl sing). And it all made me so happy, and her too.
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But tonight, wow. Tonight my big girl who still seems very small turned to look at the painted grocery list on her little wooden kitchen door... and a lightbulb went off.
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"Mama!?! What is this?"
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"A grocery list" I replied.
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And then it happened. "B...b...brrrr...ee..dd.... BREAD!" "Mmmmm...miiiii....llllk... MILK!" Eeee...gggg... EGGS!" "Ch....ch....eeee....s... CHEESE! Mama I can read!" And I was happy, and she was very, very, very happy!
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For kindergarten we chose to keep Carolyn at home (you may recall kindergarten roundup was a bit of a bummer for me HERE). She goes one day a week to a private school academy specifically for kids who are schooled at home (which you might call "homeschooling" and then you might think about long denim skirts and nothing against denim but its kind of more involved than denim). I have hesitated to share much on the blog or elsewhere, largely because of the denim factor. But I absolutely felt like this was the right choice for Carolyn, and tonight my heart swelled seeing all of her hard work (and Brandon's really hard work) paying off. She ice skates and goes to the library and still wrangles a lunch room on Tuesdays and READS and sometimes she sleeps in and does math in her jammies and it is working for us.
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It is working, she is reading!!! I am SO excited people.

Two songs performed, six adults watching (and one proud little "sis"), one tour of school = Carolyn thrilled to bits. Plus ice cream afterwards as a bonus (for Mommy!).

Today's Entertainment at Grandma's Sunday After-Church Lunch
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(Five fat chickens are we, we slept all night in a tree...
When the cook came around, we couldn't be found
And that's why we're here, you see)

Go tell it people...

3 year old Carolyn looking very much like 6 year old Carolyn

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Discussing show-and-tell last night over dinner...
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K: How was school?
C: Well, not very good
K: Why!?!
C: Well, I got in a fight
K: ...really? What happened?
C: This girl told me that my blankie is for babies, she said "You should give that blankie to a baby! It's for babies!"
K: Oh, well what did you say?
C: No it's not!
K: And what did she say?
C: Yes it is!
K: Then what did you say?
C: No it's not!
K: Then what happened?
C: Nothing
K: That sure was some fight

When you turn six you put on a party dress. Its yellow and you put it over your favorite long-sleeved flower shirt because you're a trend setter, a brand new six year old on the trendy scene.
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When you turn six you wake up extra early and request waffles for breakfast with Halloween candy on the side, but you only take a few bites because you're so excited about being six.
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When you turn six your grandmas and grandpas take you to the "Peanut Place" (HERE) and the waitresses sing to you and put you on a saddle so everyone can cheer for the brand new six year old cowgirl eating peanuts.
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When you turn six you remind Daddy all day, in case he forgot, especially when he asks you to do anything you don't feel like doing.
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When you are six you get presents and chocolate and white cake both, because its hard for a six year old to decide which she wants.
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When you turn six Mommy sighs and Daddy sighs and no one can believe that baby with the curly brown hair and teensy-tinsy hands has just turned six years old.