LOVE

Maggie and Sally are both animal lovers, but it comes out in very different ways.  Ever since she was little, Maggie wanted to learn everything she could about nature and animals.  She watched nature shows and read books on animals, accumulating facts and developing a healthy respect for them.  She became a vegetarian, I think, out of her respect.  Sally, on the other hand, dotes on her animals, she's always wanting them around to hold, to pet, to play with.  Her devotion never wavers and the animals, in turn, love her back.  They know they can always get a treat out of her.  Our routine lately is that if Sally wakes up before 6 am she has to play in her room.  So this morning she wrangled both Holly and Fern into the room with her and I heard her playing and talking to them for about an hour.  Her devotion, unfortunately, doesn't stop at her pets.  She's forever catching bugs outside and bringing them up to her room to live.  She's got shoeboxes that she's made into roly poly homes and caterpillars making cacoons in a butterfly garden we bought her.  It's always hard to convince her to let them go back to live outside, she thinks they'll be so much 'warmer and cozier' in her room.  

The Piano

Here's a few pictures of Sally "playing" her new piano.  It's a beautiful piano and it looks good in our house, but it feels a little funny to have a piano around when no one can play it.  Now don't get me wrong, we all "play" it, but I don't think Tony's rendition of Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater counts as music.  So, we need to find a teacher for Sally.  This is on my list as soon as this episode we're writing is done, which should be mid- December.  Can't wait.  Til then, the main function of the piano is to put pictures on.  

truly extraordinary

Maggie's birthday is November 30, which is coming up and has inspired me to think about that day 12 years ago when she came into the world early, two months to be exact, and tiny, just 4 pounds 12 ounces.  With such a difficult labor, and then such a surprise entrance to the world, we were all a bit anxious ... was she going to be okay?  Um ... have you met Maggie?  She's better than okay, she's truly extraordinary.  And I don't say that lightly.  She is my daughter so of course I think she's gorgeous and smart and funny and all those good things, but she is more than that.  Mature beyond her years.  Deep.  As her teacher said to me in the parent teacher conference the other day, Maggie doesn't always speak up in class, but when she does, everyone listens because you know she has something to say.   

guitar recital

Maggie had her first recital last Sunday and she was great. She played Twinkle, but with such poise and soul, it made me want her to learn the basics fast so she can move onto the music she was meant to play.  She has such a beautiful voice and the heart of a poet, I hope she'll write and play her own music someday.  Anyway, when she does we can all look back and say it began in some random lecture hall at Cal Tech on 3 hours of sleep(she had a sleepover Saturday night with Mia and Madeline and they stayed up all night and watched the sunrise. I was asleep upstairs and mostly oblivious although I came down and yelled at them at 4 am which they apparently ignored.   As she explained to me the next day, they just wanted to see if they could do it.  They did. )

pretty in pink

I snuck back into Sally's room tonight after she was asleep to get a picture of all the competing pinks.  It's like an animal blending into her natural environment.  The only thing that isn't pink is her sweet little pillow that used to be white but is now gray and falling apart.  Oh how she loves her pillow and he's hanging in there god bless him(Sally has made it quite clear that pillow is a him).  

Guitar hero

Maggie started guitar lessons this fall and is loving it.  We didn't escape suzuki completely as that is the teaching method her guitar teacher uses, but since Maggie already knows the songs on violin, she's just blowing through them on guitar.  She has her first recital on Sunday.  Also, we just got Sally's piano yesterday (I'll post pictures later) and now we just need to find her a teacher.  She told me she prefers a girl with long hair.  Can you imagine me calling around, "Um, there's just one other question I have ... no it's not about your fees ... no it's not about your experience ...it's about your hair."  Hee hee.

Yes we can and Yes they did!

Tony took Maggie and Sally to Cleveland to volunteer for Obama. They went the Sunday before election day and stayed until Wednesday. They were there, in the battleground state of Ohio, to see history being made. Sally spent the time with her grandparents and cousins, but Maggie and Tony spent most of their time going door to door, leafletting houses and making sure people got out to vote. Maggie was a trooper and I'm so proud of her hard work. Here's a picture of them at the rally downtown where Springstein played and Obama spoke. It started to rain and my California girls were woefully unprepared for weather, but the rain didn't dampen their spirits or enthusiasm.