Pieces of Us

The Letter

   

    I walked into my room the other day to find a letter on my pillow.  I picked it up and looked at the colorful writing on the envelope.  My name artfully scrawled all over it. I was intrigued.  Who wouldn't be?

    The letter opened with a very typical, brown-nosing.

Dear ever-so- powerful and awesome mom,

     I knew this was going to be good and I wondered to myself what my two, clever, crafty teens were after. As I read down the letter I became increasingly impressed with the business-like manner in which the letter was written and the extreme attention to detail the two of them had gone to in order to hopefully be granted their request.  Below is a picture of the letter followed by a transcription.

 

Dear ever so powerful and awesome mom,

We (Maddy and Gabby) have been thinking a lot about summer lately; even though it is around five months away we end up talking about it. We were quite disappointed when you said we would not be able to go to camp this year, but we understand your decision and respect it. Maddy and I have found something else to go to- which is fun but less cost than a camp. It is called the Anime Expo in Los Angeles, June 26-July 3rd (or 2nd).

Katelyn and her mom told us about it and have agreed to drive us there if we go.  We hope to go 2 days, for it is what Mrs. Fiers was planning. It does cost money but Maddy and I are paying for our own tickets. We will be there most of the day so Maddy and I will pack our Bento Boxes for lunch.

I will be carrying my cellphone so as to be able to keep in touch with you. If you decide to let us go, one of the days you are there you can use these FREE LA ZOO tickets, so you can be in the area. You can have fun with one of the little kids while being close to us at the same time.

Mrs. Fiers will be with us the whole time. I will be texting you my blood sugars and anything else I need to tell you throughout the day. We each would be buying a two day ticket, so you wouldn't have to pay anything, including food and drinks.  We are paying for everything. 

We have looked into this a lot, and are very excited. We've put a lot of research into this to make sure everything would be in order. We really hope that you let us go and we love you very, very much!

XXXXXXXXOOOOOOOOOOO

Maddy and Gabby

                                                                                                     INFO

                                                                                                    Price: $50-65

                                                                                                    Zoo Tickets: Good for two people

                                                                                                    Times: Yet to be determined

                                                                                                    Website: http://www.anime-expo.org

                                                                                                    Location: L.A Convention Center

 

 

    How could anyone say no to all that planning and research.  It looks like they have done their job well.  I have two very excited girls who will be going to A-Ex and maybe meeting some of their Cosplay idols.  I don't even really know what that means but I do know that it will further their artictic talents. I'm so proud of my girls. 

 

Maddy's List

We'd been bugging Maddy for a Christmas list recently.  She finally obliged thrusting this list at us...

Day 2 of Birthday Week

Madeline Facts

 

• Technically the first born
• Born at 11:54 a.m.
• Weighed 6lbs 5oz
• Had a crush on Bob the tomato when she was just a baby.
• Has a baby blanket named "Baby"
• Has been nicknamed 'Monkey' since the day she was born.
• Could LipSync the theme song to Fresh Prince of Bel Air when she was just one.
• Attended Zoo Camp for three years.
• Used to call Gabby 'Dabby"
• Was on the Swim Team.
• Took Ballet and Tap.
• Loves Mythology and History
• Loves to read 
• Extremely talented in drawing Manga and Anime.
• Loves all things Japanese.
• Favorite band is Evanescence.
• Does not like to be girlified.
• Steals her moms clothes and shoes
• Softhearted and prankster all at the same time.
• Talks enthusiastically 1oo miles an hour.
• Can pick up things with her toes.
• Can wiggle her left ear.
• Takes Irish Dance lessons.
• Has taken acting classes and been in many plays.

I would like to direct your attention...

...to the widget on the right hand side of the page.  *sniff* *sniff*

    Yes, that's right.  We are in the final countdown to two teenage girls in the house.  I'm not sure how I feel about this.  Part excited, part loaded with trepidation.  I know that age is really just a number and they aren't going to magically change over night just because they turn 13.  In fact, they already changed a lot just in this past year.  One of them already merging into womanhood.

    The elder girls birthday is always the hardest on Mike.  He has a very hard time watching his first babies grow up. I know that it will be quite a ride and the start of  16 years of having teenagers in my house. (I think, if I did the math correctly) So for now I'm just going to grab hold and hang on!

Girls!

    I think the elder girls room is fast becoming our favorite girl hangout.  It's so bright and sunny in there, easily the brightest room in the whole house.  I often notice the girls congregating in there doing things like brushing each other's hair and drawing or sewing.  It's such a fun place.  I had to sneak attack with my camera and capture a moment.

 

 

Compromise and the Whiplash cd

    Compromise is an important aspect to learn, especially if you are an almost teen sharing a bedroom with your twin sister. My elder girls are about as different as night and day and that includes nearly everything including musical tastes. While they both have very eclectic taste in music- like thier mom and dad- they both have favorite artists and it will come as no surprise to anyone that they bands they love are on a completely different spectrum.

    So we come to a couple months ago.  We're on our way to the beach for the day, just me and the girls. It's time to pick a cd for the road.  I flip through a bunch of cd's they have burned from their itunes and I see one called 'The Katy/Amy cd.

"What's this one?" I ask.

"That's the Katy/Amy cd.  We made it because it has both our favorites on it and that way we don't fight over what to listen to in our room." said Maddy.

    "Ok.., " I thought, "Why not, let's give it a whirl."

    I popped it in and heard the angelic lilting voice of Amy Lee from Evanescence. Of course backed by the heavy rock feel that they are known for. It certainly is moody music putting the listener in an introspective place.  So we're driving, we're singing along.  The song ends.

And then....WHIPLASH.

    Katy Perry blasts on, and it's like we've entered another dimension.  Bouncy Bubblegum pop is now throwing our introspection into silly giddiness.  And this is how it goes.  On and On until we reach the beach.  Moody-Happy-Moody-Happy.

    It makes me giggle a little to myself because not only is this mish mash of music a lot like the emotions involved in raising pre-teens but it's a lot like the emotions involved in raising Maddy and Gabby who are two so very different people.

    Ah well...at least they have learned to compromise.  It's a crazy ride.

All About Camp- Part Two

     At the culmination of camp each year there is a dance.  Last year Gabby got asked to the dance by a boy.  Of course we all gave her heck for an entire year about it because that is what we do. *smile*  This year we teased her and Maddy relentlessly (and only half teasing) about NO boys.  It became a running joke.  Gabby informed us when she got back that the same boy from last year asked her to the dance this year. He walked up to her and said, "Hey, I think I recognize you.".  She said, "I don't know who you are." I think she broke his heart. Maybe I need to teach her to let people down gently!

   The girls also informed us that they were two of the only girls weearing one piece bathing suits.  I told them that that was just fine with me. They didn't seem to mind-especially Maddy, it's at places like camp where they see some of the differences in their lives and other kids lives.  Apparently this year there was a camper in their cabin with black hair extensions and she was going through the ear lobe stretching process (I'm too old to know the term for this). I'm not judgmental about things like this, most people know I went through my own 'finding myself' phase and had various periods of colored hair and shaved portions of my head. But the part I found interesting was at age 13, she had kept this from her parents. This information gives me an opportunity to talk with the girls and assure them that no matter what acrazy things they want to do to themselves, they can always talk to me about it.  I don't want them to ever feel like they have to hide things from me.  I am fully aware now that the girls, having almost entered teenagehood are going to head full force into the realm of 'finding themselves'.  I am so interested to see how that pans out and I am sure I will gain a whole new respect for my own mom.

 

All About Camp-Part One

  Today we made the 6 hour round trip drive to pick the girls up from camp.  I was one very excited mama to get my girls back and I immediately felt the planets realign the minute we were reunited. Just as expected I got back too seemingly taller more mature girls. Camp is such a great experience for them and while I spend hour upon hour sitting on their beds all week pining for them, I know that letting them go is the best possible choice for their development into young adults.

    I knew that they would be full of stories as soon as we were safely seatbelted into the van and sure enough I was right.  My favorite story so far is about the shooting range.  Apparently the shooting range is a brand new activity at Camp Conrad Chinnock.  Maddy and Gabby were thrilled because they both love target shooting.  Well as most readers of this blog know, both girls are very tiny. The counselor manning the range took one look at Gabby and said, "Well, you can try but I'm not sure you can lift it."  Gabby wasn't having any of that.  She butted the gun up against her shoulder and shot the target right off the bat. The counselor was quite stunned and impressed and Gabby loved telling us how she shocked the socks off of him.   Maddy also surprised everyone with her shooting skills as well.

One of the nights was Talent Show night and the girls performed an Irish Dance.  I was so excited to hear that they shared that talent with the whole camp.  They said that everyone screamed and cheered for them. I wish I could have seen it! Later one of the male counselors wanted to meet the girls who did the Irish Dance.  I thought that was pretty cute, they were almost famous. :)

I love these next pictures.  Those are my girls!

Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah...

    The girls are safely ensconced at camp right now and I keep hearing this song in my head...

 

Although I am really missing my girls I am so happy that they are so comfortable leaving home for a week and meeting new friends. They were very excited to find, when we arrived at camp, that they they were assigned to Cabin Five. Cabin Five is the 'haunted' cabin. No, it's not really haunted, but it's the furthest from the center of camp and as such is the source of all the camp ghost stories. Maddy was thrilled.

 They were also very excited to find that Haleigh and Brooke are their cabinmates again this year. Haleigh only lives about 30 minutes from us and the girls recently went to a party at her house. I love that camp has given them a friend close by that can commiserate with Gabby about life with diabetes. Brooke, like Maddy, does not have diabetes but gets to attend camp because her dad is one of the camp doctors.

 The girls have changed so much from last year. Here they are on their way into bass Pro Shops for our traditional pre-camp lunch last year.

 

And here they are this year:

 

 Last year the girls counseor was from England. Her name was Anna.  They do not have her as a counselor this year but I do hope that she is there and they can see her again.

Last Year:

 

 And here they are in Cabin Four last year:

 

Here is Gabby THIS year in Cabin Five. I love the llok of joy and excitement on her face.  She LOVES camp.

  Here is Maddy.  The cabins have two bunkrooms with a bathroom in the middle.  The girls are each on a separate side.

 Who else thinks these girls need to stop growing up!   Here are both girls, looking happy and ready to start camp.

 

  And last but not least, reunited with their friends Brooke and Haleigh.

 

 

  I can't wait until Saturday when I get to see them again.  Until then I will be hanging out in their room where I have been the last two days.

Counting Down

    It's almost here. The day we take the girls to Camp Conrad Chinnock.  I feel like I have put off helping them pack and plan until the last minute this year because I am really going to miss them. They are bothy full of excitment and have been making beaded bracelets for weeks to pass out to all of their friends new and old.  

    As much as I dread dropping them off at camp, I also look forward to it. It's a lot of fun as a mom to see their poise and maturity as I leave them and they head off to their cabin already talking excitedly with the cabinmates they have just met and bonding with their counselor. I wonder though if it's harder this year because they have matured so much in the past year. I am now fully convinced that the year between 12 and 13 is where the hugest maturation occurs in girls. They are both just so different this year from where they were last year.  Both physically and mentally.

    For us camp is not just about meeting friends and getting away for a vacation. This camp is important because it helps Gabby to be refreshed, to feel less alone and to learn new ways to cope with her diabetes. She comes home ready to take good care of herself.  Maddy learns so much too and for once gets to be the one who is different in the group. So, we will drop them off on Monday, we will say goodbye.  They will run off with their buddies and barely look back.  And I will watch them go knowing that they are well adjusted, happy young women who can get by without me for a week.  But I sure will miss them!