dear maggie,

it is not cool for you to wake up at 7:30 am, not nap, and then not fall asleep until 9:00 pm. children are not allowed to require less sleep than their mothers, no matter how much sleep their mothers require. i hope that you read this one day and thank me for my sacrifice.

that child! she spent half of today running around naked pretending to be chester. i managed to convince her for a while that chester has fur, so she should wear this furry vest we have and some brown velor pants. it worked for a while. mom left while she was still dressed and said she was going to tell herself that maggie would wear the outfit all day, even though she knew full well that maggie'd be naked again in no time. and she was. she stamped her foot and said "no! chester has skin!!" amazingly, she stays warm. i think it's all that running around.

nina is much more reasonable (unless she gets overtired, in which case she just cries. but even then, it's just crying, she doesn't sit there stamping her foot and insisting on something ridiculous). she's becoming such a good reader! she was reading one of her barbie early readers over the phone to erik, it was very cute. mrs. mellor is still sending her home with books, and she just tears through them. i'm so happy for her! i can't wait until she's able to read all of the great children's books that i loved as a kid.

not much else to report. i'm still sick. i'll go to bed soon, it's just nice to stay up for a few minutes after the kids are asleep and just veg out.