They Are Watching Us

The six-year-old created her own laptop...complete with keyboard and Pinterest page.  She made sure that I noticed that she "pinned" a dancing heart in the upper left hand corner.

The Head Curtain

For the last month or so, the 6-year-old has been sleeping under an open umbrella, draped with blankets.  I figured it was just a phase. But when Christmas shopping adventures found our family in the local Bed, Bath and Beyond store, she made sure that I understood that she wanted a head curtain.  She was ecstatic when she opened a gift from her grandparents to find one with feathers...and thrilled when she arrived home today to find it in its proper place.  I love that she calls it a head curtain...that's way more descriptive than "canopy".

What Do They See?

I'm sitting at the 11-year-old's first Upward cheerleading practice, reading "The Help" on my Nook.  As practice approaches its end, I started to close my reader down when I see the drawing below.  It was composed by our 6-year-old and given to me as a gift...a portrait of her dad and I. As we look forward to celebrating our twentieth wedding anniversary this year, I am thankful that this is how my daughters see us.
P.S. Never mind the big panda staring from behind us.

Lessons From This Week

I learned from the four-year-old, who was chatting with her two four-year-old friends in the backseat of the car, that she is the smartest person in our family. I think she is on to the fact that I have no idea what I am doing. Hopefully, she doesn't tell the other family members.

I learned that my alarm clock will let me snooze for only one hour. Then it gives up on me ever getting out of bed.

And when you are really looking forward to something (for example...seeing your sister, parents and grandmother), time reeeeeeaaaaaalllllly drags along.

I Was Doing It Wrong All This Time

This morning I asked the four-year-old what she would like for breakfast.

"I don't know. Help me think."

So, I started offering suggestions based on what was available in the kitchen and how much effort I wanted to expend. She stopped me.

"You are supposed to do this when you think," modeling how one would gently rest their chin in their hand while thinking.

Wow! Now I know why great ideas escaped me, or never showed up, on such a frequent (almost chronic) basis. I wasn't always resting my chin in my hand when thinking. I wish I had had this info back in college when working on linear algebra or thermodynamics homework!

Kid's Eye

I love that the nine-year-old's term for spaghetti straps is "noodle handles".

It's the Little Things

Don't you love the little unexpected things in life that will bring about a celebration in your children? Never fails to make me smile.

The celebration early this afternoon was led by the four-year-old. I heard her run from one bathroom to the other, followed shortly by one of those breathy exclamations of "Yes!" (I even imagine a fist pump)...because she found a roll of toilet paper for the other bathroom...as if she has had many a TP crisis in her young bathroom-using career.

I share her jubilation because there was extra TP to be found.

Wouldn't it be great if everyone was so easy to please?

Kid's Eye

Out of the blue, the four-year-old yelled "HOTDOG!"




It was actually the lifeboat on a Great Lakes Freighter that is now a museum in Sault St. Marie. Of all the things on the giant ship that could capture one's eye...and we had just finished lunch.

Kid's Eye

Heading up north at that time of day when the sun was sitting just low enough that it was flashing at us from behind the trees as we moved along the highway. The four-year-old, shielding her eyes, said "Mom! The sun is taking pictures of me!"

What WOULD That Look Like?

My 9-year-old often asks me if she can get her hair tie-dyed. This has been her term for a couple of years, so I think she just means colored or highlighted. While the answer for her remains "No"...I am curious what the literal interpretation of her term would look like...on someone else's 9-year-old.

Marching to the Beat of Her Own Drumming

The three-year-old has a toy laptop that does all kinds of activites...math...spelling...music. It was the music that caught my attention
yesterday.

Apparently, she can hit some combination of buttons and a song plays. As I was making dinner, I hear the tune of "Jimmy Cracked Corn" in the background. I suddenly realize that she is singing along with it, but she has lyrics of her own. It goes something like this...

Gimme that ball and I don't care;
Gimme that ball and I don't care;
Gimme that ball and I don't care;
Gimme that ball!

So...does anyone want to schedule a playdate?

With a Kid's Eye

I love how kids look at things. A couple of days ago, my 3-year-old pointed out to her aunt that she could still see the moon in the morning sky. She then commented that it was broken...because it was only a half-moon.

Rotted Lips...a story from Grandma

I just received this story from my mom. I laughed out loud! Enjoy!

"Tracey,

Just wanted you to know a conversation I had with Nicole and Rachael in church yesterday in case it comes back to pinch me.

This is not anything for you to act on except as information in case a question comes up.

Somehow, we got on the subject of dating and kissing boys. I told them they should never kiss any boy until their parents agree they are old enough to date because their lips will rot, fall off, and won't be able to ever wear lipstick. Rachael, with a very serious face, told me she would put her lipstick on her face surrounding her lips then.

She trumped my warning!!!

I had a hard time keeping a straight face and I did have to look away so she wouldn't see my grin!

Love,
Mom"