Movie Night Negotiations

It’s April Recess here and I’m listening to my girls negotiate for movie nights...  “I’ll watch a Harry Potter if you watch a Star Wars”. “Ok, but which Star Wars?”  “The Last Jedi - which Harry Potter?”  “The first one” “Nope - I just watched that in film class!” And on and on...  They found common ground on not watching Harry Potter Goblet of Fire — because no one cut their hair in that movie!

Third Time's a Charm

Sitting in the kitchen, chatting with my littlest girlie after school today and she tells me that she lost one of her favorite books at school.  She said one of her teachers helped her find it by saying, "Maybe it's over on the shelf over there."  My girl told me that while he said that, she looked over at the shelf, recognized her book and bookmark sticking out of it, and ran over to grab the book ad hug it!  She said then she ran out of the room (I believe to catch her bus).  I said, "Did you say thank you to your teacher?"  And she said, yes.  I said, "Did you?"  She said, yes.  I said, "Did you?"  And with a smile she said, "probably not!"  This has been a routine we have gone through since she was a toddler just learning to talk.  If I knew the answer to a question (which I usually do -- she thinks moms are magical and all-knowing -- that will likely change when she is a teenager), I would ask her, she would decline, I'd ask two more times and finally she would 'fess up to whatever it was!  (It used to be, "did you brush your teeth?" or "did you feed the dog...")  In my experience with her, it's usually forgetfulness on her part and the first two questions give her a few moments to gather her thoughts.  I find it cute because it reminds me of when she was a little, little girl!

First Day of School!

Holding up the "stop" sign!

Today is the first day of school!  (We start early here...)  My girls are off to 5th and 10th grades this year!  Where did the time go?  My youngest is now in the middle school, so Mommy will not be invited to help out in class any more!  (Sniff, sniff -- I really loved that!!)  And, they ride the bus together as the middle school and high school share the buses.  Of course, they have already stated they will not sit together -- they each have a friend they want to sit with.  Last year, I would wait in the driveway with my youngest and frequently walk her to the bus (our stop is at the end of our driveway).  This year, of course with her sharing the bus with her high school aged sister, I am watching from the door.  I did come out to take pictures of them on their first day, but it was suggested (by my eldest) that I not come too close.  My little one told me later that she would let me come within "hug distance" - bless her heart!

I hope this is the start of a wonderful year for both of them!

Mom-isms

My eldest came home from school and was excited to tell me about a conversation that took place in math class today.  A friend asked "How many times do I need to sing "Satisfied" from Hamilton before this class is over?" Another friend asked, "How long is that song?" 5 minutes.  "Then you need to sing it 7 times."  My daughter shared with them (likely as a "fun fact" as she says to us at home all of the time...) that when she was little her mother (me) would tell her how long things were in terms of a Disney show (something she could relate to).  How long until we get to Grandma's house?  "Two Hannah Montana's" or "Two Kim Possible's."  Her singing friend said, "My mom used to do that too!!"  My girl was then reminded me about her school trip to Washington DC last year, and how a friend of her's said, "I don't have to go to the bathroom, but I'm going to try before we leave, like my mother always tells me I should!"  And of course, my girl said, "My mom tells me that ALL the time too!!"  She told me, "You know, I think all moms think alike!"  

Hey, at least my girl must be listening to me and absorbing some of these "pearls of wisdom"!  ;)  

Growing So Fast!

Where does the time go?  My girls are growing up so fast!  My eldest is a freshman in high school -- college is closer than my husband and I want to think about!  And my "baby" is in 4th grade, going into Middle School next year!  Our girls are pretty tall and are constantly outgrowing their clothes or shoes.  Thankfully, our eldest has probably stopped growing (don't tell her I said that -- she is about 5'10" and desperately wants to make it to 6'! ;) -- she's been in the same shoe size for a few years now (hooray!!), not so for the little one.  Today, she came home from school and because the weather was colder than it has been (I thought we were in Spring now, folks!) we had her wear a zip-up hoodie over a long sleeved shirt, a tank top and jeans.  The hoodie seems to be bordering on being too tight now, so when she got home I said, "Is that hoodie getting too tight?"  Yes.  "Are we done with it?"  Yes.  So I say, "Here" and hold out my hand and she takes the hoodie off and hands it to me.  Then as I watch her tug the sleeves of her shirt down, I say, "Is that shirt getting too tight?"  Yes.  "Are we done with that too?"  And she says, "Yes, but don't say 'Here' because I still need to WEAR this tonight!!"  

This took place in the dining room and she was probably having a flashback to this weekend when we were getting ready to go outside for a little picnic and I took the opportunity to have her try on last year's summer stuff to see what still fits.  Her sister and I were in her bedroom with her and I had the front window shade pulled down so drivers-by wouldn't catch the show of her changing.  She had me and her sister in hysterics putting on crazy mismatched outfits.  We had piles of clothes for "wear it around the house", "wear it in public" and "give away."  At one point we settled on a pair or shorts to wear outside and I found a shirt for her to wear with them.  I must have thought she was a quick change artist, because I pulled the window shade up just when she's standing in the middle of her room, one arm up in the air putting on deodorant, no shirt!  Up goes the blind and she yells, "HEY!"  and ran behind me to hide.  Her sister was laughing hysterically -- mostly because I didn't pull the shade back down!  I was too busy apologizing and laughing -- it was a funny sight!  Good thing our house is set back from the road!!  Anyway, we got through the pile of last year's shorts -- have to work on sorting through last year's shirts next -- I feel like we just cleaned out her clothes and now we are back at it again!  

Don't get me started on shoes... 

Not a Fan of Thunder!

It's a gray day here in New Hampshire, the kids are off of school this week, and we are just hanging out at home today after a busy week!  Earlier we heard a loud rumbling of thunder and my littlest cutie closed her eyes and said, "Please let it be loud elephants...  Please let it be loud elephants!"  Not a fan of thunder, but so cute!  (It was not loud elephants, it was thunder -- but just one or two rumbles and then it passed, much to her relief!)

Christmas Card Photo Outtakes

We have made it a tradition to send a photo card out as our annual Christmas card.  Some years I get a great idea and a great photo and I get the cards ordered and out early to mid-December.  Some years, we are lucky to get it all together before Christmas!  This was one of those years...  We have had no snow here and for some reason it has left me less than inspired for the Christmas card picture -- which is funny, because we almost never do an outdoor photo, so what does it matter if we have snow or not?  Anyway, last night I finally got a burst of energy and had the girls put something mildly holiday-ish on (red sweater, "Smile it's a snow day shirt", Santa hats) and set them up by the tree to get some pictures.  Here are some of the outtakes -- I did get some good ones and ordered the card online last night, so we're getting there!!

Nothing like a little holiday wrestling match for the Christmas card!

I was trying something -- did not look as good in reality!  And my eldest daughter looks like "Elf on a Shelf" here!

 Hope you have better luck with your cards!  :)

"A Law on Chores"

My 8-year-old came home with a "What's Your Opinion?" essay that she had to write in school regarding an article her class read about "A Law on Chores."  Apparently Spain might pass a law saying that kids have to do household chores and my daughter's class was supposed to write about their opinion on whether the United States should follow suit.  Here's my little darling's response:

"I don't think the US should pass the law for kids.  First, if the kids are doing chores what are the parents doing?  Second, kids need time for playing and other activities like going outside or going to the park.  Finally, some chores are too dangerous like dusting something that is glass that would hurt.  Those are three reasons why the US should not pass this law."

Now, she does make some valid points -- it is very important for kids to get outside for fresh air and exercise, and really, dusting glass can be very dangerous!  ;)  She lost me a little at "If kids are doing chores, what are the parents doing?"  Why, outside playing at the park!  ;) 

But in all honesty, I feel that chores are a good thing for kids -- at least simple, age-appropriate ones -- but I think this is something that parents should enforce, not the government -- in my opinion!  

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Mouse in the House!

Eeek!!  Yes, I actually made that noise the other day...  My youngest was playing in the playroom and ran to tell me that she saw something "with feet and a tail" run under the recliner in there...  My husband is at work and my eldest daughter was in her room with her door closed.  I called to her - my other brave helper when Daddy is not home! - and said, "Can you come here and help Mommy with something?"  She said, "Sure!  What is it?"  I said, "I think there's a mouse in the playroom!"  And she said, "Yeah, I'm going to stay in my room then!"  Sigh.  Should have seen that coming!  I went in with a broom and when it scurried by me I screamed like a little girl (or little boy, as my eldest used to say when she was younger -- so cute!)!  The dog went into attack mode - against the BROOM, not the MOUSE!  She really hates the broom - almost as much as she hates the vacuum!  The mouse went behind the Barbie house and I tried to be brave and shoo it out the door and out of the house, but no luck.  When it darted by me again -- about 2 inches of cuteness, I'll be honest -- I screamed again and decided it was best to seal off the room (close the glass slider) and never go in there again (until my husband came home and took care of it!)!  I called him at work and told him we needed to move again!  I am nothing if not totally cool under pressure... 

He forgot to bring mousetraps home (have a heart kind -- my littlest dolly did NOT want us to kill the mouse -- just get it out of her playroom!), so we left the door closed until the following night (last night).  Yesterday afternoon, while the dog was sleeping peacefully -- hard to believe her obnoxiously loud SNORING did not wake her up -- the mouse came out of hiding and was lying in a sunny patch of carpet in the playroom -- totally toying with me, I just know it!  I felt like I was at the zoo, because the door is glass and so I sat in the kitchen and watched the mouse like it was an exhibit.  It woke up and darted about here and there and eventually laid down in the middle of the carpet again.  My girls got home shortly after that and my eldest just shuddered as she walked by, but the youngest watched it and then informed me that she thought it was dying!  I think she noticed it's breathing slowing, and it did not move from that spot.  By the time my husband got home, we were certain that it was dead.  My little one was happy that it was out of her playroom (don't worry, she has not been in there yet -- I did a THOROUGH Lysol-ing, absolutely coated everything in there with Lysol but I wanted to wait until it dried and then go in and do a thorough vacuuming and dusting!!), but my sweet girl was sad that the little mouse had died.  We talked about it reminding us of Stuart Little because we are certain (mouse droppings...) that the little guy was hanging out in the second floor of her Barbie house!  (Lysol-ed!!!)

We are living in the country, essentially in a forest, in the mountains...  It's getting colder...  I'm afraid this will not be our last uninvited guest!  Ugh. 

Trying New Things - Breakfast Edition

The other day I was grocery shopping with my littlest one and I remembered that we were running out of the cereal that she seemed to like that week.  She's very particular about what she eats -- I hate to say that she is picky, because she eats a lot of different things, but she's very particular about what she wants for breakfast and lunch each day.  Some days she's all about pancakes, some days she wants a "big breakfix" as she calls it, with Daddy's omelets and sausage or bacon.  Sometimes she's in the mood for cinnamon rolls, sometimes she wants a peanut butter and banana sandwich, and sometimes she's on a kick with a specific cereal.  Even her cereal preferences vary greatly!  She likes everything from Lucky Charms to plain Cheerios (no sugar added -- I always needed sugar on those when I was a kid!) to Raisin Bran without the raisins!  I can't remember the cereal she was on last week, but I know we were running low so I asked if she wanted another box.  She said, "Let me see what they have" and began to browse through the cereal aisle.  She came back with Cinnamon Toast Crunch -- her older sister is a big cinnamon fan, but she herself does not usually gravitate toward cinnamon flavored things...  I said, "Really?  Are you sure?"  Yep, I'm sure.  "Have you TRIED it before?"  Oh yeah!  "And you liked it?"  Oh yeah!  "Ok, toss it in the cart."

This is always a struggle of mine -- when I think I know what my child likes and dislikes and they are insistent that I do not...  I hate to waste money on things they are not going to like -- I can't tell you how many times my poor husband has been stuck eating some bizarre "children's" yogurt that our youngest has insisted she will love!  She's famous for trying something and telling us that she likes it, but she's going to "save it for later."  That means she's never touching it again!  But I also hate to discourage my kids from trying new foods -- I've even used the argument, when trying to introduce something new that they are certain they will not like, "You should try it!  It could end up being your favorite thing and you don't know it yet!"  (Tried that with my eldest and oranges -- yep, not her favorite thing!) 

Anyway, I gave in and bought the Cinnamon Toast Crunch and the next morning I serve it to my girlie who, as I might have guessed, picked at it and didn't eat much.  The day after that, I asked what she wanted for breakfast and she asked for the cereal that she had been eating the week before (you know, the kind I tried to talk her into in the store's cereal aisle...).  I resigned myself to the fact that I was now eating the Cinnamon Toast Crunch for breakfast and poured myself a bowl.  As I sat with her eating the cereal, I discovered that it gets soggy really quickly -- I was not a fan!  I said this to her and she said, "I KNOW!"  And I said, "So WHY did you want to buy this cereal?"  And she said, "I have NO idea!"  Sigh...

What do you do in situations like this?  Do you give in against your better judgment and hope for the best, or do you hold your ground?

Too Funny!

My sweet little 6-year-old cracks me up!  When she was a baby she had a cute, plush butterfly play mat that has rattles, a flexible plastic mirror, and her name embroidered on the front.  The colors match her room and as with many things that Mommy had put away in her "special keepsake box" it has found it's way out and up to her bedroom.  This is currently living on the corner of her bed with some stuffed animals nesting on top.  Tonight at bedtime, she asked, "Can I sleep on this tonight?"  And I said, "No, honey - I don't think so - it's not very comfortable to sleep on."  And she said, "But I don't listen a lot, so I'll probably sleep on it anyway!"  That got her older sister laughing all the way across the hall in her bedroom.  She also gets a kick out of her little sister's new, frequent excuse when she does or says something that angers her 12-year-old sister, "But I'm 6, so I don't know any better!"  She must have heard that somewhere, but I swear it wasn't from me!  She does make my heart smile though! 

Out of the Mouths of Babes...

Our little 6-year-old just constantly keeps us in stitches...  Tonight's classic was "I'm buying lunch tomorrow!"  And my husband and I looked at her and said, "Oh really?"  And she said, "Yes, because it's Friday, and I always buy lunch on Friday!"  (Which is actually true, she does not like homemade pizza or most pizzeria pizza, but school pizza on Friday is apparently fabulous to her!)  So I said to my husband, "I have no cash on me."  And he said, "I have no cash."  And our daughter (who was sitting there holding Mabel, our dog) said, in a very dry tone, "Don't look at me!  I have lots of money in my piggy bank but I'm saving up for a CAT!" 

Good to know, apparently we're getting a cat!  And we need to run to the ATM...

Midnight Wake Up Call

So last night, I had a dream that my 6-year-old had climbed into bed with us in the middle of the night.  I groggily got up and went to the bathroom at about 3:30am and when I climbed back into bed, I found that it was not a dream, and there she was, all cozy in the middle of the bed!  As I was settling back in she said to me, "Mama, we never said the pledge at our Girl Scout meeting last week!"  (We got distracted with painting our hand-print ornaments as soon as the girls arrived, so that they would dry in time to use the Sharpies to decorate!)  So I said, "I know, Sweetie, we'll do it at next week's meeting."  And she said, "TWICE!"  Ok!  I guess she told me!  Apparently we are raising one super patriotic kid who wakes up in the middle of the night to scold me about the pledge!  Gotta love her enthusiasm, if not her timing!  ;)

"I Have a Question..."

The other night the 4 of us went to a special dinner for my dad -- he is the new Commander of our local Sail and Power Squadron this year, so this was their change of watch dinner/ceremony and he was all dressed up in his uniform and had to give a speech. It was pretty long and there were a number of speeches and different parts of the ceremony. My nearly 11-year-old was an angel, her 5-year-old sister was getting pretty wiggly, but still remarkably good, all things considered! Anyway, they had a rep from the Coast Guard there who spoke and then took questions at the end. My littlest girlie whispered to me, "I have a question for the guy!" and I said, "Really? What is your question?" And she said, "What's a sea horse?" Which totally cracked me up at that moment -- we refrained from asking, but I was impressed that it was a question about marine life and not kitties or rainbows or something!

I try so hard to write down these funny little things that my girls say -- to share with them and their children and to fondly remember when they were little! (I have a sweet picture that I took of the girls and their grandpa in his uniform, alas I am still having problems with my camera -- I can take pictures, I just can't get them off the camera!! Hoping Santa will help me resolve that issue!) :)

Adjusting to Kindergarten

The most depressing thing came in the mail today! Not a bill -- a BUS pass with my little baby's name on it! How is it possible that a big, yellow school bus thinks it's going to come to my house next week and whisk my precious, little baby off to school? (Isn't she the sweetest? That's her at this year's Laura Ingalls Wilder Day at the Genesee Country Village.) It's going to be an adjustment -- I hope I'm mature enough to handle it! ;) I'm taking the day off of work so that I can get her on the bus (with her older sister!) in the morning, cry my eyes out, and then get her off the bus at lunch time -- it's going to be a busy day! Wish us luck! (I'm sure she'll do great!)

Cute Kitty!

My little one is totally obsessed with cats these days. They are her favorite animal and she loves to pretend that she herself is a kitty cat. She is constantly meowing and purring (very realistically, I might add) and crawling around on the floor. She also likes to lie on her back and bat at things with her "paws." This morning after breakfast, she slipped on the tile floor and fell on her little behind. I said, "Oh Sweetie! Are you ok?" And she said, "I'm ok, I fell on my cat tail!"

Kids Say...

My four-year-old is so darn cute (as I am sure all four-year-old's are...) -- she is becoming fiercely independent and she got herself dressed for bed tonight and came downstairs to say, "Mommy, can you help me? This button took the other button's hole!" Darn buttons -- you have to watch them so closely -- they are sneaky like that! ;)

What's the Problem?

So, we have been doing so great with the potty-training (and by "we", I mean my youngest daughter...) -- within one week of her starting to go to the bathroom on the potty, she was out of pull-ups at night. And no accidents! She had one a couple of weeks ago when she was sick -- had nearly a 103 degree temp, so I chalked that up to the illness. Then two nights ago she had an accident -- when she woke up yesterday morning, she called me from her bed and said, "Mommy, I tinkled a little in my underwear, but I don't think it got on my bed!" Um, yeah, it did. It had already been a rough morning with her sister (big issue over wearing a camisole under her shirt -- she didn't want to, I wanted her to...) and so I was probably a little less patient than I normally am with my little one. I reminded her that I had tried to get her on the potty the night before (right before bedtime) and she had said she had just went and refused to try again. Well, last night she went right before bed, but again woke up this morning and had had an accident. I was getting ready for work and she was still in bed when I went to leave. I went in to kiss her goodbye and she was saying, "Hi Mommy, are you going on the computer now?" and I said, "No, I have to go to work, why do YOU want to go on the computer?" And she said, "No, I think YOU should go down and go on the computer." Finally I decided she was trying to get rid of me, so I went over and said, "Sweetie, did you tinkle in bed again?" Yes, she did. So I told her that it was ok and accidents happen and she doesn't have to be afraid to tell Mommy. So, we got up, changed, I said goodbye and passed her on to Daddy :) and I headed off to work. My husband and I were talking this afternoon and I said, "What are we going to do about the tinkle problem?" and he said, "Um, take the bottle of WATER away from her bed?" I knew she had a water bottle in there, but I didn't realize how much she's been drinking during the night!!

At dinner tonight, I mentioned to my little one what Daddy had said about the water. Her response? "But Mom, the water is not the problem! The TINKLE is the problem!!" That kid just slays me -- she is so funny! I did take the water away, so we'll see what happens tomorrow morning!

Watch that Slang!

So, we're lying low today -- Daddy is home sick from work and he and our eldest went to the doctor's this morning. He has a virus and she has, as we suspected, "swimmer's ear!" My little girlie and I are trying to stay healthy (although, obviously, swimmer's ear is not contagious...) and she was asking me what was wrong with Daddy. I said, "Well, his throat is sore and he has a little bug, he's a little sick today." About an hour or two later, she said to Daddy, "I'm sorry you don't feel good, Daddy! Mommy said you have a fly in you!" Apparently I need to be more specific and watch the slang! Gotta love hearing things from a child's perspective!

Rained Out at the Ball Game!

I have 6 people coming for dinner tonight, so instead of vacuuming, I thought I would post about what we did last night! Makes sense, right? :) Last night we went to "school night" with the Red Wings -- our local minor league baseball team. Our 9-year-old daughter's school was selling discounted tickets to the game and we thought it sounded like fun! Our littlest girl had never been to a baseball game before and we were all excited for a fun family night doing something a little out of the ordinary for us! We were excited, that is, until we parked, and then it started pouring ran as we walked to the stadium...

Some of us, myself and my little girlie, had a hard time recapturing that excitement, as we sat in the pouring rain for the better part of two hours. My other daughter was in her glory -- hanging out with her friends -- I don't know that she even really noticed the downpour! Halfway through the game (close to 9pm), she was ready to stay for the entire game and the fireworks that were supposed to take place at the end. My husband was on his way up from his 3rd or 4th trip to the concession stands -- he never did get anything for himself! -- and it started to pour again and he caught my eye from the bottom of the stairs. Without words, we were able to communicate that yes, we were all ready to go and the girls and I would meet him at the entrance to the concessions. That was a wordless exchange. Not the case with my 9-year-old and I... "IT'S TIME TO GO -- DADDY'S WAITING DOWNSTAIRS -- IT'S POURING -- LET'S GO!" "I have to say goodbye to my friends!" Ok, no problem. The little girlie and I start making our way down -- she's still saying goodbye. We call to her a few times -- she's oblivious to us -- still saying goodbye. We get to the entrance of the concession stands -- she does not look like she is joining us anytime soon! I take the stuff out of my husband's hands and he hikes back up to our seats to escort her down -- during that exchange, she apparently realized that we were no longer up there with her (we could see her the whole time -- she just could not see us), so that seemed to put a little spring in her step, and she quickly came back with her dad.

All in all, it was cold and wet, but my girl had a great time with her friends, we didn't melt in the rain, and we decided that this would be a lot of fun to try again on a dry night! Oh, and we also decided to make SURE that we always have umbrellas in the car!! (This is a picture of our girls standing next to a horse made entirely out of baseball gloves!)