Homework with Daija – Sniff Sniff

April 6, 2009 – Monday 8:46 PM

So Daija has these little reading comprehension worksheets.  It’s usually a 4/5 sentence paragraph, followed by several questions.   Sniff, Sniff Bears like to eat. They can smell very well. Do not keep food in your tent. A bear might visit you. 1. What do bears like to do? SAMON 2.  What do bears do very well? SMELL 3.  What should not  be in your tent? SAMON

“I got lips”

originally posted November 4, 2005 – Friday 7:28 PM at “I got lips” – CURLYGURL’s MySpace Blog

So I sit down at the computer to get online, and Daija appears at my elbow and announces, “I got lips.”

My first thought… did Daija not know she had lips? My second thought as I turn in her direction… I need to start getting more sleep… she probably found some Potato Head Lips.

But no. What she found was this little vial of flavored lip gloss that was in the party bags passed out at the Halloween party at her daycare. She has found this little vial which I put out of reach (meaning either Tyler or Halle helped themselves to it and then left it somewhere in reach) and I am assuming without the assistance of a mirror, done a rather remarkable job of applying it to her lips. Unfortunately she also applied it to her fingernails; so I am sure my sofa inadvertently got an application as well. So here lies my baby (she’s 2 months shy of three so I can still call her my baby) on the couch watching an Elmo video, with Pretty in Pink shiny lips, one leg crossed over the other, as Elmo counts backwards.

I wonder how many dolls have Pretty in Pink lips now…

Interior Decorating?

Image via Wikipedia

Interior Decorating? – CURLYGURL’s MySpace Blog
So I go into Halle’s room tonight to say goodnight, and notice that there are several stuffed animals kinda strewn on the floor. Reggie is rather fond of stuffed toys, so this is a no-no. Since bedtime was running late, I wasn’t going to make an issue of it. Halle didn’t realize this. So as my gaze sweeps across the floor, she quickly offers, “I decorated my floor with animals.’ As I stood there, dazed and confused, she gestures to the other side of her bed… ‘See, I did that side too.’

God help me.

Reverse Psychology from a 2yo?

I think Daija tried to psychologize me Saturday night. She was fighting going to bed, and after about the third time I planted her but on the mattress, she was in there screaming ‘Mommy don’t turn on the light’. I listened, very carefully, and she was saying… don’t turn ON the light… not don’t turn OFF the light (which was already off).

I think she thought if she told me not to turn it on, I would just to spite her.

“Never”

Daddy’s Girl went through a phase (she seems to be leaving it since having left the YMCA) where she constantly told me no. I can’t stand that, but since the other two never told me no, I really had no idea what to do about it. Telling her not to tell me no, just resulted in her screaming NO.

One night, I think it was the third week in July cuz Wild Child wasn’t home yet, just after we got home, she told me no and I just wasn’t in the mood to hear it. I got nose to nose with her and gave her the finger lecture about telling me no. Went on to make dinner and whatnot. Later that evening when I went back to load the dishwasher, I noticed Daddy’s Girl cup was still on the table. She clears her own dishes, so I asked her to bring it to me so I could put it in the dishwasher.

That child crossed her arms, lowered her head and literally glowered at me and stated, with emphasis,

“Nevewr.”

My head spun and Princess stared at me open-mouthed… ‘Where did she get THAT word?” The entire rest of the night, every single time I asked Daddy’s Girl to do something, she responded the same way.

What could I do but try desperately not to laugh? I told her not to tell me no, and she didn’t.
Now it’s less confrontational… she crosses her arms and usually shakes her head and says ‘never, never’ in a petulant, I’m about to burst into tears voice.

“Not Coming”

Before the story, I gotta explain the ‘What’ rule. I cannot stand it when I call a child and he or she yells back ‘what’ in response. My (older) children know that if I wanted to come look for you, I would have. If I call you, it’s because I want to see you standing in front of me. So when I call your name, you call back that you are coming to confirm that you heard me as you begin to walk in my direction. If you do not acknowledge my summons, I can only assume that you have not heard me; therefore I will continue to call you until I see you in front of me. The longer and louder I have to call you, the more irritated I will be by the time I see you, and the less likely that things will go well for you at that time. If you cannot immediately come to see me, you must respond with a reason and an ETA (I’m in the potty, I’ll be there in a minute).

This was a few months ago, during the NBA playoffs. Ro and I were watching one of the sun’s games, and the kids were playing in their rooms. Daddy’s Girl had wandered into our bedroom, and Big Daddy called her.

Daddy’s Girl, come here.

Daddy’s Girl calls back. Big Daddy doesn’t quite catch it, and asks me what she said. I muttered ‘I dunno’ and looked at the game.

Daddy’s Girl, come here.

Daddy’s Girl calls back. Big Daddy asks me again what she said. I muttered ‘I dunno’ and kept my attention on the game.

Daddy’s Girl, come here!

Daddy’s Girl walks to our bedroom door and yells back, quite clearly…

“NOT coming!”

Too Big

I have a big picnic table in my kitchen right now… I have a booster chair attached for Daija cuz she’s still likely to slip off the bench and knock her jaw out of whack. Anyway, last night Daija announced “I sit by you, Mommy… I too big my chair”

It’d be nice if she decided she was too big for diapers and pull ups.

Kid-Speak: This is backwards & other news

 My little princess was cracking me up the other day. She was trying to tell me something and apparentl forgot the word ‘yesterday’ Halle: Mommy, do you remember… that day. The other day. Not today. Then in frustration, with wild hand gestures to indicate a reverse in time, she says ‘not THIS day… this is backwards’ It was just so funny to see her searching for the right word.

 

And then Daija just threw me for a LOOP before dinner tonight. The table was mostly set, and I asked the kids to grab cups and napkins while I changed out of my work clothes. I’m just finishing and Halle comes in to tell me that Daija poured milk in her cup and spilled some. Visions of a gallon of milk on the already semi-sticky floor prance in my head. As I walk into the kitchen, I say, ‘You guys can’t leave the milk down here where she can get it’, releived that there is only a fist sized puddle of milk on the table bench. Halle says, ‘We didn’t leave it there… she got it herself.’ THAT’S RIGHT! Daija, my 2 years and three week old munchkin, got herself a cup, got out a GALLON JUG (3/4 empty) of milk, and poured herself a glass, 3/4 full, and only spilled that little bit. I turned to go grab a towel, and see this same little munchkin pulling the step stool out from under the sink, and as she steps on to it (looking, I assume, for the dishcloth), she comments to me, ‘Mama, mess.’ I got the dishcloth for her and she took it and wiped up every drop. Isn’t she amazing?

And news on my little man… he got his report card home today (wonder where Halle’s is?) and He his grades are all 1/2’s (a/b’s) in the sections he gets graded work, and almost all S’s in the other areas (PE, Music, Library, citizenship, etc), with the exception of Art, where he got an E for excellent and ‘works to complete tasks’, where he got an I (a C equivalent). His teacher wrote a not that he had done very well this quarter and that she hoped her maternity leave wouldn’t be too big of a change for him. My heart was truly warmed by that, as well as the follow up conversation she and I had after the incident last week.

 

Oh, and I finally found all the paperwork I needed for that packet for the AZ Child Study Center, so I can drop that off hopefully tomorrow and get on their schedule for last this spring or early summer.

Queenie Mama for President

Tyler and I were just talking, and he said that if he could vote, he would vote for whoever was losing (my baby is so sensitive). I said that no matter what, he should always vote for the person who will do the best job for the country. Halle swung around in surprise, and said ‘mommy, you’re the best one for the job’, like Tyler and I were stupid for not having figure that out. Who wants to be my running mate? Sorry, Gabe, but Abe Lincoln, watch out. Halle just nominated her momma.

Magic Fog & Sky Spit

This morning there was this thick, heavy fog, which Halle has never seen before. It was so thick that I could only see about two houses ahead of me while driving this morning. She asked where it came from; I told her it was magic here for Halloween. Her eyes got sooo big. Which reminds me of when it rained last week; Daija doesn’t really remember the last time it rained. We were outside and some drops fell on her face, and she kept saying ‘eeeewwww’ and wiping her face; I think she thought she was getting spit on 🙂

Halle’ism

The kids are both away for summer visits with family; Tyler is with his dad in VA and Halle is with an aunt in MN. I got the kids on a 3-way call last night, and after a few minutes of conversation, Halle asks Tyler, ‘Can I talk to your dad?’ Joel gets on the phone, and Halle asks of him, ‘Are you being good to my brother?’

I’m telling you, this girl just cracks me up sometimes… She gets me on the phone, asks what did you do today? what are you going to do when we get off the phone? When she was at her dad’s and there weren’t any other kids, I swear she had me on the phone for close to an hour one or two nights, just with a million questions, ‘Is Daija bigger now?’

I got started school shopping and bought most of her uniform stuff last night; I am so excited about the jumper option; she’ll love them and there’s a chance her shirts will stay clean too!

A Princess & Wild Child’ism

Thursday, March 11, 2004 10:12 AM

The night before last we were getting the table ready for dinner, and Princess comments how she wants to be ‘a mom who cooks’ (Mommy blushes). As we get ready to eat, she is still lamenting that she is ready for this career *now*… and that she wants to be ‘bigger and bigger’ soon. Wild Child, with all the sage wisdom of his seven and a half years, turns to her and says, ‘Just be patient Princess… the years go by fast.’

Tyler on why God made mothers

One of the most interesting things I found in this little exercise is that Tyler refers to diety as either ‘They’ or ‘She’, but not as He. He’s a UU, no doubt about it 😉

•  Why did God make mothers?

So they can feed children, keep them safe, so they can, um, I don’t know what else.

• How did God make mothers?

 They created one, and then that one made more of them, and they created more mothers.

•  What ingredients are mothers made of?

Blood, skin, and bones.

• Why did God give you your mother and not some other mom?

Because She thought you were much nicer for a mother, instead of any other mother.

• What kind of little girl was your mom?

She was a cheerleader, and that’s all I know.

• What did mom need to know about dad before she married him?

I decided to just leave this one alone.

• Why did your mom marry your dad?

Same here.

• Who’s the boss at your house?

 Mommy.

• What’s the difference between moms and dads?

 That the mom is a girl and the daddy is a boy, and the mom grows long hair quicker than the boy does, and some fathers don’t have long hair… and fathers cut their hair more than girls do.

• What does your mom do in her spare time?

She plays games with us.

• What would it take to make your mom perfect?

Working with me on my homework, helping Halle with some stuff, and that’s it.

• If you could change one thing about your mom, what would it be?

 The trouble for me… the me trouble… she wouldn’t get me in trouble any more.

We’re getting settled in…

I can tell we’re starting to get settled in… in the early morning hours, before dawn, Halle got up and ventured through the entire house without turning on any lights to crawl in my bed. With the way the new house is set up, she’s actually at the farthest point from my room by foot; but as the crow flies, her wall and mine adjoin (which is why I put the girls there, so I’d be able to hear easier if one woke up crying or coughing). Halle’s pretty timid in the dark, so that was definitely as sign she’s feeling comfy!

Ya know what worries me though? When someone asks her about the house, that she’s going to say that she likes it and there are no bugs. She’s mentioned the lack of bugs a few times. At our other house, we had a problem when they broke ground on two new housing developments with crickets… and after the crickets came, the spiders came. Halle wouldn’t even use the downstairs bathroom! I can just see her saying that there are no bugs in our new house to someone at church, and it’s going to sound like we moved out of a roach infested slum!

Butt Burps – 2003

We stopped at FedEx yesterday. The kids were waiting while I was in line, which got to be pretty long. I finish up and walk over to where they are waiting, all happy and pleased that they have been, for the most part, waiting quietly and patiently. I announce it’s time to go. And then my sweet, sweet Princess announces, in a voice as clear as the Arizona sky,

Someone burped out their butt AND IT WASN’T ME!

Thu, 3 Apr 2003 07:57:17