I can't believe how grown up Flora acts now. Well.....most of the time. She still likes to dance around in her underwear and cry on the floor sometimes and crawl under the table if she's not a fan of dinner -- but then again, there are probably a lot of grown ups who do those things too.
ANYWAY.
Flora was sitting with me on the couch working on a project. Scout started yelling for her from his bedroom. He wanted her to come see a new level he had achieved in Angry Birds. He yelled and yelled and she ignored and ignored until she finally put down her project with a big sigh and bounced back to his room. A couple minutes later she returned to the couch and told me very matter-of-factly, "Well, two things just happened: First of all, Scout got to a new level. Second, I just wasted my time."
ALSO.
Flora told me yesterday that she and her friend Kivrin had started a secret club at school. "Uh-oh," I thought, "here comes the clique phase." But then I was really happy when she described her secret club, The Friendship Club, as a club where all the members get points for being nice to people or helping someone and they all try to get at least 10 points per day! Isn't that adorable!!?? So then she and Kylie (friend, neighbor, pseudo-sister) decided to make a poster for the club so that when it warms up she can go around the neighborhood asking kids if they want to join (again -- ADORABLE!). They finished a rough draft of the poster before it was time to leave for school and I laughed when I saw it in her room later. Along with the name of the club and some fun graphics, there were the words "STARRING FLORA AND KIVRIN" with the word "STARRING" crossed out and replaced by "HOSTS." Even in creating a club to help other people Flora can't help but cast herself as the star.
AND.
Flora's favorite word right now is "basically." She basically puts it in every sentence. Basically she just uses normal words except for "basically" and occasionally she'll throw in a "technically." Talking to Flora is basically like talking to a grown up now that she understands basically everything.
Friday, February 27, 2015
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
all the lunches....
Timber and I were sitting across from each other eating lunch today when I started thinking about all the lunches I've prepared for my kids. It's one of my least favorite "Mommy duties" and yet one that must be done every. single. day. So many lunches.....so very many lunches have been prepared over the past seven years.
I thought about lunches three years ago when Flora was 4, Scout was 3, and Timber was 1. Those lunches were repetitive but always very healthy. Lots of fruits and vegetables cut into tiny pieces for little fingers to put into little mouths. Always something from every food group crowded onto their small plates. There wasn't a lot of chatter but usually plenty of giggles and goofing off. Messy faces and messy hands. Half the food on their plates left untouched.
Lunches now are much quieter. On school days it's just me and T and we eat whatever we feel like eating that day. Sometimes we'll go out for lunch and sometimes we'll eat at home. Sometimes he wants yogurt and fruit snacks for lunch and sometimes I just shrug my shoulders and give him yogurt and fruit snacks. He talks nonstop about Angry Birds or he eats quietly while lost in thought about whatever has captured his little mind. Flora and Scout are eating their lunches in a noisy cafeteria surrounded by friends and classmates. Half the time I have no idea what they're eating for lunch....but I know they will come home starving.
And then I thought about what lunch will be like next year. Next year, Timber will be at preschool on Tuesdays and Thursdays so it will just. be. me. eating lunch. Maybe I will read a book and use a butter knife to hold the pages flat like I used to watch my Grandma do. Maybe I will meet friends for lunch or maybe I'll forget to eat lunch and just snack all day. It will be very quiet. We will all eat our lunches separately. And I felt sad about that.....but not unprepared. Because we've had our lunches. We've had years of lunches -- lunches with giggles, lunches with tears, lunches in front of the tv, lunches in the car, lunches with runny noses, lunches outside, lunches downstairs, lunches at the park, lunches at the zoo, lunches when it's raining, lunches when it's snowing, lunches in costume, lunches with friends, lunches with Daddy.....all those lunches.
All the lunches we've had together make me feel okay about all the lunches we won't have together. And so even though making lunch will never be one of my favorite responsibilities I'm glad that I've had the opportunity to spend so many lunches with my favorite little kiddos.
I thought about lunches three years ago when Flora was 4, Scout was 3, and Timber was 1. Those lunches were repetitive but always very healthy. Lots of fruits and vegetables cut into tiny pieces for little fingers to put into little mouths. Always something from every food group crowded onto their small plates. There wasn't a lot of chatter but usually plenty of giggles and goofing off. Messy faces and messy hands. Half the food on their plates left untouched.
Lunches now are much quieter. On school days it's just me and T and we eat whatever we feel like eating that day. Sometimes we'll go out for lunch and sometimes we'll eat at home. Sometimes he wants yogurt and fruit snacks for lunch and sometimes I just shrug my shoulders and give him yogurt and fruit snacks. He talks nonstop about Angry Birds or he eats quietly while lost in thought about whatever has captured his little mind. Flora and Scout are eating their lunches in a noisy cafeteria surrounded by friends and classmates. Half the time I have no idea what they're eating for lunch....but I know they will come home starving.
And then I thought about what lunch will be like next year. Next year, Timber will be at preschool on Tuesdays and Thursdays so it will just. be. me. eating lunch. Maybe I will read a book and use a butter knife to hold the pages flat like I used to watch my Grandma do. Maybe I will meet friends for lunch or maybe I'll forget to eat lunch and just snack all day. It will be very quiet. We will all eat our lunches separately. And I felt sad about that.....but not unprepared. Because we've had our lunches. We've had years of lunches -- lunches with giggles, lunches with tears, lunches in front of the tv, lunches in the car, lunches with runny noses, lunches outside, lunches downstairs, lunches at the park, lunches at the zoo, lunches when it's raining, lunches when it's snowing, lunches in costume, lunches with friends, lunches with Daddy.....all those lunches.
All the lunches we've had together make me feel okay about all the lunches we won't have together. And so even though making lunch will never be one of my favorite responsibilities I'm glad that I've had the opportunity to spend so many lunches with my favorite little kiddos.
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
pulling teeth
(Hi Sara! Lol....I think you're the only one who still checks this blog.)
;)
As "Mommy" I do a lot of gross jobs. I can handle puke and snot and all sorts of bathroom scenarios, but I've always drawn the line at pulling teeth. I never pulled my own teeth and I had no intention of pulling anyone else's either. In fact I told Chris early on that pulling teeth was totally his department.
So last night when Flora's front tooth was bleeding & dangling sideways in her mouth and Chris was gone for a few hours I faced my greatest hurdle as "Mommy" and asked her if she wanted me to pull it for her. She emphatically told me, "No, I don't want you to do it because you're not a professional." (Apparently Chris is the "professional" because "he's done it before.")
So Flora tried to pull it by herself.....unsuccessfully. And it started bleeding more.....and it was way after bedtime.....and I was afraid she would swallow it if it fell out during the night......so I took a deep breath and gave it a pull.
I screamed.....she screamed.....we were both very unprofessional. And also unsuccessful. So I put her to bed and said a prayer for the tooth to stay put until morning.
This morning she woke up early and Chris pulled her tooth very professionally and very uneventfully.
The moral of this story:
If you know you cannot pull teeth then don't try to pull teeth.
It's literally like pulling teeth.
;)
As "Mommy" I do a lot of gross jobs. I can handle puke and snot and all sorts of bathroom scenarios, but I've always drawn the line at pulling teeth. I never pulled my own teeth and I had no intention of pulling anyone else's either. In fact I told Chris early on that pulling teeth was totally his department.
So last night when Flora's front tooth was bleeding & dangling sideways in her mouth and Chris was gone for a few hours I faced my greatest hurdle as "Mommy" and asked her if she wanted me to pull it for her. She emphatically told me, "No, I don't want you to do it because you're not a professional." (Apparently Chris is the "professional" because "he's done it before.")
So Flora tried to pull it by herself.....unsuccessfully. And it started bleeding more.....and it was way after bedtime.....and I was afraid she would swallow it if it fell out during the night......so I took a deep breath and gave it a pull.
I screamed.....she screamed.....we were both very unprofessional. And also unsuccessful. So I put her to bed and said a prayer for the tooth to stay put until morning.
This morning she woke up early and Chris pulled her tooth very professionally and very uneventfully.
The moral of this story:
If you know you cannot pull teeth then don't try to pull teeth.
It's literally like pulling teeth.
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