Scene: Brooke and I sitting on the floor of Celeste and Emme's bedroom. Brooke is playing with a box of teeny tiny toys while I read a book one foot away from her. Every once in a while, Brooke waves a small object underneath my nose and announces what it is: "cup", "shoe", "umbrella". I acknowledge the doll accessories, look her in the eye, nod, and then go back to my book.
I am pulled out of my book when I hear her baby voice singing. "I love you, I love you, shhhh! I love you!".
I look down and I see her laying a pink velour Barbie blanket over two 1 and one half inch Bratz Babies which are lying on a six inch plastic Dora The Explorer bed.
"Here's your banket" She whispers in her two year-old voice. "Shhhh!"
The dolls are at the footboard side of the bed and are nearly slipping off the end as she draws the blanket over them. I contemplate flipping them around to the headboard side so that they don't risk falling off anymore.
Worried that Brooke will protest, I take my chance and carefully flip the bed over. I turn the dolls around. The Bratz babies are still facing the same direction, but the headboard can now stop them from falling off. Brooke watches me while quietly holding the "banket".
When the babies are safely positioned, heads on pink Dora pillows, Brooke once again places the blanket over them.
"Here's your banket", she coos. Then she makes and proves all my wishes true and sings her lullaby.
"I love you, I love you. Shhhhh! I love you!"
Monday, March 30, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
All Tangled Up
Late one evening, Celeste and I were quietly standing in front of the bathroom mirror. I was combing her wet hair after a bath. As I worked through the tangles, Celeste looked up at me and frowned.
"I wish I didn't have so many nerds." She said to me.
I wondered who she was talking about. Was she dealing with nerds at school? And who? All the kids in her class are pretty cool. Definitely not a nerd in the bunch.
"What nerds, sweetheart?" I asked.
"The nerds in my hair, Mom." She explained to me.
But her hair is clean and I haven't given her any Willy Wonka candy in a long time. I thought picturing the tiny fruity candy.
"Your hair?" I must have sounded like a... well, a Nerd.
"Yes, Mommy. The things in my head that tell me it hurts when you pull my hair."
"Ohhhhhh! Nerves!" I brilliantly figured it out.
"Yes! Nerves!" Celeste nodded.
We both smiled at each other.
Then Celeste frowned.
"Mommy, then what's a Nerd?"
"I wish I didn't have so many nerds." She said to me.
I wondered who she was talking about. Was she dealing with nerds at school? And who? All the kids in her class are pretty cool. Definitely not a nerd in the bunch.
"What nerds, sweetheart?" I asked.
"The nerds in my hair, Mom." She explained to me.
But her hair is clean and I haven't given her any Willy Wonka candy in a long time. I thought picturing the tiny fruity candy.
"Your hair?" I must have sounded like a... well, a Nerd.
"Yes, Mommy. The things in my head that tell me it hurts when you pull my hair."
"Ohhhhhh! Nerves!" I brilliantly figured it out.
"Yes! Nerves!" Celeste nodded.
We both smiled at each other.
Then Celeste frowned.
"Mommy, then what's a Nerd?"
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Breakfast is not just for Champions
Yesterday, my buddy Christa gave me a phone call. It went something like this:
Me: Hello?
Christa: Hi! How are you?
Me: Good!
Background: little kid, presumably Colin, talking to his mama about something. I can't tell what.
Christa to Colin: Just go. You're a big boy now. You can go by yourself.
Christa to me: He's potty trained now! But he wants me to help him go poop. I'll call you right back.
Me: Okay. I'll be here!
several minutes later...
Christa: Hi! It's me again! I just threw some Cocoa Puffs in the potty and he went poop on top of them.
Me (not sure I heard right and visualizing little brown cornballs floating in the commode): Did you just say you threw cereal into the toilet?
Christa: Yeah. I got the tip from one of the teachers at pre-school. I called them asking for help. Colin used to have a hard time going Number Two on his own. They told me to throw some Cheerios into the pot. Now he goes in seconds. It's fun for kids I guess. They like to poop on top of cereal!
Me (musing over Christa's wise choice of Cocoa Puffs and thinking that I need to potty train Brooke in a few weeks and not sure if it will work for girls, but definitely planning on giving it a go):
Cool! Thanks for the tip!
Me: Hello?
Christa: Hi! How are you?
Me: Good!
Background: little kid, presumably Colin, talking to his mama about something. I can't tell what.
Christa to Colin: Just go. You're a big boy now. You can go by yourself.
Christa to me: He's potty trained now! But he wants me to help him go poop. I'll call you right back.
Me: Okay. I'll be here!
several minutes later...
Christa: Hi! It's me again! I just threw some Cocoa Puffs in the potty and he went poop on top of them.
Me (not sure I heard right and visualizing little brown cornballs floating in the commode): Did you just say you threw cereal into the toilet?
Christa: Yeah. I got the tip from one of the teachers at pre-school. I called them asking for help. Colin used to have a hard time going Number Two on his own. They told me to throw some Cheerios into the pot. Now he goes in seconds. It's fun for kids I guess. They like to poop on top of cereal!
Me (musing over Christa's wise choice of Cocoa Puffs and thinking that I need to potty train Brooke in a few weeks and not sure if it will work for girls, but definitely planning on giving it a go):
Cool! Thanks for the tip!
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Orthopaedics
While I was cooking dinner this evening, Emme was drawing in her notebook. She would talk to me as she drew, making comments here and there and asking me questions. All was peaceful as Brooke was playing with her puzzles and Celeste was quietly doing her homework.
Once I had dinner simmering on the stove, I took a break and sat next to Emme on the family room sofa.
"Mom, I'm finished with my drawing" she informed me.
Emme has made some pretty fantastic drawings. I was eager to see what she had been so diligently working on.
"They are body parts." said Emme, explaining the different sizes and shapes she had drawn in a seemingly random disorder.
"Look. Here are the toes." She showed me 5 toes placed at the top of the page. To the left were the arms. The middle of the page featured a circle with another smaller, darker circle in the middle. There were some dashes on the top that looked disturbingly like hair.
"What's that?" I winced pointing to the encircled spot with speck marks on top. I was hoping it wasn't a breast or worse.
"Oh. That's an eye" said my Emme. I breathed a sigh of relief.
That's how the page was. There was a nice set of teeth, a pair of thighs. There were upper arms and lower arms, not necessarily next to each other. A few circles represented knees and elbows. There was even a neck. Pretty much every part of the skeletal system (covered in skin) that Emme could think of was there. The entire page was filled.
As I mulled over Emme's curious work, she looked up at me with big hazel eyes.
"I want to be a doctor, but not just a regular doctor." She announced this with alarming lucidity.
"What kind of doctor do you want to be?" I asked.
"The kind that fixes body parts. I want to fix broken body parts Mommy."
"Oh. That's called an Orthopedist. Is that what you want to be when you grow up?"
Emme looked natural, as if she heard that word all the time.
"Yes. That's exactly what I want to be. An Orthopedist."
Celeste had been listening the whole time.
"How about you Celeste?" I asked. "What do you want to be?"
"Oh, I haven't really thought about it yet Mommy. I think I want to stay home until I'm 41 and then find a man."
Cool.
Once I had dinner simmering on the stove, I took a break and sat next to Emme on the family room sofa.
"Mom, I'm finished with my drawing" she informed me.
Emme has made some pretty fantastic drawings. I was eager to see what she had been so diligently working on.
"They are body parts." said Emme, explaining the different sizes and shapes she had drawn in a seemingly random disorder.
"Look. Here are the toes." She showed me 5 toes placed at the top of the page. To the left were the arms. The middle of the page featured a circle with another smaller, darker circle in the middle. There were some dashes on the top that looked disturbingly like hair.
"What's that?" I winced pointing to the encircled spot with speck marks on top. I was hoping it wasn't a breast or worse.
"Oh. That's an eye" said my Emme. I breathed a sigh of relief.
That's how the page was. There was a nice set of teeth, a pair of thighs. There were upper arms and lower arms, not necessarily next to each other. A few circles represented knees and elbows. There was even a neck. Pretty much every part of the skeletal system (covered in skin) that Emme could think of was there. The entire page was filled.
As I mulled over Emme's curious work, she looked up at me with big hazel eyes.
"I want to be a doctor, but not just a regular doctor." She announced this with alarming lucidity.
"What kind of doctor do you want to be?" I asked.
"The kind that fixes body parts. I want to fix broken body parts Mommy."
"Oh. That's called an Orthopedist. Is that what you want to be when you grow up?"
Emme looked natural, as if she heard that word all the time.
"Yes. That's exactly what I want to be. An Orthopedist."
Celeste had been listening the whole time.
"How about you Celeste?" I asked. "What do you want to be?"
"Oh, I haven't really thought about it yet Mommy. I think I want to stay home until I'm 41 and then find a man."
Cool.
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