little things

taptaptap. It's 3am. I open my eyes to find Maggie inches away from my face, standing next to my bed.  Before I have a chance to respond she is climbing up the side of the bed and snuggling into the covers.  She whispers to me "mama, can you spoon me?"  aw.  And so the serving spoon snuggled up to the baby spoon. (where the baby spoon immediately drifted off to dreamland for the next 5 hours, and the serving spoon got her blankets kicked off and her pillow stolen)  She woke up promptly at 8 and rubbed her tired eyes. "Mama, sleeping with you is my favorite thing."  Me too baby.
Who needs sleep? Not this girl. (yawn)

why I had kids

so we used to have this "discussion" before we had kids:

me: but they are so cute! and I want one really BAD!

alan: they are so much work, and cry and are stinky!

me: (ignoring alan's brilliance and wisdom. as always) they have cute tiny outfits with MATCHING SOCKS!!

alan: blah blah (who cares, I think we all know I am getting a baby if I want one)

me: GAH! I can't live another day without a baby!!

alan: you are insane, this is a horrible idea!

me: you know you want one.

alan: well ok, maybe we could just adopt a teenager so they can cook and do chores.

etc, etc, etc. you get the picture.

So, as you probably figured out, we had a couple. They are really cute, and also, like, a billion times harder than I had predicted. (SURPRISE!)  Alan says things to me like: "extreme lack of foresight on your part."  Whatever Alan, who asked you anyway?
And then today happened.
Maggie just walked in and handed me this:

she just invented it. It is a strawberry, with the stem cut out and a dark chocolate kiss poked into the hole.  The only way it could have been better is if the hole was full of whipped cream vodka before the chocolate "cork" was put in. (but hey, I'm not a critic, and she's only 6, so...)
Lack of foresight Alan?! I think not. Lawyered!

ps, spellcheck doesn't like "foresight" and keeps recommending that I change it to foreskin. (although, technically still correct. Extreme lack of foreskin on my part. indeed.)  Who uses big words like that anyway? Sheesh. See what I have to put up with?! Good thing I have a good sense of humor. (and a personal chocoberry delivery service)

Profound

Today's wisdom is brought to you by Maggie (age 6):
"Every day is a tomorrow, even today is a tomorrow!"
Yes, Love, it is. Wow.
She followed it up by making a box turtle out of spaghetti noodles, lentils and pinto beans. (at the crafty summer camp that Layla is currently running in the kitchen.)  It's ok to be a little jealous. My kids are pretty awesome. (and they are available to rent, for the right price. Let's talk.)

"Tobin the box turtle" by Maggie

                      noodle turtle by Layla (craft camp director)

P is for poop

The end of the school year is upon us, and by the end of next month we will have gotten through our second year of home school!  The girls have their last classes this week (even though we are supposed to continue lessons through June), and Maggie had her last day of kindergarten yesterday.
When we got home Layla spent the afternoon painting printer paper with black paint, and made Maggie a graduation cap, along with an award certificate for her big day.  Maggie wore the cap (once it was dry) and they had a little parade around the living room while humming pomp and circumstance. Very appropriate. (which is new for us. ha)

At long last I got my hot little hands on Maggie's alphabet book, which she has been working on all year. It is amazing (I may be biased, but probably I'm not, and my baby is a prodigy) and I am thrilled to finally get to call it my own!  (you may remember it from this post) The holy grail of kindergarten projects is now mine. I am one happy lady.

P is also for proud, which is how I feel about my girls.  We have made it through another year, and we are all still pretty much intact. I think a pizza party is in order. (with beer. for me.)

and now, because I love you, and it was too good to keep all to myself:

My new favorite thing. 

Q is for Queen

official "you have graduated!" certificate,
 and home made graduate's cap (with tassel). priceless.

adventures in kindergarten

yesterday I was helping out in Maggie's kindergarten class, and they were learning about the letter "P". Each child has a laminated alphabet book that they have been working in since the beginning of the year, and each day they add a new letter or two to the pages. The kids were adding Ps and Rs to the book, along with a picture for each. I was circulating with stickers to encourage their work, so I would stop at each child, check their letters, and ask about their drawings. There were pandas, pencils, parrots and puppies, very strong work. Finally I made my way back to my little sweetie, her Ps were top shelf, I couldn't help but feel a little proud. Then I wanted to compliment her picture but I couldn't quite tell what it was. Trying to be delicate and supportive I said "Mags, I LOVE your drawing, what is happening in it?" She looked up at me, smiled sweetly and said "it's me POOPING!" and started cracking up. "Um, I'm not quite sure that is appropriate hun, for your alphabet book, could you please draw another "P" thing so we can write it on the line under the picture?" Without missing a beat, she picked up her pencil and drew herself some "paper". Indeed.

cutie

this is a quicky. (some days call for those)
This morning the girls watched a movie called Ponyo. It is about a little girl that turns into a goldfish (or the other way around, can't quite remember). Anyway there is a song at the end and it goes "Ponyo, ponyo, ponyo, magic set's you free;
oh she's a little girl with a round tummy". Maggie was skipping around all morning singing it to herself. About the 47th time through she started giggling and said, "hey! she's just like me! I have a round tummy!" and she gave her cute belly a little rub.
Man, I love that girl, she gives me hope that I am doing something right.

apples and oranges

this is the back seat conversation that took place today. I had told the girls that they needed to be quiet and on good behaviour since we were in stop and go, Friday traffic and I was feeling kind of stressed out.
Mags: random loud chattering
Layla "Maggie! you need to be more quiet, that yelling is very dangerous!"
Maggie "Listen here, I'll tell you what's dangerous, a pet bear, now that would be dangerous!!"

Well, you can't really argue with that now can you?
Have I told you lately that I love these girls?

tell me more

Kids say the coolest things. Layla is old enough now to have a pretty good filter, so what she says is usually pretty acceptable for general consumption. Maggie on the other hand, is another story all together. She comes up with the very best, mind blowing realizations, and has no filter whatsoever. The cool thing about her though, is that even if she had one, I am pretty sure she would ignore it. (wonder where she gets that?)
Today we made deviled eggs (why are they called that?!) and Maggie proclaimed them to be better than lollipops. This is a pretty big deal, it is like if I said they were better than chocolate. She loves lollipops. Tomorrow she won't like them anymore, but today, they were the best thing ever.
Today she also came and snuggled up in my lap and started asking questions about Pluto. (the former planet) She wanted to know where it went, why it's not a planet anymore if it used to be, (hey, I think we ALL want to know that one) and if it was farther away than the moon. I told her it was even farther away than the moon and she said "good. then I love you all the way to Pluto and back, since the moon isn't far enough!" Sweetie girl.
then she followed up our "moment" with some poop jokes. nice. Gotta love a 4 year old.

ps-update today: she just called from the bathroom "MOM! is poop made out of oranges and milk and sandwiches and candy and donuts?" didn't wait for an answer and went straight into singing the alphabet song at top volume. Am I supposed to be able to keep up?

you do what you gotta do

Layla has had a loose tooth for a very long time. It is in the front(ish), on the top and has been sticking out straight as long as I can remember. I don't like it. At all. But for some reason lately it has been driving me mad. It's her face, her tooth, her problem biting hard stuff, why would I care? (great question. OCD? PMS? Who knows?)
Anyway, I have been "encouraging" her to yank it out lately since it is so loose. Today she decided it was time, and asked me to pull it out for her. Now I am not new, and have played this tooth pulling game before. She lets me grab it, I pull, and she freaks and yells and runs away. Not fun. I am not playing. "PLEEEEEEEEASE mama?!" "Nope, sorry, as much as I would like to see that sucker gone, I am not interested in participating. Your dad will be home soon."
Maggie is standing by, listening to the whole exchange, and pipes in, "I'll do it Layla!" (I laugh a little on the inside at this, since it is funny, and also since I think that there is NO way Layla will even consider this offer) I don't even know if Layla said yes, but since she didn't hear a "NO", Maggie gets a stool so she was level with Layla, and next thing I know has grabbed Layla by the face and is doing her best to yank that tooth out of her mouth!
She gave it a tug. Nothing. She gave it another, harder tug. She felt it move a little. After a few of these it starts bleeding. (I am sure now that this will be the end of it) Layla starts to squirm, so Maggie starts to talk her through it. "this tooth is ready Layla-Please BE STILL!" then "I almost had it that time, I'm sure!"
Layla is being a real champ about the whole thing and I am absolutely no help at all since I am just distracting them with my loud laughing and camera flash. (moms are so annoying sometimes!)
Maggie is really professional, and is keeping at it with determination. (I surely would have thrown in the towel by now, she obviously doesn't have the same fear of hurting Layla that I do) Layla starts to get more and more restless, so Maggie's distraction technique is getting more impressive. She is now helping Layla plan what she will do with the untold wealth she will surely be getting from the tooth fairy for this wonderful tooth. (Strong work by the way, I almost wanted her to pull some of mine, mama needs a vacation!)
Finally Layla has had enough. She yells at Maggie to "STOP!" Maggie giggles and opens her hand to reveal a tooth in her palm! Layla looked completely shocked, Maggie was so proud. It was a great show.
I wonder if tomorrow, after the tooth has been cashed, Maggie will ask for her cut?
Anyway, today, my stomach hurts from laughing, and my back hurts from life, but I will go to bed happy. These kids are a handful, but they are great, and they make me laugh-every-single-day. (also possibly Mags will be a dentist and pay for a real nice old folks home for me and Alan-you never know)