Sad Meal

Last night I took the kids for a rare meal - a Happy Meal at McDonald's.

JM: Will there be a toy?

Me: Yes, a toy comes in a happy meal.

JC: Unless it's a sad meal. A toy does not come in a sad meal.

Have I ever mentioned JC has a good sense of humor? In fact that was what her pre-school teacher said in her recent evaluation.

Not Acceptable

I think maybe JC is feeling a little "off". Maybe it's a new baby in the house or maybe the "Terrible Fours." Who knows, but JM suddenly got easier while JC who is normally so easy going got a little more difficult. So, I am attempting to carve out time with her. These days if I only have 2 kids with me that is considered one on one time.

So, yesterday I took the girls to the gym to play and I was going to walk outside on the trail with JE in the stroller. JC said she wanted to walk too. So JM played at the gym and JC came with me, so yes this had to count as one on one time! JE is pretty quiet so it works for now. JE is a good walker and kept up with me very well and even ran some! YAY Maybe I have a walking buddy! Or even a running buddy when I get back to that! JM tends to pick up and examine every rock so she is hard to walk with. So, the last thing JC wanted to do was feed the ducks the last bit of her granola bar. (Have no clue if that's bad for the ducks, but these ducks eat ANYTHING!)

As we are walking JC is talking about the ducks and this is what I hear:

"Those baby ducks are just running around and getting away from the Momma duck and crossing the street and that is NOT acceptable!"

Yes I am always amused when my kids say the things I say.

That night JC had a rough time going to bed. Poor thing just wants to be with me all the time and is a bit demanding. Sigh... Let it pass soon. I finally settled her down in her bed by cuddling with her for a bit and promising a little cooking of her choice the next day. So, a cooking adventure should be posted soon. :-)

The Things You Will Learn

JC to JE: Ok, I'll smile at you and then you smile at me. You learn to do that, then we'll work on letters.

Agave and Milking

JC is running from the camera. Her new thing, but what is so funny is her little beanie bears hidden in her shirt. They are "milking". They are her babies. Yeah you read that right. The girls also say I "milk" JE. It always feels good to use the same terms we use for cows.

I took these on my phone. This agave belongs to a neighbor and apparently once this spike grows out of the top it will bloom a flower then die. This is terribly sad news in my neighborhood as this plant is quite well known and in fact many of us have the "babies" in our yards. We had to go take a picture of it. We'll take another when it blooms.

Being Verbal

My JC has always been a verbal child. She formed complete and long sentences at 2 or earlier. I always say JM was her teacher. JM was constantly drilling her on words, ie. "Repeat after me". So, now I still have a verbal JC, which sometimes surprises people until they get to know her because she does start off quiet.

So, the cons of being a great talker? Using words you hear and not using them correctly. This is also the highlight of my day. And other times she just uses big words that sounds funny coming out of her tiny mouth. BUT, she uses them correctly!

JC: He didn't go to high school that day so he didn't learn how to ice skate. (I think high school sounded like "ice school.")

OR

JC: Don't swim out into the ocean too far, or you'll get stung by a jellybean!

Then we have the ever-logical JM. Hubby was quizzing her:

Hubby: When JC is 6, how old will you be?

JM: 8

Hubby: When JC is 12, how old will you be?

JM: 14

Hubby: When JC is 100, how old will you be?

JM: Dead. (Let me note here there was no pause and no change in her tone of voice.)

New Bear Friends

Mia sent the girls Peppermint and Spearmint (the red or green bears) and the girls got Halo and Valentina (middle bears) from the HEB safety fair. They love all their new bear friends. Especially JC who just loves stuffies right now, particularly small ones. One day she lost Valentina and sang a song all day to her to get her to come back!

Bear Clothes

I got some additional maternity clothes from someone who I lent some clothes to a while back and the girls were fascinated by my new "maternity clothes." I am unsure if they didn't hear me right or what, but they kept saying they were my "Bear Clothes." And it has stuck and they can't seem to call my clothes anything else. Suddenly I wear bear clothes now for the baby.

What Would You Do?

JC is very into telling me what she will let her kids do when she grows up. Is this a hint that she is not enjoying my child rearing techniques? She is not really overly defiant or anything so I think its funny that she is often verbalizing what life will be like with HER kids.

JC: When I grow up I will let my kids stay up as long as they want. (She doesn't complain about bed time) When I grow up I will let my kids eat chocolate chips anytime they want. (ok, that's a complaint) When I grow up I will let my kids do what they want. ( puh-lease, she often has a free run of the house) When I grow up I will not live with you. (We can agree on that.) JM, When you grow up will you let your kids do whatever they want? (I mean honestly this is a big deal to her!)

So anyway we have had a few conversations about how I love her so much and this is why I don't let her each chocolate chips all day as it is not healthy and could make her sick and she needs healthy foods. I said You will love your kids won't you? Do you want them to be sick? She did agree, it wouldn't be a good idea to let them eat chocolate chips all day, but they would be allowed to eat them with their dinner.

JM on the other hand is a Momma's girl! Not to say she isn't a Daddy's girl too though, just wants to be nearby. Really both of our kids don't seem to have favorites. They enjoy us both at different times and it workes out well. We are very different! So, JM instead fantasizes about the future this way..

JM: When I grow up I going to have 10 kids (or whatever HIGH number it is that week!) and we are going to live in Hawaii, and Mom and Dad will live next door to me and so will JC. We will all live close and work together. Dad will have to get a job there.

I like JM's plan! Sounds fun! And I love that she wants us to all be neighbors! What a dream from a grandma! Right!? Well, for me, I doubt hubby would get all that excited about all the grandkids running through the house and TOUCHING THE WALLS!! haha One day my kids are going to read that and laugh. Ha, I laugh now! Hubby..probably not. :-) Hmmm?

She's Growing Up

At dinner tonight I was asking JM about who she ate lunch with. She told me about a girl and a boy. The girl asked the boy to be her boyfriend. The boy asked the girl AND JM to be his girlfriends (Yes a Kindergartner player!) JM kind of laughed and she said "I told him I couldn't be his girlfriend!" Like that was a silly thought. What a change this child has made! :-) I hope she is always capable of saying NO!!!! haha We told her it was ok to say she'd be his friend.

*Last year JM periodically got caught up in deciding who she would marry at pre-school and felt she had to decide this immediately. I am so glad it sounds like she gets it now or at least gets that she's going to have to listen to mom on this one! May God always grant her a strong will on this one!

Oh and have I mentioned how totally delightful JM is? :-) I think I have. She obviously is my joy, but I am so proud of the choices she is making after school about how she acts with JC and I despite being a little tired. So polite and sweet and making an effort when I ask for help with something. She is just really growing up.

Sleepy Head

This morning Daddy cuddles JC and asks her how long she was in her bed last night. (She came back to our bed in the middle of the night and he took her back to hers at maybe 5 or 6 in the morning.)

She replies quite seriously: I don't know. I wasn't wearing my watch.

:-)

What I Overhear

Today I assisted with Children's Church today and heard this conversation:

Boy 1: Hey you live in Block House! (This is the name of a subdivision here.)

Boy 2: Yeah, I do!

JM: I live in a brick house!

(This still conversation still makes me giggle. She had no clue they were talking about a subdivision name. Later I decided to have a conversation about different building materials with her as our house is actually limestone. So we pointed out houses or fences that were wood, stone, metal, or brick.)

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What I heard in the car:

JM: Hey, JC, you thinking what I am thinking?!

JC: (shakes her head no, very solemn)

JM: Yes you are! I bet you're thinking what I'm thinking!

JC: What are you thinking? (still serious)

JM: I am thinking about how I want to go to that park with all the sand and build a big hole all around this island, then climb on top and build all these towers, that's what I am thinking about.

JC: That's not what I am thinking about. (still serious)

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Today in the house my hubby took down this wooden panel that goes above my window. I really didn't want him to take it down. I really liked it, but I guess he wanted to see what it would look like without the panel. So here is my conersaion with JM after hubby and I discussed the panel and he of course is acting like he's not putting it back.

JM: Oh no, what are we gonna do!?

Me: Well, hopefully Daddy will heed my warning. Do you think he'll heed my warning?

JM: No, I think he will 'cold' your warning.

Me: Cold my warning?

JM: Yes..(then she raises her hand up to her mouth like she's telling me a secret but still talking in her regular voice) ..That means he's not going to do what you want.

(What amused me about this conversation was that even though she was mis-hearing the word I was using and her word was then the opposite of the misheard word, she did understand the meaning of the original word and gave her word the opposite meaning of that original word..follow that?)

Hear, Hear

JC got tubes today and her adenoids removed. Been a crazy day. Up EARLY to get JC to surgery. Hubby came with us. JC was in super spirits. Very happy and giggly. All the doctors and nurses were quite nice. JC liked them all. The anesthesiologist said our JC was one of the easiest patients he's had..... Then she woke up after the surgery..poor thing. We were suddenly all villains. She was in a lot of pain and took a long time to fall asleep. She slept off and on through the day at home, still with some pain.

At one point this afternoon hubby asked her if it was fun... JC said, "No, I shoulda kicked that doctor!" Oh man..she still has to go to a follow up!

And where was JM in all this? She went to her first friend sleep-over so hubby and I could be with Jane! She went to S's house and had a blast. Apparently they were up til 11 and of course didn't really sleep in! Needless to say a 4 hour nap happened this afternoon!

I think my baby is on the mend and soon we will all be rested...

Hallelujah Comedy

JC: It would be neat if we had a little kid and named her Hallelujah. Then we could say, Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!


haha A little comedian is emerging.

This is the day the Lord hath made! Let us rejoice and be glad in it! I am!!!

V is for Vacation

This week was V for Vacation at school. I feel the need to document some special clothes once in a while. It's always funny to see what people wear as kids. I particularly think tube socks and short shorts are hilarious to look back on. Note on shoe style - we have a closed toe rule at school and in general I make the girls just wear tennis shoes to school - dresses or not. It's so much easier than having a shoe discussion and more comfy on the playground. I mention this in case later in life they think it looks dorky.

So JM had to bring something for Show and Tell, and this week the dress was it. Hubby and I got these dresses while on vacation - a cruise to Cozumel. I think this will be the last time JM can wear one though. Even as thin as she is, we could barely get it off over her hips. We probably won't try again. So sad. A dress to be missed. And of course she'll comment that she doesn't have one when JC gets to wear hers. Lets hope I won't be dealing with that comment. PS the girls are dancing in my class room after it's mostly put up for the day. Funny dancers.

And a JM smarty moment:

The girls have been wanting to learn our address. Once while we were out and about hubby offered this question so they'd see the value of knowing their address:

Hubby: What would you do if I let you out of the car right now and had a taxi cab some get you? How would you tell him to get you home? (Ok we had to explain what a taxi was first.)

JM: I'd tell him to follow you.

Uhh duh! If you don't know your address and we just dropped you off that would make sense - Follow that car!! ha That girl is quick on her feet! Since having this conversation I think both girls know their address, with city, but not zip code. Still working on the phone number though. I am teaching them all 10 digits.

Rainy Day Crafts

My kids are definitely guinea pigs for my class. Considering their age, it makes sense! It was raining so we tried new inside activities! Well first was an old one. I made Shamrock cookies for my class tomorrow to frost so the girls made some too. They made "USA" and some hearts and one shamrock. And yes we bake in dress up. See the ice skating cow? I couldn't resist taking a picture. I am freezing some cheap plastic animals for a future project. And the glass container is filled with rice and little characters. It's an "I Spy" container. You have to hunt for the items and try to find all of them in there. You can choose a theme like a color or letter of the alphabet. Now my problem with this is it's difficult to find a clear plastic container with a wide mouth for objects. And you don't want to pick a container too large or you have to use a lot of rice. Mine is a glass peanut jar which I will not be taking to school because I fear breaking glass!

And we made Cheerio necklaces today as well. Fine motor skills. :-) JC was into it as she wanted to eat off the necklace. JM was more into making jewelry with pipe cleaners without Cheerios. She is very into pipe cleaner creations in general. She actually has created a magnificent large butterfly from pipe cleaners.

But the picture of JM is actually becase we got a kick out of her hair. I took down her pigtail braids and she said "Oh it looks like you except my face is dirty!" (chili for dinner) JM is referring to a picture of me at 18 flying a kite with hubby. And she's right. My hair looked very long, full and kinky curls like this..although - mine was not from braids! ha

And the quote of the day-
JM: I think the wicked queen is inside your body.
note: Let's just say mom was NOT happy about some listening or lack of and the princess got sent to her room. I am sure she knows I enjoy a good comment about it! giggle

Little Juggler

JC: Mommy I am hungry. I want some crunchy things. (AKA whole wheat Chex cereal)

Mom: Wait a few minutes and I will get you some.

JC: No, NOW, My tummy is juggling!!!

Who's That Girl?

Last night I needed to clean up as we were having some friends over today. I asked JM and JC to clean the playroom while I straightened the kitchen. This means I'll be in there in a few minutes begging them to do something. I could hear JM saying to JC " Don't make me do this all myself!" My prediction is that JM won't do anything becasue JC won't help.

After a few minutes JM comes out and says she's done.. Really? I go check..It was SPOTLESS!!!!!!!!!! She'd put away everything in correct locations. I was floored. This never happens. JC exclaimed "And I didn't help at all!!" ha Yeah, JC you should be so proud.. But JM chirped up and said she helped a little then asked what else we needed to do. Who is this girl??

She then helped me put away all her clothes in drawers and assisted in giving JC jobs. Wow, I hope this cleaning child stays a while! I was SOO proud and she knew it. She got M&Ms as a treat and lots of hugs and spins around the room. I hope she truly understood what a great choice she made! I was beyond thrilled and was able to get more done since she did such a great job. Just praying that wasn't a one time thing!! It just MADE MY DAY!!!! Can you tell what makes me happy? I am definitely one of those people that love extra help around the house or appliances that help me clean easier as gifts. Hope my girls read this as they get older and think - HEY I know what to get my mom for the next holiday!! ha

Steamed and Other Tidbits

Things are happening. They are, honest. I just haven't taken many pictures this week.

I made steamed broccoli and snow peas and JM gobbled it up! How did I make her such a good eater? Actually I know what it is - I just keep offering and I don't give in to eating junk because they won't eat anything else. Believe me, if they are hungry they give in and eat the healthy stuff eventually. It is ok to go to bed hungry once in a while to get the point across!! JC is still working on it and I probably am more relaxed with her becasue she's my tiny tot, but she has healthy favorites too - like tomatoes. We all love oranges, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, scrambled eggs, beans and bananas but only when they ask for them! If you offer without them asking for it they won't eat bananas - so weird.

Last night JC found a little spring on the floor and said "I found a winky. It's a tiny winky."
I said "A winky? You mean a tiny slinky?" JC said "Yes a tiny slinky, tiny, just like me." I said "Who says you are tiny?" JC said "God made me tiny." I said "And he made you the perfect size!" I love when my kids know God made them special!!!! And JC is on the tiny side, but good grief it's part of what makes her SOOOOO stinkin' cute and gives me my daily laughs!!

JM is my growing beauty, of course. Full of drama. She can put on a show with practiced, realistic emotion! Of course what worries me is when she gives the doe-eyed looks to the boys and they go crawling after her...sheesh! And stinkin' smart that girl is!! :-) Definitely will be ready for Kindergarden in the fall academically! Why am I a bundle of nerves!!?

Oh and today JM told me a little factoid her teacher said and I said "Really? I didn't know that." JM said "Yes, it's true. Teachers know EVERYTHING!" In her eyes they also get to tell people what to do, so needless to say that is on her list of possible vocations.

Perfect Christmas Prayer

Alas, it's Christmas Day. My Family and Mia and Poppy's House. JM got the Mariposa Barbie she wanted!! She's flying it over mom's friend K. Cousin T got a lot of attention this year. JM loved being silly with him. And as usual my "younger" cousins, who are quickly becoming adults one by one, graciously worked on the gingerbread house with JM. JC took a nap at some point which is why I think she seems MIA in the pictures.

Who volunteered to say the prayer at Christmas lunch today? JM. This is an unusual request. Normally she only wants to hear me pray. But today she was full of grace and confidence and the saying about seeing God in the little things held true. I am not sure I remember every word exactly, but she stood still with her little hands crossed low in front of her, bowed her head and it went something like this:

"Dear Jesus...Thank you for this food. Help it to make us healthy....Thank you for the people. Help us to be nice to each other......Amen."

Perfect and Simple. What else did we really need to say on this special day? It was a perfect and simple gift God gave to us in Jesus. It's so funny and wonderful how children remind us of simple gifts that mean so much. And of course my children are wonderful gifts too!

Christmas Lists

JC has a very specific Christmas list this year:

1. Beef Jerky (She's never had it but thought it looked good. She LOVES pepperoni, so I bet she'll like it.)
2. 2 Barbies (Mia and an aunt have her covered!)
3. Polka dots all over her body..........hmmmmmm....... I think I am going to have her wake up with polka dot stickers all over her body. It's just too funny.

JM makes new additions I can't remember all the time. Always changing with whatever she sees that day she likes. She's actually super easy to please, so I am not worried. Everything interests her. Her main specific repeated request is Mariposa Barbie. My aunt has it covered! Yay! Good thing my kids can't read the blog to know what they are getting!