Sibling Rivalry

Molly's obsession with brothers and sisters continued this weekend... when she announced that she has three brothers and four sisters... and Baby Humphrey too.  Then she started telling me their names (and I wrote them down, so as not to forget...)

"Zach... Jacob.... Kyle... Caleb..."

(Looking over my shoulder at my writing) "No, Mommy.  It's Kaleb with a K, not a C."

Thanks, Molly.

Then today, Molly ratted out all the brothers.

"Mommy, all the brothers said the S word."

(Mommy, acting as if she's never even heard a swear word in her life.)  "The S word?"

"You know, Mommy:  Stupid."

Yep, stupid.  That's EXACTLY the S word I was thinking of...

Here's Your Sign

Today was a much-deserved jammie day.  Molly was enjoying coloring at her desk while I cleaned the kitchen.

"Mommy?  Can you please write something for me?"

"Sure, sweetie.  What do you want me to write?"

The following photo captures exactly what Molly wanted me to write on the sign and precisely where she wanted to hang it.

Oh, you can't quite read it?  Here, let me zoom in for you...

(No idea where this phrase came from.  However, Molly then suggested I make a sign for myself.  It's not proudly displayed on my planner for work.)

Ghost Cookies

It's funny how little things can become family traditions that you cherish.  Sometimes, you try to make something a tradition... and it just doesn't stick.  Then there are other times when a simple little something becomes a prized memory that you can't wait to revisit each year.

Such is the case with the ghost cookie.

It all started with an adorable little ghost cookie cutter Grandmas found at a Hallmark store (of all places) many, MANY Halloweens ago.  She would make ghost cookies with her secret sugar cookie recipe, then we would frost the ghosts white and give them chocolate chip eyes.  I remember helping her retrieve the box of cookie cutters each year, digging in to find the ghost, helping roll out the dough - and getting covered with flour in the process.  It was great - and something I looked forward to each year.  Grandma would do this with her preschoolers every year - and it was always a great activity.

When Molly was invited to a friend's Halloween party, I volunteered to bring ghost cookies, thinking it would be fun for the kids to frost their own cookies at the party.  So, on my Friday off (with Aaron out of town and Molly at school) I baked. 

And baked...

And baked...

Four batches to be exact... or 50 ghosts and about 10 or so fall leaves. 

The cookies went over GREAT at the party.  The kids had a blast frosting them.  Molly loved helping give the instructions ("Chocolate chips for eyes!  Chocolate chips for eyes!").  And it was fun to share one of my most favorite family traditions with our friends...

A Day in the Life - October 17, 2009

About a week ago, I realized that today was going to be a BUSY day today.  A perfect storm of activities madness:  soccer game, ballet lesson, and a Halloween party.  All in one day.  Plus add to that a meeting with our financial planner.  Big fun.

(Normally, ballet is at 11... but this week, the soccer game was scheduled for 11.  Luckily, Molly's wonderful ballet teacher agreed to have class at noon... since three of the four girls wouldn't have been there otherwise!)

When I realized how nutty the day was going to be (that would be when Molly I and determined on the way to school that she would require no less than six costume changes for the day's events...) I thought it might be fun to take a photo every hour on the hour just to capture what our day was like.  Amazingly enough, I remembered to do it most of the day.

So here it is:  A Day in Our Life:

7:15 a.m.

What was really happening at 7:15 a.m.

And the posed version...

8:15 a.m.

On our way to the bagel store to have a little breakfast...

9:15 a.m.

Watching "Imagination Movers" on her MP3 player while Mommy and Daddy met with their financial planner at the bank.

(Funny side story: at the bank, we say your favorite barista from Starbucks.  Her name is Molly.  She - of course - remembered you immediately.  She's applying for colleges - Vanderbilt and Wash U.  Go, Molly!)

10:15 a.m.

Heading to the soccer field...

It was C O L D.

How cold?

Daddy dressed up like the Unibomber cold. 

11:15 a.m.

Game on!

12:15 a.m.

One snack and our first costume change later... and we've transformed from soccer player into ballerina...

1:15 p.m.

(Missed the photo here... eating lunch of homemade chili.  Mmmmmm.)

2:15 p.m.

Crash...

3:15 p.m.

Back up... costume on... ready to go party.

4:15 and 5:15 p.m.

Party pics!

6:15 p.m.

Reading with Daddy while Mommy makes dinner...

7:15 p.m.

Calling Grandpa to tell him "Get Well Soon!"  (Also doing sticker art, at the same time.)

8:15 p.m.

Bath time... last photo of the night.  What a way to end the day.

I'm Raising the Octo-Mom

Dearest Molly,

I'm sorry.  I love you very much.  However, there is one request that you currently have that I cannot fulfill:  giving you a little brother or sister. 

As anyone who knows you can attest, you REALLY want to be a big sister.  DESPERATELY.  Whenever you play with friends and their little siblings are around, you mother them so genuinely and sweetly, it's a little ridiculous.  I always imagined that my parents or Daddy's parents would bug encourage us to have more kids... but I never imagined the guilt trip would be from you.

Recent Big Sister Wannabe comments include:

- "Mommy, when am I going to be the big sister?"

- "Mommy, when are you going to have another baby?"

- "Mommy, why aren't you going to have another baby?"

- "Mommy, can I ask Aunt Melissa a favor?  Can she have another baby for us?"

- And my personal favorite, while sitting at the kitchen table:  "Mommy, don't you want to fill our table?  There's one seat empty."

 We started by telling you that we only wanted one baby.  You replied that you wanted a baby too.  Then we told you we only had room in our house for one baby, and that was you.  You quickly countered by promising to share your room with the baby.  (Rats.)  Lately, I've resorted to telling you that Mommy can't have another baby... and I'm hoping we can leave it at that for awhile.

I guess since we're not giving you a little brother or sister to play with, you decided to get creative.  For awhile, you would put Humphrey in your belly and pretend you were the mommy. (This was when you were younger and a lot of your friends' moms were expecting.) Then, you started refering to your stuffed friends as your brothers and sisters.  You started carrying Humphrey around as if he were a real baby -- and you carried him so kindly and gently it would break our hearts.

Then, this weekend, you informed me that you have three brothers and four sisters and Humphrey is the baby brother.  Now, every night, I get a report on what atrocities the brothers have committed against the sisters -- scratching them, breaking their Cinderella toys, teasing them...  Then I have to send the brothers to the time out area, while the girls and Baby Brother Humphrey go off to play.

I can't even wrap my head around how this will play out many, many, MANY years from now.  However, I do imagine that the guilt trip will start a little something like, "Well... since Mom never gave me ANY brothers or sisters... and I was an ONLY child..."
\
And I'll just smile... and say, "Hand me my grandbaby."

Love you, peanut.

What's a What?

Scene: Mommy tucking Molly into bed...

Molly:  Mommy, do I have a step-mom?

Mommy: (perplexed) Um... no, sweetie.

Molly:  Well, why not?  What is a step-mom anyway?

Mommy:  (searching for the right answer...)  Well, if something... um, well, happened to me and I wasn't here, and if Daddy got married, his wife would be your step-mom.

Molly:  So like when you're on a trip?

Mommy:  No.  If I wasn't here... for a long time.

Molly:  You mean like for 10 days?

Mommy:  Exactly.  Exactly right.  If I was gone for 10 days.

Splish Splash...

Molly gave Humphrey a bath...

The Greatest Gift of All

Sorry, Whitney... but I think that the greatest gift of ALLLLLLLLLLL for preschoolers is not love... (ok, that's good too.)  But the greatest gift of all is... a digital camera.

I'm serious.

Because you get photos like this...

And this...

Or this...

Aaron bought Molly her first digital camera -- a pink Fisher Price model -- right before her third birthday and the night before our first trip to Walt Disney World.  Ever since then, we've been enjoying photos from her point of view...

Molly's first Fisher-Price camera lasted two years.  We had just bought her a new pink V-Tech... and a couple months later, she won her fancy big girl camera.

These photos are priceless... and we love getting to see things from Molly's point of view.

Like Father, Like Daughter

Halloween - And The Winner Is...

Butterfly.

Luckily, the wings from the original butterfly costume (which still decorate Molly's room) still fit.  And Molly sweetalked Grandma into making her a new jumper for the butterfly costume. 

So, it's official - Molly will be flitting around on trick or treat night!

(Fingers crossed that this sticks... or Grandma will NOT be happy.)

The "P" Isn't for Paige, It's for "Propaganda"

Here are some recent pearls of wisdom Molly has shared with us:

While driving...
- "You really should have your lights on any time you drive... even if it's sunny out.  It's safter.

- "You shouldn't call or text while driving... or anything like that."

At home...
- "When you wash your hands, you should sing the ABCs or Twinkle Twinkle Little Star twice."

In the garage, while Mommy and Daddy hang a cabinet...
- "Should I put out the safety cones?  It's important to be safe!"