Dad's day

Thanks to my husband for being such a terrific father. Thanks to my mom for this photo. And thanks to photo editing which allowed me to crop myself right out of the picture.

Hope all the dads out there had a Happy Father's Day!

Duet

I posted this picture from late last summer for two reasons: One, I don't have a camera anymore and until dollar bills start growing in my garden, I won't be getting a new one any time soon, but I wanted to post some kind of picture of the kids. Two, this served a good reminder that sometimes my kids get along really well. Sometimes.

Today was a mixed bag. They only had one little incident, but it was after a long day of other assorted headaches and it did not help things much. I have to give them credit, though, because earlier today when we were at the grocery store their baby sister would not let me put her in the grocery cart seat without screaming bloody murder (turns out she had a diaper rash which she has never had before and I wouldn't have even suspected it in a million years- explains of course why she did not want to sit down) and so I had to carry her, slung on my hip through the entire shopping trip. I am just now getting the feeling back in my arm. Anyway, I was ready to walk out of the store, but David really wanted to get groceries (he is a snack-a-holic and we were running desperately low on anything remotely appealing to snack on) so he said, "No, we can do this. I will push the cart while you hold Isobel. You just tell me what you need and I will put it in the cart, ok?" and Sofia chimes in with, "Yeah, I'll help push the cart!" And so David picked out some nice steak for dinner, selected some juice and they both worked together to maneuver the cart around the store. They did everything they said they would. For about 10 minutes or so.

But hey, that 10 minutes made all the difference in the world. Isobel calmed down a bit and we got most of what we needed pretty quickly. Of course by the end of the trip they were nearly running down poor old ladies in the canned goods aisles, but God bless 'em. It's just nice to know that they can come through in a pinch.

My kid the carnivore

Little kids are weird. And sometimes they say creepy, weird little things.

Kids have a tough job. There is so much information for them to process, so many mysteries to unravel (or let remain mysteries) and all the while trying to communicate their thoughts and feelings to others in a manner that grooves with societal expectations. And sometimes it's good to use your parents as a sounding board before you go sharing all your reflections with the rest of the world.

Me to Sofia, as I put her down for her nap, trying to explain why she cannot hit her brother after an earlier altercation: It's ok to feel angry and frustrated sometimes. Everyone gets mad and sometimes we want to just hit, but we can't. It's not ok to hurt other people and it doesn't help anything. You didn't really hurt him this time, but you could have.

Sofia: Well, it's not the worst thing I could have done.

Me: No, it's not the worst thing you could have done, but it's still not alright.

Sofia: Like, I could have bit him really hard and taken a big bite out of him. That would have been bad.

Me: Yes, that would have been very bad. I'm glad you didn't do that.

Sofia: Yeah, because I don't think I could have even bit through him. It would have been too tough to eat it.

Me: Right. Skin is very tough.

Sofia: And then I would have to eat his blood and I don't think I would like to eat his blood. She pauses for a moment and scrunches up her face. Is blood red?

Me, trying to back out of the bedroom: Uh, yes, blood is red.

Sofia, making an disgusted face: I would be like, "Blech, Bleaaahhh!!! Urugh!" She makes a spitting sound.

Me: Right. That would be really gross. Don't ever try to eat another person.

Sofia: I'm a kitty! MREEEOOOWWW! She licks her kitty paws.

Me: Have a good nap, kitty. I'm just going to shut this door, then.

Something to nosh on

Like to do a little creative writing but don't have the time to complete a novel? Or even a whole short story? Heck, just want to put together a short chapter and still get to call yourself an author? Well look no further than ChapterBytes. A good friend and fellow blogger got a great idea for this collaborative writing project that should be a blast. Get in on it now while you can!

Now if you'll excuse me, I've got an assignment to complete...