Seventeen Again. . .And Still

Emma's teacher sent home a little sheet several weeks ago so that we can keep track of her reading. I am supposed to read to her 20 minutes a day. Sometimes we do well, sometimes we fall behind.

But, I decided awhile ago that the 20 minutes would go faster if I enjoyed the book, too, and so I started reading to her one of the first Nancy Drew mysteries: The Mystery of the Old Clock. This is truly an early, early Nancy Drew. There's no Ned, no Bess, no George. Just Nancy and her sleuthing.

And, oh! to be Nancy Drew for awhile! She has a housekeeper, Hannah, a doting father, a fast car, money to go out and buy dresses whenever she would like.

And she never ages! I do not think that I would like to be stuck at 17. But I would like to be stuck at an age where I had a housekeeper. And a fast car (sorry Odyssey!). And money for clothes. Stick me right there and leave me there for 80 years!

Learn Something New!

For the past couple of days I have been reading a book that takes place during World War II. It's a fiction account of three main characters, one in England and two in the United States, and so far it has been a good book.

In one section of the book, just quickly (it is fiction, after all) they discussed the rise of Hitler and his early propaganda speeches. Did you know that starting in the 30s when he was talking about the need to get rid of the Jews from "Homeland Germany" he suggested rounding them up to one location and relocating them just like the American Indian Reservations. He used the United States as a good example.

Just when you think that we're cool, you realize. . .we're not that cool.

A Little Thank You MIGHT Be In Order. . .

Sometimes in the middle of the night I will have brief night terrors. They come in one of three shapes. Sometimes I will be convinced that the ceiling fan has come loose and is heading straight for me! I'll wake up screaming and heading for cover.

Or, I'll be convinced that someone is in the room and wake up screaming "Who's here? There's someone in here!" (Garry's personal favorite).

Or I'll wake up screaming because some dresser drawers or a bookcase has tipped over and is heading my way!

The other night I woke up screaming because a bookcase was tipping over and was going to fall on us. Garry was not amused, especially considering we do not even have a bookcase in our bedroom.

But, here's the thing, when I woke I I was trying to shield him from the blow that was coming our way. And after the screaming stopped, did I get a "thank you?" No, which is just bad manners, I think.

You Have To Laugh

The other day Garry and I were watching a television show where the host was talking about grumpy old people.

He even had proof.

He said that infants laugh hundreds of times a day. (I'm not sure about that number -- maybe Molly is just a cranky young person) while people who were over age 50 only laughed 2-3 times a day.

I thought that the difference was kind of funny. I had to laugh. Which goes to show you how young I still am.

Evil Santa

I am a little concerned about this Christmas, and it's not even Halloween yet.

My children have decided, just like the little boy on The Christmas Story, that Santa Claus can be the way to get exactly what they want, no matter what Mom says.

For example, last week Emma told me that she was going to ask Santa for a trampoline. There's no way that a trampoline is in our Christmas budget, and I told her that I did not think that was going to happen, but she quickly told me, "Oh, don't worry, Mama, I'll just ask Santa. . ."

And then there's Macey. Through commercials she has discovered those Squinkies toys. They are tiny and would not survive a single vacuum pass of their room. I told Macey that they were too small and we were not getting them, and she said, "I'll just ask Santa."

I think I should explain to the girls about the Mommy Veto.

Little Conversations

I like to talk to Molly first thing in the morning because then I can discover what she has been thinking about all night, maybe even dreaming about. For a girl who is not yet two, she has a really good vocabulary and can generally express most of what she wants or most of what she wants to tell you.

This morning she told me about "the baby" (her name for Cousin Cameron who is her size) who has a swing. "Mama, baby swing. Baby swing."

Last Sunday Garry and I went downtown to watch conference and my in-laws were nice enough to watch all three girls. I guess they spent a lot of time on Cameron's swing, with Macey pushing and pushing a happy Molly.

Two days later, she's still thinking about it, still talking about it, which I think is amazing for a 22 month old. She has a little slide, but I guess it's just not good enough. Come on big tax return, baby wants a new swing!

Party Like It Was 2004!

Since October 5, 2009, Emma has been planning her 6th birthday party. Oh my! She loves, loves birthdays! I talked to her primary teacher who affirmed that it was a favorite topic on Sundays. She told me that she hoped I had something great planned because Emma has been looking forward to this day and planning this day and INVITING friends for months! We decided to hold the party at Black Diamond Sports Center, where Emma attends gymnastics three times a week. They had three coaches who let them play on all of the equipment. They did floor games, went through obstacle courses, had foam fights, ran into foam pits, got thrown into foam pits and jumped and jumped and jumped!

Here's all ten girls chilling in the foam pit!

Then we moved over to the party room for cake, ice cream, and presents.

Here's Emma opening her first present -- a Polar Bear Pillowpet from Grammy. It's all that she wanted, and she was so excited!

More partying is to come with the family party on Monday evening. Can you believe that she is 6!!!???!!!