Three Card Bella

My four year old can pretty much con her way into anything these days. It is hard to resist the batting eyelashes, sweet-as-pie smile and the hilarious way she words her devious requests. For example:

It has been 90+ degrees for about a week now in Denver. It's HOT!

"Mommy, I am SO hot! If I have a drink, like milk or juice, I will still be hot. BUT, if I have a nice frozen Popsicle, then I will be very cool." (she is sheepishly grinning and twirling her dress from side to side). Irresistible! I think we have eaten a dozen Popsicles each in the last 4 days.

"Mommy, I LOVE you SO much!" (climbs up on my lap and gives me a kiss) "We should have chocolate chip cookies."

"Mommy, I like your new shoes. They are very beautiful!" (you know you can get anything out of Mommy if you talk about shoes!) "You should wear them to Target and we can get a new Princess doll."

She's a con-woman. And with her charm and wit, I am sure there'll be many more chocolate treats, new toys and Popsicles in her future. But as long as she makes me smile and laugh, I am sure I will give in just that easily. Better than a temper tantrum any day.

The Next Phil Rizzuto?

The other day Bella & I were at the post office when she noticed a new baseball stamp display set out on a table. She took one of the cards and when we got in the car, she was looking it over. I asked her what it said to which she replied in her best baseball announcer voice, "It says...Derek Jeter's baseball game. Boooo Red Sox! The Yankees beat the Twins in Minnesota. Go Yankees!"

(Daddy's really got her trained well!)

???

I am not sure what to title this one....the road rash, the bruise and the band-aid mark, mixed with the feathery high heels...

"Ma'OhNo!' Blahnik", "Cicatrix in the City", "The Scarred and the Beautiful"... any suggestions?

Symphonie Fantastique

Those of you with small children have probably all witnessed this, but I think it's funny every time so thought I would share it with you.

Remember the movie "Sleeping With the Enemy"? Julia Roberts fakes her own death to escape a controlling psycho husband, who meticulously lines up everything from the bathroom towels to the soup cans in the cupboards...

I'll leave Bella in my room playing, only to come back a few minutes later to find that all my shoes have been lined up and sorted by heel height, my t-shirts organized by color. Sometimes it freaks me out a little and other times I am tempted to take her down to the Home Depot to see if she can get a job in the closet organization department, maybe make a little money for her college fund.

It just strikes me as so funny when kids do this. I know that it is all part of learning, recognition of patterns, counting, colors, etc. But it always catches me off guard and I have to laugh. Then I get that music stuck in my head all day from the movie....you know the one...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIGXXJgwl_c

Dear Miss Manners

Recently I had a little scare with my four year old daughter. Here's the story...

One of a mother's worst predicaments is what to do with your child while you take a shower.

At first, when she is a baby, you head to Target (after 3 days of not showering for fear of leaving the baby for one second) to buy a clear shower curtain. Then you can set her in her car seat on the floor of the bathroom and still see that she is breathing while you bathe.

A few years down the line, she is content in her room playing where you know everything is safe and or bolted to the wall. She has not yet figured out how to climb over the baby gate that blocks her door, so off to the bathroom you go to shower without worry.

Four years old...by this time, most of the house is safe so she is usually fine watching TV or playing with her toys in her room and you rarely worry anymore. Until the day you have your head covered with shampoo and you hear your daughter SCREAM something from outside the bathroom. You jump out of the shower, suds everywhere, run into her room dripping wet, only to find her playing happily with her dolls. "Why did you scream?" you ask. "You sneezed, Mommy. I was saying bless you loud enough for you to hear me in the shower."

Now, tell me Miss Manners, do I punish her for screaming and scaring the @*#& out of me? Or do I thank her for being polite, and then rinse off?

....signed Bubbly, but Blessed

Dizzy and Tired

I am proud to say that my child has made it to 4 years old without ever drinking a soda (that I know of anyway). I myself have just given it up...no more caffeine, saccharine, or aspartame for me. I have however found some alternatives...because every once in a while you need a little fizz in your life. So today I was drinking a Blue Sky Organic Lite Root Beer (no artificial color or flavors, no preservatives and, of course, no caffeine - tastes MUCH better than it sounds!) and I asked Bella if she wanted a sip. "Of course!" she said with a smile. She took a tiny little sip and exclaimed, "Oooh, it makes my tongue dizzy!"....had it been a Coke, she may have fainted!

Then, this afternoon we took our dog for a little walk around the neighborhood. About 20 minutes into it, as we were just rounding the corner for home Bella said with a big sigh, "Mommy, I am running out of walking."

I know just what you mean kid. By the end of most days, not only is my tongue dizzy, but so are my ears, my eyes and my head. I have run out of walking, talking, listening, tugging, lugging, holding, wiping, cleaning and patience. But I will never be too dizzy to kiss you good night and I will never ever run out of hugging, kissing, caring or loving....I promise.

My Girls

These just make me happy....

Free to Be You and Me

A few funny stories for you this holiday weekend...

Last weekend we took the camper out to a beautiful lake about two hours outside of town for the weekend. The majestic purple mountains surrounded us, the water glistened in the Colorado sun, the air all around us was cool and sweet smelling. When Daddy asked Bella what her favorite part about camping was she replied, "Um...the marshmallows." She obviously appreciates the finer things in life.

Yesterday, we were at Target and walked past the sunglasses stands. Bella stopped and put on a very large pair of glasses (think Paris Hilton) and smiled charmingly at me. I said, "Let me try them on." She gave them to me and I put them on, gave her my most glamorous look and asked, "How do I look?" To which she replied, "Modest." "Modest? Did you say modest?" I said. A woman on the other side of the glasses rack peeks around the corner to look at Bella. She looked at me and said, "She did say modest. Quite a vocabulary your little girl has." Then we both just looked at each other and laughed. I don't think she has any idea what the word means, and I am not sure why she knew it, but it sure was funny.

Later in the day we had lunch with our friend Keely and her baby, Donovan and her mom, Dorann. Bella was completely enthralled with Donovan. She would softly stroke his cheeks, which would bring a smile across his entire cute little face. After a while he started drooling a little and Bella said with a gasp, "Keely, he's leaking water out of his mouth!" Again, we all just laughed.

So on this holiday weekend, remember to eat plenty of marshmallows, celebrate modestly and try not to let too much water leak out of your mouth.
In the words of another Purple Majesty...

Be glad that U r free
Free 2 change your mind
Free 2 go most anywhere, anytime
Be glad that U r free
There's many a man who's not
Be glad 4 what U had baby, what you've got
Be glad 4 what you've got
~ Prince

Happy 4th of July everyone!
Peace.

When it Absolutely Positively Has To Be There Overnight

With Gas prices so high and airline tickets even higher...maybe FedEx is the way to get to Grandma's this summer....

BE the 4 Year Old

I am starting to think that in order to stay sane while living with a 4 year old, you have to become a 4 year old. Lately I have found myself doing the strangest things....

For example:

A few days ago I admittedly took my tired and hungry child on one too many errands, saving the most important grocery store until last (bad move on my part, but I said "admittedly"). So when the tantrums started, instead of the infamous counting to 3 or else.... "one, TWO, THREE..." I decided to just go with the flow. I threw a silly tantrum right there in aisle 13 next to the toilet paper. I fake cried while hopping on one foot, sticking my tongue out and threw in some jazz hands just to seal the deal. Bella's tantrum stopped right then and there as she looked at me wide eyed as if to say "What the hell are you doing?" Just being 4.

When it is a school day and Miss Sleepyhead does not want to get out of bed, I find myself putting Cinderella panties on my head and a pair of 5T pants on one of my legs. Always makes her laugh and then she shows me the right way to put them on. Voila! Kid is dressed and ready for school without a fight.

Last week we raced to the dinner table, raced out of the toy section at Target and to the checkout line, raced to see who could get in the car and get their seat belts on the fastest. Of course Mommy is very slow and NEVER wins. But I was not late for my dentist appointment today when we raced to the car when it was time to leave.

In the past month I have skipped, made silly faces, not known how to brush my teeth, comb my hair or eat my vegetables ("Does thee broccoli go in my nose?" "NO MOMMY! In your mouth, like this!"). I have pretended to be the Queen, a Princess, a Cowgirl and a baby.

And you know what? It's FUN! It's fun to be 4! Try it this weekend....just be a little silly when life gets you down....and be sure to throw in some jazz hands...it really helps!