Hmmm, Interesting......

Matt loves being just like his daddy, so it was no surprise finding him sitting on the couch "reading" the newspaper one Saturday morning. It was funny how he would look at the paper and then look up and watch the cartoon that was playing on the television - very much like a multitasking adult reading and watching the news. After a short time, the cartoon won out and the paper was given back to daddy for him to read. You have to laugh when your kids start mimicking your actions. It can be a very eye opening experience - sometimes good and sometimes not so good. Of course, we are all for reading, so we don't mind this being a trait copied by either Matt or Emily.

Cold Feet

Emily really dislikes dressing for the fall/winter weather. It seems like it will take months to get in her head that it is colder outside and you need warmer clothes. Every morning we "battle" over the fact that she needs to wear a long sleeved shirt and not a short sleeved shirt (of course, the short sleeved shirts are changed into as soon as she comes home from school, that is our compromise). That battle is followed by the debate between pants/jeans and a skirt. Today I asked her is she was going to wear jeans and she told me, "No mom, I'm a skirt girl". Thankfully she has taken to my requirement that if she wears a skirt, she has to wear tights (most of the time footless, so she can wear ballet styled shoes) or knee high socks. The coat is whole other story. We now debate over whether she can wear a sweatshirt, spring coat or winter coat. Most of our clothing conversations are started by my saying one thing and Emily replying, "here's the deal" followed by options. Just an FYI, "here's the deal" those are my words coming back to haunt me. Nighttime wear is no different. Emily loves nightgowns and even though I bought her 3 long sleeved ones, her first choice is to wear the summer sleeveless nightgowns. The only area that Emily has without any word from us conceded to fall/winter wear is putting socks on before going to bed at night. She says they keep her warm.
So, the one morning after Emily left for school I went into her room to make her bed and this is who I found -piggy with socks on. I guess piggy has been getting cold at night too. It brought a smile to my face when I saw the extra special care she took to make piggy comfortable.
I'm sure, make that positive, Emily and I will continue to have our daily "battles" over what she needs to wear but it warms this mommy's heart to see the care she takes of another...especially her well-loved piggy.

The Bad that Comes with the Good

As parents, we await the new milestone/accomplishments our children achieve. What we fail to remember is that with some accomplishments a little bit of "bad" comes with the good. This would be very true in the case of Matt learning to dress himself. Just recently he has taken it upon himself to pick out his clothes and get dressed (he still needs help with his shirt getting over his head). The one morning I told Emily to get dressed then went upstairs to finish getting myself ready. A few minutes later Matt came up with pants changed and his shirt in hand for help. I was such a proud mom! When I went into his room a little later, this is what I found...a drawer full of shirts totally disheveled. Now for most people this would be no big deal but for an organizing freak like me this is a nightmare. I already have to fix Emily's clothing in her drawers every time I dare to look in them (I've learned not to check too often). It is like I said sometimes there is a little bad that accompanies the good. In this case, I'm willing to take the "bad". After all, this means I only have to get myself dressed now. I thought that this day would never come, so I'll overlook a little mess. I just have to teach Matt to close the messy drawers so I can claim ignorance until I choose to look inside like I do with Emily.

Revisiting the Past

We are revisiting the kids of Halloween past - October 2006 to be exact. Emily was 4 and Matt was 16 months old. Emily was already princesses obsessed at this age and ended up having two costumes. She wore the one to school (this is the pic in front of the fireplace) and then changed into the other "princess/fairy" attire for the evening festivities (the picture with Matt). Matthew on the other hand only had one costume and even then didn't have a choice in what he would be - a monkey. This year we will have Emily as Glinda the good witch from the Wizard of Oz (thank goodness not a princess) and Matthew a firefighter (that is a no brainer). We are looking forward to a very full day on Halloween and a lot of treats to share with mommy and daddy.

Art 101

So, the "holiday" of the week is, of course, Halloween and what better way to commemorate this holiday but with a drawing from Emily. Emily drew this in school during here afternoon free time. Of course, no one in the family was left out of dressing up for Halloween -we will have to see what happens on the actual day, but I have a strong feeling that mommy and daddy are going to be just a mom and dad.
Emily is of course a witch, but a good witch. She is going to be Glynda the good witch from the Wizard of OZ. Mommy Kathy, that is what she calls me if not just Kathy, is an angel. I guess all my mommy frazzled moments are easily forgotten. Daddy Dave is a bat - don't know why, he just is. Matthew is what else but a firefighter on a truck. All of us have candy pails but Matt, he has an axe and a fire hose....poor kid, no candy for him. Maybe I'll share some of my pretend candy. He is of course dressing as a firefighter for Halloween.
Later this week you'll get to see a real picture of their true Halloween costumes, but in the meantime enjoy the drawing.