Saturday, March 21, 2015
Gemma talks
Gemma talks. Gemma talks a lot all of a sudden. In the last month, we have had a vocabulary explosion. She is talking all. the. time. It has been wonderful because now I know what is going on inside her head. It also means that I know everything that is going through her little head minute by minute. Although we've been through this three times before, I had forgotten just how intense this phase can be. I owuld consider myself an extrovert and I enjoy being around people. These days, when John comes home, I find myself begging off for a few moments of quiet. Just a few moments of quiet with my own thoughts.
This increase in talking has lead to some pretty hilarious conversations:
1. Gemma: Mama! I will go to the soccer game!
Mama: Yes, we just have to find a parking spot (there might not be anything more stressful than finding a parking spot at the soccer park in time for a 10 o'clock game. This Saturday we drove around for close to 20 minutes before we found an open spot.)
Gemma: There is a spot!
Mama: We can't use this spot.
Gemma: Why?
Mama: This is for people who need a wheelchair. THis is not a spot for us.
Gemma: We find a spot. The we watch soccer for Num-na.
Mama: Yes. We just need to find a spot.
Gemma: I will find a spot.
Mama: Okay. You can help me.
Gemma: There is one over there! Over there! I can smell it!
2. Gemma: I will have a cookie snack at that store!
Mama: I don't know if they will have cookies today. We will go and see.
Gemma: I will have a cookie at that store! I a big girl!
Mama: You ARE a big girl! We will look and see if there are cookies.
----at the store----thankfully there are cookies-----
Mama: They do have cookies! Do you want one? Are you big enough to eat this big cookie??
Gemma: I am big enough! I am big enough! I have big teeth in my mouth and I will chomp it all up! The big teeth in my mouth are perfect for eating that cookie up!
3. We were eating dinner. It was noisy. All three kids are talking at one time. William got frustrated first.
William: Gemma! Amelia! It is my turn to talk!
Mom: We should take turns, shouldn't we? Why don't we let Amelia finish and then it can be William's turn.
(Some discussion about this arrangement. Amelia completes her story about her day at school. William starts to talk. Gemma starts talking. William gets upset.)
William: Gemma! Gemma! It is MY TURN! You need to stop and be quiet!
Gemma: You not the boss of me. You not the boss of me William. I a big girl! I a big girl! I have have big mouth and I talk! You not the boss of me!
4. Backstory: William and Amelia love to play "house" in the curtains. Somehow over the last month, they have managed to break two curtain rod, pull a curtain rod from the wall and bend a second curtain rod. This is extremely frustrating as it take a lot of time and effort to replace the drywall and the curtain rod. We have asked them over and over not to play in these areas, but it is just too tempting to leave them along. Most recently, Gemma came to the store with me and William and Amelia stayed home to play together. And pull another curtain rod completely out of the wall. Not surprisingly, John was not happy when we returned.
Gemma: Daddy! The curtain is broken!
Daddy: Yes. Yes. It is broken.
Gemma: Daddy is sad?
Daddy: Yes. I am sad and mad about the big mess and the broken curtain.
Gemma: I will help you fix it!!!
Daddy: No. No, I think Daddy should just fix it. You should go play somewhere else.
Gemma: I Super Gemma. I fix it for you Daddy!
Daddy: (still mad) No Gemma, I think Daddy will just fix it.
Gemma: I will get my hammer and special tape. I need a ladder to fix it right up. I am Super Gemma! I will fix it for you Daddy! Daddy will be so happy! Don't be mad anymore Daddy!
How could you not smile?
This increase in talking has lead to some pretty hilarious conversations:
1. Gemma: Mama! I will go to the soccer game!
Mama: Yes, we just have to find a parking spot (there might not be anything more stressful than finding a parking spot at the soccer park in time for a 10 o'clock game. This Saturday we drove around for close to 20 minutes before we found an open spot.)
Gemma: There is a spot!
Mama: We can't use this spot.
Gemma: Why?
Mama: This is for people who need a wheelchair. THis is not a spot for us.
Gemma: We find a spot. The we watch soccer for Num-na.
Mama: Yes. We just need to find a spot.
Gemma: I will find a spot.
Mama: Okay. You can help me.
Gemma: There is one over there! Over there! I can smell it!
2. Gemma: I will have a cookie snack at that store!
Mama: I don't know if they will have cookies today. We will go and see.
Gemma: I will have a cookie at that store! I a big girl!
Mama: You ARE a big girl! We will look and see if there are cookies.
----at the store----thankfully there are cookies-----
Mama: They do have cookies! Do you want one? Are you big enough to eat this big cookie??
Gemma: I am big enough! I am big enough! I have big teeth in my mouth and I will chomp it all up! The big teeth in my mouth are perfect for eating that cookie up!
3. We were eating dinner. It was noisy. All three kids are talking at one time. William got frustrated first.
William: Gemma! Amelia! It is my turn to talk!
Mom: We should take turns, shouldn't we? Why don't we let Amelia finish and then it can be William's turn.
(Some discussion about this arrangement. Amelia completes her story about her day at school. William starts to talk. Gemma starts talking. William gets upset.)
William: Gemma! Gemma! It is MY TURN! You need to stop and be quiet!
Gemma: You not the boss of me. You not the boss of me William. I a big girl! I a big girl! I have have big mouth and I talk! You not the boss of me!
4. Backstory: William and Amelia love to play "house" in the curtains. Somehow over the last month, they have managed to break two curtain rod, pull a curtain rod from the wall and bend a second curtain rod. This is extremely frustrating as it take a lot of time and effort to replace the drywall and the curtain rod. We have asked them over and over not to play in these areas, but it is just too tempting to leave them along. Most recently, Gemma came to the store with me and William and Amelia stayed home to play together. And pull another curtain rod completely out of the wall. Not surprisingly, John was not happy when we returned.
Gemma: Daddy! The curtain is broken!
Daddy: Yes. Yes. It is broken.
Gemma: Daddy is sad?
Daddy: Yes. I am sad and mad about the big mess and the broken curtain.
Gemma: I will help you fix it!!!
Daddy: No. No, I think Daddy should just fix it. You should go play somewhere else.
Gemma: I Super Gemma. I fix it for you Daddy!
Daddy: (still mad) No Gemma, I think Daddy will just fix it.
Gemma: I will get my hammer and special tape. I need a ladder to fix it right up. I am Super Gemma! I will fix it for you Daddy! Daddy will be so happy! Don't be mad anymore Daddy!
How could you not smile?
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Amelia is wonderful
I finally turned around to investigate and found that Amelia was playing bananagrams by herself in the backseat in a notebook.
She laughed at her words, groaned when another played "peeled" when she wasn't ready and then read me her list of words.
This girl is so full of wonderful surprises- I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Cooking once a month
I love grocery shopping.
I can easily spend $100+ at the grocery store and still have no idea what is for dinner.
With three kids and a busy schedule in the evening, it just became stressful.
The process through which I arrived at my strategy is not that interesting, but I have spent considerable time collecting recipes that freeze well. I collect the ingredients for 10 recipes at a time and spend a huge amount of time putting the recipes together. It is a lot of work. Every time, I get half way through and want to give up.
It is a huge mess, yet I'm finding it so helpful to have 10+ meals prepped and ready to throw in the oven or crock pot.
Bad bean box
Anyway, we haven't played with the box recently, which usually means it will be extra fun.
This day, it meant that I started cleaning the bathroom and had completely emptied the cabinet when I heard the sound of beans hitting the floor behind me. In fact, there was a wide trail of beans from the original bean box location allllllllllll the way across the room and down the hallway. I usually don't mind a few stray beans here and there- they vacuum up quite easily. However, there wasn't a bean left in the box on this occasion.
Most disappointingly, I still hadn't cleaned the bathroom or the cabinets. On top of that, I now had to vacuum close to half of the house to clean up the mess....
While trying to salvage some of the mess, I discovered that lentils are exactly the shade of our carpet, making them impossible to see.
Saturday, February 21, 2015
Gemma
3 stories:
1. Gemma, William and I went to target this week for a quick errand. I was in line to pay when I heard giggling behind us. I turned around and Gemma was fully laying on the floor. Arms were splayed and feet were sliding back and forth. She was basically making a snow angel in the salt, sand, grit and dirt on the floor of the check out lane (recent ice and snow weather have made for an abundance of the salt and sand).
"She is so cute!" The couple behind us exclaimed.
She really is cute, but she is also exhausting.
I mustered up a smile and replied, "thank you- and thank goodness it is bath night tonight."
2. During the same target trip, I was speeding across the store to pick up the 2 required items. Gemma was thankfully riding in the cart (this is a huge battle these days).
As we rolled past an aisle, I spotted an adorable item we didn't need and slowed the cart to admire it.
Gemma spied something else. There was a family in the aisle looking at something. There was a man, woman, and two teenish aged males in the group.
"HI! HI! You are the brudder!" Gemma shrieked at the closed boy. He turned slowed, mouth agape at the wild haired toddler screaming at him. He looked at me and back at her. It was clear he had no idea how to handle the situation. I smiled as sunnily as one can at 7:30pm, murmured hello, shrugged my shoulders in Gemma's direction and then started rolling my cart away.
But, Gemma wasn't done.
"Hey! Hey! Hey". She is now furiously waving both hands and bellowing at the people behind the bewildered young man.
"YOU! ARE! THE! GRANDMA! YOU! ARE! THE GRANDPA!
She is clearly delighted to have pigeon holed this group and identified their familial roles.
She looks to me to congratulate her. She is quite proud.
There is no way to explain to her that it isn't polite to call just anyone Grandma or Grandpa. Especially when I suspect these adults are the parents of the teenagers, not the grandparents.
The whole group now has their attention focused on Gemma and I crank up my speed and plaster what I hope is a cheery grin on my face. Internally, I pray that her speech was not understandable to anyone but me.
3. We are at Costco, checking out*. The cashier greets is with an astonished face and says to Gemma, "Elsa! I didn't know you would be here today!"
Gemma turns to me and she clearly thinks this man is off his rocker. I prompt her, " Are you Elsa?"
"No," she replies. She is not Elsa.
"Well! I can see you are a special girl- maybe your name is Anna?"
Again, Gemma looks to me. I ask her, "are you Anna?"
Gemma replies no, she is not Anna. She also comes to stand behind my leg as she just isn't sure about this guy talking to her.
He then attempts to call her Doc McDtuffins and Princess Sofia. He is really being very sweet to her and managing to efficiently check out my groceries. I am impressed by his breadth of preschool girl knowledge.
Finally, Gemma turns to the cashier and says:
"I not those girls. I Gemma. G-E-M-M-A. Gemma."
She still pronounces her g's as d's, so her overall message is not clear to the employee.
I am impressed though- she can spell her name!
*I know it appears that I shop all the time.
This isn't exactly true. I avoid stores with kids whenever possible as either my sidekicks are badly behaved or crazy things are happening. Yet, we still must eat and wear clothing. My usual mode is to get in and get out. However, with my distracting partner/s with me, it isn't unusual to get home with only half of the needed items or empty handed, which then requires a return trip to the store to complete.
Sent from my iPhone
1. Gemma, William and I went to target this week for a quick errand. I was in line to pay when I heard giggling behind us. I turned around and Gemma was fully laying on the floor. Arms were splayed and feet were sliding back and forth. She was basically making a snow angel in the salt, sand, grit and dirt on the floor of the check out lane (recent ice and snow weather have made for an abundance of the salt and sand).
"She is so cute!" The couple behind us exclaimed.
She really is cute, but she is also exhausting.
I mustered up a smile and replied, "thank you- and thank goodness it is bath night tonight."
2. During the same target trip, I was speeding across the store to pick up the 2 required items. Gemma was thankfully riding in the cart (this is a huge battle these days).
As we rolled past an aisle, I spotted an adorable item we didn't need and slowed the cart to admire it.
Gemma spied something else. There was a family in the aisle looking at something. There was a man, woman, and two teenish aged males in the group.
"HI! HI! You are the brudder!" Gemma shrieked at the closed boy. He turned slowed, mouth agape at the wild haired toddler screaming at him. He looked at me and back at her. It was clear he had no idea how to handle the situation. I smiled as sunnily as one can at 7:30pm, murmured hello, shrugged my shoulders in Gemma's direction and then started rolling my cart away.
But, Gemma wasn't done.
"Hey! Hey! Hey". She is now furiously waving both hands and bellowing at the people behind the bewildered young man.
"YOU! ARE! THE! GRANDMA! YOU! ARE! THE GRANDPA!
She is clearly delighted to have pigeon holed this group and identified their familial roles.
She looks to me to congratulate her. She is quite proud.
There is no way to explain to her that it isn't polite to call just anyone Grandma or Grandpa. Especially when I suspect these adults are the parents of the teenagers, not the grandparents.
The whole group now has their attention focused on Gemma and I crank up my speed and plaster what I hope is a cheery grin on my face. Internally, I pray that her speech was not understandable to anyone but me.
3. We are at Costco, checking out*. The cashier greets is with an astonished face and says to Gemma, "Elsa! I didn't know you would be here today!"
Gemma turns to me and she clearly thinks this man is off his rocker. I prompt her, " Are you Elsa?"
"No," she replies. She is not Elsa.
"Well! I can see you are a special girl- maybe your name is Anna?"
Again, Gemma looks to me. I ask her, "are you Anna?"
Gemma replies no, she is not Anna. She also comes to stand behind my leg as she just isn't sure about this guy talking to her.
He then attempts to call her Doc McDtuffins and Princess Sofia. He is really being very sweet to her and managing to efficiently check out my groceries. I am impressed by his breadth of preschool girl knowledge.
Finally, Gemma turns to the cashier and says:
"I not those girls. I Gemma. G-E-M-M-A. Gemma."
She still pronounces her g's as d's, so her overall message is not clear to the employee.
I am impressed though- she can spell her name!
*I know it appears that I shop all the time.
This isn't exactly true. I avoid stores with kids whenever possible as either my sidekicks are badly behaved or crazy things are happening. Yet, we still must eat and wear clothing. My usual mode is to get in and get out. However, with my distracting partner/s with me, it isn't unusual to get home with only half of the needed items or empty handed, which then requires a return trip to the store to complete.
Sent from my iPhone
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