12-24-13

Cora:  Mom, I'm really excited about church today.  I'm a BIG fan of Jesus!

11-24-13

Since Thanksgiving is so late this year, we put our tree up last night.  Jupiter has decided it his own personal jungle gym and this morning had figured out how to climb up to the very top.  This was a great vantage point for him to peruse the house and the neighborhood goings on out the window.  However Milly knew this was, to put a point on it, bad.  She turned to Jupiter and said "JUPITER!  You are going to get a time out and then you are going to get in trouble and then you are going to go to JAIL JUPITER!"   Yikes.

Here's our little felon:

11-22-13

We had our first snow overnight last night.  Or at least the first one that really amounted to anything (though still not much by Iowa standards - but at least it stuck around).  I went in to wake Cora up and told her to peek our her window.  As she did, she turned to me with wide eyes and exclaimed "Mom!  It's Christmas!!"  Close enough my love.

10-31-13

This week, Cora has come home singing the ever-present trick or treat song that kiddos always seem to pick up.  Namely:

Trick or treat
Smell my feet
Give me something good to eat
If you don't
I don't care
I'll pull down your underwear

Milly, wanting in on the action, quickly picked it up and joined in.  I explained to both of them that while it was a funny song, it really wasn't nice to sing about pulling down someone's underwear and maybe we should change that last bit.  Without hesitation Milly blurted out:

Trick or treat
Smell my feet
Give me something good to eat
If you don't
I don't care
I'll hug you

Boom.   Silly, yes.  But also encapsulates all that is so innocent and good in our little ones before they learn about all the world's biases, meanies, taunts and terrors.  If you don't give me something good, I don't care, I'll just hug you anyway.   I told her I LOVED her version.  And it is now the one we sing around our house.  :)

10-3-13

Today I picked Milly up from daycare.  I noticed a huge green piece of butcher paper hanging in the class window but just wandered by.  As I was walking out with Milly, another teacher in the hall asked if I had seen what was on the paper.  Turns out they had asked each of the "juniors" (3 year olds) what they wanted to be when they grew up - and had written the answers on the big paper.  Among the answers like "princess" "firefighter" "pirate" and "ballerina" was Milly's answer:   "A Flying Purple Dragon. A Nice One. "

10-1-13

Milly (crying): I don't want to go back to school [day care] tomorrow
Me: Why not babe?  Did you have a bad day?
Cora: Yeah she got yelled at and she got punched in the face.
Me:  Milly?  You didn't get punched in the face did you?
Milly:  Yeah I did - I got punched in the face.
Me:  By who honey?  Who punched you in the face?
Milly:  I did punched me in the face.
Me:  Who did honey?
Milly:  I did.
Me:  You punched yourself in the face?
Milly:  Yes. I did.
Me:  Ok.  Well.  Maybe you shouldn't do that anymore.

9-11-13

I think it was a year or two ago - after I had children - when I realized that what I'll be able to recount to my grandchildren will be no less historical than those that shared personal accounts of the attack on Pearl Harbor; than the actions of the Nazis; than Hiroshima. But year after year when this anniversary comes around, I find myself even more determined to remember the love from all Americans that came like a tidal wave to fill the gaping hole left at Ground Zero. Random Acts of Kindness were the new norm. Flags few on buildings, on poles, on fences, on cars. People held doors, and held their tongues. People smiled through tears and hugged complete strangers on the street. Even back then, in my 20s, I knew that Utopia wouldn't last forever. So I cherished it even more. And that is what I choose to remember about this date in history.