a look i've always hoped to achieve

I was given the gift of one of those blousy shruggish cardigans for Christmas. You can imagine how up-to-date I am with fashion trends based on that item description alone. You know, something like so:



I was trying it on, unsure if I could carry off this style, since I have a diverse wardrobe consisting of both black AND grey long sleeve Favorite Ts from gap and one pair of jeans. I hemmed and hawed in the mirror and asked Caroline what she thought.

She was thrilled and shared her opinion. "I think it's pretty great, Mom. You look just like a flying squirrel."

on the road again

Caroline walked into her grandparents' house and saw their tabletop Christmas tree.

"Well, that's a nice little tree you've got there, Pappaw."

Later, she told me it was "shrubbish and cute."

...

She is a perfectionist (to put it mildly) and was drawing pictures of puppies and kitties for my ailing grandmother. She said she knows "Granny really likes cats and dogs, and this maybe will make her feel better." Sweetness, right? The drama kind of undermined it...

"Ugh, I did terrible. His tongue is hanging out wrong. [pulling on her own face in agony] It's not perfect at all! It looks like he doesn't even know how to think!!"

...

"This is the goodest maple syrup ever, Marmy. It tastes like... [thinking] mashed up candy."

unexpected request

She walked up to me with her elbow in the air.

"Mom, can you tickle my little 'pits?"

look out harvard, brace yourself MIT

"Mom! Mom! I made a new invention. Check it out!"



"It's a doggie nose picker. See, you put one end in the little dog nose, and it gets the boogies out. There's water and it flows through and out, and yaaaay no boogies. That's so cool, right? It's science."

forget the atomic bomb

"I am a safari ninja princess. My name is Fiona. I attack bad animals and save good ones. This is my rainbow power bracelet. It plays the My Little Pony song. It's very powerful. You may not touch it."

go easy, kid. santa doesn't return for a year.

She was cuddling up to me when she looked up and said, "You know, I'm a big fan of you, Mama."

merry christmas

And a Happy Week After Hanukkah, as well (we're slow).

Thank you for all the fun this year!

Love,
Caroline, Sylvie, and their personal assistants parents.

...

Bonus Kazooism just occurred while wrapping gifts:

"Hey, I'm like a helper elf. And you're kind of like Santa. And Daddy... well, Daddy is just a very large child."

only if harrison ford is joining us

In regards to the potstickers on our dinner plates:

"Are we eating brains for supper?"

backup career

She's a little congested with the usual winter quasi-cold.

"Mom! Mom! Do you hear me purring? Do you hear it? I just breathe and I purr! I'd make a good cat."

glass ceiling: shattered and sparkly

"I think I will be a princess football player when I grow up. A little girlish, a little boyish. But I would wear a dress over my leggings, even though the guys there don't wear skirts over their leggings. And I'd like to have my crown be, like, part of my helmet hat, you know? Like not on top of it or under it, but a helmet shaped to be a crown too. I think that would look really good and princessy-footballish."

I nodded and said that sounded good to me.

"Yeah, a princess football player. I'm bold like that."