so thoughtful

"I think I am going to just tell Santa that I want everything on TV. He might get tired of listening to my list if I go one at a time."

new scent available from yankee candle co.

She finally caught what has been circulating for weeks -- the pukes. Last night at 9pm, we heard The Cough™ that yields disaster. Chuck took the bedding, stuffed animal, and room cleanup, I took the crying kid cleanup. After new pajamas, clean mouth, clean hair, and clean face; I had her wash her hands really good, as I did, to avoid spreading the icks to Sylvie. She went back to bed.

This morning she woke up moaning about her stomach. I ran her into the bathroom, and she sat on a stool next to the toilet while we waited to see if something was about to erupt from her gut.

We chatted about how this is a short-lived sickness and hopefully she was all done. She whined about how she didn't want to throw up, refused to hold a bucket, etc. She talked about how bad puke stinks. Then she sniffed her hands to make sure it was gone. She smiled and was relieved by the smell of her clean hands. Then she said with a smile, "I smell like you."

I was leery of any potential similarity between my smell and puke smell, so I asked for clarification.

"They smell clean. I was laying in bed last night and my hands were on my pillow, and I wondered why I smelled this. I like it. The smell is... warm mama."

to grandmother's house we go

En route back from Indiana to visit my mother and extended family, Caroline randomly piped up.

"I like that Marmy. She's a really great girl."

Chuck agreed and said that Marmy's a pretty special grandma.

"You know some of why she's really great? Because she lets me watch whatever I want to watch. She lets me eat whatever I want to eat. She lets me do whatever I want to do. That is pretty great."

not to be confused with "deflated"

Caroline: Daddy, will you carry me upstairs?

Daddy: No, I'm too tired.

Caroline: [sigh] Wow. I feel like a balloon that has been popped.

thanksgiving

The kids at school made paper turkeys, decorated them with feathers, and inscribed the things for which they are most thankful.

There were lots of answers of "Mom" and "my family" and even "animals," though a few kids spiced it up with "Trick or Treating" and "Earth" and various favorite foods. I found Caroline's turkey last. On it, scrawled with an introductory backwards S, looking just as preschool cliche as possible, it said "STUFFEDOGS" [sic].

nervousness debunked

Mama: Tomorrow, I have to pay for your ballet recital costume.

Caroline: Wait, you mean I have to wear something special on a big stage?

Mama: Yes, the recital is in June. You have plenty of time to practice.

Caroline: I don't know about the stage and the tutu...

Mama: [surprised at the hesitation] Oh you'll be fine! Don't be nervous.

Caroline: No, I mean, what color roses are you guys going to throw to me on the stage? It needs to match.

second verse interlude

Caroline was sitting at her dad's desk, singing along with her itunes playlist. She sang all the words to one of her favorite songs. At about halfway through, she shouted, "SINGING CAT!" and then started belting out the rest of the tune exclusively in meows.

making dad proud

Chuck was battling the leaves in our front yard while Caroline twirled around holding her beloved toy dog, Nesty. She tripped on uneven ground and landed face-first on the ground. She stood up and her face was covered in dirt, and there was dirt all over her tongue.

She was not hurt, and I tried to hide the giggles as I brought her in and told her we'd clean her up. I started to walk into the kitchen, and she called out, "Wait!" and ran to the mirror in the foyer to check herself out.

"Ewwww," she said as she stuck out her tongue and saw a bunch of dirt on it. Then she checked both sides of her muddy face, snarled in a menacing way, and said, "Wow. I look like a football player."

well, that would be funny

Caroline hit her elbow on the coffee table and winced and complained.

"Did you hit your funny bone?" I asked.

"Funny bone? It's not a funny bone. My elbow is a serious bone. If it was a funny bone, it would do this!" Then she began doing the chicken dance elbow flap. "All. The. Time."

fairly accurate

"Sylvie's crazy. She's bonkers. She's Bonkerella. But I'm not Bonkerella. I'm more like half cutie and half bonkers."

a revelation

"I don't even like having parents."

in the holiday spirit

"Mama, I think I am running out of space on my Christmas list. I think I need to breathe deep and open up some room in my brain"

understanding her target market

"Mama, I would like to add the doggy pillow pet to my Christmas list."

I told her I would add it for her and thanked her for the information.

She added with raised eyebrows and a smile, "You know, it's machine washable..."