Paying Attention

Do you ever have those nights when you look at your child and want to ask, "Who are you, and what have you done with my kid?" Well, tonight was one of those nights.

From the moment Abby got off the bus it seemed that things were not right. First she wanted pizza, since we already went that route this week, that was not an option. Then she got mad at Bruiser. She actually came to me to "tattle" on him, saying, "Moooommm, Bruiser's bugging me!" Apparently, Abby doesn't need to have a human sibling in order to argue.

Once we'd separated the "kids" and settled on a dinner option, the yelling started. It wasn't angry yelling, it was just very loud talking. I nearly suggested to Jason that maybe it was time to get her hearing checked. I had to keep reminding her that I was standing right next to her, and she didn't need to talk so loud - it didn't really help.

The next problem that cropped up was that her noodles weren't done on time. Abby has learned that the beep on the stove usually means food is ready, but she hasn't learned to distinguish the beeps that accompany the setting of the timer, and the beeps that signal time is up. Before I knew it, I was sucked into a "Yes they are/No they're not" argument about whether or not the noodles were ready.

Finally, I thought we were in the all clear when Abby decided to play upstairs in her room for a bit before bed. All that did was cause her to yell even louder when she needed me to do something for her, or get her a new toy.

Maybe it was because I'd gone to the dentist after school (something I dread), or maybe it was because today is Thursday and I'm tired...whatever it was, I didn't have a lot of patience. It wasn't until I heard Jason say, "It sounds like she just wants to spend time with you," that I was convicted. I'd been "too busy" catching up on some emails and doing my own thing to realize that he was right. She just wanted to spend some time with her mom. I closed my computer, chugged the last few sips of my coffee, and headed up to see her. I found her in the hallway, hugging a book, and saying, "Mom, read to me!" How could I not?

I got Abby ready for bed and we snuggled in to read some books. Before long I noticed she was fast asleep. I realized that my little angel had been there all the time, I just hadn't taken the time to pay attention.

Isn't it good that each day is new, and we can start again? I know tonight I'm very thankful for that fact.

It doesn't get much sweeter....

Dinner Conversations

I'm sure that everyone could share some of their favorite dinner conversations - conversations that range from the bizarre, to the hilarious. Tonight I thought I would share some of the things that went around our dinner table.

Pray First

Abby will never let us forget that we are to pray before we eat. Tonight she told Daddy that he was to lead the prayer, and after he gave thanks for family and food, Abby added her own bit. She sat there with folded hands and said, "Thank you for Mrs. Currie and broken crayons." That's when my head popped up and I corrected her. See, today, in a fit of stubbornness, she decided it would be a better idea to break her crayon into bits rather than fill in the white spaces in her picture - not a good plan. I made sure to remind her that we are thankful for teachers who forgive us when we do things like break our crayons. With a, "Oh! Yeah!" Abby agreed. We then broke into a rousing rendition of J-E-S-U-S, a clapping/singing prayer that Abby learned in preschool. None of us can eat until this is completed.

So....Mom....

Part way through our meal Abby decided to spice up our conversation. She put her elbow on the table, propped her chin on her hand, and said, "So...Mom..let's talk about food." She then proceeded to start counting the pretzels she was eating. Next, she told Daddy to talk about his food, then it was my turn. This morphed into a game of counting things on the table: one-two-three glasses....one-two utensils....one Abby....and so on.

She also shared a fun joke with us:

Abby: Knock, knock

Mom: Who's there?

Abby: Mom

Mom: Mom who?

Abby: Daddy.....ha, ha, ha....

It didn't matter that the joke didn't make sense - it got us to laugh, and that was the point.

No Worries, Dad

At another point in our meal Jason turned to me and asked if there was anything new at school today. Abby immediately jumped on that. Knowing that she'd already had one conversation with Mom about her behavior, she wasn't relishing rehashing it with Dad. Before I could answer his questions Abby started shaking her head and said, "Don't worry about school, Dad." Apparently she's got everything handled.

Daddy's Home

Oh happy day!

Last week Jason had to go out of town for work, and today, after seven days (or 6 "sleeps" in Abby-terms) he finally came home. Things just aren't the same around here when we all aren't under the same roof.

He was able to get home before Abby's bus arrived, and it was so fun to watch from the house as he greeted her. I could tell exactly where she was sitting on the bus, because she was the kid that was jumping up and down.

Now, if the only happy event was Daddy coming home after a long trip, Abby would still be over the moon, but she also knew that while he was away he'd picked up a few things for her. See, since he was very near Disney World he couldn't resist the pull of The Disney Store, and so he'd gotten a few things for his little darling. What he'd told Abby though, was that he'd had the opportunity to have dinner one night with Merida (from "Brave") and knowing that Abby is a sort of "super-fan", she'd given him a few things to pass on.

I have to hand it to Abby. She knew these gifts were coming (she'd been talking about her "gowns" all week), but she still sat through dinner and got a bath before getting them....and she did it with a smile on her face - pretty impressive to be sure.

Along with a Merida nightgown, and a Merida dress-up dress, Daddy got her a Queen Elinor doll. Abby quickly donned one of her "gowns" and ran downstairs to get her Merida Barbie doll. That's when she started yelling. It soon became apparent that some of her favorite dialogue from the movie was from when mother and daughter were yelling at each other. I heard her shout out things like: "I am Merida, firstborn of clan Dunbroch, and I'll be shooting for my own hand!" Which was quickly followed by: "Merida! What are you doing? Don't you loose another arrow!"...and the yelling went on. The best though was when "Merida" said, "but....but..." and "Queen Elinor" broke in with, "No buts!" That was when I lost it, it was just too funny. Luckily, the yelling didn't last for too long. Soon the two dolls were making up and giving kisses. They now seem to be living in peace.

Even with all the "arguing" it is so very, very good to have Jason home.

I caught her mid-yell on this one.

Too bad it's blurry. Luckily you can still see Abby's cute little face.

I'll Do It Myself

There are some days when I am in total "Mom Mode" and I fail to remember what it was like to be a kid myself. Tonight could have been one of those nights, but thanks to Abby, I got a few reminders.

Tonight there was one phrase that kept creeping up: "I'll do it myself!" Abby wanted to exert her independence - and I'm very glad of that, but sometimes it is hard for me to let go. The jammies would get on so much faster if I helped her....I'd be sure there were no messes in the bathroom, if I were there to supervise....the iPad game would work, if she just watched how I did it.... and on and on it seemed to go.

Thankfully tonight I was able to back off each time she reminded me that she could do it. I was able to remember that feeling of frustration when my own mother would try to help me out, and show me an easier way. I could recall that I didn't necessarily want an easier way, as much as I wanted my way. I remembered all of this and I stepped back....and you know what? She did just fine in the bathroom all by herself...and she got those jammies on....and the game ran just fine the way she wanted. Most importantly though, she was proud of the fact that she did things all by herself.

Tonight helped me be mindful of the fact that I don't need to hover quite so closely to my little lady as I once used to - thanks for the reminder Abby,....I'll try my best not to forget it.

After school Abby and I played in the snow for a bit.
She couldn't wait to have a snowball fight with Mom.
Luckily, for my sake, the snow was not good packing snow.

Bruiser would not be left out. He loves to chase snow, and Abby loves to
throw it, it was a perfect combination. When it was time to come in I merely
had to pretend I was the teacher, calling all the kids in from recess. Abby, of
course, was the line leader.

Interview

I hear there is some sort of important game on today. You wouldn't know it by our house, because it was pretty much, business as usual. Honestly I've never been a football fan (no surprise to anyone that knows me), and if I did watch the Super Bowl it was only to see the commercials, but this year even that didn't draw me in.

Tonight, while others were dipping their chips and watching all sorts of pre-game hoopla, Abby and I were coloring and watching "Pride and Prejudice" - it really couldn't have gotten much better than that in my book.

But, for those of you who like a little something to watch, here's an interview I did tonight with Abby. I must warn you though, it has nothing to do with football.

I Love You

Today Daddy had to work, and whenever that happens on the weekend, he will request lots of pictures of Abby. Now, since I have gotten in the habit of pushing my phone in Abby's face and saying, "Look here, Abby!" she will sometimes see me grab my phone and say, "No, Mom! No pictures!" Today though, when I saw her start to protest, I would say, "This is for Daddy," and she would immediately be good with it.

This evening, as she was busy writing "notes" I thought it was time to send another picture. I told her to tell Daddy she loved him and this is what I got.

This reminded me of all the signing we did with Abby before she was verbal. She had quite the signing vocabulary when she was small. I still am amazed at how well she picked up on signs and how much she could tell us. Since she is now very verbal she has left most of the signing behind her (although there are a few times when I don't respond as quickly as she feels I should, and then without thinking, she will use a sign to punctuate her words). Despite the fact that we've moved past that, there is one sign that we still use often - "I love you."

I remember many a day when little Abby would climb on the bus to preschool and we would sign to each other out the window. It always made me feel a bit lighter that she was reminded of my love as she pulled away. We even used the sign yesterday when I dropped her off at school. She'd already marched into her classroom when I remembered that I needed to tell her teachers I'd be picking her up after school. I popped my head in and told them, and sent Abby an "I love you" sign on my way out - she promptly returned it. 

There isn't too much sweeter to my mother's heart than that.

Friday Funnies

One thing I can say about Abby is that she certainly has the ability to make me laugh. Today I'd like to share with you some of those moments.

We were both happy it was Friday!

Greetings

This morning I told Abby that I would pick her up from school. I got there a bit early and waited, as parents are asked to, by the office. I was just catching up on some social media when I heard someone yell, "MAMA!!! Mama's here!" Recognizing that voice I looked up to see Abby nearly run out of her boots trying to get to me. I started towards her, since she was still making quite a racket yelling throughout the halls that I had arrived. 

Abby's teacher and I got to her at about the same time, both of us "shhh-ing" her. Even though on the outside I was reminding her that she needed to be quiet in the hallway, there was a big part of me on the inside that was loving her exuberant welcome. I tell you I felt like a rock star. Abby finished off her great greeting by pulling me into her classroom and then yelling out, "Welcome!" as she made a grand sweeping gesture with her arm. Nobody can make a person feel special like Abby can.

"The Bear" Song

After a greeting such as the one I'd received, I was hoping that today had been a positive day. Sure enough, Abby had been a good girl. I watched her get her "bear" note from her teacher and then run/dance over to me to show me. "My bear! I got my bear!" she exclaimed. I showed her an appropriate amount of pleasure and told her I was so proud of her. She then proceeded to hug her classmates and thank her teachers and we were off to get her pizza.

On the way there I overheard her in the back of the car. She still had that "bear" note in her hand and I realized that she was singing to it. Here's a bit of how the song went, "The bear, the bear, the bear....I love the bear!" *kiss*

It was not only funny, it was incredibly endearing that she was so very excited about the happy note she'd been given - and the prospect of pizza, of course.

Abby, May I?

After dinner Abby was in the mood to be silly, actually she wanted to go upstairs and cuddle. It wasn't even five o'clock and she was telling me that it was time to go to bed. I tried to convince her that we still had time for some fun, but she wasn't buying it. 

At this point she climbed up on my lap and this, of course, brought Bruiser over to investigate. She laughed up a storm when he began nosing his way in-between the two of us. That's when I wound him up even further by singing. Abby quickly put her hand over my mouth and told me, "No, Mom. No singing." I gave her a rather sad face. It was apparently sad enough to make her feel bad because she stopped, looked at me, gave me a kiss, and said, "You may sing." Huh? Did I hear that right?

Sure enough it happened again a bit later when I was covering her face with smoochie-bugs. She told me to stop, I gave her a sad face, and she told me, "Okay, you may kiss me." I wish you could have heard her, because it certainly came out as imperially as you would expect. I guess I should at least be pleased that she is grammatically correct.

I tell you this was a great way to kick off our weekend!

Abby loved to see the newly fallen snow this morning.
She even helped me to shovel some of it.