The Striped Diva and Her Pet Pineapple

The day began in a calm manner - she ran into our room at 6:45 am, turned on all of the lights and proclaimed that she needed peanut butter and bread. I fumbled around our room and was able to get into the shower. Before I knew it, I had a visitor. Yep, in she came with her kitty wash cloth, shampoo and tooth brush. So much for a peaceful shower. Thankfully she had taken off her pajamas before she entered the shower stall.

After a small temper tantrum (I wouldn't let her use the hairdryer by herself) we proceeded to her room to pick an outfit. And this is what she had to wear:

I chuckle because yesterday a topic of discussion was one of our little preschool friends who dresses herself in the most colorful outfits. What's even better is that her Mom lets her - she chose not to fight that "win less" battle. Amen to that! Just take pictures and bring them out at prom.

Now to her pet pineapple. While I was upstairs gathering towels for the wash I heard laughter, running and a bit of thudding downstairs. Believing it was just Julia and Jimi preforming their morning romper room routine; I did think anything of it. As I was going down the stairs, over the mountain of towels I see a pineapple fly by on the floor below.

Apparently we now have a pet pineapple. A ribbon had been wrapped into the top greenery. She was using that as a leash, dragging her new pet all around the house. "Come on, it's time to go!" she yelled at the poor pineapple. Hmmm... The pineapple was rescued as soon as I was able to put the towels down. No, I did not get a picture. She's starting to realize that pictures are taken of something cute - and this definitely was not a behavior I wanted her to keep, or think was cute!

And now for the rest of the day...*sigh*.

Sun and Fresh Air

It's been cold and rainy for the past week here in Virginia. Now I don't mind a rainy day here or there but we're talking 6 days of cloudy, cool, damp weather. That spell finally broke today as the thick clouds turned to wisps and the sun smiled on Northern Virginia.

After school Julia and I (along with Teri and Peter, Sandy and Craig and Mary) picked-up Chick-Fil-A and went to a local park. We had a lovely picnic and then watched the kiddos play and play and play and play. It was wonderful to feel the sun. It was also wonderful to watch the kids run and use their imaginations. I was able to capture two pics on my phone of Julia (and her awesome smile):

Here she is on the 'firetruck' ready to jump down.

Coming down the tube slide (with Peter getting ready to join her).

We all agreed that this was a much needed energy release for all of us. And for me, there was something about the sun and kids laughter that lightened my heart. It's ached for such a long time. But for a few hours it started to feel whole again. And even a few genuine smiles spread across my face. The sun and fresh air were God's band aid for me today.

Deep Thoughts Part III, By Julia Haney

Here we are for our third installation of Deep Thoughts! (Visit Part I and Part II for the previous installments)

Mudbug Milk
Steve and I have a special place in our hearts for the glorious city of New Orleans. You can be an adult by day and crazy child by night. On our last trip there we both purchased "Mugbugs Bayou Brew and Chew" shirts. The graphic on both the front and the back feature a Crawdaddy holding a very full beer mug. After seeing Steve wearing his; Julia exclaimed -"Mama! Papa! The mudbug drinks milk!"

Our thoughts: Sure, you keep thinking that!

Breanner
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, right? But does it really matter what you eat? Just as long as you eat something, right? One morning while getting her ready for school she asked me for tomato soup. Huh? Yes, I heard correctly. And anyone that has raised a child knows that at times they ask for something, take a bite and then not eat the rest. This is what I was afraid of!

But what can it hurt? So a reheated the soup I had made the previous day. She ate all of it and then a bowl of oatmeal. Okay...

The following weekend Steve made meatloaf and garlic bread for dinner. It was fabulous. So fabulous that Julia had to eat it the following morning for breakfast. Yes - even the garlic bread. Steve and I just stared at her silently as she happily ate 'breanner'.

Our Thoughts: As long as she's eating, who cares? At least she has stopped asking for milk in her Chex Mix.

For the Love of Mater
Last week my poor minivan, Reggie, decided not to start. Of course, we had to call a tow truck. As Steve assisted the tow truck driver with getting Reggie hooked-up, Julia and I watched from inside the house. Everything was okay until Reggie started to be pulled up on the bed of the truck. Julia immediately started to cry. I explained to her that the tow truck was taking my car to the doctor's. She gasped and screamed "MAMA! IT'S MATER! MAMA'S CAR IS GOING TO THE DOCTORS WITHOUT ME! IT'S MY MATER"

Our Thoughts: Yikes. Does this mean she'll fall in love with trash compactors next?

The Great Pant and Panties Hunt
This incident happened yesterday while I was on a cooking spree making three different meals to freeze. It was around 4:30 and Wall-e was over, the credits were rolling and I was in the middle of making egg noodles. My hands were covered with flour and dough. I also needed to attend to the potatoes on the stove. So, yes, I wasn't really paying attention to my surroundings unless it had to do with the stove.

After I drained the potatoes and added the dough to the pot pie, I noticed something interesting. Julia was running around with her shirt on. And nothing else. The pants and panties were no where to be seen. Her response when I asked her where they were - "I don't have them right now". This continued until I left for my staff meeting at 6:30. It was time for Steve to take over the pant/panty hunt.

When the meeting was over I went out for a drink with the gals. While calling to let Steve know I would be late, he informed me that the pants were found and he would tell me the entire story when I returned home. Upon returning, this is what I was told:

"Julia took me to where her pants/panties were. She opened the laundry door, went straight to the dryer, opened it and pulled out her pants, socks and panties. She then told me that 'Mama was busy with food when I went potty, so I put them in the washer'."

So, yes, she had wet her pants. But instead of screaming or telling me that she needed help (because I was apparently busy with food) she decided to help me out. That's all fine and dandy - but for a few hours I was a bit concerned about where she had stuffed them!

Our Thoughts: Very cute and funny. At least she didn't try to put Jimi in the dryer! (Last week she was chasing him around the house giving him a 'bath' by spraying him with water from her spray bottle. Now that was hysterical.)