may 22

When my sisters and I were little girls, we inherited a set of wooden kitchen toys. I don't know the exact details of their origin, but I believe they came out of a preschool and were given to one of my cousins, probably thirty-something years ago.  They are solid wood and sturdy, as if that isn't completely obvious by the fact that they are at least forty years old.  We didn't "inherit" them until Beth was about four, which means I was probably too old, and certainly too tall, to play with them. But I remember playing with them a lot anyway.

 

I remember emptying my mom's pantry of all the canned goods and boxes of crackers. We would fill the cupboards with our "groceries" and "cook" Wheat Thins in little pans on the stove. We probably drove her crazy. Need some tomato sauce? Oh, it's in the bedroom. 

When we outgrew the toys, or my mom got tired of how much space they occupied in the house (not really sure, but I'm guessing the latter), she gave them back to my cousin. Since that time, twenty-ish years ago, they sat in a leaky, spider-filled shed. Insects built homes and chewed small holes in the wood. Water rotted some of the boards and splintered the bottom edges. Hardware rusted and the plastic sink cracked. But, for the most part, they survived. 

We picked them up from my cousin almost two years ago, with the intention of cleaning them up for the girls. After procrastinating and moving them around the shop a dozen times, they are finally back in use. Ryan replaced some of the boards and some of the hardware and built a stainless sink (because he likes metal). The hinges are original, and spring-loaded. Perfect for slamming on small fingers. And I slapped a few coats of paint on them. In the future, I will not try to cover dark green with buttery yellow. 

So far, the cupboard have been filled with various sand-filled toys and weeds picked from the yard. Mia washed her dishes and Laci baked kitty treats. 

And the whole thing just makes me smile.

(I only wish I would have taken true "before" shots. The pics above are post-sanding and board replacement, but you get the idea.)  

may 21

Just my

beautiful,

dreaming,

animal loving,

artistic Laci. 

may 20

I'm making up for missing yesterday by posting twice today. Mostly because this happened yesterday, and I want to remember it. 

On this day, we wore pajamas. All. Day. Long. Mia tested my patience. All. Day. Long. Really, all week long. Really, it was probably longer.  She is also wearing blue Lego boots, three sizes too big, and on the wrong feet. 

At some point during this week, she grabbed my cheeks, and in her meanest voice she said "I'm going to bite you all over!"  Her current favorite book is Where the Wild Things Are, wherein the main character, Max, tells his mother he's going to eat her all up. I'm sure this is all related. 

So, we have this picture. Of Mia in her pajamas. Hair is unbrushed, because in addition to refusing clothes, she refused to have her hair out of her face. I will admit her hair is beautiful. I envy her natural highlights and volume. But that is beside the point. Her voluminous curls were in her face the whole day and the front pieces were sticky and coated in whatever she ate. 

And speaking of eating, she is holding handfuls of carrots. Because she refused to eat dinner, and after trying to get her to eat something, I surrendered and sent her out the back door. She went to the pond with Ryan to feed stale bread to the fish where she devoured a piece of stale bread heel, then returned to the back yard to pick handfuls of carrots and eat them like they were candy. It wasn't a terrible dinner, I suppose. And I learned that to get her to eat, I need to put it in a plastic bag in the garage for at least a week or bury it in the dirt first. 

But every cloud has a silver lining. I asked her to toss her hair around like she was a beautiful movie star and she gave me this. 

And I obviously forgave her for everything. 

may 19

Sometimes I want to record everything that comes out of this girl's mouth. Maybe I just think she's funny and clever because I'm her momma. But, really, this girl is quite amusing. 

With an orange Cheez-It held up to her nose, she says, "Look at me! I have an orange nose!"

"Like Olaf?" I ask her. Because everything related to Frozen in our house. 

"No!" she replies. "I'm not white. I'm pink and blue!"

Hmmmm, really?  

Also, I'm pretty sure her world is rose-colored with or without her pretty pink princess sunglasses. 

may 18

Conversation in the car the other day:

Laci: Momma, what's your favorite thing?

Me: (Trying to set a good non-materialistic example) Hmmmm, my favorite thing is my family. What's yours?

Laci: Puppies! 

Me: Mia, what's your favorite thing?

Mia: My milk. 

Yes, dear second child, you and milk have an intimate relationship these days. I dare not come between you two.