Shake It Up, Baby!

Yesterday MW, T3, and I had our weekly lunch date with several of the little girls from MW's class. We ate at a "home-style cookin'" kind of place. They have a fenced in front yard, off the porch (where we sat), which allows the girls to run free in an enclosed environment. Eating outside is a wonderful blessing as the last time we ate at this particular place, we sat inside, and the girls took to using the room divider (this tall black post with an elastic ribbon that stretches out and hooks onto the other black post) as a microphone. (The waiter showed up and quickly removed the dividers!-oops!) So yesterday we sat on the porch. The moms talked, the little babies threw their crackers and what nots on the floor (again, we're outside, so no worries), and the girls ran around the yard. At one point I couldn't find MW. And then I spotted her...she was between the bushes and the restaurant, squatting down, head tilted back, lips TIGHT around a salt shaker. Shake it up, baby! She'd snuck it off the table. A few minutes later (and we were the only people outside) I spotted her climbing up onto another table, with the intent of stealing the salt shaker. One "look" from me (you know the kind I'm talking about) and she was back down.

Among the myriad of hilarious things that have happened around here since MW's return, one worth noting occured the night before last. We'd just sat down for dinner (of course!) when MW announces she must use the bathroom at once! She begged us to go turn on the light. T encouraged her that she could do it herself and we'd be watching. So she shyly, and disappointedly, walks out of the dining room, through the living room, and gets between the living room doorway and the chair, and sticks her head out and around the side and says, " I CAN handle it."

Two nights ago MW and I had to make a paper doll to look like MW. I had decided as soon as that homework assignment came home that I was not going to jump in on the "mom competition." You know, which mom can out-do the other? Because, I have so many other things to concern myself with. So I vowed I would let MW do the entire thing herself! But, oops, it was due Tuesday morning and I'd waited until Monday night at 7 PM (normally bedtime) to start working on it. So...I plugged in my hot glue gun, opened my fabric box and a drawer of old art kind of stuff and told MW to tell me where to glue things and I would do it. She picked out everything. I gave her a little guidance for the hair, but otherwise, she picked it and told me EXACTLY where to glue it. I'm not sure how much you'll be able to make out from the picture, but she gave her doll coin eyes, or "money eyes" as she described it...yikes! A cabbage patch baby stamp for the nose, and a red marker smile...so, did I break that commitment not to compete? Well, maybe a little bit, but I certainly didn't sew and monogram clothes, like some moms did! (And nothing against monogramming and sewing clothes for paper dolls, I just prefer to spend my time on other things...) I think MW may have a touch of my love for art...while we were working on this she kept jumping and wiggling. I asked several times if she needed to use the bathroom. She assured me she was just excited. Her teachers cracked up when they saw the doll and declared it most certainly was a MW doll!

T3 is into everything! (Dog food and water bowls, trash, he broke the cover over the base of the fridge...) Last night MW kept him entertained for a good 45 minutes...how'd she do it? She hid on her back under the laundry basket. She'd make noise and call to T3, who would crawl over to her and climb up the side of the basket until he was standing. Then, slowly, MW would slide a little. T3 would follow, slowly and unsteadily, and shriek with delight. MW "back-crawled" all over the den and hall floor and T3 was oh, so happy! What a wonderful blessing to have MW's help!

Last night we motivated MW to speed up the "get ready for bed" process with a little bribe...that we'd watch her do her "tricks" once she was ready for bed. We were, of course, good for it! So she quickly got ready for bed and climbed on the trampoline. She'd bounce about two times, then jump on the edge of it (remember from when you were a kid and you'd get jumping so high, but you'd have to jump onto the springs to jump off, and it just ruined your "jumping-ness?"). Then she'd jump off and land in a heap on the floor. We would applaud. Next she'd stand on the trampoline and bend down so she could flip off it. We'd applaud, and the cycle would start again! Oh the memories came flooding back of trying to sell my parents tickets to watch me perform! And the fireplace plays at Mamie's house! Too fun! I never dreamed I'd be watching my little girl doing the same thing!

And last, I think T3 has another ear infection! This boy is looking more like a candidate for tubes! We see the doctor this afternoon. The little man just keeps pulling on his ears. We'll be seeing the same doctor who saw us after the fall. Well, anyway, point is, earlier this morning, MW, T3, and I were all playing in his room. He was rocking in his "choo choo train" when, and I'm still not certain how he did it, but he flipped the thing. I caught him just as his head was about to hit the ground! I cannot imagine taking him in with another head injury!

That about wraps it up. I've got a little girl needing me right now. She wants to watch a movie and eat popcorn. It's 9:40 in the morning! A girl after my own heart!