Let It snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow

Taylor wasn't at all happy Tuesday morning when she opened the front door. "It rained. There's no snow. I was hoping there would be snow to play in." Later in the car she said she wished she could go to England so she could play in the snow. Mackenzie piped up, "But we can't; we still owe money on the house."

When I grow up...

Taylor has revealed to me that when she grows up she wants to buy a house with a big yard with a fence. Then she and her best friend, Samantha, are going to run a doggy daycare and grooming place. And she is going to ride her bike wherever she can instead of driving a car so she won't pollute the environment. I had to admire her dreaming big. "It's good to have plans, Taylor. But sometimes life changes them." I only hope she is happy no matter where or what she is in her future.

Mommy, Do You Like Christmas?

Once again, on our car ride, the girls came up with a line of conversation that surprised me where it went. We were commenting on the Christmas lights that people have up. Mackenzie piped up and asked me, "Mommy, do you like Christmas?" After my "yes," she added, "I like Christmas too. It's about love. Loving people. Like Valentine's Day. And remembering people who have died." Taylor contributed by saying Christmas is about giving to others. Interesting what children see through their perceptions.

Throw It

The girls have come with me a few times to dog obedience class. Leela's biggest challenge is to stay off of people and not jump up on them. The instructor once told me to say it like I meant it, to throw it like a brick. One day shortly after this, I arrived home and was trying to keep my dog from jumping up on me as she greeted me at the door. Leela, off! From the background, somewhere down the hall, I heard Mackenzie say, "Throw it like a brick." Good to have them come with me at times.

Frenchy's verses Walmart

The beginning of each school year brings the purchasing of a few new clothes. We had an errand to do at Walmart, Taylor had birthday money burning a hole in her pocket, and school supplies were on sale. Kenzie asked if we could go to Frenchy's on the way back. "I don't want new clothes from Walmart. I want to go to Frenchy's." I wonder if it's because she has always had her own sense of style, she can get more at Frenchy's, or she wants to be unique. I may never know the answer to that one. But I sure hopes she stops the "I-don't-have-any-shirts-to-wear-that-I-like" phase over soon. I doubt it. She is a fashionable female. Unlike her mother.

Back To School Attitude

Alas, the end of summer approaches and I took the girls shopping for school supplies earlier in the week. Mum babysat them while I went to work that evening. Mum told me that Kenzie set right to work putting her name on all her stuff, taking her time and printing neatly or by using her personalized labels. She also took her time packing them all into a large ziplock bag in which she placed a smaller ziplock bag with all her pencils. Very tidy and organized. Taylor after three years of school was more jaded and had to redo her name on a few things. The next morning, Mackenzie asked the question while we were eating breakfast, "What are we doing today?" "Going to summer camp." Again, Kenzie asked, "no, what are we doing?" Being puzzled, I asked, "what do you mean?" "Are we going to school today?" She was somewhat disappointed when I said, "no, not yet." "Oh." It's good to have her eager to begin school again since so often last year she didn't want to go to school, refused to leave the car, begged to stay home, and so on. I think she misses her friends as all the play dates she tried to arrange didn't happen. Are 6 year olds afraid of going to other houses for playdates or are the parents not ready to let them go?

It's Special

One girls' night at my house, my friend was working away on her quilt and felt she had messed up. Taylor asked her what was wrong as she had attentively been watching to unusual use of the ironing board. She then told Jaime, "it's okay. It will be extra special because it is made by you."

Words My Children Know at an Age when I Didn't Know Such Words

The girls are constantly surprizing me with their vocabularly (especially 5 year old Mackenzie). Here are the ones I can recall:

environment
inappropriate
penis/peanut
vagina
breasts/boobs
responsible
correct


And of course the new technology terms such as:
computer
dvd
remote control
portable dvd player
cell phone
cordless phone
satelite tv
satelite radio (Kenzie wonders why I can't replay Mama Mia in my car like Daddy can)

What will they say next?

Rock Star Hair

While showering at the campground last night, Mackenzie asked me why I had my hair cut short like a boy. I told her it was easier to take care of; it dries faster, stays out of my face, and doesn't get tangled or messy as easily. She paused and then said, "sometimes your have rock star hair with it all over the place." :) Touche.

Shake It

Last week while I was at work, my husband was getting the girls to clean up some of their chaos. Typically, they know where it goes for they can find items when they have been put away. Howevver; also typically, those items are very rarely returned to their proper place. While they were cleaning Warren heard Taylor tell Kenzie, "Shake what your mother gave you!"

Public Library Jungle Tree for Summer Reading Program

I know this tale isn't about one of my girls but it IS about children. I have a great job and sometimes it really rocks! This past weekend I had the opportunity and co-operating weather to construct and erect a paper tree to decorate for the Jungle themed summer reading program at the library this summer. It was great fun to hang branches, vines, monkeys, etc. I hope everyone enjoys the affect and that it last for nine weeks. Have a great summer!

To See What they Could See

One morning the raido hosts were discussing Steven Hawkings thinking that there is extraterrestial life out there and the danger of attracting their attention. Taylor listened intently and then added that the universe is a big place so there likely is more life out there. But I wonder, she added, why would they want to visit here? Mackenzie, without missing a jump on my bed as she answered, piped up and said, "It's like the bear that went over the mountain; to see what he could see." Ah, out of the minds of babes. But there's actually a lot of sense to that.

The Creative Mind of a Child

Taylor and I were out biking the other day. Being a more typical spring day, it was chilly and fingers were going numb in the breeze created by the speed of the bike. Taylor and I discusses some things for me when I was a child and she labeled it a "dangerous time" since we didn't have car seats, bike or skating helmets, nor seat belts. She then piped up that her thumbs were cold but not her fingers. "I guess it's like penguins that stand together to keep warm. My fingers are keeping each other warm." Now if all of us could draw such connections amongst seemingly unrelated topics, what genius discoveries we might be able to make.

Two Garages

While in the car, again, on the way to pick Taylor up at school, a Sick Mackenzie piped up and asked me from the back seat, "Mommy would you like two garages?" She then went onto say that Daddy and I could each have one. I could my stuff in one and DAddy could put his stuff in the other. I said I'd like to have a shed to put bkikes in, the lawn mower, and the wheel barrow. Then with some leap in logic, Mackenzie told me if I lived in one house, Daddy could live in the old house. She also went on to ask if kids can stay with their mum or dad if they (parents) aren't living together any more. I told her that kids can. She said she'd like to stay with me and that she thought Taylor would too. We had just finished watching Little Bear and Caillou on television; both two-parent families. I had to ask Mackenzie, why was she asking me this? Of course she said, "I don't know." I asked if she had kids in her class who only one parent but I didn't get an answer. I know Taylor has single-parent children in her class. But how did this all begin from, "Mommy would you like to have two garages?" Children are....shall I say, interesting.

Canada Rocks!

When I told the girls this morning that Canada won another gold last night and became the first country to win the most gold medals at the olympics, Kenzie's reply, with a fist in the air, was "CANADA DEFINATELY ROCKS!!! :) What an event to have been around for. Wish we could have watched more of the events. Go Canada!

A Child of the Times

On occassion, Taylor has informed me that when she grows up that she is going to bike or walk everywhere because it is better for the environment and good exercise for her. She has also revealed that she intends to have a house that is in the ground so that it will stay cooler in summer and warmer in winter; and that she will have plants growing on the roof and she will have two or three exits in case of a fire. The girl is only seven. I won't ask where she comes up with the stuff because we have discussed such things, especially while travelling by car (not bike or by foot). But I am amazed at how she has remembered it, processed it, and added it all to her dreams of her future. Wow! When I was seven, I wasn't worried about getting enough exercise, keeping the environment healthy (what was that?), nor concerned about the temperature of my furture home (I put on or took off a sweater). Interesting. I wonder what her goals will be when she's old enough to drive and when she is old enought to have a home. In the meantime, keep dreaming big!


Weeks later, Mackenzie pops out of her bedroom already dressed for the day. On closer inspection, she's wearing the same thing she had on the day before. "Mommy, I'm helping the earth by wearing the clothes I wore yesterday." I told her that does help because it doesn't make more laundry and use more water. "Are you proud of me?" "Yes." I also had to mention that when I was little and wore clothes two days in a row that I got teased but that if clothes aren't sweaty or muddy or dirty in anyway, then one should be able to wear their clothes again. I just wish she'd do what I'd asked and wear her pj's more than one night. This is where the idea originated from.