Lights, Camera, Action!

Mo's pretend play has taken on a slight "directive" tone. Some might call it bossy.....but we like to think of it as she is flexing her directorial muscles for when she goes to Hollywood!

Lately, her scenario of choice is where she is the baby, I am the mommy, Scout is the mema......and we are trying to figure out what our baby's name is. Mo's dialogue coaching goes something like this....

"Mommy, you the mommy. Mema, you the mema.....and I am your little baby. Mema, you want to name me 'Shabby', but Mommy, you say, 'No, no, no, no....we will name her Mo.' "You ready.....ok, go."

This goes on for HOURS.....and we play it almost every day......every once in a while, I will add a line, or Scout will change the name....and Mo, will give us a sideways look, and say "No...that's not how you do it."

Love and Snuggles

Last night, Mo was so snugly. We were reading books before bed, and she just curled up as close as she could and snuggled into my neck.....she kept saying, "I love you so much, Mommy." It was a very special moment. I was telling her how special she was, and how lucky I was to be her Mommy.......then the other shoe dropped....

Mo: Mommy, I will still love you when I am a teenager.

Me: Yes, baby....and I will love you no matter how big you get.

Mo: When I am a grown-up, I will still see you..........when I can. You know, I'll be busy.

Let's just hope she puts us in a good nursing home.

The Hipster Chuckie Cheese

For those of you who do not live in Portland.....there are a few things that reign supreme here......good food, funky restaurants, and micro brews. All of these things, Scout and I enjoyed before having Mo.

Now, when we go out to eat.....the thinking has changed.......we have a checklist that determines if where we go....

1. Do they have a kiddie menu?
2. Do they get the kid's food out fast?
3. Will Mo be sufficiently entertained while we are there?

We aren't that choosy......I mean, really....

Tonight, we went to a local brew pub in our neighborhood...we heard it had great food, and a kid's play area. We thought it might be the perfect place for all of us.....kid friendly, but not a kid restaurant.

We walked in and got seated, but honestly, the first thing that hit me was the noise level. There were about 10 kids in there.....and they were all SCREAMING. One kid was throwing a full out tantrum in the back (why the parents didn't take them out, I will never know). If we hadn't been so hungry, we would have left....but we decided to tough it out.

As our meal went on, we watched kids in the play area taking toys from each other, and screaming. Toys were flying through the air. Parents would sometimes intervene, but most of them were kicked back, drinking their micro brews. It was every kid for themselves. Mo wouldn't even go into the play area, it freaked her out too much. It was a free-for-all!

We made it through dinner....food was ok, not great...we left with most of our hearing intact. Safe to say....we will not go back.

Star Wars

Mo has never seen Star Wars.....it isn't something that Scout or I talk about on a regular basis.....but somehow, Star Wars has sneaked its way into Mo's world.

There are 2 boys at daycare who love Star Wars, and must play it often, because Mo really knows the characters, the plot, the premise......so scary. Lately, she wants to be Luke Skywalker, and have us be the bad guy (Darth Vader)....now, don't be fooled, Mo stays true to the "playing mommy" that she loves so much..........just look at the picture.


So, the balloon is the light saber.....and Luke Skywalker is protecting the baby......because for some reason Darth Vader wants to take the baby. It is funny to see her weave her interests together in a way that makes sense to her.

Also, this weekend, we went to a birthday party with a Star Wars theme.....on the way home.....as Mo was opening up her Star Wars crayons.....she said "Star Wars is ADORABLE."

Slumber Party

Mo has wanted to have a sleepover with the twins from daycare for a while now. Keep in mind, the twins are 5, and have been on sleepovers before. They had been talking about it, and Mo totally bought into the idea of sleeping at their house. For about 2 weeks, when I would arrive at daycare, all 3 girls break out in choruses of "Please, can we have a sleep over, please, please, please."

So, we gave in......for several reasons......first, Mo really wanted to do it. We talked it over, she knew what a sleepover was (you have dinner, then you sleep, then you have breakfast). Plus, she was so excited....it was all she talked about for 2 weeks. But the real reason......I wanted to sleep in so bad on a weekend morning, it wasn't even funny!

So, we took her over on Saturday night. She packed her bag, and ran into the house, and started playing right away. We said our good-byes....and left. We had a wonderful dinner, and went to see Avitar. So far, so good.

We were about 30 minutes away from finishing the movie....when we got the first text....."Simone misses you, and can't sleep." .......followed by "She wants to come home." So, just as the final battle scene was starting, we left the movie theater to pick up our homesick little girl. She wasn't crying or anything, she just couldn't sleep in someone else's house. She wanted her Mama and Mema.

On the way home, Mo said "Playdates are so much better than sleepovers."

Funny Valentines

This year, we made home-made valentines for Mo's friends at daycare. They have a small party, and even though I don't believe the kids really have any clue what valentine' day is all about.....THEY LOVE THE CARDS......THEY LOVE THE EXCHANGING OF CARDS.....Mo is all about it.

Here are the valentines we made......please note, I am not the craftiest person (I want to be, but I really am not. That is why the edges are a bit messed up).....and I only had to make 7 of these, so I could afford to be more ambitious than if I had to make 25.


I traced the heart on poster board, and then poked holes around the edges. Mo then used yarn to "sew" the heart. Each card looks different.


It took all week to make just 7 of these. Mo was only into doing 1 or 2 at a time. We also made heart soap (leftover from a school project I brought home and made it).

Mo is ready to give her valentines to her friends. I know she will have a great time. I just wish these holidays were frozen in time. She is at such a great age, I am not ready to let any of these moments pass.

feelings....

I love my job, I really do, but on days like today, I wish I was a stay at home mom or at the very least, I had a job where I could go in an hour late and no-one would care. As it is, our mornings are so scheduled and so early, that if any one thing happens, we are screwed.

This morning, I woke Mo up and carried her downstairs....she didn't want to wake up. She REALLY didn't want to wake up. She just started crying, and yelling that she wanted to go back to bed. She was really upset....didn't even want to be held. I finally got her to sit in my lap, and I just rocked her, and tried to soothe her. I asked her if she felt ok, her response....."I am feeling fragile."

Out of the mouth of babes. She was fine......just feeling fragile. I totally know what she means. Those days when it just doesn't seem worth it to get out of bed. As a grown-up, I can deal with it, and just go on with my day. But when you are 3, it is not so easy to deal with those feelings.

What I wanted to do was to take it down a notch this morning. Take our time getting ready, maybe even have some playtime or a special stop at the coffee shop. But, I can't have a class full of kindergarteners waiting for me.....so that was a no-go. As it was, everything ended up fine....after about 10 minutes of some cuddling, Mo was ready to eat breakfast.

But, it just hurt my heart to see her feeling 'fragile' and not be able to take care of her the way she needed. The way I needed to care for her.