Snippets

James and a puppy
A certain little boy's birthday is coming up soon (very soon!) and he's talking about it more and more. Earlier this week, he informed me that he wanted a baby puppy for his birthday. I balked at the notion, and told James that I couldn't get him a puppy for his birthday. "That's okay," he replied, "I can ask Aunt Erin instead." I don't think he was being tricky. I think he took me literally when I said "I can't" and he was just coming up with a different viable solution. I clarified my position that I don't want any puppies in our house. He thought about it for a moment, then asked to go to a baby puppy store so he could play with one instead. Okay, now we're talking.

Robert and field trip prep
This morning, just as we were shooing the big kids out the door to start their walk to school, Robert suddenly remembered that it was a field trip day. He calmly informed us in a cool and confident voice what exactly he needed: a sack lunch with disposable bags, closed-toe shoes, and a light jacket. Then he set about making it happen. With some help from me and Bobby, he got everything he needed and walked out the door only a couple minutes later. Can I tell you how shocked this made me?! Stunned! This kid had a problem, clearly stated the solution, and got to work right away making it happen. No screaming. No panicking. No moaning and crying that he would never finish the tasks on time...astonishing! I'm just not used to that kind of behavior around here ;) And, by the way, he's managed to pay off his car-bike incident debt in full.

Alice and bedtime fear
I had a bit of a breakdown last night (it boils down to being overscheduled and malsocialized recently) and I put myself to bed at 8:30pm. Alice was feeling especially scared last night, vulnerable, and she was expecting me to come in one last time and say good night. But I didn't. Alice asked Bobby about it and Bobby let her know that I was feeling too sad to come see her. This was too much for Alice. She burst into tears! As soon as I heard her get upset, I stopped crying. It was odd. You'd think that yet another demand on my time and energy at that moment would put me over the edge, but it felt more like, "Snap out of it. Stop wallowing. There's work to be done that only you can do." I listened a couple minutes from my bedroom to see if Alice would resolve this on her own, but I could tell she was only getting worse. I invited her to come lay down in my room. She asked why I was sad. I told her that everyone has a sad day every once in a while. She seemed to agree. Then she immediately calmed down and snuggled right up to my head and shoulder. She was asleep within 2 minutes.

I didn't feel like moving her yet, so I just lay there thinking about my own situation again. A couple solutions struck me. I felt better. Some time later, I rolled over onto my side, trying to put some air between me and Alice. I'm not much of a snuggler, y'know? Soon I felt a few fingers gently prod my back once, then again, then a third time. Then a still-sleeping Alice scooted over and lay right up against me like a mom-seeking missile, breathing on the back of my neck. Dude, I was ready to put her back in bed right then. I tried to carry her (ha ha ha!) and miraculously didn't hurt either of us in the process. She remembers me taking her back to her bed, but she doesn't remember the poking and snuggling incident.

Matthew ready for a nap
Speaking of sleeping, is anyone ready for a nap?

Me! Me! Meeeeeeeee!