#Nuggets from my children

It would be incorrect to say that Lailah doesn't talk as much as Eowyn.  She does talk just as much, she uses far more made up words, and the real words she does use are sometimes hard to decipher- but she does talk/verbalize easily as much.

Sometimes while we are watching TV she's just sitting on the sofa humming.  Not humming tune, really just buzzing.  Making noise- sometimes robot noises "beep-bloop-bloop-beep."  Sometimes she will come up with an urgent story which must needs be told- about a purple dragon.

If you ask her who ate the last cookie, or how her toy got broken, she's say, "Maybe it was a monster."

She decided just after her third birthday that she would be potty trained, but before that she flat out refused to participate in the training exercises which I wanted her to perform.  I tried to transition her to pull-ups by telling her that diapers were for babies.  "Do you want to be a baby."
Lailah, "yes!"
Me, "No! You want to be a big girl!"
Lailah, "No, me baby!"
Me, "Well, no more diapers. You are going to wear these pull-ups now!"
Lailah, "That diaper!"
Me, "No it's not!  It's like panties see!" (Showing her how pull-ups are connected at the sides and diapers are not connected."
Lailah, "Do this," (pulls the pull-up sides apart at the velcro seams) "now it diaper!"
Me, "Give me that!  This is a pull-up!"

Jacket

I found a dog.  She was running around on the road- she looked hungry and it was cold outside, so I picked her up.  She came right to me.  I put up some posters, I took her to the vet to see if she had a chip.  (No.) I even posted her picture on craigslist. I got several calls "That's not my dog, but if you don't find her people, I'd like to take her."
My children pretty much immediately said the same thing.
Eowyn said,  "Mama, can I name her?"
I said, "Well, she's not really our dog, so when we find her family we will give her back."
Eowyn: I know, but she needs a name now.
Me: Okay, what do you want to name her?
Eowyn: How about Red.
Me: But she's white and brown, why would you name her Red?
Eowyn: Okay, then let's name her Jacket.
Me: Jacket?
Eowyn: Yeah!
Me: Okay?

 Now we have Jacket, who is super cute, but NOT HOUSE TRAINED at all. Pooping on the floor makes her so less cute.

I have a hard time remembering Jacket's name.  Our friend has a similar looking dog named Patches. Sometimes she is Patches-
Biscuit, Jumper, Pocket, Brisket, Cookie, Locket, Packet! What is that dog's name again?
Jacket.
Welcome Jacket.  I think she's a Papillion or Papillion mix.

animal heads

Despite the fact that heads, indeed any body parts without the remainder of the body, freak me out, I bought this book.  It was the zebra.  The zebra calls to me.  I must have a crocheted zebra head mounted on a wall.  Then, possibly I must have a unicorn head mounted on another wall.

I am one week into my winter break, and I have accomplished (satisfactorily) very little.

I'm supposed to be packing, sorting, cleaning ... instead I have finished a baby blanket, two doll sized sweaters, and the head, arms, and legs of a smallish gold monster.  I would have done his body, but I've packed my stuffing.  I must stuff the head before I go on with the body.

I have ordered and received several books instructing me on how  to create incredibly useless items (see left.)  I need to continue to remind myself that I should certainly have less, but I keep buying more.
Then I end up with a crochet zebra head on my wall. Life is weird.