cookie

this morning after taking ella to school, bohdan spotted the snickerdoodles on the counter.  "i want cookie mamma!"  "no, bohdan, not now," i said.  after whining about it for a few minutes he comes over to me, pulls on my arms and says, "a hug, mamma, a hug."  how could i refuse that?!  so i gave him a hug and as i did he whispers, "i want cookie."  oh boy!

in the jungle...

this morning was rough!  nobody wanted to listen, there was whining, corinne changed about 3 times.  i was so frustrated by the time we all got in the car that i had to ask the kids' forgiveness.  they all started to sing "the lion sleeps tonight".  their moweemawops were all outta wack so i sang it for them a couple times and they all chimed in.  it was really sweet and totally diffused all the drama of the morning.  on our way from ella's school to corinne's, corinne started singing and bohdan pipes up, "no, no, like dis: mo-geen-a-gas".  just made me chuckle.

this morning when i dropped ella off at school she went to her cubby and pulled out this note.  we've been talking about her going to kindergarten next year.  a few days ago i said i was going to miss her while she was gone.  she said she would write me notes.  

today ella was a coloring fiend.  one of the pictures she colored was a mermaid with blue hair.  i commented on it and she said, "yeah, she used sea dye.  some mermaids use that to dye their hair."

memories

i am so behind on my blogging.  i have been meaning to update with posts from the fall and christmas.  eventually i will put them on here, but in the meantime i am just going to go on with what's going on now and there will be "flashbacks" every now and then.

today is one of those days i think i will remember when my kids are older.  there is nothing particularly special about today, but it is the type of day that will become extinct in our house too soon with the coming of kindergarten next year.  i woke up late, made the kids pancakes and we all chatted around the kitchen table about the previous evening.  afterwards, the kids got dressed and ella requested to watch "the tigger movie".  i had nothing else planned so on went the bouncing-est movie ever.  the girls and i all got a bit teary-eyed at the end for different reasons.  corinne was sad about the other tiggers that tigger never found, ella was just emotionally upset at the end because it is a somewhat sad sounding song and i was feeling the time flowing away too quickly for these years of pre-k and toddlerhood.   after lunch bohdan went down for a nap and the girls went to work on a picnic in the backyard.

here they are praying for their food.  i let the girls have a honey cookie and a yogurt stick to go along with their "tea" (which was really just water).  they brought out plastic food for their guests.  as they were praying i overheard ella say, "thank you, Jesus, for dying on the cross."

pooh, tigger and barbie were invited to the lavish affair:)

next up they found pet snails.  not my favorite thing, but the girls love them.  they named them splashy and slimy.

here they are petting them. (ick)

after coming indoors they asked if they could open this 1995 christmas barbie.  my aunt gave it to ella on her first christmas.  every now and then ella asks if they can play with it and finally i said yes.  i realized that it's a toy and they should enjoy it.  it's days like these i wish i could keep this time forever.  our little devotional this morning was about change and that God uses change for good.  i'm not sure i'm ready for change, but it sure is coming.  i'm thankful for the one who holds us close and thankful for this time right now...

a long, long time ago...

so waaaaaay back in october my mom came for a visit. yeah, i know, i'm really behind on my blog. anyway, we had a great time with her. we went shopping, made crafts, played, baked…lots of fun stuff. you can see corinne in her jessie tutu that nona (my mom) made her.

my mom and i also took the kids to the petaluma in pumpkin patch. the girls absolutely loved the ladybugs that had infested the patch. they were everywhere.

and the there was the corn "sand" box.

the kids are starting to understand when visitors leave that we have to say "goodbye" and won't see them for a while. this is the first time the girls were sad when we said goodby to my mom at the airport. i had to pick up corinne because she started whimpering. on our way home we stopped off and ate lunch. i was amazed at how well the kids did!! ted was out of town for the second part of the week while my mom was here and it was so nice to have her here for that as well! come back, mom!

nicknames

sometimes corinne likes to get under ella's skin a bit and call her "ella bella" which leads to "ella belly". of course, complaints from ella and brief reminders to corinne quickly follow. well, tonight we were all headed home from awana and ella was doing word rhymes. this is how the conversation went:

ella: guess what rhymes with mom? pom!

me: or bomb. (this was lost on her)

ted: what rhymes with ella?

ella: bella!

ted: do you know what "bella" means?

ella: i have a friend named bella in my sunday school class. (focus, focus)

me: do you know what "bella" means?

ella: no.

me: it means beautiful! (brief silence)

ella: mimi moo, would you tell me a story of peter pan? (mimi moo- this is what ella calls me when she's trying to get under my skin. i often remind her that i don't appreciate this nickname)

me: i don't know anybody that name.

ella: it's you! (quiet) mommy do you know what "mimi moo" means? it means beautiful! (uproarious laughter)

yep, i'm done in!