Writing

Forget the Bacon!

“Waaaaaah!” Q complained. “I hate brussel sprouts! I’ll never eat that!”

Me: One strip of bacon is not going to fill you up... I’ll divvy up the sprouts, and just eat half. 

Q, 3 minutes later... “Mom, is there more brussel sprouts?” 

Forget the bacon!

Writing

Easter is coming, and she knows it!

"Joy To the World" is her favorite Christmas song.

She Can, and She Will!

In the midst of the Cold-19 outbreak in our county, schools are closed for six weeks! But this isn't a vacation. Quinn's school has set up a remote schooling program in which she has to complete works assigned by her teacher online.

On the first day of Remote Schooling, I quickly realize that The Mighty Quinn is not easy to contend with.

She told me that I was boring! That her teacher at school makes learning fun, and I don't!

[That's how I know I am not cut out to be a teacher.]

So I resorted to threats. "We can take a break. But no electronics of any kind. Go outside and play!"

But, if I let her design her own curriculum, and she performs the work she wants, life is good!

 She'll read [The Night Sky].

She'll write her numbers from 1-100.

She'll draw what she and her dog did while they were outside.

Then, the next time "forced" recess came along, going outside backfired on me... 

Now she fought me about letting recess go 'til dark!

And it did.

An I’m Sorry Card

She has been obsessed with horses. She plays with her toy horses everywhere, inside the house and outside. Tonight she left them on the kitchen floor. In my way. So I threw a tantrum about it. And she made me a card.

This is the front of the card. “That’s not you, by the way,” she clarified. “That’s Mary, and Joseph, and Baby Jesus in a manger.”

 

The main greeting inside:



“Don’t read this part,” she said, pointing at the left side of the page. “I crossed it out because I didn’t want to use that.”

The greeting read: Love Mom I’m [sorry] for the horses.

And the back side



The star of Bethlehem, and in the upper left corner, Jesus on a cross.

And my cup runners over!

Cones

We just came home from an evening at the beach. "I want my combs, Mama," Quinn announced while putting her shoes away.  And I ignored her, thinking said combs are stashed where only she knows. 

Fifteen minutes later, she sought me out to remind me that she wanted her combs. Confused, I asked her what combs?

"The pink and yellow ones," she answered. 

I had no recollection of me getting her, or she acquiring from someone else said combs. 

"The pink and yellow combs we bought at the store!" she was now whining in frustration. 

We bought combs at the store? I was so confused. Combs for your hair? I solicited clarification. 

"No! Combs for the ice cream!" now approaching Defcon 5 state of alarm. 

The light in my brain turned on! It's so helpful when a toddler has a good grasp of language; it totally opens up the line of communication. 

Of course My Darling Girl, the CONES are right here. 

Mama, I'm Riding the Blue Train

"I want to ride the train," said Quinn last week. "The orange train." 

There are three trains that run on the railroad in our town. The grey train is Amtrak, the blue train is the Sounder commuter, and Quinn's favorite, the orange (sometimes green) BNSF freight train. She loves the orange train because five engineers have opened their windows to wave back at Quinn as they passed. 

Since the orange train is not an option, she picked the blue train because blue is her favorite color. 

So today we went for a short ride on the blue train. 

She was intimidated at first. "Mama, is it loud in the train?" She meant the train horn. 

I told her it's not loud inside the train, and that the train doesn't blow its horn all the time. 

Then there was the conductor. He was very kind and gentle, but perhaps the uniform and the gadgets hanging on his waist were intimidating? She wanted to be the one to hand him our ticket, but when he came to us, she froze like a deer in head lights. 

But once we were well into the ride, and she saw the beach where we go to watch and wave at the trains, she sat back and took it all in with fascination. 

"Mama, I'm riding the blue train..." she repeated like a mantra.