Long overdue photos

On langauge (yes, I know I've used this title before - deal with it)

So, two fun things happened in the last 24 hours:

Jellybean said mama! WOOOHOOOO!!!!!!!!! Of course, I’ve been unable (FAIL!! ROAR GNASH SOB) to get her to repeat it. But still. My heart about triples in size just thinking about it! SO proud of my little bean! God, do I love that little girl. I smooched her incessantly on the bus ride to school this morning, murmuring “say mama, say mama…” in between kisses on her soft blonde hair.

But no, she was silent. From the grins she kept giving me, I think she likes the attention and might withhold the next mama just to keep me focused on her – the stinker!

Not to be outdone by her little sister, Monkey has started writing “notes” to her daddy, presently traveling for work, “because she loves him.”

Which is why there is a small parade of hot pink (bien sur!) post-it notes stretching across the wall by our bed. She’s putting them there “to keep” in his absence. She’s so earnest, this is just endearing. Especially since the notes are comprised solely of a few random scribbles. Our budding novelist…..

Memories

Yesterday was 9/11.

For the first time in eight years I wasn't sad on this day.

I didn't focus on all that we lost.

I didn't focus on all that we could lose.

I was just happy to be alive.

I don't know if time heals all wounds.

I don't know if that wound should ever heal.

All I know is that I love my two girls, my husband, my friends and family and beloved cat Ollie.

And that's how it should be.

The things she says, they don't always make sense (to me)

Monkey is funny. Sometimes she knows it, but even better is when she doesn't.

For example, in the airplane on the way home from Minneapolis, she told M "I"m have"....after being told to "behave".....

When I was attempting to dress her for school this past week, after she took her pajamas off (but before she put her clothing on), she danced around the kitchen saying "I'm a naked monkey" and walking like an orangutan. I can never tell if she remembers that her nickname is Monkey when she does this sort of thing....or if its just some sort of Martha Graham modern dance mood....

And her stories are hilarious. Today, when we were eating lunch at the Museum of Natural History, she told me that Santa got lost in outer space looking for a soft, blue planet that he could take home. Yeah, um, I got nothing. No clue.

The girls are back, the girls are back

Remember that song, The Boys are Back in Town by Thin Lizzy? (the boys are back, the boys are back….) I’m humming it, but with my own words because the girls are back in school, the girls are back in school….and it’s a good thing.

Wednesday was the first day back. We dropped Jellybean off first (her classroom is closest to the entrance of the school) and boy was that easy. She smiled at her teacher and practically leapt into her arms. No separation anxiety there. M has been known to make the ribald comment that Jellybean’s definitely a second child – “she gets passed around like a cheap trick” – and only rarely will she object to someone other than mommy or daddy holding her.

I worried that it might be tougher with Monkey, but she was fine, too! And, she helped her best friend Caleb out. Caleb was having a rough time – when he got to school none of the kids or teachers he knew were in the room. When we arrived he was sitting on the floor with his back to the door, bawling loudly and slumped over a toy he was picking at idly (his poor mom, my friend, was standing outside listening with a pained look on her face.)

When he saw Monkey walk into the room though he gave one last shudder, wiped the tears from his eyes (with a quick glance back at Monkey to see if she’d noticed), and sat there with the “who me? naw, I wasn’t crying!” look. Ahhh, the positive effect of peer pressure. It gets you every time!