An Obituary

Alas, the Dorothy shoes (aka the red sparkly ones Nana gave Monkey for Christmas) have gone on to heaven; they were - officially - loved to death.

Long after all the sparkles on the front had been rubbed off, leaving bald spots....long after I colored in those bald spots with a red sharpie (again and again and again)......they were still worn, and much loved.

Sadly, we bid adieu to them yesterday when the elastic strap gave up the ghost and snapped. Rendering them useless on the foot of a child that runs like the wind.

We took a moment to discuss how Monkey wouldn't be able to wear them any more, and she was sanguine about it.

I was puzzled by this cheerful response to the loss of a loved paid of shoes (since we all know how crazy and particular she is about shoes!) until I heard her say, almost to herself, "it's OK, Nana will bring
another pair when she visits..."

Oh.

And then - uh oh! I can't find them on Target any more.........eek. Anyone know where to buy sparkly red shoes that will please my September issue fashion forward child that runs and runs and runs?

Good bye Dorothy shoes. We'll miss you.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Most mornings I send M a quick update about the girls. How dropoff went at school, anything interesting, etc.

Today we had a 50% chance of rain during our commute.

Thus, my update to M:

"Dropoff went well this morning. Although Monkey needed a moment to adjust to the inhumanity of my request that she go outside when it might be raining."

Dictionary entry

Main Entry: de·fi·ant
Pronunciation: \-ənt\
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle French, from Old French, present participle of defier to defy
Date: 1583
: full of or showing defiance : bold, impudent
— de·fi·ant·ly adverb
: see Monkey, or; see Jellybean.

Family Tree

Over the Easter/Passover/Spring Break/We’re just closed indefinitely break at Jellybean and Monkey’s school, Grandma Larson came out to help watch the girls. And, while she was here, the girls had a GREAT time. (Grandma, on the other hand, worked. She’s STILL tired out, I think!).

And, because school was closed for sooooo f’ing long (seriously, 8 days. EIGHT DAYS! That is SERIOUSLY f’ing with my girls’ schedule! And they LIKE their schedule. Messing with it MAKES THEM CRANKY) , well, things got a little out of whack. Naps were missed, bedtimes slid around, and sometimes, just sometimes, people got cranky.

Monkey threw some whopping tantrums while Grandma Larson was here. Seriously, messing with their schedule really messes with their heads. That – that or she’s just three. You decide.

One day, she declined quiet time. It had gotten late, she didn’t want to stop doing what she was doing (probably building a fort or otherwise demolishing the apartment), it had been raining all day so she’d been cooped up inside, and she was defiant. She was NOT going to take a nap. I assured her that I wasn’t laboring under the delusion that she would sleep, but she still needed to be in her room, by herself, for quiet time. This did not go over well. It involved yelling. It involved some screaming. It involved some whining (piteously, with a swelling chorus of violins in the background) “no, don’t leave meeeeee, I don’t want to be aloooooone….”, and finally, it involved me being disinherited.

Yes, she officially told me that YOU ARE NOT MY MOTHER ANY MORE. Note the abuse of caps? Well, it’s nicer that the abuse of my eardrums – this message was screamed! (my neighbors were very unhappy at this point in time, I’m sure).

So I asked if I could reapply tomorrow. You know, to be her mother again.

Monkey paused (which is funny – ever seen a tantrum just halt?), stretched her index finger up to the sky, shook it at me and said YES……….BUT ONLY TOMORROW!

Sisters

Grandma Larson and M took the girls to the Bronx Zoo today.

I think they're having a good time: