Remembering back to rabbit's feet

Do you remember when they were somewhat popular? Rabbit's feet? Colored in wacky colors?

When I was in elementary school they held a Christmas shop in the library where kids could go and buy their little goodies on their own. Rabbit's feet were all the rage.

And that year my parents each were lucky enough to get one each from me.

I think back to the rabbit's feet when I look at the presents my kids got me and I am very thankful that they aren't all the rage anymore.

Actually, they are pretty gross... and I remember that my dog ate more than one...

AB and I have a routine whereby we take the kids shopping and let them pick out whatever they want (within reason) to each of us. And the kids love having picked out and wrapped their own gifts.

Skadi is a good little shopper. But she goes into a store with no preconceived notion about what she is buying for anyone. She likes to browse. She found a nice big brown fuzzy blanket for AB and also a Muppet's t-shirt. Slippers and socks for Aunt Tara.

Leif on the other hand, knows exactly what he wants to get someone and goes in headstrong and unwilling to waver! He insisted on an Angry Birds shirt for AB and also a scarf.

We went to about four different stores in search of the right scarf. So many were "too girly for daddy". But he finally found a green and grey thick wool scarf that by the time we found it I was willing to pay a little more lest we have to go to anymore stores.

For me?

I was the lucky recipient of two tubes of sparkley red and pink lip gloss AND a bottle of green sparkle body mist in case I decide to try out for Elphaba I suppose. I am sure you can guess who gave those to me.

From Leif, I got a crystal duck and a crystal pillar that says "Mom, I love you" and has its own rotating and colored lights base reminiscent of a small disco ball.

AB had a bit of a hard time keeping a straight face as I opened it and Leif looked on beaming with a huge smile.

I asked Leif how he came up with those ideas and he told me that he remembered back to when he got me a bead for my bracelet and how much I liked it and he KNEW that I would love to have a glass duck because of that. Okaaayyyy...

Later on AB told me that he was perplexed when Leif announced that he had to get me a glass duck for Christmas. Maybe I had it easy searching the stores for the "right" scarf? Then he asked me what I thought of the crystal pillar?

"I love it because Leif loves it and it is important to him," I told him.

And secretly I was thinking "AND because it isn't a rabbit's foot!"

My daughter may be the funniest thing ever...

Skadi: "Mommy, what kind of animals are we?"

Me: "Well we are humans, which I guess are a type of animal."

Skadi: "No, what type of ANIMALS are we."

Me: "Well we are closest to monkeys."

Skadi: "NO, what type of animals are we?"

Me: "Well Skadi we walk on two legs and most animals walk on four..."

Skadi: "So that means we are kangaroos!"

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Skadi: (Whispering in my ear.) "Mommy, your pajamas are old and ugly, you need to ask Santa for some pretty pajamas with roses on them for Christmas."

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Skadi: "Ouch, you bumped my twohead Leif."

(Love that she still calls her forehead, her twohead.)

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Skadi: "No mommy, go to the picking page."

Me: "The picking page? Is there a Dora story about picking apples?"

Skadi: "No, the picking page mommy."

Me: "Show me."

Skadi: (Annoyingly flips the book to the front to the table of contents.)

Duh.

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Skadi: "Why do we have houses mommy?"

Me: "To provide a place to sleep out of the bad weather and stuff."

Skadi: "Ha, you are silly mommy and wrong too. We have houses so that when we change our clothes no one sees us."

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Skadi: "Mommy, I love you more than strangers."

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Skadi: "Once mommy a woman came up to me, but she didn't take me."

Me: "What Skadi? When were you by yourself that a woman came up to you?"

Skadi: "She came up to me and said, 'where is your grandma' and then she said, 'where is your grandpa' and I didn't know and I told her. But I was SO happy she didn't steal me."

Me: "When did this happen Skadi?"

Skadi: "When I was jumping on the trampoline at the cabin."

Me: "Oh, that person was probably one of your relatives!"

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Me: (Reading one of the Mo Willems Trixie books.)

Skadi: "The person who wrote this book really messed up bad. He accidentally wrote my name as Trixie, not Skadi. Will you read it right please?"

Me: (Sigh.) "One time long ago before Skadi could even speak..."

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Skadi: "Mom, let's see how smart you are, what's 16+18?"


Me: "34."

Skadi: "Wrong. I think you better call dad and ask him since he is so much smarter than you."

Me: (Thinking someone better watch her little mouth if she wants Santa to visit her!)

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Skadi: "Mommy, I might not be made of bones. I think I am made of power instead because I am a good fixer."


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Leif: "Pretty please Skadi?"


Skadi: "No Leif."

Leif: "Pretty pretty please Skadi?"

Skadi: "No Leif."

Leif: "I'll say you are beautiful."

Skadi: "Ok."

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Skadi: "Mommy the only thing that will make me happy this morning is to listen to Uncle Kracker."


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The saddest children's book EVER!

Ok, maybe except for that Robert Munsch book - "Love You Forever". Do you want to turn a new mom to mush in 60 seconds or less? Give her that horrible book!! (Ok, so it isn't horrible... plenty of people think it is beautiful...)

I don't often order from the Scholastics Book flyers, but I noted recently that we had very few books about my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving. So I decided to stock up on some fall and Thanksgiving books through the monthly book orders at the kids' schools. I suppose this is where the problem started. Because if I had ordered from Amazon I would have read a synopsis of the books before ordering.

But nope. I saw Amelia Bedelia's First Apple Pie and thought in my head... girl theme... apples (my daughter's favorite)... a cute little girl kind of like my own on the cover... and PIE (my families specialty)... no brainer!

But little did I know what awaited me under the cover.

Tears!

See Amelia Bedelia was spending the day with her grandma and grandpa and she and her grandma set about making an apple pie.

Right there my first thought... My mom was THE pie maker and if you have read my blog in years past, or if you know me, you know the importance of homemade pie in our family. My little girl won't ever get to make pie with her grandma. And teaching the art of making a homemade pie was extremely important to my family.

Of course I could wallow in this and feel sorry for us and let the tears keep rolling as I read it.

And yes, I did let the tears keep rolling as I read the book. But I know my charge. I know that it is *my* duty to teach the art of pie to my daughter (who appears to love to bake as much as her grandma).

My next charge is to get rid of that horrible, awful, sad book!

(Ok, so it really isn't a "horrible" or "awful" book. It is quite charming. But it doesn't belong in my house.)

Conversations with the kids

I love asking my kids scientific questions and seeing how they respond. Here was our conversation from our drive home from the eye doctor this afternoon.

Me: "Leif why does the wind blow?"

Leif: "Oh, I know this one! It's because of the moon."

Me: "Nope, that's the tides."

Leif: "No, it works with wind too, the gravity pulls the wind around."

Me: "Ok... why do the colors of the leaves change?"

Skadi: "Because God makes them do that!"

Me: "Ok, good answer, why is the sky blue?"

Leif: "Because space is blue and the clouds get in the way and make the sky."

Skadi: "I wanted to answer Leif! It's because God made it blue."

Me: "Why are there volcanos."

Skadi: "Because God made volcanos."

Leif: "No Skadi, it's because wherever there is an earthquake a volcano pops up."

(Kind of sounds like a zit...)

Me: "Well I don't know if Skadi is wrong, but that's interesting Leif. Why does it get cold in winter."

Skadi (screaming): "BECAUSE GOD MADE IT!"

Leif: "That's easy, because the seasons change."

Me: "What are mountains made of?"

Leif: "Wood. Hey mom, what makes planets?"

Me: "Something like the big bang."

Leif: "Nope, you are wrong, dirt makes it and someone packs the dirt really hard together and a planet is made."

Skadi: "GOD MAKES PLANETS LEIF!"

(Yes, apparently Skadi has embraced Sunday school.)