It's The Shoes That Makes The Pre-Schooler

After weeks of hearing bits and pieces of this Christmas song and that Christmas song we finally got the chance to hear the songs as they were meant to be heard...being screamed from the mouths of 30 or so 4 year olds.

I must admit that M is a performer and took her role very seriously, but being the true diva that she is, she was ultimately more concerned with what shoes she would be wearing. Being all decked out in her best Christmas dress is simply not enough...we MUST wear the black patent leather shoes to just set the outfit off. Mind you, these are the same shoes that I am trying to preserve for her role as Flower girl in a wedding the weekend after Christmas. And we all know how careful 4 year olds are with their shoes. (Do you sense the sarcasm?) So after many tears (mostly mine) I let her wear the shoes. She calls them her "tap" shoes. And to my amazement, she was actually careful with them and took them off as soon as we entered the house after the performance. It did help that the children performed INSTEAD of the daily playing on the dirt playground. So the shoes went back in the box until the wedding, at which time I told M that she could wear them wherever and with whatever she so desired, as long it is not illegal. You should have seen the disappointment on her face.

*Notice that the only picture from the entire performance (stupid rechargeable batteries) has the shoes cut out of the shot.

The Logic That IS Elmo

Me: M, why didn't you tell Mommy you had to go potty?

M: I don't know.

Me: What does Elmo say to do when you have to go potty?

M: "Stop what you are doing and go!"

Me: Then why didn't you stop and go?

M: I'm not Elmo.

Can't argue with that.

Through The Eyes Of A Parent

Last night me and M watched Frosty The Snowman. Is it just me, or do those cartoons seem shorter than they did when I was a kid. I swear ol' Rankin & Bass left some scenes out of the version we watched last night (originally aired last Friday night....I do love me some DVR).

So anyway, we're watching Frosty and M is really getting into it and then I start to realize that I'm watching Frosty like a "parent" watches Frosty....mumbling to myself that its Winter time and those kids need more clothes on to play out in the snow, and wondering what kind of influence Frosty actually was. I mean Karen hadn't even thought about going to the North Pole with him until he mentioned it. And of course she was all like "Sure, as long as I'm back in time for dinner". Makes you wonder what would have happened if Frosty had offered her 'shrooms that he had hidden underneath that "magic hat". I'm sure Santa would have come along and saved the day, but this time he'd be driving a VW Vanagon.

Tonight we're watching Frosty Returns. I'm anxious to see the after school special that pops into my head.

A Thought Before Bedtime

M: Mommy, I want to have good dreams tonight, not bad ones.

Me (Mommy): Why don't you dream about Gracie then?

M: Gracie, Kodi, Winston and that girl that takes care of them?

Me: Girl?

M: Yeah, the one you talked about at Thanksgiving. The one that lives in heaven and takes
care of Kodi, Winston & now Gracie.

Me: Oh, you mean Grandma Hazel?

M: Yeah, her. I'll dream about all of them and have good dreams tonight.


My little girl has such a great memory. We only talked about Grandma Hazel for a bit at Thanksgiving. I never knew Grandma Hazel and so of course M never knew her. But to her she is a "girl that takes care of them". That's a pretty good way to look at it...don't you think.

Bye, Bye, Baby

Today is a very sad day. My beloved Gracie passed on last night. For those of you don't know...Gracie is my 2 year old Yorkipoo. Otherwise known as a baby in a black fur coat.

For the sake of not shorting out my keyboard with all of my tears, I won't rehash the entire tragic story. Let's just say that one minute she was fine, the next she was not and that she died peacefully in her sleep. (Thank God for small favors).

I'm barely hanging on right now and even Christmas music is reminding me of her little face. Her precious little face. So I'm signing off for now.

Bye Bye Baby Gracie.