"I want short hair."

Hmm...something I didn't expect to hear from my daughter, at least until the pre-teen rebellion set in, but there it is. This revelation came just days after hearing my husband complain, yet again, that he's concerned that our little baboushka's tresses are getting "too long". Too long? What means this phrase? She's a girl. I mean, if it starts getting stuck under her butt when she sits down...maybe that's too long. Straggly? Okay, I'll give you straggly. She does tend to give the impression of an impish street urchin by the end of the school day. But let's be honest, I'm not looking so hot at the end of the day either, and you don't see me shaving my head. But I digress. Suffice it to say that I was firmly planted on the "I'm never cutting her hair" side of the fence, until she went and vaulted over to dad's side. Defeat. At least it came with fairy dust. Fairy dust is a powerful analgesic.

Hi mom! Let's DO this! 

She really is enjoying herself. She's just concentrating really hard on keeping her sticker stuck to her hand in the midst of all that hot air blowing around. 

The big reveal

Found in the dictionary under the phrase "pleased as punch" 

"You can't squish me. I'm not a ball."

~ E.

Quick and Dirty

It's been an eventful week and a half or so.

HAPPY 42ND ANNIVERSARY MOM AND DAD!!! That's a long time. Good work.

Dad had some surgery and is recovering nicely, not to mention 25 or 30 pounds lighter thanks to that pesky diet. It looks good on - or rather off - him.

E met Santa and Mrs. Claus, quite by accident as it were. Big hit. There are plans for another visit this weekend. Pictures to follow.

Very good friends of ours had their 8 day old daughter rushed to the hospital for very serious heart surgery. She is currently in recovery and a whole lot of people, the Cowfam included, are slowly, slowly exhaling just a little bit.

My husband is on vacation. Yippee!

We are currently debating whether it is better to continue breathing in decade-old dirt, mold and dust or to risk exposure to asbestos by getting rid of said dirt, mold and dust. Opinions?

Had my annual physical today. Wheeeeee!

I have one more Christmas present to buy. You might know who you are. You're very difficult.

Now if you'll excuse me, the chicken pot pie won't make itself, having someone work out for me doesn't get me the results I'm looking for, my husband will be expecting me to accompany him watch shopping shortly and the teachers don't like it when I leave E at school overnight.

E's first E

That right there is better than her dad's handwriting.

Naptime Update

I went and got a little cocky there for a bit. After my post a couple of weeks ago about the naptime saga, things started ticking along rather smoothly. It may have been the stickers that Ms. Natalie began to bestow upon "good nappers". E ran to me proudly each day last week, pulling up her sleeve to reveal another sticker, and I admit I thought the problem was licked. Will I never learn?

On Monday there was no sticker, but I assumed it was because Ms. Natalie was sick and the stand-in hadn't been apprised of the newly instated protocal vis a vis naptime rewards. No matter, Ms. Natalie was back on Tuesday. But there was still no sticker. Turns out E was "a bit silly" at naptime. Okay. No problem. We all slip up from time to time.

On Wednesday, a smiling E came running to me after school, pulling up her sleeve with pride and showing me...no sticker. "Mama! Mama! I didn't listen to Ms. Natalie!" *big smile*

Oh.

"And Ms. Natalie brought me up to Ms. Veronique to have a conversation and Ms. Veronique wasn't happy to see me!" *big smile*

Hm.

"Can I have a snack?"

As it happens, E decided not to nap at all on Wednesday. Now, some kids her age are starting to phase out their naps, and some miss naps once in a while with no detrimental effects. That doesn't happen at our house. I tried taking her out to run errands, you know, to keep her distracted from the debilitating fatigue she must be feeling. She didn't make it home...

...and for future reference to myself, as cute as it looks, it will NOT appreciate being woken up for dinner.

Doogie COWser, MD

As we were getting ready for school this morning, E had higher education on the brain:


"If I'm going to be a doctor I need to study."


"I got my study ball. I'm ready to study now."


"Actually, I need to work. I need to do some very important works now, because I'm going to be a doctor."


E: Why is my bear laying down?
M: Maybe she's sick.
E: It's a good thing I'm going to be a doctor.

I wonder if they have "Take Your Daughter To Work" days in the OR.

As good a reason as any

E: I want to be a doctor when I grow up.

M: Okay.

E: I want to be a doctor because dada's a doctor, and I like dada, and I want to be with him wherever he goes!

...and that's how the Theory of Relativity works.

Ms. E holding a very important lesson before school this morning with her eager students. All, I was instructed to notice, are sitting properly...except for the kitty, who has trouble sitting properly.

The limitations of infinity

M: Do you know how much I love you???

E: How much?

M: To infinity, and BEYOND!!!

E: That's not how it works, mom, That's not how you love someone. That's how you fly.

M: Oh. Well, how do you love someone?

E: You say, I love you all the way to the moon and back!

M: I love you all the way to the moon and back!!!

E: Thanks.

Brilliance out of imbecility

Common sense ain't so common anymore.

~ Yours truly

(after a head-shaking session stemming from a question asked about the specific age at which a boy needs his first haircut)

Also,

If you make a big deal out of something, it's more likely to be a big deal. And vice versa.

Put that in your child-rearing pipe and smoke it.