When we came home from church, and I noticed a really cool bug, I called Navy over to get it. She was loving the Praying Mantis we found, and played with it for a while.
Then I went in to where she was writing a note to our neighbor who is a 9 year-old bug lover and expert. When I saw that she was writing a note to Brennan, I was so pleased that she was going to give him the cool bug we had found. When I commented on how nice she was, she said, “Duh mom! This was already Brennan’s praying mantis. Scout let it out the other day from its cage, and we have been looking for it. Brennan has been so sad about losing it. Now he can finally have it back.”
Wow.
What a paradigm shift.
I guess there is a dad, who really knows his daughter.
So when he came back from a Baja fishing trip, and had all of these awesome shells he collected, he was granted permission to head back to Baja as often as he’d like.
At least from Navy!
When Dr. Carruth calls, needing help on a boy’s Eagle project, I answer.
And I volunteer Scout to be that help.
And then when Scout realizes his duties, he dominates the whole task of earning money for a shelter, and schools those older boys on their own project!
There is no secret, that I have a theory about the third child. Based on my own personal research, I find that the third child in a family is quite often the most difficult. That being said, I am determined to change my own theory into mud. So my method I have chosen to use…is brainwashing my third.
So every single day, when I see Dash, I call out a few things that he immediately knows the answer to.
I yell:
“Third time’s a …” then he calls out “CHARM”!
“Lucky number…” then he yells back “THREE”!
Then I whisper those same things in his ear over and over.
Please Dash…PLEASE be my easiest. I couldn’t bear if you ever turn stinky. You are heavenly, and I think you are literally here to break the mold.
If there even is a mold to break?!!!
You can only imagine my humiliation, when I received this text.
It was almost as bad as the humiliation I felt when there was a knock at the door five minutes later.
Stinking Navy!
Pippi is the cutest little mama in the world. She plays dolls as if she were a real mom.
She rocks them, puts them in time out, sings to them, feeds them, and this night she made sure her doll said her prayers reverently!
I die over her make believe world.
Even though Navy spends her weeks and months bogging down to math, reading and Chinese…her true light shines when she gets to be creative.
Today, she spent some time making temples and castles with Dash, and he was in awe at her finished product every time.
It was a cute moment, until he got annoyed at her for something and then knocked it to the ground.
Navy — never stop creating. You shine when the sprockets in your brain are working to create. I wish I had what you have!
It’s a good thing that my upstairs window has a direct line of sight to Scout’s new hiding place.
Notice the brown bag hanging behind him.
It’s full of his Halloween candy, that got held hostage soon after this photo was taken.
Scout and Navy have broken out their Rollerblades lately, and Dash wants in on the action.
So his little creative mind came up with these DIY skates!
And after making a pair for himself and Pippi, they had loads of fun on them.
Pippi thought she was hot stuff matching Navy, and walking into Carruthy’s office as the “to be seen”.
She loved the attention of getting weighed and measured.
She really loved the attention of getting to wear the earphones.
And she even loved the raising her hand part.
She was loving all of the doctor’s good reports — she is above average in height, and at 26.5 pounds, she is not quite on the charts for weight — but developing great.
But when it came time for the nurse to come in — the feeling in the room dimmed. And Pippi’s face even went somber.
And then the speedy shots took place.
And then we hurried out for a sucker.
And as we went outside, and she looked at her prize while she held her boo boo, she told me “I don’t weally wike Dr. Cawoof anymore.”
Good thing she still likes her Nonnie, who cuddled up nice and tight to the girl who got shots.
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