...I suspect I may be the luckiest kid in the world

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Mary vs. Kylie

Tonight we watched Mary Poppins.  It was the first time for the girls, and it was such a treat to introduce them to it.  Only a few minutes into it, I realised my mistake.  Why hadn´t I suggested a movie about a horrible nanny?  Why would I put ideas into their head about a nanny who could snap her fingers and the clothes and toys pick themselves up off the floor?!  What was I thinking?
Thankfully, as I was putting A to bed afterwards, my mind was put at rest.  "She would be a pretty awesome au pair," I said, as I tucked her in.  "Yeah," she said. "But you and her are the same."
It´s kind of like climbing to the top of the corporate ladder.

Im continually having to come up with new stories for the girls.  Today I mentioned the only (I think) detention I ever got in school....the result of a food fight at school.  This delighted the girls so much I went on to mention one of my brother´s detentions at school.  Sorry Tom.  But it involved Tom standing on a toilet at school to yell out the window and the seat breaking.  I may have embellished the story slightly.  In my version, Tom also fell into the toilet, it wasn´t pretty and the girls pretty much made up their own version from there.

I have somehow found myself reading a type of parenting book.  I dont know how this happened and it only hit me half way through it that I was identifiying with it and creating action plans in my head.  Ok, so its not just a parenting book.  It´s a happiness book and it´s really good.  But there´s a few chapters on parenting and I´m really enjoying it.  Many many months ago I decided that I wanted to open the door to the girls with a giant cheery hello every time they came home.  They ring the door bell several times a day....lunch, after school, after different activities, and there are three of them, so sometimes it feels like I´m running to the door all day long.  But I think answering with a cheery tone spreads a cheery vibe into the ensuing time we spend together.  Lately, I´ve been answering the door with different accents and Allisons, you´d be proud of my Southern drawl.  All that to say that it is quite bizarre to be able implement suggestions from the parenting chapters of my book...

 And that´s all I have to say for tonight.  That, and here is my rebellious, live-outside-the-box picture for the week.  Here I am standing in the place reserved for Sleds, Sleighs and Sledges.  It´s all about swimming against the tide.