This is Greg guest blogging on Lisa's blog. Quick story about Ellie:
Ellie walked in as I was shaving, and decided she wanted to shave too. So she got the shaving cream and, just as I did, she put it on her chin and cheeks. And nose, and forehead, and ears. And hands, and hair. Then she got a tiny lotion cream, about 3 inches long with a straight edge at the bottom, and proceeded to shave her face down. That was pretty fun.
Next, she decided she wanted to shave me. My chest and tummy to be precise. So she spread the shaving cream all over, and started shaving away. I tried to go get a washcloth, but she held my wrist and wouldn't let me go.
At one point, I said, "C'mon kid, its time to go eat".
And she replied, "I'm not a kid, I'm a professional".
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
The E (Ellie) True Hollywood Story
She was industrious. She was self-sacrificing. She was creative. And after selling her animals, working tirelessly doing chores around the house for fifty cents or a dollar, and emptying her piggie bank, Ellie had upwards of $30 of spending money.
That was two weeks ago.
Today, if you open up her green M&M purse and pull out her pink M&M wallet, you'll find exactly seventy eight cents.
It all started with the two beanie baby animals she had to have at Borders.
Then there was the ice cream for her and all her newfound friends at the park. The friends who mysteriously disappeared once the rainbow sno-cones ran dry.
There was fifty cents here and fifty cents there at every gumball machine she saw, and the special trip to Best Buy, where she quickly turned her quarters into a ring, a splat ball and a tiny plastic puppy.
A trip to Toys R Us for a pair of Barbie dolls yielded some good buys and mommy did split the cost, but sale or no sale, it was no use. The end was in sight.
It was Michael's that did her in. A penultimate trip for glitter glue (it was only a dollar!) and a final trip, the last six dollars traded for a sweater and cheerleader's skirt she just had to have for some undetermined bear.
It was a fun two weeks, filled with heady possibility and even joy. But perhaps it was inevitable that Ellie would fall into the decadent underworld that so many find themselves in when they have $30 to spend on whatever they want and are only five years old.
That was two weeks ago.
Today, if you open up her green M&M purse and pull out her pink M&M wallet, you'll find exactly seventy eight cents.
It all started with the two beanie baby animals she had to have at Borders.
Then there was the ice cream for her and all her newfound friends at the park. The friends who mysteriously disappeared once the rainbow sno-cones ran dry.
There was fifty cents here and fifty cents there at every gumball machine she saw, and the special trip to Best Buy, where she quickly turned her quarters into a ring, a splat ball and a tiny plastic puppy.
A trip to Toys R Us for a pair of Barbie dolls yielded some good buys and mommy did split the cost, but sale or no sale, it was no use. The end was in sight.
It was Michael's that did her in. A penultimate trip for glitter glue (it was only a dollar!) and a final trip, the last six dollars traded for a sweater and cheerleader's skirt she just had to have for some undetermined bear.
It was a fun two weeks, filled with heady possibility and even joy. But perhaps it was inevitable that Ellie would fall into the decadent underworld that so many find themselves in when they have $30 to spend on whatever they want and are only five years old.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Future Entrepreneur
Ellie decided to sell her stuffed animals so she could make enough money to buy a new stuffed animal. I told her that would take some planning to put ads out and set up a garage sale, but she really wanted to do it. So last weekend when I was out at a craft fair, Ellie and Greg pulled out a bunch of the stuffed animals that we had won at Circus Circus and set up a little stuffed animal stand in the driveway. They hung a sign saying "Stuffed Animals 4 Sale" over the real estate sign for our house and hung a few animals on the hooks of the sign. Then they waited. Ellie got antsy pretty quickly and kept asking when people were going to come buy an animal. She even tried taking a bear, standing on the sidewalk, and making the bear wave its arms to all the passers by. Finally, Greg decided to take a page from the Papa school of childrearing and snuck into the backyard and paid off the kids next door to come buy an animal from Ellie. The kids used Greg's dollar to buy a few animals and then, amazingly, they went back and got their own money and bought a few more. Ellie ended up making about 6 dollars.
A few days later, she took her money from the sale plus some other dollars she had and she and I went to Borders to pick out an animal. We pulled out all the animals that fell into her price range, lined them up side by side, and narrowed them down to the cutest three. It was a dog, a cat, and a monkey. Ellie decided finally that the dog was the cutest, but she assured the cat that she would come back for it when she made more money.
A few days later, I told Ellie that she could take her piggy bank to the Coinstar machine and get dollars for all her coins. She loved that idea, so we brought in her coins and traded them in for about $25. Ellie wanted immediately to go to the park and wait for the ice cream man. I have a standing answer of no to ice cream at the park, so she was thrilled that she would finally get to override my answer and buy her own. She brought her purse with her wallet that had all her money in it and she met some kids at the park and pretty soon the ice cream man came and she ran over and bought ice cream for herself and two other kids. She was like Mickey Rourke in Barfly. "To all my friends! Ice cream for everyone!"
Today, Ellie wanted to go back to the store and I hemmed and hawed a bit saying, "Do you really need another stuffed animal?" But she got teary and said she already told the kitty that she'd come back for her and I said, "Well, it is your own money and you can spend it where you want." But I also reminded her that if she buys the kitty she won't have as much money to buy other things and that when you spend money you have less of it. She said she understood but I know it's the kind of lesson you have to experience to really get.
So we went back to Borders and Ellie bought the kitty plus a Berenstein Bears book and I stood off to the side as she went up to the counter, gave the man her items and pulled out her purse and wallet to pay. The man was very nice and called her "young lady" and said, "Thank you so much, you've been a very polite customer." Ellie mostly giggled through the transaction. On the way out, Ellie said, "I like that man. I want him to be your boyfriend." Then she immediately pointed to an advertisement and said, "Look mommy, there's Jon Stewart!" and I said, "I want him to be my boyfriend."
A few days later, she took her money from the sale plus some other dollars she had and she and I went to Borders to pick out an animal. We pulled out all the animals that fell into her price range, lined them up side by side, and narrowed them down to the cutest three. It was a dog, a cat, and a monkey. Ellie decided finally that the dog was the cutest, but she assured the cat that she would come back for it when she made more money.
A few days later, I told Ellie that she could take her piggy bank to the Coinstar machine and get dollars for all her coins. She loved that idea, so we brought in her coins and traded them in for about $25. Ellie wanted immediately to go to the park and wait for the ice cream man. I have a standing answer of no to ice cream at the park, so she was thrilled that she would finally get to override my answer and buy her own. She brought her purse with her wallet that had all her money in it and she met some kids at the park and pretty soon the ice cream man came and she ran over and bought ice cream for herself and two other kids. She was like Mickey Rourke in Barfly. "To all my friends! Ice cream for everyone!"
Today, Ellie wanted to go back to the store and I hemmed and hawed a bit saying, "Do you really need another stuffed animal?" But she got teary and said she already told the kitty that she'd come back for her and I said, "Well, it is your own money and you can spend it where you want." But I also reminded her that if she buys the kitty she won't have as much money to buy other things and that when you spend money you have less of it. She said she understood but I know it's the kind of lesson you have to experience to really get.
So we went back to Borders and Ellie bought the kitty plus a Berenstein Bears book and I stood off to the side as she went up to the counter, gave the man her items and pulled out her purse and wallet to pay. The man was very nice and called her "young lady" and said, "Thank you so much, you've been a very polite customer." Ellie mostly giggled through the transaction. On the way out, Ellie said, "I like that man. I want him to be your boyfriend." Then she immediately pointed to an advertisement and said, "Look mommy, there's Jon Stewart!" and I said, "I want him to be my boyfriend."
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Funny
We went to some friends' house to swim and have dinner and then see a movie in the park and it was time to get our stuff together to head to the movie. Ellie and I went upstairs to get our towels and Ellie stopped me from going into the bedroom, saying she was going to get the towels herself. I asked her is she was doing anything she shouldn't be doing and she said, "No, for real life." and started to run off. I called down the hall to her, saying, "Okay, I'm believing you because you said for real life." She stopped, turned around, and ran back to me. She had clearly made a moral choice and was resolute. "Okay," she said. "I'll tell you what we were doing. We were making a fort so I could hide in it when it was time to go home so I wouldn't have to go." As she fessed up to her plans in all earnestness, looking me in the eyes the whole time, her body started to involuntarily move with all the tell-tale signs of having to pee really bad. In 10 seconds, the two halves of her body started doing two different things at once. The upper half was solid and motionless, stoically informing me of the truth, while the lower half twisted and contorted and even threw itself on the ground. It was absolutely everything I could do not to burst out laughing but I finally interrupted her and asked, "Do you have to go to the bathroom?" She practically yelled, "Yes, you go get the towels!" and ran into the bathroom, which we were luckily standing right in front of at the time.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Emeril he is not
Greg: So, what are the ingredients in brownies? Flour, eggs, butter, sugar, some kind of chocolate food coloring?
Me: Chocolate food coloring?
Greg: Well, what makes it look like chocolate?
Me: Chocolate.
Me: Chocolate food coloring?
Greg: Well, what makes it look like chocolate?
Me: Chocolate.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Summertime
I've been reading Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder to Ellie every night before bed. I read a chapter a night. She seems to enjoy it, especially when she's tired and it's easy for her to lie still and drift off as I'm reading. I love reading it to her and usually I want to keep reading after the chapter is over, but I've mostly been good and put it away.
Ellie had to get two shots last week because we've been behind in vaccinations and needed to make them up. So we had a special appointment just for shots and I warned Ellie one day ahead of time that she was going to get shots. I told her that there would be two shots and they would be over very quickly and then we'd go out for breakfast afterward and she could get pancakes. She was totally awesome for the shots. She got very nervous right before and I held both her hands and told her, "Think about pancakes. Think about pancakes." And she flinched a little bit for the first one but not so much for second one and didn't cry at all. She was a brave little girl!
That was also the first day of camp, which she said right away she didn't want to go to. But of course she loved it and has a new best friend who she plays with every day and who she has to wait for every day so they can go home at the same time. We've been swimming almost every day at the YMCA, which is also a big party, since we almost always run into someone we know from preschool, kindergarten, camp or the park. I've been very pleasantly surprised at how many people from the neighborhood have joined the Y.
I can't believe how little summer there is left.
Ellie had to get two shots last week because we've been behind in vaccinations and needed to make them up. So we had a special appointment just for shots and I warned Ellie one day ahead of time that she was going to get shots. I told her that there would be two shots and they would be over very quickly and then we'd go out for breakfast afterward and she could get pancakes. She was totally awesome for the shots. She got very nervous right before and I held both her hands and told her, "Think about pancakes. Think about pancakes." And she flinched a little bit for the first one but not so much for second one and didn't cry at all. She was a brave little girl!
That was also the first day of camp, which she said right away she didn't want to go to. But of course she loved it and has a new best friend who she plays with every day and who she has to wait for every day so they can go home at the same time. We've been swimming almost every day at the YMCA, which is also a big party, since we almost always run into someone we know from preschool, kindergarten, camp or the park. I've been very pleasantly surprised at how many people from the neighborhood have joined the Y.
I can't believe how little summer there is left.
