Bag Lady

Things MP has accumulated over the past week. And has to keep.

1 (one) Dixie cup from lunch at preschool.
1 (one) used napkin from lunch at preschool (tucked carefully in her cubbie alongside its buddy Dixie cup).
1 (one) fruit snacks wrapper.
2 (two) used Scooby Doo Band-Aids.
1 (one) empty, used baggie.
1 (one) empty strawberry Gogurt wrapper.
2 (two) empty Dora The Explorer yogurt cups. (Which actually make decent bath toys, so I'll cut her some slack.)

Oh, and did I mention how much she loves the little shopping cart Santa brought her?

Party Piece

Let me preface this by saying this is a LIGHTHEARTED post, with absolutely no intention of sparking serious debate. In the spirit of Super Tuesday, I just couldn't resist.

A friend sent this link to me a while back, and I thought it was hi-larious (read the sample pages), so I thought I would share. (I'm sure there are Why Mommy is a Republican books somewhere out there too...)

www.littledemocrats.net

It's On

Because I'm a being a political junkie today ... enjoy the race!

Now Get Back To Work

Here's a fun little distraction (while you should be working). My result is below (aww, I coulda told you that!)...

You Are Very Happy Being Single

You're not anti-relationship. You just don't need one to be content. You find plenty of happiness from your life as it is. And if you find someone you love, then that's just icing on an already decadent cake!

Are You Happy Being Single?

Single Momdom: Wouldn't Change A Thing

I can't tell you how many times I've heard it. (More often than not, from well-intentioned marrieds.) If you're reading this, I'm guessing you've heard it a few times yourself.

"Being a single mom must be really hard."

Furrowed brow, check. General expression of concern, check. Optional touch to the arm, check.

Sigh.

My answer to that? I imagine being married is a whole hell of a lot harder.

As anyone who's ever been though it knows, there's no doubt that, at times, being a single parent can be a ... challenge. But as with anything, I've found, it is what I make it. Here are a few of the things I LOVE about being a single parent:

1. I don't have to consult with ANYONE.
With two states between us, my daughter's father passed away suddenly when she was 2 1/2. Though never married, we had been together nearly 10 years before splitting during the first trimester. (That's a whole separate drama-infused post I'll save for later.) MP does not remember him. It's been just the two of us from the beginning. (And by that, I mean, the day I peed on a stick and saw two lines...)

2. I like our party of two.
Selfish? Probably. But don't make the mistake of thinking this feeling doesn't bother me to some extent. I'm just workin' with what I got.

With the absence of a second parent, it's been a bit of the "two of us against the world" theme around here, which, truth be told, has been very empowering. We've bonded so tightly and have formed such a strong, healthy, loving relationship (without the whole insecurity/codependency thing) that I'm actually a bit afraid to add another person to the mix. Afraid that it might somehow dull the magic. (Ever see The Holiday? I'm Jude Law.) This is not to say that someday, I don't hope MP has a father. I do so want that for her. But right now, she has two grandfathers who love her to bits, and serve as wonderful role models helping to fill that void.

3. LDQ (Lower Drama Quotient)
Toddler drama is WAY different than grown-up drama. Toddler temper tantrums, I can handle. I don't do so well when it comes from a grown man. (Think, jealousy, for starters - the most useless and destructive emotion around.) For better or worse, MP never sees me fighting with a spouse.

4. The dishes will wait.
If I'm too exhausted at day's end to empty the dishwasher, who's going to complain? If the laundry doesn't get folded for a few days and sits in a pile on the sofa, who'll have a problem with it? This is NICE. My only fear in this arena is that I'll become too set in my ways (I'm afraid it's already begun), and enjoy living partnerless (see how I didn't say alone there?) so much I'll never be able to do any other way.

Speaking of dishes, it's closing in on midnight and I just realized, not only do I still have to pack MP's lunch for tomorrow, I have to get up way before the sun for an early meeting. I have so many other pluses to add to the list, but they'll have to wait for another day - it's time for this mama to get some sleep.

The Little Matchstick (Button) Girl

MP hates buttons. HATES. This intense dislike has gone on since she was about 14 months old. Which is unfortunate, because it severely limits my wardrobe choices, and means hers are pretty much restricted to sweats and t-shirts.

Anyone wearing them be damned - she'll see those buttons coming a mile away, and avoid you like a bowl of piping hot brussel sprouts. She's noticed tiny embellishments on my clothes I didn't even know were there.

It took me awhile to figure out why some days she just didn't like certain people. Like Grammy or Poppy. Or even me. And then one day she told me.

"Because I can smell their but-tons." (Her little face screwed up with disgust.)

Okay, I wasn't expecting that.

"What do they smell like?" (Trying not to laugh)

(Highly exasperated) "Like BUT-TONS!" (Duh.)

Thanks for the clarification. Silly woman.

The weird thing is, I think maybe she actually CAN smell them. At the store, she'll point out someone an aisle away and tell me they smell. As we get closer, sure enough ... buttons.

My mom thinks I may have scared her at one point early on by telling her not to put them in her mouth. I've thought long and hard on that one and I'm pretty sure I never said that (at least about buttons, that is). It wasn't like I sat her down in a big pile of loose buttons one day and said, "Go crazy Kid. Just don't put any in your mouth, cause you could choke and DIE."

I'm almost convinced it's a past life thing. Too weird NOT to be. Maybe she was an impoverished button maker. Working in a button sweat shop. Or selling buttons somewhere on a 17th Century London street corner.

Grammy's determined to put an end to the madness. She actually had a great idea last week and took MP along to help pick out "special buttons" for a dress she was making just for her. MP came home with a jar full of rainbows and flowers and ladybugs that didn't resemble buttons in the least - she's been playing with them all weekend. We'll see how successful the behavior modification experiment is once they're transfered to the actual dress.

In the meantime, I'm not worried about it. I know this "thing" will disappear sooner or later, and when it does, I'll be sad to see one more little piece of babyhood go. So for now, MaggiePie, you go ahead and do your thing. BAD buttons. BAD.

UPDATE, 9:20 p.m.
The craziness has hit an all-time high. Tonight, I learned the button thing now includes BOOK ILLUSTRATIONS. That's right - Goldilocks and the Three Bears has officially been banned, because Baby Bear is wearing a button-down shirt.

Like A Butter Dream

Is it wrong that I just finished packing up Christmas decorations today? Mmm ... somehow, not as fun as unpacking. Definitely lacking the fanfare. The little Christmas Village that's become tradition ... while cute, a colASSal pain in the butt to get back into it's foam-packed, saran-wrapped boxes. Each year, there's more to put away - subsequently, each year the decorations stay up longer. And longer. Until I absolutely can't stand it. (Last year, my Christmas cards didn't go out 'til Easter, so the whole thing has become a bit of a joke among friends...)

At least someone had fun - here's a sampling of the tunes MP sang, dancing from room to room, in and around the chaos.

Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the stream
Mary, Mary, Mary
Like a butter dream

(I LOVE that!)

Everybody falls in love with a handsome prince...

(If you're lucky, Sweetheart, yes...)

Mocha choca latta ya ya

(DANGER, WILL ROBINSON!!)

The topper though, is always the bedtime prayer - it has to be sung as well ... in a tiny little glass-crackingly high-pitched voice. I've never heard a sweeter sound. *sigh*

Bee Girl

I love this photo of MP (circa summer '06). Anne Nahm's post today about the Blind Melon "Bee Girl" (circa '92) totally made me think of this.

Who Needs a Library Card?

Friday is Gymnastics Day.

Gymnastics and Errand Day.

Gymnastics, Errand and (ugh) McDonald's PlayLand with MaggiePie's Best Friend Day.

And then, after all that, if a major meltdown hasn't occurred, and she hasn't fallen fast asleep in her carseat...

Movie Store Day for Mommy's Friday night entertainment! (Jealous much?)

So, as is tradition, today after gymnastics, PlayLand, and a gallon of Purell, we made our way to the almighty Costco. Mecca.

We like to make an event of it. After MP proudly flashes our card to a greeter, we take care of the first order of business, wheeling DIRECTLY, do not pass go, to the kids books. Yay! The Costco Free Library!

MP knows the drill - she picks out two or three books with the understanding they will be carefully read and returned before we check out. Cheap, you say? Why, yeesss.

It isn't that I wouldn't actually buy MP a book. Books are pretty high up there on my list of most treasured material possessions. It's that:

a. She already has more books than most adults.
b. I want her to understand that she doesn't get something every time we go to the grocery store, or the book store, or the toy store. That most of the time, we just look. I'm happy to report, it's worked (for the most part).
c. She's trained well. MP knows to be careful with the page turning, and not handle with sticky hands. (After all, eventually, someone is actually going to pay for this.)
d. Most importantly (you all know where I'm going with this) ... having her occupied -- not dealing with the near tearful, "I wanna help!" "Can I push the cart?" "I'm huuunngry" -- is something you can't put a price on. (Good, huh?)

Once she's outfitted with a few reads (NO sticker books - this is important), her only concern is finding all "the ladies." You know ... THE LADIES. Grandmotherly women in hairnets, offering up tasty afternoon snacks to all good boys and girls. And maybe, if she's lucky, MP and I will end the excursion by sharing a $1.50 Costco Meal Deal for lunch.

Mama lives large.