Hodge Podge Mish Mash

So many things I think I should try to remember to put here or I will forget.  So, here they are:

1.  Jackie turning entrepreneurial. 

The other day she found some small posterboard and said, "Oh, this is perfect" without further elaboration, and went off into the living room.  When I went to check on the kids sometime later, I noticed this sign propped up on the edge of the chair: "Foot Massages".  The word "free" was crossed out and replaced with "25 cents".

As soon as I entered the living room, I was, of course, the first customer and she was the salesperson, and a very persistent one, too. I was trying to get dishes and laundry done and I had not showered but on the kitchen counter behind the pencil holder there was a quarter sitting there for no apparent reason so I went to the living room with my quarter for my foot massage.  Jackie led me to the chair and made me lay on my back with my legs hanging over the armrest and started rubbing my feet.  I have to admit, it was very nice.

Kate saw this and said, "My turn" and climbed on me, laid down with her back on my stomach, with her legs nestled on top of mine, and held her little feet up for Jackie to rub, which of course Jackie did in a fit of giggles.  We took turns.

I think the favorite was when Mom was rubbing one of Jackie's feet and one of Kate's at the same time.

2.  Kate brushing her teeth.

Dave has always been able to brush Kate's teeth with much more ease than me.  With me, it's a dodge-the-toothbrush game for Kate.  Dave, on the other hand, has made it a game with her to brush all the foods off she might have had during the day.  He's been able to coax her mouth open by saying, "Oh, there's milk! let's get the milk off. Oh, wait, there's apples! Let's get the apples off! Wait, chicken! Get that chicken off."

In the beginning, it was just Dave talking and he rattled off things he knew she ate/drank that day.  Lately, however, Kate is very much into the game and adds things Dad might have missed: "Nanas! Bread! Memomade!"

As fascinating as it is to see her ability to recall developing, Kate is often very accurate and I hear Dave say, "Chocolate? Mommy gave you chocolate...again?!"

Now, of course, this game is a stalling tactic for Kate.  Tonight when I was brushing her teeth, I would no sooner get the brush in her mouth when she would pull away and say, "Wait a second..." and name something else.

3.  Orange cow cheese.

Older sisters have great influence over little sisters.  The latest batch of string cheese I bought was apparently a variety pack - some all mozzarella and some colby/mozzarella.  Jackie told Kate the colby/mozzarella cheese is from an orange cow.

Now when I ask if she wants cheese, Kate will shout, "Orange cow!"

4.  We have a small fort in our living room (i.e., Jackie's flat sheet tied to four chairs, couch pillows, etc).  The girls had a great time with the fort, despite the occasional bickering about sharing, teaching Kate now to try to sit on the sheet (caving in the "roof"). 

The girls have so much fun together, but it is amazing how LOUD they can get and how much they can argue/bicker, even with their age difference.  Kate is very independent and, as Jackie says, bossy, and I can see where the "bossiness" would get on an 8-year-old's nerves once in a while.

We have to really watch what we say and how we say things because Kate is such a mini recorder now.  When Jackie is not doing what Kate wants, she'll say, "Jack-A-Lynn" (yes, all three syllables and in that parenting tone).  While Jackie thought it was hysterical the first times Kate said her name like that, she is quickly growing weary of hearing it over and over from a two-and-a-half year old.

5.  Our family is currently loving the "Charlie and Lola" series by Lauren Child.

Jackie discovered the TV show on the Disney Channel and noticed the characters looked a lot like the drawing of "Clarice Bean", a character from the book she was reading at the time: "Clarice Bean: Utterly Me" also by Lauren Child but from a grade school girl's perspective.  Jackie and I were so enjoying the Clarice Bean book that I was really interested to see how "Charlie and Lola" stacked up, and the idea is just as entertaining!  The series is all about an older brother and his little sister.  It is clear Lola and Charlie love each other.  Charlie seems to have the task of watching with/playing with his little sister quite a bit, but he actually seems to not mind this task and spends much of his time thinking of imaginative ways to get his little sister to do things.  Like when Lola discovered someone else had taken her very favorite book out of the library ("Beetles, Bugs and Butterflies"), Charlie eventually convinced her to give another book a try ("Cheetahs and Chimpanzees").  Or when Lola rattles off a list of foods she will 'not ever eat' in "I Will Not Ever Eat a Tomato" (like peas, carrots, mashed potatoes, fish sticks, etc), Charlie gets her to try some foods by imagining they are "green drops" of rain, Jupiter sticks, clouds, mermaid food.

The storylines are so creative, but the illustrations are what make the shows so interesting and fun.  I think the fact they have English accents makes it all the more enjoyable for Jackie.  (The author lives in London)

Today, Jackie drew pictures of the Charlie and Lola cast and tried to sell them to me for a dollar each.  The pictures were so right on, actually.  She eventually just made me my own money from green notecards, and I ended up "buying" all five that she drew.

My next goal is to figure out my scanner and post the pictures here.  She is a really talented artist.

6.  Bread bread bread.

So Jackie has been wanting to make bread lately, specifically french bread, specifically "Megan's french bread" which I believe is Josee's french bread.  Anyway, I said well I don't have the recipe on hand for Megan's french bread but let's look up our own.  So we found a recipe on the web and Jackie and I made it this afternoon.  She is very much a written recipe person (like her mom).  After talking with Dad this morning (Monday) about diets and fiber, I substituted one cup whole wheat flour and added 2 tablespoons or so of wheat germ to the mix.  This was not called for in the recipe and Jackie only relaxed about the addition of wheat germ and wheat flour when I mentioned that Megan and Grandma and Grandpa use the stuff all the time.

Sigh.

One addition she did not mind, though, was that we made one of the loaves a garlic bread by adding fresh minced garlic and some garlic powder to the dough before rolling it up.  She liked the idea of it but then thought better of trying to taste it until she actually did and declared it was good.

7. No pictures today. Pictures make long posts much more fun. Will try again next time.