why zombies?

Somehow it worked out that I give E a reward after she eats 20 servings of vegetables, which takes about 2 weeks. What she chose this weekend was to sleep with Mommy. So Friday night she was pretending to read me a story in bed, and this was the opening line:

"In the soft and chilly air, the zombies come out."

Then she got distracted and I never heard the rest of it, but I thought that sounded downright literary!

Yesterday, I asked E what zombies are. "They're monsters who don't have any people inside them." Where do they live? "Underground and in brown water underground, like under the ocean."

At the preschool months ago there was a sign up listing what each child said they were afraid of. There were things listed like lightning, snakes, spiders, and beside E's name it said "zombies".

So, you may ask, why is a child this age so fascinated with zombies? How does she even know about them?? Well, this is what happens when parents don't do sufficient Netflix research. Last year sometime (I think) E watched "Scooby Doo on Zombie Island," a recent cartoon movie, and I realized that these monsters were really monsters, not people wearing masks in true Scooby-Doo tradition like I grew up with. I thought that was too scary for a 3-4 year old, whatever she was at the time, and steered her away from that particular movie for a long time saying it was too scary for her and she wasn't old enough. Of course, she asked why. So I said it was because the monsters didn't have people inside them like in the other Scooby-Doo movies. She knew what I meant and she had had a nightmare about it, so she went along with the new rule, but of course it just added to that movie's mystique!

She likes scary movies and stories and it appears that she can handle things meant for kids a couple years older. I've been alert for nightmares but there aren't any, anymore, for months, so she's watching Zombie Island again. She doesn't know that zombies are supposed to be dead people come back alive and I'm not telling her that! I guess they shouldn't be any scarier than werewolves or ghosts, but they're just gross. Anyway, we haven't really talked about death yet. There's just that song "I know an old lady who swallowed a fly"....

I'm just waiting for more questions! Or repercussions.

croque madame

Tonight as we were driving home, E asked for a Scooby Doo story set in Paris (as is one of the ones she's watched a trillion times). Because I was hungry, I guess, I spent time describing all the French food that Shaggy and Scooby ate in a cafe. I would say (butcher) each French name then describe what it was for E. I mentioned Croque Monsieur and Croque Madame, saying the latter was a cheese and egg sandwich. She asked for a Croque Madame for dinner.

Maternally and pedagogically thrilled was I. I looked up the recipe to be sure I remembered it accurately. I wasn't too far off: it's a grilled ham and gruyere (a kind of swiss cheese) sandwich with a fried egg on top and a little more melted cheese. People usually eat it with a knife and fork. So I didn't have sourdough bread, nor gruyere, nor ham, but our honey-wheat-bread/medium cheddar/roast deli turkey version was just fine. E skipped the mustard and turkey on hers.



Having looked up the recipe online I also saw the Wikipedia entry and learned that "croque madame" can be more or less translated as "Mrs. Crunch"! Ours had less crunch and more oil, of course, in true keeping with my brand.

Looking Like a Real Ballerina

E in her Very Neat Bed

tonight's quote

"Daddy, you're just always a kidding man!"

tiredness

Yesterday morning when I woke E up, she blinked at me and said, "That was short!" She was referring to the night. I said, "I know."

Last night, overtired E was having a fit about something just before bed. As I was holding her, calming her down, she paused crying for a moment and then said she didn't remember why she was so upset. I said it was because she was tired. She said, "Not that! What am I upset about?" Me, incredulous, "You want me to tell you what you were crying about?" "yes" "It was something to do with not wanting to get out of the bath," I said, not wanting to remind her of the specifics. But that was enough, and now reminded, she started wailing again!

kneed affection

E took Barbie and 2 dolls to bed with her tonight, gave them each Kleenex blankets and small Happy Meal loveys. Barbie had something unexpected on her knees - little soft gel pads you put around your toes to keep them from rubbing together, which E stole from my bathroom drawer while I was on the phone. They reminded me of gardeners' knee pads. "Barbie just needed a little affection on her legs," she said.

making the house neatful

E asked me to show her how to neaten up her bed the other night. I told her it's called "making the bed". I did remember how to do it, believe it or not. She was just thrilled, loves squeezing under those tightly-tucked covers. She suggested I make my bed too, and thought that looked beautiful. Tonight she folded all her pajamas and sorted them in the drawer, said she's making her house all neatful.

I hope to capitalize on this new phase.

The Princess At Home

E is so excited that her heels finally reach the ends of these Cinderella shoes. I don't have the heart to point out that one day she won't be able to get in them!

I've got to get the flash on my camera fixed so things are less blurry.

science lesson

E said tonight, "You have cardinal in your nose." Then she showed me, pressing her nose against the wall, "See? It flattens." She turned around, "And then it comes right back! That's cardinal!"

nutcracker video

I found a way to post this from Facebook, and it said something about it will respect my Facebook privacy settings. I don't know how it can do that, but if you are not able to view this and you're not my Friend on Facebook, let me know.

spontaneous sleepover weekend

E's only girl cousin is the closest thing she has (and probably will ever have) to a sister. MC is 5 and a half, E is 4 and a half. She was planning to spend the day on Saturday, but I thought, at the last minute, why not have her spend the night? I knew she and E had had a sleepover at Grandma's and that they did eventually get to sleep. MC hadn't brought anything for a sleepover, but she's close enough in size to E that we knew they could share clothes. She borrowed a teddy bear and a blanket to sleep with and didn't seem to miss her own loveys at home. She slept in E's red sleeping bag on the bed, while E had a pallet on the floor. She kept saying, "I can't believe I'm spending the night here!" One time she said, "I'm barely old enough for sleepovers."

Saturday morning started with some drama as E tried out what she must have thought of as sisterly behavior: theatrical tantrums triggered by having to share, complete with defiant declarations, clenched fists, stomping around, flinging herself face down onto bed or couch, and saying, "I hate you!" (to me) and "You're a bad mommy if you make me do that!". It was really a performance, not her usual pattern at all. MC and I just stared at her. She did it two or three times, but after she realized the consequences weren't worth it (MC had my back - "You especially shouldn't say that to your mom"), she gave it up and played very nicely. Eventually E was happily saying things like, "I know who will go first - MC, because she's the guest!"

They watched Barbie in the Nutcracker on video and danced along with the final scene. The video I made is too big to upload here. Then we went to the children's museum and stayed until we just got tired of it, over 2 hours. I forgot the camera. A friend of mine came over after that and we got to talk while the girls played in E's room. Then she went with us to Steak and Shake.

Getting to sleep was the hardest part of the weekend. I'd heard that they went to bed on their own about 10 pm at Grandma's, so I didn't intervene much until I saw that they were still full-on at 10. I lay down with them and physically held E still. After she finally succumbed, MC was finally able to drift off about 11.

Sunday morning involved artwork, creative hairstyles, and then meeting Marie and her son Victor at a McDonald's with an indoor playground. The kids played HARD for a good full hour before E and Victor showed serious signs of fatigue. I didn't take any pictures there. Here's the arts and crafts scene:

After McDonald's we went to Food Lion to get things we needed for lunch, and this cart was a big hit. I always tell E she can only ride in one when she has a friend with her, because they're meant for two children.

It's fun to have a friend over, to get to know that child better and to see another side of my own child, and to have a break from the constant chatter and activity that's normally directed at me.