What's the magic word?

Today, Joe and I were reminded yet again of how old we are by little Kate. Not in the sense that we think we are old, but that we are truly of different generations.

Growing up, our parents taught us about good manners and good values...respect your elders, treat others as you would want to be treated, use Mr and Mrs when speaking to adults, and always say please and thank you.

In turn, Joe and I have tried to instill those same values in our children. So, tonight, when little Kate asked for a snack, I said what our parents would have said, "What's the magic word?" I expected Kate to respond with "Pleeeaaaase..." based on all our hard work encouraging good manners. But instead, she sweetly responded with..."Meesca, Moosca, Mickey Mouse!"

For those of you who don't get the humor in this, I have attached a link for your viewing pleasure:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ODPtsAJXgM


I suppose I should have known Mickey Mouse would have the greater influence. ...

May I have this dance?

1,2,3....1,2,3....1,2,3...Katie has always loved to dance. Whether she is pretending to glide through the woods with Sleeping Beauty and Prince Philip, or waltzing with Cinderella, dancing has always brought a smile to her face. Last night, she asked to stay up and watch the "Princesses dance." By this request, she was asking to watch "Dancing with the Stars". All of her favorites were making an appearance..."Belle" (yellow dress-Lil Kim), "Cinderella" (blue dress- Julianne Hough)...even "Sleeping Beauty" (pink dress-Kym Johnson).

So we agreed to let her watch the first half hour. For thirty minutes, she quietly sat on my lap and waited for the music to start. Then one dance at a time, she walked over to her Daddy, and said, "Daddy, May I have this dance, Daddy?" Her Daddy then swooped her up, and they begin dancing...1,2,3....1,2,3...1,2,3...so cute!

Patience is virtue

My husband, Joe, is a saint! Perhaps some would disagree, but yesterday, he had the patience of a saint! I have been talking about trying some new colors for the living room for quite some time. Yesterday, Joe kindly agreed to try the colors I had picked, and paint a wall for me. He painted the wall for me not one, not two, not three, but four times, only to return it to the original color it had been painted in the beginning.

Katie stood ever so quietly in his shadow, hands clasped behind her back, in observation of his effort. "That is beautiful, Daddy," she kept saying with every new color application. Despite all my in-decisions, Joe still found a few laughs to offer to her repeated compliments. With every offering, she would inch a little closer in hopes that Daddy would hand her a brush to paint with. With the final color on the wall, he did.

I learned a bit about patience yesterday from two of my favorite people, and in the end, we all celebrated. I was happy with the color on the wall (even if it ended up being the same as it was when we started), Joe got "his choice" for dinner, Katie celebrated by twirling her Dora ribbon, and Conor found entertainment in his sister. In the words of Will Ferrell, "It was a nice little Saturday..."

A child's prayer...

My husband and I are Catholic. Although we don't both make it to church on Sunday as much as we would like (or should), we do understand and agree on the importance of instilling religious values in our children. We plan on sending them to private school (for now), and will begin taking them to Sunday mass when they are old enough to sit still for an hour and not crawl under the pew(s).

During our weekend visit to GrandMom and Pop's house, I was tucking our little Kate into bed when she pointed to a picture on the wall, and said, "Look, it's Jesus!". On the wall over the bed hung a wood carving of Jesus. I thought this was a perfect opportunity to start the religious introduction with a simple child's prayer before bedtime. So, I proceeded to relay how we talk to Jesus through prayer and recited the simplest child's prayer I could remember...

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord, my soul to keep;
Guide and guard me through the night
and wake me with the morning's light
Amen

When I was done, I explained how important it was for us to recognize the blessings in our lives too, and to be thankful for each other. I then asked her, "Katie, do you want to say a prayer and talk to Jesus? What are you thankful for?" She looked directly at her Minnie and said, "Dear Jesus- Thank you for my presents. Amen. "

I would say it's a start...

Irish Blessings on St Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Irish blessings from our family to yours...

May you always have work for your hands to do.

May your pockets hold always a coin or two.

May the sun shine bright on your windowpane.

May the rainbow be certain to follow each rain.

May the hand of a friend always be near you.

And may God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.

For each petal on the shamrock

This brings a wish your way-

good health, good luck, and happiness

For today and every day.

To GrandMom's house we go...

It's St. Patrick's Day weekend, and we are all heading down to "GrandMom's house" at the beach for some relaxation, a parade, and maybe even some beer.

Note: I am aware that Pop lives there too. However, if you have been following this blog, you will know that Pop is simply GrandMom's friend, so the house must belong to GrandMom...duh?

I thought you all would enjoy what Katie insisted we pack for the trip:

1. Dumbo DVD
2. Nemo snacks for Pop
3. Princess snacks for GrandMom
4. Cup for Conor
5. Princess sleeping bag
6. Blue Minnie
7. Pink Minnie
8. Princess pillow
9. Princess jammies
10. Sleeping Beauty
11. Boozie (our dog)

Check, check, and check.

Princess Katie and Conor-saurus

In the tale of Princess Katie and Conor-saurus, the beautiful Princess sits in her castle admiring her precious jewels. The aggressive and young Conor-saurus is attracted to the Princess' beautiful jewels and tries to invade her castle for a peak every chance he gets. Princess Katie's loyal subject, Boozie the Dog, occasionally protects her from the fast approaching Conor-saurus, by smothering him with kisses. However, this defense does not always stop the yelling intruder, therefore causing Princess Katie to flee the castle.

And, so the story continues...

"AHH! Conor-saurus is coming!" yells Princess Katie as she tucks away into her Princess castle!

"Yah, yah, yah", replies Conor-saurus as he plows through the door.

"AHH! Conor-saurus is coming! Conor-saurus is coming!" she announces out the rear door.

"Yah, yah, yah! Ahh"