Ella – Mom, we go to a private school.

Me – Really?…

Ella – Yeah.  Mrs. Kane says ‘Keep your clothes on so no one can see your bottom.’  That means we go to a PRIVATE school.

A really good blog friend once asked me to describe my “in real life” self to her.  I recently came across the list again and decided to share it with you here….

My name is Kristi, and I:

• Love lists
• Am 36
• 5’8”
• Mommy to two girls – Maggie (6) and Ella (4).
• Never felt a contraction in childbirth. Turns out I have a high pain tolerance, an even greater fear of pain, and a quick draw on the epidural. “Hook me up!”
• Married to my best friend
• Born in the south. Grew up with a thick southern accent, y’all.
• Was once bitten by a squirrel (I was trying to save its life from a neighbor’s cat)
• Am just as much introvert as extrovert.
• Would probably never be the life of the party unless that’s what it took to make everyone feel comfortable at my party.
• Enjoy a good fine tip pen and cannot read without a pencil in my hand
• Love Diet Mountain Dew and sour gummy worms
• Enjoy reading whenever and wherever I can. I once fell off the treadmill while reading an especially good book
• Sometimes hire a babysitter so that I can go the library to read and make lists.
• Am in pursuit of knowing and loving the God who I’m learning already completely knows and loves me.

What about you?….

It’s almost that time of year again.  Time to visit Grumpy Santa.  Here’s my old Xanga post about him.  I’m already wondering if he’ll be there again this year….

Nov. 24, 2006

So we went to the Christmas Tree Farm today.  We go every year to the same farm about an hour or so West of here.  Great place — we always have a wonderful time!  And the weather was unusually warm today.  It was beautiful actually!  Near 60 degrees, I think.  It was a bit odd because every year, the day after Thanksgiving, we go… and it is usually freezing.  So cold that we bundle the kids with so many layers and coats that they are unable to bend any part of their bodies.  And forget about using the outdoor portable toilets in that kind of freezing weather — except that you can’t really forget using them because we’re always there too long to wait til we get back home…

Well, anyway… I digress.  :/  TODAY was lovely!  But as I was looking through our pictures this evening, I noticed something.  Is it just me, or does this Santa look a little cranky? 

Just a bad picture you wonder?  But here he is again?…  Looks like he’s thinking, “Hhmm… I knew I shouldn’t have had that 3rd cup of coffee, those port-a-johns are COLD!”

A couple of nights ago while my 6 year old Maggie and I were cuddling and talking before her bedtime, she said, “Mom I’m afraid of that red light up there.”  She pointed to the smoke detector on her ceiling.

Me:  “Really, why?”

M:  “I’m afraid the battery’s going to die, and it will start beeping really loud.”

I understood exactly what she meant.  It IS loud, and I’m pretty sure they actually wait until we’re all in Stage 4 sleep to start beeping their complaints about battery life.

So I responded, “It’s okay, Hon… I changed your battery not long ago.”

M  (having obviously processed this fully):  Well, actually there are THREE things I’m afraid of.

Me:  Really?  Three?

M:  Yeah.  One. That the battery will die.  Two.  That there will be a fire.  And three, that there will be a fire, and I’ll have to run outside in my underwear.

Is this my kid or is this my kid?  Bizarrely contemplative and already making lists.  I love it!

Young children mix up their pronouns.  Have you noticed? 

The other day, my 3 year old Ella was talking about her Daddy and said his name, “Ray.”  Then she decided to try and spell it.

E:  R-A-I-J

This triggered another thought…

E: Mom, there’s a boy in my class named PJ.

Me:  PJ or AJ? (knowing that the boy’s name really is AJ.)

E: AJ

Me:  Is AJ a boy or a girl?

E: She’s a boy.

Me:  He’s a boy?

E:  Yeah, hers not a girl like me….

Older people have similar Pronoun Ambiguity.  Both of my girls were born bald and stayed that way for a couple of years.  I did my best to dress them in girly colors and put tiny hair clips in their hair fuzz to help others know they were, in fact, GIRLS.  Yet older people still often came to me, saying things like

“Oh HE’S so cute…” or

“What a cute little boy!” or

“How old is he?”

I’d smile graciously.  “HER name is Maggie.  SHE’S 4 months old.”

To which they’d reply something like, “Oh… HE looks just darling in that pink dress.”

So apparently this Pronoun Confusion has something to do with being very young.  Or with being very old.  When you’re somewhere in the middle, like me, you have other struggles — like mixing up your own children’s names, for instance…