Day 2412

Chinchilla has picked up a conversation starter from his sister.

To a female neighbour: “Hello mister! Do you like my hat?”

And he’s picked up a phrase from his parents, which seems to be a favourite: “what’s all this ruckus!?”

Lizard picked up “fricking” as a modifier.

I have my preferences.

Day 2411

C: I spy...with little eye... something... that is ... the store!

Us: Is it the store?

C: YOU GOT IT!!!

Day 2410

Put together an Ikea puzzle, rearranged all the toys in the living room, and read books: nesting done right.

Day 2409

Chinchilla has announced that he needs a helmet because he needs a bike. Fair enough.

Day 2408

That feeling when you hear your kids talking to each at bedtime and one tells the other to stop whining, and a few minutes later the other one is telling the first one it’s time to stop talking and go to sleep...

Day 2407

I love playing a new song for the kids and having that result in an impromptu dance party. Almost makes me want to listen to the radio...

Day 2406

They started the day as beeping robots and ended it as cozy bananas.

Day 2405

Lizard had her first solo schoolish experience when she went for her kindergarten assessment, which she thoroughly enjoyed.

She also tried to convince me that she’s as sick as I am because she has, in the past, coughed and sneezed. Yeah, definitely the same as uncontrollable coughing fits, kid.

Day 2404

You don’t notice how quiet the house is without kids in it if you nap the whole time.

Day 2403

Lizard and Chinchilla were super excited about hunting for Easter eggs, and then had a lot of fun actually finding them... and then Lizard asked *why* the Easter bunny hides them.

I was not expecting to have to explain to the four year old that some things are just for fun.

Day 2402

Chinchilla finally got the blueberry cake he’s been asking for.

I hope he comes up with more cake ideas; the first one was delicious.

Day 2401

Pandemonium as daddy comes home and all the kids have to talk at him and bark at him at once.

Day 2400

Lizard is very good at stoically withstanding the pain of having her wounds cleaned; she’s absolutely terrible about them the rest of the time.

Day 2399

The kids ate their vegetables and then barely ate pizza. I can’t decide if that means we’re winning or losing at parenting. Maybe winning at parenting, losing at being human.

Also, Chinchilla called his sister sweetie and told her she’s a good helper.

Day 2398 (correction)

A few missed days after being home with the kiddos and falling asleep too hard.

Being with them solo all day for several days allows me to confirm that kids are wonderful, fascinating little monsters, and I love my funny little monsters to bits even if they give my temper-controlling muscles some exercise.

Day 2391

New explicit house rules: don’t throw books or pillows at your sibling.

Day 2390

Some people just can’t help being competent.

Day 2389

I keep making Chinchilla sad because I tell him we don’t have cake.

I foresee many, many days of sadness for him.

Day 2388

After spending two days excitedly talking about the new couscous recipe we were going to try, Lizard was profoundly disappointed when she realized the new couscous recipe was different than the old couscous recipe.

Day 2387

Chinchilla is now calling himself Mister Toot, which he thinks is hilarious, and Lizard keeps thinking he is saying Mister Two, which was her joke - cause he’s two, you see. Djagetit? So she thinks that’s hilarious. She’s already looking forward to when he’ll be Mister Three. And Four. And Eight. Ya see? It’ll never get old!

Day 2386

Chinchilla decided out of the blue that he needed to sleep in mommy and daddy’s bed tonight. When I brought him there to snuggle and settle down, he just wanted to chat about EVERYTHING.

His sister wrote four cards for her daddy to welcome him home again.

And just when I finally got the snow heap spread out enough to actually melt, it snowed *again*.

Day 2385

When I ask Lizard if she can do something for me she has started answering “I certainly can!”

And today Chinchilla gave his sister a giant long-lasting hug and said “I love you so much”.

Also, he decided he would fly after his daddy on a business trip so they can play toys together.

<heart explodes>

Day 2384

Great big stewing vats of feelings.

On the plus side, when Lizard was promising to be “a helper not a hindrance” if I let her out of the cart in the produce section, her brother cheerfully announced that he would be a hindrance.

Day 2383

Chinchilla trying to choose a stuffy to go in his bed: “Hmm. Hmmmmm. Hmmm. Hmmmm..... hmmm. Hmm.”

Chinchilla after spilling the tea things off the tea tray “Oh no! That’s bad!” And then carefully puts the tea things back on the tray one at a time... only to let them slide off again. “Oh no! That’s bad!”

And they might not have been tea things, strictly speaking. That’s certainly what they were shaped like, but he told me he was making meat pancakes, so who knows.

Day 2382

Chinchilla: who probably can’t remember the last time we went to the library, still plays at going to the library. While wearing his Mommy’s shoes.

Day 2381

The stars aligned: the day I discovered it was Weiner Wednesday, I’d already planned to have smokies for supper. We’re all weiners!

Day 2380

If you want to torment the parents of a four year old, play Yellow Submarine for the kid.

Also... Chinchilla has started pretending to be toast. Which doesn’t seem to mean anything in particular other than saying that he is toast.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Day 2379

Sometimes you get glimpses of your kids as teenagers; Lizard with her big feelings and Chinchilla who answers questions like “who are you calling?” and “what are you building” by saying “somebody” or “something “.

Unrelated, but he has also been becoming unsettlingly adept at evil laughter.