My little Daisy

Monday night, Francesca had her "official" investiture ceremony for Girl Scouts. This means she now can wear her Girl Scout pin and royal-blue Daisy tunic with pride, as she has officially been welcomed in to the Girl Scouting community. The ceremony involved all of the girls holding a Daisy petal (not a real one!), stating a line from the Girl Scout Law and Promise, and walking over a bridge painted with Daisies.

As one of the co-leaders, it was my job to pin them as they came off the bridge. 14 wiggly 5 year olds. They were so funny. The first girl over the bridge stopped, posed and flashed the crowd a big smile. The others were all so different. A few trotted over the bridge, some tentatively crept over the bridge, as if they were worried it might collapse. One or two of them STOMPED over the bridge, as if to tell us they were not happy to be there (although they were all full of smiles). I can't remember what my little Daisy did, although I do know she made it over without tripping.

When we were done with the ceremony it was time for treats. Thank goodness a few of us baked things, because we had at least 50 family members and friends show up! Francesca was very lucky - both of her grandmas brought her flowers, Daisies of course! Ma (my mother) and Grammy (Scott's mother) are sooooo smart, they knew their Francesca would be looking for flowers!! Francesca walked around the room waving her flowers like she was a newly crowned Miss America. By the end of the night I convinced her to share a few stray flowers with some of her friends. I told her that "it was being a sister to every Girl Scout" - and she grumbled "But I don't have a sister!!!" Of course, Big Guy had to butt in "No you have me...and gimme a flower too!" Never to be outdone, that Big Guy...

Yesterday was the Port Chester/Rye Brook Girl Scout Annual Pasta Dinner. Francesca and I attended. Although we did drop about $50 or so on various gift basket/50-50/grab bag tickets, we were not the big winners. "Big Winner" in Francesca's eyes would be the girls who walked away with either the Webkinz or High School Musical basket. In my eyes, the big winner was the lucky person who won the 2 free weeks to PC Rec. Day Camp - now there's a prize!! Anyway, for our efforts we did come home with 2 prizes - a $25 Home Depot Gift Card (Scott's reaction - "Wow, I got to stay home AND you brought me a HD gift card - Babe, I love you!!") and Francesca's $1 grab bag gift - nail polish, toenail spreaders for a do-it-yourself pedicure and a mini emery board (had to explain to one of her friends the purpose of the "scratchy stick").

Well, you would have thought we WERE the big winners. The moment she got home and got changed, I had to sit right down and give her a manicure!! I had 2 more loads of laundry and a slightly cranky husband and 4 year old son to deal with, but of utmost importance was my 5 year old's teeny tiny fingernails that I had to file and polish. Not in cotton candy pink either, she won some brownish-reddish-purplish old-dried-blood-on-a-bandaid color. I tried to offer her some cutesy, perky alternatives - "Mommy has peach, pink, mauve!!! Don't you want one of those???" Noooooooooooo...of course not, she has to have her nails painted THAT color. So whatever, I'm tired and I still have the laundry to do plus meet my 2 Daisy Girl Scout co-leaders for a quick planning meeting (that's really why I was late Krista, although there WOULD have been more of a meltdown had I NOT done her nails). I do her nails, making sure to only put one coat of polish on so that her father, teachers, grandmothers, Girl Scout leaders would not think that I was cultivating some 5 year old mini "Goth in the making" - (although Francesca certainly has that angry Goth "I don't care" sneer down pat).

This morning I had just dropped Gavin off at nursery school and was heading to work when my cell phone rang. Seeing it was home, I got worried - was Francesca throwing a fit about going to school??

Conversation as follows:

Scott: Where's the polish? Where did you put it?

Me: The what?? What are you talking about?

Scott: The nail polish, where is the nail polish???!!!

Me: Top of the corner shelf.....WHY???

Scott: She has a chip, damn it, and she REFUSES to leave the house unless it's fixed!!!!

Me: Giggle, giggle, giggle (imaging husband doing 5 year old's nails)...BYE!!

Well, as confirmed by a later phone call to Scott, the chip in the nail was promptly and neatly fixed, although Scott now knows that one needs to wipe off the little brush before applying nail polish. He had to wipe off the excess with a paper towel without causing a smudge!!!!

Gavin the stubborn..

Gavin is so very stubborn. He can be a delightful little blond-haired, blue-eyed angel...but then he flips a switch and becomes "The Stubbornator". When he does not want to do something he crosses his arms and starts to "rmmmrmmm"; it sounds like someone gunning a car engine. The Stubbornator made an appearance several times this weekend.

First, while at a birthday party on Sunday. Gav was so excited about this party for his classmate. It was a karate party. Gav anticipated jumping around and yelling "Hi-Ya" alot. Well, before you can do any of that, you need to bow to the Sensei and the room. Not for Gavin - he was not bowing. No way, no how. So he crossed his arms, starting to grumble and stood fast at the entrance to the karate room. Scott tried to reason with him, telling him he would have to just sit and watch the whole time if he did not bow. That didn't work. So for 20 minutes Scott and Gavin went back and forth, Scott trying to get him to bow (even bowing himself) and Gavin flat-out refusing. Finally the birthday boy's mom picked Gavin up, bent him in half at the entrance to the room and tossed him into the birthday crowd. Later, after everyone (including Gavin) had bowed and left the room for pizza and cake, Gav decided he had to use the bathroom. This simple task would actually require 2 BOWS, because, you see, he would have to enter, cross and then exit the karate room in order to get to the bathroom. WAIT, I was wrong, it would be 4 BOWS!!!! You have to bow while entering and then before exiting. "Mommy, don't worry. I will hold the pee until I get home." Home was 15-20 minutes away and he had guzzled 2 juice boxes. So stubborn my little man is.

The second appearance of the Stubbornator was while we were making sandwiches last night for today's lunches. We had just told him that he had to take a bath after we finished up in the kitchen. You would have thought that we had told him to go play in traffic or something. "ARRGGHHH MOMMY I DON'T WANT TO TAKE A BATH. I WILL NOT EAT LUNCH TOMORROW. DON'T MAKE ME LUNCH. I WILL NOT EAT." We told him that he needed a bath, otherwise he would be stinky. "NO NO NO I WILL JUST BE STINKY. NO BATH. NO EATING LUNCH." Not sure why he was connecting baths and lunch. At any rate, we eventually got him in the tub, where he proceeded to use all of his sister's "High School Musical" bubble bath (probably out of spite) and splash water all over the floor.

Oh he is stubborn but I do love him so. I handed him his lunchbox this morning and he yelled "I WILL NOT EAT LUNCH"...and then laughed his butt off, knowing it would make me crazy...

Can you smell what I'm cookin'????

Gavin has a great love for his body, especially when he can get it to make noise. Lately we have had to remind him that "fart" is not an acceptable word for a 4 year-old to use, especially while at his Catholic nursery school. So, he "toots"..or he "kills moose" (thanks for that term Grammy Carol). Actually what comes out of him could possibly flatten a large moose or any other animal for that matter.

Anyway, last night Scott and the kids were playing a game while I was teaching my weekly 6th grade religion class (that's a whole other blog!!). Gav "killed a moose" and then said to his dad, "Daddy, I tooted! Did you hear it? Did you smell it?" Scott said no. So Gavin said "OK, let me toot again, this time you can smell it!!!!"

As-Seen-On-TV aka MOMMY WE NEED THIS!!!!

Francesca and Gavin have become quickly addicted/obsessed with the "As-Seen-On-TV" commercials. Almost hourly on the weekends, whether they are watching TV or not, they extole the virtues of whatever new thing they have just watched the commercial for. Francesca has told me how "Mighty Putty" would be perfect for our family - "It will fix the crack in the basement pipe!!" "It will hang pictures easily Mommy - plus no nail holes in the wall!" Another Francesca favorite is the "Rocket Fishing Rod" - this little gem prompted her to draw me a diagram showing how a regular fishing rod may get stuck in the weeds or bushes while trying to catch a fish. But not the Rocket Fishing Rod - it catches "buckets o' fish (that's a Scott term) very quickly and with no snags! She even wrote down the 1-800 number so that I could order it if I wanted.

Gavin's favorites include the "Craft-lite Cutter" so I can cut pictures without accidentally cutting off someone's head, and various stain removers that will make doing laundry "a breeze" (I think Gav thinks he is Billy Mays, the Oxi-clean guy).

But their current absolute favorite is the "Pancake Puff". They have assured me that they cannot live another day without this nifty kitchen gadget. The pancake puff makes little donut-hole looking things that you can dip, drizzle, stuff and then nibble on. Francesca and Gavin have tried (so far unsuccessfully but they are wearing us down) to convince me and Scott that our household will find many uses (DAILY Mommy I swear you'll love it!) for this invention. I am thinking that I may just buy it so that they will stop asking...plus I admit the brownie puffs dusted with powdered sugar look kind of yummy. I swear this commercial is on at least two or three times an hour after dinner, no matter what kids' channel they are watching.

As always, our children's antics have again amused. I will not worry about their obsession with As-Seen-On-TV...unless Gavin comes down the stairs wearing an awful 80's style sweater, praising "DD7" and "QRB", you know..."Quickly Restores Beauty"

Babe, there's been an accident...but everyone's OK

This happened in March 2007. It's classic Gavin. Our garage doors have not been the same since!

Babe, there's been an accident..but everyone's OK
So these are absolutely the LAST WORDS I wanted to hear come out of my husband's mouth a few weeks ago when I called home to tell him I was leaving work late. After he assured me that him and Gavin, our 3 year old, were fine, he told me Gavin drove the car into the garage...WHAT?????!!!!!!
Scott got out of the car and went around the other side to get Gavin - but Gav was smarter than his daddy. He wiggled out of his car seat, locked the doors and shifted the car (which was off) into neutral. As the car rolled down our long driveway, Scott (trying to be Superman apparently) tried to grab onto the bumper to stop it. Not good enough - Gavin drove the car into our garage doors, totally smashing the barn doors and knocking the left pillar off-kilter. The doors stopped the car from going any further.
Gavin was fine, but scared. Scott was fine, but scared. Francesca, our almost 5 year old, arrived home shortly after this all happened and couldn't believe her eyes! Well, Gav told me that "DADDY BROKE THE DOOR"...he's learning young; don't admit to a thing.
You just can't make this stuff up.

The Automatic Flush

Here's a Francesca "oldie but goodie" - this happened back in September right after she started kindergarten...


Francesca started kindergarten earlier this month at Park Avenue. Yippee!! Or maybe not...She told us how great her classroom was, how nice her teacher is, how the 5th grade boys are sooooo tall (why does she always notice the boys??) But the one major problem she has is with the bathroom...
"Mommy, I CAN NOT go to the bathroom there. The toilets flush automatically..."
What??? How can they have automatic flush toilets? That school is celebrating their 80th birthday next month; flush toilets were not around 80 years ago! Ever since Francesca has been potty-trained she has had an INTENSE fear of those automatic flush toilets. I think it all started at the Westchester Mall shortly after we made the transition from Pampers to princess panties. She was all hyped up about showing me how she could use the mall bathroom by herself. So I stood outisde the stall and kept watch while she did her business by herself. Next thing I know, I hear a tsunami-like flush followed by Francesca's blood-curdling scream.
"MOMMY HELP ME!!! THE POTTY IS TRYING TO SWALLOW ME!"
Any trip to the mall can now be severely curtailed if her highness Princess Poopy decides she has to go, and go NOW. We have dropped clothes in the middle of the store and left for home, just because she refuses to use the bathroom if it flushes automatically. Now, her school has these crazy auto flush sensors?? It can't be true! What are we supposed to do until 6th grade,when she switches schools?
So we were at a party and ran into a teacher, albeit from another school. She confirmed our worst fears.....YES, PARK AVENUE DOES HAVE AUTOMATIC FLUSH TOILETS. How could they? My daughter now faces a lifetime of constipation due to the fact she can't get over her fear that one of those stupid potties is going to splash her precious butt and swallow her alive.
Last week...a breakthrough! She actually went to the bathroom at school. One of those smart teachers thought to put a piece of paper in front of the sensor so it wouldn't trip up while Francesca was in there. HA! Now I know why we went to college; not to get a good job but to learn how to outsmart some smart invention. And here I thought our biggest problem would be making sure some bigger kid didn't steal her lunch money....

High School Musical from the eyes of a 5 year old

Yesterday, my mother in law took Francesca and I to see the Stamford Center for the Arts/Stamford Board of Education production of High School Musical at the Rich Forum in Stamford.
Hundreds of 5-10 year olds, many decked out in their HSM tee shirts or newsboy caps waited expectantly for the doors to open so they could rush up the stairs and get the seats closest to the stage. But we had a plan to get great seats ourselves. You see, Grammy sometimes walks with a cane, which she brought to either aid in her walking or beat pushy 8 year olds out of our way. Grammy is smart - she asked where the elevator was, holding her cane for emphasis. We were ushered in to the "secret back hallway" - shhh, don't tell anyone we let you in here - and at 1:15 promptly whooshed up to the balcony, where we snagged front row seats!
Francesca was so excited - as soon as the curtain went up and the kids started singing she too was bopping along in her seat, doing all the same movements and singing all the songs right along with the performers. I found myself humming along, but no bopping in my seat for me. Francesca's favorite HSM character is Sharpay, or Sharpoodle as I like to call her. Sharpay, as many of you may know, is known for her flashy outfits and haughty attitude. Miss F, as I sometimes call my daughter, was sporting her own flashy accessory that day - her fluffy poodle purse, which was stuffed with her HSM notebook and lip balms. During one of Sharpay's numbers, my own little star-in-the-making grabs her purse, opens it up, and pulls out a PINK FEATHER BOA!!!!! She threw it around her neck and started singing along with Sharpay. What on earth, I asked her...."Mommy, I brought it along just in case I needed it!"
How silly of me, I only carry things like Band-Aids, tissues, fruit snacks and gum in my purse.

I'm playing parade!!

Francesca is "playing parade" today, according to my mom. She is with my mom and dad today as there is no kindergarten at her school, due to state testing for the older kids. She is sitting on a kitchen chair in her Snow White costume; smiling, waving and pelting her grandmother with Hershey's kisses, "because that's what princesses in a parade do!" They put on a pretty dress, smile and throw candy at the crowd!!! I so love her imagination.

Gavin crawled into our bed sometime very early this morning. I woke up to him breathing his dragon breath in my face. On the way to school I asked him WHY he felt the need to get into bed with us. He told me that our pillows and blankets were much warmer than his own, his stuffed animals do not keep him all that warm. I love his Gavin logic.

When I was a baby....

"When I was a baby..." This is Gavin's new favorite beginning to any sentence. As in:

"When I was a baby I used to go skydiving!"

What??? When you were a baby you used to go skydiving? In what life? That is one of my favorite Gavin-isms. Oh I forgot, he also told us that when he was a baby and he went skydiving, his grammy Carol was with him, also skydiving.

Apparently when Gavin was a baby, he was very into extreme sports - whenever I see skateboarding, skiing, skydiving - even the World's Strongest Man competition - on TV, Gavin assures me that he did that too, "when he was a baby". Wow, Gav, how did I miss that? And what kind of mother was I, missing your World's Strongest Man competition? I never knew that you could drag the car with the 4 teeth you had, when you were a baby!!

In the beginning....

Hello readers! My name is Dineen and this is my first post on my new blog! I am a pediatric registered nurse and have been married for almost 9 years. I have been pondering whether to start a blog for a while now. You see, I have 2 very funny children - Francesca is 5 1/2 and Gavin is 4. They are both hysterical, however Gavin is the one who comes up with the real zingers. As my husband Scott says, "sometimes I just can't yell at him - I have to walk away so he doesn't see me laughing."

Right now you are probably saying, yeah I have funny kids too. All kids are funny. But my kids are the funniest I know and I don't just say that because they are mine. When we tell our friends about our children's latest antics we keep them in stitches. One of my friends at work tells me that I should write a book called "Well Francesca..." because Francesca asks so many questions (some of which stump me) and I usually start my answer with a sigh and a "Well Francesca..."

So in this blog I hope to inject a little of the humor that goes on in our house into your daily lives!! Enjoy and please feel free to send me your comments!