Stories to Tell the Grandkids

Omigod...they're going to put me away for feline endangerment (after you read the story, click on the photo and look at the fur on Lois' side).

So, usually while I'm taking a shower The Bug is napping safely in her crib and Sweet Pea is either drawing in the bathroom where I can see her, or actually in the bathtub with me. Today The Bug did oblige and nap in her crib. Sweet Pea, however, told me that she wanted to stay downstairs while I took a shower, and seemed intent on combing the cats with a baby comb to get them ready for their "shop," meaning "shot," as in, the kind you take with a camera. She told me that after she got the kitties all combed and looking pretty, she wanted to take pictures of them with my camera, put the pictures on my computer, and then make a calendar.

I have had mixed success with letting her do her own thing while I take a shower. Usually there is a little cleaning up for me to do, or she cheerfully tells me that she put one of the cats into the bathtub and closed the door (luckily she has never tried to turn on the water), so usually I insist that she bring up her crayons and paper and DRAW kitties, rather than doing things to the real kitties, while I get cleaned up.

Today, however, I really just wanted that shower while The Bug was sleeping. You see, last night the newborn memo got through to The Bug and she woke up every two hours to nurse. So nothing was keeping me from my shower today, because that's practically the only thing I get to do for myself on a daily basis, and after a bad night it's the only way I can make myself human again. So I relented and agreed to let Sweet Pea comb the kitties all alone in the house while I took a shower.

Toward the end of my shower I heard a loud thump that was a bit worrisome, but soon thereafter I heard some kind of reassuring sound - I think it was a door closing - that let me know that Sweet Pea was still okay. As soon as I was out of the shower I popped my head out of the bedroom and called to Sweet Pea just to hear her answer, so I'd know she was okay.

There was a slight pause and then she answered, "what?"

I told her, "I just wanted to hear your voice so I'd know you were okay."

She replied, "I'm fine. I'm giving the kitties a haircut."

My horror mounted. I found her halfway up the stairs with a very pointy pair of scissors and a cat, and I saw black kitty hair all over the house. While I retrieved the scissors from Sweet Pea and explained to her why we only cut paper and never use Mommy's scissors unless Mommy is there and says it's okay, the cat went downstairs. Sweet Pea followed, making all kinds of noise, and just couldn't understand why her favorite kitty was hiding from her behind the couch...

Thankfully no kitties were harmed in the hair cutting, though poor Lois may have a few chilly spots on her back tonight. I can't see her skin, but there are a few areas on her back that have big chunks of fur missing. I'm just thankful that Sweet Pea didn't trip on the stairs with the pointy scissors, or cut either of the cats' tails or ears!

The scissors came out of a box in the guest room. We just can't get unpacked fast enough for Sweet Pea and the cats to stay safe and out of trouble.

Here's another, shorter one:

This past Saturday Slipshod took Sweet Pea downtown to see "Happy Feet." They didn't stay for the whole movie - it was her first time in a theater and she wanted to leave about 2/3 of the way through - but she enjoyed as much of the movie as she did see, and was talking about penguins for the rest of the weekend. That same night we were watching TV and Slipshod turned the channel to a travel show about San Diego. Of course Sea World was shown, and the part she noticed the most was the shot of an Orca sliding out of the water and up to the edge of the pool on its belly, right up to the audience.

Sweet Pea (in absolute amazement): "WOW, that is a WEALLY BIG PENGUIN!"

Slipshod and I still break into peals of laughter when we think of it. Ha ha ha ha ha!

And of course there are always the fun things she sings:

"Do, a deew, a female deew - way, a dwop of golden suuuuun, mi, a name, I call myseyulf, fa, a yong yong way to wuuuun, sooo, a needle pulling fwead, ya, a note to follow soooooooo, ti, a dwink with jam and bwead, that will green juice back to do-oh-oh-oh-do." (Note: Green juice in this household refers to Odwalla's Superfood smoothie, which Sweet Pea and I like so much we keep some in the fridge on an ongoing basis.)

This one she sang this way on purpose, but it was still very funny:

"Woe, woe, woe yo boat, gentwy down the stweeeeam, mewwy, mewwy, mewwy, mewwy, yife is buttered bwead." ha ha!

The following photo was taken Saturday late afternoon. Sweet Pea did not want to nap by herself so she kept herself awake upstairs in the bedroom for a good hour. As soon as I brought her down, she fell asleep on her daddy.