Smooches

Philip likes to give Stephanie a kiss good-night.

She is less than gracious about it.

"But he gives slobbery kisses!"

So he climbs in her bed and she giggles while he tries to kiss her.

Tonight he got her and she says, "Gross! I just took a shower! Now I need another shower."

Eating Ninjas

John put the girls to bed tonight.

My Aunt Joyce had given us some boxes of toys that she didn't need anymore and Stephanie found a bunch of teeny tiny ninjas which, of course, she had to take to bed with her.

So when John put the girls to bed, he pretended to eat one of them. All I heard was: "Don't eat my ninjas!" and "I'm going to tell Mommy!"

She actually came out of the room crying to tell me he was really eating her ninjas. I told her he was pretending and she was just sure he was really eating them.

Daddy had to come out and show her the trick so she would calm down.

Didn't Want a Nap?

I put Stephanie down for a nap today.

She said,

"I thought I was going to have a good day today. But I guess not. All because of YOU."

Non-Sleep Walking

This girl is going to be the death of me.

For the past 3 nights, she has still been awake when I went to bed.

For the past 3 nights, I lie in bed and hear "thump, thump, thump, thump" down the hallway.

The first night, I believed her when she said she was just scared and looking for me.

The third night, I did not believe that any longer.

It was bad enough that she kept her school-aged sister up until after 10. Then I had her sit on the chair next to me long enough to let Meredith go to sleep. I (stupidly) thought if she had no one to talk to, she would give up and go to sleep.

And you all wonder why I'm so tired all the time.

manbearpig

So, yesterday morning I went to the dentist. During the 45 minutes I was gone, my darling husband decided to allow the children to watch the "Manbearpig" episode of South Park.

When I laid down with Stephanie for her nap later, she was muttering "Half man, half bear, half pig" over and over.

When a Monster is Born

At naptime today, I read the story "When a Monster is Born" to Stephanie. Then we lay down and I told her to go to sleep or I would feed her to the monster under her bed.

S = "Once I crawled under my bed to check for monsters. There isn't a monster under there."

T = "So we have a faraway-forest monster then?"

S = "If a monster is faraway in the forest, then we can't see him so there is no monster . . .

And no bears . . .

But there IS a monster in the kitchen."

Allergy Update

It was an allergic reaction to the sunscreen. After I posted the last post, her face, neck, arms, chest, and back all were covered with a rash. It looked a lot like the rash I got when I had my allergic reaction to Vicodin and whatever that other medicine was.

She looked awful on Sunday. And I was worried about Monday because I remembered my 2nd day was worse than the first but I was hoping the Benedryl would help.

Monday was worse. Poor little thing. She woke up and she was so itchy and sad. I gave her some Benedryl to drink and put some Benedryl lotion on her arms. My poor Sweetheart looked at me and cried, "I don't want my arms to be like this forever!" About broke my heart.

Then the medicine kicked in and she relaxed a little. She basically just sat on the couch and watched cartoons all day. We did have to go to the library after the kids got out of school but she was feeling better by then.

She took a good nap in the afternoon but just could not fall asleep at night. Therefore, Meredith also could not fall asleep. I ended up getting Stephanie up and letting her play in the living room for awhile before putting her back to bed.

Then I laid down with her for a little while. And she asked me the question that must have been weighing heavily on her mind: "Are unicorns made out of horses?"

I told her yes, they are. And she went right to sleep.

This morning, she looks SOOOO much better. Her rash is all but gone and her face isn't swollen anymore either. I'm still going to give her Benedryl today - she's still itching a little but she's feeling much better.

Snuggling, Flamingoes, and Skeletons

I read "The Giving Tree" to Stephanie at naptime today. I had to explain that the little boy grew up to become the old man at the end of the book.

She said "Why?"

I said, "Because everybody grows up but right now I'm going to lay down with my little girl before she grows up."

She said, "You can still lay down with me when I'm a grown up too."

"Will you still want me to snuggle with you when you're a teenager?"

"Yes, you will still lay down with me when I'm a teenager."

"What about when you're a mother and have your own children to snuggle with?"

"You will still lay down with me even when I'm an old Grandma."
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"What will I be when I grow up?"

"Maybe a cowgirl?"

"No. I will be a fleem-go, Hello Kitty, and a duck."

"And an astronaut."

Later.

"Stephanie will not be an animal when she's grows up. She's a people."
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She's also going thru an obsession with death. Well, mostly heaven. But you have to die to get to heaven. Unfortunately, she's currently obsessing about turning into a skeleton so that is our main topic of conversation these days.

Last NIght's Conversation

"Mommy, can we buy some watermelon?"

"Sure."

"But not the dirty ones!"

?

"But we can't eat the seeds."

"Could we possibly discuss watermelon in the morning?"

{a short time later...}

"Mommy. When I get up, can I have sandwich chips?"

_________________

You would almost think I never feed the kid. Her entire day revolves around sandwich chips...

"Can I have sandwich chips for dinner?"
"Can I have sandwich chips for snack?"
"You make me crabby cuz you don't give me sandwich chips."

_________________

Oh, here's another daytime conversation...

"You better get me some milk right now!"

"Excuse me?"

"Get me some milk, please."

"Try again. Say, 'Could I please have some milk?"

"Could I please have some milk? With a cherry on top."

Don't Go!

I laid down with Stephanie for a few minutes at naptime today.

She grabbed hold of my shirt and actually said, "I'm holding on to your shirt so you can't leave me."

She's crafty, she is.

Naptime Breath

I laid down with Stephanie the other day to take a nap.

After a little while she told me, "Mommy! Your breathe is getting in my nose!"

So I moved my head so I wouldn't be breathing on her.

Then she says, "Just turn around the other way so your breathe doesn't get in my nose."

So I turned around and she was asleep in seconds. But I was still slightly offended.

I do love how she says breathe instead of breath though.

Naptime

One of my favorite things about Stephanie...

Sometimes when I lay down with her for her nap, she will grap hold of my shirt with one hand.

She does it so she can feel close to me and know I am right there beside her.

She does this because she knows I will get up when she falls asleep and she wants me to stay with her.

It is so darn cute. And sweet. I really love it when she does that.

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So - is it wrong for me to also like it because when her little hand falls to the bed, then I know for sure that she is sound asleep and I can sneak away without a fuss?

Etiquette

Steffi is sitting on the couch looking at a book...

M: Can I look at that too?

S: No, you may can't.

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It is nighttime. We are laying in bed and Steffi is supposed to be going to sleep. She is also wearing her SuperGirl pj's.

S: Super Heroes don't lay down.
Me: Of course they do.
S: No, they don't.
Me: Then why does Mr Incredible have a bed? He has super powers.
S: Super HEROES don't lay down.
slight pause - I was hoping she had given up.
S: Super Heroes don't sleep.

Nighttime Conversation #2

S: I love you, Mommy.
Me: I love you, too.
S: I love Meredith.
Me: Me too.
S: Not Hayden. I don't like Hayden.
S: I don't like Philip either.
S: I don't like boys.

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Another snippet of conversation from earlier today. She was tickling her little brother and I told her she was a "silly creature."

S: I'm not a silly creature, you silly creature.

Nighttime Conversations

I usually lay down with Stephanie at night. We currently have all 3 of the older kids in one room and this has considerably cut down on nighttime threats on what will happen if they don't be quiet and go to sleep and it also helps them to get to sleep faster. (Well, except for Hayden because he usually reads for a little while before attempting to sleep.)

It's also interesting to hear what thoughts pop up in her little brain. None of them go unspoken, of course....

S: I love candy.
Me (sleepily): Me too.
S: You can have one of my candies tomorrow.
Me: Thank you.
S: Do you like me now?
Me: Of course I do.
S: Then I like you too.

She fell asleep not even 3 minutes after this conversation. Dreaming of candy, no doubt.