Grandma Magic

This morning, Livie asked me to make her some scrambled eggs and toast with jam for breakfast. She'd wanted to eat her breakfast on "The Special Table" (the breakfast-in-bed table) in my room, while she watched Curious George, instead of eating at the kitchen table. Since I'm feeling a little under the weather, I obliged, not exactly having the energy to debate the issue with a stubborn lively 5-year-old.

Anyway, a few minutes after serving her, I asked, "How's your breakfast?" because I'd noticed she was distracted by the TV and hadn't really been eating much at this point.

"It's okay. . . .Abuelita makes it a lot better."

Pretending to be shocked, I said, "What?!"

"No, no, no, Mama!! Yours is good! I like it! But Abuelita makes it better!"

"I see," I said, nodding my head. "Do you know why?"

"No, Mama. Why?"

"Because she uses 'grandma magic.'"

"Oh . . . it's because she's a grandma and has special magic?"

"Yep. When I was a little girl, Abuelita would make me breakfast and I liked it. But when I visited Oma and she'd make me breakfast, it was the best!"

"Because Oma's your grandma, and Abuelita is your mama?"

"Yep. And you know what? Oma is your great-grandma, so she has extra-special great-grandma magic. Not too many people have great-grandmas, so that's why Oma's magic is extra-special when she uses it on you."

And then Livie reminded me that Oma uses her great-grandma magic to take us out for ice cream.

Great-grandma magic at work! We've taken Oma out for caramel sundaes, July 2011.

Happy List for 20 Mar 2011

Okay, I was over at Mamarazzi's Dandelion Wishes blog, and saw that she does a "Happy List" on the weekends; I thought it would be fun to join in.

So here goes:

I'm happy that Livie and I were able to get outside yesterday for some sunshine, fresh air, and exercise in the springlike weather.

We're at the playground across the street from our house.

I'm also happy that we can have use of a playground across the street from our house! It's very convenient. Of course, it's the elementary school's playground, so we can only go on the weekends or after school is over for the day.

Of course, that brings me to my next "happy" - this is the school where Livie will start Kindergarten in the fall. Again, it's right across the street. How convenient will that be?!

I'm also happy that Liv and I were able to get to the art studio yesterday. It's an awesome place, in the back of a local artsy-type store. They have "Open Studio" hours on Saturdays, so anybody can go in and do art projects. It's something like $3/hr, plus the cost of the materials that you used.

And I'm happy that we now have a new printer (it's wireless) and it's now all set up and working. I can even print wirelessly from my laptop from the kitchen - or wherever I am in the house (with the laptop, of course). I can be upstairs on my laptop doing my homework and be able to print something. So if Andrew's on the desktop, I won't have to kick him off to print stuff. Woo hoo!

I'm also happy for spring. While I love autumn and winter, I really appreciate spring, because that means we don't have to bundle up in a million layers . . . especially when I have to bundle myself AND a squirmy 5-year-old. 

Finally, I'm happy to have gotten a good run in on Friday. I've been having issues with plantar fasciitis (PF) - owie! - and something with my knee (it was swollen like a grapefruit). While the PF is still bugging me, it's mild when I stretch and ice properly. And the knee? It seemed to have been back to normal by Friday, so I went running. And it felt good. A runner's high is a great thing - thank you endorphins!!

Please click on the box below to read Mamarazzi's "Happy List" as well as other contributors' lists:

Memory Lane Friday - Kindergarten

This week's Memory Lane Friday theme is "Kindergarten."

Now I can't really remember much about Kindergarten, specifically. However, I remember a story my mom told my grandmother (Oma) in a letter about one of my Kindergarten experiences. Oma eventually gave me that letter in a packet of mementos she'd saved (cards I got for my birthday, a lock of hair from my first hair cut, a flower I'd picked for her, etc.).

So here's the thing . . . apparently I was at Kindergarten one day and my mom had come to pick me up. When she came in to get me, I was playing at the play-kitchen. She watched me for a few moments, as I did chef-like things with pots, pans, the water faucet (the pretend one), and such.

At some point, before I realized she was standing there watching me, she saw that in the sink, I had the "class mascot" - the hamster! The real one! I had him in the sink and was "washing" him!!

She saw that I was being gentle with him (as gentle as a 5-year-old can be), and just really affectionate, as though he were my very own pet.

And then, so I could do something else "chef-like," I put the hamster in a pot (I guess so he wouldn't get away?) and set him on the play-kitchen's counter, to do something else at the little kitchen.

At this point, she had stepped in and made her presence known to me. I can't picture her ever touching a hamster (even when she was younger), so I'm assuming she either got the teacher's attention and had her come over to the play-kitchen, or she took the pot and hamster over to the teacher.

I get a kick out of this image, because it IS funny, and also because I can picture Livie doing the same thing.


Please come back next week when the theme is "First Grade."

Memory Lane Friday is hosted by Lisa at Two Bears Farm and the Three Cubs. Please click on the button below to check out her post, as well as posts from other participants:

Birthday Monday, February 21, 2011 » Watch IPTV Kids Video Online » Iowa Public Television

Birthday Monday, February 21, 2011 » Watch IPTV Kids Video Online » Iowa Public Television

Liv was mentioned in this week's IPTV Kids' Club birthday shout-out today!

Can't believe it's time for party #5!!

Liv is going to turn 5-years-old next week! It seems like just yesterday that I ordered her a unicorn cake for her 4th birthday. And it feels like just last week when I moved from the greater Boston area to New Mexico with a 4-month-old Baby Liv.

Anyway, since Andrew and I are in grad school, with little time for fun, we're going to have a low-key, low-fuss party for Liv this coming Saturday.

We're going to have her grandparents (both maternal and paternal) coming to visit. Maybe her great-grandmother, Oma, will be able to come. We've also invited her Uncle Joe, Tia Pia, and little niece (my niece, that is - Liv's cousin), as well.

I've got her cake ordered. It will have a princess on it, and be full of pink and purple, you know - the girly, princess colors.

And we'll have pizza. What kid wouldn't like that?!

I can't wait til she gets to open her presents. She's going to have a blast.