12 posts tagged “jenna and nate”

How it works: Write an entry of any length or style using five assigned words. Bold the five words. Tag your post with 5wordchallenge and any other tags you wish to add.

This week's challenge words: carpet, jury, pasta, shapeless, whey

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Sitting cross legged on the floor of my children's room, feeling the synthetic material of the carpet irritate my legs, we sorted through books trying to decide which one would be best for our bedtime storytelling. 

How about some nursery rhymes kiddos?

What are nursing rhymes mommy?, asked Nate

Rhymes that are told to little kids for them to learn from and memorize.  I still remember my favorite one when I was a little girl.  (and it's NURSE-RY... not nursing). 

Ooooo what is it?  Tell us mom!, exlaimed Jenna bouncing up and down on the floor next to me.

Well, let's see if I can remember it, said I, as I rolled my eyes to the ceiling in an attempt to see right into my brain and dig out the dusty old rhyme I haven't recited in nearly 20 years. 

Little Miss Muffet sat on her tuffet...

What's a tuffet? asked Jenna

A little cushion you sit on, I replied

Like a pillow?

Yes, just like a pillow... but pillow doesn't rhyme with 'Muffet'... so that wouldn't work.

Oh.

May I continue?

Sure.

Little Miss Muffet sat on her tuffet eating her curds and whey...

Whey?  What the HECK is that? Jenna asked incrediously as Nate giggled and rolled on to his back on the floor.

It's some kind of porridge I think.  But wondering to myself what it was...

Like Goldie Locks and the Three Bears porridge?

Yes, exactly like that.

What's porridge?  Is it pasta?

Sigh.  It's kinda like oatmeal or grits or something.  I am not entirely sure... I've have never had any.

Oh.

May I continue?

Yes.

Little Miss Muffet sat on her tuffet, eating her curds and whey.  Up came a spider and sat down beside her...

A spider?  Mommy, spiders can't SIT.  They don't have BOTTOMS.  They are all legs.

Sigh.  You are absolutely right Jenna.  I'll be sure to pen a firmly worded letter to the author and explain the lack of logical writing his nursery rhyme has.  Maybe I should turn him into the authorities for a lack of clarity in his writing?  Would you like to be on the jury that condems him for his lack-luster rhyming?  May.  I.  Continue.  ?? !!! 

Um, sure, but I think this is a stupid nursing rhyme mom.

Bedtime story time is becoming quite annoying to me at this point... my bed, grown-up book and glass of wine are calling to me... I just want to get this done with and go get some rest myself.  These kids don't seem ready to let me though. 

Like I was saying.... Little Miss Muffet sat on her tuffet eating her curds and whey.  Along came a spider, sat down beside her and frightened Miss Muffet away.

I got through it!  Thank. You.  God.  I could feel my glass of wine in my hand and the soft mattress beneath me already... not much longer now.  Pleased with myself... I looked at both of my children with a smile on my face, proud that I still remembered all of it.

They looked at me with an expression of confusion and boredom.  That's it?

Okay... okay... so it was really only my favorite NURSERY rhyme because of the beautiful illustration in the book I had growing up.  Miss Muffet was very pretty and wore a gorgeous fluffly dress as she sat on her big red satin pillow.  I guess it was more the drawing that I liked.

Where is the drawing in that book,?,  Jenna asked as she pointed to the nursery book in my hands.

I looked down and flipped to the table of contents, found the rhyme.  Jenna and Nate scooted closer to me to peak over my shoulder at the twenty-first centery version of the poem.  A lack-luster illustration stared back at us.  Sitting there in a shapeless dress on a flat little pillow was our modern version of Miss Muffet.  Muted tones of yellow and green.  It reminded somewhat of what you find on the inside of a baby's diaper... not something to spark imagination and wonder.   

She has yellow hair.  I like yellow hair mommy, said Nate

That's about the only thing she has going for her, I thought.  Looking at Jenna, I could clearly see her disappointment. 

She certainly isn't as attractive as the little Miss Muffet in my book.

No kidding!  said Jenna with a giggle.  She needs a makeover!

I chuckled at the though of Miss Muffet in the chair at our local salon and said, Okay time for bed monkeys, as they climbed into my lap and on my back giggling.  I could feel their energy levels rising, ready for some tumbling on the floor.

WHAT?!  NO!  WE WANT OUR BEDTIME STORY!

We aren't tired yet!!

Sigh.  That glass of wine was getting further away by the moment.  The carpet was leaving embossments on my legs. 

What do you think we just spent the last half hour doing?

Listening to your stupid nursing rhyme, grimaced Jenna.

Yeah, it was 'tupid mommy.  We read 'piderman 'tory intead?  Nate asked as he batted his long eyelashes at me and smiled sweetly.

NO!  The Princess and the Pea Mommy!!  exclaimed Jenna

Sigh.  So much for wine, book and bed.

Okay get up in bed and hunker down... I'll read both.  Give me a kiss first.

Happy giggles are better than wine anyways.

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This story was based on actual events.  Do not attempt this at home.  Trust me, your children will think you are lame too.

 

 

 

On our way to the first day of summer camp (aka day care in the summertime while school is out)... They were just excited to not have to wear a uniform all day.  Ha.

 

When my children walked into the house quickly and stealth-like, emerging from the craft room with two pairs of safety scissors, I should have paused to check out what was up.  Alas, I was emmersed in my baked ravioli recipe and only slightly considered investigating.

About 10 minutes and a butchered rosebush later, I had a beautiful centerpiece for my table.  (the nieghbor that lost her roses still has a full bush left, actually, I went to be sure). 

After the initial lecture about taking other peoples flowers from their gardens, and then another lesson about trimming rose bushes properly and leaving some stem to drink water from... I floated them in some crystal bowls and got a bit teary-eyed at the fact that was the first time anyone brought me roses since my divorce.

Sweet babies.

 

Okay --- I KNOW I am boring ya'll with all these old pictures... but I've spent the past few days organizing my external hard drive and stumbling across old pictures.  It's so much fun.  (next I'll harrass you all with video snipits of the kids when they were babies... I've been cracking up watching them).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seriously... I am having too much fun walking down memory lane with all of these.  I wish I had kept doing them.  I stopped when John and I got divorced, and havent' picked it back up because of lack of time.  I am excited about doing Jenna's birthday book.  I'll probably do one for Nate too and put it away for when he starts learning to read next year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I got all sappy on you all this morning... but that never lasts long with me.  Too many things in life to laugh about.

 

The other night Jenna wanted to flip through old scrapbooks (back when I was a stay-at-home-mom I did a lot of digital scrapbooking, I'd have them printed once they were done and put them in scrapbook albums.  I have TONS of them that havent' been printed yet though.  I am trying to sort through them and start printing them, and maybe get back into doing some more.)

Jenna saw this one and made me read it to her over and over again.  Almost like it was favorite story book.  Which gave me an idea for her birthday, since she is learning to read.  I am going to create a book for her with simple words and phrases that she can read about different pictures of her and her brother and other family members at different moments over the past 6 years.  A storybook about her life that she can start reading herself. 

Since this is the one that started the idea, it will be modified and included as well.  I am really excited about it.  I'll probably be sharing some more old album pages as I come across them too, as they bring back so many great memories.

Hopefully you can read the journaling in it, as it's a funny little story and 100% accurate portrayal of what happened that day.  I still chuckle.  ha.  Poor Nate.

.... if I don't get the rest of these totally adorable pictures from last weekend up...  so here ya have it.  Our three stooges in action.  We miss them so much already!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How can you not want to just swoop them up and wanna take them home with ya forever?  Gosh I am one blessed Mommy.  :o)

We did these for my stepdad for his Bday.  I can't wait to give them to him.  He's gonna LOVE them!!

 

 

Picture this.  The kids have been begging for a pet for months.  We can't have a cat or dog at our current resident (plus my bro-n-law is allergic to cats)... I killed their fish on accident.  So we agreed on getting them a hermit crab and/or a turtle. 

We walk into Petco last night.  We oo'd and ah'd over the lizards and frogs and snakes.... then the bunnies and the kittens and the gerbles and even the rats were kinda cute.  In my head I am thinking... where are the hermit crabs and turtles.  They were out of both.

Sigh.  Insert faces of disappointed children staring up at me with sad forelorn eyes.

"Okay, let's choose another pet"

"BUNNIES!"

"No, no bunnies"

"PLLLLLEEEEEZZZZZ Mom!!"

"No"

Sad pout.  "How about a rat?"

"No"

"How about a gerbel?"

"Um... no cause you guys would want to pet it all the time and then it would get loose and I can't deal with that"

I browse around trying to decide what to do.  I spot a super cute brown bird cage that looks like a townhouse... and think how cute it will look in my living room.  And it's not that big... hmmm... maybe a small bird?

Kids see me head towards the birds... "Oh mom... can we have a bird?  Please?  How about a Parrot?  We can teach it to TALK!!"

Parrots are big and NOT cheap.  But the parakeets are cute.  Especially that little blue one in there.  It looks like a baby... she is so little.  I point the bird out to the kids.

A cage, litter, food, treats, toys, snuggle blanket, and one blue parkeet later... we have a "companion pet".  Which I had to sign saying I'd take care of, or bring back to them within 15 days.

She is cute, is she not?  We named her Stella.  She likes me best.  :o)