Katarina, Katarina...

...what am I going to do with you?

Kati sat on the counter this morning as I rolled cake balls. She likes to just sit there and watch me, and in this case, to grab a little piece of dough when I'm "not looking" and quickly get it in her mouth with a grin that tells the story better than any words ever could. She loves red velvet, and these balls are delicious.

"Mommy, are you making cake eggs?"
"No, I'm making cake balls." I say, as I roll one ball at a time. "See? This is what an egg would look like..." I roll an egg for her to see.
"Oh... that looks just like an egg!"
"Huh..." I say, as an idea hits me. "We could make cake eggs for Easter!" I look at her and smile, feeling so smart. "That's a really good idea..."
"I know. I'm a genius."

And there you have it.

Bedtime stories two...

Reading done, I was saying good-night when Jim came in and let me know the laundry was on the bed, which got me groaning. After he clarified he was taking care of most of it (grateful, proud wife here), Katarina asked why I was 'crying.' I told her because I had so much to do and no time to do it. I said "I have to fold laundry and put it away."

Kat: "I'll do it for you..."
Me: "You will? Ok. Go. Fold, and put it all away."
Kat: "Nah... you can do it."
Me: "But I don't want to..."
Kat: (hands holding my face, eyes intently on me) "Mommy, you can do anything you want to do!"
Me: "I don't want to do this. I have to."
Kat: "You don't have to, mommy. Daddy can do it all instead."

Kat: 2, Mommy: 0

Bedtime... or not

Those of us with kids know the importance of routines, and in particular, the importance of the bedtime routine. Especially when our little angels find ways to stay up later than they should. After baths and dinners and reading, it's time for bed. No excuses, no ifs, buts or whens. And so it goes. We say goodnight, we kiss, we hug. We walk away ready to take a moment for ourselves - sometimes.

There I was, a rare moment in my favorite Papasan chair, catching up with my shows, when out of the corner of my eye I saw Katarina, blankets (yes, plural) in hand, thumb in mouth (when is that going to stop?) I looked at her and she walked in the room. She's so big now... my little girl is growing so fast. The chunky cheeks remain, and in a moment of softness I open my arms and let her join me for a minute on the chair. And so it goes...

Me: Nina, it's time to go to bed. You gotta go back.
Kat shakes her head in disagreement.
Me: Nina, do you want me to take you?
Kat: You have chunky cheeks... (pinches my cheeks) kissy (gives me a sloppy kiss)
Me: Nina, it's time for bed now.
Kat: I can't sleep.
Me: It's ok. You can lay in bed and not sleep. I'll tell daddy to come and kiss you when he's back.
Kat: But then I'll fall asleep.
Me: I thought you couldn't sleep...
(silence)
Kat: But there's still a lot to talk about.
Me: (laughing out loud) What do you want to talk about?
Kat: The United States of America.

Kat: 1 Mommy: 0

Katarina Tree-Hugger

We went out to dinner last Friday. The girls got out of the car, and before I knew it, Katarina's attention was on a used and discarded paper coffee cup. Someone had carelessly thrown it on top of the bushes - which really, really gets to me. People!! Don't litter!!

Anyway... Katarina grabbed the cup, which had all my motherly instincts going "No! Cooties!!" She looked at me and said:

"Oh, oh... someone is not saving the Earth!"

My tree-hugger heart was putty in her hands...

More tales from the dinner table...

Katarina: (burp!)

Katarina: (burp! again)

Me: "Katita!!"

Katarina: "What...? It's necessary!"

...

Katarina: "What does necessary mean?"

Katarina at it again

Here's Katarina's latest, so that I have a record of it and thus can remind myself of my now 4 year-old's wit. An apology to those who already saw it on Facebook. Here it goes again.

Imagine our breakfast table: Katarina, Jim, Larissa and I. We all sit together every morning, since it's the only meal for which we can guarantee we'll all be there.

Katarina stopped to look at me and tell me: "mommy, when I brush my teeth, it chokes me."
Me: "Does it choke you when I brush your teeth?"
Katarina, nodding: "Yes. It just chokes me all the time. I don't know why... (pause) we have a mystery here..."

Soap material

Ever wonder where soap operas get inspiration for their material? I mean, life isn't really that complicated, right? And relationships aren't really that fleeting... or are they?

I think I may have found the answer. Where, you wonder? The most logical place, of course: preschool.

Katarina came home one day to let me know that Hunter, her pal she hangs around with all over the place, was now Allison's boyfriend. "OK...", I said - I mean, what else am I supposed to say?

The next day, Hunter and Allison weren't girlfriend and boyfriend anymore. Hunter was now Katarina's boyfriend. "OK...", again I replied. She seemed to be taking Hunter's apparent indecision and potential commitment issues with relative obliviousness.

The day after, Katarina informed me that Hunter wasn't her boyfriend anymore. "What happened?", I inquired. "He broke up with me." "Oh..." I said - again, what else could I say? Her heart seemed intact enough, so no worries on my part. Hunter may have commitment issues, but they weren't affecting her. She also proceeded to tell me she didn't want to marry him, because she didn't want to have babies. In my book, right now, that sound just fine...

One more day went by. Yes, there's more.

Katarina let me know that now Hunter wanted to marry Allison - so much for commitment issues, I thought. "OK... so now Allison and Hunter are back together?" I asked. "No. Allison is with Eddie now. Hunter wants to marry Allison, but Allison is now Eddie's girlfriend." All this was said as if telling me they all shared crackers for snack before going to the playground. "Ah..." I replied, not sure what else to say. "After Hunter left, Allison and I were friends again, and we played together."

So, in summary, here's the Days of Our Lives (insert your favorite soap here) script: love triangle, commitment issues, boy wants girl, boy doesn't want girl and now wants other girl, boy wants first girl back, but only when she's found someone else.

And in the end, they can all go back to playing in the same sandbox. Literally. Can't beat 4-year-old logic.

Kids say the darnest things...

We were at a little dinner at Katarina's daycare, an end-of-year get together for her classroom, when Larissa spotted one of the pregnant teachers. 

"Mommy, did Tiffany really want a baby? Or did she just get one?" She asked.

Katarina, in all her three-year-old wisdom, replied "She got married to her husband, then she got skinny, then she got fat with her baby."

Rock anywhere?

She's at it again

Katarina and Jim were at a red light next to a police car.

Katarina waved, the cop waved back. 

The light turned green. 

Jim took off...

"Daddy! You can't pass the policeman!"

laughs

"Daddy, it's not funny!"

The policeman passed Jim.

"Katarina, say good-bye to the policeman! He's passing me!"

"Yes... I gave him super-powers!"

In her own words...again

I was on the phone with our friends Bob and Janice, trying to ease Janice's worries about leaving their new baby at daycare, so I had this conversation with Katarina for Bob and Janice to hear:

"Katy, do you like your daycare?"
"Yes"
"Do you like your teachers?"
"Yes"
"Do you like to go to your daycare and see your teachers?"
"Yes"
"And what do you do at the daycare?"
"I pee my pants"

Ugh...

In her words (yeah, there's more)

Katarina is going through the horrible threes - there's the terrible twos, but the threes complete overshadow them, imho.

She is now also completely articulate, uncannily clever, and entirely too quick for our own good. And, alas, not a baby anymore!

Here's one of our recent conversations right as I was working unsuccessfully to tuck her in for the night.


Katarina - Mommy, I don't want to get married, and I don't want to have babies, and I don't want to have a boyfriend.

Me - (thinking, that's totally fine by me, especially since you're three) Why not, baby?

Katarina - Because they're yucky...

Larissa - No, they're not!

Me - (thinking, oh boy, not this soon...)

In her own words... (cont.)

During the morning ride to the daycare...

"Daddy, let's go to Costco!"
"Why do you want to go to Costco?"
"Because they have food there."

In her words...

"Daddy, tomorrow I want to go eat out."

Note: she's 2 years and 9 months.

In her words (cont.)...

"Daddy, are those your hearing aids?"
"Yes..."
"So that you can hear better?"

In her words...

I have decided to add my daughter's entries to this blog. Given that she's only 2 and a half, entirely too smart for my own good, and absolutely funny in her very own way, I find myself needing a record of the things she says that make me wonder what kind of CPU works in her head. So, from now on, you may find yourself staring at one-liners. They'll be under the label "Katarina", and that will be it. To start, here's the background on the first posting of this kind.

Katarina woke up one morning, was brought into bed by Jim, and in a matter of seconds told me, with a very tired, sleepy voice:

"Mommy..."
"Yes, baby?" (that would be me, in my own sleepy voice)
"I think I'm starting to wake up..."

Enough said.