entrepreneurial spirit

Something about summer brings out the lemonade stand in us all.

At our house we've seen two new businesses set up in as many days.

Yesterday, Ella handed out coupons for "Free mosojis and Jello." She would have been busier, but her target market was at work.

Today, it was a blanket fort in the living room with a sign:

"Welcome to hotel Moore!

Free Books and Reading"

The hotel was hugely popular, and since it's heavily subsidized by a parent company, it will reopen tomorrow.

Its proprietors are thrilled.

nepotism

Today Lauren said to me, "Mom, I'm so glad we have you. You know why?" I melted a little.

"Why?"

"Because we have Grandma and Grandpa because they're your mom and dad."

i hear you

I let the girls spend a few extra minutes in the shower while I tidied up the bathroom, and overheard Ella say, "When I grow up, I want to be a mom. Do you, Lauren?"

"No!" Lauren fired back. "I don't want to have any babies. I just want to have a job -- not work."

summer

I was shampooing Ella's hair when she said, "Mom, I wish we had a house with a yard. And then every day in the summer would go like this: We wake up and go outside and play. And then we have breakfast. And then we go outside and play. And then we have lunch. And then we go outside and play. And then we have dinner. And then we go outside and play. And then we have baths. And then we go outside and play. And then we go to bed."

I thought about how great it would be, and made a wish. "Me, too."

red letter day

I put Ella in time out for something. I can't even remember now. And awhile later, after the whole thing was forgotten (obviously), I found an envelope on my bed. It read,

To: Mom

From: ?

Intrigued, I opened it:

I have besitib to run away! if you reeb it I will be at Talor. I have pakte my thins.

Love,

Ella

She's so cute when she's angry.

I carried the note to Ella and asked her for some clarification on the misspelled words. She smirked. "Sometimes when I'm frustrated I write things."

"I know," I told her. "But next time, maybe you could just say, 'Mom, I feel frustrated.'"

"Okay."

body language

I could hear Audrey awake in her room, so I opened the door and gave her my usual greeting,"Well, hello! How was your nap?"

I heard a little toot.

"Uh-oh!" I laughed, then, in my ongoing effort to help her expand her small vocabulary, asked her, "Can you say 'toot'?" She was holding onto the railing, and concentrating. I heard it again: Toot.

Was this really her reply? Hilarious. I asked her again, "Can you say, 'toot'?" She smiled.

Toot.

I laughed. She laughed.

I tried to clarify, "Can you use your words to say 'toot'?"

Toot.

We laughed together.

I love this (mostly) quiet little girl.

art lesson

Several days ago, as we were planning Ella's art-themed birthday party, I suggested we play "Pin the Ear on van Gogh." This, of course, led to 1. the explanation of how a famous artist named Vincent van Gogh had gone mad and cut off his own ear, and 2. the quick realization that this game was wholly inappropriate for a party of 7-year-old girls.

Today we're watching our friends' daughter, Olivia, and this morning she and Lauren were playing with art supplies. As Olivia pulled out the scissors, I took note of her long, blond tresses, imagined explaining a new haircut to her mom, and quickly suggested that we not play with those today.

"Why?" Olivia asked.

"Because we wouldn't want anyone to cut themselves," I explained.

"Yeah," Lauren said, her eyes wide, "because one time, an artist cut off his ear and sent it to someone in a box. Right, Mom?"

I cringed. "Right."

sympathy

I was washing some chicken to cook for dinner when Lauren came and stood next to me.

"What animal is that made of?" she asked.

"Chicken."

"Chicken? Ohhh, that's so sad that we have to kill the chickens, Mom."

"I know," I told her. I wondered if I should say the next thing that came to mind, and then said it anyway. "But aren't they delicious?"

"Yes. But it's so sad for us to kill them, Mom. And," she paused, "it's sad for the chickens."

basic math

I was discussing fractions with Ella when Lauren piped up, "I know what's smaller than a whole!"

"What?" Ella asked.

Lauren smirked and triumphantly raised one finger, "A mouse."