Sunday, May 12, 2013

It's Just Another Day

Sometimes in life you've just gotta take a few risks.  We might stumble, crash, get our index finger stuck in an electric socket, but if we don't take chances, tell me how rich and interesting can our lives truly be?
I'm reminded of this and so many other lessons when I watch this kid.  As syrupy as this might sound, she's one of my greatest teachers on the entire planet.  She constantly reminds me to take risks. (though I break a sweat).  She reminds me to laugh.  She reminds me to dance when the music starts to play.  Oh, we have our moments.
We squabble about a few minor issues, such as nap time and playing near the heater grate, but isn't that all part of this thing we call life?  Sweet Pea and I differed about her climbing these cement steps.
I wanted to allow her a few moments of independence without jeopardizing her safety of course. I also wanted to get the shot.  The part I couldn't snap was her "toddler tantrum" when I disrupted her climb as she was approaching the "danger zone".  Boy was she p.o.'d at me for taking her off the peak.
"Climb every mountain."

I think this last week with the "Dynamic Duo" centered around a couple important "themes" and certainly those themes could be referrred to as "lessons."
Risk-taking and pushing ourselves to our own personal limits was definately one.  Sweet Pea pretty much does that 24/7, whereas The Cousin needs some encouragement.  
Which is where I come in. 
Sweet Pea takes the world by the balls.  The Cousin is an observer.
Think about the people you know.  Think about your own-self.  The world is surely big enough for all of us; the "ball grabbers" and "the observant ones", eh?
"I'm in the zone."
The Cousin is a rare gem.  She's a thinker.  She is inquisitive about the world around her, yes, but she doesn't jump off buildings or dive into trash cans like Sweet Pea.  She sits back and watches, accesses, puts the tip of her big toe in the pool to test the waters, never her whole foot.  But she makes her mark just fine. She insisted on wearing her hat inside out with the tag in front. Hey, that's cool with the nanny!  Her eyes lit up when she figured out how to hold the chalk on its side and "shade" rather than "write" with it. 
In addition to the lesson's of "risk-taking" and "pushing limits", "lack of privacy" was a biggie last week as well; 
Specifically, mine.
Sparing y'all the nitty gritty details, let's just summarize the day by saying, the nanny had stomach issues of the unpleasant kind.  It's not a cake walk when you don't feel well and have to make several trips to el bano, all the while caring for 2 toddlers. Welcome to my Wednesday. There I sat on the toilet. And there they both stood, side by side, less than 10" away from my sorry self, just staring at me.  
"What are you doing, Bal La Lee?" The Cousin inquired.  "I need to poop. I have a tummy ache."  
"Pooh Bear poops." she responded.  "Yep. Everybody poops." I say. She then runs to her room and returns with a Winnie the Pooh book, opening it to a page where deer poop rests in the snow. 
By this time, Sweet Pea has positioned herself even closer to me and is patting my leg.  "Girls, can you wait for Valerie in the other room?" I say like an idiot, as if they're not babies.  The staring continues. Suddenly, I let out a familiar sound. The Cousin beams.
"Toot! You toot, Bal La Lee!" "Yep, everybody toots" I say.

Moving right along, we take it in the other room to enjoy some of our faves: Clifford the Big Red Dog, Cat in the Hat and Super Readers.  This is usually around the time I look at the clock, notice it's only 9:00 am and say, "Shit." to myself.
"I'm taking one of those Cheerios and there ain't nothing you can do about it."

Just when we thought we finally survived the teething stage with Sweet Pea, she has a mother-of-a-molar pushing through her gums.  It's gigantic! She's reverted back to biting, gnawing and sucking on any and everything she can get her mouth on.

"This is helping."

"Damn Teeth."

"That's a kiss not a gnaw."

The teething solution in 2013:


Okay, I'm old. But what the hell is this? I'm telling you, these girls' moms have all the latest inventions. This is a frozen fruit sucker, bpa-free. Sweet Pea's mom places chunks of frozen mangoes or strawberries in the netted pouch for Sweet Pea to suck on. I really think the damn thing was a waste of money because Sweet Pea demonstrated, at least to me, that she'd much rather suck on the door knob or a computer cord than this cutesy gadget.

The Cousin's language skills are better than many 50-year-olds I know. Each week, she amazes me with 7 or 8-word sentences that begin with words like "Yesterday" or "Actually".  Soon I will have to carry a pocket grammar dictionary just to make sure she doesn't correct me.  



She's one cool kid.  They both are. 
I guess this last week was a simple one for the 3 of us.  Nothing ground-breaking, earth-shattering to report.
No occurrences of mass chaos. Nothing crazy-ass funny that would make y'all fall of your 
chaise lounges. 
It was close to ordinary. Just another day...
~tpg

4 comments:

  1. Valerie, it's those ordinary days with young children that parents long for when their children have grown. You are an awesome nanny; they are very lucky girls!

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  2. Ahhhh....Thank you so much, Lynn! Most of all, a huge thanks for reading and posting your comment. Dig you!

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  3. Pardon me for laughing at the bathroom scene....talk about a helpless feeling. Maybe it was good that Sweet Pea and The Cousin were mesmerized by your "problem" so they didn't run away and get into more trouble.(Of course I can say that...I wasn't the one having to share the bathroom!) But just an ordinary day? When you're caring for two little ones, there's NOTHING ordinary about that. Glad you made it through without any major chaos...that's a big plus! We can only wish for more days like this one (without the bathroom problem, of course.)

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  4. Actually, I agree that these are very cute kids! Sweet Pea has is becoming quite a ham, which means she is feeling good about herself! Val, your photography matches your writing in this blog, beautiful and to the point. I even want to side with Sweet Pea on the stone step swoop incident...Love, Amy

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