January 5, 2014 - New Year's Resolutions

I love new beginnings and fresh starts and making lists and getting organized.  So January is always a month I look forward to.  Nothing special to report in the resolution department this year (get back to blogging!) but I do have a new trick for anyone else looking to stick to their resolutions:  Tell Your Kids!  Little kids will keep you really honest, I promise.  Here's how I know...

On New Year's Day Grace and Noah were fighting and I decided to use that moment to talk to them about making  resolution.  I explained what a resolution was and why you make one at the start of the new year.  And then I gave them some examples.  "For example, Grace might make a resolution to stop using a mean tone of voice when she talks to Noah.  And Noah, you might want to make a resolution to stop kicking Grace, even when she hurts your feelings.  Or..." I said..."Or, I could make a resolution to stop drinking Coca-Cola in the new year, because I know that it is not healthy for me."  

That was sort of the end of the conversation because then Grace said something about poo and laughter erupted and they forgot all about the resolutions.  I thought: I tried, but that's over with.

UNTIL

We were sitting at the McDonald's at Schipol Airport in Amsterdam.  It's always a special airport treat that the kids get McDonald's there.  I had just gotten people happy meals and some breakfast food for Kristoffer and me.  The kids were drinking their chocolate milk when Grace asked me what I was drinking.  

Me: Coca-Cola.
Grace:  Why are you drinking that?
Me: Because that was really all they had that I liked.
Grace:  But what about your resolution not to drink any more Coca-Cola?

And just like that, I was so busted.  So I told her that once we got back to Dar es Salaam - because I was definitely going to have a coke on the airplane - I would try much harder to stop drinking coca-cola.  "Because it is not healthy for you?" she asked.  "Right," I said.

Today was Day 2 back in Dar.  I wanted a coke yesterday when we were so tired after the trip and Aya hadn't been sleeping.  I wanted a coke today when I was standing out in the heat waiting to pick Grace up from school.  But both days I DID NOT GET A COKE because I told her she can ask me any time.  And I don't want to lie to her.  And I do actually want to stop drinking coke, even if if it was not really my intention to make it a NYR.

So, the lesson here is that if you really want to be held accountable for something - tell your kids about it and they will help keep you honest.  It absolutely caught me off guard, but was a nice indication that she was actually listening to me, right?  Let's see how we're doing a little further into 2015.

LMW

July 30, 2014 - Kid Stories

The kids today...

Grace

She just learned to play UNO and this morning, before her friend came over to play, I caught her "organizing" the cards.  Turns out she fixed the deck so that if it was only the two of them playing and SHE dealt the cards, she would get all of the +2 and +4 and Skip and Reverse cards.  "The bad ones" she calls them.  Move over, Ben Affleck!  There's a new cheat in town!

Noah

On our Lego table this morning I found this display:

Disturbing!  What does have he have planned for this headless lineup!?

Aya

We finally ran out of disposable diapers so today is our first day on reusable cloth diapers.  Oh Pampers, how I took you for granted.  I have already put them on her incorrectly (but she is asleep so I can't wake her up to fix it...God only knows what will happen this round!) and the assembly required to adjust the elastics alone on all of the ones we bought has me hating this decision. I know WHY we decided to do it: good quality diapers are hard to come by here and are very expensive. You can't buy in bulk and there is an unreliable supply.  And unlike US Embassy staff we can't order from Amazon! So purchasing someone else's entire cloth diaper set seemed like (and actually is) a great idea.  But after 5 years of killing our planet with disposable diapers, I think this will be a hard transition to make. 

Just a normal day around here!

LMW

May 4, 2013 - Future Banker

Very rarely does a day go by when I haven't wished at some point to have a recording of all conversations that take place in our house.  It would be so helpful when Kristoffer and I disagree about who said what (I asked you to...No you didn't!...) but mostly I want it because the things that these children say are just so priceless.  The saying, "Kids say the darndest things..." was invented for a reason.  

To set this particular scene: it was about 6:20 am yesterday.  Kristoffer had just left for work and I was sitting at the table eating breakfast with Grace and Noah.  

******

Grace:  I want to go visit Niko. [she still very much misses her cousins who have gone back to Denmark] I think we have to take a big airplane to get to Denmark.  When can we go?

Me:  Well, it costs a lot of money to fly to Denmark and I don't think we have all that money right now, so it might be a long time.

Grace:  How much does it cost?

Me:  Tickets for the airplane probably cost more money than you can even think of.

Grace: *thinking...thinking...* Ok, I have a great idea.  Noah and me have some money in our piggy banks.  You can use that to help buy tickets.

Me:  Wow, Grace.  That is very nice of you to share your money.  

Noah:  Me money.  Airplane Nene's house.  [Noah talks about going to Nene's house at least once a week.]

Me:  Wow, Noah.  You want to share your money to buy tickets for an airplane to go to Nene's House?

Noah:  Yeah. Now.

Me: Ok, well I think now is too soon.  But how about Mama and Far will save some more of our money and when we are close to having enough we can use the money from your piggy banks to help buy the tickets.

Grace: Yes........but then you have to give the money back!

*****

So much for giving - she was offering me a loan!  I'm just glad she hasn't figured out about interest yet!

LMW

September 18, 2012 - Morning Chat

"Kids say the darndest things..." right?!  We all know that saying is true.  And if I wrote a blog every time my eldest said something particularly "darndest", well then blogging would be a full time job.  But this morning's conversation still has me laughing, so I think I'll share.  It went a little something like this:

Grace:  {stretching}  Mama, I'm stretching!

Me:  That's great!  Eating well, sleeping and stretching are all the things that help you grow big and strong!

Grace: {thinking really hard}...Mama,  did you not stretch so much?  Or eat so well?

Me: {frowns}

Grace:  Because you're not so high (said empathetically...as if she was breaking the news to me gently).

Me:  Well, I tried but some people are just not meant to be as tall as other people*.

Grace:  I want to be REALLY big and strong!  Like Far!

Oh...gosh...is there a better way to start one's day than being called out by your pre-schooler for being too short?!

LMW

*Yes, that was my attempt at explaining genetics.