House of Estrogen

With a Devilish Grin

J.C. recently purchased a cordless trackball for our desktop computer. Since he wasn't sure if the girls would know how to use the trackball, he left the mouse attached, so either can be used. Yesterday, Elise was playing on the computer using the mouse.  Nina grabbed the cordless trackball and sat down on the stairs that lead up to the office, within range of the cordess receiver. With a sly look on her face, she proceeded to move the mouse around Elise's screen. It took Elise a few minutes to figure out what was going on, and then the yelling ensued.

It was a mean trick, but so freakin' clever! She definitely gets some points for originality in a new way to torment her sister. I'm thinking that middle child of mine is going to win a reality show some day. She is like the poster child for Survivor's motto - "Outwit, Outlast, Outplay".  I fear the teenage years though because she will certainly be the one to outwit, outlast, and outplay her parents. I am afraid.... very afraid.

Is It Ski Season Yet?

I'm so ready for ski season. It can't get here soon enough. Didn't know I was a big skiier? Uh yeah... 'cause I'm not. The commencement of ski season, however, marks the transition from mountain bikers to skiiers riding the lifts up and then barreling down the mountains. During ski season, I won't hear, "It looks like it is going to be GREAT weather up at Snowshoe this weekend....". During ski season, I won't hear, "Since I bought a season lift ticket, it is practically FREE to go up there. It would be a crime not to go, what with the good weather and the lift ticket and all."  &*$% lift ticket.

Due to good weather and a season lift ticket, I find myself single parenting once again this weekend. Good times. Nina and Elise's screaming matches are at an all time high. Nina "accidentally" kicked Addie in the head this morning (although when you're hurling your feet wildly around people's heads as your frenzied mother yells, "Stop waving your feet around! You're going to kick one of your sisters!", can it really be called accidental?). Karma wins though. A little later in the day, Nina somehow managed to fall off the toilet and smash her own head on the floor resulting in a lovely forehead bruise. I still haven't figured that one out. I went outside for all of 10 minutes this morning and came back in with about 40 mosquito bites. After arguing over what to have for breakfast (what sort of warped 5 year old turns down going out for donuts?), we finally made it out of the house and to the Farmer's Market. Along with fresh fruits and veggies, I bought some locally raised pork sausage, all of which I left in the car when we got home. Nice. Can the pain from a UTI result in death? If so, I think I'm well on my way. To top it all off, just a few minutes ago, I discovered this lovely artwork on the bathroom door.

  

One might assume it is the masterpiece of a toddler, but odds are easily 50/50 that it is the piece de resistance of an unruly five year old. Considering her American Girl doll is once again in time-out for the star tattoos drawn all over her face, pink highlighter on a door is certainly not outside the realm of possibility.

Last weekend, one of Elise's Brownie friends was over here and said, "It is so crazy here. You guys have all these kids. I think you should have just had two." Gotta love the insight and honesty of a 9 year old! Maybe she was on to something though. Things are just... uh... a tad bit out of control.

So....here's to an early winter, lots of snow, and a long ski season! Here here!

 

Let the Punishment Fit the Crime

As overheard in the House of Estrogen this evening...

Nina: "DADDDDDDD!!!!!  Elise almost broke my ankle!!"

J.C.: "She *almost* broke your ankle?"

Nina: "Yes! She almost broke my ankle!"

J.C.: "OK. Let me know when she really breaks your ankle."

(a few minutes later)

Nina: "DADDDDDDD!!!!  Elise almost kicked me!!"

J.C.: "So, what do you think the punishment should be for almost kicking?"

Nina: "I don't know."

J.C.: "Elise - go get almost in time out!"

I Don't Think the Tattletale is the Problem Here...

Nina: "Mommy, Elise punched me in the stomach, and kicked me in the forehead, and pushed me against the wall."

Elise: "No I didn't!  Nina is just making that up to get me in trouble!"

Nina: "No I'm not!"

Me: "So, Elise, did you do those things?"

Elise: "Just two of them. NOT THE THIRD!"

Nina: "She really did! She punched me right here and kicked me right here and pushed me into the wall!"

Elise: "Nina, STOP TATTLING! YOU'RE MAKING ME FEEL LIKE A JERK!"

<followed by fits of silent laughter from the parents who can't be seen by the children>

 

What's So Good About It?

Are you supposed to have a good day on Good Friday? I had plans for a good Good Friday, really I did, but instead, my kids sucked the life out of me today. They fought, hit, pinched, punched, whined, screamed, cried, shoved, and argued all.day.long. When we returned home from the grocery store, I asked them to bring in the one remaining grocery bag and carton of milk from my trunk. A huge screaming fest erupted over who got to carry in the milk. Really? Milk? What makes a carton of milk worth fighting over? I just don't get that. Maybe it is because I'm an only child, so the whole sibling rivalry thing is new to me, but who the heck cares whether you're carrying a carton of milk or a bag with some yogurt in it? They are both dairy products for the baby, for crying out loud. WHY ARE YOU FIGHTING OVER MILK??? As a result of that argument, the other bag was abandoned in the trunk until I discovered it later in the day.

This was another classic scene from the day:

Nina (whining): Elise, that's MY scooter! Get off! I want MY scooter!

Elise (in her most obnoxious tone): They are both the same. It doesn't matter.

Nina (whining louder): But that's MINE. I want MY scooter.

Elise (even more obnoxious): Nina, they aren't any different. It doesn't matter.

Me (attempting to be the voice of reason): Well, Elise, clearly it does matter to Nina, and since it doesn't matter to you, please let Nina have that scooter. You can ride the other one.

Elise: But I like this one better.

Nice.

My plans for decorating Easter eggs, going to a park, and baking Easter sugar cookies quickly disintegrated into sending the girls to separate rooms for quiet time so I wouldn't throttle them.

After we all had an hour or so of quiet, and my frazzled nerves recovered a bit, I decided to let them dye eggs afterall. My alternate plan had to been to make them sit and eat every last hard boiled egg to torture them, but I caved and pulled out the decorating supplies. Of course, that activity was fraught with arguments over whose eggs went on which side of the egg carton, how many eggs they each got to decorate, and who got to sit in the red chair. Fun times. Anyway, here are a few pictures. I think they had fun, although by that point in the day, fun was no longer my goal. I was strictly in survival mode.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Too Much Togetherness?

Nina has a penpal in California. This morning, she wrote her a letter that started like this:

Dear A,

I hope your Christmas and your Chanukah was really good, and I hope it worked out whenever it started, and I hope there was no fighting.

No fighting, eh?  Hmmm.... could it be that two weeks without school or work is just a bit too much togetherness for our family? The countdown to Monday begins...

Standing Proud

As part of our typical morning routine, Nina gets up first, and as soon as Addie is awake, Nina goes in the nursery to entertain Addie until I can pull my weary bod out of bed. This morning, Nina walked in the nursery, and we heard her exclaim, "ADDIE!!! YOU'RE STANDING ALL BY YOURSELF!!! YEA!!! GOOD JOB!!!" and then, "Mommy! Daddy! Come look!! Addie is standing all by herself!! Come see! Come see!" Honestly, as exciting as it was to walk into the nursery to see that indeed Addie had finally learned how to pull up, it was more fun to see how excited Nina was. She was so proud of her baby sister, literally jumping up and down cheering for her and making sure everyone in the family had witnessed this momentous occassion. Elise and Nina can fight like alley cats, and some days, it drives me to the brink of insanity. Days like this though make me really cherish having these girls who deep down love their sisters and are so proud of each other's accomplishments. I know once Addie is a little older, she'll jump into the fray with Elise and Nina which will quite possibly push me completely over the edge with all three of them fighting, but as long as they have these moments of such outstanding pride and joy in one another, I know everything will be OK.

Some Days, the Best of Friends... Other Days, Not so Much

Nina worked on this picture over the weekend. She very carefully labeled three people in our family: "ANIN", "NNA", and "CJ", and then she asked me to write Addie's name. Elise looked at the drawing and exclaimed, "Hey! You forgot me!"  Nina responded, "No. I just wanted to do these people."

Some days those girls are best friends, and then there are the days like this when a picture is worth a thousand words!

Sibling Rivalry 101

As I was putting Addie to bed last night, I overheard this exchange downstairs:

(A scream followed by Elise wailing)

(click, clack, click, clack... Nina's high heel dress-up shoes clacking down the hallway)

Nina: "Elise kicked me, and I kicked her back."

Elise (still wailing): "She kicked me with those shoes!!! WAHHHHHH!!!"

J.C.: "But didn't you kick her first?"

Elise (still wailing): "Yeah... but, but... she kicked me with those shoes!!! WAAAHHHH"

Lesson learned: If you are thinking about kicking your sister, first check to see what shoes she is wearing!

What happens when I push this button?

Nina is the button pusher in the family. She's an expert, and she does it with style. If there is a button on Elise to be pushed, Nina will always rise to the occassion and do whatever it takes to drive Elise insane. This morning was a prime example. Nina was following Elise everywhere, staying as close to her as she could. Elise kept yelling for Nina to stop. Elise has yet to figure out that yelling "stop" is the perfect fuel for Nina's fire. Finally, Elise yelled, "Nina! Stop it! Why are you doing that?" JC responded, "Because it bugs you." Elise wailed, "But she must have a reason!" JC tried to explain again by saying, "That's her reason. She does it to bug you." Nina could sense that Elise was at her breaking point, and that with the parental unit being brought into the situation, she might get reprimanded. With perfect timing, she smiled her devilish grin, looked right at Elise and said, "I love you!"

I have a feeling these skills are going to serve her well later in life... I just can't figure out exactly how! :)