What Do You Call Your Grandma???

My grandmother (my mom's mother) is loving referred to as "Mother" by almost all her grandchildren (only my cousin Will calls her Grandma) and now Presley and Dotty call her Mother (sometimes it sounds like Mudder) too.

Memaw and Mother went to school yesterday to pick up Dotty and Presley. Mom said the look on the teachers' faces were priceless when they heard Dot and Pres calling out "Mohter" to a lady with white hair.

Jake and I had that problem too growing up. Mother would take us all over town and we would constantly be calling out "Mother" and getting strange looks from those standing within earshot.

Children have always come up with unique and often strange names for grandparents. I know of a few...

Tony's grandpa is called Gang.
The McGhee girls had a grandfather named Honey...he was also called that by his children and some people around town.
Presley calls her other grandparents Pretty and Poppee.
I know a pair of ladies...one was called Gommer...the other Gammer.
I have also heard of a grandfather called Diddle Dee.

I personally love that Dotty calls her great-grandmother "Mother". I would not have it any other way...and neither would Mother.

Watch Out...

Last night when Tony came to pick up Dotty I was telling her goodbye...giving her hugs and kisses and all that.

Before I walked away Dotty bent down (Tony was holding her) and whispered to me...

"Momma...watch out for the Itsy Bitsy Spider"

I just smiled and laughed a little and told her I sure would.

I thought to myself...kids say the funniest things. Then I mentioned it to my mom who told me that earlier in the day Dotty and Presley had been doing a puppet show about the Itsy Bitsy Spider...and I have no doubts with those two around everyone better watch out!

Go figure...

At Dotty's school today some other classes (not Dotty's class) were allowed to dress up so they could go sing "pumpkin" songs at the nearby fire station. Of course when Dotty saw the other kids in their costumes (none of them her classmates) she demanded to get to wear hers.

When I told her she was supposed to wear hers yesterday she said she didn't get to.

I then reminded her that it wasn't that she "didn't get to" wear it. It was that she "didn't want to" wear it.

Big difference.

But not to a 3 year old.

Whining followed...

Today at Dotty's school her class is going to go to the Senior Citizen's Zone and sing "pumpkin" songs. The kids were allowed to wear their Halloween costumes to school today.

I thought Dotty would be super excited...I was wrong (that has happened a lot since Dotty was born). Instead Dotty put on a cotton shirt dress over her leggings, had on tinkerbell socks, and brown shoes and announced to everyone that she was wearing her costume...she was "Dotty".

I took her costume to school in a bag in case she changed her mind and decided she wanted to wear it.

I know if I had forgotten today was "costume day" Dotty would have had a meltdown but since SHE decided she was going to go as "Dotty" then it was okay.

Although in hindsight she did ask me last night what I was going to be for Halloween and I told her I was going to be a Mommy that worked at the Pecan Shed....hmmm...I might understand things more now...

The Princess and Her Proud Momma

Crowning the Princess

Princesses, Fairies, Policemen, and Firefighters

Dotty's school had the annual Fall Festival tonight. Dotty went as Sleeping Beauty...and let me tell you...she was a beauty!

I took her to the Pecan Shed after school. We only had an hour and I knew I would need help to turn my preschooler into a princess. Thanks to Crystal and a hot curling iron, Becky and her ability to distract, and all the other ladies actually making sure the Pecan Shed stayed open and helped customers...Dotty didn't even need a fairy godmother...she had better!

Dotty was the prettiest I have ever seen her. She is always beautiful but tonight she was really gorgeous.

She went into the school and curtsied to all the other princesses. It was adorable. Then she waved "royally" to all the people in the crowd that gathered outside.

Dotty had a quite a turnout. She had lots of people there just for her and plenty that were there for her as well.

The parade was a big success and Dotty had a blast in the park afterward. She had no time to eat...she was too busy playing with all her friends...but mainly Presley and Memaw.

When the time came...Dotty headed home with her daddy...tired, dirty, happy, and still waving...a princess's job is never done.

Character Clothes...

I have never been a big fan of wearing characters on my clothes. Only at Disney World would you see me with Mickey Mouse on my shirt. I don't remember ever wearing a Garth Brooks tshirt that had his face on it. However, I must confess that I am sure I had a few New Kids on the Block shirts that probably had Joey or maybe even all of them on it...but hey...give me a break...I was a 5th grader.

When I was pregnant, even though I did not know if I was having a boy or a girl, I knew I did not want the baby's room done in Winnie the Pooh, Mickey Mouse, or even Precious Moment Characters. I also did not put Dotty in clothes that had characters on them...well not too often unless they were given as a gift.

Now though I am singing a different tune.

In an effort to get Dotty to wear something other than the Flip Flop Dress I will put her in anything. Luckily Memaw LOVES to buy clothes for Dotty and has bought a lot of Princess and Tinkerbell outfits.

Today Dotty went to school in a tshirt that had Cinderella, Belle, and Sleeping Beauty (Dotty's favorite princess) on it. (I don't know why but for some reason these 3 princesses seem to be together on a lot of things...they must have some good agents to have cornered the "princess merchandise" market.)

Dotty's pants had a crown on them and the word "princess" on it. While I don't think Dotty can read, she told me she knew it said princess.

Dotty's shoes had the famous 3 princesses on them and even her headband had Sleeping Beauty on it. She was also wearing Sleeping Beauty panties. We did not have any princess socks so Dotty decided to just go without socks entirely (Note to Memaw...Princess Socks).

Head to toe this girl was decked out in princess gear (and I am fairly certain it was all bought by Memaw).

As I looked at my child this morning I remembered my aversion to character clothes but seeing the smile on Dotty's face and knowing we did not have a big fight about what she was going to wear made me think...character clothes ROCK!

The Great Panty Debate...

This morning Dotty had 8 pairs of panties spread out on the living room couch trying to decide which pair to wear. Let me just say that the rest of the morning was a slow and trying process.

The good news is she picked the "fairy with the black hair" pair. Then she proceeded to show everyone at school.

Star in the making...

Dotty and Presley were at the store on Friday. We use the girls in the television commercials. This commercial was supposed to have Dotty and Presley getting a sample of fudge and eating it.

Presley was a pro. Big smile. Eating the yummy fudge while facing the camera.

Dotty was not quite as good. Dotty ate the fudge but made the statement she did not like it (it was our peanut butter fudge and I could have told Dotty she would not like it but since Pres was eating that kind Dotty wanted it to). Dotty would also turn her back to the camera a lot and when I asked her to smile at the camera she made sure to frown even harder.

Then we had the girls play with some of the toys we sell at the store. Pres was all smiles and laughs. Dotty hid behind me or the shelf and refused to come out.

Presley is truly a star in the making....Dotty is a diamond in the rough.

Finding a Button...

Today Dotty wanted to wear her Flip Flop Dress again. However since it was in the low 50s and was only going to get up to the mid 70s I held my ground...and told her I couldn't find the dress.

She then decided to pick out her own clothes for school. She wanted a solid purple outfit. I have her purple pants and a purple shirt with a witch on it but Dotty wanted solid colors.

So she opted for the solid purple pants and a dark pink shirt that I kept for her to play in because it has permanent marker on it. Then she paired the outfit with white ballet flats and a pale pink bow that is on the fancy side because I bought it to wear with her Easter dress.

She also got into my makeup and went to town with eye shadow and blush.

Let me just tell you the look was fabulous and that girl wore her outfit with confidence.

It was not until I saw the look on her teacher's face at school that I decided I need to find a button that says "I dressed myself today" for these special occasions. Then I could at least feel like Dotty's teachers don't think I am crazy.

Dotty's Prince...

Dotty and I were talking about Halloween and when I asked her what she was going to be she told me she was going to be Sleeping Beauty.

Then she said I was going to be Cinderella and Julie was going to be Snow White (I think Julie was because of her hair color).

Dotty also said Daddy was going to be the Prince.

When I asked which prince Dotty said "My Prince."

I am not sure why I even had to ask such a silly question.

Communication...

I have always known I was not a good communicator. I don't always listen to the words people are saying to me. I may hear them talking but I am not actually listening. I also make assumptions which is a terrible thing to do. And I fill in the blanks sometimes when I am trying to remember details from an event or conversation.

However, I have learned to not always believe what I hear or to at least take some things with a grain of salt (although I have never understood that phrase...I know it is meant to be skeptic about what I hear).

I have also learned that sometimes when I say things to people they misunderstand, take things the wrong way, misquote, and out and out lie about what I said.

With all this knowledge I have learned to not worry so much in life about what people think. I know what I know to be true and I sleep better at night with that knowledge.

I hope as a mother I can teach Dotty to listen (and I mean really listen) more than she talks, to go to the source if she needs to know the truth, and to only worry about the things she can change...and sometimes what people "believe to be true" is a hard thing to change...and may not even be worth the effort.

I love talking to Dotty. I love to hear her little voice, to listen to her sing, and to hear her thoughts about the world as she sees it. I wish all our conversations could be easy and innocent. I know they won't always be this way though.

I plan to enjoy these times and to try and teach her that she can always talk to me...that I will always listen...and that I will always love her...no matter what.

Different Sippy...Same Story

So you all remember how we broke Dotty of her "Transitional Sippy" that she just never transitioned away from. The new sippy we gave her was the one above. This one has harder plastic on the mouth piece and the juice just sort of leaks out of it instead of Dotty having to suck it like a bottle.

We thought this would make Dotty more of an "active" rather than "passive" apple juice drinker and thus she might not take the sippy every hour or hour and a half each night. Our plan worked great for several weeks. I was wondering why we had not done it sooner. I was so busy patting myself on the back I did not see what was slowly beginning to take place.

The new "Take and Toss" princess sippy was slowly becoming just like the first sippy cup. Dotty started using it to console herself when she was upset. She started needing to drink it to fall asleep at night. And now worst of all...she asks for the sippy every time she wakes up in the night...and the last two nights have been the worst.

Dotty has gotten up just about every hour for the past two nights and she has demanded her sippy cup before she will go back to sleep. Well I am not waiting for the "3rd time is the charm" to change sippy cups on her again. Two nights of limited sleep is enough for me!

Tonight Dotty will have yet another cup...I am thinking a straw of some sort this time.

Wish me luck!

Dotty's Confession...

Yesterday on the way to Dance Class Dotty said...

"I hate to tell you this Momma...."

Never a good way to start a conversation.

"I hit Enis today."
Me - "Why"
Dotty - "Because I wanted to."
Me - "That was not a nice thing to do. What did your teacher say."
Dotty - "The same thing you said."
Me - "Did you go to the Time Out Chair?"
Dotty - "No. I said I was sorry so I didn't have to sit in the chair."
Me - "Well I am glad you apologized."
Dotty - "Yeah. But I didn't really mean it."
Me - "....."

I really had no idea what to say. We had just pulled up to the place where Dotty takes Dance so as I got her out of the car I reminded her that it is not nice to hit....that we don't hit...and that when we do something wrong we need to apologize and mean it.

I don't think I am getting through though...only time (and Enis) will tell.

To Stitch or To Glue...

...That is the Question.

Today, Tony and Dotty were playing at a park in Henrietta when Dotty fell out of swing and busted her eye just below her eyebrow. Tony called me because he thought she needed to see a doctor.

We took her to Clinic Care at the Clinics of North Texas (both the speed and the service were very good). The nurses and the doctor on call all thought she needed something...stitches or glue.

I voted for glue...and come to think of it I did not even ask Tony...but he was standing right there and did not object...so I am going with the "speak now or forever hold your peace" theory and assume he agreed with me.

I have seen kids have cuts get "glued" and because of the location and because I was afraid Tony would pass out if they wanted to stitch her up I thought glue was our best option. We did the glue and I think it went well. Only time will tell.

Dotty was a champ! She was so good and still. She talked to the doctors...a little. Best of all, she never cried. She didn't make a peep while they cleaned it up, put the glue on, pushed the gash together, put more glue on, etc.

I was so proud of her. She may end up with a scar but we all have them. She is still beautiful.