The 'Post' Post

One last post - the 'post' post, if you will-at least until I am asked to be Auntie-In-Charge again someday.

First, a few people have asked for pictures of the infamous spaceship. It was fun to build (despite the fact that my talents lie in education, not engineering) and it occupied a large part of our playtime ...errr... rather we occupied it.
The base was the box that held my little Weber grill-which oddly enough, has a flying saucer-esque quality to it. Nella would point to them and say "Look Sara, MORE spaceships."

Left to right: The radio, the Jigg-a-ma-whizzer (Cat in the Hat reference), and the steering wheel. The top button turned on the in-flight music, the next one was the turbo booster, the third gave us ham sandwiches and the last one gave us hot cocoa. I did not make those up. Nella did.


And lastly, part of any experience for me is taking the time to reflect. So here are a few of the things I've discovered along the way:

1. Childcare is hard work. I knew my sisters were amazing moms, but my respect for them has only deepened. And for those of you raising children on your own-I am not being overly dramatic when I say that your efforts are heroic.

2. I've done so much technical writing or academic writing in the past few years, I forgot how much fun it was to write just for...well...fun. Nella's antics made blogging easier to do, but I look forward to doing this again soon. Maybe as I learn to skydive this summer...

3. Gandhi said "the law of love could best be understood and learned through little children". Nella, Evan and Callie show me this is true every time I am with them. It remains one of my deepest hopes that I have the chance to raise a child of my own someday.

4. Last but not least-Nella takes pretty good pictures for a two and half year old. Case in point:

Happy Girls

(Nella and I are wearing the t-shirts Jess and AJ brought us back from Puerto Rico. Nella's says 'Sky Diva' on the front.)

I can't truly capture in words how much this week has meant to me. Life is short-there is nothing more important than spending time with the people who bring you joy, laughter and peace. Nella is one of those people for me.
I hope I am one of those people for her.

My own Florence Nellagale

Nella and I had a bonus night together with Jess and AJ's delayed arrival home. I think she had a very late nap at school so she wasn't ready to go to bed until later than usual. We went through our routine of dinner, dessert, bath, books (I got her Big Dog, Little Dog-one of my favorites!) and finally...well, if you've ready any of these posts you know what came next -Stories!

I've been fighting a little cold that Nella shared with me and by last night I was exhausted and losing my voice. I could sing her a bit of Toora Loora Looral in a frightful falsetto, but storytelling was severely compromised. She insisted that I lay next to her, on the floor-she even gave me a pillow for my head. I made it through a couple of lame stories and finally had to tell her Auntie Sara was out of commission. She said okay, but asked that I stay in her room. Then she offered me her sippy-cup of water to help my throat and sang me a little song about 5 little chickadees and something that had the chorus of "polly wolly doodle all the day". When she was done singing she rolled over and rubbed my back a little bit. A few minutes later she rolled over again and said "I hope you feel better tomorrow".

And then, with barely a whisper, she said "Good Night".

There isn't any medicine in the world better than that.

Relaxing after a long, hard, day at school

Valentine's Tulips, soy milk, afghan by Ya-Ya and a mini pink recliner = Nella's Happy Hour

Last "Coming Back From School" Story

As we were driving home tonight Nella told me that her friend Ellie had to get a new leg. I asked her why and she said that Ellie had fallen off of a little billy goat and broken her leg so she had to go to the leg doctor and and he made her a new leg and sewed it on. (I met Ellie and she very definitely has both of her original legs, so I don't know where this came from).

Then she said that when she was at the farm, she saw a little billy goat and (no joke) "I put it on my bottom and I didn't fall off! I didn't!"

I asked if she meant that she sat on it, and she said yes.

So even though I wanted to giggle out loud, I just told her I thought she was brave.

Last "Going To School" Story

Let me preface this by saying that I told Nella a story this morning about a kangaroo and a dingo that decided to race to Sydney. They crossed the finish line at the exact same time-it was very dramatic-and ended up sharing first place. I think that may have planted the seed for the following conversation. Ok...

The crosswalks in Middlebury are made of red brick and make a very distinct pattern in the road. As we drove to school this morning Nella saw one and said "Look Sara, it's a finish line. And there's another finish line...and another one!" (There are a lot of crosswalks in Middlebury!) She had been at the Leaf Peepers Half Marathon finish line this past October when I limped across...so after she pointed out all the 'finish lines' in Middlebury she said:

"It's like your finish line when we cheered for you. And then did you have to go lay down and rest somewhere?"

I told her I wanted to (and oh sweet Jesus, how I wanted to ...) but that I had driven back to her house and then we all went out to the dropzone and Daddy and I went skydiving. She said " You did! And Nella too. And Milstone was there and he gave me cookies!"

I asked her if they were yummy cookies and she said "No, I don't like yummy cookies." So I asked what kind of cookie she did like and she said "Ummm ... chocolate."

So Jess...AJ...next time you talk to Milstone could you make sure he knows Nella doesn't like
'yummy cookies' only 'chocolate' ones.

Nella shuffled into my room this morning and put her face very close to mine. I opened an eye and said "Good Morning, Nella." She replied "Ummmm, are you Aunt Sara?"

Guess she wanted to be sure before she climbed into bed to watch cartoons with someone else.

Once Upon A Time

I fear I have given Nella too much time in front of the TV this week. She is allowed a certain number of PBS cartoons in a given day but I introduced the wonderful world of Pixar and Dreamworks animation. As a result she often wanted to forgo The Cat in the Hat Knows A Lot About That and Curious George for Madagascar and Finding Nemo. We only watch a little bit at a time, but still I can't help feeling like maybe I spoiled her a bit-and not in a good way. More books and less television might have been a better idea.

Case-in-point:

She had her friends Thomas and Bryan over last night and I thought she would be thrilled to have someone else's energy and attention for a while, but instead she was kind of cranky. It could be that having them here without Mama and Daddy was too weird for her. She mentioned missing them several times-more than she has all week. Of course, it also could be that she was just cranky and I'm over analyzing the poor little peanut too much.

Side Note: At bedtime, when we talked about her day, I asked her if she had fun and she said (and for the record, I am not paraphrasing here-this is her exact quote) "I did have fun but I hurt Thomas' feelings 'cause I was a little on edge tonight." I had to hug and tell her that I thought Thomas would forgive her, that we all get a little on edge sometimes. Nella and Thomas are both very bright kids -they are thoughtful and intuitive with each other despite a big age difference. Truly, children never cease to amaze me.

Anyway ... she couldn't settle into games and everything was terribly dramatic so when she asked for Nemo through her tears and obvious frustration, I caved.

But this morning, after she received a special Valentine's Monkey from her parents and had a fun breakfast of blueberry pancakes I walked in to find this scene in the living room:

She found some of the books I am using for my thesis and was reading "Once Upon A Time" stories to the newest addition to her entourage.

So maybe I haven't spoiled her too much-and least not in a bad way.

Better Childcare through Cabernet Sauvignon

Either Nella was very tired tonight or I tell much better stories after a couple glasses of wine. She fell asleep after only 3 tales (one about a caterpillar that turns into a butterfly, one about a unicorn that makes a homemade birthday cake and one about a gardener that sings to his plants).

Our week together is drawing to a close. As much as I will miss her, for her sake I am glad her Mama and Daddy will be back tomorrow. She misses them, even when she can't always articulate it and I think she is quite ready for things to return to normal.

But just before she fell asleep tonight she rolled over and put her hands on my face and said "you're my sweetiest Sara in the whole wide world"-then she hugged me and kissed me and rolled back over. Honestly, what more does anyone need?

Patty vs. Paddy

I introduced Nella to the wonderful world of Peppermint Patties this weekend (Don't judge-we Aunties get to take some liberties in the realms of nutrition and limit setting). It became her treat of choice at Ya-Ya and Pa's.

We also spent a great deal of time singing "This Old Man". You know ... 'knick-knack paddy whack give a dog a bone, this old man came rolling home...'

Somehow these two things blurred together for my little peanut. As a reward for eating all of her lunch Nella was granted one treat. She opened the drawer that held the peppermint patties and took one out and ran to living room where my dad was sitting. She stopped in front of him holding the candy in her hand and said "Pa, do you want a paddywhack?"

Oh, how I love her.

Makin' cookies with Pa...

I have great memories of making cookies with my dad. I find it incredibly heartwarming to see his grandchildren get the same kind of tlc.



And of course ... the best part is the:


beaters.

Nella dressed her baby today, using finger puppets for gloves. So freakin' cute.

Fun with Ya-Ya!

Snowblowing with Pa

Nella's Snow Angel

Personal Space

So.

We woke up at 4:00am today. And by 'we' I do mean Nella. She managed to squeeze me out of a queen-sized bed so I was on the roll-away bed covered in her sleeping bag (super comfortable by-the-by...not.) When she woke up I hopped over to her bed and and she cuddled right up to me. Then she informed me that one of her 'babies' was on the floor. I reached over and picked her and said "oh dear, she must have fallen out in the night." Nella replied "No she didn't. I threw her there." When I asked her why she did that she said "Because she was in my space".

Bacon

As we got ready to climb the stairs to bed at Ya-Ya and Pa's house tonight, Nella picked up her sippy-cup of water in one hand and one of her babies in the other and walked into the hallway. I asked her if she wanted to give Pa and Ya-Ya each a hug and a kiss. She tucked her head and said "No, I don't want to." So I told her I thought that if she gave Pa a big hug he would make her extra bacon in the morning.

Her eyes got big, her legs started jumping...she flung the baby and the sippy-cup off to each side of her and barreled towards Pa shouting "Oh my goodness!" She jumped in his arms and gave him a nice, long hug.

I'm pretty sure Pa would do just about anything for Nella.

And I'm pretty sure Nella would do just about anything for bacon.

Seat Filler

After dinner, Nella was playing with some little dishes that my parent's keep in the dry sink just for the kids. She had made "blueberry pie" and "pumpkin pie" and had served us each a piece. When she was ready to sit down and enjoy her own slice of pretend pie, she came into the kitchen and pulled herself up in Ya-Ya's chair and announced "I got a little poop". After I verified this was indeed true, I asked her to please hop down from her chair so we could go change her diaper. Just then my mom walked in, so I gave Nella an option: "Do you want Ya-Ya to change you or do you want me to?" Nella adores her Ya-Ya-and I figured she may be a little bored with me so I thought for sure she would choose Ya-Ya.

She got out of her chair and went over to Ya-Ya and took her hand. I smiled a small, victorious smile thinking I had escaped the doodie duty.

But Nella took Ya-Ya's hand and led her to the chair and said "Will you save my seat for me?" and then ran into the living room, looking expectantly at me over her shoulder.

That Nella, she's a corker.

Tall Tales

Nella was a bit more anxious today. I think she was tired from a long week of school and adjusting to the changes of having me around full-time. While she doesn't say she misses her Mama and Daddy there are many ways she lets me know how much she really does.

She won't let me sing certain songs. If it is a song that Jessica sings, it's totally off limits for me. Sometimes she tells me that her mommy sings that one so I can't but sometimes she just looks at me and says "Um, Sara? My babies (her dolls) don't like that song very much. Could you try a different one?"

She also tells me lots of stories about Mama and Daddy. Today she told me about a time that she and Jess and AJ went hiking and there were all these small pools of water on the ground. She stepped in one and got wet so her Daddy came over and picked her right up and carried her over the puddles and then went to his work garage and got some long cables and built a bridge over all the puddles so no one would have to get wet.

I asked her if Daddy wore a cape too and she said "No, he wears a hard hat". It's a relief to me that as smart as she is, she hasn't quite learned to speak sarcasm.

And I know that when Mama and Daddy get home and things get back to normal, she's gonna miss me too.

'Cause I'm the one who gives her double-stuffed oreos in ice cream for dessert. :)

It's a bird...it's a plane...

As we were driving to school today, Nella looked out of the window and exlaimed "Sara! Look! I see a cloud in the shape of a rocket ship!"

And then: "And there's one that looks like a bug scraper!"

What is a bug scraper? I have no idea.

You can build the cat a road, but you can't make him use it...or can you?

Okay...last story for today.

After Nella's bath, when she knew bedtime was imminent, she started to get a bit wound up. I think bedtime is when she misses mama and daddy the most so I have been trying to just let her get good and tired before I insist she get in bed-even if that means she wreaks a little havoc on the house.

Tonight she took the roll of toilet paper from the bathroom and told me she was going to "build a road". She unrolled it from the bathroom door all the way through the kitchen, down to her bedroom door. She showed me how to walk on it, and I oooh'd and ahhh'd at her fine engineering. She walked back towards the bathroom and saw Jerry (the cat) sitting and watching her.

She walked over and bent down near him and said "Jerry, wanna walk on my road?" Jerry didn't move so she walked around behind him and and booted him in the bum while yelling at the top of her lungs "Jerry! Jerry!"

As you might expect, this scared the pants off of Jerry. He leapt up (and I use the word 'leapt' loosely as this cat is the size of a small barge and doesn't do anything with excessive speed) and ran down the hall toward Nella's room. As luck would have it, he managed to run right along the great TP highway.

Nella jumped up and down and said "Yay Jerry, you did it. You used my road!"

Where you least expect it...

I love my nieces and nephew and I'd do just about anything for them, but loving a child is monumentally different than living with one. Nowhere is this more evident to me than in the two objects that seem to be in every nook and cranny of Nella's house.

Plastic cups and packages of wipes.

The plastic cups doesn't really surprise me. Nella lugs them around and leaves them in all kinds of places. But the wipes? Well, that has thrown me for a loop. I find packages of wipes in places it never would have occurred to me to NEED a package of wipes. My sister is an amazing mom so I trust that she has organized her life with Nella to make things easy and manageable. But seriously... There are three packages in the Master bedroom. Two in the guestroom. Living room, kitchen, bathroom...on the porch.

I even found a package in my car.

And the thing is... I didn't put it there.

It's like the Wet Wipes fairy knows I am babysitting and bestowed upon me my very own supply.

Bubbles...

Bubbles. Lots and lots of bubbles.

I gave her a bubble hat and then she asked me to make her a fairy princess dress of bubbles.

Before I could attempt to manufacture a dress out of bubbles she sneezed and the bubbles went flying all over me, the tub and herself. This struck her as so funny that she quickly forgot the dress (thank goodness!) and we spent the rest of the time blowing bubbles in each other's faces.

A flat bed and an itty bitty pick-up.

Driving home from school today, Nella saw a big truck and the following conversation ensued:

Nella: You know my daddy has a flat bed truck at work.

Me: He does?

Nella: Yeah, he does. And a pick up truck. And a big truck with a bucket on it.

Me: Does he drive all three of them?

Nella: No. He has a couple guys to do it. He just drives the pick up truck. Sometimes he drives the itty bitty pick up all by himself. Cause my daddy is a big strong guy.

She misses her daddy and she knows much more about trucks than I do.

Nella gets a lot of time to play in the morning before she goes to school. Today, we were drawing on some large butcher paper this on the kitchen floor. We traced our hands and our feet. We drew boats and fruit bowls with apples, bananas, grapes and plums. At one point Nella got a little excited while she was drawing and her crayon flew off the paper and onto the kitchen floor. She sat back and looked at me unsure of how I'd react. I told her accidents happen and that I would clean it up later. She furrowed her little brow and said:

"No! It's a sidewalk! You can't clean it up later or my peoples won't be able to walk here!"

Will you tell me a story?

Nella is really into hearing stories these days. She doesn't wants books or songs at bedtime-just stories. When I ask her what kind of story she wants, she usually answers "a story about your work." I work at a small liberal arts college. Don't get me wrong-the antics of college students make for great stories-just not for a two yr. old. So I usually incorporate cute animals-squirrels, cats, bunnies, ladybugs...sometimes unicorns. I usually send them on some kind of adventure, where they get to save the day or learn a good lesson-and it always has a happy ending. But my skills are limited.

Last night she had a hard time falling asleep. I tried singing, reading Curious George ... and making up stories. Every time I thought she was out, I would start to get up and she would pick up her head and say "Could you tell me another story?" No joke - I told stories for almost an hour. I was seriously running out of material. Finally, in the midst of a great tale about a ladybug with magical powers who saved her whole town from a flood, she drifted off to sleep.

Bright and early this morning Nella came into my room and crawled into bed with me. She snuggled down under the covers and asked me to wrap my arms around her. She said "I love to cuddle up with you Auntie Sara, I just love you." I smiled-and as I closed my eyes, hoping to get just a wee bit more sleep she said:

"How about you tell me a story for a couple whiles?"

Sigh.

Nella-isms

" A couple whiles" = combination of a couple minutes and a little while

i.e. Wanna come play with the blocks for a couple whiles?

"last morning" = yesterday or a little while ago....

i.e. Will you tell me that story that you did last morning?

Chef Nella Gale

She washed the mushrooms for me and then used the spoon rest to scoop them up and put them in a pan. Each time she dropped one in she smiled and said "Boompsies!" I don't know what it meant but it made us both laugh.

C is for cookie!

As we were making dinner tonight, Nella found a cookie I left on the counter for her. She grabbed it, jumped off of her chair and ran into the living room yelling "I love cooooookies. They are my favorite food in the whole world!".

How is she only 2 1/2 years old?

She likes to move it, move it ...

I let Nella watch Madagascar which features this fantastic ditty from 1994:



I got my first Auntie Gold Star of the day when she ran into her classroom this morning and started jumping up and down singing "I like to move it, move it. I like to move it, move it."

I think I get another gold star if her classmates go home singing the same song to their parents.

Babies in Beanbags

Nella set up her babies in little Mogu pillows so they could watch a movie with her. She looked at me, completely satisfied with herself, and said "They're sitting in their beanbags!"

Cool As a Moose!

Headbanging in a space ship...

This morning we were sitting in the spaceship I built for Nella (more about that later) and she pushed one of the buttons and told me that it turned the music on. I asked her if she liked the song that was playing and she said yes and proceeded to start rockin' out with some classic headbanging moves. Naturally, I joined her. In the middle of our rockstar aerobics, she turned to me and put her cherubic face very close to mine and said "You're my little buttercup."

And then she promptly went right back to headbanging.

Just after I turned on the light in my bedroom this morning, Nella walked in. In her sleepy, just-woke-up voice she said, quite matter of fact-ly

"I have a very full diaper."

Well, good morning to you too, Nella.

Let's pretend...

At one point tonight, Nella handed me a pink plastic cell phone and told me to call "her people" while she used a fake remote to turn on the fake vacuum cleaner-which she told me we needed to pretend was television-so we could all watch cartoons.

So it begins...

It's official ... it's just me and the Peanut for the next week.

I arrived with pizza for dinner and the very first thing she did was to clap her little hands together and say "You're here! And you brought me pizza!" She sat at the table between myself and her Aunt Sarah B. and with her mouth crammed full of pepperoni and cheese she told us each that she loved us very much.

Not a bad way to start.