story

The W Sisters And The Story of The CIA

by

I feel I am experiencing a normal phenomenon, yet I still find it very odd. It feels like my kids have been recruited into the CIA or other secret agency. It might be fight club. I am not sure. What I do know is when I ask either of my daughters how there day went they say some variation of I don’t want to talk about it.

I feel that is a typical kid thing to do. One of the teachers said its normal and they will eventually start talking about stuff that happened weeks before. OK great I am still waiting to hear about stuff from April then.

If that wasn’t semi-frustrating enough both of them will tell me stuff that happened that actually didn’t happen. Ussually it is just fantastical enough that you know it is BS. Last year for example in T’s class there was a boy we will call F. Every day F would do some wild and crazy thing. Some stuff I don’t even know if it is possible for a 4 year old to do so it was pretty apparent that it was all made up. Then of course I meet the kid. Funny enough there is a good chance he was the kid in the class that required a decent amount of discipline. I am not saying he was the worst kid in class or that anything T said was true. it was just funny that in her own way she was saying he was difficult.

Of course with a track record like that it is hard to tell if she is telling the truth. The other day T was telling me a story about the bus driving very slow almost not at all during a field trip. Then the teacher said something and they waited for another bus and then went back to school. The elaborate description about the bus driving very slowly sounded far fetched so I filed it away as another imaginary event. It wasn’t until the next day when i saw a post from one of the Mom’s who went on the trip passing on that there was bus trouble during the field trip. After she explained the situation it was apparent that T was spot on with her description. Now the girl has me so turned around i can’t tell when she is telling the truth about stuff at school. Well played my little one. Well played. Now please stop teaching your younger sister do to the same thing.

The W Sisters and the Short Story Of Their Favorite Holidays

by

At dinner Tonight T announced her favorite holidays were Christmas, Hanukkah, Easter, and Halloween in that order. She declares that she loved them all since for all of them they got treats or presence. This just proves that the Jews are doing a terrible job of promoting Purim.

After T’s declaration Am confirmed she agreed with that top 4 list.

The W Sister’s And The Story of Why We Are So Excited About Explaining Stuff

by

If you have kids you might be like us and explain stuff to them. I have done it since T was a baby and wasn’t possible for her to understand. On one hand I think it’s a good idea. It is is also something to pass the time when dealing with little kids.

As the girls get older both MC and I continue to do it and try to make it into a conversation with the girls. Sometimes it sparks their interest and others they could care less.

On a weekend in November we traveled to MC’s parents house for a visit. We were driving over the new Tappanzee bridge and MC was explaining that it was a suspension bridge. MC was trying to go into details about how it works so the girls would understand how it works. T instead blurred out “Mommy why are you so excited about this bridge?”

MC broke out hysterically laughing. It was pretty funny. T just wanted to know why MC was going on about this bridge. Hopefully comments like that aside T grows to appreciate engineering even if she doesn’t choose to study it.

A on the other hand was quiet during the encounter. I can’t remember if she was just sleeping but that is likely since we were driving.

The W Sisters and The Story of Scotch on the Rocks

by

The girls love to pretend play. A lot of times I love pretending they’re taking our orders at a restaurant and then bringing us food. Other times they like to play school. They also just like to clean around the house which I highly encourage.

One day recently T came over to me and asked me what I wanted to order. I told her a Jack and Coke. Her reply was “Jack and coke tastes yucky pick something else.”

Next I asked her for a scotch on the rocks. Her reply was “Scotch on the rocks taste like rocks”. That’s when I just asked for a Diet Coke and she brought me one.

After I received my pretend Diet Coke I wanted to try again on the scotch so I asked for a scotch need. I was then told that I already had a drink. That conversation ended quickly.

The W Sisters and The Story of The Last Day at The Beach for The Summer

by

The last day at the beach for the summer was a bit anticlimactic. We originally thought we would have Monday of Labor Day at the beach however due to the tropical storm the weather wasn’t looking good. Even on the Saturday morning of Labor Day weekend it was not looking like the greatest beach day however we wanted to get one last day in. I went with my mom and the girls to the beach since MC was not feeling well. In the morning it was pretty empty. By the afternoon some people it should however we didn’t use the key poles or go to the regular pool since it was too cold. I didn’t stop the girls from enjoying the sand and running around. I think they had a blast in the morning since the court was empty and they got to run all over without having to worry about getting in the way of anyone.
After lunch and A nap the girls discovered the world of the beach down the stairs at the end of the court. We normally don’t let them go down there however since it was pretty empty we were able to watch them from where we sat. The girls enjoyed running around near the volleyball court and looking at all the umbrellas and chairs stacked up since no one was really using them. The best thing for them however was the platform cart that the cabana boys use to move chairs and umbrellas out onto the beach. It had four big inflatable wheels and a large flat surface to stand on for someone that’s 2 1/2 or four years old. The girls quickly realized that if they stand on the cart and jump it bounced a lot. I had a blast just jumping up and down the cart. I personally as a parent wasn’t the happiest about them doing it however was relatively benign since it was on sand if they fell. It was better than T’s original idea of playing nearer climbing on the pile of chairs that I had to stop her from going to.

The girls kept moving out of view from my vantage point so I walked down the stairs and stood around where they were planning to keep an eye on them. At one point T went to the other side of the sand volleyball court where there was a plastic chair and look to be just goofing off with it. I was about to tell her get away from it when I had to step way back to the court for a minute. When I came back the chair T went to was now right by where I was standing in front of the sand cart. T then tells me “daddy sit down” as she motioned towards the chair. I was liking how good she was taking care of me and was glad that I didn’t say anything to her about going over to the chair in the first place.

After some more jumping on the cart the girl grew bored of that and proceeded to move there play over to a wooden ramp that went from another court entrance a little bit out into the beach. It was on an angle and both of the girls would take turns running down the walkway until they got into the sand. I don’t know what fascinated them about it but they did it for about 20 minutes. I didn’t move from where I was sitting since I was pretty comfortable in the chair taking got me. I would have to periodically yell for them not to go outside of my field of view. The walkway they would run up went into an enclosed area of the beach club and after they left the beach I couldn’t see them. I mentioned several times to both girls that they needed to stay where I could see them. After having a walk over there at one point to get A when she wasn’t listening T immediately said for me to move the chair. I asked her why and she said I should move it closer so I could see them better. I couldn’t help but laugh at that.

Soon after being asked to move the chair we had to go back to the cabana anyway since it was getting ready for me to pack up our stuff since the season was over and I need the girls to come be closer to me.

On an unrelated story that happened the same evening the girls wanted to play with ice. I’m not sure why. I think it was because I took ice out for a drink and they wanted to touch it. I decided to show them a little science lesson and had them feel the ice until it started to melt a little in their hands. I then tried to explain and probably didn’t do a great job of it how and why I ice melted. I then had them get their chairs and stand by the sink and show them how to melt it a lot faster with the hot water. That blurb isn’t as funny as beach antics however I thought it was cool to be able to show them something using science like that. I look forward to doing that more in the future.

The W Sisters and The Bedtime Stories Circa 15-August

by

What I have realized even before I had little kids was that parents of little kids find the most normal or minor actions from children to be pretty funny. Even when I was not apparent I could totally get the point. I am not sure of everyone else does however I keep saying my kids are my entertainment budget. They really are. And I love it. Instead of writing little blurbs on Facebook like I know some people do I’ve been trying to turn comments are funny things I remember in two small stories.

I’ve been in a good place when it comes to writing recently so I have a backlog of things to publish and write about. This scratch that these minor anecdotes are from August 15.

Prior to getting ready for our bedtime routine T was complaining to me about something Amelia was doing wrong. I think Teagan takes it upon herself as big sister to do that. Or she just wants to annoy us, I’m not really sure. Now that T is understanding things more I try to explain to her stuff. That is probably not the best use of my time in a lot of instances however I try. In this case I tried to explain to T that she should worry about herself and not worry about what Amelia was doing if it’s not directly impacting her. I will give myself credit since I thought but didn’t say to her and nobody likes a rat. Teagan’s response to my commenting to her was that I shouldn’t worry about her and I should worry about myself. Touché Teagan, touché.

Later that evening I was reading stories to the girls. In recent months A likes to snuggle and have my hand around her waist. She says that she’s buckled in when I do that. T is hit or miss on the smuggling. For a few weeks she will needed to do it and then she stopped for a little while. As I was reading A blurts out “no, no, no, hold on”. She then proceeded to take the book and flip back a page. She had unanswered questions about the picture that she wanted me to address.

I believe this was also the same night that the girls insisted on having me have Alexa (aka our Amazon Echo) play the song “Fight Song” about three or four times. They danced around during the whole song. They even got crazier in their dancing is the temple of the song picked up for the chorus. I was lucky enough or smart enough to remember to take a video of one full song so I could send it to M and share it with our parents. I think Teagan started liking that song from Morgan’s bat mitzvah otherwise I have no idea where she heard it from. I would like to give a shout out to my brother-in-law Michael for the “Dance Party” idea. I can sometimes get them to dance around to other songs however this is their favorite one. Based on the lack of response from our downstairs neighbor pretty sure he works late during week.

The W Sisters and The Story of Their Love of Cake, Cupcakes Work Too

by

I am not really sure where or when it started. On Teagan’s first birthday M made her own smash cake. It took a little bit of prodding to get T to dig into it. We had to cut it before she would grab a big piece of it. A week after her first birthday we did a photo shoot with a cake smash. Half the photos she’s having a blast kicking and grabbing the frosting. There are others that she’s a little disturbed by the cake.

A on the other hand had an epic meltdown when she did her first cake much on camera. M even put rice crackers in the cake that she loved hoping that she would grab at them. We think it only made her sad that the crackers were surrounded by this sticky stuff. My favorite photo of A’s cake smash is her off to the side of a photo studio where you can see the edge of the backdrop. Amelia is lying on her side looking sad and exhausted the little bit of frosting on her nose.

From those humble beginnings of cake eating to today is somewhat fuzzy. This is one of those instances where I should’ve written about this a long time ago and of all the story as it happened. That way I would remember more details.

For T at least ever since she could speak she would be interested in cake. Whether it was someone’s party where she would ask “Cake?”. Or as she grew older “We have cake?”. She always seem to be interested in parties and the inevitable cake or cupcake that go along with it. My unscientific theory is that we limit the sweets the kids can have. Parties with cake or cupcakes are generally where have them most regularly. I can see where they would grow fondness for the cake and cupcakes because we limited their exposure overall. It’s not like we don’t let them have anything ever. M and I love cupcakes. And since M is a fantastic cake maker we love cake too. Maybe that’s why the girls love it. They see how much we enjoyed it as well.

A has also come along way. For her second birthday and more recent cake eating experiences she will clutch the cake and frosting in her hands you cannot get rid of it until she’s done without an argument. A still doesn’t like frosting on her hands. She’ll ask for or motion to you to get wipes to clean your hands shall forget about that while grabbing hold of a piece of cake were eating frosting right off of it.

My children are if anything but persistent. Whenever we say we’re going to a party to matter what kind of party it may be T asks will there be cake. For my niece Morgan’s Bat mitzvah I was describing all the awesome food that would likely be there. All T wanted to know was would there be any cake. To get to the bottom of that question I called my sister and put her on speaker phone with T. T was sad to hear that there likely wouldn’t be cake even though there would be tons of other sweet desserts. In the end there was cake and T had a blast of a time. A was interested in the cake question also was not is generally focused has Teagan was on it.

As I write this T’s birthday is coming up. She’s been talking for months about what kind of cake she wants M to make. Now M did originally bring up the topic however T has been consistent on her answer for some time. She wants and Elsa cake. For her third birthday she wanted elephant and piggy. For her second birthday she got a monkey like her favorite monkey stuffed animal. For her first birthday she got duckies. A on the other hand got Paddington Bear for her second birthday. She got a winter snowman and snowflake theme for her first birthday. Even though we’ve been talking to T for months on what she wants for her cake I do not recall A having an opinion one way or the other at this point. I am going to have to remember to ask her about that.

So please if you’re going to invite the T & A to a party let there be cake or cupcakes work too…

The W Sisters and The Story of T and My Laundry

by

When I get home from work I usually change out of my work clothes. I got into a habit of doing that when T was a baby. It was out of necessity since I didn’t want shall we say “fluids” on my relatively nice work clothing. Nowadays I am less worried about fluid stains that I am about being in something more comfortable.

The girls eat with the babysitter prior to me getting home or are finishing up right around when I get home.  That means I don’t get a chance to eat until I put them to bed. That means dinner does not start to be prepared until at least 7:30 PM. Historically that’s late for me and I’m really hungry by then. What I’ve been doing his having an energy bar when I get home to hold me over until it’s time to eat. This schedule may change in a few weeks however this is been my routine for over a year.

Both girls know the routine and quickly finished dinner if they’re still eating it when I get home. They want to come with me into my bedroom when I change. I think it’s partly because they want to spend time with me. It’s probably mainly around them being able to play M & my walk-in closet however I’ll delude myself and think they want spend time with me. Amelia and Teagan both go into my closet and say I am home and proceed to close the door. They do not seem to care that the light automatically shuts off when the door is closed. Both girls but Amelia especially now a days also like to take any pair of my Converse and put them on her feet and try to tie the laces.

On many days T also asks me “Daddy you have a bar?” that inevitably is followed up with “can I have a bite?” She’s asking about if I an eating and energy bar. I have gotten into the habit of having one when I get home. I don’t make it home most days to eat dinner with them so hold myself over till after they’re in bed I have an energy bar. I usually eat it while I’m changing. Sometimes if they’re eating dinner I may go and change and have the bar without them. If I do that then T will get sad that she didn’t have a chance to ask for some. What is funny is I almost never give them a bite since they would’ve just finished dinner or are eating dinner yet T still gets sad if I don’t give her any.

Since I’m trying to write more about stories the girls inspire me to remember retrospectively writing this story about something T did on 15 August when I came home to change after work.

A must have been busy playing somewhere or still eating dinner since it was just Teagan and I. Teagan came in to my bedroom like normal and we talked as I put away my stuff from the day. T then proceeded to take my laundry basket out of my closet  like it was a normal everyday occurrence and dump it on my bed. She then looks at me and says “I’m putting the laundry in the washing machine”. After that she makes hand gestures to show me that she’s putting a laundry card into a pretend slot and then makes a sound effect as if machine is starting. She then looks at me and tells me “I’m doing the laundry” and proceeds to walk out of my bedroom.

I’m not really sure where she gets some of the ideas to pretend play however she continues to amuse me often.

The W Sisters and the Story of The Bedtime Sing a Long

by

Last night after putting the girls down for bed I could hear on the baby monitor Amelia leading Teagan in singing “if you’re happy and you know it clap your hands”. Teagan sang along for a while until she started singing some other song on her own. Amelia wanted none of that and went back to singing if you happy and you know it. After a while Teagan responded back to Amelia with something like “stop singing that song”.

Sometimes bedtime routine Canby extremely frustrating if they’re jumping on the bed or running around.  Other times it’s very hard to keep a straight face if I have to walk in there to have them stop doing something. Tonight at least I didn’t have to go in there and talk to them about their singing.I did have to go in half a dozen times for other stuff though. The challenge of them sharing a room is on supervise bedtime.

T and the Hand Soap

by

Upon visiting my parents apart a few weeks ago T declared that she liked the hand soap in the bathroom. But it was rather funny that she pointed that out however I didn’t make much of it. Then the next week when we came back to my parents she wanted to take it home with us. My mom not wanting  to deny T anything told her she could. Before we left T quickly remembered that she gets to take it and ran to the bathroom to grab it. So now are the proud owners of candy cane smelling hand soap.

In our bathroom we have both the so we normally use and the candy cane stuff. When going to wash T’s hands she makes it pretty clear she doesn’t want the regular stuff.

I find it funny sometimes the thing that the kids find enjoyable.