love, fashion and quaratine

Lately when Ella and I put Maya down for a nap, after we shut the door and can hear Maya making her settling noises and flopping around a bit in her crib, Ella goes right up to the crack in the door and whispers, "I love you Baby Girl. Have a good nap. We'll see you soon."

Can't you just feel that love? Don't you want to roll it up and smoke it?

Sandi's mom gave the girls some "get well" money this week since they had to miss a trip to Beals (and I got to go alone with four glorious hours of driving solo and not having to pack sippy cups or listen to Little Einsteins!) since Ella was sick. Sick like needed prednisone to open her bronchitis ridden airways so she could breath. Oh, and a double ear infection to push our level of insanity even further over the edge. (Yes, I know, Maria...the bubble family.) Seriously, though we did quarantine and didn't go out until the germs were under reasonable control to spend said get well money. Who knew we could make money for sick kids? We should be freakin millionaires.

Can you guess what Ella wanted to spend hers on?

We spent easily 45 minutes in the Children's Place selecting dresses and skirts, trying them on in the dressing room (while one of us chased Maya the escape artist who would scurry under the door as soon as attention was diverted) and then twirling in front of the three-way mirror. We tried to do some lessons in math to keep her within her spending budget because seriously, if we don't stop now, we can forget helping with college. It would take a lot of thinking for me to come up with the last memory I have of Ella looking as happy as she did, with the mile-wide grin and the sparkling eyes as she made her way around her domain of clothing. The money went very far in helping her feel well.

But the clincher? She is in full accessory mode including shoes, jewelry and hair adornment, has taken to wetting her hair with water and "styling" it in the morning and often cries (actually cries! when she can't find shoes "pretty enough" to wear with an outfit. She selected a headband and sunglasses at the store and said to Sandi, "Now do I look like a real rock star?"

And yesterday when I told her that Tia was downstairs, she called to me, "Show her up."

Are you kidding me?

And here is Maya, in stark contrast... We were grocery shopping at Hannaford, where it turns out the really nice people work, and Maya was eating cranberries from the newly opened bag. As we neared the frozen section a very nice employee stopped me to alert me of a "small" spill that had occurred. I turned and saw the wake of a cranberry explosion behind me and Maya, chubby fist stuffed in the now empty cranberry bag and a grin. I swear if he hadn't told me, I would have gotten to the check-out and thought she ate them all. This man actually fetched me a new bag, cleaned up the cranberry massacre and said it was no different that an accidental spill and told me it was no charge. I feel like I should carry some sort of warning or insurance when we go out with Baby Distructo.

About five minutes after this, she who can open everything, opened her sippy cup full of water in the car (and now soaking through her clothing) and looked at me with a goofy grin, her pink Boston Red Sox cap with the bill off to one side all very reminiscent of Dennis the Menace. This morning she brought me a bag of popcorn she had snatched from a bag I have packed to go to my sister's this afternoon, told me with her hands in no uncertain gestures that she wanted it and then threw a full out, feet and fists stomping on the floor tantrum when I wouldn't let her eat it for breakfast.

Could these children be more different?

Okay, and one quick HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all the mothers out there. Hat off and low bow to you. Because there is no husband fawning over the mother in this household, Mother's Day is a bit downplayed here. Kind of like, yeah, we're equals, good job, I cleaned up poop this morning, you were up all night, rock on. I got some awesome new running clothes and my big request (which I got in addition to pink eye this morning) was to get to go for a run this morning before Sandi left for work which meant she had to get ready and be on Maya-climbing-on-all-the-furniture-and-tearing-the-house-apart duty. She got a new pair of sneakers- which she picked out and bought by herself and we made her a pan of her favorite-Rice Krispy treats- and bought her a Sam Adam's variety pack to aid her on her new beer conisiour thing. Plus a painting by Ella that said "I love you xo." What could be better?