The Mischief of Minions

Kids, Family, Insanity…

Oct 17

The Dark Side

by balancinggal

Many 4 year olds girls are princess-crazy, pink and purple covered, rhinestone-bedecked floozies.  If it doesn’t have a wand or a crown, they don’t want it.  Everything is poofy and cute and rainbow-riffic in their worlds and that is the way life is supposed to be. 

I should know: my daughter goes through phases of this frequently, and has on previous occasions even brought her crown to bed with her.

She does however, have a dark side to her sweet innocence:  She loves Darth Vader.

S. – Age 4 knows Darth is not the good guy, but I think she feels sorry for him and thinks that he is lonely.  She also has an appreciation for Yoda, but Darth Vader she has up there with Batman and Ironman when it comes to colorful super characters, and Darth is the only one she always blows kisses to at the parade.

Cracks me up!

Anyway, one of our weekend bits of fun was pumpkin decorating, and we were able to put some of that Star Wars fun into it.  Meet Darth Pumpkin!   My daughter was delighted!!

The green you see in the back is actually the Yoda on the other side of the pumpkin so that the forces of good and evil have some inter-gourd balance.

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Oct 15

Happiness Is…

by balancinggal

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Happiness is a big pile of glistening yellow and gold cold, wet leaves found on a trip to the backyard with mom.

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It is also knowing that in this one fragile moment the world and the sky and the trees are all hers, and adventure is everywhere she looks and hers for the taking.

I simply smile, and watch.

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Aug 21

Moving Too Quickly

by balancinggal

I haven’t posted in a few days – partially because of the need for both hands: my little boy, T. – Age 14 months is all over the place. If I am not removing him from one dangerous location or another, I am extracting objects from his mouth!

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Aug 16

Fecal Matters

by balancinggal

As parents with a baby or toddler, there are many things you think you should be discussing. Perhaps you might talk about parenting strategies, or growth charts, or even your hopes and dreams for baby.

In my home? Somehow we are always talking about poop.

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Aug 15

Real men are OK with pink..

by balancinggal

Because we had not found out what we were having with – well – either of our children but especially with the first, all of the baby stuff was pretty gender-neutral.

So when we got our precious baby girl, and she was old enough for her first baby swing, I pushed for pink. Truthfully, I think, I had figured, coming from a family of predominantly girls, it would not matter: clearly I would also have girls.

Which, of course, didn’t happen. And now that my son is old enough to enjoy such wonderful things, we are too cheap to buy another swing.

So- pink it is!

Luckily, my very macho son, T – Age 14 months, is far too cool to let color stand in the way of utter delight:

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Family Humor iPhonics Kids photography

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Aug 15

Things that Make Me Jealous of Toddlers

by balancinggal

There are at least a few moments most days when I am jealous of my children.

They don’t worry about finances, they squeeze into cramped spaces readily, and have a capacity for fun and merriment that I can only longingly admire.

Best of all? At this point in their lives, the world and the people in it exist solely to cater to their needs and amusement!

Here are a few photo examples from just this weekend of childish glee:

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Aug 14

Doggy Dish Trials

by balancinggal

We’re worried about flooding in our kitchen these days. It has become a constant battle to keep the Pergo dry…
and the Pug hydrated.

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Aug 12

Over-the-top Toddler Tea

by balancinggal

My sister decided to have a particularly over-the-top special birthday party for her daughter A. – Age 5, at a local shop catering to such glamorous events.

The girls were ushered into two rooms filled with racks and racks of every conceivable sparkly gown, hundreds of tiny jewel-crusted shoes, tiaras, bows, jewelry and glitter. The girls all had their nails done, and makeup on their lips and eyes.

10 tiny tots took fizzy-pink high tea filled with marshmallows, frosted cakes and cookies, and were instructed to act like ladies as they dined.

I was never the girly-girl type as a child: whether it was because I grew up in a boy-dominated neighborhood, with the exception of maybe playing Barbies my childhood was spent climbing trees and playing in forts. This fascination with princesses and crowns is a shock to my system.

While the affair was the type that made my inner anti-pink sensibilities want to retch lace-edged doilies, the birthday girl and her little friends all seemed to have a blast. S. – Age 3.5 was in Diva Heaven.

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In the end, I suppose, that is really all that matters: all those smiling little faces. My sister did an awesome job of putting it together, and my daughter lucky to get to experience it!

But I would be lying if I didn’t admit the whole thing made me shudder a little and long to wear black. 🙂

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Aug 11

Miniature Bicycle Babe – winning!

by balancinggal

We got our toddler (S. – Age 3.5) a bicycle a few months ago. We thought she would be thrilled.

Instead, because she didn’t know how to ride it perfectly- struggled with pedaling a bit and took a spill, she has basically refused to ride it. The sparkling, purple (ridiculously girly!) princess bike has literally sat in our garage for months. I would beg, threaten and cajole but could not get her on the thing no matter how hard I tried. Every attempt was an exercise in tears so finally, I let it go.

It has been driving me nuts.

A week ago, we went to the park and she saw her friend R. – Age 5 ride up the park on his bike. She didn’t mention anything to me about it but I know she noticed. I didn’t say anything either.

Two evenings ago I suggested to her perhaps she and I could take her bike out and try it before bed. She looked at me for a moment, the cocked her head sideways and said: “Well, I guess I could try.”

This morning that same kid rode that princess bike over a mile. What had started out as walking the dog S. – Age 3.5 turned into a quest, and I had not the heart to deny her. Accompanied by myself and our pug, she pedaled and pedaled and pedaled, and when she fell jumped right back up.

I had tears in my eyes. I am not sure if it was just pride – I think there may have been some (read: tons) of

OMG my baby is growing up!

in there too.

Here is a picture of the champ in her moment of glory:

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Aug 11

Running Madness

by balancinggal

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My tiny son is a machine: he runs excitedly even when he should be walking, and has taken to dancing and marching in place when standing still. He has boundless energy. In this picture he is chasing after his big sister S – Age 3.5.

I was remarking to my husband that when our daughter was his age, there is no chance we would have let her go like that, barefoot and in pajamas, down a puddle-laden sidewalk. We would have been two steps behind at best. I guess since the first survived we have relaxed a little, and are more inclined known to watch and laugh.

We did not, for instance, keep him out of the puddle: we were too busy making bets on how he would react – whether he would plow through or plop down for a splash. He froze, actually, like his feet were stuck in glue for a moment, and stared down at his wet toes in confusion.

He then toddled happily on.

My son would have made it to the other side of the neighborhood had I not eventually scooped him up.

Children are the best thing that ever happened to me, and by far the most intriguing little creatures. It is becoming pretty apparent though, that their daddy and I are going to have to start marathon training if we hope to keep up!

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