Apple, cranberry, or orange?

Sydney has this thing she does when she's in a "mood"--she argues just for the sake of arguing. Just to keep the "angry" going a little longer. Just to screw up her brow and doubt that anyone around her really knows what they're talking about. Just to be...three. It's kinda her version of most 3-year olds' WHY? game. Instead of answering every why question with another why--she answers every argument with another argument. Fun game.

So that you'll know what started this, you should know that Sydney FINALLY went cold turkey with the pacifiers on Christmas Eve. We did the whole, "Santa is gonna take these to little children who need them" routine and whathaveyou. (Like ANY kid would've taken those nasty things...the 3 remaining pacifiers were about 2 years old, and had just about that much gunk and crap in them...eww eww eww. )

You're basically up to speed. Here's the conversation on the way home from Target today.
(and when reading Syd's voice, make it really whiny & angry-like. Not yelling--more like growling...you won't even be CLOSE, but try.)

Syd: Mommy, I want my paci! I need to have my paci.

Mommy: Sydney, when we get home, I'll snuggle you up on the couch with your blanket & you can close your eyes for a minute.

Syd: When I open my eyes will my paci be back?

Mommy: (stifling a smile) No, Syd. The pacies are gone. Maybe you should learn to suck your thumb? You have TWO, ya know.

Syd: I can't suck my thumbs.....THEY HAVE GERRRRRRRRRMS. I'll DIIIIEEEEE.

Mommy: (working harder at the not laughing) Seriously, honey? Where did you hear that?

Syd: I didn't HEAR it. I LEARNED it! (getting really mad, now)

Mommy: Syd--seriously...you wash your hands plenty. So--sorry--where did you learn about germs?

Syd: At school...Ms. Greenwood taught me. Ya know, I don't even like school.

(she loooooves school...remember...arguing just to argue)

Mommy: I'm sorry to hear that, because you're going back on Wednesday.

(****long pause while she works up her next argument****)

Syd: Mommy, do we have Hannukah?

Mommy: (hardly able to contain my interest to see where this is going) Nope--we have Christmas.

Syd: Why don't we have Hannukah?

Mommy: Well, ummm...because we're not Jewish?

Syd: We're not what?

Mommy: We're not Jewish people.

Syd: WE ARE TOOOOOOO JUICE PEOPLE!
I LOVE JUICE!
I LOVE APPLE JUICE
AND CRANBERRY JUICE
AND ORANGE JUICE!!!!!!!
DON'T SAY WE'RE NOT JUICE PEOPLE!!!!

And then I laughed so hard that Sydney forgot to be mad, and laughed right along with me. And these are the moments in time you just don't ever want to forget.

Snow day!

Just a day before the kids are let out to spend ELEVEN consecutive vacation days home with me...they've called a snow day. I don't get what's up with these wuss bus drivers...c'mon...it's not the frontier, for Pete's sake.

So our office here at home is now the site of a large "secret club" fort. Because nothing says "I love my Mom" more than emptying the entire linen closet into a mess for her to clean up.

Awesome.

Let it snow...

We're in the throes of the first of TWO Nor'easter snowstorms this weekend. We've gotten 8 inches in about 5 1/2 hours so far, and it's still snowing. UGH. Eric's out of town tonight, I hate to shovel, the plow guy hasn't called back, our snowblower thing-a-majig is broken--and the only one who knows how to fix it? Yeah--out of town, remember? So--I'm in a mostly FOUL mood, and was lamenting all of the above both under my breath and aloud in the living room with the kids before bed. They were standing with their little noses to the window watching the snow fall, and I spewed out...darnit!!! I have to be out of here at 8:45 in the morning, and I don't know HOW I'm gonna get my car out of the garage and this totally stinks, and onandonandonandon. Until Colin says quietly, "Sydney--it's like God sprinkled our Christmas trees with powdered sugar". Then Sydney...having heard the words powdered sugar...yells, "LET'S HAVE FRENCH TOAST!!!". And then my heart was so full I felt as though it just might finally burst.

Merry Christmas--

The anal picker-upper

A little while ago, I sent the kids upstairs to clean Sydney's room. And by clean, I mean PLOW THROUGH and find some sort of order before even being ABLE to start to clean. Dear Sydney decided at some point today to take out every last piece of clothing, sock, underwear, hair barrette, and EVERYTHING from all 1-2-3-4-5-6 yeah SIX of her drawers and spread it all over the room. Nice.

I just stuck my head around the corner to listen upstairs & see how it was going. Colin is not only giving her a minute-by-minute pep talk (Sydney, it's almost over! Mom's gonna be so proud! You can do it!), but he's also encouraging a level of detail in her efforts that I never would have anticipated or expected. See--I'm also hearing, "okay, long sleeves in this drawer; short sleeves here; put all underwear in a pile and we'll get to those in a minute; jeans here; long pants here; white socks and pick socks separate" and so forth. I also heard him tell her to line up her books on her bookshelf better.

Autism ROCKS. I'm just sayin'.