My Little Ramona

My mom recently sent us the movie "Ramona and Beezus." If you have not seen it, you need to, it is super cute. One reason I love it is that it reminds me so much of my girls, especially my Ella. She is such a little Ramona. After watching the movie I looked at Ella in a whole new light. I love my little passionate spunk!

I ask, "Ella why is your room such a mess?"
Ella replies, "remember the other day when you asked me to go and use my imagination, that is why!"

I always ask Ella how her day was at school, mostly referring to her attitude and behavior. She has been having some issues lately with her screaming and her talking back at school. She gets off the bus, with her cute wide eyes, bouncing to the car with what must of been some amazing news. She throws open the car door and says, "guess what mom? I was more good today than bad!"

When we were in the bathroom getting ready for our family pictures, I was curling her hair and she had her eyes closed, head back, I guess to get the full princess experience. She says, "I just love family picture day. We get to wear lipstick, we get to be all beautiful, it's just fabulous. Can we please do this again, soon?"

There was some play dough in the car from the boys preschool class they went to that day. She got in the car from the bus stop and spots it. With her curious wide eyes she says, "what it that?" like she had never seen play dough before. She opens the bag and starts mushing it and says, "this is the most terrific play dough I have ever touched, it's just so perfectly mushy! I think I am completely in love with this, yes, my heart is in love with this play dough!"

Jon has been having some trouble with lying lately. The kids had just received a valentines package in the mail from Papa and Nana, individual candy boxes! We were in the car and he had just told a doozy of a lie. I told him, "Jon lying is unacceptable, this is your warning, if you lie again I am taking away your candy box." That woke him up, he takes his candy very seriously. He started crying about his predicament.

It was quiet in the car for a couple of minutes and then from the backseat we hear Ella give Jon some advice, "Jon you better eat all that candy before you feel like lying again."

Totally missed that point.

I struggle every morning keeping Ella motivated with her getting ready routine. She is very easily distracted and usually very unmotivated. I said to her one morning, "Ella you really need to get yourself dressed for school, you only have twenty minutes before the bus comes."

"I just need someone to help me," she replies with a disgruntled sigh.

I say the go-to mommy phrase, "Ella you are five years old, you can dress yourself."

"Mom, five is not that high. Abby is way older than me and she always will be. I will never, ever catch up to her . I will always be small." She said all this with a very sad, droopy face. If her goal was to win me over so I would help her get dressed, she did her job!

Ella was moping around the house the other night and that is Erik's cue that he needs to have an Ella talk. He knows how to be patient with her and have those necessary heart to hearts. I love listening in and learning a thing or two about how to deal with personalities like ours. El and I are two peas in a pod. Here was their conversation.

Daddy: "What's going on El, why are you so sad tonight?"
Ella: "Life is just not that great right now."
D: "What is going on in your heart, what is making life not great?"
E: Almost in tears, "I just want to be a parent and I don't want to be a parent later, I want to be one right now."
D: "Why, what are the reason for wanting to be a parent?"
E: "Because they get to do things, well, they get to do really anything they want to."
D: "What is it that you want to do so badly?"
E: "You know, the things you do, like chew parent gum."
D: "Well how about this. You be kind to others for one whole week and you can have your very own pack of parent gum. How does that sound?"
E: "Okay, that sounds like a good plan," after thinking about it a minute or two, "but Dad, that is going to be really tough, can I do something else to get the pack of gum?"

My gorgeous, vibrant, tender-hearted, hilarious, precious baby girl turns six in a few short days!

Happy Birthday sweet girl!