Before you unsubscribe, I promise, I’m not going to start posting daily, but I have been really behind… so I’m trying to catch up! Plus, since Mother’s Day is tomorrow, I hope you’ll give me a pass (or two).
As you’d imagine, we have not one but TWO small kooky characters over here at the Johnson household. So the following post should not surprise you.
On Friday (yesterday), Ella’s school hosted a Mother’s Day breakfast for all the mommies. This meant I would be taking Ella to school, and as luck would have it, I had a video call for work from 7:15 to 7:45 am, during which time I’d have Ella home with me as Bart took Zoe to school.
You may be thinking, “What did she do during your call and are you going to be famous like that BBC guy?” Of course not. She was an angel DURING the call, playing with her Little People castle, and literally, the minute I hung up, the following happened:
- Ella: “Mommy, poop” (holding up 3 fingers on her right hand to show me the poop on two of them)
- Me: (mortified) Ella, where did you get POOP?!
- Ella: (no words, but starts to move her hand down toward the back of her diaper)
- Me: (instantly) No no no no no. Let’s just go get that poop out.
I carry Ella to the changing table (carefully) and lay her down, grab a wipe to clean her hands, and start to pull off her pants. That’s when I realize that there is POOP ALL THE WAY UP HER BACK. She’s not so happy about this (imagine how I felt).
So the “cute outfit” I had her dressed in for the breakfast was tainted with poop (as was the changing table), and we were supposed to be at school in 10 minutes.
Needless to say, we made it. I AM SuperMom.
At school the teachers had arranged cute tablecloths with a sweet poem on them and handprints on top. Each child had decorated a photo frame (see above picture), and my child was the first to select BLACK as her color. She had also then sparked another child (Violet) to choose black.
The rest of the frames were pink, blue, orange with flower stickers and jewels. Ella’s was bejeweled BUT slathered with gobs of purple glitter, which has “decorated” my car (and soon, I’m sure, will “decorate” other parts of our house).
As most little girls sat calmly in their mother’s laps, mine was the first to start playing (solo) with toys in the adjoining area. As her teacher said at our teacher conference, “she’s very independent“. This of course meant I was the first mom on the floor playing.
Another feature of the breakfast was a board with pictures of mommies when THEY were 2-3 years old. The school had posted a sign asking for them for 2 weeks, sent 3 emails, and even my husband (knowing I had not done it) sent me a text and an email to remind me… So this past weekend I found not one but TWO pictures of me at 2-3 years old, complete with my stunt double, and printed them on photo paper, writing “Ella’s Mommy” and “Love you, Poppy” on the printout. See if you can find mine here:
Yep. Mine was the OBNOXIOUSLY HUGE one on the left. I was again mortified – and amused. I apologized to the teachers, as I had no idea what they were DOING with the pictures (nor any guidelines for size or content). No one cared, and the real topic was the fact I was a twin, so I guess that worked out OK.
There was also a craft made by the kids that included a “picture” of their mommy and what they loved about her:
Basically, Ella’s mantra when she isn’t getting her way or she’s tired and stuck in her car seat is a VERY whiny “Mommy, pick me up.” And so, I guess I serve a purpose after all.
To reinforce the kookiness of our little Ella, here are two videos of her “Spring Sing” from a few weeks ago. The first is their class only presenting (oh, two-year-olds):
The second is an “all school” finale performance, with Ella front and center, alongside her “boyfriend” Conner:
Hopefully, I’ve given a little glimpse of the Ella, the second child. The one who is barely recognizably Zoe’s little sister, with a personality all her own. One that explains simple moments like this (from this morning), which began with a “Mommy, look!“:
Emphasis on Joy 