Sozlet stories

Gnocchi-go-home, the story...

Soz, Bob was laughing--Dys--and I asked him what his laughter was about; he read your sozlet story and I couldn't stop giggling. I wonder if you have any idea how much this thread means to all of us? Never stop with the sozlet stories.

Soz,
Just wonderful. So let her post replies. What great fun!

sumac

Gotta change my signature. I no longer believe that it is true.

s

That's sweet, Diane.

Hi Sumac!

(And since I said hi to them, hi Osso too! :-D)

One thing I've wanted to do from the beginning and keep getting away from is to convey the un-funny slices of life, as well. Seems like it's the funny ones that make me think "I should add that to the sozlet stories!"

So this one wasn't funny exactly, but it was interesting.

We came home from an outing, and sozlet took off her coat in the middle of the kitchen and just left it there in the middle of the floor. I was doing stuff and the big puffy winter coat in the middle of the floor was very annoying. I asked her to please put it away. She wouldn't. I told her in stronger terms. She wouldn't. I gave her the glare that usually sends her off to do whatever she's resisting, and she slumped to the floor and said sadly, "I feel like I'm Cinderella." (The only movie-movie she's seen so far.)

Argh.

So I picked her up and put her on the chair and had a little talk. If I drop my coat in the middle of the floor, do I make her pick it up? (No.) If I make any kind of a mess, do I make her clean it up? (No.) If SHE makes a mess, who usually cleans it up? (Mama.) I'm the Cinderella here!!

This startled her a bit, she put her hand to her chest and said, "Oh!"

Then we talked more generally about cleaning up her own messes, pretty good talk.

A bit later, I asked her to put my address book, which had found its way into the kitchen, back on my desk in the family room. She started to, and then said, "but didn't you make this mess?" I said fair enough, and went to put it back. (I had a plan.) When I returned, I said there are a bunch of messes in the family room that you made, can you please go clean them up? She said sure, and she did! The most thorough cleaning ever, stuff I'm used to doing.

Dunno if it will stick, but nice development.

I learned to never, ever, under-estimate the ability of any child, at any age, to understand rather complex concepts. Well done, soz and sozlet.

That's a discussion I need to have with the duckie. I told him to brush his teeth once and he said, "why do I always have to do what you want, I'm not a slave!"

I wasn't feeling very patient so I just yelled "because they're your teeth!" We've talked before about how I'm the one who usually does what he wants me to do (get him milk, fix him dinner, read him a story, etc...) but it hasn't quite sunk in. Maybe I should try to have this conversation with him some time when it doesn't piss me off.

Never forget that sometimes you need to say, "Because I'm the mommy!"

seconded


all these explanations - and she's not even at the age yet where 'Sarah's mum always lets her ....' and all my friend's mum's let them .....'



I resorted to 'well if their mum's don't look after them properly - tough! - I'm looking after you and you can't .......'

A napple became An apple. A negg probably did the same thing, several hundred years ago...

Kids have trouble with initial sounds long after they can correctly make every sound the language requires. My own WeaselGirl carried her dunch in a dunchbox for a long time, but one of her best buddies was a stuffed Dickie Mouse...

Dunch, heh!

Btw I have annually collected "sozlet stories" for grandparents for Christmas -- part of why I started this one (note date) was it was easier to have one repository rather than gleaning from all over the place. Last year's collection was 8 pages... this one was 21. Thanks again for the feedback, helps motivate me to actually write.

Sozlet got lots of presents she just loved, but a surprise favorite is a t-shirt I got for 97 cents (yes cents) at Old Navy a while ago. It's one of those mock-layered shirts -- it looks like it's a pink t-shirt over a gray long-sleeve t, but really it's just one layer -- with a tabby kitten dressed up like BPB (bandana, studded leather wristbands -- the studs are actual sparkly things) and holding a red guitar. The legend is "Rock it!" in spiky 70's-80's metal font.

Anyway, she loves it, and insisted on wearing it yesterday AND today.

So she also got a couple more Groovy Girl dolls from her grandparents to play with the one she has, and much clothes swapping commenced. When she had an outfit she liked assembled, she sighed in a satisfied way and said, "There, now she looks like a rock it star!" (Not sure if she was thinking "rock it" or "rocket".)

You never know what will tickle their fancy. Like toddlers and younger enjoying the wrappings and boxes more than the presents inside.

I've mentioned her fondness for magic tricks before -- a long-standing favorite is to take a penny out of her ear. (I take a penny, "drop" it into a "magic" back pocket [while actually positioning it in my hand] and then lo and behold, there it is in her ear.)

E.G. saw some trick on TV and decided to try it. It involved a salt shaker, a penny, a paper napkin, and "pounding" the salt shaker through the table, "into the other world." (Disappears.) It's a cool trick.

Sozlet was just absolutely dumbfounded. Her eyes were huge. E.G. called me over after he'd already done the trick once, so I watched the second time but not the first, and she was still absolutely floored. She was a little shivery and nervous and kept sneaking glances at E.G. like who are you, really, and what other powers do you have that I don't know about?? So we decided he'd better show her how the trick worked to lessen the freak-out factor a bit.

We did, and she was like ohhhhh... but I think she still had some residual awe going on.

Then of course SHE had to do magic. She tried to do the magic penny trick, and said, "Oh no I don't have a back pocket -- oh well, I'll just use my butt." I'm not sure why but both E.G. and I were laughing hysterically for about 5 minutes. She was kind of looking from one to the other of us and giggling but didn't really get it. (Writing it, I don't really get it, but at the time it was hilarious.)

Well, it made me laugh out loud, so I don't blame you.

So, but, eh, eh eh ...

how does it work, then??! <large eyes>

Hee hee...!

Well, has to do mostly with the fact that when you scrunch the napkin over the salt shaker, it holds the shape of the salt shaker even when the salt shaker isn't there. So scrunch the napkin over the salt shaker, move the whole thing to the edge of the table during riveting patter, let the salt shaker drop on your lap, move the scrunched-up napkin back towards the center of the table (holding the shape of the salt shaker, but not the salt shaker), then do an elaborate thing (with patter) of tapping the "salt shaker" (really the scrunched-up, salt-shaker-shaped napkin) several times while, with the other hand, tapping the actual salt shaker on the underside of the table, and then whammo! Smoosh the scrunched-up, salt-shaker-shaped napkin. Hey! Where'd the salt shaker go???

He did it for my dad and his wife (dad's wife, not hubby's other wife) this evening, and got them too. Then of course sozlet had to get into the act. "I'm going to make... this... penny... disappear!!! OK, first close your eyes..."

Memories.

Your Christmas moments have reminded me of many of my own that I cherish.

Thank you.

Just now I was trying to type a response to boomer and she (sozlet, not boomer) was poking and pulling and being impatient and annoying and I was getting annoyed and then she disappeared for a minute and came back with a drawing of a person with a heart hovering by the right ear. Then she said, "That's me, thinking about you!" Aw.

awwww