This picture was from Wednesday night - after going to the Library for FAMILY ART NIGHT and coming home with 3 pirates - complete with hooks and parrots. Oh boy!

But my reason for posting is not about pirates, but rather, the craziness that sometimes happens with these girls.

Chris was gone all day today at a conference. The girls and I worked hard, changing sheets, doing laundry, cleaning house, and  most of all, cleaning the garage and then starting to organize for the rummage sale we are having next weekend. (Yes I hate the idea of doing the rummage, but we have so much stuff and the whole block does it. Peer Pressure!)

So a college roommate was going to be in town, and we arranged to meet at a Gelato store for a late afternoon treat. We did that, then played at a nearby park, and finally headed home after 2 hours of fun. On the way home, Maggie suggested singing 'Row Row Row your Boat' in a round. I giggled to myself, but didn't say anything. She started singing, but so did the other girls. So then she said, No, Katherine starts and then I'll sing. So Katherine started, but ended up in unison with Maggie, and Abby  started crying "I WANT TO SING ROW DA BOAT TOOOOOOO!"

I spoke up and said I would sing with Katherine to keep her on the right part. So, we tried that. But then Abby wailed "BUT I WANT TO SING WITH MOMMY!"

Sigh.

We tried twice more, succeeding once, and then I said, "Hey, let's go home this way and look for deer." (Through a forest preserve area)  Maggie reported it was too early, too light for the deer to be out. Katherine suggested that if they sang songs, the deer would think they were lullabies and might come out to say goodnight.

Oh dear, (ha ha) I knew this wasn't going to be good.  Maggie started with Row your boat, Katherine started Twinkle Twinkle, and Abby started Mary had a little Lamb.  Talk about singing in a round!  After about 5 bars they started yelling at each other that they were all singing the wrong songs.  Certainly, the deer would come out if they heard/saw a car full of screaming kids, right?

They agreed on Mary had a lamb, we sang it, and no deer came out.  Soon enough we were home, and they  had other things to fight about.  Just another day in the life!

 I don't mean to get personal, but when you go to the bathroom, do  you stop to think about how you're going to get yourself onto the toilet to do your business? I'm going to guess not. You just do what you have to do and move on with  life.  This is one of those random deep thoughts I've had lately. For Abby, it's a challenge. She is just barely tall enough to get on and off the toilet independently. And, let me tell you, she is independent! That's what's so crazy. I often think of her as being a "big kid" because she wants to do everything the big girls do and won't let too much stop her from doing so. But then something so simple as going to the bathroom stops her.  I don't know. Just one of those things that has struck me lately.

 My little girl turned THREE 2 weeks ago. And she might as well be 13! She's not tall enough? She'll get a stool to be taller. Tell her "no?" She'll come up with a logical reason why you should say "YES" instead! I just want her to be my baby (because there will be NO MORE babies!) but she is fighting me, wanting to be a big kid like the big girls.   I think of her as so little, but really, her sisters were already "big kids" when they were 3, they had a baby in the house!  I was probably encouraging her sisters to be independent so I could focus on the baby! Poor Abby, being the 3rd child is tough!

 Abby had a great birthday-time for family and presents and naps!   She loved being the center of attention.  And since she's not shy at all, all week she grabbed the attention of anyone who would listen to her say  "It's My BIRTHDAY!"

A few funny Abby-isms

Last week: "I need to tie my shoes, Mom, I can do it all by myself!"  And then she took her velcros shoes, and twisted the velcro strip for about 30 seconds before putting git in place and declaring her shoes "ALL TIED MOM!"

As I was driving down a street near our house, I saw a house with a large "NO TRESPASSING" sign posted. I muttered to myself, "No Trespassing? what's that for?"  Abby piped up from the backseat, "No Trespassing means DON'T COME IN!" and then gave me a detailed synopsis of an episode of 'Super Why' that taught her that lesson.  Thank you PBSKids for developing my 3 year old's vocabulary!