Lately, I have been having a problem with the girls: they both want one-on-one interaction with me at the same time, all the time. M needs help with her sticker book and A needs help with the hula hoop, simultaneously. Or A wants to use the potty at the exact same time that M needs help washing her hands. Needless to say, their 3 1/2-year old temperaments do not exactly exude patience. So what ends up happening is that while I am with one of them, the other whines with increasing volume until I stop what I am doing with the first one and pay attention to the second one. At that precise moment, of course, the first one starts whining, and the cycle begins anew.

M has started saying, "Mommy? Mommy? Mommy? Mommy? MOMMY? MOMMY? MOMMY!! MOMMY!! Hell-OOOOO???" It’s actually kind of funny because it’s something she picked up from us.

Tonight, I had a Serious Discussion with the girls. I explained to them that there is only one Mommy, but there are two girls, and that that means that sometimes they have to share. If Mommy is with one girl doing something, then the other needs to wait patiently until Mommy is done, just like they have to do with a toy that we only have one of.

We’ll see what happens.

Books tonight: Curious George Goes to the Beach – this is an example of a franchise gone astray; and Oh! The Places You’ll Go!, which is a really depressing book. Basically – you will be exceptional, or you won’t, and life will be great, except when it won’t.

Today was the Thanksgiving lunch at the girls’ school. I went and sat with them while they had a mini-Thanksgiving meal. (I got a few compliments on A eating a few of her green beans, something I don’t think any of the other kids did.)  It was a nice event, which unfortunately ended with M sobbing as I prepared to go back to work (it was, after all, only 12:25 PM), and crying, "I want to go to work with you!". Not so fun.(*guilt**guilt**guilt*).

Here are some photos: