Overheard in the WWOI

"You are allowed to say the word dam as long as you're talking about beavers." (we were running through some flashcards)

Toothless in Tampa

Iz came home from school on Monday, January 14th and non-chalantly told me she had a loose tooth. I didn't believe her and thought she was making up another one of her stories. Surely, some OTHER kid in her class had a loose tooth so she was imagining hers was too by way of envy.

A short while after we got home, I noticed her with her hands in her mouth. I asked her what she was doing...playing with my loose tooth, of course! So I checked it out myself. And son of a gun if she wasn't being serious! One of those cutie patootie teeth in the front bottom of her smile was hanging by a thread!!! She JUST turned five, so I told her it was way too early!

Then she got scared. Why is it too early? What's going to happen to me?

I laughed, and then cried a little. I assured her, she was going to be JUST fine. It wasn't too early for Isabelle to loose a tooth. It was just too early for her Mommy to handle it. I thought I had another year or so.

So when Daddy came home from work, he checked it out and asked if she wanted it out. She was SO EXCITED that Daddy could make that happen. So he grabbed a towel and did just a few wiggly-twists and out it came. She was a little freaked when she saw the blood but was quickly too overjoyed at the little tiny tooth sitting in his hand that she forgot about the red stuff.

I wasn't expecting her to be so excited about it. She was the first kid in her class to lose a tooth, so maybe that was it? Then a few minutes later she asked, in totally serious mode...."so this means I get to go to Kindergarten tomorrow, right?".

She had been asking about losing her teeth a lot lately, wondering when it was going to start happening. I told her probably around Kindergarten. So she figured since she lost one so early, this was her golden ticket to the big K. I felt bad seeing the deflated look on her face when I explained that wasn't how it worked and she still had to wait until next year.

She got over it pretty quick after finally being able to check out her new toothless smile in the mirror after the red stuff subsided.

Just two days later, she lost her second front bottom tooth. AND she has her new adult horse tooth already halfway in. I guess this catapults us into "the awkward years".

PS: Out of laziness, I'm not going back to proofread and make sure I got all my "loose" and "lose" usages correct. I know the difference, but I have more posts to make and little time LOL.

Miss Manners

We're trying to raise Isabelle with manners (Lord, give me strength!). Thankfully, we do often get compliments on her politeness (pat my own back here).

When me and the brothers were raised, we learned very strict and proper table manners. Our mother had been brought up even stricter (down to the appropriate attire one wore to Supper). We didn't have a dress code in our house but we did learn table manners. Some of the top ones, in no specific order:

1. Chew with your mouth closed.
2. No talking with food in your mouth (which seemed redundant based on rule #1).
3. Napkins in laps.
4. No elbows on the table.
5. Never reach for an item, ask for it to be passed...PLEASE!
6. When using a knife, cut one bite at a time. Rest your knife and put your fork back into your dominant hand to take a proper bite. Repeat.
7. How to set a proper table and how to rest your utensils.
8. Asking to be excused (and usually being denied until the family was done).
9. Push your chair in when you leave a table.
10. No singing at the table.

Most nights, we can barely get all 3 of us seated at a table at the same time. But we do really attempt the family dinner concept at least 3-4 nights per week. Ed and Isabelle both had a two-week winter break (while I worked through both holidays, but I digress). So we've had a lot of table time lately. This week, Ed and I broke out the "no singing at the table" rule.

Isabelle asked why?

I had no idea what to tell her, I just told her that was one of the rules that my Mom and Dad taught me. But she didn't buy it, so she said since Ed & I couldn't give her an answer, she would ask God. Right there in the car, she closed her eyes, clasped her hands in prayer, and tilted her head up to the sky to ask God a very serious question -- God, why am I not allowed to sing at the table?

After a few seconds of silence, she very righteously said -- God said he doesn't know WHO made that rule and that we can sing at the table if we want.

So, of course, when Isabelle turns to God, I turn to Google. It seems to be a rule that goes along with any and all mouth noises being frowned upon (burping, slurping, bubbling, singing, squealing, humming, etc.) because it interrupts polite conversation. But if God says we can sing at the table, I trust him more than Miss Manners any day. Sorry, Mom.

2013 Howdy

Reflecting on 2012, it was quite a busy year for the Silers.

January - Had high hopes yet another year watching the Ravens in the playoffs. Alas, it wasn't meant to be and we were eliminated after a particularly horrible kick by Billy Cundiff.

February - We sold our house (while we were visiting Florida, ironically enough).

March - Pack, pack, pack! Finally met Megan M. Egan!


April - Said many tearful goodbyes and hopped the Auto Train on the 23rd.

May - Lived with Mom-Mom SuSu & PopPop Bill while house hunting and exploring our new town.

June - Continued house hunting, exploring, beaching.

July - Found the house! Moved in July 20th, the same day we had to say goodbye to Great Mom-Mom Isabelle.

August - Unpacking and turning the new house into our new home.

September - Had our first visitors when Jeff, Jaime, Utaw, and Kora cook came to Florida. Then we traveled home to Maryland for a long visit, saw lots of people but didn't get to see everyone. Isabelle started her first Ballet/Tap combo class and loves it! She is signed up for the Spring session already which starts next week.

October - Fun Fall Festivals around town. Jen took a boot camp. Izzi got to wear four different Halloween costumes because of all the festivities (cowgirl, superwoman, punk rocker, snow white).

November - Izzi turned FIVE! And we had our regularly scheduled Puerto Rico vacation. This year we got to go for a hike in El Yunque Rainforest and we also went zip lining! Izzi was too young this time but in a few years!

December - We bought a ridiculously HUGE tree (11 feet!!!) just because we could. We've always had such a small house with low ceilings so we had to stick with small trees all these years. This year we went BIG and BOLD and it was beautfiul. We had a very Merry and relaxed Christmas this year, despite the horrific news in Newtown, Connecticut. It made us hyper-aware of our abundant blessings.

We had a very blessed 2012 with many good fortunes and happy memories. One can only hope for the same in 2013 -- Health, happiness, and hope to all for a very happy new year.

Hearts, Flowers, and Butterfly Love

Yesterday when I was wrapping Christmas presents, in the same somber mood that many Americans are carrying around this week, I couldn’t help wondering how many years I would get to play Santa. My heart sank thinking of the day that some punk on the playground or school bus would provide the irrefutable evidence that shattered Isabelle’s Christmas miracle.

A few hours later, after she and I had blazed through six glue sticks, 150 foam stickers, and 26 brightly-hued poster boards creating our 26 Letters of Love to Newtown, I realized an even sadder day was on the horizon…the one when she finds out that the world is not all butterflies, hearts, and flowers.

I wish I could see the world through 5-year-old-colored glasses, even to just get through the holidays.

Snowfest

Last night we went to the Snowfest in Safety Harbor (the town where we wanted to originally buy a house when we moved here). It never snowed in Maryland last winter so this was going to be Izzi's first snow play in two years.

Too bad it was completely lame. The snow was very real, it looked and felt like we could have had an apocaplyptic weather event in Tampa with actual snowfall. But they didn't make nearly enough of it.

We got there shortly after 5pm and there were already bare spots on the sledding hill. (The event ran 4-9pm). The Florida-born kids were all whining that it was too cold and wet. Really? I know most of them have never seen or touched snow before but if you're going to whine about it, then get out of the way and let US play in it!

We went to the Snowfest with our friends Carl and Mason. Mason and Izzi only got one trip down the sledding hill because the line took almost an hour to wait in. They only had 3 sledding tracks and the attendants were eagerly trying to fill in the bare spots and replace the divot from the virgin sledders who were digging their feet into the ground the entire trip down the small hill.

I'm glad we took the kids over. They also go to go down a huge inflatable slide (30 minute wait) and one bouncey house (20 minute wait). After that, we were done and had to leave. There was 2 more hours of festival time left but we were spent trying to wait in line.

The night wasn't a total loss. We all took one car so when we got back to our house, we found out that Santa was running late. Our neighborhood was last so we got to hang in the driveway for a bit with the Wilson's and saw Santa and his entourage pass by our house. We got about 100 strands of Mardi Gras type beads. We donated one unwrapped toy. And we got to wave to Santa. Does that count for this season or do I still have to go wait in line at the Mall?

Whizzle Me This

Izzi went over to Mom-Mom SuSu's house on Sunday to hang out for a few hours after lunch. The Ravens weren't playing until 4:30, we had friends coming over around 3 for the game but we wanted to get a few things done around the house and we had just returned from our Puerto Rico trip so Mom-Mom needed to see her Izzi.

We finished unpacking the suitcases and got our Christmas decoration bins out so we could decorate throughout the week. I opened all the bins so I could find Whizzle, our Elf on the Shelf. Geega bought EonS for Izzi three years ago and Izzi named him Whizzle. Not sure where that came from but we liked it and it stuck.

Whizzle has brought so much fun during the month of December the past few years. So when I got him out this year, I placed him up on her curtain rod in her bedroom, and planned to wait for her to find him (not point him out).

Mom-Mom dropped Izzi off around 3:30 that afternoon and as soon as she walked into her room she started screammming in excitement. She could barely talk she was so excited.

Mommy! Mommy! WHIZZLE IS BACK!!!! He found us in FLORIDA! Now I just KNOW Christmas is gonna be here soon.

Ed & I have been very good this year moving him around. We take turns so even I'm excited when I find Whizzle hiding somewhere.