Amelia Bedelia hits Pike Valley Farm

When I think of it I will be posting my favorite quote of the day from one of my children. Today's inaugural quote is from Jasmine:
My favorite quote of the day: "Uh oh, I think she has energies". This was what Jasmine said when one of our dogs sneezed.

Jasmine, my three year old is wonderful. It is probably my favorite age. They're so funny, I just love the way their minds work at this age. That's why I took Early Childhood Education as a specialization in my Elementary Ed degree all those years ago. :) I remember this age even with my two older ones, who are now 15 and 11. And I have a two year old who will likely bring me as much entertainment in about a year as the other three have already done. Not to mention all the grandchildren I have (or am about to have). ahhh
So anyhow, Jasmine was wanting to help do the laundry the other day. I use that term "help" very loosely. It's like when Sophie, my two year old, wants to "help" with the dishes. It makes a 15 minute job about a 30 minute job. But, it's all good. :-)
Back to my pile of laundry. I taught Jasmine how to fold various things, such as a hand towel, wash cloth, and dish towels. She felt very proud of herself when she made it resemble mine. She would carefully fold, sometimes folding the wrong way so that it would look like a man's tie... but she would see the error of her ways and correct it. She was feeling very proud. When I had finished with the rest of them, she had a small pile that had her name all over them. The edges didn't meet up, they were crooked in every sense of the word. A person with OCD couldn't have dealt with it! My mom, sister and 11 year old daughter, would have 'fixed' them for sure. But I resisted and thanked her for her help and told her what a great job she did. I asked her to go and put the washcloth and hand towel under the sink in the bathroom. She returned in about a minute, and I sent her into the kitchen with the hand towels. I told her to put them in the towel drawer in the kitchen. Again, she felt so accomplished, she was beaming! I just love this age.
So, fast forward a few hours. I had finally put Sophie down for her nap and had a chance to run to the bathroom... I seem to 'hold it' way too long if I get busy with the kids. My bladder is amazing sometimes! lol So as I am sitting down, I looked straight ahead at Jasmine's Amelia Bedelia moment. I had asked her to put the hand towel and washcloth under the sink. I didn't say "put it in the cabinet which is under the sink." She had neatly folded them and placed them very carefully under the entire cabinet and on the floor, which was under the sink. Oh my goodness, it was so funny! I guess you had to be there. Did I tell you how much I like this age?

On second thought....

I thought I had things sorta figured out, but on second thought....

I have many people ask me on a regular basis "how's Sophie doing??" with hopeful anticipation. I happily reply to nearly everyone "Wow! I can't believe how well she's doing! You'd never even know she's new to the family or to America!"
Just when we're settling in really well (we've been home for 2 weeks now) then something weird happens to remind you that you've only been home for two weeks now. :-)
I was in Kroger Grocery store and all was going fine. It was our second trip to a grocery store in two weeks' time. I had my 3 year old bio daughter in the little car in the front, my daughter Sophie, 2, in the cart by the handle. The nicest "old guy", probably around 75 or so (no offense to anyone nearing that age!) gently pulled the cart closer to him to load the bagged groceries. It was only about 1 foot or so, and backwards she goes, away from me! Only by a foot or so. She freaked out. She screamed, everyone in the store looked at us. I remember thinking "this is an event I will remember for a long time". I scanned each face gawking at us; each had a combination look of horror and annoyance. Her small body trembled as I tried to console her and comfort her. Her tears made my shoulders damp. This went on for about 2 minutes, although it seemed like an eternity. The "old guy" felt terrible. He apologized at least a dozen times; I felt like at this point, I must tell him. I put my hand on his shoulder and looked at him in the eyes; he looked tearful himself. I said "Sir, please don't worry about it. You did nothing wrong. She's adopted and we've only been home with her for a couple of weeks, and when you pulled the cart toward you and away from me, she thought someone was taking her away from me. It's nothing you could have predicted." He seemed to understand, but apologized again.

As we left the store, I could instinctively feel the eyes laying on my family. They had witnessed something terribly significant in our lives, although to them, it was likely a fleeting moment of a toddler disrupting their shopping experience.