Opposites

So last night Kate asked me what an opposite was. It's kind of hard to explain without examples, actually. I said the opposite of something is the least like that thing. Kate says, "So the opposite of opposite is unopposite?" I said, "Well, kind of." So I gave some examples, like the opposite of night is day.

And then we tried a few examples together. I said, "The opposite of hot is..." and Kate would say "unhot". "Or?" And Sam said, "Cold!" After two or three of these, Kate said, "I'll try it. The opposite of cold is... " and of course we said hot.

Then she says, "I know! The opposite of poop is..."

I didn't respond. I mean, I could tell where this was going, but you know. Sometimes silence is best.

"The opposite of poop is PEE!" yells Kate. "See! I get it!"

Oh my. I guess this is why I'm not a teacher...

I'm not above bribery

I've decided it's time to say goodbye to the purple blankets. Kate sucks her thumb at night to go to sleep, but only when she's holding her special blanket. The blankets started post-hospitalization for Kate, around 8 months I think, and she's been loving them ever since. Naturally, we started with one, and when it was apparent she loved it, I bought a back up, like any good mom would do. Sam had two ba-bears; Kate has two purple blankets.

At 2, I took it away. I decided it was time for her to stop sucking her thumb, and would be easier quit sooner than later. Right. So, that was fine. She adopted a stuffed animal or two and was fine. Except she started biting her nails. Which was bad. And hard to stop. At some point, we thought that she bit less when she had her blanket, so we gave the blanket back. Then she found the second one. Then she needed it to watch scary movies. Then she needed it in the morning. So, now she's 4 and loves loves loves her purple blankets.

It's time to stop. She's a 4-year-old that looks like a 6-year-old (at least) except for that crazy blanket. Granted, it's only at home, but still. Quitting early is better, right? (Ha!) So, I decided the other day to arrange a trade:
2 purple blankets = immediate trip to the ice skating rink PLUS a ticket to Disney Toy Story 3 on Ice

It's a good deal, right? She's been watching a lot of ice skating and practicing in her socks on snow days, and was just begging to go, so I saw an opportunity for a little negotiation. Yesterday, she gave up her final blanket. I gave her until Friday to change her mind, and we looked at the schedule for the local rink and plan to go Sunday. Here's hoping...

Can you have an entire year of snow days? A month?

We're in the midst of our eighth snow day as I type this. I've been fortunate enough to spend several at home, some working, some playing. Today, I'm actually in the office thanks to Mary and Clarence's offer to entertain the kids.

Entertaining kids on snow days is a real chore. Except when it isn't. The first snow was soft and sunny, so we were able to get out and sled and do fun things outside. The second snow was better for snowman-building, which, though Kate was super disappointed not to be able to do during the first snow, she was not into at all by the second. Sam and Granddad built a great one. I have a picture somewhere.

This last snow was dubbed "THE BLIZZARD OF 2011." Let's just say, it lived up to its name for 24 hours at least, and even I-70 was closed from Independence to St. Louis for the first time EVER. It was a big snow. The best thing I can say about the Blizzard of 2011 is that I hope it's the only one.

However, because we had ample warning about the blizzard, we were able to prepare a bit. Monday was filled with preparation errands and trying to fit in meetings before the town came to a complete halt. Sam went to piano (one handed still) and we went out to eat dinner, because I knew we wouldn't be out for a couple of days. We brainstormed all of the possible things we could do while home, and frankly thought of a pretty good (and a little silly) list. We got our call in enough time that the kids could "camp" in my room for bedtime, but despite the presence of sleeping bags, that turned into sleeping in my bed. So, not much sleeping at all.

We built a fort in the living room on Tuesday out of a king-sized sheet (cheers!) and 4 dining room chairs. It has been a big hit, particularly with Kate, who is like Sharazaade lounging on blankets watching tv and eating popcorn in there. She wants to do everything in there. They've slept in there the last 2 nights.

We've played games. We've made cookies. We've quizzed math facts and read books. We've played Wii. We've watched countless hours of Disney channel, including the same (poor) episode of Zach and Cody TWICE last night. I mean, twice in the same day? Seriously, that's too much for me. We've officially watched all the streaming Scooby Doo episodes on Netflix. We're running out.

Grandma and Granddad to the rescue today! At least the games and episodes will be new to them!

Pictures to come...