A Kerfuffle

Well, The Pop-Tart got into her first fight.  It was over a doll – Poppy's doll.  Some kid tried to steal Poppy's doll.  Poppy loves dolls; she calls them 'baby'.  'Baby'.  The other day she came into my room with one baby in each arm.  She has this strong maternal instinct that I thought was reserved for rural communities.  Poppy even goes so far as to feed her babies imaginary food and kiss them on the head.  

I only wish that I had been at MDO with a video camera to document said fight.  How did it all go down?  Both of these children are under 2 years of age and thus can't put a sentence together – ruling out the arrival of an unmediated verbal settlement.

I'm sure that this other kid had innocently assumed that the baby belongs to the establishment and is thus communal property to be shared amongst the children at Mother's Day Out (daycare).  Having said that, I don't really care what this other kid assumed...I'm on Poppy's side.  

The dolly incident at Mother's Day Out resulted in a permanent ban of Poppy's babies at school.  I hope that her maternal instinct isn't suppressed by this restriction.  

'baby?'

What Can I Do With This Toddler Today? Take it to Ikea.

The Ikea retail experience – at least from a maternal perspective – is under-appreciated.  

Up in the children's toys and furnishings section of Ikea, there are 9 child-sized tables on which the children can test out the toys before their bored, tired looking mommies purchase them.  


When my 2 year-old and I are there, at least as far as I can see, there's no call for this collective malaise.  I'm thinking 'this place is AMAZING!' the whole time*, and probably have more fun than the toddler.  Now, obviously, none of us caregivers are happy all the time.  But...here?  Why aren't these other moms similarly excited about all of these cheap toys?  And what about all these cute storage solutions?  

me:  'Hey Poppy, look.  This is what the inside of houses look like in Sweden.'

i point to this display

Poppy ignores me; she's busy helping Ikea get organized.    

i mean...look at this stuff.  you could put all kinds of things in these containers!

So, mommies and guardians of toddling children, let us go to Ikea; let us  go to Ikea if for no other reason than to simply watch our children's faces when they're test driving the imported goods.  The days of boisterous curiosity and enthusiasm for a $2 plastic hammer are numbered, and it's a refreshing thing to observe. 





http://www.ikea.com/us/en/store/frisco 

'Bring the kids!  The IKEA store is family-friendly. your kids can test all the toys in the children's department or have fun in the free supervised playroom while you shop.'

http://frisco.bubblelife.com/community/frisco_reporter


* except during those 45 seconds that my kid was missing as the direct result of my shameless eyeing of a $9 pastel tea set.  Everything turned out alright though; I found her and she got a new tea set.  

Business In The Front, Party In The Back

Well, we're moving farther away from the mullet-inspired hairdo that resulted from the first haircut.  We have both Poppy's new hairstylist and the passage of time to thank for this improvement:  

We arrive for our appointment at Children's Hair Design to find Wendy Hart – children's hairstylist extraordinaire – still chatting with her last two customers.  I'm mighty encouraged when I see that these two adolescents are leaving with some lollipops and some nice hairdos.  

me: 'Hi, you must be Wendy.  I'm Paige, and this is Poppy.'

Poppy explores the spacious yet intimate salon.

Wendy: 'Yep.  What are we doin' today?'

me: 'We are just doing a bang trim.  We're still in recovery from her first haircut.'  

Wendy lures Poppy to the swivel chair with a pre-emptive lollipop.  I am impressed.

Wendy: 'I can see that.'

me: 'Right?!!  I had told the lady to just do a bang trim but she talked me into this nonsense.'

I show Wendy the after picture from 2 months ago.  

Wendy: 'Oh.  It's almost like a mullet.'

me: 'I know!  My husband was all like "business in the front, party in the back".  I didn't want this kind of party.'

Wendy: 'I can't believe they did this.  When a mom says "just the bangs", that's what you do.'

me: 'Well, I take responsibility for Poppy's Jonathan Taylor Thomas haircut debacle of 2013.  It was me who ultimately gave the go-ahead.  But we're moving forward now.'

Wendy: 'Yes, you can only move forward.'

Wendy proceeds to do a lovely little trim off the bangs; it was over so quickly that she refused to let me pay (despite my mild objection).  It suffices to say that headin' over to Children's Hair Design by Wendy Hart is likely to yield a lovely hairdo for your child.  No business or parties unless explicitly requested.

http://www.poppyadventures.com/2013/11/poppys-first-haircut.html

If You’re ’Appy and You Know It

Pamela Druckerman wrote a cute, light op-ed piece for The New York Times  last week.  It's about how she presented America to her daughter's second-grade class in a French public school.  Here are the bits that I found to be the most charming:

'There’s practically applause when I hold up a picture of a giant cheeseburger.'

'With 15 minutes left, I tell the class that it’s time to sing. I walk them through the lyrics to “If You’re Happy and You Know It,” while the teacher shouts, “What does it mean, ’appy?” '

'By the time the bell rings, the children probably think that the United States is populated mostly by superheroes and charismatic black men.' 

P. Druck

http://www.poppyadventures.com/2012/06/bringing-up-bebe-reviewed.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/28/opinion/druckerman-an-american-story.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0