Author Archives: melissa.scholes.young

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Lady in Lavender

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Piper fell in love yesterday. The object of her affection was a “fairy dress” at Kohl’s. We were shopping for summer sandals when Piper came around the corner and saw it. “OMG!” she shouted. “There it is! The dress I’ve always dreamed about!” She ran to it and embraced its lavender taffeta goodness on the plastic hanger.  Then she danced with it. She and her lavender love twirled about knocking into other racks of inferior clothing. The relationship was already to second base by the time I reached her. “Can I try it on? Please!” Piper begged.  Her Sissy had an arm full of shorts and t-shirts by then so I figured the dress would keep Piper occupied.  I assessed the sparkles and the flowing cut aways. She wasn’t serious, was she?

“You can try it on, Piper, but that’s it.  We’ll play dress up,” I said.

Piper ran to the dressing room, shedding her beloved pink tutu as she went.

She’s fallen in love with items of clothing before. Remember Sissy’s blog about the Rainbow of Fruit Flavors? Then there was her love of the one ballet shoe in Homemade Magic. A Piper is always fashionable.

Piper spent the next thirty minutes admiring herself in the dressing room mirror.  The dress transformed her. “I look like a grownup,” Piper claimed. “Duh.” Apparently, all grownups do is say “duh” in a sarcastic voice. Piper could use a few better role models.

You probably know how the dress saga ended.  I really did go in with the best intentions to indulge her fantasy but to be practical in the end.  But could you say no to this?

The lady in lavender found her new home.

If You Give a Piper A Box of Star Wars Toys…

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…she’ll want her Sissy turn it all into a story.

And once she has the story idea, she’ll ask for a bouncy house for her bounty hunters…

…because after a hard day hunting down bad guys in a galaxy far far away, you need to relax with a little bounce. Once she sees the bouncy house, she’ll ask for a place to store the other broken Star Wars toys…

…in case Obi Wan shows up and needs a ride…

…or tools to defend himself.  Yoda’s Weapon World meets all your basic jedi needs. And once you have your weapon and your transportation, you’ll need a place for all the leftovers.

Once a Piper sees Jabba the Hut’s Junkyard, she’ll ask for another box of her daddy’s Star Wars toys.

Raising Star Wars Girls

Desperately Seeking Bounce

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Piper’s daddy returned from California today with tales of his gorgeous hotel accommodations. It’s never really what you want to hear about as the partner that stayed home, but Piper was only concerned with one amenity. At dinner, Dad shared all the grueling details of his trip.

“The hotel was amazing.  You would have loved it, honey,” he began. “There was a beach promenade for running.”

“Was there a bouncy house?” Piper asked.

Blast Zone Little Bopper Bouncer Playset Bounce House

“No bouncy house, but there was a yoga studio in the hotel and a Starbucks.”

“Was there a bouncy house in the Starbucks?”

“No. There wasn’t, but there was a beautiful wine bar on the balcony and outdoor cafes.  Oh, and there was a frozen yogurt place in the lobby.”

“Did the lobby also have a bouncy house?”

“It didn’t, but you could walk on the beach anytime.”

“Was there a bouncy house on the beach?”

You already know the answer. It seems that a good hotel really only needs one thing. A little bounce.

Bounceland 8 in 1 Play Center 9074b

Bloom Where You’re Planted

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According to Sissy, I have a brown thumb.  I can kill grass on our front lawn just by looking at it. I’ve somehow managed to keep two children alive, though, which probably matters more than herbs. Fortunately, Nana is visiting this week and she knows her way around a garden.  One of their projects was to plant pansies in our front beds.

They couldn’t find gardening tools because I don’t have any, so they resorted to digging holes in the soil with ice cream scoops. It worked. Nana started the holes and the girls dug the good stuff. There were worms and grubs crawling around in the dirt, which pleased the Piper. “Look, Nana! I got one. Those worms are fat!”

Then came watering time. Again, my lack of gardening tools was apparent. Nana brought out pans of water with soup ladles for distribution.  Piper loved this part. She was a bit zealous with the water.  Maybe more of it got on Piper than on the flowers.

“You know what these flowers really need?” Piper asked. “Songs.”

So gardening went opera style and the flowers perked right up.

Professor Piper

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I’m a working mom. Who isn’t? But sometimes I leave my house and work outside the home, too.  After a long day of teaching, I like to kick off my heels, peel off my suit jacket, and sit down with a Piper.

Tonight Piper decided that there really wasn’t much to this Professor gig.  It looked pretty easy. You just need a jacket, red heels, and cool black sunglasses.

I assure you that I almost never wear a pink tutu to work, but I’d consider those tights with the silver hearts. I might be able to pull that off. I doubt my students would take syntax and diction seriously if I were dressed like a ballerina, though. They have a hard enough time all ready.

“Oh my,” Piper said. “Listen to this!” Apparently, that’s how I lecture in my classroom. I would actually say something like that if I found an awesome sentence on a student paper.

And sometimes I dance.  Tap dance. That part may be true.

When in Doubt, Decor Yourself

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Piper loves a good holiday decoration. If it were up to her, our house would be one revolving party complete with balloons and streamers.  When you’re a Piper, there’s always something to celebrate.

This afternoon we decided to get our house ready for spring.  The cherry blossoms, tulips, and azaleas are blooming all over town. It’s enough inspiration to make me want to clean a closet. Almost. Apparently, though, spring had already sprung and the three stores we went to were clean out of your usual Easter fare.  Piper came up with her own solution.

She turned herself into a flower for the rest of the afternoon.  Then we printed out some Easter eggs and bunnies for coloring and made our own window decorations. Oh, and I’m pleased to introduce you to the latest addition to our menagerie.  Meet Nick and Sally:

They’re noisy little chicks, but they fit in well in our house, if you know what I mean.

Beauty is in the Eye of Your Mother

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If you give a four-year-old a choice of the following Saturday outings: Smithsonian, park, or yard sale, which do you think she’d choose?

Yep. You’re right.  Piper chose to grab her money from her cash register and dig through our neighbor’s castaways. First, she raided her allowance stash.

Then she ran out the door with her Nana.

Don’t worry.  She brought us all back treasures.  And that’s the thing about a Piper. She loves to give gifts. She’s especially generous with the unwanted knickknacks of complete strangers. You won’t believe her fortune.

I know you have your eye on the holiday snow globe, but that’s for me. Isn’t it gorgeous? Santa is dancing with Mrs. Claus while that charming little family looks on. I’m already looking forward to Christmas. The plastic red bird ornament is for Piper’s dad.  She says he’ll hang it on our tree this year.  The cool cat statue have sustained some minor ear damage but they’re good as new. Meow. Who could resist a Disney globe with all those princesses?  Not Sissy.  And the bracelet? Well, Piper even got a little something for herself. A girl deserves a treat after all that haggling.  But the real find? The super-duper-coolest-yard-sale-find ever? Roller skates.

Complete with knee pads and elbow pads.  A Piper falls, you know. I’ll have the super glue ready.

Just a Little Off the Top, Please

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I took Piper to get a haircut today.  She’s been growing out her locks ever since she saw Tangled, but Piper isn’t as willing to sit still for Mother Gothel’s brushing.

Mother Gothel became young again when Rapunzel sang and she..

You might remember her adventures in self styling in Drunk Dialing or Something Like It where “childrens get mad at their daddies” who suggest the necessity of hair brushes. Crazy ideas, I know. I don’t make a big fuss about clothes or hair.  I’m more of the pick your battles variety.  If you want to wear a hot pink tutu over every outfit for a year, go for it.  But the morning routine has become a battle of hair brushing wills. Luckily, Cousin Olivia was visiting last week with her adorable new haircut.  Piper took one look and said, “I want to look like Livi!” It seemed too easy.  So, I took Piper and Sissy in today for trims.  Piper got a little stage fright once she was in the chair, but I reminded her of the “Livi look.”

“Okay, Mom.  But just a little cut, okay?”

“Absolutely,” I agreed. “Just a few inches.”  I held up my fingers behind Piper’s back to indicate about six inches to the stylist.

“Just a little. Just like Livi’s, right?” I nodded yes.

“Wait. Show me,” she said. The stylist showed Piper where she was going to cut. The hair would still be down the middle of her back.  Entirely pigtail worthy.

“Okay,” Piper said. “But let’s just cut one side.”

Oz and Hello Kitty Mash Up

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At breakfast we tell stories.  Piper told us a story this morning you might have heard of but might not recognize.

So first there was an earthquake and Dorothy ran to her prison cell.  She didn’t really feel the earthquake because she was asleep.  Her parents were blown away in the shaking.  Dorothy says, “Oh, Toto.  Isn’t this a wonderful place?” Then there were munchkins.  And there was a really nice lady who said, “Here are some magical glass slippers.  Just like Cinderella. The witch won’t like it but they’re yours, Dorothy.” Then the witch comes by and says, “Give me those.” Then this house falls on her.  Too bad.  Then they meet this Tin Man.  He’s frozen, but he sings anyway.  “We’re off to see the Wonderful Wizard of Oz.” Then they meet a lion and he growls a lot.  Dorothy isn’t scared, though.  She’s really brave because of her glass slippers.  She doesn’t even mind the blisters.  New shoes often give you blisters, you know? Oh, I forgot about the scarecrow.  He was there, too. So, there’s singing and dancing and skipping all the way to the witch’s house.  She has a crystal ball and says she’ll grant them three wishes. Dorothy and her friends took the wrong path, you see.  They probably should have used bread crumbs or something. This may be the Hello Kitty version. The witch said to her guards, “Get them!” Then Penelope, one of the bunnies, tried to turn them all into toads.  Dorothy and her friends ran and ran.  They found the right path and Dorothy got to go home, but before she did, she asked Oz what he wanted and he said, “No one’s ever asked me what I wanted!  I want to go home, too.” So he poofed them all and they went home.  There was a rainbow, of course. The end.

If you like Piper’s story mash up, you might also enjoy her musical mash up:  Lady Gaga is in the Kitchen.

Life Illustrated Part 5

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Piper loves going to the toy store, but it doesn’t always go like this.

She’d definitely wear a rainbow on her head if she could. Sometimes we let her do more than just look with her pretty eyes, though. And I’ve never smelled giraffe garbage at Toys R Us, but I’ll be sure to take a better sniff next time we’re there. Piper is probably right. As usual.

If you need her to explain more, Piper is happy to:

Life Illustrated Part 1

Life Illustrated Part 2

Life Illustrated Part 3

Life Illustrated Part 4