Life Illustrated Part 7

A Piper knows how to get what she wants. Her usual weapon is relentless coercion. Repeating a request fourteen times tends to be persuasive. Her collection of Lalaloopsies is evidence.

Or, she’ll just threaten to cage you until you fork over the cash at the toy store:

Either way, to Piper it’s a win win.

When I asked Piper about those walls in her toy store which seem to be closing in on me, she said, “Hey. I least I gave you soft carpet to stand on.”

If you enjoyed Piper’s illustration of life, check out these, too:

Life Illustrated Part 6

Life Illustrated Part 5

Life Illustrated Part 4

Life Illustrated Part 3

Life Illustrated Part 2

Life Illustrated Part 1

Piper’s Notes from a Sort of Sick Bed

1. Isn’t it great, Mom, that I got sick on a Saturday? You don’t have to cancel anything. You’re welcome.

2. Why doesn’t my body have enough skills to fight a little ole fever? Geez.

3. Uh oh. Time for a zebra pack. (Z-pak antibiotic)

4. More orange spice tea, please. Wait. Did you put in extra honey? Mmm. You’re such a good mom. Wait. Are you trying to cover up some medicine with that yummy honey?

5. What if I wake up a cheetah? Wouldn’t that be cool? I’d be a nice cheetah, though. I wouldn’t hurt you, Mom. Question! Do cheetahs get sick?

6. Pharmacies shouldn’t have candy. Candy doesn’t make you feel better. Toys make you feel better. Pharmacies should give away toys with medicine.  Just like Old McDonalds.

7. Can you stick that thing that beeps in my armpit again? I’ve got an itch in there.

8. I can’t brush my teeth.  Can’t you see I’m sick? Teeth brushing will make me even sicker. It will.

9. Good night, Mommy.  I’m not going to wake you up as much tonight. Probably.

10. If I’m sick again tomorrow can we finish reading “The Secret Garden”? And If I’m not sick tomorrow can we finish reading “The Secret Garden”?

She Loves Me, She Loves Me, Too

Piper and I were driving home from preschool today when she announced:

“Mom, I just don’t know who I’m going to marry!”

I’d only asked was how her day went.  Geez.

“You see,” Piper began, “Andrew told me he wants to marry me.”

“Okay…” I said, stalling.  “Want to listen to Lady Gaga?”

“I’ve never met a man like Andrew.” I knew this was big if Piper ignored the Gaga.

“What’s special about Andrew?” I asked because I’m a good mom who takes preschool romances seriously.

“He’s older. That’s special. He’s already five and I’m still four and a half.”

“That doesn’t seem like enough reason to marry him, Piper. You have a long time to figure out if you want to marry. No rush, kiddo.”

“Yeah, but Andrew said he wants to marry me.”

“Do you want to marry Andrew?” I asked.

“He’s good enough.  I just thought I’d marry Augie.”

“Augie would be a good choice, too, Piper, but you really don’t have to rush into anything.”

“Okay. I’ll just have two boyfriends for now. One in town and one out of town. That’s better anyway.”

Even Sleeping Beauty Stalls

Papa is visiting this week and had the honor of tucking Piper into bed last night.  It can be a full contact sport, but Papa wore the appropriate protective gear.

If you’ve been to our home for dinner, you know that every person within a mile radius is required to come to Piper’s bedside and say good night.  We’ve had a few dinner parties where this made our guests uncomfortable.  “Send up the red head that sat next to whats-his-name!” Piper demands from her throne. You probably know what this ritual is actually about: The Great Stall.  Papa said last night went like this:

Piper: “I’m hot.”

Papa: “Let’s take the quilt off. You can sleep with just a sheet.”

Piper: “I’m cold.”

Papa: “Do you want the quilt back?”

Piper: “No. I need the pink blanket from my closet.”

Papa: “There.  Now you should be comfortable. Good night.”

Piper: “I’m still cold.  I need the other blanket, too.”

Papa: “Okay. Now bedtime.”

Piper: “I’m sweating now. Can I take off my pants?”

Papa: “Whatever makes you comfortable. It’s time for bed, Piper.”

After several rounds of stalling Piper finally admitted her agenda. “Papa,” she said. “I think I really just don’t want to go to bed.”

Jabba Lost His What?

We’ve had some long nights around our house lately.  Too much traveling, too much grading, too much sickness.  So, when I walked into Piper’s room this morning and found this:

I thought it was you-know-what.  I didn’t have my glasses on. It was too early.  That tells you what my house has been like lately.  I just assumed a stray turd was left in the middle of the floor.  That seemed feasible.

But then I heard the laugh.

Okay. I didn’t really hear the laugh, but how awesome would that have been?  I did see Jabba, though, just a few feet away.  He was clearly trying to inch over to reattach his chubby green arm.

I helped him out and I was grateful.

Life Illustrated Part 6

Have you checked your calendar lately? It may be closer to Halloween than you think. A Piper has already begun planning. Don’t let those innocent rainbows fool you.

Spring flowers make perfect costumes. That’s how you hide from rainbow ghosts when you’re finished bouncing in the new grass. Tall, green grass? It’s bouncy. Just like a Piper.

Need more? We aim to please:

Life Illustrated Part 5

Life Illustrated Part 4

Life Illustrated Part 3

Life Illustrated Part 2

Life Illustrated Part 1

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

…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

Just a Little Off the Top, Please

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

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

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