Plot preparation

This was the slowest spring that I can remember. Winter lasted f-o-r-e-v-e-r and spring played hard to get. The crummy weather delayed the start of our garden, but the weather is finally getting better so it's time to play catch-up.
The other day I tilled the garden in preparation for veggie planting, and then Elise decided the unplanted plot is a good place to play.

White man dance! Actually, I was asked to "twist" after tilling, so we twisted.

Nice try, disciplinarian.

Here's what happens when you incorrectly assume your 2-year-old has a good grasp of cause-and-effect, a sharp memory and remote interest in listening to what you're saying:
Being a toddler, Elise is prone to flashes of bratty behavior and when she's really in a funk she sometimes will try to kick or pinch. Yeah, it's charming.
Anyway, she did it earlier today while she was in our bedroom and I sent her to her room, where she pouted for a while before returning with a better 'tude.
Later today we were goofing around in the living room when she tried to pinch me. I stopped her immediately and this was the (brief) conversation that transpired:
Me: "Elise, no pinching! Do you remember what happened the last time you pinched? You had to go to your room. That is not OK. Do you understand?"
Elise: "I have toe jam."
Well, I tried.

Happy Mother's Day

Waiting for Mom?

Here's wishing the moms out there a hearty thanks. 

The mom in this house returns late tonight from her vacation in New York. In the four days Anni was gone, Elise did not miss a meal, a nap or an opportunity to test the disciplinary boundaries -- always with a cute look, though. In all seriousness, it was a good few days of just her and I (and some family reinforcements), but it will be good to have Anni home. 

Well, this'll be interesting...

A few weeks ago it was my turn. Now it's Anni's.
I spent five days in Las Vegas last month, while Anni stayed home with Elise. Each seemed to have survived the other's company. At least it looked that way upon my return.
We'll see if that's the case after this weekend. Anni left early Thursday to visit her friend Petra in New York. She returns late Sunday.
So what does that mean? It means that it's Scott and Elise hanging out for four days, without Anni, the maternal glue that pretty much holds this place together. She's the one who makes sure Elise gets fruit and veggies at every meal; she's the one who makes sure the day bag is packed with extra clothes; she's the one who knows which pair of pajamas is clean and which pair is in the wash; she's the one who knows where the cough medicine is and what the dosage is for a 26-month-old. Basically, she's the one.
Considering that, I am willing to accept wagers on who will fall to the ground and cry first this weekend: Elise or me.
Actually, though, so far, so good. Elise seems to understand that she's pretty much stuck with me -- or Anni, when I was gone -- and responds accordingly.
It gets interesting at night, though, because typically I am not the first person to wake if Elise is upset or wide awake at 2 a.m.; that's all Anni.
Given my inability to wake quickly, I'm not sure how long Elise was next to my bed in the middle of the night last night before I woke up to find her standing quietly right next to me. She assumed it was time to get the day rolling, but it was 2 a.m. when I looked at the clock. For all I know she'd been staring at me for 10 minutes -- or a half-hour. She's just 2 and pretty much harmless, and she's obviously no stranger, but it still kind of freaks me out to think that she's staring at me in the middle of the night. Yikes.