I Do's What I Do's

So, dear friends, my children have been in top form the last couple days. They continually come up with the funniest comments and I've always said that I should write them down. I never did...until now! Now I have this blog. Oh, I love this blogging thing.


Mackendra has always had a little bit of a edge to her. She is one independent little girl and is not afraid to say what's what. Often times, that gets her into trouble with her elders, but at the same time, it sometimes gets her off the hook. She will say something that you just can't help but laugh at, and her mischievous looks that accompany her sassiness makes us hard pressed to stay angry at her. She has a great sense of humour and her spirit is a joy. Most of you have heard the one nugget of pure gold that issued forth from Mackendra back when she was only 4. It is the title of this post. If you haven't, here it is:

Mackendra was colouring one day, something that she does very often. (I have thrown away more "artwork just for you, Mommy" than is decent). I asked her to clean up her papers and crayons as I was planning to vacuum. She didn't move. "Mackendra! Clean up you stuff right now." I stated a little more firmly. "In a bit, Mom." I received an answer this time, but not the one I was looking for. "No...right now!" My voice was reaching a higher decibel, she definitely couldn't ignore me now.

And here it comes...wait for it...


"Mom (sigh)..." she was rolling her eyes at me! "I do's what I do's", and she went back to colouring, believing that she had handled the situation.
I was stunned! I was taken aback, flabbergasted, struck mute, and in shock. I regained my senses after a moment or two and gave her back this zinger: "Oh yah? Mackendra...you do's what you do's when I tell you to do's it! Got it? Now get moving before you lose your crayons!"

Can you believe it? "I do's what I do's." That is priceless. Frank couldn't stand it. He busted up and before you knew it, the two of us were rolling around on the couch, wiping tears away. Mackendra? She was confused, thinking her parents were crazy, but she cleaned up her crayons.

Mackendra also has come up with some funny sayings regarding her thumb-sucking. We have been trying for quite awhile to stop her from doing this and she is getting increasingly creative with her excuses. "Mom, my thumb is very sneaky. He sneaks into my mouth when I am sleeping and I don't even know it! I tell him "No!" all the time, but he doesn't listen to me." And this one came last Sunday morning. "Dad, my mouth is cold." "And that is why you have to suck your thumb?" asked Frank. "Yup, he keeps it warm." Pause...."No, just kidding." I think she knew that wouldn't fly with us. What killed us was her little giggle as she confessed. She just had to be cuddled after that one.



Aislinn also comes up with some doozies. Frank and I went to a meeting with Aislinn's teacher this morning and during our discussion she reminded us about something that went down with my daughter. At the beginning of the year, Aislinn's teacher sent home a letter asking parents if they would like to be notified if their child didn't complete their assigned homework. I said, sure, that would be a good thing to know. Well, about a month into the new school year, Aislinn brought home a letter stating that she had failed to complete an assignment. I had to sign the paper and Aislinn had to bring it back to class. In order for me to make an impression on Aislinn, and hopefully teach her that I wouldn't tolerate this, as I was signing it, I made a very stern face and said, "Aislinn...I am very disappointed with you (kids hate to be disappointments), I don't want to see these letters from your teacher any more, do you understand?" Lots of nodding and sad looks followed with promises of doing better. It was taken care of. Well, about 2 weeks later, Aislinn forgot her Math text book at school and again failed to complete another assignment. I was waiting for the letter from her teacher, but it didn't come. I asked Aislinn about it and she looked at me in confusion and said, "I told Mme Di Fruscia that you didn't want to get the letters anymore." I guess I did say that. But it is not what I meant. Damn kid!


You definitely need to be on your toes with kids. They are smart little boogers. Smarter than we give them credit for.

I read a little tidbit that I want to pass on. Apparently, it was proven in some sort of scientific study, that children will ask for something an average of 9 times before giving up. So, if you can resist and not give in to their incessant whining and begging for an average of 9 times, you should be in the clear. I gave it a try the other day. Only I gave it a little twist. I picked Mackendra up after kindergarten and on the ride back home, she wouldn't stop talking. Finally she became fixated on one thing. "Mom, can we go to "Terry the Book Fairy" ?" (That is the name I made up so she could remember the name of the guy who runs the used book store near us). I was so worn out from answering her previous questions that I just remained silent. I remembered that scientific study. Well... she only asked 6 more times. I silently counted. They were right! Give it a try.