Ella-isms

Okay this post would fall under the heading: shenanigans.

So I take my shower in the mornings (I need it to wake up, I'm not really a morning person) and I'm gone for about 15 minutes. I just have to trust that Ella and Lily won't burn the house down in that 15 minutes. Although, they haven't done any lasting damage, it does seem they get into some kind of trouble while I gone, almost everyday. Yesterday, Ella moved a dining room chair over to my junk cupboard above the phone, which just happens to be where I "hide" the candy. Apparently, I need to find a new hiding place. I came downstairs to find Ella, Lily, and Ella's baby doll in a corner of the living room eating chocolate.

I gave Ella a time-out for getting into the cupboard (she knows that's a no-no) and for eating candy without asking. When she was finished with her time-out, she promptly got her baby doll and gave the doll a timeout in the corner. I thought this was hilarious! (Lily didn't get a time-out because I decided she was just an innocent bystander in the whole thing and it looked like she hadn't had any candy yet.)

Today, Ella did the same thing. She got another time-out. The doll did not seem to be an accomplice this time. Today, I will be moving the candy.

Ella has a couple cute/funny things she says. She is the most polite 3 year old I know. Instead of saying just "no" to things. Everything is "No, thanks." Example conversations:

Me: Ella do you want to take a bath.
Ella: No, no thanks. (and she shakes her hand a little).

Ella: I'm thirsty.
Me: Do you want some milk?
Ella: No, no thanks.
(she wanted juice instead)

Me: Ella, do you want to go take a nap?
Ella: No thanks.

Me: Ella, do you want to sit on the toilet like a big girl?
Ella: No thanks. (shakes the hand back and forth)

You get the idea. :-)

Then she also says, "No. More." very definitively. Meaning stop, or I don't like that, or just no more. She often adds a hand gesture that is similar to "Talk to the hand".

Me: Ella, should we sing the ABC song? A, B, C, D....
Ella: No. More. (Hand gesture)
Apparently she doesn't think I should audition for American Idol anytime soon.

In the car driving home from an outing...
Me: Girls, stay awake. Keep your eyes open. We're almost home. Here, I'll turn the radio up for you.
Ella: No. More. (Hand gesture)

I serve Ella a plate for dinner that has broccoli on it...
Ella: No, thanks. No. More. (as she puts all the broccoli on the table away from her)

Oh, and another fun shenanigan story. I go to book club once a month. Once a month, I get out of the house completely by myself for an hour and a half. Yes, that's all. 90 minutes. So this past Monday, I leave feeling a little guilty because Andrew was still working and seemed stressed but told me to go anyway. So I said good-bye to the girls and told them to be especially good for Daddy because he was a little stressed out. And I told Ella she needed to be Daddy's Little Helper. Well, apparently she took what I said to heart. Andrew started to make pancakes for the girls for dinner. He got so far as to put the pancake mix in the bowl and then got a call and had to go up to the office. Not sure how long he was gone, but when he came back, Ella had indeed been a little helper. She was sooo proud of herself with a big smile on her face. She had helped Daddy make the pancake batter! She added some apple juice that had been left on the counter. And since the spices were right in the cupboard above her, she thought the pancakes could use a bit of Nature Seasons and black pepper. She was so excited to show Daddy how she had helped. Needless to say, they had hot dogs for dinner. And when I came home the house was in shambles. I guess that's what I get for being gone for 90 minutes. :-)