Category Archives: Otter

Monkey, Motherhood, Otter

crinkle crinkle…

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I sat in my office, reading over the client ready rough draft of a Will, when Monkey asked me for more veggie chips. I answered with an exasperated “No!” as she had been told nearly a dozen times in the preceding twenty minutes that dinnertime was nigh and no more snacks could be enjoyed. Especially since dinner was hot dogs, and therefore not remotely healthy. Today Mommy was really phoning it in.

She sighed and removed herself from my rather grumpy presence and I went back to reviewing secondary contingent clauses.

crinkle crinkle

How do I password protect this thing before sending it out on the internet?

crinkle crinkle

Save as… Export….Security….C’mon where is this stupid thing? Wait a min….. what is that sound?

crinkle crinkle…. crunch

“Monkey!” I yelled, as I leapt off my office chair and rushed to the kitchen, preparing to confront my little chip theif red handed!

As I turned the corner I found Otter, standing on top of the kitchen stool, bag of veggie chips in hand. He was munching away happily, carefully choosing a chip at a time, thrilled he had mastered the art of junk food procurement. When he saw me he smiled, and kindly offered me a chip. Monkey came around the other corner to see what I was yelling about and she and I giggled as we watched Otter ruin his dinner, and gain a little independence.

I guess it’s time to stop automatically assuming Monkey is the culprit, and to stop leaving meat cleavers on the countertops.

Otter, parenting

Tag teamed…

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The kids, oft referred to as stinkers, have been tag teaming me this week.

Otter, though normally perfectly happy to nap between 1 and 3, has refused to nap earlier than 3:00, thereby guaranteeing that I have not one second of time to myself between the hours of 7 am and 8 pm, as his sister gets home at 3:00. His later naptime has the additional benefit of delaying his bedtime until about 10 p.m., thereby guaranteeing that I have not one second of time to myself between the hours of 8 pm and 10 pm. Basically, I get no break at all until it’s time to go to bed.

This would upset me less if he acted like this when his dad was in town, instead of saving it all up for me when daddy is far far away.

Monkey, Otter

Monkey magic…

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Sometimes I feel as though my girl gets the raw end of the deal. As the older child she is often relied upon to take care of her own needs, if not sometimes her brothers. I try really hard not to use her as an in house sitter, but Otter is fascinated with his big sis and really follows her around everywhere.

Luckily for all of us, she is pleased with his attention and her increasingly responsible role as the much older sib.

Yesterday Otter reached out and held her hand. She was instantly teary-eyed, awed that he was holding her hand. When he let go she said “Now I can’t ever wash this hand again, or the baby love with wash off.” It was pretty sweet.

Amazingly, she has been able to sing him to sleep when there is a baby sitter, get him breakfast in the morning sometimes so we can sleep in a little more, and get him to try new foods by simply eating them in front of him. She has also taught him several new games, and given him some basic piano lessons. All in all she is a font of information for this young man.

This morning, as I attempted to snooze on the couch to recover from a late night and very early morning, Monkey woke me up with a peanut butter and honey sandwich. She had made me breakfast! I thanked her profusely for such a nice gesture, and ate a filling and delicious sandwhich. Of course, Otter helped me out by eating one half himself, a proud smile on his face all the while.

I am feeling pretty lucky to have kids with such a great personality. There are so many other ways this could have gone, but happily they are forming strong bonds and becoming friends.