Wordless Wednesday-- Tea with the (Birthday) Queen

Time Flies On Wings of Lightening

I heard a piece today on NPR about a scientific study, which found that time does actually seem to move faster as we age-- as our brains slow down, which sadly, they do with each passing year, time seems to speed up all around us. While this wasn't a very reassuring finding to someone creeping nearer to 40 every day, I had no problem believing it to be true. My slowing brain is finding it difficult to conceive that three years have passed since we went from being an all-boy family to one that included our sweet Bronwen.

Here's a brief glance at her birthdays so far. The next one is just around the corner at the rate we're going. But it will seem like an eternity to her.

Superhuman Smeller

Recently it has come to my attention that Bronwen has the nose of a blood-hound. She complains about smells before I even notice them (like the over-scented air freshener in a public bathroom or the needs-an-air-freshener scent of her brothers' bedroom.) If I approach her while eating something or immediately after, she always notices and usually is dead-on in her assumption of what I've been eating: "I smell peanut M&Ms!" Busted.

I've been researching (again) Sensory Processing Disorder lately in regards to a couple of my kids. (I'll write a post all about it soon, as so many people have sensory issues these days and don't even recognize it. But that's for another day.)

Last weekend we took a family road trip to Southern California and while Jared was driving, I was filling out a checklist on my kids, determining which areas of sensory input are issues for them. Perhaps this made me more aware of it, but Bronwen's superhuman smeller was cracking us up the entire way to Dana Point.

We were driving along, talking to each other, while the kids were watching Pinocchio, headphones glued to their ears, not making a peep. All of a sudden, Bronwen starts screaming as if she's in agony. After about a minute, her shrieks were finally intelligible. She was saying, "somebody goed stinky in the car!" (No, her grammar isn't perfect yet:) We realized that we were passing a huge cattle farm and indeed, there was a strong smell. But she noticed it before most of us and reacted strongly.

Later, we had to rearrange bodies in the car so that I could sit by Margaret and calm her down when she was THROUGH with being in the carseat. This put one of her brothers directly next to Bronwen, and her complaint? "He's smelling me with his breath!" This wasn't just the typical case of "he's breathing my air" or "she's looking out my window," Bronwen didn't want him near her because she could smell his breath from the next seat over (no one else noticed it at all.)

As the ride wore on and on, she began exhibiting signs that she would benefit from a nap. We pulled out her blanket and encouraged her to go to sleep. Bronwen insisted (by crying and whining) that she couldn't sleep with her shoes on, so I helped her get them off. Instead of this rectifying the situation, she now had something new to cry about: her feet were stinky and how could she sleep with such smelly feet? Sigh. She finally overcame her hardship and drifted off, much to the relief of everyone else in the car.

I foresee her father using this to his advantage when Bronwen is old enough to date. His meet-the-date "interview" with her beaus will involve feeding them raw onions or better yet, he may tell them that she loves cologne! They won't last the evening!

This ultra-sensitive smelling power could be crippling in some situations (like in the fragrances section of the department store,) but I intend to find a way for it to be an advantage to her. Perhaps she has a future as a truffle-hunter. Maybe she can check airplanes for otherwise undetectable peanut fragments before those with heinous allergies board. Or check for poison by smelling all the food and drink of the president or royalty or paranoid celebrity before they eat it. I'm sure that pays well.

Do your kids have any super-human abilities?

Overheard At Our House

Ah, the 2-year-old. Is there another creature on earth more a paradox than a 2-year-old? One moment hysterically funny, the next, hysterically crying. One moment you want to give her away to a passing stranger and the next you want to hug her tight and never let go. One moment she clings to your legs or asks to be picked up, the next she is pushing you away as she decides she is "a big kid". One moment she thinks something harmless is "too carey" (scarey), the next she is cheating death.

Here are a few recent quotes from our little paradox that had us cracking up.

The scene: Bronwen is dressed like a prim little girl, wearing a pink sweater with ballet shoes on the front, a hot pink skort, tights and t-strap shoes with a big bow in her hair. She runs into the house from the backyard, where she's been playing with "her kids" (the brothers).

Me: (observing that she is determined to do SOMETHING based on her demeanor,) What are you doing, Bronwen?

Bronwen: (seriously) I NEED to find a gun, Mama!

After a few moments of tearing apart the toy closet, she emerges with a clone trooper laser gun and a big grin on her face. She runs out to join the fray in the backyard and I am left shaking my head at my little girl.

Episode II

• 1:30 pm Daddy puts Bronwen down for a nap with hugs and kisses all around.
• 2:00 pm Mama enters Bronwen's room to check out the "carey bug" that Bronwen insists is lurking in the corners, preventing her sleep.
• 2:15 pm Pathetic sobbing begins from Bronwen's room--something about how she didn't kiss and hug every single member of the family befor her nap. (You know, just in case she didn't survive the experience and it was her last earthly chance to see them.)
• 2:30 pm Pathetic sobbing ends. Bronwen begins singing all her favorite songs at the top of her lungs: "Tomorrow", "The Family is of God", the theme song from Penguins of Madagascar (there are no words to this song, but that doesn't stop her), and "I Like to Move it, Move it" (also from PoM).
• 3:15 pm Singing ends. Bronwen begins kicking her door methodically while calling for "her boys" to get her up.
• 3:30 pm Her frustrated mother decides to let her up from her nap and opens the door.

Bronwen: (brightly) Good morning, Mama!
Me: (wryly) Good morning, sweetie!
Bronwen: (sweetly and animatedly) That was a great nap, Mama. Thank you for putting me to a nap. It was a great nap!

Just whom is she trying to kid? I know perfectly well that she didn't sleep a wink, nor did she like most of it.

What paradoxes have you seen in your toddler?

Calling All Princesses! (Giveaway)

EDITED: I need to close this giveaway earlier than planned, because the sponsor who is providing the tickets needs the winner's information earlier. I'm sorry if that messes you up, dear readers!

Bronwen and I have a girls' night out planned later this month with one of her bosom buddies. We are headed to Disney on Ice Princess Classics at Arco Arena.

I've got 4 tickets to give away to one lucky reader! The winner can choose the Thursday or Friday night show (October 29th or 30th) at 7:00 pm. The timing is perfect if your little girl is going to be a princess for Halloween--she can wear her costume to the show.

If you'd like to enter the giveaway, just leave me a comment telling me why you want to go. I'll enter you again if you tweet or blog about my giveaway (with a link to this post). My twitter handle is @relishingmother. Just be sure to include it in your tweet so that I can note it and give you another entry. You can get an additional entry if you follow me on this blog or on twitter. Leave a comment mentioning that you follow me.

This giveaway ends Wednesday, October 22nd, 2009 at 5:00 pm PDT. Winner will be announced by Thursday, October 23rd.

Those of you who aren't willing to take the risk that your little princess might miss the show, I can also offer you a discount code to get a pack of 4 tickets for $44. Just log onto TicketMaster.com and enter the code MOM at checkout. Additional tickets will be $11 each. The show runs Wednesday, October 28th- Sunday, November 1st with matinees Friday-Sunday in addition to the 7:00 pm show.