Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Life Lessons From the Backseat

So far this week, I've learned a lot from the back seat occupants of my car.  The past two days I've picked up my niece and nephew and watched them for a couple of hours each night for my sister.  The M & M's are a cute pair - when they are on their best behavior - and they have been good this week.

Lesson One - When you are under 5 years old, a simple thing like the noise that the turn signals make is fascinating!  Every time I use the blinker, a silly song erupts from the back seat about turning soon.  Today they even decided to play a game - let's see who can keep their eyes closed until Aunt "bonkeygirl" makes another turn.

Lesson Two - No matter how hard you try, you cannot hide snacks from a hungry 4 year old.  Nor from his equally hungry 3 year old sister.  They spot snacks in my pantry or freezer that even I didn't know I had.  Powder donuts, Indiana Jones Pop-tarts, Lunchables and Jello pudding snacks were all spied and requested.  I had no idea we even had such delicious snacks in the house!

Lesson Three - "Moo Cows" are not appropriate for dinner.  For the uninitiated, Moo Cows are the chosen name for Skinny Cow Ice cream bars.  The little imps don't know how to read, but they spotted the cow on the box and have forever given them a new name.  As an aunt, it is my job to spoil them rotten, but I refuse to feed them ice cream for dinner.

Lesson Four - I missed the early years of Skaterboy's life (I got partial possession of the child when he was around 11) so the attention span of a toddler amazes me.  How can they remember that I have a book with a picture of a nest that looks similar to one they have on a set of flash cards at home but they can't remember that they just left the bathroom?  How can they demand pudding for dinner but as soon as I show up at the table with corn, they completely forget that we even have pudding in the house? (For the record, they had already eaten at Gramma's house so I was ok with feeding them pudding while I ate my dinner).

Lesson Five - The changing of the seasons are totally lost on M & M.  They only thing they know is that Aunt Bonkeygirl has a pool and they should be able to swim in it every time they come over.  Never mind that it is October and that it is way past swimming season in this part of the world.  All they know is that they want to swim and they can't understand why I put a blankie on the pool.  I didn't get a screaming hissy fit, but you could see the puzzled look on their faces as I tried to explain the concept of seasons and what fall means.

Lesson Six - No matter how completely chaotic and cr@ppy your day at work was, the look of sheer excitement and joy on M & M's faces when I show up to pick them up makes it all worth while.  Especially when you get a knee jarring hug from a flying 4 year old and a big smoochy hug from a 3 year old princess.

7 comments:

NV said...

This was awesome and made me laugh -- out loud. You SO need to submit this one to Best Posts of the Week. I think many others would enjoy reading it.

bonkeygirl ... I love M&M!

sewwhat? said...

I know that feeling of joy when they see their Grandma, their jumping up and down joy and smiles. You can imagine how devastating it can be if you are not the expected picker-upper and they aren't happy to see you, it can downright ruin your day! I remember Boy M would start kicking his little legs in joyful anticipation in his carseat upon a glimpse of his grandma. That always made my day!

Ann said...

OMG, I used to LOVE the sound of blinkers when I was little, I just now remembered that.

I want powdered donuts for dinner. I wish I didn't remember that.

Susie said...

Coming to you via BPOTW. I think I have learned more from my children than I have taught them. They are a constant source of enlightenment for me:-)

BPOTW said...

I love this! It's so cute and so true. Bonkeygirl!! They can be frustrating, but the moments like the ones you mention make it all worthwhile.

Thanks for submitting your post!

Anonymous said...

Funny post! And let me tell you, the novelty of riding in a car doesn't wear off after they turn 6 either... The noise level in our car is nearly a traffic hazard! ;-)

MonkeyGirl said...

Sewwhat? - that kind of makes up for the "bad" behavior once they actually get out of the car!

Ann - I didn't even know we had powdered donuts in the house or we would have been eating them for dinner. Mr. Monkeygirl hides them from me!

Susie - It amazes me every day I see them. the way their little brains work is simply fascinating.

BPOTW - Thanks for posting it! I might even have to change my blog name now to Bonkeygirl!

ladyfi - I have to take turns answering their questions since they are both so excited to see me they talk over each other. Thankfully it is a short drive home so I ca handle the noise!