Raising teenagers.

It's warmed up enough to snow. If you live south of, well, Iowa, that may seem really strange to you. But once it gets below certain temps, it doesn't even snow. Too cold. So today is a snowy and blustery day. Boo - it's sort of blizzardy. Yay! - it's warmer (which is in the 20s).

I have noticed lately that we seem to be raising a couple of teenagers. Only they're four & six. It's coming in two forms right now. Clothing and language.

Clothing
I may have mentioned (once or a billion times) Natalie has clothing issues. They now include: no leggings, no tights, no turtlenecks, no tank tops, no dress shoes, no sweaters, no pants that aren't jeans. She is also particular about the rest of the items she agrees to wear. Currently jeans cannot have holes in them because it is too cold (even though she wears snowpants to school). Shirts can only be a certain length. Honestly I haven't mastered the rest of the requirements, because there doesn't seem to be rhyme or reason. A shirt I think will pass does not. Her Christmas pj's were rejected. "I don't want long sleeves." Nevermind the fact she was wearing long sleeved pajamas at the time she said that. That her very favorite pj's were the same style. All tight fitted pajamas are immediately vetoed, along with pajama dresses.

I try not to argue much. I remember feeling like a turtleneck was choking me. Or feeling like the wool was rubbing my skin right off. It's only a little frustrating because she's not wearing all of Ella's hand-me-downs, and sometimes she tells me she'll wear something and after I buy it she won't.

Language
Ella has picked up some new and exciting phrases. Mostly thanks to the bus ride home, I think. She's started in on the elementary jokes. You know the ones - long, complicated, drawn out ways to get someone to say "threw up." She's learning them from Kyle. Who is in 4th or 5th grade. But we have to be nice to Kyle - he shovels our driveway.

And her latest, unrelated to Kyle's teachings is "I was like." Only, instead of using it in a story about something that happened a while ago, she repeats what she just said. For example, "I'm gonna wear my pirate hat to bed. {pause} I was like, 'I'm gonna wear my pirate hat to bed!'" Just like that. Just right in a row. Without time for anyone to respond to her original statement. And then she laughs hysterically at her own funniness.


Never a dull moment.