G and A’s school had Teacher Appreciation Week, Beckie had the epiphany to give them some of our bookshelves full of kids books, after discovering at 10pm the night before Teacher Appreciation Week Brunch that a nasty-looking cheese plate from Bashas cost $16.59.   My house is tidied, we did the school a solid, and according to Miss Jen a roomful of kids were quietly engrossed in fine literature for about 2 hours.   She said it was eerie, kinda Children-of-the-Corn.   Beckie’s mother the librarian would be so proud, a classroom fascinated by new books.   Maybe G’s teacher is figuring us out, that we are not as uptight as the average Scottsdale parents.   Or maybe I’m just working the room, trying to crack so much ice and blackberry screens so that my kids will feel at home.      The other day neither Miss Jen nor i could find G on the playground, I whistled for her like i do Kila and she soon came running.   People know when you’re keeping it real. BTW, that works at IKEA too.

When i came to pick them up, G & A were playing together at a little table. They both came running across the room to see me.     It was amazing, Alana toddling mechanically towards me with outstretched arms, G hurtling above and beyond her with outstretched arms.   It was like Terminator Salvation, or maybe The Empire Strikes Back.

Jen made a point of thanking me for the books, and telling me that G had just eaten a bunch of snacks.   Great, I give you and the 4’s the written word for years to come, you give me Cat 5 Hurricane Genevieve.

While getting G’s stuff, she spotted across the room a bag of lollipops.   I bet she had been scoping them all day.   Being such a good girl in school for like 10.5 hrs while i rode Somo with Bob, i told her she could take 2. Alana started to have a fit, going from happy in my arms to thermonuclear panic in 2 seconds – the time to spot a lollipop.   i have underestimated her, she’s probably been scoping them all day too.

lollipops for a baby in the car seemed a terrible idea, and Alana had another fit when i put it away.   So i stuffed…litterally, shoved…graham crackers into her yapping piehole.  This kept her til we got in the car, when she saw unopened lollipops in G’s hand. Panic ensued, and now I had to reason with G as to why i’d like her to put her lollipops away for the 5 minute ride home.   She starts to panic, and i shove graham crackers into her yapping piehole.

So many personalities, so much interaction. Beckie said about a year ago that she thought Alana made us a family, but i did not feel it much before now.   A new era of two opinionated Monsters has begun.