Another Book, and Quizzes

Last night, Julia made a non-potty-humor book of poems for Madeleine, which she read aloud in Madeleine's bed as her night-time story.  Madeleine, who was much more interested in crawling around the bed talking to me than in listening to the poems, seemed to suddenly have a change of heart about her new book after Julia had left.  Julia had diligently placed the book in Madeleine's bookshelf, which she announced to us before leaving, but, again, Madeleine wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention.

A few moments later, Madeleine was inconsolable over what she deemed Julia's theft of the new poem book.

MADELEINE: (going to the top of the stairs) Juliaaaaa!  Can I have my new book back PLEASE?

I tried to explain to Madeleine that Julia had placed the book in the bookshelf, but Madeleine wouldn't hear any of it.

MADELEINE: (bursting into tears) No, Mom!  There's NO paper books in my bookshelf, only REAL books!

No amount of explanation on my part could convince her that the book was, in fact, there.  Madeleine insisted on hollering for Julia, who eventually came running back upstairs to see what Madeleine was shouting about.

I don't think ANYTHING in the world could have made Julia more pleased than to hear that her sister was in tears because she feared she had lost possession of the book Julia made for her.

JULIA: (proudly) Here it is!  Madeleine, do you just LOVE your new book so much that you want to SLEEP with it?
MADELEINE: Um, no.  Um, yes.  I want to SLEEP with it.
JULIA: (wisely) Well, Madeleine, I think that if you sleep with a PAPER book, it might get kind of WRINKLED, so, here, do ya want me to just LAY IT DOWN on the floor next to your bed for you?
MADELEINE: I want to SLEEP with it.  Um, I want you to lay it down next to my BED!
JULIA: (beaming at me) Mom, do you think she, like, REALLY LOVES her new book, because she wants to sleep with it?
ME: I think she DOES love it.  I think it's her new FAVORITE book.

Julia was absolutely elated.

This morning, she got to work on yet ANOTHER craft.
JULIA: So, Mom, I'm making something like at the SCIENCE FAIR!

What she made was a quiz, which I was to take, after which she would, like the volunteers at the science fair, inform me if I was correct or not and explain the science behind the answer.

JULIA: Okay, mom, so: this is a GRAPE, this is a PUMPKIN,this is an APPLE, this is a RASPBERRY, this is WATER, and this is a BLUEBERRY.  So: you have to guess which one is the HEALTHIEST!

Oh, boy.  I was not sure I was up to the task.  Blueberries have antioxidants galore.  So do grapes.  But raspberries are full of important vitamins too.  And pumpkins have a truckload of Vitamin A.  But I guess antioxidants would keep you healthiest, right?

ME: Uh...the blueberry?
JULIA: (breaking into a self-conscious smile) I don't actually KNOW the answer, because, like, I'm the KID!

After some discussion, we both came to the conclusion that water is actually the healthiest, since without it, we would die.  Although I suppose we could get hydrated through the juice of the fruits.  Arggh, I don't know; this is a real stumper, folks!!

Julia's next science fair quiz was a lot easier for me to answer.
JULIA: So, Mom, which one is the WARMEST?

I went with the cote.  It's DEFINITELY not the teshrt.  And while a hat is important, I would be colder with no cote than I would be with a cote and a hat.  Sure, I'd be really cold without pans, but those pans offer such a roomy crotch that I'm afraid I would have to walk in a really weird way and I think that would just annoy me.  I mean, yeah, I might work up a sweat walking with my legs in a straddle, but I still don't think it's warmer than the cote.  And if I don't walk in a straddle, I guess the crotch of the pans would just balloon down under me, and collect air, which would definitely not really warm me up.

At any rate, I don't necessarily consider Julia the authority on this subject, as during our current foot of snow with more coming down, she has opted to wear a teshrt and legging shorts, so even if she weren't to agree with me that the cote is warmest, I don't think I would believe her.