Harry Potter Blah Blah Blah

About a year ago, I cleared all of the jeans out of Julia's overfilled dresser drawers, seeing as she steadfastly insists on leggings - or OCCASIONALLY sweatpants - as the only kinds of pants she'll wear.

And all it took was a viewing of "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" to convince her that jeans are ALL THAT.  Because Hermione wears them.

So this morning I had to dig around down in the basement to find a pair of jeans so Julia could go to school looking like Hermione in her hoodie and blue jeans:

Wait a minute.  Is that Julia in the school yard, or Hermione Granger?!?

Of course, when she's not actively BEING Hermione, Julia is busy drawing pictures of Hermione and her friends.  Between last night and the time we left for school this morning, Julia managed to churn out the following drawings:

 Best buddies: Hermione, Harry and Ron holding hands in friendship

Hermione and Harry take on a couple of Dementors by casting a Patronus.
"EXKSPECKTO PUCHRONUM!"

Sirius Black, Hermione, Harry and Ron holding hands in the sunshine

MADELEINE: Julia, why are you making the ceiling BLUE?
JULIA: (shrilly) It's NOT THE CEILING, Madeleine!!


Of course, creepy drawings with spooky Dementors are right up Madeleine's artistic alley, so she sat down to color too, making this picture of herself standing next to some sort of shadowy, headless death-demon:

Speaking of Harry Potter (because do we speak of anything else around here lately?), Julia had a pressing question about the naming of one of the landmarks within the series:

JULIA: Mom?  How come in "Harry Potter" they call it the "Forbidden Forest?"
ME: Well, I guess because it's forbidden to go into the forest.
JULIA: But why?
ME: Well, because there are dangerous things in there.  Do you know what "forbidden" means?
JULIA: No.
ME: So, if something is "forbidden," it means it's against the rules or the laws of a certain place.  So, what would be something that's forbidden in our country where we live?
JULIA: Umm...being mean to other people?
ME: Well, it's definitely not nice to be mean to other people, but that's not forbidden.  You wouldn't go to jail for being mean to someone else.
JULIA: Umm...stealing?
ME: Yes.  Stealing is forbidden in our society.  What's something that's forbidden in our household?
JULIA: Mmm...potty talk?
ME: Uh, well I don't LOVE the potty talk, but it's not really FORBIDDEN.  So, hitting or hurting each other is forbidden in our house.

I can tell the point was really getting through to the kids.  I mean, Julia seems to really get it, what with her examples of highly forbidden things like being mean and talking potty talk.  Vocab lesson = SUCCESS!

I tried later on to see how much Madeleine had absorbed from the discussion.

ME: Madeleine, what's something that's forbidden?
MADELEINE: Um...the inside of our forest that has POISON IVY in it.
ME: And what else is forbidden?
MADELEINE: Um...wearing white to preschool and then doing the EASEL PAINT?

Madeleine then rattled off several other forbidden actions: "going to the Y with no socks on," "giving children coffee," and "going close to a bee."

Apparently both kids define the word "forbidden" as "things I'd rather they not do."

Either that, or I have instilled the FEAR OF GOD in them should they mess with Mommy: don't you DARE even get paint on your white shirt or it's OFF TO PRISON WITH YOU!

Yeah.  Judging by their somewhat sub-par listening skills as of late, I'd definitely not bet the farm on them trembling in their boots over failing to please me.

I better start cracking down: "EXKSPECKTO PUCHRONUM!!!"