A Day in the Life of Madeleine Rowe

Morning:

MADELEINE: (bursting into my bedroom, wherein I lay, still asleep) Mama?  Is it a little bit too EARLY?

It turned out to be 6:30.  An acceptable time to get up.  But still, is it ever NOT a little bit too early to be abruptly woken out of a sound sleep?


Mid-Day

MADELEINE: (picking up a cough drop from the kitchen counter and holding it out to me) Oh!  Here, Mama.  Would you like to EAT this?
ME: No, thank you, honey.  You can put that back down on the counter.  I don't need one right now.
MADELEINE: But Mama.  What IS this?
ME: It's a cough drop.
MADELEINE: Is it a treat?
ME: No.  It's like medicine.  It's something you suck on if you have a sore throat, or a cough.
MADELEINE: Oh.  And Mama.  Is it A-okay right now?
ME: Yes.  My throat is A-okay right now, so I don't need a cough drop.
MADELEINE: (thoughtful for a moment) And is your BUTT A-okay too?

Aw, how sweet, looking out for Mama.  I'm guessing this question harkens back to the other day, when I had to explain what an attachable head for hemorrhoidal suppository ointment is placed.  AKA the blush brush fiasco.  Luckily, I got to assure Madeleine this afternoon that my hemorrhoids were in check and that my butt was A-okay.  TMI?  Yeah, I know.  Sorry.

Afternoon

Walking home from school with the girls, Madeleine decided to explosively stomp in every single rain puddle along the route.

JULIA: Maaaadeline!  Stop it!  You're spattering my pants!
MADELEINE: Well, Julia, now I'm REALLY soaking wet!  Mama?  Look at how SOAKING WET I am!
ME: I've noticed.
MADELEINE: Well Mama.  It's a GOOD THING that I decided to jump in all these puddles, because I was feeling a little bit JEALOUS that I wanted to change into my Emily Binx outfit!

That was a great master plan, Madeleine.  Get your shirt and pants completely muddy and sopping wet so that you can change into your all white tennis skirt and blouse ensemble at home to better resemble the ghost of Emily Binx.  OR: here's an even BETTER idea.  Just change into the Emily Binx outfit at home WITHOUT generating a stinky, soaking, wet-dog-smelling pile of clothes for Mommy to wash after she already ran a load of laundry!


Evening

ME: Madeleine, I bought you these new Christmas pajamas!  Do you want to wear them?
MADELEINE: Uh, I want my PUMPKIN ones!
ME: Why don't you want your new ones?
MADELEINE: Because.  It's not CHRISTMAS yet.  And I wanna be a PUMPKIN!

Mind you, these are the pumpkin pajamas that Madeleine steadfastly REFUSED to wear in the months preceding Halloween.  Therefore, I predict that the Christmas pajamas will suddenly become very popular come January.  But probably not before.


Bedtime

ME: (after finishing Madeleine's bedtime stories) Okay, honey, can you say your prayer?
MADELEINE: (beginning to say a prayer from school) Uh, Mama?  Does that sound like a prayer?
ME: That's fine.  You don't have to say your usual bedtime prayer.  You can say whatever you'd like to God.
MADELEINE: Okay!  (folding her hands) God, I love EVERYTHING that is good, and I love Mommy, and I love Daddy, and I love my SISTER, and I love my TOYS, and I love the TOY STORE, and I really, really, really love Plaster Fun Time!  (turning to me) Mama?  Wasn't that a REALLY nice prayer??

A few moments later, she was totally conked out, left to dream about everything that is good and Plaster Fun Time and the toy store. 

It's kind of no wonder she fell asleep so easily.  It must be exhausting being inside that little head of hers all day.  And if I'm really lucky, maybe she'll sleep  until 7 tomorrow morning and NOT wake up a little bit too early!