Bedtime Delays

Last night, instead of falling prey to the exhaustion of a busy long weekend, the girls instead were totally manic.  I started to worry that neither kid would ever fall asleep.  Thankfully, they proved me wrong, but it took a long time for them to both unwind for some reason.  I was on Madeleine bedtime duty, and by the time I left her room I had given up hope on her getting to sleep any time soon.

For one thing, Madeleine decided it was an appropriate time to start making up her own sign language.  It all started with hands being clasped over her heart.

ME: Good night, Madeleine, I love you.
MADELEINE: Mama?  I...(clasping her hands over her heart.)  Uh, Mama, THIS means "love."  So.  I (clasping her hands again) YOU!
ME: Oh, that's so sweet.
MADELEINE: Yeah.  So.  Here Mama.  Let me do it again.  I (clasping hands over heart, then pointing two fingers at me.)  So.  THIS means "you" (pointing two fingers again.)
ME: Oh.  I love you too!
MADELEINE: Wait.  Mama.  THIS means "I" (putting two hands on her head.)  So.  Mama.  (putting two hands on her head, then clasping her hands over her heart, and finally pointing two fingers at me.)
ME: I love YOU!
MADELEINE: Yeah.  Because Mama.  I was saying "I love you" with NO talking!
ME: Thanks, honey.  I love you too.
MADELEINE: But...you can't tell ANYONE about what that means with no words.  EPSEPT you can tell only your sisters, and your yia...uh...your...your...
ME: My mommy?
MADELEINE: Yes.  So you can tell Yiayia and you can tell your sisters.
ME: What about my husband?
MADELEINE: (brightly) Oh, yes!  You can tell your husband!  But...Mama?  You CAN'T tell your dad or your grandpa that DIED.  Because...you can't talk to them because they're DEAD.

Thanks for reminding me.  Here I thought I could go tell my dad about Madeleine's secret sign language, but thankfully, Madeleine reminded me that I can't.

Little did I know, the sign language was going to get more and more elaborate.  As she picked at a hangnail on her toe, Madeleine suddenly announced to me: "Mama?  And...(putting two hands on her head, then clasping her hands over her heart, and then putting her fingers on her shoulders.)  So Mama.  This (putting her fingers on her shoulders again) means NAIL-CLIPPERS."

I assured her that we could clip her hangnail, but that it was time to stop picking at it and go to sleep.

Madeleine still had many things about which to clasp her hands over her heart before the night was through.

MADELEINE: Mama?  (Hands on head, then over her heart) snuggles!
ME: You do?  What do you love so much about snuggles?
MADELEINE: They're so WARM and cuddly.  And besides, Mama.  Am I snuggling you or WHAT?

She was.  So I guess her sign language love was for real.

Then there was this one:

MADELEINE: Mama?  (Hands on head, then over her heart) THANKSGIVING!

And then this:

MADELEINE: So Mama?  I don't (hands over heart, then fingers waving around in the air.)  So... THIS (waving fingers around) means... "little froggies that jump all around in the air."

It was at that point that I gave up on getting her settled and left.  Luckily, her own sign language efforts had apparently tired her out, because the next time I went up to check on her, she was out like a light.

This morning, the sign language bank had grown even greater.

MADELEINE: Mama?  I...uh...I mean (putting her hands on her head, then clasping her heart)...uh...Mama?  So: THIS (putting her hands on her hips) means "MILK!"  So.  (hands on head, then over heart, then on hips.)
ME: Okay.  So would you like me to get you some milk?
MADELEINE: (delighted) YES!

I'm not sure if she understands that the effort of explaining all of her made-up signs takes longer than just saying the thing she wants in the first place.

Meanwhile, Julia's head is full of other thoughts.  As I was doing her hairstyle this morning, pulling the top hair into a little ponytail and then the rest of the hair into a larger ponytail, I inadvertently prompted the following conversation:

JULIA: So, Mom?  When I was in kindergarten, I used to think about a girl in kindergarten who wore her hair in this EXACT same hairstyle.
ME: Oh.  Like, a real girl in kindergarten at your school?  Or you imagined up a kindergarten girl?
JULIA: I imagined her.  But Mom?  Even though I imagined her, for some reason, she LOOKS like a real person.

All I have to say is, what...the...heck goes on in the heads of my children?!?