Extras

Why do my son and daughter want my attention every second of the day....until I put a camera in my hand?  Then my son disappears and my daughter spends the next 10 minutes trying to see the back of the camera because she knows her picture shows up there.  This results in zero pictures of my son and 30 super close snapshots of the side of my daughter's face as she comes right at me to see the camera.

And was thinking about this today-- my daughter has two sides:  One- the 'I want to be left alone to do my own thing' side.  If I try to pick her up during this phase, she goes completely limp, throws her arms above her heads, magically weighs 75 pounds and screams until I promptly drop her place her safely on the ground.  Side two- the 'I totally want you to hold me' side.  How do I quickly identify this side you may ask?  If I lift her off the ground an inch, she immediately splays her legs out as far as they go in the 'i'm going to grip you' position.  Once she's about 6 inches from my body, she grabs hold with her knees and I could easily let go at this point because she's not going anywhere.  This position is most prominently noted at drop off at her one day of preschool class.

How do I know my son belongs to me?  Those of you reading who don't know me well will be pleased to learn that I will do almost anything for a well poured glass of wine or a double stuff Oreo cookie.  (And don't try to fool me with a knock off/generic Oreo cookie---- they don't cut it-- I know, I've done my research).  Come to find out, one can pass down the 'Oreo cookie is heaven' gene.  My son was having an enormous hysterical crying fit earlier today (surely having something to do with General Petraeus's recent newsworthy activity.....or a Lightning McQueen toy car that got stuck under the fridge-- couldn't quite make out the offense with all the sobbing and hysteria).  I got fed up trying to solve the imminent problem so I reached in the cabinet and got out a bag of Oreo cookies- as one does when times get tough.  Just the crinkle of the package made my son immediately silent and he quietly asked if he could have a cookie, "just one mommy, just a little one."  After a moment of lovely, reverberating silence, I said "Absolutely."  I totally understood and loved him all the more for it.