It's the Great Pumpkin, Lily Lee!

Yesterday, I woke up with as much anticipation as I had in a long time, eager to drop Lily off at school where she would then embark on her first-ever field trip. To the pumpkin patch no less.

I then whiled away the long hours at work, equally eager to arrive home and have Lily regale me with the tales of her great adventure. I pictured her brimming with excitement, running out to the car with her treasured pumpkin in hand, grinning from ear to ear, and rambling on about how "e'siting" her day had been.

I was wrong.

"So Lily, tell Mommy all about your field trip!"

"Well, we went on the bus, and then we went to the punkin' patch, and then we came back."

Maybe she just needs some prompting, I thought.

"So how was the bus ride?" I asked.

"Good." This from the child who yearned to ride the bus almost as soon as she could pronounce the word.

"Who did you ride with on the bus?"

"Clara."

"So what exactly did you do when you got to the pumpkin patch?"

"Well, we walked around, and Jacob's daddy (or maybe it was Elijah, Evan or Devon's daddy) picked up the pumpkin for me."

At this point, Lily has concluded her end of the conversation and walked away.

Indelible impression the field trip was not. And here I thought the trip was going to be a big milestone, and the ensuing conversation would result in an idyllic moment of mother-daughter bonding.

I guess I'll have to wait for the next opportunity, I thought. Then Lily returned.

"Jacob's daddy (again, or Elijah, Evan or Devon's daddy) said good cookers can make a pumpkin pie. Can we make a pumpkin pie?"

"Yes Lily, we can."

Cute Kid Quip #3 (or maybe #4 or #5)

So this morning, Lily is helping stir the soon-to-be-scrambled eggs in the pan and pronounces, "We're making scribbled eggs!" Interesting perspective.

Trash or Treasure

There's nothing like cleaning out a toy chest that will make a child decide that a long-forgotton, dirty, broken toy that they haven't touched in months (or even years) is the absolute BEST TOY EVER.

Or so I learned yesterday when I decided to undertake that particular project in anticipation of a slew of new toys arriving in the form of birthday presents.

The ratty old pink stuffed poodle with the missing eyes and the nose mangled worse than Michael Jackson's thanks to a certain dog named Pokey? Trash, I thought. But no. Lily spotted it and immediately caressed and cooed over it like it was her first-born child.

The lopsided, 10 cent, orange plastic sunglasses that were so scratched you couldn't see two feet in front of you if you wore them? Trash again, me thinks. But Lily promptly dons them where they sit askew on their nose and struts about like a Beverly Hills diva. Marc Jacobs sunglasses, these are not.

Then there was the non-functioning, uncapped pen from the bottom of the toy bin. Me: Doesn't work, toss it out. Lily: Said pen was topped by a blooming fake flower and of course is destined for a second life. I'm not sure, but I think she may have tried to plant it.

But along with each of these less delightful moments was a truly delightful moment where Lily re-discovered some long lost toy treasure. Like the bead your own necklace kit that led to some creative mom/daughter bonding time, the magnetic fish puzzle that lets her work her hands and her mind, and a host of other toys that kept her PLAYING all day. Not watching TV, not sitting at her computer, not pummeling Pete and Mom with endless questions. Just playing.

Now that was a true treasure.

Mom's gone? Really?

So I departed yesterday morning for a 4 1/2 day work trip. And nearly two days and three phone calls into the trip, my daughter has yet to say more than "Hi Mom" (not even a HI MOM!!!) to me on the telephone. Seems "Old McDonalds" and miscellaneous other attractions hold more appeal to her at this point.

I assumed there would be some communication walls to break down when she was about 14, but at 4?! Can't she just miss me a wee bit more?

I'm not going to deal very well when she goes off to college, am I?