Mommy Pearls

When I was in pharmacy school I had some of my professors teach what they referred to as "clinical pearls", little bits of information that would be of great value to students as they entered their practice. I've forgotten so many clinical pearls, definitely more than I've remembered.

Olivia is "free" (three) now and she has so much to say. I love to listen. I could listen to her all day. I can remember I used to drive with her in the back seat of the car and imagine there would come a day when she'd be chatting with me. I don't know when it arrived, but the day has been here for quite a while. She says so many sweet, innocent, wonderful things. I wish I'd done a better job documenting her progress. The other night Richard and I enjoyed discussing some of our favorite quotes from Olivia. These are some of the "Mommy Pearls" I never want to forget; I take these with me to work and remember them throughout the day to help get me through. They may not sound as sweet on paper, but the sweet voice she says them with could melt just about any heart.

Here are a few of my pearls in no particular order, written down so that I won't lose my treasures.

1. "In the morrow." Anything happening the next day at our house, or anything Olivia does not want to do right away, will be done "in the morrow."

2. "Wanna play Mom and Dad? Okay! You be the Mom (to me), Dad be the dad, Spencer be the Spencer, and I be the puppy." Sometimes Dodger plays to, and sometimes Olivia is the baby.

3. This new game, "Mom and Dad", usually replaces the previous game, "Car", which involves driving to Costco or WalMart to get water. "Car" must be played on the steps of our house. "Mom and Dad" can be played anywhere. Occasionally, the two games can be combined. FYI, "Car" makes the sound "zhoo zhoo" when you turn it on or off and get in or out.

4. "I go to Donald's (McDonald's) to get a toy, and a hamburger, and french fries, and juice!" Keep in mind she says this with the excitement of an adult who just realized they won a hundred million dollars in the lottery. She talks faster and faster and louder and louder as she shares her enthusiasm.

5. "Mom, Dad, I'm not going to school at Margie's today? We gonna hang out?"

6. "Guys, wanna come play with me?"

7. "Mom, I'm proud of you pick me up today?"

8. "Dad, you come pick me up in your pick-up?"

9. "I hungy." I just love the way her voice says the word hungry.

10. "Jesus is my best friend!" Ten minutes later you might hear, "Hannah Montana my best friend!"

11. She often plays with her macaroni and cheese noodles and pretends one is Aunt Mindi and one is Grandma Tootie. It's hilarious.

12. Almost every night, without fail, sometime after midnight, Olivia gets out of bed and carries her water and her Bible all the way across the house from her room into our room to sleep. It's usually for one of two reasons. Either "Dodger wake me up" or "I had bad deam (dream)"! I treasure her sweet face looking up at me in the dark, her Bible clenched tightly under her arm. Too precious!