Trust Me Mom.....

So, the last few days have not been the most fun in our household. Both girls came down with a cold on Monday and it's gone down hill ever since. Emma proceeds to tell me every ten minutes that she doesn't feel good. My sharp daughter has caught on to the fact that such a statement elicits a loving response from Mommy, or possibly some yummy flavored medicine. It has been determined that, for her, right now, all "I don't feel good Mommy" means is that her nose is all stuffed up. Unfortunately, she has had to realize that Mommy cannot fix all that ails her...there will be things that I cannot make better. Come to think of it, this is a pretty hard fact for Mommy to come to grips with too.

Katy had taken a turn for the worse Wednesday night, so yesterday I hauled she and Emma down to Clairemont for a visit to the doctor. It was revealed that Katy's cold had morphed into an ear infection - this explains the inconsolable baby I was faced with in the middle of the night. It really sucks to have something wrong with one of your kids, but I have to say that it's kind of nice to know that my instincts where my children are concerned are on the mark.

Right now Emma is practically obsessed with the idea of an echo. She loves shouting something (usually the sound "wuuuhhhh" ) almost at the top of her lungs in an empty garage, parking structure, or public bathroom and hearing it echoed back to her. As we got off the elevator to head back to the car, the shouting commenced. This time it was some little made up ditty that only comes from the mind of an almost 3 year old. I got Katy put into the car and then it was Emma's turn. As I open the car door she starts her usual repetitive "I can do it Mom, I can do". She climbs up into the car, then into her car seat. The "I can do, I can do it" starts again as she wants to buckle herself in. In all fairness I must admit that she has gotten really good at it and can even tighten herself in fairly well.

It also seems that in the process of climbing into the seat she found a yellow crayon...something which pleased her immensely and consequently worried me as she starting asking "What can I write on?" and I had visions of yellow crayon all over my car door. I explained that she could not write on anything and to my surprise she said "Ok Mommy" ***cue mom's suspicious look*** We're driving along and Emma starts breaking the crayon into smaller pieces. She then proceeds to chuck one at Katy ***cue indignant yell from younger daughter*** The thought occurs to me that the first thing Katy will do when she finds one of the pieces (perfectly sized as a choking hazard) thrown at her is to put it into her mouth. I had promised Emma a lemonade to drink for her good behavior at the doctor's office, so I pull into a Burger King parking lot, hop out of the car, retrieve the crayon piece from Katy and then proceed to the other side of the car to confiscate the remaining pieces from Emma. Here is the conversation that followed:

- Mommy opens car door -
Emma: "NOOOOO Mommy, don't take them!"
Mommy: "Give them to me Emma, now."
Emma: "Please Mommy, I won't throw them."
Mommy: "Honey, this could be very dangerous. If Katy got a hold of one of those pieces she could choke, or she could swallow it and it could make her very sick. Please give them to me."
Emma: "Moooommmm"
Mommy: "Emma - "
Emma: "Just trust me Mom!"

Just trust me mom......just trust me mom! I stood there for a minute looking at her and her big, pleading blue eyes knowing she had no idea what those words really meant. I finally, said "OK" and reiterated the importance of her keeping her promise not to throw them again. She kept her promise and drank her lemonade peacefully for the remainder of the car ride home. However, I was forced to think of hearing those same words from my daughter when she's asking to go out with friends for the first time, go on a date or wants the keys to the car. I hope when that time comes the outcome is as positive as it was with the pieces of yellow crayon.