Return of the Mystery Notes

It appears that Margot, like Claire, ended up developing the mystery note bug - with a slight twist - namely, that Margot's mystery notes are incomprehensible to virtually all readers.  The above note was left on my desk several months ago. It was written in the heyday of Margot's phonetic spelling phase, and it chronicles some relatively extreme allegations of Jane's various offenses against "circus pets" (a/k/a "srkes pas"), along with recommended punishments (including that Jane not be allowed to "kim to the srkes.")

Despite her inability to spell correctly, Margot nonetheless became a prolific mystery note writer. She was never bothered by the fact that almost all of her notes required extensive translation (by her) before we could "read" them. In the months since she produced this gem, she's actually become quite a good speller - and she remains completely fearless when putting pen to paper. That she's learned to spell is, of course, great. But it's not nearly as funny. I was thus unreasonably heartened by receiving a note recently that said, "My mom and dad are MEEN MEEN MEEN MEEN MEEN MEEN."

The Queen of Recycling

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Originally uploaded by Carrie Fletcher & Don Wiest

Claire's fascination with words is trumped only by her obsession with recycling. Not only does she (constantly) remind us that "if you can rip it, you can recycle it," but she also closely monitors our conduct with respect to recyclables.

Today Claire and Margot were downtown at backup daycare, and I had lunch with them at their favorite top-tier restaurant, Au Bon Pain. When we'd finished eating, I began to clear the table:

Claire: "MOM, what are you doing??"
Me: "Clearing the table."
Claire: "MOM, don't throw those things away!! Those soup containers are cardboard, they can be recycled."
Me: "Great point - thanks for reminding me."
Claire: "MOM! Don't throw out those tops, they're plastic."
Me: "Ok, got it."
Claire: "MOM! The spoons are recyclable, too. Don't throw those out."
Me: "Okay, Claire - thanks. Can we throw out any of the things that are left?"
Claire: (poring over trash): "Well, yes. It is fine to put these items in the trash."
[pause]
Claire: "Mom, did you know that the average person generates one pound of trash every day?"
Maybe the average person generates a pound of trash per day, but I'm quite confident that the residents of 9 Park Lane, under Claire's militant leadership, are reducing their trash output by the minute.

The Queen of Vocab

Claire just referred to her three-year-old sister as "a sniveling little bandit." I believe this tops her earlier (and nicer) word-related achievement, which was to describe a snail as being "a buttery pumpkin color."

She did clarify that "bandit" was an appropriate descriptor here because "first, Jane steals things; and second, she doesn't listen to you." When I what not listening had to do with being a bandit, Claire looked surprised and said, "Well, because bandits don't listen to the police."

Quote of the Day

Margot: "Mommy, did you know that I'm going to be a squirrel tamer when I grow up?"

Just remember that you heard it here first.

Chicken Parts

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Originally uploaded by Carrie Fletcher & Don Wiest

Last month, we headed the Berkshires to spend a long (and amazing) weekend with good friends. We headed out of town on Friday evening, stopping at Russo's in Watertown (the most amazing food store ever) to load up on car-friendly dinner foods. In our family, "car-friendly dinner foods" would include, among other things, an entire rotisserie chicken. Those of you who know Don will understand why this is the case. (The "car-friendly" category also includes brie and baguette, but that's another conversation.)
We made short work of the chicken, and before finishing it off, Don asked whether anyone wanted some of the remaining dark meat. My suggestion that Claire might like some dark meat was met with her prompt clarification that she, in fact, detests dark meat and only likes the breast.
Margot, always the peacemaker, amiably followed up by saying, "Well, I like dark meat. I like all parts of the chicken: chicken legs, chicken wings, chicken bras, chicken fingers . . . "