Some Strange Sampson Happenings...

Though I think the use of the word "Sampson" negates the need for the word "Strange"... by definition, these happenings are probably very normal as Sampson ones go...

The Puzzle

AnnaWen loves dumping and sorting and putting things in things, so puzzles are a lot of fun in more than the traditional way. The other day she was playing with an alphabet one Santa left Paxten. We had already put it together, then cleaned it up, so she was dumping the pieces and putting them back in the box, packing the box into a laundry basket and driving them around the room. I warned her that pieces go missing that way (missing puzzle pieces is right up there with mixed up PlayDoh colours on my Irks Mom list) and asked her to stop throwing them around. Later that night, after supper, I found a lone piece at the bottom of the stairs and showed it to Wen. I asked her to get the puzzle to put the piece away. She gave me The Blank Stare and shrugged her sholders when I asked her where the box was. I told her she had it last, she needed to find it. She spent the next 15 minutes checking under couch pillows, behind toys and under pieces of paper (good searcher) for the box... when she had checked all the places she thought possible, she checked them again. I was getting increasingly frustrated - mostly with my inability to determine if her behaviour was indicative of not understanding my direction, of really not remembering where the puzzle was, or avoidance for following through... without knowing why she was pretending to look, I didn't know how to respond. I helped her for a bit, then finally told her to look herself and she could join our family board game when it was found. A few minutes and a few turns through the regular pillow cycle she was still halfheartedly "looking". Finally irritated by the random pacing I told her "Sit here, and think about where you put the puzzle. When you know where it is, get up and go get it. Don't get up until you know where it is"... hoping this wasn't too heavy handed. She waited all of 10 seconds, got up and walked straight to the toy cabinet, pulled open a drawer and pulled out the puzzle. UGh. I'm NEVER going to figure that child out.

The Conversation (with capital T and capital C)

SO, we're playing with the guinea pigs and the boys are talking to each other. I can't remember the specific dialogue but it had something to do with the mom guinea pig "pooping out" the baby ones. I let it go, listening instead of correcting to see where it would go. Then Elliot made some comment about me pooping THEM out of my tummy. Jack wisely corrected him that I did not poop them out, that they came out of my penis. Sigh. I felt I should jump in at this point. I reminded him that as a girl, I did not have a penis and he asked what he came out of then. I gave him the proper names, fearing The Conversation was at hand... Luckily for me he switched gears slightly and asked why Paxten's was called "Girlie Biz". I told him that she had a few parts, and that's what we called them together. Apparently that's enough for now as they moved back to guinea pig antics. I fear the time is near, though, when he will ask more questions!

N