The View From Finley's Room...

Last night I was folding laundry in the bedroom when I heard the following come from Finley's room:

Finley: Look, momma! It's a full moon!
Dana: That looks more like a rocket to me!

I thought about it for a second and then called out:

Me: Is he naked??
Dana: Yes.

I wonder what kinds of stories parents of little girls have that I'll never get to experience.

I've been sitting on a few other stories that happened recently, wondering if I should put them down for posterity or if maybe parents who only have girls are better off not knowing just what kind of fun they're missing.

Buying Gifts For Yourself...

Finley and I were in the play area at the mall while Dana shopped for some work clothes yesterday.

A little girl, who was too big for the play area and kept bothering Finley to play with her, came up to me and said, "WE'RE here at the mall because MY dad is going to buy ME some headphones."

I turned to her and asked, "Do you like to watch the movie Frozen when you are in the car?"

She grinned and nodded, "EVERY time we drive ANYwhere!"

I smiled sweetly and said, "Then the headphones are for your daddy, honey."

I looked up to smile at her dad, but he was too busy on his iPhone to notice her daughter talking to a complete stranger.

The Kilted Woodworker - The Next Generation

The other day, Finley wanted to come down into the shop with me and make some boats.  

I cut off a nice piece of pine for a larger boat bottom and then cut up a bunch of smaller pieces of wood (pine, cherry, walnut, mahogany) for use as cabins and such. Then Finley dug through the wood trash box I keep by the door to the shop, which is where I put plane shavings and wood waste at the end of the day, and pulled out some scraps of wood he thought were cool.

I got a coping saw (now his coping saw) and showed him how it can be used to cut curves.  It has a nice old thick blade on it that resists snapping much better than the newer blades.  I might even touch up the teeth on it with a file to get it back to "very sharp" and just keep that blade on it, because I know he'll snap the newer blades in no time.

By the way, wearing the kilt was completely his idea. I picked out the London shirt, and then put on my own t-shirt that says "London" on it to wear with my kilt. He liked the continuity.

We cut the pine blank into the shape of a boat bottom and then I showed him how to use his block plane to smooth the cut.  I was the one doing the planing, because it was an unusual shape, but I'm sorry I didn't take any pictures of it! I was amazed at how well that old block plane works still. Those old blades take and hold an edge very well. 

Then we laid out the pieces where he wanted them and I helped him glue them up. For expediency's sake, we used a hot glue gun - they're just quick wooden toys, so I'm not worried about them lasting very long. When we build anything meant to last longer, we'll use Elmer's white glue (which is, incidentally, what I use in my box making - it works just as well as "wood" glue and costs much less. I wait until stores are having Back To School sales and buy it in little bottles, so I don't ever worry about it going bad.

I couldn't get him to not make a goofy face - he was just really excited to be in the shop, making stuff with dad. I can accept that...

Once Upon A Time...

Yesterday when we were driving home from work/school, Finley asked if I wanted to hear a song. I said of course I would and he started singing...

Finley: Once upon a time there was an engineer, drove a locomotive both far and near.  Umm... Ac... accom...
Me: Accompanied
Finley: Accompanied by a monkey who would sit on a stool, watching everything the engineer would do.
Me: *tear*
Finley: I don't know any more of it, though.  It's kind of a long song.
Me: Well, we can work on it, buddy.

So we listened to Grateful Dead all the way home.  And I watched him (in the rear view mirror) listen intently as the songs played, trying to memorize the lyrics.

Sharing With Dadda

Finley: Here, Dadda, you can have some of my NutterButters!
Me: Aw, thanks, bud! Hey, wait a sec... 

Me: Did you lick off all the fake peanut butter and just give me the cookie part???
Finley: Ummm.. Maybe!

I still ate them.