Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Give the Boys some Plates


Amusing three-year-olds is an art from. And being that Cyrus is the second three-year-old to come through the ranks in our house I am after my Masters Degree in this art form. Well, aim high, right?

We recently attempted a shopping trip in IKEA. Which coincidentally is the word Cyrus learnt to say, right after 'Mumma', 'Dadda' and 'No'. Okay, fine. It was the first word the kid said. So, we go there a bit. So what? There are worse sins people.

Anyhoo, Cyrus and I were making our way through the delicious windy paths, much like the yellow brick road taking us to All-The-Stuff-I-Didn't-Know-I-Needed. I was employing all my Mommy tricks for keeping him happy while I played with all the Big Girl Toys. (There's a lot to push, pull and generally muck with in those stores- delightful!)

I gave Cyrus the little pencil complete with IKEA order form to draw on. I gave him a quick turn on the twirly chair. I let him open all the drawers in the display kitchen (okay, that was me). But after an hour of looking, and me still not being done, Cyrus was making a game out of chase me down the breakables isle. Clearly I needed diversion. Or a straight jacket. Are they illegal for kids? Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, the diversion.

Stuffing some plastic plates into my sunshine yellow IKEA bag of happiness I went to catch my child before the stack of glass cups caught him first. (relax, this ends better than you think it will)  Cyrus saw me and started to run. But then he stopped. The plastic plates pile behind me caught his eye. Miracle of miracles the boy came back of his own accord. He looked at the plates and peered into my shopping bag pulling them out.
"Oh wow, Mommy. I like these, do I!"
Well, who who have thought. Plastic plates. Of course. The perfect diversion. So I let him hold the plates. Situation conquered. Right?
Sure.

He held those plates through the rest of the store. He held them through the check-out. He held them on the way to the car. He held them on the 30 min drive  home. And when we got home I naively thought the game was up and we could now put the plates away. After all I did actually buy these plates for my kids to eat off at some stage. But I realized the error in my judgement when I tried to take the plates off him.

Bursting into fat sobbing tears Cyrus looked up at me and said, "But I love my plates Mommy. I wanna  take them to bed."
They were pretty plates. Like over sized flat candy. Six in total. All the colors of a crayon drawn rainbow.

"You really like those plates, Bubba?" I asked
"Uh huh, and I want to cuddle them in bed. There my plates. You bought them for me. I like them, do I." He was stroking them by this stage. No, I am not joking.
Taking my hands off his plates I said, "Yes, yes you do. And they are all yours."
Hey, for two dollars I can get some more.

Who said happiness had to be extravagant and hard to find? I got my master's degree today people. Just sayin. And I have a smile. Right now, in the middle of really tough re-writes, I'll take any reason to be happy. Writing is not for the faint of heart. Maybe I should go back and buy myself some of those rainbow plates to cuddle?

IKEA, oh land of plastic happiness, I love you, do I.

What about you? Got yourself some rainbow plates to keep you company while writing? If you take them to bed, I don't want to know. :)

26 comments:

  1. Aww, I just love Cyrus :) I love the "I like it, do I!" hehe :) Three-year-olds are wonderful, and four and five and six. Right up til you add "teen" on the end. Nah, they're even better then. Actually, they're just awesome no matter what :D

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  2. Sweetie boy! Need a picture with him cuddling the plates please!!! :O)

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  3. Perhaps he's going to grow up to be an interior designer or artist. This is a delightful story. And I love the way he says 'do I.'

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  4. Oh CONGRATS on the Master's. As to the plates..

    Exactly why I keep one of each size rubber bowl and an extra spoon around, great miniature percussion set.

    I have tinker toys! They are in every color :D

    Jules
    Trying To Get Over The Rainbow

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  5. Oh, Tab, I love this! Love the whole story about IKEA (we spent about two hours there a couple of weeks ago), the "relax, this ends better than you think it will", the "But I love my plates Mommy. I wanna take them to bed."

    And, I love that you work your writer's block by writing! Says something....

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  6. (forgot to say how adorable he is. But you know that, right?)

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  7. This is wonderful Tabitha, so enjoyable to read,
    Thanlks for sharing this with us,

    Yvonne.

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  8. "I want to cuddle them in bed." How friggin sweet is that. I'd give him the plates too...along with bowls and cups and anything else his little stroking hands desired. I LOVE IKEA!

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  9. Hi Tabitha...Cyrus is one adorable kid who knows how to keep himself occupied.

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  10. We're to choose our battles, right? You won, Tabitha. Well played. :)

    He's a doll, btw.

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  11. Is he a doll OR WHAT????
    Wow.

    I love a kid with pwasonawity!!

    Patti

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  12. Sounds like my son and your son are twins. The inventory of what my 3 yr old sleeps with is comical, it includes:
    $1 bill, crumpled up like crazy, 2 attenaes, 1 wooden toy gun, 1 box of Green Apple Tic Tacs, 1 Cars sippy cup.

    PS: I love Ikea, too. And plastic plates? Even better.

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  13. My old girlfriend's small son totally LOVED Ikea. So much so that they had "Ikea Night" once a week. Just her and him. I thought it was very cute.

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  14. Love the "do I!". We have fun adding "is it" on the end of sentences sometimes in this house, ie "you like that, is it." ...all left over from others of all ages, struggling with the command of English while being delightfully and endearingly amusing.Congratulations on your Masters!

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  15. Ikea is a life saver when it comes to kids haha. Amazing post, I must say. And - about your comment on my last post - don't worry, there's always some amount of darkness to the stuff I write, don't really know why. Probably because I don't talk about these things irl. AND your advice about writing block is really good - 'at least it will see me writing' - why haven't I thought about it this way before? :)

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  16. You're right, who knew about plastic plates?! It's funny what those kiddos will fixate on. Maybe he has dreams of being a chef, or taking you on a picnic. Imagination.

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  17. I'm glad those early child-rearing years are behind me. I definitely have a lot more fun with older ones. :)

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  18. Aww, he's so SWEET! I love his name. Give him all the plates he wants. Who could resist his demands? You're practically a prisoner of his good looks.

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  19. Perfect! We went the Teddy bear route, but perhaps that was because it was before Ikea!

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  20. What a lovely story, and yes, that's how easy it can be to make a child happy. Or a child-at-heart. Hubby bought me a $5 Chinese parasol (orange-y bright)at a jazz festival the other day, and you bet, I was the happiest member attending the festival. :)

    Hugs to Cyrus and a big congrats to you on your master's!

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  21. What a wonderfully hilarious tale! Sadly, I have no kid stories of my own - just kitty ones.

    And as for writing crutches, well, hmm... nothing springs to mind. Perhaps I should head to IKEA!

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  22. Laura- head to IKEA girl. It will make you happy :)

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  23. Bhaswati- thanks for coming by. Yep, it's the little things hey.
    Liza- there was life before IKEA? NOOOO!
    T.Anne- yes, and doesn't he know it.

    Jason- but do they still want to take plastic plates to their bedrooms???
    Mary- very possible.

    Misery- well on with the words then. Do I post on why you can't write. I'd love to read it.

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  24. Pam- that's cute. We like the "DO I?" too

    Fireblossom aka Shay :) IKEA night! Why didn't I think of that?

    Terresa- My eldest son used to like taking his little plastic rubbish bin to bed! They want to sleep with the darnest things hey.

    Patti- yep, a doll

    Wine and words- yep- me too.

    Ye all know I don't really have my master's degree right? :)

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  25. Gotta love IKEA. My husband and I meander through that place once in a while. We have a great time. But I hear you re your need for plastic plates of happiness during your rewriting. Yarp. I think mine is chocolate.All the best for the continuing trials of being a writer :)

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  26. You gotta love that boy! As much as I love your writing and the fact that you made me laugh out loud. Simple pleasures, right? It's my dog I turn to when I'm needing diversion and comfort in the midst of writing torments - a bit softer and livelier than plastic plates, but not nearly so colorful. :-)

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