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She tossed around several costume options this year, but finally decided on Veruca Salt from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. In case she doesn't seem familiar... she's the super sassy, spoiled brat whose father has his entire company open boxes upon boxes of Wonka Bars in effort to find a golden ticket. The ticket that allows her admittance into the factory to meet Willy Wonka. She's not the girl who ends up as a blueberry, but the other one who demands her very own goose that produces a golden egg only to fall through the scale as a bad egg herself. "I want the world, I want the whole world. I want to lock it all up in my pocket, it's my bar of chocolate. Give it to me. I want it now!"





As you can imagine, Veruca's signature red dress with the black buttons and ribbon belt framed with a lace collar and cuffs wasn't something hanging in our local costume shop so we had to improvise. We purchased a red uniform dress from an online store and my wife sewed on the rest. Color me impressed. "I want to wear it! I want it now," screamed Madison. We obliged and our very own Veruca Salt came to life. The older she gets, the more she looks forward to living out her favorite characters this time of year and the more I can't wait to see what she comes up with. (Read about costumes from previous years: Belle, Dorothy, Butterfly, Tiger and Duck.)







VERUCA SALT

October 26, 2016

I have a running list of comments, phrases, and one liners from Madison that I keep in my phone. I started collecting them when she started talking because almost as soon as she said something that had me laughing hysterically, she said something else funny that made me forget it entirely. I'm not sure if these are amusing to anyone else or just my wife, Allison, and me since we're her parents, but I have a feeling we'll look back one day enjoying that we captured some of her random comments (click here for more).



MADISON:  Mama, I spilled milk on my dress! I need to change.
ALLISON:  How big is the spot?
MADISON:  Huge. The size of a house. It's serious.

--

ME:  Why are you putting sequins on my hand?
MADISON:  For decoration.

--

While eating dinner...
MADISON:  I'm done eating. Beep.
ME:  Beep?
MADISON:  I am a robot. Beep.
ME:  Really?
MADISON:  Beep.

--

Rubbing her finger over her teeth...
MADISON:  I think I have a thousand teeth.

--

Singing in the kitchen...
ME:  Bird. Bird. Bird. Bird's the word.
From the other room...
MADISON:  Bird. Bird. Bird. It rhymes with turd.


CHATTY PATTY, VOL. 26

October 19, 2016


We watched the wind play a violent game of tug with the trees in our backyard, the ground refusing to give in despite the frustrated tears of Mother Nature. We watched the hands of the clock collecting the hours of the wrath from Hurricane Matthew and when it was finally over, when we could safely emerge from our cocoon, we counted our blessings one by one.

She was just a baby when Irene blew through, when we brought her crib mattress and bumper into our bedroom to wait out the storm. This time she peeked out our windows as Matthew arrived and overstayed his welcome and she saw the colors twist and move over the map on the news. The rain danced and stomped on our roof long after we fell asleep, her in our bed between her mother and me.

Since then, we’ve seen pictures of uprooted trees and homes under water. We’ve seen streets washed out only a few miles away. We’ve seen people gathering their belongings and holding hope tight to their chest that enough of what they love would be left to rebuild from. We saw school cancellations and work delays and desperate attempts to find normalcy again.

It might be hard to see now, but it’s there somewhere. Sometimes the brightest lights shine through the darkest cracks and we have to search for them. We’ve been praying (and continue to do so) for anyone along Matthew’s path. Sometimes He makes us lose sight so we can see again, see His promise, see the rainbow after the storm. It might be hard to see now, but it’s there somewhere. I think we're all looking for it.

MATTHEW THE HURRICANE

October 12, 2016


We surprised her after work. We met her in the foyer still holding our keys and told her to get dressed because the fair was in town. The clouds outside were threatening rain and the thunder in the distance echoed the sentiment so we knew our time was limited. She ran upstairs and returned with shoes on her feet and a smile on her face. We knew she would be excited and she didn't disappoint.

Once at the fair, we purchased our tickets and let Madison guide the way. I threw a few words of favor towards Mother Nature asking her to hold the rain for a little while. We rode the slides a few times before turning our attention to the Ferris wheel, a ride that is among my least favorite. However, I knew it was worth it just to see her face light up with each rotation.

A fun house with obstacles reminiscent of the finale in Grease caught her eye, a reference lost on her at this age, and she grabbed her mother’s hand dragging her through the rolling barrels at the entrance. I watched them climb up and over and finally out of the house before we felt drops of rain overhead. We stopped for cotton candy on the way out and made it home just in time – fair enough.

--

Read about our previous trips to the fair:  Fair Weather, Fair Game, My Fair Lady.


FAIR ENOUGH

October 5, 2016

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