Currents: Emma

Current Books: She just told me she loves Liz Kessler books, especially Philippa Fisher and Emily Windsnap. She is reading Philippa Fisher and the Fairy's Promise at the moment. She just finished The Watsons Go To Birmingham 1963 and wouldn't stop talking about it. I caught her giggling out loud when reading it more than once. (As a huge reader myself, this sight made my heart absolutely SOAR.) She is eagerly awaiting her birthday because I made a stupid promise one year ago that she could start reading the My Sister The Vampire books when she turned 8 years old, so now I have to stick to it. Of course, I remember reading my mother's Danielle Steel books when I was around her age, so there are worse things.

Current Music: She is super duper in love with Selena Gomez right now. I seriously hear "Love You Like A Love Song," "Who Says?" and "A Year Without Rain" in my sleep. She and I are both really digging Taylor Swift's new song off the Hunger Games soundtrack, "Safe and Sound."  I try to push her toward these types of singers whenever I can, but unfortunately Kesha is still on our playlist too. However, I feel I've been at least mildly successful in influencing her musical choices because she loves her some Kelly Clarkson and Pink, and really...who in their right mind doesn't??

Current TV/Film: TV: "Austin & Ally" and "Wizards of Waverly Place." She would be loath to admit it, but she also gets sucked into a lot of her sister's "baby" shows. We haven't been to a movie in awhile. I think the last one was Lorax, which both girls seemed to enjoy. Her all-time favorite movie of the moment is Dolphin Tale.

Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasures:

1. Running around naked, smacking her butt and chanting "Shake your booty, shake shake your booty" while I huddle in a corner and try to resuscitate her unconscious father.
2. Putting her hands under her shirt and pretending she has "boobies."
3. Blowing bubbles in her dirty bathwater, a pastime she's seduced her sister into doing as well.
4. Gleefully sticking her stinky feet in my face.
5. Having heated, one-way conversations with various game characters as she's playing her Nintendo DS.
6. Wearing her favorite pair of jeans several days in a row. She'll only stop after I order her to put them in the laundry, and not before she falls to the floor, cradles the jeans to her chest and shrieks, "But they aren't gross yet, I swear! JUST ONE MORE DAY!" 

Current Color: Black, blue and purple. (Check out the "Current Color" section of my recent Currents: Sophie blog post, to which I say: A-HA!)

Current Links: ST Math, Disney Coloring Pages, and Funny Kitties songs on Youtube.

Current Fetish: She will only wear pants and t-shirts. The pants must be skinny jeans or leggings. No pants that are "puffy" and make her look fat. (Oh yes, that is a direct quote. And oh yes, it pains me terribly.) Still no dresses. Also, she always wears at least two ponytail holders around each of her wrists because "the colors help make her hands pop."

Current Outfit: Black leggings, blue t-shirt.

Current Drink: Lemonade, water, green tea. Soda whenever she can sneak it past me.

Current Wish List:

1. To not have to changes schools when we move to our new house.
2. To get her ears pierced.
3. To have a huge party for her birthday.
4. To move to Indiana, St. Louis or Florida (near family members) instead of living in Chicago, where "there is nothing to do."
5. To have her own phone, laptop and ipod.
6. To go to Florida and meet Winter the dolphin.
7. To have a bunk bed.
8. To drink soda "with every meal for the rest of my life."

(Guess how many of these wishes are going to come true? I'll give you a hint: it rhymes with "sun.")

Current Triumph: I don't know if this counts as a triumph, but she just got her hair cut and she's pretty excited about it. Also, she's now lost six teeth and happily shares that fact with complete strangers, along with the fact that she's "practically a third grader."

Current Bane Of Her Existence: Well, this could go on forever. Learning to ride a bike, the wind blowing her hair, muscle cramps, homework, wearing jackets, clothes that itch, spiders, wet hair on her neck. When I asked Emma directly, here was her reply: "Sophie annoying me and you telling me to do things that don't make any sense, like be responsible. Oh - and be sure to put in there that I don't like casserole."

Current Celebrity Crush: Selena Gomez and Winter the dolphin

Current Indulgence: Jewelry. She just used her own money to buy "Best Friends" bracelet and necklace sets. She gave the matching bracelet to her friend Violet and the matching necklace to her friend Olivia. She also has an Emma necklace from Grandma Kitty and a bracelet from Gigi that she wears almost every day.

Current Excitement: She is so excited for her birthday. Like, SO EXCITED. She's been talking about it since February. Seriously.

Current Mood: Dramatic. Ebullient. Unpredictable. Giddy. Mercurial. Dynamic. Tenacious. Maddening. Utterly, completely entertaining. A glorious tornado of opinions, thoughts, and feelings...that's our Emma Bloom.