Monster Me & Adventure Girl

So, I've noticed on some other blogs I've seen, mostly through Pinterest (WHAT did we do before Pinterest?! Share ideas verbally, in small groups, building relationships? How did we survive?) that some of the cool-kid bloggers (you're a cool-kid, too - don't worry!) seem to use pseudonyms for their children. At first I was like, "What?" then I was like, "Ohh..." On Facebook, my husband (still thinking of a pseudonym for him) does NOT like me to refer to him by name or even mention him really. Part of it is his job, part is his military stuff, and part of it is a stubborn rebellion toward social media. Luckily, with fb I can pretty much decide who sees what in regard to information and pictures. At least, I choose to believe that so I can sleep at night.

With blogs (man, I dislike that word!) there doesn't seem to be a setting to control who can or can't see your life. (I probably should get a locked diary if I want that, eh?) Hence, the protective pseudonyms I guess. So. I've been thinking of what to call my kiddos. It was an interesting exercise on personality, really. Not just the cutesy nickname you used when you rocked them to sleep as a baby, but something that sums up who they are right now. I recommend it for your own kids, family, and friends (of course, if it's not uplifting you may not want to share it with people who can beat you up.)

Here they are:

Monster Me (MM for short):  My three-(soon to be four!)year old is Monster Me. My good friend pointed out a few years ago that MM says and does everything that I WANT to say and do, but can't get away with as a responsible, peace-making grownup. Instead of her being mini-me (which she also is), she's the monster in me set free. True story. If you think you know MM based on her curly blonde hair, sweet smile and the song she sings as she skips down the church hallway, you're seeing the grown up me version. The monster is there. Trust me. From birth she's needed anger management classes - it's not just because she's three. But... she's wonderful, smart, talented, funny, cute, and so much more. Just like me. Ha!

MM looking cute on a ride

One of MM's MANY self portraits...

Adventure Girl (AG for short):  My six-year old is Adventure Girl. This is a self-titled persona she made up when she was about three, and Adventure Girl visited often. She had a pose, an outfit and a serious attitude to go with it. But, as I think about her through the years, she really is adventurous. She's girly, but she spends any moment she can playing with dirt and mud in the backyard. She climbs and hangs out in the spindliest apple tree you can imagine - I'm sure it will break soon! She climbs door frames and stands on her hands -sometimes while on her top bunk. She loves sports and wants to be a doctor. She's like me in a different way from MM. I used to joke that she's all the good aspects of me, while MM is all my bad traits. Oh my gosh, that's terrible! And not totally true... AG has a kind heart and loves others. I went to Africa last spring and worked with a medical & dental team. When I came home, AG carried around a doctor kit and played "Going to Africa" and helped all the baby dolls in our house. Love it.

Adventure Girl persona, when she was three

At six, jumping off of anything

A butterfly (NOT a German barmaid) and Bat Girl

Sisters skating and being best friends

I'm blessed. A little crazy some days, but blessed. By the way, my intention is to use MM & AG in my posts, but let's face it: I'll probably forget. We'll probably survive. But I'll truly avoid using my mysterious husband's name...