Panda Kisses

This evening, as we were getting ready for bed, I told the two younger kids that whomever got dressed first would get a special surprise. The prize was, of course, a kiss. They were both disappointed, and demanded chocolate.

It’s an old trick, one my own mother used to employ. So I knew firsthand the bitter disappointment they felt. I fake cried, fake sobbing some incoherent fake phrase about nobody liked to give me kisses, and my sweet 7 year old son acquiesced and yelled. “I want to kiss you mommy!”

I accepted his offering and gave him a hug, telling him he was the best 7 year old boy in the world. He happily turned away and occupied himself with something (not exactly sure what…he was making techno battle noises and crawling around on the ground).

Ashlyn wasn’t as easily distracted from what she had determined was a rather unfair and definitely unforeseen turn of events.

I pulled her onto my stomach (I was laying on

the couch), and told her I would instead, give her a special strawberry kiss. I raspberried her cheek and she laughed.

“Do it again!”

“How about a butterfly kiss instead?”

So we each took off out glasses, and I gave her

a butterfly kiss. She giggled as our eyelashes fluttered together.

“That tickles!”

“I can also give you an Eskimo kiss.”

She raised her eyebrows.

“What’s an Eskimo?”

My brain scrambled for an explanation suitable for a 5 year old that would also be truthful.

“They’re people who live where its cold. So they can’t kiss on the lips because their lips will get frozen together. So they kiss by rubbing noses…like this.”

That would be a fail…

But she bought it.

“Can I have a panda kiss, too?” she smiled.

I laughed.

“I don’t think there’s such a thing as a panda kiss sweetie.”

“Why? Don’t panda bears kiss to say I love you too?”

“Well I suppose…”

“Then how do pandas kiss?”

I had to think fast.

“They rub elbows.”

“Oh.”

“What about lemons? “

“Do panda bears rub lemons together?”

“NO! How do lemon give kisses?”

I decided a lemon kiss was puckering your lips and making one big smacking sound.

“Watermelons?”

Watermelon kisses are when you pretend like you are spitting out the seeds.

There were also kiwi kisses, and fish kisses.

And then she decided regular old human kisses were best. She gave me one and then jumped down to go brush her teeth.

Which is a good thing, because I was running out of made up fruit and animal kisses.

Platypus kiss anyone?