Nightmares of the Martha sort.

Posted bycasey coombsPosted inToo lazy to label.

Little kids have nightmares. Dragons, giant stining insects and monsters are typical little kid nightmare fodder.

My kid?

Spices.

My kid has nightmares about spices.

She is scared to death that “the spices” are going to come get her. They were in her room the other night and a bunch of ladybugs came in to eat them. She also told her dad he had eyes all over his shirt. We had to make sure she really was awake and didn’t sneak out back to lick one of those “magic” toads.

Just so you’re aware, spices don’t come out in the day, only in the dark. They are in bottles and apparently teddy bears eat the spices. We have set up a perimeter of teddy bears around her bed and put a plastic toy hammer in her hand at bedtime in case any of the spices break through the teddy bearrier. (PUN!)

So far it’s worked well, I awake each morning to a nightly spice report, none spotted since Friday night.

Now tell me how in the world does one interpret the dream of a three year old involving parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme? She does call her dad’s kisses spicy, from all of his whiskers, I wonder if him kissing her each night is subconsciously registering as something coming to get her.

How’s that for parenting guilt?

Hey dude, no more kissing your sleeping child, you’re giving her nightmares.

35 thoughts on “Nightmares of the Martha sort.”

  7. Maybe she listens to too much Simon & Garfunkel? 🙂

    The teddy bear barrier is a cute idea… sounds like dreams I’ve had on Tylenol PM!

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  13. Your child is unique and very imaginative! wow. That’s a new one for me. Spices. I like the line of Teddy Bear defense around the bed though. Maybe you could put a lock on the pantry door or wherever the spices are kept? Just at night? lol Poor thing.

    Rheas last blog post..Black Hockey Jesus

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  15. Maybe it’s her subconscious fear that you’re going to start spending all your time cooking and ignore her completely? Or, you know, maybe just kooky three-year-old behavior. Either way, it’s funny!

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  17. haha, sorry to laugh, tha tis great. My kids have unusual nightmares too. Once Sissy (the oldest)had a nightmare that she fell in the hole of a piece of swiss cheese. that reminds me, I need to blog about that. 🙂

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  18. I know she is only three, but kids often amplify the fears/hopes of the adults they live with. So the dream might be a reflection of her own issues, or something she is picking up from the adults around her.

    I’ve have searched the dream analysis archives and this is what I’ve got:

    Dreaming about spice can be interpreted as either wanting or resisting “spicing up” your life. If you long for spice then you could say that you want more interesting things to happen. If “the spices are coming” seems like a nightmare then perhaps this means that you long for some excitement and that might be a bit scary for her. Or, it could also mean that she is looking forward to some changes (A new school? Does she have a new friend?) but change is always scary – even when it’s something we want.

    Of course, I don’t really know. The world of dreams is a mysterious place and sometimes a spice is just a spice. Thank goodness the bears eat them.

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  20. A couple of nights ago, Emily (3) was sleeping and then she was SCREAMING. Clearly, something was wrong, so my husband went in to investigate.

    She told him she’d had a dream that she had playdoh up her nose and couldn’t get it out.

    He said he couldn’t help it, he started laughing and she joined him and all was better.

    But, really? Play doh? Spices? How are these things scary/

    Erins last blog post..Pumpkin Blowing

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  22. Two things come to mind for me: Organic Greek Yogurt aka the food with no taste and a pink netted princess canopy-thingie (try not to be intimidated by my precise and eloquent descriptive writing prowess). Perhaps a little Out of Africa style netting over the bed might be in order to ward off the aromatic villains…

    Amandas last blog post..Me & Me to keep me warm

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  23. That Winnie the Pooh movie (or dvd) comes to mind. Pooh is scared by honey and all the honey jars. Hmmm spices don’t seem so bad…

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  29. If the hammer fails and let’s those spices through, try a squirt bottle with ‘Spice Protectant’. I heard it is good. 😉

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  32. I still clearly remember one of my younger sister’s nightmares as a child – dancing crackers and cheese were coming to get her! (And I still have no idea how my parents calmed her through that with straight faces… Though perhaps they did laugh, that I don’t remember)

    Good luck with “the spices” ! 😉

    Zs last blog post..dashed

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