Job well done!

I was leaning up against the kitchen counter, stuffing my face with M&M’s.

In the dark. Calories don’t count in the dark, right?

Maybe I was afraid that if I turned on the lights, one of them, or maybe even both, would think that “oh look, there is light on somewhere in the house, and it looks like mommy is enjoying something by herself, let’s get out of bed……AGAIN”.

 Or maybe I was just too tired to bother with the light switch. I could still find my mouth with both hands and those M&M’s were going down fast.

My dear husband, who was on “get them into bed and make sure they stay in bed” duty walked in, was obviously not too tired to find the light switch and flooded the kitchen with brightness. The M&M’s squealed and jumped into my mouth even faster, trying to avoid detection.

My husband is very bright and chose not to address the speed to mouth ratio of the squealing goodies. Instead he had a cute story to share with me:

“Guess what I did?” I gave both boys two M&M’s each and told them it was sleeping pills!”                        

My response was high pitched and screechy:

 “YOU GAVE THEM WHAT?? HOW DO YOU THINK THEY WILL EVER FALL ASLEEP IF YOU GIVE THEM SUGAR!! THEY BETTER NOT BE COMING OUT AGAIN!”

When the screeching had settled and quiet returned, said dear husband looked at me, rolled his eyes and continued: “Anyyyyywayyyyyy…… when I left the room, Noah looked at me and said – thanks for the sleeping pillow daddy! -  rolled over and fell asleep!”

Well, okay then!  Good job baby!

 

Fickle lunch date

"Mommy, why are you eating an apple?"

-"Mommy, is on a diet. You enjoy your chicken nuggets!"

-"Mooom, I want an apple!"

-"You can have one when you are  done with your nuggets!"

-"But Mooooooooom, I want one now!"

-" Eat your nuggets, and then I will give you one!"

-" Moooooooommmmmmyyyyyy, I want one now!'

-" EAT YOUR NUGGETS!'

-" I never get anything!"

Whine

Whine

some more whining........

-" I ate my nuggets, now I want an apple!'

-" OK, I will cut one up for you cause you never eat a whole apple"

-" But I want a whole one, just like you!"

Whine

Whine

Some more whining....

-"Here is your apple!"

-"Noah, are you gonna eat  your apple?"

-" Naah, I don't like apples!"

College bound

Do you remember writing research papers in college? With the formula that was pounded into us?
Technical terms would be: introduction, research, conclusion. Or as the professors repeatedly tried to explain it:

• Tell them what you are going to talk about.
• Talk about it.
• Tell them what you talked about.

This is exactly how Noah approaches gymnastics class. Today's 45 minute class consisted of:

"Do you want to see me jump?'

"Watch me jump!"

"Did you see me jump?"

He is so proud of himself, and is having so much fun. It is so sweet. Really.

And I swear this kid will be a litigator.

Super Heroes in training!

This is how we spent Saturday night! Re-enacting Spiderman's every move!

Killing thumbs

I was excited. I walked out of the store with it carefully cradled in my arms, smelling its yumminess. Thinking of the abundance and joy it was going to give me as we grew together. I brought it home. I nurtured it - put it in a pot and threw some soil at it. I watered it - I think?, didn't I? like, yesterday?  I talked  to it - "you are going to be so yummy when I eat you!"

The little sucker is dying on me. Giving up on our future together already. It has been 3 days, which I think is a new personal record for me. It at least took me a couple of years to kill of all the bamboo we had in the house. This thing is not cooperating with me at all and I think we are done. Going to Caprese heaven before I intended. Oh, well!

Navigating feelings and manners

The school line was rowdy this morning. The little girl who does not speak english yet compensates by pelting her classmates in the head, and this morning she had a lot to say. The effect trickled down the line and unrest had set in. Most mornings the teachers are out early enough to keep their lines in check but morning conferences have kept them late this week.
Oliver has a hard time standing in line to begin with and most mornings we stand back, wait for his calm bestie to show up so they can brace the day ahead together.

This morning we were early, Oliver grabbed his bags and moved up the line by himself. As the unrest kept trickling down the line I could see the discomfort growing in his body. I called him back: "why don't you come and stand in the back while we wait?" He was more than happy to comply and headed back. Well, current last place in line was held by the boy with his arm in a cast. Broken arm on second day of school. The boy who is very touchy feely, has a hard time with personal space, and apparently has already been called to the principal's office.
This is also the child that I scared off the school ground on second week of school, ran screaming trying to find his parents - proud moment!

Oliver took one look at him and loudly exclaimed, well within earshot of the boy himself and his dad standing with him:" OH NO, NOT THAT BOY!!"

I am sure that boy is just trying to find his place like everyone else, dealing with the same overwhelmed feelings, trying to reach out and in his 5-year-old awkwardness coming across a little wrong. Oliver has played with him at recess and called him his friend. Oliver has also witnessed him getting in trouble. We have given the speech about being friendly with everyone but stay your own ground, and don't get in trouble yourself!
Oliver probably looked at him and either was not up for being constantly touched and shoved, or he associates him with trouble, I don't know. He was expressing how he was feeling. Unfortunately, the 5-year-old is not sophisticated enough to do it in a quiet voice. After gathering him close to me, I hissed - mortified - "you don't have to be rude about it!" That was all the place and time allowed for. He leaned closer and said quietly: "ok, mommy!"

I sent my boy to school to learn to read and write, I was not prepared to teach him how to navigate social norms and expectations quite yet. I can hardly navigate this stuff myself and sometimes I feel like I am "shooting from the hip", making things up as they come along.

God, I hope I don't screw this up!!

Find what you love and stick with it....the 4-year-old version.

My almost to be 4 year old is stuck in a rut of consistency. I think he has hit the age when he realizes that he can make his own decisions and has his own power. Oh, the want-everything-my-brother-wants-and-repeat-everything-he-says is still there, but he is figuring out his own likes and he carries that out to an extreme.
He discovered the beauty of Sportacus this summer and the joy was complete when we found a disc with two episodes at Blockbuster. This was three weeks ago. Guess what he has watched everyday for the last three weeks?

The.Same.Two.Episodes!!

 Took it back to Blockbuster on Friday night to exchange for a different movie. And what did we came home with? The same disc.

With.The.Same.Two.Episodes!!

He is now calling out dialogue before the main characters get a chance to speak. He has taken his constant chatter to even interrupting and talking over characters on TV!!

Lets not talk about choosing a book for bedtime. But you should all know that I can rescue Tuga the Turtle without a rescue pack, while yelling peppy commands in THREE different languages(take that, jungle boy!) and seriously question the self sufficiency of all these animals who constantly needs  rescuing!!

Oh Sportacus, if you would only be still for a moment, I would throw something at you!