The facts of life have started evolving in our home. And growing up with only girls, I have found myself at a loss for words on more than one occasion. I try. I try to not act surprised, angry, or fall out in fits of laughter. I try to be the mom all the experts say to be. Answer questions honestly and with just the right amount of information. But how exactly do you decide what is "enough" information? I suppose sometimes the kids just lead you right to the answer.
Braxton is friends with a girl in his Kindergarten class. Friends. Don't mistakenly refer to her even as a girl friend. Or even a friend who is a girl. To Braxton, she is simply Ella. Ella is a fantastic little girl. She is fearless and adventurous. Ella also has an older brother. One day Braxton pops out in conversation
"Mom (matter-of-factly and demanding my attention), Ella says that girls don't have nuts"
As I choke down my internal fit of laughter I calmly answer him with "No. Ella is right. Girls don't have nuts." This is of course followed by the conversation with the usual... "Why Not?"...."Well, those are part of what makes you a boy. If Ella had the same parts you do, then she wouldn't be a girl."
I thought our conversation had met the qualifications for providing enough information. Until the next morning when I learned that his mind was still churning. Not sure how I came to that conclusion, because we all know that Braxton's mind is continuously spinning its wheels. You might not recognize it outwardly, but eventually you will get the next bit of information from him that reminds you.
So the next morning we go through the usual routine. I wake Adelyn and Dad gets the boys to come downstairs. Braxton generally heads straight for our room to try to sneak a few minutes snuggled up in our bed. That particular night his sister had made her away across the hall and climbed in bed with us. So I change her there, while she is still mostly groggy and asleep. As soon as I get her pajama bottoms off she does the usual little baby/toddler move and rolls over on her belly. Booty up.
I then, as if he has never noticed her tail end in the past two and half years, hear "OOOOOH. Now I get it. Girls just have a slit." *Braxton makes a top to bottom slicing motion in the air with his finger*
Again I make my best attempt not to laugh, but can't hold back my smile. And then I give my best just enough information answer.
"Yes. Yes they do son."
"I sure am glad I am a boy then Mom"
And there you have it. In his little mind, nuts are better than slits. Hopefully this educational moment did not become some of the information that he proudly chooses to share at school.
Tuesday, February 28, 2017
Friday, February 26, 2016
"Mom, can I have your Diamonds?"
What do ball sacks, boobs, marriage, and football have in common? All of them are hot topics at our house.... and it's not my husband talking. Just our boys.
Did you just fall out of your chair? Me too. Well actually I fall out of mine every time they ask another question, or sometimes before they even speak. I'm never sure whether I want to laugh, cry, or stop breathing when they open their mouths these days.
ON MARRIAGE:
Braxton with all of his 5 years of wisdom has decided that marriage is just not for him. (Sorry girls, pick a new boy.) You may have heard me mention that he doesn't want to have to move to someone else's house so he would rather just stay with me. Well, his thoughts have continued and he has furthered his decisions based upon them. True Story:
Brax: "I'm not going to get married. It takes too long to stay married."
Grayson: "You have to get married. That is what grown ups do."
Brax: "Well I am not going to get married. I want to be a football player instead" (This indicates that he has decided that marriage is a job - he is already enlightened - and he only wants one job)
Grayson: "Braxton you have to marry a girl."
Brax: "No I don't. I'm going to be a football player, live with mom for a while, and then come live at your house with you and your girl you marry."
Mom: "Brax, you can be a football player and get married. Lots of girls like football players"
Brax (With Sigh): "Yeah, I know. I like the Cheerleaders."
WTH? Where did he learn about cheerleaders?!? And noticing them? I'm not ready for him to grow up and notice girls!!
ON BOOBS:
Braxton also recently asked "What are those things on your chest?" (Geez. Why do they always ask mom about anatomy) Boobs Braxton. They are boobs. This conversation led to further discussion about boobs, who gets boobs, when they get boobs, why do they get boobs...can all girls feed babies with their boobs, do they always have milk in them, and can Adelyn still get milk from you when she is thirsty? *Reminder to not have discussions about anatomy with Braxton while Grayson is around to further the discussion* Braxton walked in my bathroom while I was changing a couple days later. I had on my bra... but all he could do was let out an innocent giggle and say "Boobs". Then he ran out.
ON BALL SACKS:
This is all Grayson...and his friend Will. God love him, he is a great kid. He is also very knowledgeable. I can't fault his parents for not making sure he is aware of the world around him. So we are on our way after school to Target and Gray chimes in.
G:"Mom, what is a ball sack?"
Mom: "Um. It's part of what makes you a boy, but a slang term for it. What were you thinking that made you ask that?"
G: "Will told me that you can cut off a cow's ball sack and it won't die. Then you can boil the balls and eat them"
**Nearly choked on my own spit**
So that led to a discussion about how Will is technically correct and what is actually in the quote - ball sack-. And that as a general rule most people do not eat these. Luckily he has yet to ask further purpose of this anatomy past my usual answer of "they are part of what makes you a boy". Although I am sure it is coming soon. I've also been getting quizzed on how boys can turn into girls and girls into boys. He informed me that a classmate knows someone who has had this happen to them. I'm guessing we are talking gender reassignment but I am not entirely sure how to explain this without confusion to a 7 year old.
ON MARRIAGE:
Braxton with all of his 5 years of wisdom has decided that marriage is just not for him. (Sorry girls, pick a new boy.) You may have heard me mention that he doesn't want to have to move to someone else's house so he would rather just stay with me. Well, his thoughts have continued and he has furthered his decisions based upon them. True Story:
Brax: "I'm not going to get married. It takes too long to stay married."
Grayson: "You have to get married. That is what grown ups do."
Brax: "Well I am not going to get married. I want to be a football player instead" (This indicates that he has decided that marriage is a job - he is already enlightened - and he only wants one job)
Grayson: "Braxton you have to marry a girl."
Brax: "No I don't. I'm going to be a football player, live with mom for a while, and then come live at your house with you and your girl you marry."
Mom: "Brax, you can be a football player and get married. Lots of girls like football players"
Brax (With Sigh): "Yeah, I know. I like the Cheerleaders."
WTH? Where did he learn about cheerleaders?!? And noticing them? I'm not ready for him to grow up and notice girls!!
ON BOOBS:
Braxton also recently asked "What are those things on your chest?" (Geez. Why do they always ask mom about anatomy) Boobs Braxton. They are boobs. This conversation led to further discussion about boobs, who gets boobs, when they get boobs, why do they get boobs...can all girls feed babies with their boobs, do they always have milk in them, and can Adelyn still get milk from you when she is thirsty? *Reminder to not have discussions about anatomy with Braxton while Grayson is around to further the discussion* Braxton walked in my bathroom while I was changing a couple days later. I had on my bra... but all he could do was let out an innocent giggle and say "Boobs". Then he ran out.
ON BALL SACKS:
This is all Grayson...and his friend Will. God love him, he is a great kid. He is also very knowledgeable. I can't fault his parents for not making sure he is aware of the world around him. So we are on our way after school to Target and Gray chimes in.
G:"Mom, what is a ball sack?"
Mom: "Um. It's part of what makes you a boy, but a slang term for it. What were you thinking that made you ask that?"
G: "Will told me that you can cut off a cow's ball sack and it won't die. Then you can boil the balls and eat them"
**Nearly choked on my own spit**
So that led to a discussion about how Will is technically correct and what is actually in the quote - ball sack-. And that as a general rule most people do not eat these. Luckily he has yet to ask further purpose of this anatomy past my usual answer of "they are part of what makes you a boy". Although I am sure it is coming soon. I've also been getting quizzed on how boys can turn into girls and girls into boys. He informed me that a classmate knows someone who has had this happen to them. I'm guessing we are talking gender reassignment but I am not entirely sure how to explain this without confusion to a 7 year old.
ON DIAMONDS:
I've read that Minecraft can actually be good for some coordination and thinking skills. Both my boys have had spiked interest in rocks and crystals with playing this game. Braxton noticed my wedding ring the other day and asked where on earth I got diamonds. When I told him they were from his dad I am certain that his deep brown eyes sparkled a little. A couple days later he asks if he can have my diamonds when I die.
Wait. Did my 5 year old just ask that? Better get my will updated and very detailed to prevent sibling rivalry after the fact.
I told Braxton that I didn't plan on dying any time soon. His response.... "Weeellll, someone MIGHT kill you. Then can I have them?"
*Prime Suspect if I disappear*
*Prime Suspect if I disappear*
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
My Husband's Son
Its always been my favorite thing to say when one of my kids is misbehaving.... "Honey, YOUR SON, is making me crazy." "YOUR son just XYZ", or as is becoming more frequent, "YOUR Daughter just climbed onto the table and ...." You get the idea. Lately though, its all about Braxton. Call it his personality or blame it on Middle Child Syndrome or the fact that he is a Scorpio child, but at least once a week I get to give the report after opening his school folder. "Honey, YOUR son got in trouble for talking and interrupting the teacher again today" Shock. You just all fell out of your chairs. Dustin's son talks in class too much? Seriously? No Way! Pick yourselves up off the floor because its true. He has a child that has so much to say he just can't keep it bottled up inside.
The first few weeks at school his daily report came home all smiley faces and GREAT DAY! I almost asked the teacher if she had my son mixed up with another child because he was always bounding full of energy at daycare and I was skeptical that he would be interested in sitting and paying attention at school. Of course this social butterfly was nearly devastated when he didn't have a new best friend by the end of the first week of PreK. Then they slowly started to show up.
"Braxton had a little trouble settling down for nap today. He was talking to his neighbors" (HA! I've been waiting for the day that he didn't nap at school. This little Night Owl does not need a nap.)
"Braxton talked over the teacher several times today"
"Braxton spent a lot of time giving instructions to his friends after the teacher was finished. Talked to him about not worrying about his friends and letting the teacher do her job"
Then more frequently they appeared. And now they are weekly. Or were. Last week we had more than one. I try to have conversations with him, but typically I'm afraid my words of wisdom go straight Left to Right never to be bothered with other than a practiced "Yes Ma'm" At one point over the past couple of weeks we received a note indicating that Braxton had trouble getting settled for nap and that he spent an unnecessary amount of time in the bathroom prior to nap.
Me: Hey Brax, did you have trouble at nap time today?
B: No. I was fine
Me: Did you spent much time doing things you shouldn't to avoid nap today?
B: Umm. No?
Me: So you didn't go to the bathroom for too long before nap time?
B: No. All I did was stand in there and look at the walls before nap. I wasn't late.
Me: Well that's not what the note said.
B: *Insert Quick change of tone and quizzical/concerned sound* What Note?!? Let me see that Note!
Followed by "Braxton had trouble being quiet and still at nap today and kept disrupting his neighbors." Again... when DHS will provide alternative suggestions for children who do not require a nap I will feel more sorry for this occurrence, but I will be supportive and try to help the poor teacher out. She doesn't make the rules that all children must be offered nap time. I'm sure she lives for these few minutes a day and Brax is stealing her one calm and peaceful time between 8 and 2:45.
Braxton even lost some free time in his Centers in class.
Me: Brax did you get in trouble with Mrs. Baker for talking when you shouldn't again?
B: Yeah (Sounds defeated)
Me: Did you yell in the cafeteria?
B: Yeah. But I was just talking to my friends.
Me: That is disrespectful to talk when it is your teacher's turn to talk and to yell when everyone is trying to eat. Why did you yell?
B: Because I wanted to. (Just matter-of-factly... as if this is not a big problem.)
Me: Did you have to miss some play time in Centers?
B: Yeah, but not that much mom. It's okay.
It's as if he thought about the fact that his particular fun times in class today weren't worth the effort of being good. How do you even discipline this when he just doesn't seem to care? Talking to friends is the Best. Thing. Ever.
Today's note; however, it takes the cake. I barely could keep myself from laughing when my husband walks in with the boys and tells me that Braxton is no longer allowed to wear spiked hair to school. WHAT? I finally got it cut so its in dress code and we are in trouble over this?! Not sure if I'm more surprised that he gets in trouble over his spiked hair the first time I fixed it spiked like he wanted it (Dad didn't do it right last Friday apparently) or that my husband has started checking the behavior folder himself so he isn't slammed with YOUR SON comments as soon as I open it.
I mean really. I am at a loss. What 5 year old is so excited about their spiky hair that they distract their classmates in story time!?! So I decide that we are going to write Mrs. Baker an apology letter. Well, type it anyway. I was thinking it would make him have to work on letter recognition off the keyboard and think about how he was missing play time at home. I did get a sigh as he drug himself off of the couch where he was playing a game on the iPad, so he was at least somewhat bothered. Then he decided this was a fun activity and was laughing as he looked for letters. Who knows if he can even tell me why he had to write the note anymore. #ParentingFail Oh - and if you read this Mrs. Baker, he tried to draw you an Owl but it was taking too long and I wouldn't help him so he changed his picture to a bear. His art skills apparently don't allow for owls. But at least he used more than one color of crayon. Baby Steps.
Thursday, January 1, 2015
Charlie's Magic
We have an Elf on The Shelf. Charlie. Charlie joined our family a few years ago and came back again after Thanksgiving to remind the kids to be good for Santa. Grayson is all in. Braxton, well he wants more answers.
Braxton: Mom, why did you move Charlie this morning?
Me: I didn't move Charlie.
Braxton: So he just appeared. (with a questioning/attitude in it tone)
Me: Yes.
Braxton: He just goes where he wants to? (same attitude)
Me: Yes. He goes and sees Santa and comes back to a new spot.
Braxton: He just appears.
Me: Yes.
Braxton: Huh. (Confused and sounding disbelieving)
He hasn't mentioned Charlie since then and did get into the morning search for Charlie. Tonight at dinner; however, he asked when Charlie would be coming back. Perhaps Santa's visit sparked something in him.
Braxton: Mom, why did you move Charlie this morning?
Me: I didn't move Charlie.
Braxton: So he just appeared. (with a questioning/attitude in it tone)
Me: Yes.
Braxton: He just goes where he wants to? (same attitude)
Me: Yes. He goes and sees Santa and comes back to a new spot.
Braxton: He just appears.
Me: Yes.
Braxton: Huh. (Confused and sounding disbelieving)
He hasn't mentioned Charlie since then and did get into the morning search for Charlie. Tonight at dinner; however, he asked when Charlie would be coming back. Perhaps Santa's visit sparked something in him.
"But What's It Called?"
Grayson is growing up. Getting Curious. Lucky Me. He has made a few comments along the way that really made us think we were going to get to have the "where babies come from talk". Age appropriate of course. Then he just moves on. He was originally concerned that when Adelyn was being born that he would have to be in the room and witness my "guts" lying on the table. He requested that we let him wait to meet her until the doctor was finished with that part.
Then there are the days that I drive by the hospital where she was born. Alone in the car, just the two of us. Every time he has a question or comment. Every. Time. Just the two of us. Several weeks ago the conversation started again.
Gray: Mom, how do you get a baby?
Me: (Trying not to sigh out loud) Moms and dads have babies.
Gray: Dads don't have babies.
Me: No. But you need a mom and a dad to have a baby. (OOPS! Possibly just set myself up)
Gray: Yeah. You need both because dads can teach you how to play video games. Moms aren't good at that.
Well that was close.
Last Week:
Gray: Mom, did it hurt when they took sister out of your chest (WTH he saw my belly)
Me: She wasn't in my chest. She was in my tummy.
Gray: Oh yeah. Well how can they take her out. Your Nose? (Guess he was just thinking about where openings were)
Me: No. Moms don't have babies through their noses. (At this point I was really wishing I had to have C-sections. You other moms have it easy for a while)
Gray: Well where do they come out?
Me: (cussing out the fact that I haven't learned to take a different route) Well, remember how you have boy private parts? Girls have their own so moms can have babies.
Gray: Where is it?
Me: .......By my legs. Similar to where yours are. (He recently re-informed me that I did not have a penis)
Gray: Well you can't see it.
Me: No.
Gray: Well how do babies come out?
Me: Babies are in part of your tummy that has strong muscles to push them out when they are ready. (probably set myself up more, but I didn't have a faster answer)
Gray: Well what is it called where they come out? What is a girl's called?
Me: ...remembering that you shouldn't lie or make up names... so I tell him the answer.
Gray: Ok. So are we eating at home tonight or picking a place?
How can he just move on so easily. I nearly need CPR. I feel like my chest is tightening. Why must I drive by the hospital? Why do these questions never come up when anyone else is with us? Sigh. Never Again. Never. Or, well the daycare is a couple blocks from the hospital. We can't avoid it. Think I will look around for a new daycare.
Then there are the days that I drive by the hospital where she was born. Alone in the car, just the two of us. Every time he has a question or comment. Every. Time. Just the two of us. Several weeks ago the conversation started again.
Gray: Mom, how do you get a baby?
Me: (Trying not to sigh out loud) Moms and dads have babies.
Gray: Dads don't have babies.
Me: No. But you need a mom and a dad to have a baby. (OOPS! Possibly just set myself up)
Gray: Yeah. You need both because dads can teach you how to play video games. Moms aren't good at that.
Well that was close.
Last Week:
Gray: Mom, did it hurt when they took sister out of your chest (WTH he saw my belly)
Me: She wasn't in my chest. She was in my tummy.
Gray: Oh yeah. Well how can they take her out. Your Nose? (Guess he was just thinking about where openings were)
Me: No. Moms don't have babies through their noses. (At this point I was really wishing I had to have C-sections. You other moms have it easy for a while)
Gray: Well where do they come out?
Me: (cussing out the fact that I haven't learned to take a different route) Well, remember how you have boy private parts? Girls have their own so moms can have babies.
Gray: Where is it?
Me: .......By my legs. Similar to where yours are. (He recently re-informed me that I did not have a penis)
Gray: Well you can't see it.
Me: No.
Gray: Well how do babies come out?
Me: Babies are in part of your tummy that has strong muscles to push them out when they are ready. (probably set myself up more, but I didn't have a faster answer)
Gray: Well what is it called where they come out? What is a girl's called?
Me: ...remembering that you shouldn't lie or make up names... so I tell him the answer.
Gray: Ok. So are we eating at home tonight or picking a place?
How can he just move on so easily. I nearly need CPR. I feel like my chest is tightening. Why must I drive by the hospital? Why do these questions never come up when anyone else is with us? Sigh. Never Again. Never. Or, well the daycare is a couple blocks from the hospital. We can't avoid it. Think I will look around for a new daycare.
Friday, October 3, 2014
Buy Two Get One Free
So Rewind to June 2013. We had been debating the 3rd kid thing for a few months. Well, lets be honest. I was debating the 3rd kid thing. My husband wasn't exactly on board, but if it was something that would complete my life he would at least have the discussion. We were actually on vacation in Florida with our kids, staying at "our beach house" as Grayson likes to call it. (I wish it was the truth son, but your stuff costs too much) The boys were exhausted and in bed and we were taking a few minutes to sit around and talk. Just what he loves. (Okay, he does love to talk, but probably not about more kids). He finally came out and said that he was perfectly fine with 2. I thought maybe he had been a little more on the fence where I was, but maybe that was wishful thinking. After a couple days of thinking over our discussion I finally came to the conclusion that I was happy. I was totally happy with my two fantastic boys. And they are boys. Energetic. Love to be on the go and in the dirt. Totally opposite of my calm self.
September 2013. There were maybe a couple weeks where we had any chance at getting pregnant. Knowing that I had always required medication to ovulate with the first two kids I wasn't terribly worried. My doctor has always told me that just because I needed medicine with the first two didn't mean that I NEVER ovulated. Just that I didn't regularly. Knowing this I purchased some ovulation test kits just to be sure that nothing was going to happen without me being aware of it. Negative tests. After several days of this I felt a little bloated and just not right so I figured I would just call the clinic and ask for a refill prior to my appointment. After all the testing we have been through, I knew she would ask if I had taken a pregnancy test since before she would refill it. So I did just that. At 11:00 on a Wednesday night. The pregnant line appeared before the one that is always there, in less than the 3 minutes you are supposed to wait. WHAT??? HOW ON EARTH COULD THAT BE?? So after several minutes of a rapid heartbeat and sitting in the bathroom I made my way across the house and just sat the test next to my husband. And sat down. I think he had the same reaction as I did. It took a few seconds before he even said anything. Guess that joke I've had for years about "Buy Two, Get one Free when we are 40" was essentially true. Luckily we aren't 40 yet. Thursday morning at work I was still in shock. Then I open an email from my coworker "I dreamed last night that you and I were both pregnant" I practically fell out of the chair. And then I suggested maybe she should go buy herself a pregnancy test.
Pregnancy #3 was a little more of an adventure than the previous ones. My doctor informed me that she thought it was a girl. "Girls cause trouble from day one". I think I complained every day and ate Zofran like candy (within the rules..why didn't anyone tell me about that fantastic medication with the first two?). I had zero desire for food, but apples and starburst (eventually) were pretty good. And I LOVED real Coke. Not the Coke Zero that I usually liked. Diet Everything was out. When the Ultrasound Tech said "Girl". Dusty asked her to repeat it. And to show him how she could tell. We really thought he was 99% Y chromosomes by now. But, "1%" chance of ovulation test being inaccurate and 1% chance we would have a girl both came true. Grayson was at our first Ultrasound as well. When he heard it was a girl "I told you it was a girl. We didn't need to come here today." Of Course we didn't, but we needed visual proof of his predictions. Bring on the Pink. And Purple. (When did I get girly?)
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| Baby Girl Weems 16 Weeks |
I am not sure, but being pregnant in general, especially with baby #3, brings every evil comment out from people. And seeing as how I deal with lots of strangers on a daily basis they had all kinds of jokes. You have to love "Well you know how this happens by now right?" Of course we do you idiot. And yes it's only one baby. My abdominal muscles are no longer that of a 20 year old girl, but rather an early 30's mother of 2. And I have "healthy-sized" babies. Thanks for making my day. I managed to refrain from being a bitch to everyone. I just cried instead.
I cried EVERYDAY. Some days it was over something real. Other days it was because the wind blew my dog's hair a little too far to the left. If you know me well, you know that I don't cry. Ever. Well, occasionally when the stress builds up for too long and I shed 2 tears to feel better. I think only one person has ever actually witnessed that.
After a long wait and having to listen to Grayson explain to Braxton that the baby doesn't have a door we can get her out of Mom's tummy through (he was very inpatient while having to wait on this "stister"), we got our girl. Totally Unplanned, but exceptionally loved by everyone. Especially her Brothers. And true to Grayson's request we did not make him come to the hospital and have to see all of mom's guts when they took sister out. (We might have slyly bypassed the story on how babies are actually born)
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| What, when did I buy a bow like this? I swore no big bows. |
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| One of my Favorites. Hospital gown and all. You can just see how much they love "Stister" |
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Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Life of a Basketball Wife
My husband LOVES basketball. I'm fairly certain that in his dreams at night he thinks he is playing in the NBA. At least he doesn't act them out. Typically he doesn't really sit down to watch many games and if he does he is also working on the computer. (We all know he can't sit still for very long) This year; however, he made a point to either record or watch some of the NBA finals. I'm fine with this, but struggled with trying to figure out why after 11 years of being married he had changed his habit. I will likely never know.
For Father's Day this year I actually had an idea. I wanted to buy a basketball goal. Apparently several months ago when he was pricing them out at Academy I suggested (in my attempt to prevent a purchase that evening) that we look again around Father's Day. I should have known this would be one thing he actually remembered me saying. So when I mentioned I had an idea he quickly asked if it was a basketball goal. I lied. I was irritated that he actually remembered and guessed my idea. But, he believed me so that worked out well. After much thinking, and worrying about planning, I realized that it was unlikely that I could figure out a plan to go buy one and put it together without some serious help. So I just took him shopping.
We went Friday night and he picked out a couple he was interested in, but we determined that it wouldn't fit in the car. Saturday evening we stopped back again and made the big purchase. Never did I know that buying a basketball goal at dinner time would have me awake until after midnight that night. But, it was finished slightly before 1 a.m. He said he couldn't not get where he could actually play before he went to bed that night. Crazy boy. But, he loves basketball.
We have played several times. By play I actually mean shoot hoops. I'm not competitive enough to really play a game. Plus I have to improve to stand a chance at winning, or at least shop for a lower cut tank top to play in. Generally we play after the boys are in bed when its cooler outside. I had forgotten that I actually like to "play". So its a nice "date" some days.
My husband, who is obviously more competitive, plays like he is 15 again. Running, Jumping, Shooting, Attempting to dunk.... you get the idea. Of course the knee pain he had originally was from his shoes ;-) The right shoulder pain started and was blamed on dunking attempts. Then he decided one evening to practice his (rebounding of some name that I can't remember) and tried to make all my missed shots turn into baskets. This really made his shoulder hurt. Of course when 7 a.m. rolled around he blamed it on Braxton thinking he had been lying down funny when Braxton moved to our bed. Braxton was only there for 5 minutes so that was obviously not the real reason. So now I have a husband who can't lift his arm above 90 degrees and he can't lift much weight at all without shooting pain. But, like most husbands, he seems disinterested in letting me work on his shoulder with my PT skills.
We had a basketball date schedule for that night, but I figured that we wouldn't get to play. I was wrong.
"I will just play with my left arm. Its probably more level playing for you anyway"
I guess that's love for me... or likely more for getting to play basketball. Too bad both his shoulders hurt now....
For Father's Day this year I actually had an idea. I wanted to buy a basketball goal. Apparently several months ago when he was pricing them out at Academy I suggested (in my attempt to prevent a purchase that evening) that we look again around Father's Day. I should have known this would be one thing he actually remembered me saying. So when I mentioned I had an idea he quickly asked if it was a basketball goal. I lied. I was irritated that he actually remembered and guessed my idea. But, he believed me so that worked out well. After much thinking, and worrying about planning, I realized that it was unlikely that I could figure out a plan to go buy one and put it together without some serious help. So I just took him shopping.
We went Friday night and he picked out a couple he was interested in, but we determined that it wouldn't fit in the car. Saturday evening we stopped back again and made the big purchase. Never did I know that buying a basketball goal at dinner time would have me awake until after midnight that night. But, it was finished slightly before 1 a.m. He said he couldn't not get where he could actually play before he went to bed that night. Crazy boy. But, he loves basketball.
We have played several times. By play I actually mean shoot hoops. I'm not competitive enough to really play a game. Plus I have to improve to stand a chance at winning, or at least shop for a lower cut tank top to play in. Generally we play after the boys are in bed when its cooler outside. I had forgotten that I actually like to "play". So its a nice "date" some days.
My husband, who is obviously more competitive, plays like he is 15 again. Running, Jumping, Shooting, Attempting to dunk.... you get the idea. Of course the knee pain he had originally was from his shoes ;-) The right shoulder pain started and was blamed on dunking attempts. Then he decided one evening to practice his (rebounding of some name that I can't remember) and tried to make all my missed shots turn into baskets. This really made his shoulder hurt. Of course when 7 a.m. rolled around he blamed it on Braxton thinking he had been lying down funny when Braxton moved to our bed. Braxton was only there for 5 minutes so that was obviously not the real reason. So now I have a husband who can't lift his arm above 90 degrees and he can't lift much weight at all without shooting pain. But, like most husbands, he seems disinterested in letting me work on his shoulder with my PT skills.
We had a basketball date schedule for that night, but I figured that we wouldn't get to play. I was wrong.
"I will just play with my left arm. Its probably more level playing for you anyway"
I guess that's love for me... or likely more for getting to play basketball. Too bad both his shoulders hurt now....
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Mothers Know Everything
I meant to write a post for Mother's Day, but I just didn't get around to it. I had a great weekend with my friend Sarah in Dallas. We came back early Sunday morning and the boys spent the rest of the day with me :-)
My mom was/still is a very special person to me. I always knew she worked hard, but until I had kids I never knew how hard. I have a fantastic husband. He is great with the kids. He helps out with them more than I hear most of my friends say their husbands do. How my mom managed with just herself I will never know. I realize that she had my grandparents, but they weren't there every moment.
My mom was also not known for her fashion sense. I rarely agreed with what she suggested that we buy growing up. Things were always "cool" to her, when they weren't to anyone else except maybe the buyer for the store. And pantyhose, well those were a relationship sore spot. On the way to my high school graduation we had to stop at KMART because "Stephanie, every other girl will have on pantyhose. This is a dressy occasion" Regardless of the fact that I pointed out that you couldn't see my legs under my robe, we still stopped. I made sure to point out every girl (and by every I mean 99/100 girls walking into graduation) that did not have on pantyhose. At my college graduation, she merely questioned me. "Stephanie, are you going to wear pantyhose with that dress?" I just gave her a look that answered her question. By PT school graduation, I just saw her look at my legs. She never asked.
Fast forward a couple years later and we are in Dress Barn. My mom insists that I buy this jacket. I argued and argued, but she went as far as to buy the jacket for me. I never wore it. They were not really in style anymore as far as I could tell. I hung it up in the back of my closet and that is were it stayed. Through the past 2 moves even. I go through my closet periodically to pull out stuff to donate. For some reason I have never gotten rid of it. I guess for whatever reason I kept it after she died because it was a reminder of who my mom really was. In the past year though, I have tried it on a couple times. It still fits. And... my mom was right. Jean jackets aren't out of style after all :-)
I thought about all this on Mother's Day. I know that my mom isn't here to find out all the things I understand about her now. She won't know all the things that I can admit now that she was right about. Or will she. She probably knew all along. And, one day I will realize watching my boys that they knew I was right about one thing or another, even though they will NEVER admit it.
My mom was/still is a very special person to me. I always knew she worked hard, but until I had kids I never knew how hard. I have a fantastic husband. He is great with the kids. He helps out with them more than I hear most of my friends say their husbands do. How my mom managed with just herself I will never know. I realize that she had my grandparents, but they weren't there every moment.
My mom was also not known for her fashion sense. I rarely agreed with what she suggested that we buy growing up. Things were always "cool" to her, when they weren't to anyone else except maybe the buyer for the store. And pantyhose, well those were a relationship sore spot. On the way to my high school graduation we had to stop at KMART because "Stephanie, every other girl will have on pantyhose. This is a dressy occasion" Regardless of the fact that I pointed out that you couldn't see my legs under my robe, we still stopped. I made sure to point out every girl (and by every I mean 99/100 girls walking into graduation) that did not have on pantyhose. At my college graduation, she merely questioned me. "Stephanie, are you going to wear pantyhose with that dress?" I just gave her a look that answered her question. By PT school graduation, I just saw her look at my legs. She never asked.
Fast forward a couple years later and we are in Dress Barn. My mom insists that I buy this jacket. I argued and argued, but she went as far as to buy the jacket for me. I never wore it. They were not really in style anymore as far as I could tell. I hung it up in the back of my closet and that is were it stayed. Through the past 2 moves even. I go through my closet periodically to pull out stuff to donate. For some reason I have never gotten rid of it. I guess for whatever reason I kept it after she died because it was a reminder of who my mom really was. In the past year though, I have tried it on a couple times. It still fits. And... my mom was right. Jean jackets aren't out of style after all :-)
I thought about all this on Mother's Day. I know that my mom isn't here to find out all the things I understand about her now. She won't know all the things that I can admit now that she was right about. Or will she. She probably knew all along. And, one day I will realize watching my boys that they knew I was right about one thing or another, even though they will NEVER admit it.
Monday, April 29, 2013
Line Up Your Daughters, We're Raising a Family Man
This past week we have been digging around the house looking for stuff to sell in the neighborhood garage sale this weekend. Of course, any time you do this you find lots of old stuff. For me, I found my tub of stuffed animals and baby dolls that are meaningful for one reason or another. Obviously, the meaning decreases each year I realize that they have been sitting in the attic. It is unlikely that my 2 boys have any real attachment to stuffed animals from my childhood when they are selective about which ones they currently have that they will play with. Also of note, each time I open this container, the amount of stuff I save decreases.
Sunday afternoon I found this container. I opened it and realized quickly that they all smelled pretty awful. Between the musky smell from being put up and the smoky smell they got from being in my house growing up, you can barely breathe when you open it. Yet another reason I become less attached. This time though I thought I might try to wash them. Then I will know if they are salvageable, and if so, which ones would be good to put in the garage sale. This is one of the larger Tupperware style tubs and probably holds 10-15 items. (This is a drastic improvement from the 2-3 tubs full that I had when I moved away to college). First load...success. They all smell great. I washed the second, and they were left in the dryer. Alone in the tub at the end... my newborn baby doll. She is entirely plastic, so I figured she'd require a hand bath and I had yet to find the energy for that.
Today I stayed home from work with Grayson, who was out of school to use up an extra snow day they didn't use this year. Why they didn't just take off a day at the end of the year, no idea. So we started off at the dentist, ran a few errands, then picked up Braxton and came home early. Braxton found my tub, and thus my baby doll. Braxton absolutely adores our friends baby, Braden. He even looks for Braden's car seat in the hall at daycare where they all get lined up. If he sees it, he wants to see Braden. If he doesn't, he wants to know where he is.
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So I'm cleaning up the kitchen and I hear him rambling about Baby Brother tired. Baby Brother is also a girl, apparently the anatomical difference was lost on both of my boys as the afternoon went on. ...baby brother was also likely cold as his clothes were in the dryer.
Next thing I hear... Braxton dragging out his pillow and a washcloth. He puts baby face down on the couch and starts patting his back.
Then of course, my TV is too loud, so Grayson applied some headphones to drown out the noise. I ended up explaining that if we would just put baby in another room, the TV wouldn't bother him.... so they did. And they insisted I find baby some clothes, and turn on Braxton's lullaby CD. Oh, and set a timer so that baby won't sleep more than 10 minutes for a nap. (Any real parent knows that 10 minutes is only enough time to think about what you might do while baby is asleep, not actually accomplish anything)
Other items on the counter ready for garage sale, unused baby bottles. Can you guess where that leads... luckily Braxton allowed me to replace the requested "baby milk" with water.
Baby Brother cries a lot apparently. He also needs a Paci. Braxton retrieved a paci from the drawer and had me squeeze it in baby's mouth. This is actually quite impressive since Braxton is a paci addict. He only gets his paci at night to fall asleep, but if he happens to get a hold of one during the day.... he'll sneak every moment he can before you catch him.
Time for another nap. Yep, face down on the chair.
But Baby Brother was cold, so we had to drag out every blanket, and the cover for the changing table to keep him warm.
Dinner time at the Weems's house... you bet! This newborn is talented. He can sit up at the table!
Bedtime. As a good parent, I dug around Braxton's bedroom and found his newborn night gown. Baby Brother is ready for bed.
Face Down of course. This baby is bound to be a SIDS statistic.
Now, at some point in all this, Dad comes home from work. I've texted him a couple of pictures. He has never been one to discourage his children from stuff typically reserved for girls, except possibly clothes. He seemed to find the situation amusing. He even went as far as to try to figure out how to keep the bottle from leaking any water while they were feeding Baby Brother. I did at sometime overhear the following while making dinner.
"If you don't leave baby alone for a while, he is going to be really tired"
I'm not sure if Dad was concerned for baby's well being, or was just not sure how much he could take of his sons' including the baby in their daily playtime routine. I did sense a little frustration when he stepped in water coming into the kitchen where the boys had stripped baby down to give him a bath ... with a washcloth and toothbrush. (Hey, at least the boys wanted the baby to be clean right??)
Now come on my mom friends.... which ones of you are slightly excited to see Braxton working on his parenting skills already?? It's not girly for him to have a doll and play house. It just means he is watching some great family dynamics (job sharing) at home and is copying them. We are really raising a true family man! .... now if I can just get dad to model getting his clothes to the laundry hamper, daily dishes, and laundry duty. Then Braxton will be a real keeper!!
Sunday afternoon I found this container. I opened it and realized quickly that they all smelled pretty awful. Between the musky smell from being put up and the smoky smell they got from being in my house growing up, you can barely breathe when you open it. Yet another reason I become less attached. This time though I thought I might try to wash them. Then I will know if they are salvageable, and if so, which ones would be good to put in the garage sale. This is one of the larger Tupperware style tubs and probably holds 10-15 items. (This is a drastic improvement from the 2-3 tubs full that I had when I moved away to college). First load...success. They all smell great. I washed the second, and they were left in the dryer. Alone in the tub at the end... my newborn baby doll. She is entirely plastic, so I figured she'd require a hand bath and I had yet to find the energy for that.
Today I stayed home from work with Grayson, who was out of school to use up an extra snow day they didn't use this year. Why they didn't just take off a day at the end of the year, no idea. So we started off at the dentist, ran a few errands, then picked up Braxton and came home early. Braxton found my tub, and thus my baby doll. Braxton absolutely adores our friends baby, Braden. He even looks for Braden's car seat in the hall at daycare where they all get lined up. If he sees it, he wants to see Braden. If he doesn't, he wants to know where he is.
.JPG)
So I'm cleaning up the kitchen and I hear him rambling about Baby Brother tired. Baby Brother is also a girl, apparently the anatomical difference was lost on both of my boys as the afternoon went on. ...baby brother was also likely cold as his clothes were in the dryer.
Next thing I hear... Braxton dragging out his pillow and a washcloth. He puts baby face down on the couch and starts patting his back.
Then of course, my TV is too loud, so Grayson applied some headphones to drown out the noise. I ended up explaining that if we would just put baby in another room, the TV wouldn't bother him.... so they did. And they insisted I find baby some clothes, and turn on Braxton's lullaby CD. Oh, and set a timer so that baby won't sleep more than 10 minutes for a nap. (Any real parent knows that 10 minutes is only enough time to think about what you might do while baby is asleep, not actually accomplish anything)
Other items on the counter ready for garage sale, unused baby bottles. Can you guess where that leads... luckily Braxton allowed me to replace the requested "baby milk" with water.
Baby Brother cries a lot apparently. He also needs a Paci. Braxton retrieved a paci from the drawer and had me squeeze it in baby's mouth. This is actually quite impressive since Braxton is a paci addict. He only gets his paci at night to fall asleep, but if he happens to get a hold of one during the day.... he'll sneak every moment he can before you catch him.
But Baby Brother was cold, so we had to drag out every blanket, and the cover for the changing table to keep him warm.
Dinner time at the Weems's house... you bet! This newborn is talented. He can sit up at the table!
Bedtime. As a good parent, I dug around Braxton's bedroom and found his newborn night gown. Baby Brother is ready for bed.
Face Down of course. This baby is bound to be a SIDS statistic.
Now, at some point in all this, Dad comes home from work. I've texted him a couple of pictures. He has never been one to discourage his children from stuff typically reserved for girls, except possibly clothes. He seemed to find the situation amusing. He even went as far as to try to figure out how to keep the bottle from leaking any water while they were feeding Baby Brother. I did at sometime overhear the following while making dinner.
"If you don't leave baby alone for a while, he is going to be really tired"
I'm not sure if Dad was concerned for baby's well being, or was just not sure how much he could take of his sons' including the baby in their daily playtime routine. I did sense a little frustration when he stepped in water coming into the kitchen where the boys had stripped baby down to give him a bath ... with a washcloth and toothbrush. (Hey, at least the boys wanted the baby to be clean right??)
Now come on my mom friends.... which ones of you are slightly excited to see Braxton working on his parenting skills already?? It's not girly for him to have a doll and play house. It just means he is watching some great family dynamics (job sharing) at home and is copying them. We are really raising a true family man! .... now if I can just get dad to model getting his clothes to the laundry hamper, daily dishes, and laundry duty. Then Braxton will be a real keeper!!
Monday, April 1, 2013
Sneaky Story Telling
Yesterday was Easter. Everyone was up late coloring eggs and playing... running in circles through the house... Grayson, Braxton, and our friend Noah had a great time! I'm fairly certain that when we designed the open floor house that we live in.... we were not entirely in understanding of what great fun this layout provides for preschoolers!!
Grayson is in a phase where he is scared to go sleep alone. He has quite the imagination so I am sure that this is partly to blame. He is afraid of the dark, afraid of his room, afraid of shadows... you name it. I suppose that this follows all the stuff I've read about having a vivid imagination that just won't shut off for bedtime. So the night before Easter, we suggested that he could camp out on Braxton's bedroom floor. He ended up waking up in the middle of the night and moved camp to our bedroom floor. I for one was excited about the Easter Bunny's visit to our house so I tried to not be too quiet as I started getting ready for church. Eventually Grayson got up and I caught him wandering out into the living room in search of his Easter Basket. He was very excited.... especially when he saw his sand bucket.
"MOM!! The Easter Bunny knew EXACTLY which toy I wanted!!!"
This was fantastic news considering he had seen this bucket several weeks ago at SAMs and nearly had a fit because we didn't buy it for him. Guess its a good thing the Easter Bunny loves him ;-)
Later that day the boys were playing outside and "Aunt Missy" was outside bathing Chester. When I went outside I was summoned over to her. This is pretty close to how this conversation went...
Lyssa: Did you tell Grayson that he can help me?
Me: No, but he can.
Lyssa: Well I didn't think so. He wanted to help and I asked him if he asked you.
(this is a rough translation of their conversation)
Grayson: Yes, she said I could
Lyssa: Did she tell you that you could, or are you just saying that she did?
Grayson: She told me I could, but don't tell her that she told me.
So from this conversation, we can deduct that
1) Grayson is sneaky (I believe I used to get called this by my mom... I'm sure she smiles when she hears his tall tales and how sneaky he is... )
2) My sister has picked up some parenting intuition while being here with the boys.
I'm sure that the boys will be heartbroken when Missy moves out, but I'm sure she'll stop by to babysit... I mean eat dinner ;-) Perhaps we can start a routine "date night" with Aunt Missy for the boys.
Grayson is in a phase where he is scared to go sleep alone. He has quite the imagination so I am sure that this is partly to blame. He is afraid of the dark, afraid of his room, afraid of shadows... you name it. I suppose that this follows all the stuff I've read about having a vivid imagination that just won't shut off for bedtime. So the night before Easter, we suggested that he could camp out on Braxton's bedroom floor. He ended up waking up in the middle of the night and moved camp to our bedroom floor. I for one was excited about the Easter Bunny's visit to our house so I tried to not be too quiet as I started getting ready for church. Eventually Grayson got up and I caught him wandering out into the living room in search of his Easter Basket. He was very excited.... especially when he saw his sand bucket.
"MOM!! The Easter Bunny knew EXACTLY which toy I wanted!!!"
This was fantastic news considering he had seen this bucket several weeks ago at SAMs and nearly had a fit because we didn't buy it for him. Guess its a good thing the Easter Bunny loves him ;-)
Later that day the boys were playing outside and "Aunt Missy" was outside bathing Chester. When I went outside I was summoned over to her. This is pretty close to how this conversation went...
Lyssa: Did you tell Grayson that he can help me?
Me: No, but he can.
Lyssa: Well I didn't think so. He wanted to help and I asked him if he asked you.
(this is a rough translation of their conversation)
Grayson: Yes, she said I could
Lyssa: Did she tell you that you could, or are you just saying that she did?
Grayson: She told me I could, but don't tell her that she told me.
So from this conversation, we can deduct that
1) Grayson is sneaky (I believe I used to get called this by my mom... I'm sure she smiles when she hears his tall tales and how sneaky he is... )
2) My sister has picked up some parenting intuition while being here with the boys.
I'm sure that the boys will be heartbroken when Missy moves out, but I'm sure she'll stop by to babysit... I mean eat dinner ;-) Perhaps we can start a routine "date night" with Aunt Missy for the boys.
Friday, March 29, 2013
REJECTED
I knew this day would come. I knew it. Mom can't ALWAYS be the most important person. I have tried to prepare myself for this day, but geez. He just turned 5. Five. That is it. Five years old... and he rejected me. Not for Dad. This has already happened and is sometimes a blessing when I'm exhausted.... He rejected me for his friends.
I went to Holy Souls Wednesday morning for his Easter Egg Hunt/ Easter Lunch. I got there early because I had signed up to help walk the class down the street to the neighborhood park. Grayson was excited to see me. He always runs up to the classroom door to open it. (The doors are locked from the outside and open to the parking lot so he always sees me coming. When we walked to the park he stayed by me and we walked there talking to his little buddies. He easily put himself in line on the curb with the rest of his class. This in itself is a big step for Grayson over the last year. In the past he would have clung to me and not wanted to go sit there unless I went with him. Grayson ran away as fast as his new shoes would take him (remember, the new ones are always faster than the old ones he tells me) and quickly found his 12 eggs he was allowed. Then he joined the other kids on the playground. He would yell for me to watch him on the slide or to watch him slide down the fireman-like pole. It was pretty fun to watch them... and to save the ones that climbed a little too high and were stranded.
What Grayson may have forgotten, was that now I have seen him use the fireman's pole. He can longer pretend like he can't do this and ask for help. Based on his performance, I am convinced that he has been able to do this for a while, but was pretending like he couldn't so that he could get some attention.
After about an hour, it was time to line up to go back to school. He got in line and walked beside me for about 1/4 of the way there. He even held my hand for about 200 feet. Then he lets go. "Mom, I don't want to hold your hand anymore" And then.... he ran ahead. Just left me. I think had another mom not been walking next to me and talking, I might have been so stunned that I would have stopped walking all together. The only time I got close to him again before we got back was when his small group had gotten far enough behind from the teacher and a couple other kids that I had to run ahead to keep them from crossing the street without looking. (Which of course there was a truck coming so my heart was racing a bit).
After we got back to class it was lunchtime. They had planned to eat at the park, but it was pretty chilly so they decided to go back to the classroom. I parked myself at Grayson's table and helped all the kids at the table get their lunches opened and assembled. This also gave me an opportunity to scope out what the other kids bring. I'm not very creative with making lunches so Grayson gets Lunchables a lot. I always wanted Lunchables when I was growing up, but they were too expensive. Grayson definitely has a luxury with this. He just doesn't know it. I do occasionally try to change up his lunch so it is healthier, but it often comes home nearly as full as it left. I have decided that I will just keep sending a healthy side (fruit, etc) with his Lunchable for now :-) After several minutes it was just me and one other dad left with the eating kids. I was in no hurry since it was my off day for work. Then it happened again.
Grayson: " Mom, you can go now"
Me: "Um, okay then. Love you. Have a fun afternoon!"
So I kissed his head (luckily he isn't too big for a hug and small kiss yet, but I'm sure it's next) and left. Then I immediately called Dusty to tell him I was rejected. I was joking about it and proud that he was growing up enough to not need me all the time.... but I think there was just that one little piece of my heart that broke. I'm sure that won't be a first either.
I went to Holy Souls Wednesday morning for his Easter Egg Hunt/ Easter Lunch. I got there early because I had signed up to help walk the class down the street to the neighborhood park. Grayson was excited to see me. He always runs up to the classroom door to open it. (The doors are locked from the outside and open to the parking lot so he always sees me coming. When we walked to the park he stayed by me and we walked there talking to his little buddies. He easily put himself in line on the curb with the rest of his class. This in itself is a big step for Grayson over the last year. In the past he would have clung to me and not wanted to go sit there unless I went with him. Grayson ran away as fast as his new shoes would take him (remember, the new ones are always faster than the old ones he tells me) and quickly found his 12 eggs he was allowed. Then he joined the other kids on the playground. He would yell for me to watch him on the slide or to watch him slide down the fireman-like pole. It was pretty fun to watch them... and to save the ones that climbed a little too high and were stranded.
What Grayson may have forgotten, was that now I have seen him use the fireman's pole. He can longer pretend like he can't do this and ask for help. Based on his performance, I am convinced that he has been able to do this for a while, but was pretending like he couldn't so that he could get some attention.
After about an hour, it was time to line up to go back to school. He got in line and walked beside me for about 1/4 of the way there. He even held my hand for about 200 feet. Then he lets go. "Mom, I don't want to hold your hand anymore" And then.... he ran ahead. Just left me. I think had another mom not been walking next to me and talking, I might have been so stunned that I would have stopped walking all together. The only time I got close to him again before we got back was when his small group had gotten far enough behind from the teacher and a couple other kids that I had to run ahead to keep them from crossing the street without looking. (Which of course there was a truck coming so my heart was racing a bit).
After we got back to class it was lunchtime. They had planned to eat at the park, but it was pretty chilly so they decided to go back to the classroom. I parked myself at Grayson's table and helped all the kids at the table get their lunches opened and assembled. This also gave me an opportunity to scope out what the other kids bring. I'm not very creative with making lunches so Grayson gets Lunchables a lot. I always wanted Lunchables when I was growing up, but they were too expensive. Grayson definitely has a luxury with this. He just doesn't know it. I do occasionally try to change up his lunch so it is healthier, but it often comes home nearly as full as it left. I have decided that I will just keep sending a healthy side (fruit, etc) with his Lunchable for now :-) After several minutes it was just me and one other dad left with the eating kids. I was in no hurry since it was my off day for work. Then it happened again.
Grayson: " Mom, you can go now"
Me: "Um, okay then. Love you. Have a fun afternoon!"
So I kissed his head (luckily he isn't too big for a hug and small kiss yet, but I'm sure it's next) and left. Then I immediately called Dusty to tell him I was rejected. I was joking about it and proud that he was growing up enough to not need me all the time.... but I think there was just that one little piece of my heart that broke. I'm sure that won't be a first either.
Saturday, March 2, 2013
"Spring" Soccer
Today was Grayson's first soccer game of the spring season. That being said, I have decided that we should have waited until Spring to actually have a spring season. As mentioned previously, last Wednesday Grayson had "skills and drills"... and it was FREEZING. So Friday night we eat out so we can run around town looking for some winter gear for Grayson to wear with his "Spring" Soccer uniform. Shorts and a jersey didn't sound warm enough when game time temperature is cold enough for snow. Yep, we had snow during the game. We started at Academy, thinking it would be our best bet, we found an Under Armour shirt and some hand warmers. Grand Total: $46 plus tax. Ouch. I know that stuff is expensive, but he is 4. He won't wear that shirt in a couple weeks, and then by next cold weather season, he will have outgrown it. So at 8:15 we head to Target, hoping to find something for under his wind pants. They of course didn't have this, but they did have a less popular brand of "under armour". We bought this on clearance for $10. Guess who will be heading back to academy with her receipt later this week :-)
After our experience of being under dressed earlier this week, we were not about to be the coldest parents on the field. We bought the hand warmers for pockets, and Dusty, in his efforts to find something for under Grayson's pants, purchased 2 pairs of thermal underwear bottoms. I have never shopped for or worn those... and I'm guessing that he didn't bother to see if they made them in a girls version.... so he proudly shows off the pair he bought me... obviously they are designed for men. As far as I know there are zero uses for the front opening on the pants he got for me. Especially since they are not made for short girls... the opening lines up with about my mid stomach. They probably could latch on to the bottom of my bra line, but I tried them on to see if they would work. They fit okay I suppose, considering nobody will see them... and by nobody I mean NOBODY. Not even Dusty. He seemed a little offended that when I tried them on, I took them off before coming back out of the bathroom. Not exactly sure why he thought that would be a cute sight. And he knows better than to laugh about how they look considering he bought MENS stuff for me. Despite them being absolutely ridiculous looking on me, I did wear them under my jeans. And they managed to keep me completely comfortable when paired with my winter coat, hat, and gloves. Glad to say that nobody noticed that I had them on and that they were rolled down and covered the top of my jeans. Ten years ago I never would have told this story, but as I've gotten older I've decided that its much for fun to share all the silly stuff than to be embarrassed.
As for the soccer, it was entertaining. Whats not to be entertaining about several 4 and 5 year olds running around, especially at game one when some kids wore the wrong jersey color and so it was difficulty to keep up with who was on your team. At one point today I heard a kid yell at Grayson "I'm on your team!!!" Kind made me laugh. At least he knows to try to get the ball and kick it towards his goal!
After our experience of being under dressed earlier this week, we were not about to be the coldest parents on the field. We bought the hand warmers for pockets, and Dusty, in his efforts to find something for under Grayson's pants, purchased 2 pairs of thermal underwear bottoms. I have never shopped for or worn those... and I'm guessing that he didn't bother to see if they made them in a girls version.... so he proudly shows off the pair he bought me... obviously they are designed for men. As far as I know there are zero uses for the front opening on the pants he got for me. Especially since they are not made for short girls... the opening lines up with about my mid stomach. They probably could latch on to the bottom of my bra line, but I tried them on to see if they would work. They fit okay I suppose, considering nobody will see them... and by nobody I mean NOBODY. Not even Dusty. He seemed a little offended that when I tried them on, I took them off before coming back out of the bathroom. Not exactly sure why he thought that would be a cute sight. And he knows better than to laugh about how they look considering he bought MENS stuff for me. Despite them being absolutely ridiculous looking on me, I did wear them under my jeans. And they managed to keep me completely comfortable when paired with my winter coat, hat, and gloves. Glad to say that nobody noticed that I had them on and that they were rolled down and covered the top of my jeans. Ten years ago I never would have told this story, but as I've gotten older I've decided that its much for fun to share all the silly stuff than to be embarrassed.
As for the soccer, it was entertaining. Whats not to be entertaining about several 4 and 5 year olds running around, especially at game one when some kids wore the wrong jersey color and so it was difficulty to keep up with who was on your team. At one point today I heard a kid yell at Grayson "I'm on your team!!!" Kind made me laugh. At least he knows to try to get the ball and kick it towards his goal!
Thursday, February 28, 2013
One Soccer Mom, One Boy, and Two Cheetahs
Many of you know we finally signed Grayson up for spring soccer. He has been pestering us to play soccer for a while. I have to admit, as a new soccer mom, I am not 100% sure that I'm ready to give up my Saturday mornings just yet. I suppose learning to not be selfish is part of this parenting contract we are in for a "few more" years.
This past Friday we went to Academy to look for a soccer ball, shin guards, and most importantly soccer shoes. It didn't take Grayson long to pick out some shoes.
"Look! Cheetah Shoes!!"
This is what we hear Grayson excitedly proclaim when he notices a pair of Puma's. Lord please help us all that these shoes will fit. Grayson was so excited about them. He just knew that these Cheetah shoes would make him the fastest soccer player on the team.... This is yet to be determined.... We got them on his feet and after several sprints in the shoe department to check for proper fit, we packed up our Cheetah shoes and moved on.
For a good laugh, picture Grayson sprinting down the isle in Academy with his "Cheetah" Shoes and a shadow about a foot shorter wearing shoes the exact same size (and obviously too big) trying to be just like brother. I probably would have bought him a pair of cheetah shoes if they had had some in his size!
I occasionally recall my mom telling me to be nice to my sister, she was just trying to be like me. I always was frustrated by this... but I laugh now thinking of how exceptionally ridiculous my sister must have looked trying to imitate someone nearly 4 years older. Sometimes watching Braxton I just have to sigh because there is no way he can possibly perform at the same skill level as his brother.... but he'd gladly break a leg or two trying.
My first experience in true Soccer Mom mode was Wednesday. All the kids that are playing for the YMCA in Little Rock were invited to the "Skills and Drills" Practice. It started at 5:45 so I picked Grayson up from extended care around 4:00. We went to get Braxton and then went home to get our clothes changed and eat some dinner. I figured this would be an early dinner so I didn't really expect my skinny boys to eat anything. Braxton met my expectations. Grayson... ate every bit. He ate his 1/2 peanut butter and jelly sandwich, chips, trail mix, and a couple other random things. We loaded up and went out to practice. I may have made a mistake by underestimating the wind chill. Braxton and Mom spent most of practice in the car watching, while Dad sacrificed and froze out near the field. Sometimes I have to admire the suffering that guys will go through to keep a girl happy (and warm in this case)
After practice as we are driving away, Grayson mentions multiple times that he is hungry. I had to laugh because he is not always a very big eater. After a few reminders that he is hungry and we haven't turned in to anywhere serving food... he exasperatedly says " Are you guys not hungry?"
Before you worry about him... we did stop and get him a taco. He ate two dinners. At age 4. If we keep up this trend I might need to take out a second mortgage to feed him as a teenager.
This past Friday we went to Academy to look for a soccer ball, shin guards, and most importantly soccer shoes. It didn't take Grayson long to pick out some shoes.
"Look! Cheetah Shoes!!"
This is what we hear Grayson excitedly proclaim when he notices a pair of Puma's. Lord please help us all that these shoes will fit. Grayson was so excited about them. He just knew that these Cheetah shoes would make him the fastest soccer player on the team.... This is yet to be determined.... We got them on his feet and after several sprints in the shoe department to check for proper fit, we packed up our Cheetah shoes and moved on.
For a good laugh, picture Grayson sprinting down the isle in Academy with his "Cheetah" Shoes and a shadow about a foot shorter wearing shoes the exact same size (and obviously too big) trying to be just like brother. I probably would have bought him a pair of cheetah shoes if they had had some in his size!
I occasionally recall my mom telling me to be nice to my sister, she was just trying to be like me. I always was frustrated by this... but I laugh now thinking of how exceptionally ridiculous my sister must have looked trying to imitate someone nearly 4 years older. Sometimes watching Braxton I just have to sigh because there is no way he can possibly perform at the same skill level as his brother.... but he'd gladly break a leg or two trying.
My first experience in true Soccer Mom mode was Wednesday. All the kids that are playing for the YMCA in Little Rock were invited to the "Skills and Drills" Practice. It started at 5:45 so I picked Grayson up from extended care around 4:00. We went to get Braxton and then went home to get our clothes changed and eat some dinner. I figured this would be an early dinner so I didn't really expect my skinny boys to eat anything. Braxton met my expectations. Grayson... ate every bit. He ate his 1/2 peanut butter and jelly sandwich, chips, trail mix, and a couple other random things. We loaded up and went out to practice. I may have made a mistake by underestimating the wind chill. Braxton and Mom spent most of practice in the car watching, while Dad sacrificed and froze out near the field. Sometimes I have to admire the suffering that guys will go through to keep a girl happy (and warm in this case)
After practice as we are driving away, Grayson mentions multiple times that he is hungry. I had to laugh because he is not always a very big eater. After a few reminders that he is hungry and we haven't turned in to anywhere serving food... he exasperatedly says " Are you guys not hungry?"
Before you worry about him... we did stop and get him a taco. He ate two dinners. At age 4. If we keep up this trend I might need to take out a second mortgage to feed him as a teenager.
Friday, February 8, 2013
SUPER FLY
My children ARE superheros. From the second they get up, to when they go to bed we are either watching, talking about, eating vitamins shaped like, or pretending to be superheros. I have to admit that this is absolutely one of my favorite things and I even decided last weekend that had Braxton asked to keep his cape on when we left for church that I was going to proudly take him in like that. But he didn't. I was almost a bit sad. I guess it would only have drawn more attention to us had he been loud anyway.
If you haven't ever seen it there is a television show called "Super Why". They are ... SuperReaders. Its a cute little show with letters and words and problem solving. It is also on our netflix (which I prefer often over television stations for the boys in order to avoid commercials that just add "needs" to Grayson's list) so the boys watch it periodically. Braxton even likes it. The main character in this show has a cape and eye mask.
Lately whenever Braxton wants his cape he brings it to me to put on and says "SUPER FLY!" It is so stinking cute and hilarious that he thinks that is what they are saying. He will run around the house yelling it. I crack up every time. Our Little Superhero is absolutely "superfly"
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If you haven't ever seen it there is a television show called "Super Why". They are ... SuperReaders. Its a cute little show with letters and words and problem solving. It is also on our netflix (which I prefer often over television stations for the boys in order to avoid commercials that just add "needs" to Grayson's list) so the boys watch it periodically. Braxton even likes it. The main character in this show has a cape and eye mask.
Lately whenever Braxton wants his cape he brings it to me to put on and says "SUPER FLY!" It is so stinking cute and hilarious that he thinks that is what they are saying. He will run around the house yelling it. I crack up every time. Our Little Superhero is absolutely "superfly"
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Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Instruction for Sneaking Out of The House
Sneaking out of the house ......toys that is.....is apparently a hot topic in PreK. Grayson always sticks a few toys in his backpack to play with in after school care. The latest hot toys in his little mind are BeyBlades and apparently his little friend Ricky happens to have some.
Now I may or may not have mentioned before that Grayson is quite the scammer. I wonder after hearing this story tonight how long he has been working on getting his classmate involved in an effort to get his hands on some BeyBlades. (Grayson doesn't have any but they are on every list for times he could possibly get a gift this year) Dad asked Grayson today if he got to play with BeyBlades at school today and he was told "No, Ricky's dad caught him sneaking them to school so we didn't get to play".
As I am hearing this story, Grayson is sitting in the bath telling us how Ricky needed to change his tactics (tiptoe and be more quiet) in order to sneak his toys to school. In the back of my mind I am hearing my sneaky child (who generally tells us he is being sneaky so it defeats his efforts) planning this attempt with his friend. Perhaps I need to start being more aware of him helping others be sneaky in an effort to benefit himself since he is unable to sneak off to the store to purchase what he wants.
Once again I feel that I have been let down by our parents who neglected to tell us that four year olds are practicing their pre-teen skills and this is our chance to start figuring out how to work the system in our favor. I am a little nervous about the future seeing as it takes significant energy to keep up with the current schemes.
Now I may or may not have mentioned before that Grayson is quite the scammer. I wonder after hearing this story tonight how long he has been working on getting his classmate involved in an effort to get his hands on some BeyBlades. (Grayson doesn't have any but they are on every list for times he could possibly get a gift this year) Dad asked Grayson today if he got to play with BeyBlades at school today and he was told "No, Ricky's dad caught him sneaking them to school so we didn't get to play".
As I am hearing this story, Grayson is sitting in the bath telling us how Ricky needed to change his tactics (tiptoe and be more quiet) in order to sneak his toys to school. In the back of my mind I am hearing my sneaky child (who generally tells us he is being sneaky so it defeats his efforts) planning this attempt with his friend. Perhaps I need to start being more aware of him helping others be sneaky in an effort to benefit himself since he is unable to sneak off to the store to purchase what he wants.
Once again I feel that I have been let down by our parents who neglected to tell us that four year olds are practicing their pre-teen skills and this is our chance to start figuring out how to work the system in our favor. I am a little nervous about the future seeing as it takes significant energy to keep up with the current schemes.
Our Sneaky Little Guy
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Rules to Fit
This weekend was filled with fun. Saturday we met up with Grayson's best friend Devin and his family for an outing to the zoo. It seems we always go together. I imagine the workers there think we are one big family. After a few hours at the zoo mom and dad got a couple quiet hours at home while Braxton napped and Grayson went to play at Devin's. My friends might get ideas when we say we had quiet time with no kids running around.... but...Quiet Time= finally sort through our latest quotes for new life insurance policies and decide if they meet our needs. We've been married a while now my friends :-)
After we picked up Grayson, Dusty ordered a pizza and picked up the last of the Shrek series to watch. We even let the boys stay up a little late to watch the movie. Both passed out in no time once ready for bed :-)
And as expected with every "Fall Back" weekend... both boys were up before my clocks adjusted time read 7:30. Bummer. We ran a few errands today and Grayson talked us into some $1 wooden cars you put together. Nothing like a trip to Michaels to make you buy crafty stuff. So while mom cleaned and Braxton napped, Dad and Grayson put together some cars.
About the middle of this process Dad came in to tell me about Grayson's race. They were "racing" just the wheels they had put together. According to Dad, his wheels stopped a couple inches farther away than Grayson's. He informed Grayson he had lost. Grayson had a different opinion. He said they both won.
He explained that they tied, because the fninsh line was in fact.... a diagonal! It ran from Dad's wheels to Grayson's wheels. Convenient Huh?
Always nice to adjust the rules of the game as you go.... wish it worked that way in every day life!!!!
After we picked up Grayson, Dusty ordered a pizza and picked up the last of the Shrek series to watch. We even let the boys stay up a little late to watch the movie. Both passed out in no time once ready for bed :-)
And as expected with every "Fall Back" weekend... both boys were up before my clocks adjusted time read 7:30. Bummer. We ran a few errands today and Grayson talked us into some $1 wooden cars you put together. Nothing like a trip to Michaels to make you buy crafty stuff. So while mom cleaned and Braxton napped, Dad and Grayson put together some cars.
About the middle of this process Dad came in to tell me about Grayson's race. They were "racing" just the wheels they had put together. According to Dad, his wheels stopped a couple inches farther away than Grayson's. He informed Grayson he had lost. Grayson had a different opinion. He said they both won.
He explained that they tied, because the fninsh line was in fact.... a diagonal! It ran from Dad's wheels to Grayson's wheels. Convenient Huh?
Always nice to adjust the rules of the game as you go.... wish it worked that way in every day life!!!!
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Ava's Birthday Party
Grayson does not like Girls. Or so he claims. Everything is "Will there be any boys there?" "I don't want her to babysit, she is a girl." I guess I get a free pass being mom? He at least pretends to love me.
A few weeks ago Grayson brought home a birthday party invitation. The party was for his classmate Ava. I have volunteered for recess duty at school a couple times, but haven't yet learned everyone's names so I really wasn't sure who Ava was. Grayson likes a good birthday party so I decided to ask him if he wanted to go.
Mom: Gray, do you want to go to Ava's Birthday Party?
Grayson: Ava from school?
Mom: Yes.
Grayson: Oh mom, Ava has looooong pretty hair. (sure he doesn't like girls)
Mom: Do you want to go to her party?
Grayson: Well Yeah (like I asked the most obvious question ever)
Mom: Well you will have to buy her a girl present.
Grayson: Why?
Mom: Because Ava is a girl, she would probably like a girl present.
Grayson: Well, I guess we can get her a mermaid.
Mermaid. Let me just go grab one of those to take. Lucky for me, there is apparently a Barbie Mermaid movie that was out recently so there are plenty of mermaids out there to buy.
So we make it over to Ava's party. Grayson kept up with Ava all night. Whichever area in Jump Zone Ava went, so did Gray. And between them, I'm pretty sure he chased her the entire time.
A few weeks ago Grayson brought home a birthday party invitation. The party was for his classmate Ava. I have volunteered for recess duty at school a couple times, but haven't yet learned everyone's names so I really wasn't sure who Ava was. Grayson likes a good birthday party so I decided to ask him if he wanted to go.
Mom: Gray, do you want to go to Ava's Birthday Party?
Grayson: Ava from school?
Mom: Yes.
Grayson: Oh mom, Ava has looooong pretty hair. (sure he doesn't like girls)
Mom: Do you want to go to her party?
Grayson: Well Yeah (like I asked the most obvious question ever)
Mom: Well you will have to buy her a girl present.
Grayson: Why?
Mom: Because Ava is a girl, she would probably like a girl present.
Grayson: Well, I guess we can get her a mermaid.
Mermaid. Let me just go grab one of those to take. Lucky for me, there is apparently a Barbie Mermaid movie that was out recently so there are plenty of mermaids out there to buy.
So we make it over to Ava's party. Grayson kept up with Ava all night. Whichever area in Jump Zone Ava went, so did Gray. And between them, I'm pretty sure he chased her the entire time.
Ava is in the front row wearing black, and has some nice blue lips from the cake... if you make note, she does have long pretty hair :-)
Margaringo!
When I was little I attended a Catholic elementary school. I didn't ever really hate school, but once I started in the public schools, I realized I was much happier. I swore to myself that my kids would never attend a private school. So much for that :-) That was long before the move to Little Rock and getting tired of trying to play the system to get my kid in a school that was good for him. Grayson now happily attends Holy Souls.
The downside to this realization that private school might be our best fit, is that there are always fundraisers. Even before school started we were given raffle tickets to sell. Then there was the Boosterthon where at least Grayson had to run laps to earn his money. We have also had Tshirt sales and Fall Fest (this is only the first 9 weeks people). Every time you turn around there is a fundraiser..... but..... being a Catholic school of course they had the BEST fundraiser idea ever.
GIRLS NIGHT OUT
Complete with Margaritas, Bingo, Wine, Beer, Nachos, Popcorn, and lots of entertainment from the fellow attendees. Never thought a school fundraiser would be good people watching ;-) And of course I didn't win any of the bingo games or the prizes, many of which came with a bottle of wine (who would have guessed that one?).
Anyway ready for Next Year's Girls Night Out Margaringo?!?!?
The downside to this realization that private school might be our best fit, is that there are always fundraisers. Even before school started we were given raffle tickets to sell. Then there was the Boosterthon where at least Grayson had to run laps to earn his money. We have also had Tshirt sales and Fall Fest (this is only the first 9 weeks people). Every time you turn around there is a fundraiser..... but..... being a Catholic school of course they had the BEST fundraiser idea ever.
GIRLS NIGHT OUT
Complete with Margaritas, Bingo, Wine, Beer, Nachos, Popcorn, and lots of entertainment from the fellow attendees. Never thought a school fundraiser would be good people watching ;-) And of course I didn't win any of the bingo games or the prizes, many of which came with a bottle of wine (who would have guessed that one?).
Anyway ready for Next Year's Girls Night Out Margaringo?!?!?
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