Monday, March 31, 2008

Oh My Achin'!

Think limber thought for me, internets...I'm taking my kid to a weekly "Yoga and Crafts Class" at our local Science Center tomorrow. I'm not sure why the center offers yoga for small children and their (crazy) parents, but they do...and we're going. If we like it, we'll start going every week. If we don't, it's probably because I've thrown my back out, and in that case, please feel free to come on over and do a load of laundry...maybe wash some dishes and cook me dinner, okay?

And also...



Happy Birthday, Aunt Mary!

WLYOMTYCES!

Anna and Lucas

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Be Prepared to Drool...


I just bought this duvet cover and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! I was stalking it for awhile after the holidays, waiting for it to go on sale, and then POOF! It was gone, never to be seen on the Pottery Barn shelves again. Until just the other day, when I popped in for a quick look around and there it was...in all it's glory. Now all I need are the matching pillow shams.

Saturday, March 29, 2008

What Every Four Year Old Wants for His Birthday...

We had a birthday party to attend today for a boy we really don't know that well. To be truthful, I had forgotten all about it. What? So I don't find every four year old's birthday as thrilling as my own child's? Sue me. I didn't RSVP, but lucky me, they live right next door...so they can see that my car is home and called to remind me. Anyway, we made a mad dash out to Walmart this morning, because even though I have a gift closet full of four-year-old-appropriate birthday items, Lucas was positive the kid wanted a hand mixer for his birthday. (Rest easy folks...I didn't buy the kid a hand mixer.) (Although it would have been hilarious to me to watch him open it.) It's hard explaining to a little kid that not all children are forced to cook three meals a day for their mother love to work in the kitchen.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

The Future's So Bright...

Gotta wear shades.
Finally, a day of sunshine that was not also 7 degrees.
(For the record, that's the first pair of sunglasses he has ever owned that weren't actually intended for adults. Usually, if I want him to be able to wear them without leaving permanent red marks along the side of his face I need to buy them in the adult section. His noggin' is spectacularly large for such a small boy. But these little beauties we bought at Gap Kids.)

Monday, March 24, 2008

Made My Day

I was driving to work yesterday, Easter Sunday, when I realized that the car ahead of me was my old Corolla. It took me minute to realize that the guy was pulling into the hospital where I work, and another minute to realize that he was rocking out to whatever he was listening to on the radio, and it made me So. Happy. I loved that car like it was a person, and even though I knew it was old and falling apart and not at all something I should pour money into fixing, it broke my heart a little to sell it. It was, after all, the car I brought my son home from the hospital in. It was filled with memories for me, of first trips to the doctors, dentists, haircuts and road trips. And I realize it's just a car, but I feel like only I knew all it's little quirks, and I wasn't at all sure that it's new owner would love it like I loved it...like it was a member of the family. So I consider the sighting my little Easter miracle...and although I probably got a bit disproportionately happy to see my old junker driving down the road, it did warm my heart to see the driver drumming out a beat on the steering wheel...so I know it's still loved.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

The View From Three Feet

Happy Easter!

If you were wondering if my alarm went off this morning, it didn't. If you were wondering if I woke up in a timely fashion on my own, I did not. If you wondering if I broke a glass bottle at the convenience store that sells my favorite fountain soda in a GINORMOUS cup this morning, I did indeed. (I might never be able to show my face there ever again...and the only other store around here that sells fountain soda in cups that big doesn't have their mix quite right and it tastes funny...which, if you know me in person, is absolutely tragic.) Thank you for inquiring. My Easter is off to a stellar start. Luckily, all I had to do today was wake up, dress myself, and eat ham until my blue jeans felt too tight...and I did eventually do all three.

On to topics much more fun...Lucas and his camera. We shall be showcasing his work here on occasion, starting today. Some of the pictures might make sense to you and some may not...but he is choosing the picture that gets posted...so it's any one's guess. And now....drum roll please...the first installment of...The View From Three Feet.
Also...I got my butt kicked in Guitar Hero today, which was crushing to my ego. I might have been heard yelling "THE BABY JESUS DOESN'T LIKE A CHEATER, BEN!!!" to my poor brother, although, to be fair, it's not his fault he beat me just because he gets to practice all the time. Anyway...hope you are all having a lovely day and Happy Easter.

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Fair Trade

What we have left for the Easter Bunny (from scratch, of course)...What the Easter Bunny will leave for us...(or Lucas, I should say, as I don't really need any more Disney Cars, ring pops or V. Smile games...thankyouverymuch.)

I think the Easter Bunny might be getting the short end of the stick, here...don't you?

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

His Teen Years Should Be Super Fun

My child has taken to calling me by my first name in the last week or so. He claims that he needs to to "get my attention". Well...he's got it.

Today while browsing through The Store Filled with Things that I Really Don't Need But Sure Do Want The Christmas Tree Shops he kept calling me Anna, over and over, in a crowd full of people. I told him that he may call me Mom, Mother, Mommy, Mama or Dear...but it's not good manners to call your mother by her first name, to which he replied...
"But you don't call me 'son', you call me Lucas....because it's my naaaaaame. Anna is your naaaaame." (Said in the same tone you might hear if the sentence went...."because it's your name.....stupid.")

I, of course, couldn't come up with an answer to that...as it's true.

I am not ready for this sassyness...I want my three year old back...four is mouthy.

Monday, March 17, 2008

How Dare I?

I did something terrible today. I offered the kid a Girl Scout Thin Mint cookie. He acted all happy for his cookie, all appreciative...until he took a bite. Oh! The horror! "I don't LIKE raisins! You know I don't like raisins!." Let me just say that, first: He does like raisins, we fight over chocolate covered raisins every time we go the movies. And second: To the best of my knowledge (which includes several decades of Girl Scout cookie eating experiences) there are no raisins in the thin mint cookies. I pointed out both of these things to him as he made retching noises in the back seat and begged for water. "Well, you know I don't like mint, either!"

I'm thinking that the consumption of our three boxes will fall to me...the things I do for that boy.

***********************************
Also, he informed today that I could "apologize to him whenever I was ready." When I asked him what I might be apologizing for, he said, "Remember when you yelled at me for whining, and I didn't stop whining because I couldn't stop whining? Well, you shouldn't yell at me for that and you should apologize." Guess what...he was still whining even then. You're shocked, I can tell.

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Yum

I am addicted to fond of Almond M&Ms...it doesn't help that they come in such pretty Easter colors right now.

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Glad It's Over.

Yesterday kind of sucked. Lucas was in a R.O.T.T.E.N. mood. Is there anyway to make that more of a statement? Because, truly, that does not really sum up our day. Maybe type it in RED or make everything ITALIC! It was really quite a miserable 13 hours filled with healthy doses of whiiiiiining and crying about everything including, but not limited to: People looking at him, touching him, ruffling his hair, dogs in same zip code as he was, having his ice cream melt after several warnings that ice cream does not last forever (Something he obviously already knows.), dogs that dared to bark within a 200 mile radius of his precious self, did I mention that someone looked at him? Oh. My. Gracious. I love him, I do, but I would have gladly sold him to the gypsies for a dollar yesterday (and then felt a little guilty for overcharging).

I finally snapped at him on the drive home from a friend's house that he was not to speak again until we got home. When we got inside I sent him upstairs to use the bathroom and wash his hands before dinner and he snapped back..."You can't talk to me like that 'cause I'm a NEPHEW!" Uh, what? Yeah...he went on to tell me that Uncle Ben doesn't snap at him like that and either does Grandma, and being the mature adult that I am I told him that they didn't have to spend the whole day with him, today, so there. Nice, I know.

We did make up over dinner and I rubbed his feet until he fell asleep, but let me tell you, I almost cried tears of joy as I watched his eye lids flutter shut and I knew that the day was finally over.

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake


Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Quote of the Day

"Mom...I'm finished my ice cream. It gave me a wicked ice cream headache. But I liked it!"

Side note: "Wicked" appears to be our word of the week.

Monday, March 10, 2008

Because the Easter Bunny Loves Gingerbread



(This is the face I get every time I ask him to smile...his chin triples in size and he starts to scowl, or maybe it's a squint? Either way, funny. Even funnier is that I seem to do the same thing. All my pictures usually come out with me squinting so hard my eyes disappear and my chin quadruples. Must be a family trait...lucky us.)

Sunday, March 9, 2008

Sent to his Room

Oh, the tears. And the drama. Did I mention the tears?

We were having a perfectly lovely day puttering around the house when I realized that the plow man, who doesn't normally grace us with his presence until 2pm on most days, decided to whip through our complex a few hours early...while I was in the shower. Since I didn't hear him coming, I didn't move my car out to the other side of the lot so that he could plow out our parking spaces (which would have been really really swell since we're in the throws of an ice storm and it's, well, icy). Great. Not wanting to tick off my neighbor, who also didn't get his parking area plowed thanks to me, I dressed Lucas and myself, (I was wearing capri pajama bottoms, orange and pink flowered rain boots, a sweatshirt and damp hair...thank you for wondering) and we headed out to do what the plow man did not. I didn't realize that any part of shoveling involved pitching a right fit, so I was unprepared for what came next.

My shovel touched his snow.

And then all hell broke loose and world ended. So if you felt like there some sort of cosmic shift today but you couldn't really put your finger on it? That was totally my fault and I'm sorry.

The tears wouldn't stop and the whining got louder and I tried to explain to him that, hello!? There is PLENTY of snow to go around. Like actual metric tons of snow. Take your pick...how 'bout some of this snow, or maybe some from that pile over there? No? How about if I take that tiny bit of snow that my shovel touched and put it back into your pile there and then never look at your snow pile or your shovel ever again? Still no?

I couldn't take another second of the screeching so I pointed my finger at him and then at our front door and I demanded that he GO. TO. HIS. ROOM. I have never sent him to room before. I wasn't even sure after I ordered him to go that he would know what to do. Which sounds silly, I know...but...still. I let him struggle a little with the door and he made his way in and closed it behind him. I continued to shovel until I was done (or mostly done) and I went inside to survey the damage. Heh. I had to try REALLY hard not to laugh. There inside the door were his boots, right where they belong and his jacket was hung on his hook. So even in the throws of a good tantrum he had the presence of mind not to track snow through the house. Good boy. He heard me come in and hollered down the stairs from his bed that he was "wicked sad and needed a hug." And then I felt like a big dirt bag but at least he wasn't flipping out. We hugged it out and all was good, but he did feel the need to remind me every hour or so that I shouldn't have put my shovel in his pile of snow.

Lesson learned.

Saturday, March 8, 2008

A Trip to the Science Center

Thanks to Aunt Marcy, Lucas and I have a season pass to our local science center...which we LOVE! (Thank you, Marcy!) We never seem to make it passed the entrance of this place without getting drenched in the rock and slate waterfall...but it is sort of the funnest (is that a word?) part of the whole day, so, what are gonna do?
Lucas and one of his very bestest buddies. Whenever they see each other it starts with a hug so fierce that one or both of them ends up on the floor.
A quick change of clothes since he was soaked. Also, I am not a big fan of the various examples of giant fish that are swimming around in our lake. (A lake I may never swim in again, thankyouverymuch.)
Coloring little pictures of mosquitoes and ticks to tape on a life-sized backyard mural, as this months special exhibit is "Bloodsuckers". Yuck.
Taking a picture of me taking a picture of him. Coming soon will be his own special bloggy feature of "The View from Three Feet", a collection of his very own pictures from his very camera. Truthfully, they're not much clearer than a cell phone picture, but the things he finds interesting do make me laugh...so, stay tuned...

Awwww....



So...the Easter Bunny wasn't at the mall, but his little hippity hoppity house was all set up. When no one (everyone) was looking I pushed aside the black ropes and let him sit on the bench so I could grab a quick picture with my camera. Ever so much better than waiting in that miserable line full of miserable children and their grumpy parents! Hehe! Good enough!

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Misinformed

Apparently my kid thought that with the ripe old age of four came certain privileges...like driving the car. I assumed he thought I was joking when I said I bought him a car for his birthday. He assumed I was serious. Oops.

We were dashing out the door to the car this afternoon to drop him off at Grandma's and he skipped right up to the driver's side door, pulled it open and tried to hop up into the front seat. I started to laugh and told him to get in his own seat, it was time to go to work...and then he asked me for the keys...clearly cleaning out his ears today didn't do a lot of good. "I wanna drive." He opened his hands for the keys. "Little boys have to sit in the back and Mama's have to drive. Please get in your seat and buckle up...it's time to go." Well! He got in his seat, I helped buckle him in and then I got an earful. Four year old boys are BIG boys, and BIG boys are allowed to drive cars, ride skateboards, play xBox and say "darn it". Guess he told me. Please consider me put in my place. Let's hope this is not going to be a daily occurrence...to be honest I think it might be fun to sit in the back seat and have snacks and watch movies and generally demand things left and right...if he asks again, I might just throw him the keys.

Monday, March 3, 2008

Homeboy Got Hooked Up

I have it on very good authority that being this cool is simply exhausting...hence the nap. Lucas and Uncle Ben got matching Hurley caps today...2Cool4Skool!

To You on Your 4th Birthday

Oh, my sweet kid. There is so much that I'm thankful for in you. You made me a mother, for starters, and although you surprised me four years ago with the whole "It's a Boy!" thing, I think we have done well together as a team of two.

I love that you are so thankful for the things around you, and that you remind me every day how much you love your bed, your toys, your apron, your books, your buddies.

I love that you and your Grandmother are the very best of friends.

I love that you are bright and engaging and funny.

I love that you delight in telling the most ridiculous knock-knock jokes that positively crack you up and even though they're not all necessarily funny on their own, hearing your belly laugh can crack up anyone in the room.

I love that you consider yourself trilingual and that you and your Grandmother have a secret alien language that only you two get and that you are adamant that counting to ten in Spanish goes a little something like this: "Nicco, dos, nicco, dos, nicco, dos, nicco, dos, nicco, dos!" Even though I try to gently remind you that each number on the way to ten is actually different and unique and important, just as it is in English, you nod your head like your placating me and when my little speech is done you patiently start over "teaching" me the "right" way.

I love that you would rather watch the Food Network than the Disney Channel.

I love that you spell M-O-M on everything from your chalkboard to your Leapster and you come to show me over and over to remind me that you can spell, and you can read.

I'm thankful that you're still addicted to trains after all the money your Grandmother and I have poured into that hobby...so far you show no signs of being bored...which is good considering we spent your college fund getting you to where you are now in brightly colored wooden and plastic Thomas trains.

I love that you ask me every day if I need a rest and then run to the kitchen to warm up the heating pad for me and put it on my feet. (Seriously...that alone makes you a winner in my book, buddy!)

I love the person you are turning out to be and I can't wait to see what the future holds in store for us. Happy Birthday, honey.

Sunday, March 2, 2008

Possibly the Cutest Little Spongebob-Wearing-Boy on the Planet


Those are Spongebob Crocs on his feet by the way...spoiled, I know.

Birthday Dinner


"Hoctopus Dog" recipe stolen from Chris, (although she loved her kids enough to make the mac-n-cheese from scratch and Lucas had to suffer with the stuff from a box...forgive me....it had been a looooong day), but his theory is the oranger the better...so it was all good. To be honest, he wasn't thrilled with the hot dog...he acted a bit appalled that I would even set it upon his macaroni, so it had to be moved to his napkin. He insisted I replace it with a "regular" hot dog, so I cut it into a zillion little pieces when he wasn't looking and gave it back to him, and of course he gobbled it right up. Where is his sense of adventure, I ask you?

Birthday Boy


Birthday Breakfast

That's Lucas and his buddy having breakfast at our local bagel joint. Lucas LOVES the olive cream cheese and usually just eats it with a spoon while I try and sneak little bits for my own bagel while he's not looking.
This is proof that I am a awesome Mom...I sweetly picked every last speck of olive and pimento off the cream cheese on his bagel. Apparently the olive cream cheese is delicious on it's own but completely inedible once it's spread on an actual bagel. Go figure.

The Moment

The minute he turned from my three year old little baby to a big grownup boy of four.
(That's Cherry Chapstick all over his face...it's a new obsession...and he continues to call it "papstick" no matter how many times I gently correct him.)