Pie

Tonight my boy said, "I'm full." Then he got up and walked away from the table.

And then I said, "But don't you want pie?"

Things we do for fun:

We take the children to Sears and force them to sit on the really expensive lawnmowers for photo ops.
I heart Sears.


For some of us, this is great fun. M seems to really love motorized vehicles.

Even J isn't too old to get some enjoyment from "trying out" a really expensive lawn implement.

For others of us, this seems to cause a great deal of bitterness. See my husband in the background of the above photo? He stares bleakly at the children, thinking, "If we didn't have all these darn children we could have one great big giant lawnmower with zero turn capabilities...(sigh!)"

Just kidding. He hearts those darn children. And he eagerly awaits the day when they can all use the lawn implements independently.

Our yard will sure look spiffy then!

Soccer Mom

Last night was T's first soccer practice. He's been eagerly looking forward to this after seeing J play soccer.

But when we got to the field he decided he was "scared" and "didn't want to play."

I sort of panicked. I didn't want this to go badly for him.
"Listen," I said. "See those kids over on the field kicking the ball around? Go tell them your name and kick the ball with them."

"Okay." T said.

Then he went over, and with no introduction, he kicked the ball away from the biggest kid.
The kid shouted at him, "HEY! THAT'S MY BALL."
And here, I thought, "It's all over. No more soccer for us." I sighed.

Then T stepped toward the kid and shouted back (in a most friendly, but also slightly agitated manner), "WELL I JUST DON'T HAVE A BALL!"

and the bigger kid said, "Well, go get one. In the bag." He pointed.

So T went and got one for himself and one for M.

They both kicked the balls around until the coach called the kids over to get in the circle. Thus began the official start of practice.

At this time, M had to be escorted off the field. Thankfully, Grandma was there to help out. M's not old enough yet. Plus, she was improperly attired in a dress and shiny silver shoes.

I'm not gonna lie. M was ticked. She couldn't even be bribed into good behavior with a snack. It's got to be really, really hard for her to understand why she isn't playing too.

Next year, M. Next year.

Care of Dependants

This is M hugging her dolly. Last night on the way home she became very interested in this dolly. She picked it up and sat in her car seat with it. She hugged it. She sang songs to it. She sat the dolly up on her lap and said, "Be a good girl."
She patted the dolly.

I was so impressed with her imaginative play that I began to see M as a bit older. Not quite a toddler anymore...I sighed wistfully as I realized that the baby and toddler days are so quickly passing and once gone--

And then M p**ped so much in her underpants in her car seat in the van that we had to pull over to clean her up.

And then she squealed and shrieked and writhed around so that bits of p**p got on the carpet of the van. All this time, she wailed, "Oh No! Cooc is yucky! Cooc is yucky! Oh NO!"

And T stared down haughtily from his seat and made a running commentary on the situation.

"Did M p**p in her underpants? That's so yucky."
"M--You're supposed to say p**p NOT cooc."
"Mommy, are you done yet? Are you done cleaning up the p**p? I hope p**p doesn't get on the van."


Yes, M. Cooc is yucky and you are still a toddler.

Candy

Demanding Hubby buy a truckload of candies at Christmas time for cookie and cake decorating??? Probably about $35...







Finding red and green M&Ms in back of baking cabinet on boring Saturday in August???

Priceless.

Crumbs

This morning T told me that I should "just bump the van on the road so these crumbs will fly up off me." He eats his breakfast in the van sometimes (um, every morning) and apparently just wiping with a paper towel was too boring this morning. He needed a little more adventure, a little more spice.

On an entirely different note-- for some time now, I've wondered if T remembers life without M.
He does not.
We were looking at a photo slide show of family pictures and he saw one of himself as a baby. He asked where M was, and he became visibly agitated when I told him that we didn't have her yet. "Where was she?" he said.
I explained to him that for a time we didn't have her because she hadn't been born yet. He shook his head slowly at me, and explained in his kindest tone of voice (the one he reserves for times when I'm showing signs of absolute stupidity...), "M was always born."