Don't Pee on the Bee

Totally Busted

Tonight as I was kissing Sarah good night, she looked at me and asked, "Why do your lips go like this when you kiss me?" and she proceeded to squish her lips over towards the side of her face.  I started to nervously  laugh since I was so shocked that a) she noticed and b) she asked!  Although I guess that, truly, neither one should have surprised me.  So I asked her to show me again how my lips go.  And she did a pretty good impression of Mama's lips.  So then I asked her to give me another kiss on the lips to which she promptly obliged me.

I have to admit that I have kissed her (and JJ!) like this for quite some time.  And I attribute it as the reason why I do not get sick, and my husband is sick all the time.  (As he just told me, "I'll take a kiss from a pretty girl any time!)  But he completely disagrees with my not kissing them on the lips.  (And just to make things clear . . . If my husband even mentions that he thinks he's getting sick, I don't kiss him on the lips either!) 

Both J.R. and my good friend Sara think that I am totally wrong to not kiss my kids on the lips.  I don't know, though.  I mean, yes, on the one hand, it sounds rude and germophobic.  But on the other hand, (and I pray the gloat gods don't get me on this one!), but I did not get sick, not even once, last winter!  Maybe I should just give credit to a fine constitution and just kiss my kids on the lips, I just don't know.  But I do know that tomorrow morning and tomorrow night, I will kiss my little girl with my lips straight and not squish them to the side . . . for now.

Anyone else out there feel the way I do?  Or the other way too? 

First Day of School

So Sarah woke up at 6:30 and came running into my bathroom.  "Zero days til Kindergarten!  Zero days til Kindergarten!"  She was so excited!  We were actually ready for school about 10 minutes early, so I told her to go play.  She said, "I can't!  I'm too excited!"  JJ was excited too, but more about seeing his friends, I think, than going to school.  And of course, the Handsome Carpenter took the day off to take his little girl to school!

JJ was all fine and cool after getting to school.  Like I said, his friends were there, and he wanted to go play on the "big" playground!  The Kindergarten has parents stay for the first 45 minutes to learn the ropes and spend some time there.  I kept looking at Sarah, please as punch to be sitting on the carpet, singing songs, pointing to the turtle, and listening to stories.  But it was when the  mother next to me started tearing up that I had to get a little gruff with her and tell her to knock it off!  She said, "But it's that book!"  And I knew what she meant.  It was "The Kissing Hand," and as soon as Sarah's teacher pulled it off the desk, I knew I was in for it too!

And Sarah came up to us later and gave us a kiss in the palm of our hands to save for later in the day if we missed her!  And she had a great day too--although tonight she told me she can't wait to be in first grade!  Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!!  What do they say about them growing up too fast???

 

I just had to post this picture . . . I was getting ready to take it, and all of a sudden, Sarah put her hand on JJ's shoulder!  Maybe it was her own little version of the kissing hand! 

(My mom is probably groaning as she looks at this picture since Sarah isn't in some cute new outfit!  Sorry, Mom!  But this is what Sarah wanted to wear to school today, and I was fine with that.  And JJ chose his clothes too.  We are definitely not out to impress!)

 

Such Sweetness

And, no, I am not talking about pie this time!  Actually, this story is a tad bit gross but gets sweet at the end!

J.R. has a gnarly cyst on one of his fingers, and he finally went to the doctor to have it looked at.  She gave him a few options, and he decided to live with it for the time being--even though it completely grosses me out!  I don't know what it is about me and skin things, but suffice it to say that if there was ever a tick on me, I would need to be taken to the hospital, not only to have it removed but probably for an overnight stay while heavily medicated.

So, J.R. is telling his mom what the doctor said while we were driving home from dinner.  All six of us are in the car, and my mother-in-law (who is from the Midwest) starts telling her darling baby that they call those things "Bible cysts," and all he needs to do is get a big Bible, put it on his cyst and give it a big whack.  Pop!  All taken care of.  Well, while the two of them are going back and forth, and JJ and Sarah are trying to figure out what they are really talking about, I finally announce that if there is any more talk about this gnarly thing on his hand, I will be throwing up in the backseat of the car.  My mother-in-law looks at me and laughs.  J.R. is grinning, and finally he tells his mom that I am serious, and they really need to stop talking about it.  Which, thank goodness, they finally do.  Now I really wasn't in imminent danger of throwing up, but I definitely was having a difficult time "stomaching" the story!

As soon as we get home, it's bathtime and bedtime for the kids, but JJ tells me, "I have to do one thing, Mommy!" as I am heading him towards the tub.  I figure I'll let him go this time and work on rounding up Sarah.  When we all walk into my bedroom later for pj time, JJ pulls me over to my side of the bed and says, "Look, Mommy.  Now if you have to throw up tonight, you can do it on the towel."

I just wanted to grab him and hug him for being such a sweet, thoughtful boy--because believe me, that has not been my opinion of him of late!  So I guess it just goes to show that we never know when our sweet little boys will show up.  But if it has to do with bodily functions and he is 6, he'll probably be right there for you!

Where Did My Blogging Mojo Go?

That's the question I've been asking myself lately.  And I do know the answer.  Between my hand still hurting way more than I thought it would, trying to have some near-the-end-of-summer fun with my kids, and company arriving and hanging out in my office, my house (and I!) have been a little topsy-turvy!  But I'm hoping to get back in the swing of things here, so consider this my start!

And with that self-proclaimed new start, my next confession-like statement will be that, yes, I took the kids to the beach again.  I couldn't help it!  With grandparents here from out of town, a trip to the beach just seemed like a nice thing to do, right?  Not for me, but for them and the kids, right???

But I must say that we have got this beach thing down!  And we've done it three times so far this summer much to the surprise of several of my friends!  They think I am pretty awesome to do a 3+-hour road trip with my kids!

But here's how to do it . . .

Leave the house around 8ish.  Stop and pick up whatever friends you are taking.  Maybe get a coffee for the moms, but no hot chocolate for the kids this time!  Want to limit those pee stops to just one if you can!

Stop somewhere between San Jose and Scotts Valley for a pit stop and to sunscreen up the kids so that they can get straight to playing when you hit the beach!  We love to go to Seabright Beach--lifeguard, bathrooms, and a nice beach.  Play there until about 4ish.  Walk down to the lighthouse at Santa Cruz Harbor if you want.  It's pretty neat up there on the jetty.

Shower the sand out of the kids' pants and off their bodies at the cold outdoor showers at the beach.  Walk back to the car and change into dry clothes.  Then walk a few blocks up the street for awesome burgers and shakes at Betty's Burgers.  From there, walk a few blocks to the pedestrian bridge that leads to The Boardwalk and hit the Boardwalk about 5:15 or so.  On Mondays and Tuesdays, all rides are only one ticket after 5:00 p.m.  (Let me tell you, it makes thinking about paying full price again seem like a crazy thing to do!)  Ride about 3 or 4 kiddie rides in a hour or so and be sure to hit the carousel before you leave.

Do one final pee stop and walk back to the car.  Get everyone situated with lovies, blankets, pillows, whatever and hit the road around 7.  You'll be getting your kids in bed about 10:30 or so (skip the bath and do it in the morning!), but they will have slept part of the way home, so the next morning really isn't too rough.  But if you can, have what we call a stay-at-home-day the next day if you can!

And even though it might sound like a crazy ride, let me tell you, it works wonders for this mama!  Sarah and I agree . . . Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!

 

 

 

A Movie Milestone

Well, we did it.  We finally went and saw and movie at the theater.  Yes, it's true.  My children are nearly 5 and 7, and this is the first time they have been to the movies.  But these are also the children who are traumatized on some level every time they watch a G-rated Disney movie.  The Little Mermaid?  Ursula still completely freaks them out.  Snow White?  Are you kidding?  101 Dalmations. . . The Aristocats . . . The Princess and the Frog . . . No way.  Sarah always ends up screaming and in tears, running out of the living room.  JJ will hide under a blanket--although I will say that he seems to be doing better.

But today, I felt ready to tackle the first-time event, and in spite of enormous pre-trepidation from Sarah, we headed to see Winnie the Pooh.  I checked out the parent reviews which said that it was safe for a child 3 and up, so I thought that I stood a chance with Sarah.  Well, she was freaked out before the movie even began!  And when the lights started going down, she got even more uptight. 

I must say it was rather funny to have JJ on one side of me laughing out loud hysterically, and Sarah on the other side, gripping my arm and whimpering even when JJ was belly laughing.  I did a lot of explaining to her as the movie went on.  And it really was not that scary.  The scary "Backson" monster was actually Tigger, so really, how scary should that be?  But JJ and I enjoyed the movie, and Sarah made it through.  I do believe that the promise of frozen yogurt after the movie helped somewhat with that!

And of course, the irony of the whole thing was the phone call to Oma afterwards. . .

Sarah:  "Oma!  We went to the movie theater today!"

Oma:  "What did you see at the theater?"

Sarah:  "Winnie the Pooh."

Oma:  "Oooh.  What did you think of it?"

Sarah:  "I LOVED it!"

Mommy:  "WHAAAAAAT?????"

I guess, like they say, hindsight is 20/20 vision or some movie version of something like that.  I don't know how you go from whimpering and clinging to loving it!  And I don't think that Sarah will willingly agree to go to the movies anytime soon.  But I still feel proud of ourselves!  We finally did it! 

Crocs

Still away . . . still reposting old posts . . . This one is from August, 5, 2009 . . . What is it with Sarah wanting to pee like a boy?

 
It has taken me awhile to become a fan of Crocs.  Plastic shoes that supposedly don't stink just didn't seem to jive with my world.  During last winter, however, when I was so tired of bending over and putting my little girl's shoes on, I saw some fuzzy-lined pink Crocs and bought them for Sarah.  It was great!  She could put on her own shoes and only occasionally got them on the wrong feet!

Well, then of course, JJ needed a pair, so I bought a pair for him.  By now, I'm beginning to like these Crocs.  My kids are eternally dirty--red dirt, creek water, sand, mud, dog slobber--you name it, and we've got it!  All I had to do now was run these shoes under the faucet, and Voila! Clean shoes!  A serious plus in our house!  My sister-in-law alerted me to the Crocs at Ross, so there I headed for a few more pairs!

Join me back in the present where I am now the proud mama of a potty-training little--excuse me, BIG!--girl.  Her teacher has been good about working on this with Sarah as has her babysitter.  Me?  I wasn't too excited about the whole thing and was happy to give the credit to those in the trenches.  Suddenly, though, it's like a flip has switched, and Sarah is a big girl with big girl panties!  She's doing great!

The one hitch?  When she tries to pee outside like her brother, her Crocs fill up with pee!  Nice, huh?  At least I can just hose them off and have her put on another pair!

The Drive

Wow.  The other day when I finally sat down after everyone was in bed--and hopefully on their way to asleep!--I decided to read instead of watching TV.  OK, truth be told.  My TV watching choices are getting slimmer and slimmer with each season finale!  Oh well.  More time for reading, and that is always a good thing.

Anyway, I picked up the June 2011 issue of Real Simple and started making my way through it.  (The quote on the spine of the magazine this month?  Charm is the ability to make someone else think that both of you are pretty wonderful.  --Kathleen Winsor)  I read all the things that readers thought their dads had been right about.  Checked out the list of people's favorite book series.  Passed the pretty glasses and 10 finds under $50.  And then I arrived at the essay section, life lessons.  This one was called "thanks for the ride."  Get ready, sisters.  This one will give you some perspective.

And it's funny how perspective usually hits right when you need it.  Or not.  Or maybe right when you are already feeling emotional about your 4 year old daughter starting Kindergarten in the fall.  At first you thought you would be really happy when they were both in the same school at the same time.  But then she says, "Mommy, I had a really nice day with you today."  Or "Mommy, I love it when we are together."  And you realize that although she does drive you crazy in the car sometimes with her incessant talking or her wanting to hear the same kid song over and over and over. . . you know, the one with the dog howling in the background?  Well, you're going to miss it.

And that's just what Ann Packer has to say.  Read it and let me know what you think.

And speaking of Kindergarten, tomorrow is JJ's last day!  I can't believe it.  Where did the year go?  And speaking of going, I am going to be out of town for the next week at a writer's conference/retreat.  And so while I am gone, I am going to re-post some of my favorite blog posts.  And I have gone waaaay back in the Archives for these.  Hope you enjoy!  See you back in real time by the end of next week!