Sunday, January 29, 2012

Labels

TJ has started to read labels. It's lots of fun to listen to him read a nutrition label and try to explain what's in the food item.

He has also started to notice that labels always describe where the item was made. Tonight, he made a fairly wise observation.

"Mom, I think everything was made in China. Except toilets. We make those."

Now, not EVERYTHING is made in China. But I thought about it, and every toilet brand I could think of was, in fact, made in the USA. Guess that means Americans know their crap. Ha!

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Drama

Being the mother of three boys, I thought I had escaped the drama that comes with having girls. WRONG! Either my boys are really in touch with their feminine side, or my theory was wrong to begin with.

Case in point: Last night, TJ was a mess of sobbing hysterics. Why? Because Bill and I wouldn't let him adopt a kitten from a classmate. TJ had never seen or met this kitten, and we have a perfectly good (well, totally awesome) cat in Katie. But that didn't stop him from carrying on. In case you were wondering, his parents don't love him, we don't want him to be happy, and Katie is dumb because she doesn't play with her toys. As compelling as those points were, we are still not getting the cat.

This morning, Sam had an extended tantrum. During this tantrum he was stark naked. I mean 100% nude. Not one item of clothing on him. Why was he so upset? Because Bill wouldn't let him wear yesterday's underwear on his head. Seriously. Bill and I had a hard time getting through that episode. We were both fighting back laughter.

Now all is calm. TJ is composing a song on the piano and complaining that I can't help him (his mother is not a composer). Sam is happily doing his homework. He's bummed because he's almost done. Homework makes him happy.

Peace and quiet make me happy.

Monday, January 23, 2012

Enamel concerns

So, Sam, my intellectual, has the stomach flu. This is a frustrating occurrence for my O.C.D. little guy. He figured out that he had no control over the puking. As much as he might want to, he couldn't will that to go away.

So instead, he worried about his teeth. Yes, you heard me. His teeth. He asked me several times if he was damaging his teeth when he threw up. He had me brush them after each episode of sickness. I could understand that, as I can't stand having that taste in my mouth, but I thought his worry over enamel damage was a little weird.

I told him that he might need to worry if he threw up every day and never brushed his teeth. But since he's only had the flu twice in almost six years, I think his teeth will be just fine.

I hope he is all done vomiting. His nerves can't handle it!

Home sweet home

Bill and I just spent a week in Hawaii, partly as a vacation, but primarily to help his step-brother Ryan celebrate his wedding on the 21st. We got home this afternoon, while Nolan was asleep. Sam was in the midst of a bout of stomach flu. I had a lot of unpacking to do, but not much got done. He kept pleading with me to stay with him in the living room. As far as I can recall, this is only the second time he has had the stomach flu. He found it to be rather scary and frustrating, and he just wanted me nearby. It's hard to say 'no' to an ill child who needs and wants you.

I dozed off in the chair next to Sam. I was up most of the night, traveling, and was exhausted. I did have Sam's permission to sleep, in case you were wondering. After awhile, I heard small footsteps coming down the hall and an awed voice say, "Mama??" Nolan ran in the room, climbed on my lap, and threw his arms around me. He kept telling me how much he missed me.

Right around that time, TJ ran in the house after school. He shouted with joy to see that we had returned. He informed me that he really missed 'all those weird noises Daddy makes.'

Our vacation was amazing. Beautiful, gorgeous, fun, but I think that was the best part of my vacation. Coming home.

Although, I really could have done without the vomit...

Friday, January 13, 2012

Body Image

Nolan bounded into my room at 7:00 a.m. on Wednesday and exclaimed, "Mom! I woke up as fast as I could!"

Sam saw the allergist on Wednesday (hence, some of Nolan's excitement. A trip to the allergist followed by a trip to the mall). They weighed Sam and he weighs 48 pounds. His comment? "Woah! I am a big huge person!" Not quite. He's also 45 inches tall if you were wondering.

Yesterday, Nolan was constipated. Again. When I picked him up from my mom's at the end of the day, he was quite miserable. I asked him if his tummy hurt. "Yes," he said. "I have to poop so bad my throat hurts."

Now THAT is constipated. Fortunately, he solved the problem shortly thereafter. And plugged up my toilet in the process.

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Almost a real teacher!

My parents went away for a long weekend to celebrate their 40th anniversary (a few weeks late). One of my responsibilities while they were away was to teach my mom's Sunday School class. She teaches second grade. TJ is one of her twelve students. (May I point out that I was quite thankful that only 8 showed up today?)

Until this morning, I hadn't mentioned this to TJ. But I started teasing him at breakfast. I said, "Grandma is still gone. What are we going to do about Sunday School? Who is going to teach your class???"

TJ looked worried for a moment and then he smiled. "You! You're my teacher!" He figured this out because I've been assisting my mom about half the time this year (so she doesn't have to cope with 12 second graders on her own). I was pleased that he was so excited about the prospect of having his mom for a teacher. But then he burst my bubble.

"Mom! You are just like a student teacher!"

Yes. I'm 35 years old. I taught my first Sunday School class over 13 years ago. But today, my son promoted me to student teacher. I'm so proud.

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Growth

Tonight, as I was helping Sam wash up during his shower, he had a moment of inspiration.

I asked him to lift a foot toward me so I could scrub it. He obeyed and said, "Mom, your feet are bigger than mine." I agreed with him. He still has very slender, small feet for a boy. Then he said, "It's because people grow slowly. We are just like trees that way."

I had never compared a human to a tree before, but I suppose he has a point!

Friday, January 6, 2012

Randomness

Bill had a very funny experience with TJ yesterday. During his piano lesson, he suddenly turned to his piano teacher and said, "Have you ever stood on a swivel chair?"

Bill and I laughed quite hard when Bill relayed this story during dinner. TJ interrupted our laughter to say, "Well...HAVE YOU?" And Bill and I both admitted that we had. TJ told us that it really wasn't a good idea.

A few minutes ago, I pulled up our mortgage information. We just refinanced, and I wanted to make sure the automatic payment I set up was drafted correctly. I was ecstatic to see that after just one payment, we reduced our balance by over $640! I was excitedly telling Bill how much principal we paid off and Sam interrupted me.

"Principal? We have a principal pipe rank downstairs on the organ, don't we, Dad? Let's go work on it!"

Monday, January 2, 2012

Baron Organ Builders

Sam has a new obsession . He is fascinated with Bill's progress on his pipe organ. He has spent hours over this long New Year's weekend in the basement with Bill, observing and assisting.

I keep coming up with pros and cons over this new obsession of Sam's.

Pro: It gives Bill and Sam something to do together.
Con: It gives Bill even less motivation to work on boring things, like vacuuming or taking the Christmas tree down.

Pro: Sam got up and got dressed without any prompting this morning. Normally, this is a minimum 15-minute saga. This morning, he dressed quickly so that he and Daddy could spend more time in the basement.
Con: It means I know have two people jabbering away at me about things I do not understand, or care about.

Pro: Sam actually is helping Bill get some things accomplished. He is able to tell Bill whether air is moving through components, he hands him items he needs, etc.
Con: It proves weirdness is hereditary.

I hope they both appreciate my tolerance. And I sure am glad they have each other.