What a Good Morning

It was a beautiful morning in central Ohio, so Aunt Cathy and I took the boys to the park.

Not Back to School Yet

Duane and I decided to send Wesley to pre-K this year instead of starting Kindergarten. Lots of things played into our decision and I firmly believe it was the right one for Wesley. So while almost all of my friends are sending their kids back to school this week, Wesley doesn't go back until mid September.

I think he's picking up on the whole "back to school" vibe though. Two mornings this week Wesley has asked if it was a school day. Could it be possible that he misses it?!

Little Alarm Clock

For the readers who have not been to my house, I have to preface this post by telling you a little bit about the floor plan of our upstairs. Our upstairs consists of three bedrooms and a bathroom. However, the bathroom can only be entered through two of the bedrooms (ours and Ryan's) not the hall. We keep the door between Ryan's room and the bathroom locked at all times. If Wesley has to go to the bathroom while upstairs he has to go through our room.

Around 2:00 this morning we heard Wesley come tearing through our room. He went into the bathroom, did what he had to do, then came out and stood by our bed.

"Mom? Dad?" he mock-whispered.  "I have to tell you something."

"What?" I sleep whined.

"I didn't flush the potty because I didn't want to wake you guys up."

Gee Wesley, thanks for waking us up to tell us you didn't want to wake us up. Appreciate that.

Party Pictures

We celebrated Wesley's birthday yesterday. OK, so it was a week early, but he wanted to have a pool party and the community center pool is closed next weekend.

We had a great time and Wesley used great party manners the whole time. I was so proud of him!

Not Me Monday

I did not tell Wesley that "the only kid you're allowed to knock over is your brother," after he took out a kid in a bounce house. I would never say something like that.

There is no way I spent 3 hours going through EIGHT boxes of clothes Wesley has outgrown and organizing them for when Ryan will grow into them.

I did not have a nightmare about Wesley's birthday party two days before the party took place. And if I did, it certainly wasn't a nightmare about a tornado hitting in the middle of his party. That would be ridiculous.

I know I did not almost ask Duane what football player Chad Ochocinco's last name was. Especially since I called the man by his full name AND was looking at the back of the jersey at the time.

Weight Gain

And before anyone comments - no, it's not me that's gaining weight.

Stinky Bear/Car(r) managed to put on a TON of weight today. Seriously it looks like he ate a watermelon in it's entirety.

How did a bear who was so skinny he was "bear-ly" recognizable as a bear gain weight so quickly?  Well, Duane took the boys up to Grandma W.'s today so she could fix a little hole Carr was developing in his neck. Somehow Grandma convinced Wesley that Carr needed more stuffing.

I can't believe Wesley went along with the idea, but apparently he even helped perform the surgery.

Opening the patient

Adding some padding

A little bit more...

Just a little more....

Closing him up

Wesley assures me that Carr still smells the same and his tag is still soft, but Carr ate a REALLY big lunch. Hey, if the boy is happy, the mommy is happy.

Trix Are for Kids

Ryan is all together less picky than Wesley. One place this is very apparent is in the cereal department. Wesley won't eat cereal - not oatmeal, not Cheerios, not AlphaBits, not Froot Loops, none of it.  Ryan on the other hand has embraced the joy of cereal. He'll eat Cheerios, Life, AlphaBits, really almost anything. But as far as he is concerned none of them compare to the joy that we introduced him to today. The joy that is Trix.

Ryan LOVES Trix. I bought a mini (single serve) box and poured it into a bowl for him. You could almost see the sugar traveling through his little body. He wouldn't even let me hold the bowl while he climbed into his chair. Duane tried to swipe one, but Ryan covered the bowl and shouted "No Daddy!"

We took a few of the new favorite cereal in the van with us tonight when we went to a party. It was probably a good thing he didn't eat them on the way to the party, because they became a life saver on the way home. I let Wesley get into his goody bag from the party which contained Laffy Taffy, gum, Nerds and some other yummy treats. Unfortunately, they were yummy treats I won't let Ryan eat yet. Once he was reminded that he had Trix none of that mattered. He was more than content to munch on his cereal. He even tried to dig out the couple he dropped in his car seat.

You know the slogan, "Trix are for kids."

Librarian List of Shame - J Fiction Edition

I have been a children's librarian or worked in a children's department at a library for over 11 years now. I think I'm pretty good at my job and I work really hard to stay up to date on the books. But let me tell you - you simply cannot read all the books that come in - even if you want to. I have a "to-read" list that is several hundred titles long. Seriously. And I know I'll never get to them all.

But there are some books that I'm almost embarrassed to admit I haven't read. I have started to refer to them as my "Librarian List of Shame" because they are either classics, award winners, or super popular and for some reason I have just never gotten around to reading them.

Tonight I present the Librarian List of Shame - J Fiction Edition. These are children's books are either Newbery winners/honors or books that earned a place in the Top 100 Children's Novel Poll that the fabulous and amazing Betsy Bird did on her blog A Fuse #8 Production.  And Betsy really is fabulous and amazing. I got her meet her once and kind of geeked out over the experience. Total fangirl moment.

And now, without further ado, my Librarian List of Shame - J Fiction Edition

1. Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater
2. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald
3. Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry
4. My Father's Dragon by Ruth S. Gannet
5. My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George ( I don't think I've read any of her books)
6. Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell (I fake this one a lot)
7. The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
8. Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George (another one I fake A LOT)
9. My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
10. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor
11. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Patterson (I know, I know, I'm terrible)
12. Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Patterson (I think I might have read this in the mid 1980's but I can't recall a single thing about the book)
13. The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare
14. The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg (I have tried to read this book three times and have failed each time.
15. Hoot by Carl Hiaasen (I haven't seen the movie either)
16. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (I tried, but it didn't do a thing for me)
17. Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes
18. Betsy Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace
19. The Secret of the Old Clock (The Nancy Drew mysteries) by Caroline Keene (If I admit that I have never in my life read a Nancy Drew book will I get my status as a children's librarian revoked?)
20. The BFG by Roald Dahl
21. Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
22. The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits and a Very Interesting Boy by Jeanne Birdsall
23. Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
24. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum (although I do know what color Dorothy's slippers are in the book. Hint: NOT ruby!)
25. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
26. Half Magic by Edward Eager
27. The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper
28. A Little Princess by Francis Hodgson Burnett
29. Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. (PLEASE don't throw things at me!)
30. Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli (although this is another one I think I read once upon a time when I was a kid and I just don't remember)
31. Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
32. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
33. Ballet Shoes by Noah Streatfield (and I took ballet for 8 years)
34. The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Patterson (hmmmm...I'm noticing a Katherine Patterson pattern here.....)

So those are most shameful 34. Try not to think less of me. And don't worry, I will further the humiliation by posting my Librarian List of Shame for both Teen fiction and classic novels someday soon.

Zooper Day

My cousin and his wife and kids were in town from Connecticut today. I don't think I've seen them in....oh...7 or more years. Needless to say, this seemed like a good reason to arrange a vacation day and spend the day with family.

We started the day with breakfast out at First Watch. All the kids did a great job at the restaurant. I mean, Ryan did eat four packets of jelly and sip on my coffee while we waited for the food. And all four kids (ages 2, 4, 6 and - I think - 12) did end up under the table at one point. Oh! And there was the moment when Ryan ate a pat of whipped butter and looked like he had swallowed a bug. But really, breakfast was pretty uneventful.

We had a fantastic time at the zoo! That was due in no small part to how wonderful my cousin's kids are. T. and N. were so good with Wesley and Ryan. There was no bickering between the cousins and the older two, did such a nice job taking care of the younger.

We started our zoo adventure with a trip to the animal encounter area.

N. got to help hold a boa constrictor. T. held a hissing cockroach, but I didn't get a picture of that.

And what did my kids do while their cousins were interacting with all these cool animals? They were playing with rocks. Wow. Let the good times roll.

We popped into the Habitat Hollow area for a few minutes. At the end of the little house there is a plastic bed. A little girl about Ryan's age was on it and Ryan wanted to climb up too. The girl's mom said to her, "Scoot over, Honey, so that little boy can climb into the bed with you."  I'll bet that will be the only time those words come out of that mom's mouth! :-)

Here are a few other pictures from the zoo today

The little brothers of the group - Ryan and N.

All the cousins - OK, first cousins once removed. Same difference.

N., Wesley, Pepe the wooden penguin getting a kiss from T.

T. and Wesley

Wesley (or Edwin in this picture)

After putting in a full day at the zoo we all ate dinner at Grandma and Grandpa H.'s. I wish I had had my camera in my hand when it was time for us to say goodbye to T. & N.  Wesley went over and gave T. a big ol' hug. Then he turned to N. and the boys sized each other up for a moment before settling for a high five. Guess it was more comfortable than the awkward male hug.

I think Wesley summed the whole day perfectly when he said, "I like making new friends." It was super day and I hope we get to see the H. family before too many years pass again.

Everything Has a Price

Wesley has been "Bad Attitude Boy" lately. I think he's testing his boundaries to see how much nastiness he can get away with before he gets in trouble.

This morning he mouthed off to me, so I confiscated the toy he was playing with and warned him that the next thing I would take would be the book he loves to play with.

A few minutes later the bad attitude started again and I gave him one last warning. "Wesley, if you talk to me like that again, you will lose the book."

Wesley glared at me for a moment, then made another snarky comment - which he finished by holding the book out and saying, "Here's the book!"

It took all my willpower not to burst into laughter. Inappropriate? Yes, but it was like he weighed the pros and cons of making the comment versus loosing the book and was willing to pay the price. THAT was pretty funny.

Tech Support

There's something I want to tell you despite the very real risk of sounding old.  Ready? I can remember the first time I used the Internet. I was finishing my undergraduate degree so it was 1996. We practiced using the Internet in the computer lab in the College of Education at OSU. I remember going home and talking about it at dinner. My brother gave me an AOL disc he had gotten and I spent four hours that night doing nothing but exploring websites. Fast forward to 2010. I am on the Internet most of my day at work. And who really uses AOL anymore?

Sometimes it blows my mind to think that Wesley and Ryan will never know a world where computers and the Internet are not a part of their daily life. Even now they play on the computer every day.

This morning I turned the computer on to quickly check my email before work. As soon as Ryan saw me push the power button he ran over to the computer and sat in my lap. He pointed to the Internet Explorer icon and said, "E! E! Click E!" 

I did click the e, but apparently Ryan didn't like the fact that I was checking email instead of going to PBS Kids or Nick Jr.  He looked at the email page for a moment, pointed to the tab to close the window then said, "Red X Mama! Red X! Click it!" 

Yeah. Thanks for the tip kid.

Not Me Monday

There is no way I heard Ryan's Leapster talking from the back of the van and thought my radio suddenly started working again.

I know I didn't lose the scrubbie while I was doing dishes and spent several minutes looking for it in the soapy water, only to find it sitting next to the sink. Didn't happen.

I did not forget where I put my cart at Target and end up having to go get half my list a second time.

More Potty Humor

Some of you know that we signed Wesley up for several classes and day camps this summer. He did Safety City, a COSI camp, KinderZoo and swim class. Did he learn how to safe? Well, about some things. Did he learn about science? Not really. Did he learn all about animals? Kind of. Did he learn to swim? Not yet.

No, what my almost five-year-old son learned this summer - at KinderZoo no less - was how to use a urinal, or, the "special stand-up potty." He's pretty excited about this discovery and uses them whenever he can.

Yesterday he and I went to a movie together. We bought our tickets, then I told him that we should go use the potty before buying our snacks and finding our seats.  As we approached the women's restroom Wesley started to balk, "Mo-om! That's the room for girls!"

"Yep. Sure is!"

"But I can't go in there!" Wesley whined.

" Yes you can. Mommy isn't allowed to go into the boys bathroom and you aren't old enough to in by yourself," I explained.

"But am I allowed to go into the girls potty?" Wesley asked.

"Yes, you are and no one is going to mind one bit," I replied.

We walked into the women's restroom and no one was there. Probably a good thing too because Wesley looked around and loudly said, "Hey! Where are the stand up potties?"

I'm not sure he bought my explanation that only boys use urinals. At least he didn't ask for a demonstration.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Some of you may remember the post about the disaster of a ball game we went to a few weeks back. Well, being the gluttons for punishment...errr...being the parents we are, we decided to try it again. Several things were different this time around. First of all, Duane was given tickets that were a mere eight rows behind homeplate and in the shade. It was an evening game, which means the kids had been fed and both had had naps. Also, we weren't with anyone except our little ol' selves.

And do you know what? It was a totally different experience! We had a great time and the kids didn't want to leave when we did.

Needless to say, we didn't sit in our seats the whole game, but what a great time we had!

Lost (Imaginary) Cat

Somehow Wesley managed to lose Edwin this evening. We were on our way home when he cried out, "Oh no!! I think I left Edwin at Grandma's!"  Now I would turn around and go back if he left his bear - you know that - but Edwin is an imaginary cat!

"Maybe we can pick him up tomorrow," Wesley said.

"Well, you aren't going to Grandma H.'s tomorrow. You are going to Grandpa P.'s" I answered.

Wesley thought about how to get Edwin back and finally decided that what he really needed to do was call Grandma when we got home. I helped him dial the phone and Wesley explained to Grandma that he left Edwin there and asked her to please put him in a box and mail him home.

Um....I did mention this is an imaginary cat, right?

Anyhow, Grandma said she would take care of it and send Edwin home. Unfortunately the imaginary package containing the imaginary cat has not yet been delivered by the imaginary UPS man. Hope Grandma put some imaginary air holes in that imaginary box.

Itsy Bitsy Spider

Wesley spotted a really big spider web this morning when we were on the porch at Grandma and Grandpa H.'s.  It was sparkling with dew in the morning sun and really pretty - if you ignored the HUGE spider in the center of it. Wesley pointed the web out to me and after I commented on it, Ryan came up to take a peek. He had a rough time finding it at first, so I helped guide him to it. All of a sudden he exclaimed, "Spider! See it!" Then he looked closely at the web and said, "Net!" I guess a net and a spider web look a lot alike  to a two year old. Just so he doesn't toss any basketballs at the latter.

Got Your Back

My brother and I didn't always get along as kids (understatement of the year), but I knew that when push came to shove he'd be there for me - that he'd always have my back. And he still does.  I hope Wesley and Ryan grow into that kind of relationship someday. In the meantime, Wesley takes care of Ryan in his own way.

Take last night for example. Ryan was spinning himself around and around in circles until he was so dizzy he could barely stand up and definitely wouldn't be passing a sobriety test. He managed a couple of steps before tipping over and bumping his head on a toy.

Wesley walked over to his little brother and said with a sigh, "Let me kiss it for you before you whine."  So much for sympathy.

Whole Lot of Nothing

I was hoping to have a real post tonight, but I've got nothing. Life is just marching along and it's been pretty smooth lately. Here's a (very) brief recap:

• We're still searching for a new church. We think we have it narrowed down to two, and we like them for completely different reasons. The nice part is that there is no rush, we can continue to go back and forth until one of them really seems like home.
• Duane is going to take some time off work later this month to take care of some projects around the house so we can hopefully get it up for sale soon.
• I got a new radio for my car, but we don't have it working yet.
• Wesley is still asking if we can keep Edwin. So far, Edwin is still a very good imaginary cat, so he may be hanging around for a while - especially if Wesley continues to be so helpful and nice when he is pretending to be Edwin.

See, nothing exciting at all. It's life as usual, but I've learned that life as usual is nothing to take for granted. We are blessed to have days that run together with little chaos and no major upheavals. Life may not be real exciting right now, but it is good. And that's what matters most.

Not Me Monday

I did not stop Wesley from running a toy train up and down my cat, but said nothing when he started doing the same thing to his little brother.

I know my toddler was not the kid throwing punches on a ride at the state fair. That would have been embarrassing, even if I wasn't at the fair with him.

I did not give Wesley a hard time because he wouldn't drink his milk, only to discover later that the reason he wouldn't drink it was because it was slightly spoiled.

I did not have to leave the house 3 times one morning before I successfully made it off to work. At least I remembered the kids each of those times.

There is no way I found myself whistling Phineas and Ferb songs while doing the grocery shopping when the kids were not with me.

Where Oh Where Has That Naughty Cat Gone?

A couple of days ago I posted about the huge mess Wesley made at Grandma and Grandpa H.'s and that he told me that he didn't make the mess, but Cooper did. I went off on how much I didn't like Cooper and that I didn't want to hear about Cooper and I didn't want Cooper in my house anymore. Yesterday when I got home from work, Wesley informed me that he took Cooper to the pet store and gave him back to the pet man. Apparently Wesley traded Cooper in for a new imaginary cat/alter ego named Edwin.

That may not sound like a big improvement, but Edwin appears to the opposite of everything Cooper was. Edwin is quiet and "full of love" and sleeps a lot. Even better, Wesley keeps asking if we like Edwin and if we'll let him stay. So far, we've told him that Edwin can stay on a trial basis.

Who could have known that one day I'd have to kick my son's alter ego out of the house and approve the new one. Parenthood sure comes with a lot of strangeness.

It Wasn't Me

I love how siblings have a way of blaming each other/pointing fingers over the littlest thing. Really. It's awesome (she said sarcastically.) Yesterday we went to World of Bounce with some friends of ours, then headed out to lunch. Wesley and Ryan managed to get in a fight because Ryan wanted chocolate milk and Wesley also wanted chocolate milk. Somehow Ryan - with his limited vocabulary - seemingly convinced Wesley that there would not be enough chocolate milk at the restaurant for both of them. Good times.

Tonight's bit of finger pointing came on the way home from Grandma and Grandpa H.'s. G&G kept the boys for a couple of hours while Duane and I went out for the second night in a row (GASP! Shocking, I know!) As we were on our way home I let out a huge yawn, then turned around and said, "Mommy sure is tired. Are you tired too, Ryan?"

"No," said Ryan. Then he waited a beat before saying. "Wesee tired."

"I AM NOT!" yelled Wesley.

Ah, the joys of parenthood.

One Way to Get Out of Trouble

I got an unpleasant surprise when I went to pick the boys up from Grandma and Grandpa H.'s this evening. Every toy in the house was strewn across the living room floor. And if that wasn't bad enough, Grandma and Grandpa were in the process of trying to match the 100+ rhyming cards that "Cooper" (Wesley's cat alter ego) dumped all over their bedroom floor. The worst part of all, was that while Grandma and Grandpa were trying to clean up the rhyming cards, Wesley was sitting there without a care in the world.

That is, until Mommy walked in. First Wesley spent a little time on the steps, then he got to work picking up the toys in the living room while I helped Grandma and Grandpa match up all the cards. Then he sat on a stool until we finished. I was livid.

On the way home, I told Wesley that I didn't want to hear anything about "Cooper" the rest of the night. Not one word.

After a few moments, Wesley said, "Mom? Are you still mad at me?"

"No," I replied. "You apologized and helped clean up the mess. It's over. It's done. I'm not mad anymore." With a smile I added, "And you're still my favorite almost 5 year old."

"You know what?" Wesley said. "You're my favorite almost 26 year old, Mom!"

I had to laugh since I passed that mark almost 11 years ago. That's one way to get out of trouble though!

Seriously, He's a Big Boy

Yesterday I lamented about how Ryan wasn't really a baby anymore. Today I got proof. Ryan had his 2-year check up today. No real surprises, he's healthy, and skinny and tall. I just didn't get how tall. The yardstick wasn't quite long enough to measure him and he's in the 95th percentile for height. That's right. 95th!!! And only 30th for weight. "Long and lean" the doctor said. No wonder he was climbing out of the crib at Grandma and Grandpa H.'s!

Not So Little Boy

Most of the time I manage to fool myself into believing that time doesn't fly by. I convince myself that the summer isn't ending, that my cat will live forever and that my kids aren't growing like weeds. Sometimes reality just kicks me in the shins though.

My mom and stepdad have disassembled the crib that has been in the spare room (AKA Wesley and Ryan's room) for nearly five years now. Mom told me they were taking it down because Ryan doesn't really use it any more and can climb out of it and that made perfect sense to me. I didn't expect to have any feelings about it one way or another. Of course, that was before I opened the door to the spare room yesterday and it hit me that my baby really is growing up and there aren't going to be any more W. babies from this branch of the family. And it's not that we want (or could even have) more kids, it's more that Father Time gave me a little wake up call.

I know my mom was feeling it too. She called me at work to see if there was any reason she should keep the mobile or crib bumper. When I told her no, I could tell that it kind of bothered her. Logically, she knew that there will almost certainly be no more grandchildren, but it was kind of hard to really let it sink in.

And then it occurred to me, I'm going through this about the loss of a crib at someone else's house (ours converted into a toddler bed), what about my friends who have kids in high school? Kids who will be driving soon? How must they be feeling these days. Every one says that the time with your kids goes so fast. That can be hard to remember when you are reading the same book for the 15th time in a day, or you are listening to an alphabet animal song again.  Turns out that "every one" is right though.

Good grief. Imagine how sentimental I'm going to get when we finally get to give up diapers!

We Interrupt Your Regularly Scheduled Post...

This week's "Not Me Monday" has been interrupted by the fact that 3/4 of the W. family (including me) were sick in the past week. We are all well now and "Not Me Monday" will return next week.

Feeling Ripped Off

There are certain things I promised myself I'd never say when I was a parent. I've been  a parent for almost 5 years now and I'm pretty sure I've said them all. The star of the "I'd never say...oops I said it" is the infamous "because I said so." Even though I've broken my promise about never saying it, I thought I'd at least get a little more mileage out of it. Unfortunately, Wesley challenges me on it whenever it pops out of my mouth.

Example: I tell Wesley to put his shoes away and get the response, "Why?" I'll tell him that I'm trying to clean up and I need him to put his shoes away.  "But why?"  Repeat this several times and the ever popular parenting saying "Because I said so!" will make it's way out of my mouth.

Instead of getting the instant response I am hoping for because I am at the end of the parenting rope Wesley will say something along the lines of, "But I don't understand WHY you say so!"  Shouldn't I be getting a more for my buck out of  that saying?