We had a GREAT weekend this past weekend...me, Sydney, and Howdy Doody up there.

Guess where we went?? Tough one, I know.

Colin's just a scooch obsessed with maps. Eric's jumped on this interest, and now has the kid surprisingly aware of the whole globe, as they sit in his room each night & cover continents, countries, states, capitals, etc. Colin manages to work it into just about everything we do. "Mommy, are we going to the post office on Fecteau Way?" and "Are we going to the grocery store in Lee? Down route 125? Or the one in Raymond off route 27?". It's endearing and annoying all at once---never equally, I assure you.

Anyhow---Eric's been at the law library at school all day. He's working on a big project, and will be there for most of the long weekend. So tonight at dinner....here's ---just about verbatim---Colin's prayer:

"Dear God. Thank you that we got to go to the Topsfield Fair today. I liked that you made that. Good job. And thank you for this delicious dinner. And please help Daddy to have a safe ride home tonight. Amen"

So sweet....but after his first bite of food, he gets this panicked look on his face and asked to pray again real quick. Umm...okay. Here's was the addendum:

"Dear God. Remember how I asked you to keep Daddy safe? I forgot to give you directions. He's in Andover. Andover, Massachusetts. It's down route 93, and there's a sign on the highway. I don't know the exit. You'll have to ask your Dad. Ya know, God? Ask him. He'll know the exit. Amen".

Dude, I DIED.
Have a great holiday!!

http://www.vimeo.com/1866602


Just had to share this video because it reminds me so much of Pooch. You see, Pooch is half beagle. (The other half--complete moron) His Jack Russell half is maddeningly stupid, but his beagle half is just sadly and pathetically stupid.



This is captured perfectly at 1:13 when the poor guy realizes he's totally SCREWED.

It's a good one--

I just realized, after reading a note from Colin's teacher, that not only does she use the word "wowzers" alot...but...she also dots her i's with circles. AND the dots under her TWO exclamation points are the eyes that form the top of a cutie-patootie smiley face. This means that she is clearly absolutely PERFECT for this job, and I'm kinda jealous of her enthusiasm!

Wowzers.

See vooh play?

Sydney has started speaking in Spanish (thanks to Dora the Explorer), calling it Chinese (because of the ladies who do her pedicures), and she's doing it all with a heavy British accent...thanks to her ongoing addiction to Julie Andrews movies.

I WILL be trying to catch this on video as soon as I can....however, I'll have to sneak up on her to do it. The MOMENT that child sees a video camera, it's like her body loses all muscle tone, her face freezes in some sort of bug-eyed-tongue-out mess, and she acts like a total moron. Even if I can't catch it, though....read the above paragraph and then close your eyes while you try to picture it. It's THAT funny.

Young Republicans

Just found this stuck to the wall in the hallway between the kids' rooms upstairs! Colin had written the sign that says, "vote for John McCain and Sarah Palin turn right and left for votes of them". And in their rooms, there were homemade ballots on each of their respective desks...complete with pencil.

Pooch H. LaRooch

THIS is why Pooch loves it here...

.......and THIS is why Pooch hates it here.......

2nd grade

Colin started SECOND GRADE (all caps because it really is that exciting) this week! He was so cute with his buddy Noah White down at the bus stop on the first day. Here are some pics from that morning. His teacher this year is Ms. Crane, and she seems great. She was our first choice, and has a personality that should really work well for Colin's learning potential---which means mostly that her personality is exactly the opposite of mine. Ha. He had all highs and no lows to report this week, so we're off!

I thought I'd pull out my old scrapbooks (thanks, Mom) and show him my elementary school years...particularly second grade. He was reading all of my little stories, laughing at my artwork, and checking out my class pictures. He noticed that when I was little, I was called Jenny and signed my schoolwork as such. We had a special time of snuggling looking at those books, then he hopped off my bed and headed out of my room.

At the door, he turned around and said, "Mommy? I'm so glad you don't let anyone call you Jenny anymore...because you were VERY UGLY when you were Jenny."! I thought of explaining to him that just calling me Jenny would not transport me back & drop me back into my 1981 perm and give me oversized plastic eyeglasses. But forget it....

uh oh

Syd's been practicing her letters and whatnot as she is getting so excited for school to start back up. Just went down to the playroom & found this on the chalkboard.

Guess we'll be having "the talk" sooner, rather than later with that one!

That' so WHACK...

So, that's my leg. Hacked it to pieces with a weedwhacker on Saturday. Laughing yet? Yeah--not funny. MAY be funny soon, but not funny yet.

I was happily whacking the weeds, when I whacked off the top of a hornet's nest. Got stung. Went to get spray, sprayed to kill 'em, then turned around to fuss with the weedwhacker to get back to what I was doing. Ya know how when you put your hand on a hot pan handle, it takes your brain a second to realize that, um, yeah, bytheway...your hand is on fire? Well---it took a minute for that same synapse to fire and let me know that my THUMB was on the trigger, and that searing pain? YEAH...that was my leg being ripped to shreds.

The picture doesn't even do it justice, because you can't see how deep a couple of those are. And because it was taken before the bruising (from the velocity with which the damn thing hit my leg) had appeare. Oh, and there's no audio to hear me alternate between sobbing and screaming curse words.

Best part? (aside from the fact that I actually WAS intending to wear shorts some more this summer?) Had a terrible reaction to the sting...hand swollen and ridiculously painful. AND had to get a tetanus shot---which resulted in a case of hives. Nice spread out itchy ones. AND...I realized later that night that my underwear had been on inside out all day. Not even kidding.

We're gonna just forget Saturday ever happened.

Colin's TOOTH!

Colin lost a tooth! Colin lost a tooth! Colin lost a tooth! Finally.

Seriously. This kid has been waiting since the first day of first grade last year...when he first saw the blasted "tooth chart" on the wall. Every single kid in his class made that stupid chart last year---some with their second or third lost teeth! It all went down with very little fanfare. Grandad came over & pulled it. Colin was a little shocked, though, because he just kinda thought he was gonna take a look in there, and then all of a sudden---it was in his hand!!

We laughed the next day because Colin came down to our bed with his bag of loot & the card from the tooth fairy in his hands--still unopened. He had a kinda dazed look on his face, mostly because while he was pretty sure that the whole "fairy" thing wasn't really real...how the HECK was he supposed to explain the M&M's and the money. And, ummmm....where'd my tooth go? Sydney, on the other hand, would have had everything ripped open, eaten, and would be standing over us with a pair of pliers to see if we could maybe figure out how to get her some more money under her pillow??

Congrats, buddy!!

Kelsey

I was just uploading some old stuff on my camera & found these pictures from a couple of weeks ago. Eric & I were gone overnight, and our DEAR babysitter Kelsey was here with the kiddos. We came home to find the living room transformed into a blanket fort...thanks for that Kelsey, by the way! Found these, so thought I'd share. Those kids are so blessed to have Kels in their lives.

Let's hope she'll still be speaking to us after she sees that I just posted pics of her in jammies and without makeup for the whole world to see. Sorry!

Syd once more

Just a couple of Sydney's greatest hits from today:

First, we went to the new Children's Museum of New Hampshire--large, loud, and TONS of fun. The kids were both WIPED on the way home, and Sydney fell asleep in the car. I pulled in to get gas, and when I got to the pump & turned off the car...Sydney sat straight up with a start and yelled, "chicken nuggets and fries!!". I turned around to laugh at her, and Colin was just back there shaking his head going, "it's the gas station, Sydney".

Then just before bed tonight, I hear Sydney yell from the bathroom inquiring as to whether or not I could please come & help her *ahem* wipe. I yelled back that she is plenty old enough to handle these things, and she yells back...."okaaaay, but it's seriously a piece of work."

An overdeveloped love of fried foods AND an appreciation of potty humor. My girl.

I'm pretty sure this is where favoritism has it's roots...

I woke up a couple of days ago to THIS on my pillow.

Had it been from Sydney, however, it would've gone a little something like this:

i like you most days. you're not that bad it's fun when you let me have my way. it is. you'll do. buy me lip gloss today and i want to be called isabelle from now on. love sydney farris

touchy, touchy!!

I've been told by a number of you that my previous post today was so horribly offensive that you will never return to this blog if I don't rectify the situation...and SOON!

So--here. A dog in a bunny suit. What's more sugary sweet than THAT?!

STOP if you're eating...

Ya know how they say that dog crates are so great because no dog will crap where they sleep?

Well--Pooch has once again bucked tradition.

And, if you must know, the sad truth is that the blanket he has in there actually caught most of it. The blanket and the WALL behind the kennel, that is.

You're welcome. Happy weekend!

Sydney, oh sweet Sydney

Look who learned to write her name.

Look who wrote her name on Colin's rug.

COLIN'S rug. Couldn't even sign her name on something in her own room. There was apparently something in her that thought this would be a good idea--fun, even. Riiiiiggghhht up until she heard me coming up the stairs, that is. She quickly learned that--while we are all very proud of her skill -she's gonna want to find a piece of paper next time.

I'm posting this picture here today because I mostly want to smother her right now, and I know that the memory of Syd writing her name in marker on Colin's rug will someday make me smile.

She's got strep throat...been dealing with that for 2 days. I've gotten NO sleep, she's gotten really lousy sleep, she's been running a 101 to 103 degree fever for 2 days, she refuses to swallow & has demanded a spittoon for all spit in her mouth, she's decided that no amount of grape flavoring in her penicillin will make it acceptable, and we're all about at our wit's end with the whining. Oh, the WHINING.

So--here's to better days ahead. And to Colin NOT getting strep.

summah, summah, summah-time!!

Reasons why I do NOT buy Fluff during the school year:

1. Fluff should only be eaten with Wonder bread. Spreading Fluff on Wonder bread is frustrating, as it tears the bread into little sticky shreds. You always end up chucking a piece or two into the trash can. Who has time for that on a school morning?

2. Your kid WILL have Fluff spread on both of the sides of his or her mouth & extending outward to the ears for the rest of the school day. It will be cute for a minute, but then he or she will go to recess, art class, and gym and will be wearing a gray/black mask that now makes all who see him or her cross to the other side of the hall when passing.

3. You've got to hide your redneck better than that. Sending your kid to school with a Fluffernutter on Wonder bread is like sending your kid to school with 11 sugar packets and a can of Red Bull. It's just irresponsible.

So, summer's finally here. Bought this stuff yesterday. Fluffernutters abound. And the only thing better than scraping those little suckers off the roof of your mouth with your pinky finger is hearing Sydney laugh out loud every time she says "fluffernutter".

just because

...how cute are THEY?????

Florida!

Okay--as promised--something about the trip to Florida. I went with my friend Shell (call her Shelly if you see her, though...she loves that), and we had a ridiculous amount of fun. We rented a convertible, cooked fat steaks on the grill, snorkeled for HOURS, laid around the pool, got really tan & hot lookin', and wanna hear the best part???? NO ONE called either of us Mommy for THREE WHOLE DAYS. Bliss.

I wanted to attach pictures, but realized that most of them are of two women who thought it was a good idea to be at a public beach in a bikini. Yeah--not gonna share those. I also realized that due to the extensive relaxation that was going on, neither of us actually put any makeup on until the plane ride home...which made for some rather unattractive photos as well. So--here's a couple. One in the convertible looking all young & cool, and another couple of us at a carnival that we skidded & did a U-turn over four lanes of traffic to attend.

Good times. Going back.

Tootsies

Sydney got a little pedicure today, then announced that she'd "like to show the world her toes".

So, "world"----here are Syd's toes. The glittery shoes are just the icing on the cake, dontcha think?

Mr. Smarty Pants

I went as a chaperone on a field trip to the zoo with Colin & his class this week. Wanted to share this little story:

They had a 20 minute Live Animal Show at the outdoor amphitheater thingy, and the zookeeper brought out 4 animals to share with the kids. First was a porcupine, then a parrot, then a lizard thing, then a really cool monkey. After each presentation, she would stop and do a Q & A with the kids RE: what they had just seen. As Colin is rarely fully "present" during long drawnout instruction, I knew I was in the clear as far as that went.

Well, she had told the kids at the beginning that the porcupine was nocturnal, and informed them that it meant that those little guys played all night and slept all day. The show was coming to a close, and Colin raised his hand. Crap. I had a mini-stroke, then just chanted please don't ask something stupid or weird please don't ask something stupid or weird please don't ask something stupid or weird a few times in my head.

"Yes, little man?" says the zookeeper. Colin, head tilted and looking a little confused, "ummmm....why's the porcupine awake right now?".

Colin had clearly been wondering that very thing since 20 minutes before, and it took his little self that whole time to get up the nerve to ask a question. Out loud. In front of people. To a stranger. So, as the whole place erupted in a round of "wow--good question!'s", I just beamed with pride. You're the man, C.

Treading water...

I had a lousy morning. Every single thing I needed to get accomplished was getting slowed down & hampered by some stupid thing all morning. I needed to do a bunch of work on the computer...couldn't get an internet connection. Needed to get a bunch of laundry done...washer wasn't emptying properly. Couldn't find a phone # for a call I really needed to make. It's not that anything was going wrong, per se. I was just feeling like I was treading water & waiting for things to correct themselves so that I could move on with my to-do list.

...and then Sydney came around the corner of the office like this...

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Lots to write. Will write when I'm caught up. Had a FUN trip to Florida.

Catch ya later...

Back from our trip to Michigan. Had a great time. Great time is officially over.

Kids both sick. Fevers steady at 101. Puke count split at Colin: 7 to Sydney: 5. Both sleeping now.

Mommy's not having any fun. Will post with cute little comments about our trip some other time. If you can't say anything nice...

...you get the idea.

It's a beautiful day...

I once read an article by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist & Newsweek columnist Anna Quindlen where she wrote about a particular photograph that she has from when her kids were little. In the picture, the kids were having a picnic in the grass. I believe they were sitting under a hammock. Anyhow--what stuck with me was how she was lamenting the fact that she loves that picture, but it's bittersweet because she can't remember more of what really mattered that day. What the kids were eating. How the wind felt on her face. What they were talking about right before the picture was snapped.

Well, I had an Anna Quindlen moment (I WISH I were half the writer!) today. I was out in the perfect New Hampshire 65 degree spring weather doing "airplane rides" with the kids. And suddenly my heart hurt because I realized that there will come a day when not only am I not going to be able to lift them in the air on my feet & hear there hysterical giggles...but they won't ask me to anymore. So here's my best attempt at making sure that doesn't happen.

And for the record, we were talking about water balloons right before we took the pictures. And when Colin first got up in the air for his first turn he said "hold on, I need to go pee first!" and Sydney asked to get down real quick so that she could go get some string cheese. So typical. So perfect. So blessed.

Hope you all had a moment like this somewhere in your day today.

GOBBLE GOBBLE!!

Warning--this post will make SO MUCH MORE SENSE if you read the one below from earlier today FIRST.

Okay. Let's continue. Just looked out the window. There's a TURKEY at the birdfeeder. A frickin' turkey, dude!!!

Between this and all of the really cool birds that have come into the yard today...I'm just saying that I don't even think I'll be shocked if I look out there tomorrow morning and see an emu feeding in the rock garden. And then tomorrow's post will go something like, "there was an EMU at the birdfeeder this morning. A frickin' EMU, dude!!".

tweet, tweet

We put up a couple of birdfeeders yesterday. The kids have always loved the ones that my parents have, and love to go out with their Grandad to fill them. They helped pick the feeders, the spot, the food, the whole nine yards.

They were pretty into it at first, but then had forgotton all about it by dinner. I went ahead and assumed that this was another one of those things that was going to fall horribly short of the expectations the kids had put on it all. (the birds aren't gonna come sit on your shoulder JUST because you gave them some sunflower seeds, ya know?)

BUT THEN, this morning--- there were like a dozen beautifully colored birds (& some of the old gray standbys) out there just having a party.

And it was like Disney World moved into the yard overnight & Santa Claus was out there having tea with the Easter Bunny. I swear, it was just like that.

Say it isn't so...

...I actually got right on here! Well, let's hope that means that the little tantrum this website was having in my direction is over. As promised yesterday, may I present to you....


.....WACKY HAIR DAY!! God bless elementary school and the shenanigans therein.

In my defense--no, in the defense of my poor kids--it was like 7:30 in the morning when this video was taken. For the record, no one was hung over. It just seems that way. Enjoy.

Can it be TRUE???

Am I really posting? I have for-some-unknown-reason-that-has-been-quite-frustrating been unable to post here for the past month. Like, can't sign in. Can't get past the front page. No entry. Denied.

And while I now have tons of backlog to report, I also have no time. Hopefully, this isn't a "fluke" and we're good to roll tomorrow. It is, after all, WACKY HAIR DAY at school for the kids. Should provide for some cute pictures!

YAY! We're BACK!!!

Fill in the blank...

...and in the you-can't-make-this-stuff-up department...


Snuggling with the kids tonight before bed--but Colin was all fidgety after story time. I bagged it, and decided to fast forward to prayers & get the thing done.

I prayed first, then Sydney went with her usual, "and thank you for pink and princesses and the sun and glitter and Hannah Montana and and and". When she was done, a usually compliant Colin folded his arms and said, "nope. I don't have anything to pray for". Yes, Colin, you do...Jesus is very good to us and so forth, I said. "Nope" from Colin. I said Colin, surely you can think of something to be thankful for today, and you can pray for someone else, too.

"Fine", says Colin, "Dear Jesus. Thank you for BLANK. And please help BLANK. And please help tomorrow to be BLANK."

So--as you can see, the jury is still out on whether or not Colin understands the nuance of sarcasm!

Sydney's STILL out of school because of the sprinkler thing last week. She's SO BORED. She has been playing with her Barbie & her Polly Pockets all morning. Just wanted to share this so you could see why I don't ever turn on the stereo during the day. There. Is. Constant. Noise.

NO WAY

WAY.

Eric "self-effacing-humor-guy" Farris wearing 3-D glasses and he allowed a photo to be taken.

I think I need to go lie down.

Cabin fever

It snowed again yesterday. Like 8 inches of fresh snow here. SUCKED. I spent this week mostly in and out of a Sudafed and Nyquil (often in combination) induced coma, and Sydney was out of school all week due to a "sprinkler malfunction" in her classroom. So this morning, I had HAD IT. I said, "kids-- go potty, get on some pants, and we're outta here". Snow, head colds, frigid temps...thinking we headed somewhere warm to work it out? Nope. Drove to Vermont. It's darn near tropical up there...!

Grabbed our buddies Shell & baby Clay and went to Quechee Gorge. Got stuck in a snowbank (thanks Shell!) , let both of my kids pee outside (pee-sicles?) at the Gorge lookout, bought some good old Vermont cheese, and let the kids choose some candy from the MILE long penny candy table.

It was a good day. A really good day.

Happy Birthday to you!

It's official! Sydney has now been with us for FOUR years! Most people go on about how time flies. Well, we're (and YOU'RE) not most people. Syd, I owe you some poignant words here on the day of the celebration of your birth. Well, you'll have to give me a break on that one. I have a horrible, achy, feverish head cold...and I'm not feeling particularly clever.

So, know that your Daddy and I are so very proud of you. You have made such progress during the last couple of months. We have been having a behavior "boot camp" of sorts--after identifying the emergence of some rather lousy character traits. Three came in like a big, old roaring lion, and it seems to be going out like a lamb. A lamb with a big mass of turd stuck in it's wool, but a lamb nonetheless. You've been kind and are really getting the whole manners thing. Where you used to be shy & snooty when people would talk to you in public, you are really learning to engage and be kind.

Today, you decided to wear a CROWN all day. A big, pink bejeweled number to celebrate your birthday. In addition to the crown, you had a large pink "BIRTHDAY GIRL" badge affixed to your shirt. While you love adornment, you don't always react well to the attention those trappings bring in public. At the mall, everyone kept getting right down in your face to comment with "happy birthday, sweetie" and "how old are you" and "aren't you so pretty" and such. I was so proud of the way you politely answered and said thank you and smiled. After an hour or so of this, you'd had it. And after one grandma-type made WAY too big a deal out of the whole thing, you pulled me down to your level, got the old nasty Sydney face back on and said, "mommy, why does everyone keep talking to me about my birthday?".

"Ummmm...the crown & the badge, sweet pea?" I said. You reached up to feel your head, and on came the lightbulb. A sheepish grin and you mumbled, "oops...I'm a dork".

You are not a dork. You are oblivious like your mommy. And smart. And sweet. And funny. Happy Birthday, baby girl.

Sleep well. Seriously. I'm taking some Nyquil and going to bed. If I see your face before 7 tomorrow morning, I'll hurt you.

Kisses.

Love, Mommy

Hey, God--you there??

Sydney was sitting on the bottom step being punished when Colin walks up to her and says "suckerrrrrrrr" in a hysterically snide voice. Well--needless to say, chaos ensued in the now-everyone's-in-trouble department. When the dust settled, I asked them where they'd heard the word sucker. (YesI did give Colin total props in my head for using it correctly & in context!!) Apparently, it came from a movie that I had DVR'd for them to watch. So, we corporately made the decision to delete it from our menu, as this was clearly something that we wouldn't be proud to sit on the couch & watch with Jesus.

Colin's fascination was with the whole TV remote part of it all & the mechanics of how exactly one deletes a show from the DVR menu. Sydney was looking all forlorn and sad that her precious movie was going to be deleted. When all of a sudden....Syd throws her hands up--palms out--looks to the Heavens and exclaims...."WAIT!!!! WE GOTTA MAKE SURE GOD IS WATCHING!!!!!"

It's just proof that Sydney does NOTHING without a reward of some sort.

whoops

So, the thing about Fifths Disease is that you don't actually know when you were ever contagious. Which explains me not realizing that I should have kept Syd & Colin away from each other like THREE FREAKING WEEKS AGO. She's got it now, too.

It's kinda cool to see a virus go right by the book, though. (or is that just me?) First comes super-pink "slapped" cheek look, then trunk rash, then extremities rash, then it's over. Bring it.

the latest...

I waited 3 days to give you an update on Colin's bruise--ya know, so it could reach it's very finest yellow-green color. Mission accomplished! Know that the camera's flash cuts about 40 percent of the green undertone out...hahahahaaaa! He looks hilarious.

My friend Shell (aka Dr. Barker, the chiropractor) emailed me after looking at the blog and was all--that's not funny, but I looked at his pupils in the pics and he looks fine, and you know you should get an X-ray to check and see if his whatjamajiggy plate got shoved into his brain, and did he lose consciousness at all, and is there cerebrospinal fluid leaking out of his nose, and yadayadayada.

...and then I though, yeah, this whole laidback Mom thing I've been working on perfecting? Should I get that checked??

It's a great day to be alive...

So--being Colin is a GREAT thing mostofthetime. Today, however, is a different story. He's enduring the tail end of a bout with Fifth Disease (for a good time--head here http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/infections/bacterial_viral/fifth.html ) which has left him a little drained and covered in a lacy rash from head to toe. He was just starting to rally after a lowkey day yesterday when....

....he decided it would be fun to plow the driveway with Daddy without the added benefit of wearing a seatbelt. HA! At this point in the winter, you just have to gun it & kinda throw the snow over the bank.

Well-- Colin's forehead + dashboard == Klingon from Star Trek. I just know that it's gonna look worse tomorrow, and if it does... I will laugh. Err..I mean...I will post new pictures.

A house full of love

I got the kids little dry erase boards to mount on their bedroom doors, because I thought it would be cute for them to have a little spot to draw & write notes when they were up there playing. We've had them for about a week now, and I've enjoyed seeing the new masterpieces each morning. Sydney likes to draw circles and the letters S and E. Colin's board has said things like "I love you Mommy" and "Colin's room" and "Wake me up at 7".

I should have known it wouldn't take long to get to this place! Buddy--she can't read. And even if she could...do you really think that would stop her??

Polly stepped in it

Sydney is playing with her Polly Pockets, and has built an elaborate "castle" with some of her stacking pegs. I casually peeked in and told her that--hey--see those tall parts right there? Those are called turrets. "Hmmm...okay", she says.

A few minutes later, I hear her telling Polly that she should wait for the prince down by the door, because you don't want to get stuck in the turds. Followed closely by hilarious laughter.

This is the same girl who sings about whether or not one's ears hang low--like a continental "soda".

You can't make this stuff up.

Wiener poopie

Just came across my desk this morning...

Seriously, I just don't know where to start here. Is it the word wiener? The word poopie? The name Jesus in the same sentence with the aforementioned two words????

I would drop everything and go back to college RIGHT NOW to become a television news reporter if I had even the slightest HINT that I may ever get the chance to voiceover a clip such as this.

...oh that I may ever get an opportunity even half as fabulous...

"A complaint about their "leavings"???? HAHAHAHAHAHA! You're welcome.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUJ4es4cYIU

I'll second that...

Eric was home early tonight, so he offered to stay with Sydney while Colin & I went on a "date" to the library to get some of his homework done. In the car on the way there:

Colin: Mommy--you know how I know that Sydney's not with us?

Me: How, buddy?

Colin: 'Cause my ears aren't hurting from all that whining.

He's got a point there.

A toss-up

Colin & I read a Bible story each night before he goes to sleep. He always asks such good questions, and it's a really neat time for "just us". We've recently started to let Sydney in on the fun, and she loves the snuggles, and often adds insight of her own. Like tonight's, for example.

We read the story of Daniel being thrown in the lions' den. Colin pointed out that he was brave, and that the angels didn't let the lions' mouths work, etc. Right before we ended with our prayer, Syd pipes up-- "it's a good thing Daniel didn't get eaten by the lions. That would've SUCKED".

So--I'm left to wonder-- when I'm standing at the pearly gates...does the fact that I TRIED to teach Sydney her Bible cancel out the fact that I also inadvertantly taught her to swear?

Proud Mama

Colin,

This isn't so much a letter to you as it is just what I would say if you were an adult right now. Or maybe what I want you to know someday when you're wondering how your heart can be so full of love for YOUR son. I won't be eloquent...it's late, and I'm all foggy in that good way you get when your right on the edge of crying with a huge smile on your face. But here goes.

We just got home from your 1st grade winter concert at school. I need you to know that I am so proud of you, buddy. For me, Colin, the things you do are never just that thing at that moment. Like tonight---all of the parents were there for a cheesy concert with their 6 year olds. I was there to see you be normal. I didn't see you file onto those risers, do the motions (almost correctly!) to the songs, and sing your heart out. I didn't.

What I saw were snapshots of the moments we've shared together on your journey. I don't see you standing on risers-- I see you wearing your special shoes and struggling to get across our living room floor with your physical therapist. I don't hear you singing-- I hear you practicing your articulation and inflection with your speech therapist. I don't see your sweet new haircut, I see myself stroking your head as you wake from an MRI. I don't see you goofing off with your neighbor...honey, I see you being an adorable 6 year old with friends. Friends who "get" you, or at least they SO do for right now!

You are earnest, you are kind, you love music, you overflow with joy. Tonight, you GLOWED. You bounce when you are forced to stand still, and tonight it was like you were going to lift off from the sheer heaven of it all. Daddy was there, your Grandad was there, Shell & the boys were there...people who just love you so much. Tomorrow night you head over to Luke's for your first big "non-family" sleepover. Then...on Saturday, you're headed off to college. Oh--that's right--that's just how it feels in Mama's heart.

You have much to teach me, Colin, and I need you to know that tonight was so much sweeter for having learned so much from you already.

Mama loves you. Sleep well, baby.

Oh--for the record--YES, the kid next to you WAS wearing a fake mustache most of the night. And they say YOU'RE "special"?

Apple, cranberry, or orange?

Sydney has this thing she does when she's in a "mood"--she argues just for the sake of arguing. Just to keep the "angry" going a little longer. Just to screw up her brow and doubt that anyone around her really knows what they're talking about. Just to be...three. It's kinda her version of most 3-year olds' WHY? game. Instead of answering every why question with another why--she answers every argument with another argument. Fun game.

So that you'll know what started this, you should know that Sydney FINALLY went cold turkey with the pacifiers on Christmas Eve. We did the whole, "Santa is gonna take these to little children who need them" routine and whathaveyou. (Like ANY kid would've taken those nasty things...the 3 remaining pacifiers were about 2 years old, and had just about that much gunk and crap in them...eww eww eww. )

You're basically up to speed. Here's the conversation on the way home from Target today.
(and when reading Syd's voice, make it really whiny & angry-like. Not yelling--more like growling...you won't even be CLOSE, but try.)

Syd: Mommy, I want my paci! I need to have my paci.

Mommy: Sydney, when we get home, I'll snuggle you up on the couch with your blanket & you can close your eyes for a minute.

Syd: When I open my eyes will my paci be back?

Mommy: (stifling a smile) No, Syd. The pacies are gone. Maybe you should learn to suck your thumb? You have TWO, ya know.

Syd: I can't suck my thumbs.....THEY HAVE GERRRRRRRRRMS. I'll DIIIIEEEEE.

Mommy: (working harder at the not laughing) Seriously, honey? Where did you hear that?

Syd: I didn't HEAR it. I LEARNED it! (getting really mad, now)

Mommy: Syd--seriously...you wash your hands plenty. So--sorry--where did you learn about germs?

Syd: At school...Ms. Greenwood taught me. Ya know, I don't even like school.

(she loooooves school...remember...arguing just to argue)

Mommy: I'm sorry to hear that, because you're going back on Wednesday.

(****long pause while she works up her next argument****)

Syd: Mommy, do we have Hannukah?

Mommy: (hardly able to contain my interest to see where this is going) Nope--we have Christmas.

Syd: Why don't we have Hannukah?

Mommy: Well, ummm...because we're not Jewish?

Syd: We're not what?

Mommy: We're not Jewish people.

Syd: WE ARE TOOOOOOO JUICE PEOPLE!
I LOVE JUICE!
I LOVE APPLE JUICE
AND CRANBERRY JUICE
AND ORANGE JUICE!!!!!!!
DON'T SAY WE'RE NOT JUICE PEOPLE!!!!

And then I laughed so hard that Sydney forgot to be mad, and laughed right along with me. And these are the moments in time you just don't ever want to forget.

Snow day!

Just a day before the kids are let out to spend ELEVEN consecutive vacation days home with me...they've called a snow day. I don't get what's up with these wuss bus drivers...c'mon...it's not the frontier, for Pete's sake.

So our office here at home is now the site of a large "secret club" fort. Because nothing says "I love my Mom" more than emptying the entire linen closet into a mess for her to clean up.

Awesome.

Let it snow...

We're in the throes of the first of TWO Nor'easter snowstorms this weekend. We've gotten 8 inches in about 5 1/2 hours so far, and it's still snowing. UGH. Eric's out of town tonight, I hate to shovel, the plow guy hasn't called back, our snowblower thing-a-majig is broken--and the only one who knows how to fix it? Yeah--out of town, remember? So--I'm in a mostly FOUL mood, and was lamenting all of the above both under my breath and aloud in the living room with the kids before bed. They were standing with their little noses to the window watching the snow fall, and I spewed out...darnit!!! I have to be out of here at 8:45 in the morning, and I don't know HOW I'm gonna get my car out of the garage and this totally stinks, and onandonandonandon. Until Colin says quietly, "Sydney--it's like God sprinkled our Christmas trees with powdered sugar". Then Sydney...having heard the words powdered sugar...yells, "LET'S HAVE FRENCH TOAST!!!". And then my heart was so full I felt as though it just might finally burst.

Merry Christmas--

The anal picker-upper

A little while ago, I sent the kids upstairs to clean Sydney's room. And by clean, I mean PLOW THROUGH and find some sort of order before even being ABLE to start to clean. Dear Sydney decided at some point today to take out every last piece of clothing, sock, underwear, hair barrette, and EVERYTHING from all 1-2-3-4-5-6 yeah SIX of her drawers and spread it all over the room. Nice.

I just stuck my head around the corner to listen upstairs & see how it was going. Colin is not only giving her a minute-by-minute pep talk (Sydney, it's almost over! Mom's gonna be so proud! You can do it!), but he's also encouraging a level of detail in her efforts that I never would have anticipated or expected. See--I'm also hearing, "okay, long sleeves in this drawer; short sleeves here; put all underwear in a pile and we'll get to those in a minute; jeans here; long pants here; white socks and pick socks separate" and so forth. I also heard him tell her to line up her books on her bookshelf better.

Autism ROCKS. I'm just sayin'.

HA!

While this is an adorable little video clip, it also quite accurately portrays what it must look like when Pooch & I are sitting on the couch watching TV at night. All is peaceful, Mom chomping on snacks, when suddenly...BWAH!!! Pooch lets out a bark that swear-to-God takes a YEAR off my life! Enjoy!

Are they their parents, or what?

A classic exchange last night that was a spot-on portrayal of their parents' relationship:

Sydney: wearing a tutu, talking incessantly, thinking she's hysterical, singing silly songs & spinning around the room. She singsongs, "Colin, aren't I funny?".

Colin: where he once was laughing & playing along, he is now just staring at her. He deadpans, "Yeah, Sydney. You're like a big joke. Except that the joke isn't funny."

(Replace above names with Jen & Eric... and welcome to my life....)

Happy THANKSGIVING!