Out of the Mouths of my Babes

My kids are hilarious.  One has a dry wit about him and the other a natural funny bone that never stops.  Here are a few of their comments that caught me off-guard when said, and that I still laugh about now.

Both kids are singing, "Amen, Amen, Amen" like the choir at church sings during the benediction.  My youngest then pipes up with, "Aw, woman!  Aw, woman!  Aw, woman!"

I was putting my youngest to bed the other night when he told me I was hot.  He continued by saying, "You're not cute-hot, Mom.  You're I-need-to-warm-down kind of hot."  Thanks, kid...

I took the kids to a local chicken finger restaurant the other day.  As the cashier was calling out the numbers when orders were ready for pick-up, my youngest commented, "She's doing a great job with her counting!"

On the way to school the other morning, my youngest placed his arms inside his shirt and said, "Look!  I don't have hands...that means I don't have to play baseball tonight!"  My oldest looks over at my youngest, and without skipping a beat said, "Um, yeah.  So, we're not buying it.  They're in your shirt..."

Before school one morning, my youngest came into the room and gave me a hug.  While hugging me he said, "I'm not going to say good morning , because my hug and my heart are telling you that already."  Then, as I scooped him up into my arms, he said, "Ugh!  How did I get myself into this?!"

Youngest child made me a card and a bookmark for Mother's Day at school this year.  I told him, "I can't wait to put this in my book!  I'll go do that now."  He replied, "Well, this is going in my book."  When I told him that I thought he'd made the bookmark for me, he said, "Well, if you'd wanted a bookmark, you should have made one..."

A Little Southern Comfort

Do you ever have those days where you feel like a human trampoline?  Or a human bean bag chair?  As the mother of two boys, that feeling is an everyday feeling for me.  My kids love to jump on top of my back and ride piggy-back down the stairs in the morning to eat breakfast before school.  They take running leaps and land on me from across the room when I'm sitting on the couch in the evenings.  And, bless me if I ever get sick enough to have to stay in bed, because those little stinkers hop all around the bed saying, "Momma, guess what?  Momma, look at this!  Momma, where are my shoes?"

But when those two are off playing with LEGOs (toy of choice in my house), battling each other with light sabers, or actually sitting quietly watching tv, a strange sense of lonliness envelopes me.  The feeling is so strong that I immediately go to each one of the boys, put my arms around them for bear hugs, and kiss their cheeks while exclaiming madly, "I love you!  I love you!  I love you!"  My oldest turns red and says, "Mooomm!"  But my youngest snuggles up and sits a spell.

I know they're going to be grown sooner than I'd like, and when they are, will be too big to sit on my lap.  But for now, I'm enjoying their feet almost touching the ground and their bodies being just big enough that they almost slip out of my lap.  Because it's during those times that I remember how well they fit in my arms as I rocked them to sleep as babies.  That memory warms me and keeps the lonly feelings of growing boys at bay. 

My arms will never be too small to encircle my boys to give them hugs.  Nor will my body ever be too fragile to endure them jumping over to me and showing their love in true boy-ish fashion.  Their way of showing love is the comfort that endures forever.

What's in a Name?

While shopping at the local cosmetic "super center" yesterday, I came across the Spring 2010 nail polish colors.  Being a nail color name enthusiast when getting pedicures, I was immediatly drawn to the season's trendiest colors...and their names.  OPI's No Room for the Blues, Atomic Orange, Teal the Cows Come Home, and Light My Sapphire are some of my favorites in terms of new color names.  But who can forget the oldies-but-goodies like OPI's I'm Not Really a Waitress, Cajun Shrimp, and I'm Fondue of You?

I was immediately drawn to Orly's Berry Blast and Bailamos colors, but for a goody-two-shoes kind of gal, the latter was going out on a limb...especially for my fingernails.  I countered my interest in this color with thoughts of, "is that really an appropriate color for work?" and "who cares, they're my nails!"  Then, I started to wonder what my nail color choices say about me.  And, if I were to be named by a nail polish company, what name would most represent me?  Several names came to mind...

1.) Magpie - my fondness for all things BSO (bright, shiny objects) makes me forget what I'm shopping for most days once I spy something shiny and new that catches my eye.
2.) Living on the Ledge - as a mom of small children, handling a full-time job as well as all the kids' activities sometimes causes moments of panic when I forget where we're supposed to be next.
3.) Grin and Wear It - any day is made better with a smile; no matter the situation.
4.) Overtures in Admission - I've recently had to admit some hard truths about my life, and hence, make some difficult decisions that affect more than just me.
5.) Pride and Joy x 2 - that would be my two children; always a welcome source of laughter and fun which makes everything else seem inconsequential.

I suppose what the above says the most about me though is that I'm not just one name.  To live life to its fullest, I'm a combination of being tough, strong, and able to handle whatever comes my way.  All the while, I'm looking for the good things in life because why else live if the good things aren't present in front of us?  And most importantly, always look for that Pride and Joy in life.  It's what matters most.

Time Flies...Whether You're Having Fun or Not

Isn't it amazing how slowly times goes by when you're younger?  The months leading up to Christmas, the days leading up to your birthday, and the entire summertime all seem to creep by.  At what point in our lives does time suddenly start to break into a jog and finally begin sprinting past faster than we can bat an eye?

My Dad commented just today about hanging out with my kids one day and suddenly finding himself at the checkout counter at Target paying for toys the kids finagled him to purchase.  He said one minute they were playing at the house and the next, the kids were waving LEGOs (the toy of choice in my household) to be scanned at the checkout lane. 

It's amazing that we can look up from life and find that everything is passing us by at Mach I with our Hair on Fire.  I, for one, am trying to dutifully look up, enjoy what's going on around me, and s-l-o-w d-o-w-n...especially when I see my kids coming down the aisle in Target waving their box of LEGOs.  Because, the next thing I know, they'll be wearing a cap and gown while waving their diplomas high in the air.

Life is Alot Like LEGOs

Have you ever noticed how once LEGOs arrive in the house, they seem to accumulate at an unprecidented rate?  It doesn't seem to matter how often you clear the LEGOs from an area, they tend to accumulate somewhere else, only to pile up and become mountains of sharp, hard-to-contain pieces that if left to accumulate, look hopeless to clear away.

That's how it seems to be at times with problems and issues we have in our lives.  We can accumulate our grievances against others until those issues look hopeless to clear away.  We can't sweep the problems under the rug.  That might hide them for the time-being, but just like LEGOs, the problems are sharp and hurt when stepped on.  And, if left for too long, the problems become insurmountable. 

While finally sitting down last night to help my children clean up the mountain of LEGOs that were scattered here and there, I finally felt that sense of accomplishment when the last piece was placed in the container and put away.  Not swept under the rug to be stepped on at a later date, but really cleaned up and out.  I found that same sense of peace later in the evening when I addressed some issues that had amassed to a mountain of worry, concern, and distaste with a loved one.  While the outcome of the discussion may not be the one most would hope for, I was left with a sense of peace.  Yes, it hurt (and still does), but the items were aired for both of us to address, and now we will move forward knowing what the other is feeling.

Will this be the last of the LEGOs that will need to be cleared away?  Probably not.  But, like the issues addressed last night, at least now they're swept out from under the rug, addressed and stored in their proper containers, and the mountain of hopelessness has been abated.

Channeling Dean Martin

Over the Memorial Day Holiday weekend, my Dad took my oldest child out-and-about one afternoon due to my youngest child being sick. While out, my Dad and my oldest child were stuck in a party supply store during one of our hit-or-miss torrential downpours that occured throughout the weekend. As they were browsing through the store, my oldest chose some plastic glasses and paper umbrellas he wanted my Dad to purchase for he and his brother. So, ever the obliging grandparent, my oldest arrives home that afternoon with a green and a blue plastic martini glass.

Upon their return, my youngest child takes his green plastic martini glass, sets it on top of his head, and begins singing, "It's my birthday! Where are my presents?" Then, he took two paper umbrellas and began twirling them next to his ears while singing the Timbaland feat. Justin Timberlake song, "Carry Out".

Lessons learned today: 1.) I have glimpsed the future of my youngest child at frat parties in college, and 2.) I need to turn the radio off more often while the kids and I are in the car together.

The Beginning...

A friend suggested I start a blog due to the commentary I frequently post on Facebook about my kids. So, here goes...I hope you enjoy my posts, have a few laughs, and join me often...