A Birthday Lesson

My baby turns five today; and even though I have a six month-old sleeping soundly in the next room, I can't help but think of that little 5 year-old as "my baby". As I do with each child on every birthday, I've been reminiscing a lot, and doing a whole lot of "How did the time go so fast?" questioning. Somehow, his chubby little baby hands turned into hands that can swing a bat, roll out pizza dough, steer a bike, sweep the kitchen floor and yes, (I cringe to say it) even hit his brother from time to time. I've always thought it the sign of the end of baby and toddlerhood, when the five sweet dimples on the back of a child's hand are replaced by ruddy little knuckles. As I watched Connor dig in the sand today I noticed that the dimples on his hands have long since been replaced and he has become my little boy, no longer my baby. Though, if you ask him he'd wrinkle up his nose and tell you he's a big boy.

We celebrated Connor's birthday by taking him, his brother, and their two cousins to the beach. It was blistering hot and Husband and I were thrilled with the improvement in our boys' water confidence since we were last on the beach two years ago. Both of them had great success with the boogie boards; according to their cousin Chase, they were more successful than their dad! I spent a good amount of time trying to convince both Connor and Kirby that it is, in fact, okay to pee in the ocean. Neither one of them were quite sure whether or not to believe me. At one point, I even enlisted their older cousin asking him, " If you have to go to the bathroom when you're at the beach, where do you go?" Screwing up his face and giving me a look that clearly said "Duh!" he said, "The ocean!" The more I tried to convince them, the louder and more frantically Connor tried to piece the whole thing together:

"You mean I should just stand and pee into it?" he asked me.

"No, you don't actually pull your pants down, you just kind of pee while you're standing in the water," I said, realizing that the loooong walk to the bath house would probably be in my near future.

By this time, Connor's voice was at a fever pitch and the people around us were starting to check us out.

"You want me to pee in my pants?" Connor asked in utter disbelief.

I used my most hushed and urgent voice to explain to him that yes, you just pee straight through your pants right into the ocean and the water will wash it away. Appealing to his innermost quiet child (a child I'm not sure actually exists) I told him that everybody does it, but nobody talks about it because it just sounds nasty to talk about. Looking out at all of the people in the water, Connor's eyes got very wide as he asked me, "You mean all those people pee-d in the ocean?"

"Probably," I replied. "And if they say they haven't there's a 50/50 chance they're lying."

At about this time, Kirby strode toward us, threw down his boogie board, and announced that he had to go to the bathroom.

"Kirby!" Connor said in his very best soccer field yell. "Mom said we should just go pee in the ocean!".

It was a combination of the look of utter disgust on Kirby's face, and the fact that I realized how pathetic it was for a mother of boys to spend 10 whole minutes trying to convince them to pee in open water, when I just spent the last 5 years telling them not to pee anywhere besides the bathroom (we've all had our bushes watered by our little boys, haven't we?). I was beginning to sound like a desperate woman, so I steeled myself for the long walk across scalding hot sand, and said, "You know what, never mind. I'm sure one day you'll decide it's more convenient to pee in the ocean than to hike all the way to the bathroom. For now, I should be glad you two have such a strong urge to act civilized!"

"What's civilized mean Mom?"

"Never mind! Let's just go potty!"

And so it is that Connor's 5th birthday has apparently ushered in the dawn of a new age; an age of civility and manners. Perhaps even an age where there is never any pee outside the toilet? One can always dream!

Privacy - It's Overrated!

I know this isn't much of a news flash, but moms get no privacy. None.

Case in point: This afternoon the boys were busy building a fort, so I went upstairs to put away laundry. I made a pit stop in the bathroom and had just sat down when I heard Kirby scream up from the living room, "Mom...Mom! Where are you?"

"I'm upstairs!" I hollered back (a bit preoccupied).

"Where?" Kirby yelled again.

"Upstairs - in the bathroom!" I replied, thinking that would be it. Surely my boys are old enough to let their mom have a little privacy for a few moments, right? Wrong. In about 15 seconds I heard feet tromping up the stairs and Connor appeared in our master bathroom, pushing open the door that I had closed. With absolutely no apology and no recognition of the fact that he was in fact, disturbing my privacy, Connor barged in and asked me a question that was just so urgent - so dire - that I'm quite sure it couldn't have waited,

"Mom, do you remember how I did the pillows in the fort earlier today?" (Um, yeah, so?) "Well, can you come help me do it like that again? Right now?"

Absolutely no privacy.

It won't be long before I'll be torn between a baby sleeping in a carrier on my chest and the need to empty my bladder. It's not a pretty place to be, but I've been there before; and I'll probably be there again sooner than later. Hey - desperate times call for desperate measures!

McLate

This morning we all overslept. Husband crept out of bed at 7am, and I soon followed, to find the boys still sound asleep. Hmmm....this wasn't going to do. It takes at least 20 minutes to get Connor dressed and another 20 for him to eat, but we need to leave by 7:35 to get to school on time. As I rushed around trying to get the boys moving, I asked Kirby what he'd like for breakfast.

"A breakfast sandwich," he said.

"We don't have any cheese slices, so pick something else," I told him.

Giving me the most exasperated look, he threw up his hands in the air and said, "Fast food!".

Right at that moment, I made a decision that I'm positive I will live to regret. I promised the boys that if they could be ready in 10 minutes, I would take them to the new McDonald's that just opened up across the road from us for breakfast. This McDonald's is what Husband says will "be the death of us". It has been open almost 2 weeks and you don't want to know how many times we've been there between the four of us. However, the boys had only been there once, for dinner, so I knew going for breakfast would be a treat. Besides, I had a hankering for a Bacon Egg & Cheese biscuit, so I thought it would be a mutually beneficial arrangement.

I am aware that our morning escapade will likely set an awful precedent. Still, maybe it will also leave them with a happy memory. Or, more likely, clogged arteries!

Welcome Noise (Strange for Me)

Today is one of those rare days when I don't mind noise (anyone who knows me well knows that I have a bit of an auditory sensory issue). Who needs a quiet house, when your kids are completely, totally entertained? My friend's two boys were here today and there was not one fight. There was, however, a lot of running, jumping loudly off staircases, capes, swords, light sabres, bicycle horns and even a little Wii. I spent my free time puttering around the house, enjoying my last day before classes start and using up the remainder of zucchini my neighbor gave me to make zucchini bread (and stuffed zucchini for dinner!).

Is this what it's going to be like to have three boys??? Because I think I can handle the noise if it comes with the kind boy-joy I hear around here today. It's the sound of a full life.

Last Days of Summer

Yesterday was one of those great, do-nothing kind of days, of which we've had far too few. I was dragging and didn't even get dressed until 9:45am (at which point the boys asked me when I was going to get dressed). The fact that the boys rejoiced when I told them we had nothing to do until 4pm is a definite indicator that we do too much, in general. I also noticed that, as can be expected, the boys got along great and there was virtually no whining or crying because I played with them for much of the day. While I can't do that every day, I'm glad we were able to have one day like this right before school starts.

Something had to happen to break up the wrestling
(which I'm not sure I'll ever be entirely used to!)

Sending the boys up to clean their room can always be dicey. Somehow it usually degenerates...

Connor comes down the stairs looking like
The Skipper and singing "The Ants Go Marching One by One"
(opera style)


Who knows??? I thought I had thrown these things away!!!

All our chores were done, so we relaxed with a game of Go Fish:

Kirby contemplates his next move


Connor contemplates telling us every single card in his hand

And so, watching a lightning storm, eating tomato soup and discussing the upcoming school year, it was easy to believe that the chaos which would ensue later in the evening (during our trip to Costco) was just a bad dream.

'Tis the Season to Enjoy

The past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind of activities and Christmas preparations. I've been having a ball doing what I love best...being a wife and mom with no studies! I've had plenty of opportunity to do one of the other things I most enjoy, which is working in the kitchen.

Connor and I made 11 loaves of pumpkin bread last week! He was a great little helper.

The boys got to meet the "real" conductor from the Polar Express. 

Connor spent the following 30 minutes quizzing us on where the train was, 

and wanting to know where it dropped off the conductor, when it would be 

back to pick him up, and how long it took him to get from the North Pole to the mall.

Connor was bright-eyed for his pre-school Christmas program. As much as I hate to admit it, he was definitely upstaged by the little girl who hiked her skirt up to her shoulders and adjusted the crotch of her tights about 4 times.

Connor slept through almost all of Kirby's program (can you tell he loves the hat?).

I fear that only in kindergarten will Kirby be so proud to wear reindeer antlers,

but I wish we could hold onto this innocence forever!

Stephen and the boys did their annual father/son gingerbread house decorating.

 

The boys in their Christmas sweaters.

And now, for the grand finale...

Watching these two box on their new Wii (thanks Gramma and Pop-Pop)

is pure entertainment. Note the two different styles; Kirby hits hard and fast, while

Connor prefers the slow and steady route.

The Boys Speak Out

Sometimes, kids just say the darndest things. And I know that sometimes I should be just appalled at what comes out of their mouths, but truthfully, most of the "naughty" stuff is also quite funny.

Today, as the boys and I were getting out of the van after school, I asked Kirby to be sure and pick up his hat and gloves and bring them inside. I guess he must have answered me, telling me that he had already put them in his backpack, and I guess I didn't hear it. What I did hear was that when I repeated my instructions to him, his reply was "I told you I put them in my backpack - woman!" Now, how do you respond to that? Upon uttering the last word, Kirby gave me a sly look and a cautious smile, as if to see how well that went over with me. Of course, I could hardly stifle my laugh as I told him that it was inappropriate for him to address any female in that tone (I think he got my drift).

And on the cute side...I had to laugh out loud when Connor told me today that he didn't want any more of his hot chocolate: "I guess I'm just not a hot chocolate kind of man." Now seriously, where does a 3 year-old get that?

Ahhh...To Be a Boy

For once I actually find myself alone in the house in the morning, the last person to leave. Stephen and the boys are already up and on their way to a Huck Finn fishing derby. They boys are so excited. This is a big day for them, full of "manly" activities. Connor is geared up with his pack-pack loaded with Etch-a-Sketch and a wrapped English Muffin (he insisted on putting his "lunch" in his pack "like Mommy does"). I'm anxious to see if they catch anything - especially if they catch the pink fish that Connor tells me are living in the reservoir.
This summer looks to be our most fun summer yet. Having a three and a five year-old boy is a different world compared to how I grew up, but I love it! I have decided that if I get to come back as anything after I die, I'm coming back as a five year-old boy. One of the things I'm getting the biggest kick out of is how they want to sleep now that the weather is so warm. Both of them get dressed in their PJ's each night, Connor insistent upon pulling his underwear up over his Pull-Up. A peek inside the room an hour later reveals two crumpled balls of pajamas on the bedroom floor. The boys have decided it's too hot for pajamas and they want to sleep "like Daddy".

Yep. Because Daddy always makes sure to put his diaper on before he puts on his underwear at night.