Cougars

As a young child I remember my mother scolding a grocery worker at Eagle grocery store. The clerk had questioned why I was not in school. At the time, I was only in half day kindergarten. My mom did not appreciate the question. From early on, I have anticipated having to do the same for my boys. When I was on maternity leave last spring, a clerk at Target inquired about Jared not being in school. He was TWO!
Despite being prepared for people thinking he is older than he is, today I was caught off guard. Our trip to the park started off so innocent. Colton and Jared were enjoying some time on the swings. Then two girls showed up and joined us on the swings....

Jared: Hey, you can't have a balloon at the park.
Girl #1: It's ok. Do you like my tights? How do I look in them?
Jared: Tights! What are those?
Girl #2: See how high I can swing? My birthday is in December.
Jared: What are you talking about?
Girl #1: I know how to write one word in cursive, do you?
Jared: Huh? No. What are you talking about?
Girl? #1: Are you in kindergarten?
Jared: Nooo
Girl #1: 1st grade?
Jared: Huh?
Girls #1 Preschool?
Me: He is three (tramps)
Girl #2: I am six and she is eight. Are you watching how high I am going?


Eventually, we all leave the swings. The girls run to hug Jared. Jared says, "hey, what is going on?" I would explain it to you Jared, but it is far too complicated.

A recipe for Disaster

We often find ourselves making choices as to what appears to have potential danger and stopping our kids from a potential mishap. For example, dive bombing on the couch was outlawed, and so was seeing how many stairs we could jump down at once. Today, I went against logical reasoning. Megabloks makes a small wagon to hold blocks. It just so happens it can also hold a 11 moth old. Maybe not well, but he got wedged in there. Both boys thought this was a hoot. Colton got a good 10 minute ride this morning, and another one this evening. The entire time I pictured Colton spilling over, but fortunately that never happened. They both loved it. Turns out it was safe...enough. The wagon getting caught on the end table and breaking the lamp, that I didn't see coming. Sigh.

Catapult

Awhile ago someone suggested I write about how to stop kids from throwing food on the floor. I haven't taken on such a task. I thought about it, but Jared doesn't throw food on the floor. So, I don't know what to do. We have started table food with Colton. His easy going demeanor carries through to his eating habits. He doesn't cry or throw a fit if he doesn't like something. Nope. Instead, he just whips it on the floor. He is really good at eyeing a piece of cheese mixed in with his crackers. No worries, on the floor it goes. What about that small pile of spaghetti? Yep, just give it a good toss and keep eating. Mark gets frustrated, because it makes quite the mess. I find it humorous. I know all too soon he will learn that this is not acceptable behavior; this I will make sure. However, I will secretly miss the chucking of the apples.

Mischief

With a crawler on the loose, one always has to be aware of potential problems. I feel a little more prepared the second time around. I don't have to worry about moving the breakables, as I gave up on those a long time ago. I know to block the entertainment unit, and cupboards are locked. As I have mentioned before, my challenge has primarily been Jared's toys. Jared loves his scissors and glue. I fear what trouble will ensue once Colton gets ahold of them. A new battle has begun, the register vents. Jared had no interest in these. I was lucky. Unfortunately, Colton's daily task is to pull off the register vents exposing a gaping hole into the unknown world of duck work. He considers himself lucky to stumble upon one when the heat is running, an added bonus. I finally duck taped the kitchen floor one to the floor. It is a very classy look. Colton is already trying to figure out a way to conquer the tape and reclaim the vent. To my knowledge no toy has gone missing. I fear it is only a matter of time before one of the annoying sound toys gets stuck in the on position and is noisily playing "pop goes the weasel" in the floor of our house.

Please pass the IPhone?

Tonight we ventured out for dinner. Always nice to get out of the house and do something different. Both kids seem to enjoy the change of pace. Let's take a second and think of objectives for eating out:
1. Eating
2. Less clean up
3. Good times

Looking around this busy restaurant, it seemed other families had the same objective. However, their interpretation of good times, and mine are different. Seated next to us was a family with an infant and a 3 year old. The 3 year old was consumed with her mother's iPhone as they waited for dinner. They were not the only family letting their kids use their phone as entertainment. As we waited for dinner, we all talked as a family. Jared ate just as fast as always, and was ready to go. He had his coat on and was getting restless. I could have solved all my problems by passing Jared my iPhone. Instead, I had Jared sit on my lap (it was really loud at the restaurant) and we talked about the basketball game. This conversation turned into a discussion about college and which how he was going to get to college. We talked about Mommy and Daddy taking him to college someday. He seemed concerned about having a big chair for college. I have no clue what he was referring to. Suddenly, dinner was done and it was time to go.

Tonight at dinner, I ate, didn't have to worry about Cheerios on floor, and had a good time conversing with the family. I am glad I decided to not pass the iPhone.

The truth...even when you don't want to hear it

Last week I had some skin cancer removed from my nose. As expected, my nose looks pretty bad with stitches and blood. After the first day, Jared asked if he could see under the bandaid. I showed him. He said, "that's disgusting."
A week has gone by, and I thought it was looking a little bit better. I guess I needed a reality check, because I asked Jared if my nose looked any better. He looks at my nose, pauses, thinks, and then says, "It still looks icky."

I appreciate the honesty. I catch Colton just staring at my nose. Lord only knows what he is thinking.

Echo

It is humorous to listen to the various phrases Jared says. As all three year olds, he clearly is a human sponge for what he hears. Of course none of these he gets from me.

1. You're not my best friend anymore.
2. You get what you get, and you don't have a fit.
3. I'm not going to invite you to my 4 year old birthday party.
4. Oh my God (this is a new one...doesn't make me happy)
5. Fine, I don't care (this is an old one...doesn't make me happy)
6. You're not the boss of me. (Seems to say when we are trying to get him to do something)
7. It's too much! (Said at clean up time...not at cookie time)

A meaningful conversation

So this afternoon I decided I needed to tell Jared I would be going tomorrow to have surgery. This is how the conversation went:

Me: Tomorrow mom is going to go have surgery on her nose.
Jared: Why?
Me: I have to have the owie on my nose cut off. My nose will look icky afterwards, but I will be ok.
Jared: What type of scissors are they going to use? What doctor?
Me: Hopefully good scissors. Dr. Marsh.
Jared: like Mars Mickey. He looks like clubhouse Mickey, but he isn't. He lives on Mars. He has a thing on his head, but so does clubhouse Mickey. They are on Mars. They look alike. Clubhouse Mickey and Mars Mickey look alike. They have a spaceship....we need a spaceship. Mom, who is going to make our spaceship?
Me: I don't think we will get a spaceship.
Jared: We can use a rocket. Can I get a snack?

Good talk Jared.