Category: gratitude

children, gratitude, happiness

My Friend, My Brother

WFAM

The boys have been sleeping in the same room. When we upgraded little T.Puzzle’s bed from a crib, we purchased a trundle bed with this intent in mind. Usually, T.Puzzle goes to bed in the ‘super secret spy’ pull-out part, and then Full Speed slips in quietly (sort of) a few minutes later to the upper ‘big boy’ portion. They know the rules. If Mom so much as hears a peep out of either one, Full Speed will be immediately relocated to his own room with no warning and no questions asked. So far, I haven’t had to follow through on that threat. They must actually want to be in the same room. After all the smack-downs I have witnessed I find this shocking.

They decided to mix it up over the weekend. They decided to sleep in the same bed for fun.

Little T.Puzzle thought this was remarkable. When I was helping him get dressed the next morning he said, “Mommy! Full Speed slept with me on my Thomas sheeps!”

Looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

gratitude, happiness, life in pictures

Piece of Cake

WFAM

This happened a couple of days ago and was bumped because of all of little T.Puzzle’s exciting allergy news. As you know, Mad Dog was out of town for a training. To help me get through the week, our babysitter came to help one evening. She stayed home with T.Puzzle and I took Full Speed to karate with the older and higher ranking kids. After that, we went on a ‘date’.

He was so excited to go out with just me. We went to Ruby Tuesday’s and he handled himself fairly well. There was a point that he spastically kicked the table (you know he can’t sit still, ever) and it almost flipped over. And then there was the inappropriate comment he made about a smelly, body function. I had to sternly tell him I expected more from him and to not talk silly at the table. Other than that, it was quite enjoyable. We discussed what he is learning at school (which according to him is a lot because apparently he knows EVERYTHING) and we named the shapes of all the light fixtures (some were big and round and reminded Full Speed of cake).

When our meal was over I told him we could get dessert. His face lit up with joy. I read off the choices and he immediately chose the double chocolate cake. I told him that on a date, a gentlemen, if in agreement with his lady friend, should order when the waiter comes to the table. He was very serious about ordering the cake and was delighted to know we would get ice cream with it.

The manager came out to ask us how our meal was. He had heard that we were on a date. He asked Full Speed if he was going to pay. “I can’t pay. I’m not even an adult!” he said.

“Maybe you could go to the back and wash dishes instead,” said the manager.

“Okay,” said Full Speed. It surprised me that he was so easily compliant. He was very cute (Full Speed, not the manager, just to be clear).

When the cake arrived, Full Speed immediately dove in. He was stabbing the cake with glee and managing to get enormous chunks on his fork and somehow ably shoving these entire pieces into his little mouth. Cake was everywhere.

If the amount of mess Full Speed left on the table was any indicator of how much fun we had, then I can safely say, it was a complete success.

children, gratitude, happiness, health

Pancakes and Cookies

WFAM

My day with T.Puzzle has been very exciting. First of all, Mad Dog came home late last night (a nice surprise) and was able to make pancakes for breakfast. I couldn’t believe that little T.Puzzle ate his pancakes without one allergy symptom. He even said, “Pancakes are good, Daddy.”

I then took him to Publix and he got his first ever cookie there. I was so excited I wanted to cry. Up to this point he has been a good sport as Full Speed chomped away on his Publix cookie and waited until we reached the deli for his sample. Somehow a turkey slice isn’t nearly as interesting as a cookie with sprinkles.

It was surreal to wander the isles and realize that nothing is going to be off limits. I still can’t believe he didn’t have one hive or any indicator of his previous egg allergy. He is free and clear. I even bought a bag of frozen corn dogs, not because they are healthy, but because I could.

Another great day, indeed!

gratitude, life in pictures, mommyhood

Reflection

WFAM

Against my better judgment and my own free will (Mad Dog is very persuasive), we took the boys to Box Seats after lunch. It actually wasn’t as overwhelming as usual. The place was pretty dead and almost serenely quiet. The boys had unlimited access to the newly installed NASCAR racing games, and Mad Dog and I shared cocktails and some actual conversation.

Then, I saw it. Out of the corner of my eye on one of Box Seats’ 137 television screens was a horrendous sight. And, then another and so on and so forth. The show was called ‘Bite Me with Dr. Mike’. It’s on the Travel Channel and flashes of dung beetles, some type of internal organ and other visual displays of grossness kept parading across the screen. I totally get that this is a show men may prefer, but it did little to convince me that Box Seats is a place that I want to regularly hang out. Now, maybe if they played ‘Sex and the City’ reruns and had weekly cosmopolitan specials, I could change my mind.

After 15 car races we were finally able to make our escape. The boys were being fairly well-behaved so we thought they could handle getting their hair cut. Of course, they did not sit still for one minute while we waited for their turn. They stood on chairs a couple times, attempted a wrestling smack-down and had a Power Ranger war. However, they responded well when reprimanded and when it was their turn for a trim, they were almost angelically (and mysteriously) well-mannered. Little T.Puzzle especially surprised me. He climbed up to the barber’s chair like a pro and yanked his glasses (they aren’t really made for yanking but oh well) off his face even before he was told.

I felt almost human. This is how I imagine my life could be. I could be in public and realistically know my kids won’t be perfect, but will be manageable. I even had a lengthy and lovely chat with another Mom of two boys that were a few years older than mine. She had much empathy about the physical and mental demands of raising young, active boys. She didn’t seem too scarred by her experience and that gave me hope. I always believe the strangers we interact with in the world are here to teach us something. They reflect back to us the things that sometimes we are unable to see within ourselves. Maybe I’ll make it through after all.