My Funny Valentine

Three is really the age where Little Lewie is starting to get things.  Halloween and Christmas were a whole lot different this year and so was Valentine's Day.  For weeks before the big day, I was on Amazon buying heart-shaped cookie cutters, ice cube trays, and even a mini pancake griddle.  Yes, I was going to make everything heart themed, and we were going to spread the love by making heart-shaped cookies for both his classmates and family.

I have to admit the task of making heart-shaped cookies was a little complicated at first.  Since I work, finding enough hours in the day is always a factor, and yes, I found myself being stressed for time.  However, all in all, I'm glad I made the effort.  Lewie enjoyed mixing the dough, rolling it, and eating it while Mommy congratulated herself on baking cookies that actually did look like hearts.  (Some cookies looked like blobs too.)  Lewie wasn't too interested in decorating the cookies, so I stayed up until 2 a.m. the night before Valentine's Day decorating all 36 cookies.  Again, this is an easy task for some I know, but not so easy for someone who's made sugar cookies a total of three times in her whole life.

The real surprise came when it was time to deliver the cookies to Lewie's preschool.  I made sure Lewie had a chance to hand his special cookies to his three teachers, but then I was invited in to watch Little Lewie deliver his Valentines in action and be part of the morning meeting!   Well, I couldn't have been more "tickled pink."  I got some great photos of him delivering his Valentines, and during the entire morning meeting, Little Lewie wouldn't stop holding my hand and looking up at me as if I was the most important person in the whole world.  He was thrilled to have Mommy at his side and was sad when it was time for me to go.

Oh, Valentine's Day.  At one time it was all about going to fancy dinners with my husband-to-be.  Now it's about getting hugs, kisses, and love like no other from my little boy...  I wouldn't want it any other way...

One of my "better" cookies.

Special cookies for Lewie's three teachers.

Cookies for Lewie's classmates.

Getting ready to deliver Valentines.

Each one being delivered with love.

The mail slots.  They sure did get lots of candy!

Valentine's Day Morning Meeting Song:  (Sung to the tune of The Farmer in the Dell)
          I love someone, I do.
          I love someone, I do.
          I love someone, I'll tell you who...
          It's (insert name), (insert name), and You!  or It's You and You and You!

Rollerskating

My husband and I have a secret.  Before Little Lewie was born, our favorite past-time was rollerskating.  Yes, we had many a date at RollerMagic Roller Rink together, and at one point, considered buying ourselves matching skates and learning how to ballroom dance with them.  (This is an entirely separate story, but RollerMagic hosts a ballroom skate session for old-timers every week.  Imagine our surprise when we arrived, only to see seventy and eighty year-olds professionally "skate dancing"  to the Polka and Big Band tunes.  We were humbled to learn that we only had a 1/4 of their skills.  They were unbelievably amazing.  No broken hips here.)

Well, now that Little Lewie is three, we decided we could gradually introduce him to our favorite past-time.  I know that I didn't learn how to roller skate until I was six or seven myself, but since we've been dying to go and Little Lewie doesn't seem to be bothered very much by falling and stumbling, why not?  The worst outcome would be that he'd hate it (or at least think he hates it until the next time we drag him), and the absolute best outcome would be that he'd beg us to take him again...

Since one of Little Lewie's favorite Team Umi Zoomi episodes is "Crazy Skates," he was thrilled to hear that we were going to take him rollerskating.  (Thanks Team Umi Zoomi!)  Without a hitch, we put on his little rental skates (they were so cute!) and let him try walking/skating in them first on the carpet.  To my surprise, he did wonderful--no fear, no discomfort, no complaining.  We were off to a great start!

Once Daddy and I decided to bring him on the rink, that's when the fun began.  Every time he held our hands, he'd go limp, let his skates slide out in front of him, and fall on his butt.  He thought it was hilarious, but an impatient Daddy got frustrated, and although I had more patience, my back had a hard time trying to help steady him and carry his weight.  Then, at another point, Little Lewie decided he wanted to skate against traffic.  Not only is this "illegal" on the rink, but it's also just plain dangerous for us and all the young skaters on the rink that haven't exactly mastered the technique of skating around us.

All in all, I must say it was a good day.  Though we learned that Little Lewie is still a little young for rollerskating (mainly because he needs to recognize that he can't take temper tantrums and get "his way" on the rink), he did love it and was quite upset when it was time for us to pack up and leave. 

To sum up the experience, I enjoyed

1. Seeing him wear his cute size 11 toddler roller skates.
2. Listening to him comment, "Awesome dude!"  when he saw all the kids skating on the rink.
3. Knowing that good old-fashioned RollerMagic is still up and running after many roller rinks have been forced to shut their doors.  (Both my husband and I both had roller birthday parties at RollerMagic as kids...)

We will come again soon!

Did you ever try teaching something new to a three year old?  How did it work out for you?

Potty Humor

I've needed to write this post for a long time.  You see, something happened to my innocent, angel-faced boy over the last year or so...  As his vocabulary increased, so did his interest in...well...potty humor.  I can't even say where it came from...  Yes, my husband enjoys a good belch here and there after eating.   He can also be a little bit gassy--he's known for letting a loud one rip and then blaming it on me or the little guy.

Still, even with my husband's occasional blip in manners 101, he doesn't crack "poopy" jokes all day long.  My son, however, is a different story.  Here are some of his many weekly, if not daily, antics:

"Urp (pretend belch)--I burp Mommy, I burp."

"I fart Mommy.  I farting."

"I want poopy for dinner.  I want poopy."

Poopy tends to be a favorite in his vocabulary, and when he gets silly (which is almost always), all his responses to my questions will be, yup, you guessed it, poopy.

Me:  "Do you want yogurt for lunch Lewie?"

Lewie:  "I want poopy yogurt."

Me:  "What do you want to watch on TV?"

Lewie:  "Ummm...poopy."

Yes, my little boy is addicted to potty humor, and while part of me says this is probably normal for little boys, another part of me cringes when I start to worry about how much he says these things in school.  Am I going to be reprimanded for it?  Do the teachers think I condone, or worse, actually contribute to this type of language at home?

I recently talked to one of my mom friends about it.  Apparently, one preschool doesn't condone the word "fart" and actually scolded a mom by saying, "we prefer and encourage you to teach your son to say 'toot' instead."  I laughed about it at first, but then it made me wonder.  Should I be enforcing the word "toot" over "fart" in our house?  Should I be asking Little Lewie if he needs to go "number two" instead of if he needs to go "poopy on the potty"?

For now I haven't been reprimanded, but I'm on high alert.  In the meantime, I have a little stand-up comedian on my hands that will say almost anything to get a rise out of people.  Unless his little personality drastically changes, I suspect potty humor will be a topic of interest for a long while.

Okay, so maybe I can even enjoy a "fart" joke, I mean "toot" joke, every now and then.

Do you have any potty humor stories to share about your boys or husbands?

Snowy Day

I'm not a huge fan of winter.  I've never been really good at ice skating or skiing.  I've never been particularly good at building snowmen either.  Since "enjoying" the snow doesn't come easily for me, and I don't like shoveling or driving in it, I'm usually pretty happy when the forecast calls for an uneventful week--no snow, no sleet, no ice.

However, I don't want my opinion to rub onto Little Lewie.  For the past week, he's been practically praying for snow.  Everyday he asks me if it's snowing outside, and then, out of nowhere, he created a little song he likes to sing in the car.  It goes something like this:

          "Snow day.  Snow day.  Snow day."
          "It's snowing.  It's snowing today.  It's snowing."

His wishful thinking (or wishful chanting) seems to have worked because this weekend our snowless cycle was broken, and we picked up a good 6 to 7 inches.  It also changed my mood.  Instead of grunting under my breath about having to shovel the sidewalks or pay someone to plow our driveway, I, instead, couldn't wait to put on our snowsuits and prance in it.  After all, we don't have to go anywhere since it's the weekend.

I brought our cheap plastic sled out, and Lewie and I spent hours chuckling like school kids as we glided, plopped, and sometimes landed face-first into the snow.  Sometimes the sled managed to go down the hill without us, which prompted us to belly laugh so hard that I thought I was going to pee my pants.

Kids--it's amazing the fun they bring into our lives.  "Thanks for reminding me of how much fun a "snow day" can be Little Lewie.  I can't wait to enjoy it all over again tomorrow!"

The permanent grin on Lewie's face since he found out we had snow!

Warming up with hot chocolate and eagerly waiting for some marshmallows.

 
Do you enjoy playing in the snow?

Lewie-isms Continued...

My little boy talks A LOT.  To think that I made him watch Baby Babble videos again and again to increase his vocabulary now seems quite funny.  A year ago I was concerned that he wasn't speaking enough.  Today I can't get him to be quiet!

Here's a conversation I had with Little Lewie just this week; I had to write it down because it almost had me rolling over in laughter.


Lewie:  "The sun is coming up Mommy.  I so happy."

Me:  "I'm glad.  You're going to school today, are you ready?"

Lewie:  "Hmmm...what should I think?  Oh Man!  Mommy the school is closing.  I don't have school today.  We can go to the mall."
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Now that Lewie's speaking in full sentences (and sometimes even paragraphs), he's quite vocal about what he likes and doesn't like and at any given point in time, feels it's his prerogative to list his demands:

"I want a BIG ice-cream sandwich."
"I want to go to the mall and ride P2 (word for elevator), Mommy."
"I want to watch my movies," or "I want to watch my shows."
"I want to go to my Lewie's park."
"I need my blankies."
"I want to go to the pool.  Put my "baby soup" (bathing suit) on."


"I don't want to go to school today, Mommy.  No I don't."
"I can't go to school today. I'm sorry.  I have to go to work.  I go to my office."
"I take a bath tomorrow, Mommy.  Not today but maybe tomorrow."
"I don't want to go potty.  Mommy, my pee pee won't come out."  He's probably going to make me take this one down when he's older.


Finally, my boy, every now and then, surprises me.

"No big deal, Mommy.  No big deal."  This is usually when he does something wrong.
"Mommy, the sky is pink."  Looking at the sunset...
"My snowman's all gone, Mommy.  He went away.  I'm so sad."  Comment after the snow melted from our freak October snowstorm.
"I need my tools Mommy.  The TV is broken."
"Check out my new car!" Showing off his tricycle.
"I like Maya.  She's soo cute!"  Should I be worried?

I probably can go on forever about all the cute and funny things he tells me everyday.  At some point, I know we'll begin to have regular conversations, and he'll start to lose his "Lewie-isms," but for now, it's fun to record his favorite quotes. 

Do you have a favorite quote from your son or daughter?

New Year's Resolutions Revisited

Last year I had seven New Year's Resolutions; they ranged anywhere from living a healthier lifestyle, to saving money, to being the best mom, wife, daughter, and friend I could be.  These resolutions came from the heart--there was nothing phony about them.  However, now that I've had a chance to assess them a year later, I realize that I set myself up for the impossible.  Once again, the perfectionist side of me got carried away, and my overzealous goals set me up to fail. 

Courtesy of Google Images.

I'm not saying 2011 was a total wash.  There were highs and lows--achievements and set-backs.  However, since the perfectionist side of me always wants to shine, it was demoralizing to realize that after one year, I gained weight instead of losing it, spent our savings instead of saving, and let fear instead of gratitude guide my emotions.

This year I've learned.  I've become wiser, and although I'll never have all "the answers," I at least know that perfection is not serving me anymore.  I have reduced my seven resolutions to one goal and one goal only--to show appreciation for each day that I'm given this year. 

For far too long, I dismiss days like they're unimportant.  If something goes wrong (I eat the wrong food, I don't exercise, I have car trouble, I have a cold, etc.), I've been known to wish the day away.  Tomorrow will be better, I say to myself, and then in an instant, I've already taken myself out of the present to daydream about a fictitious tomorrow--a tomorrow that never happens as planned.

I've also been known to ignore days and pretend they don't count, especially those where I have to work a 12 hour shift or I'm scheduled to run numerous errands.  Instead of waking up with gratitude in the morning, I'm already catching myself praying that the day (or even the week) goes by fast...

This year, I say "no more."  I refuse to wish my life away or spend hours of my day fantasizing about life instead of living it.  There will be both good days and bad days, but in the end, I need to embrace them all--to be appreciative of the good days and to find learning lessons in the bad days.  My life's not going to be perfect.  It never was...but my life can feel enriched and fulfilled.  All it takes is a change in attitude and an acceptance of welcoming it all--the happy, the sad, the great, and the monotonous. 

To all--may 2012 be the year that we embrace and truly live each day.  XOXO.

Welcoming the New Year--2012!

Yesterday was immensely fun.  We went to a "First Night" type event in Milford where Lewie had a chance to ride on an outside Merry-Go-Round, take a wagon ride around the town green, see a magician (not his cup of tea yet), play on several bounce houses, and see fireworks at 10 p.m.  During the night, we hit a few milestones.  For starters, Lewie never participated in a First Night event before.  The last few New Year's Eves, he stayed with Gramy while Mommy and Daddy went out to celebrate.  It was brand new for him to walk along busy, bustling streets at night.  At first he was scared, but his worry soon turned to joy, especially since he had such a fun time at the "bounce house station."

The second milestone came with watching the fireworks.  On the Fourth of July, Lewie screamed in terror at the display.  He hated the noise and begged for us to take him back home.  Last night, we were able to get a great parking spot and view them from our car.  At first he was scared, but after a few minutes of hearing Mommy and Daddy comment on how beautiful and awesome they were, he started to join right in...  I wish I had a voice recorder with us.  These are some of the comments we heard from the backseat:
"Cool dude!", "Awesome," "That one's red," "That one's a stop sign," "That one's stars," "That one sparkles," "Wow," "I say goodbye to the fireworks,"  "I give them a kiss."

For someone who was terrified in the beginning, he soon warmed up to them.  Perhaps it helped that we stayed in the car since it muted the sound a little, and he felt protected...

All in all, we had a nice end of the year celebration to welcome 2012.  I'm not sure what the New Year will bring for us, but I pray for health, love, and peace...not just for us...but for all families. 

May 2012 bring many blessings your way.

XOXO.