Saturday, March 31, 2007

Daddy's Never-Ending Day

"Daddy, it's time to wake up!" says the wet Jack-Jack themed son I know as Devin. The clock says it's 6:04 A.M., but Devin knows it as breakfast time. "Just a few more minutes" I tell him, as I try to press his snooze button. I press it repeatedly, but my words come too late. Not more than a minute goes by before the four year old alarm clock comes walking in, pre-programmed for "Daaaad, wake up! I'm hungry!" It seems like just months ago when they were making their own waffles for breakfast. I wonder where we took a wrong turn as I attempt to drift off into sleep with little luck.
After a few minutes of diaper changing, waffle making, and drink pouring (Combined with a little Mickey Mouse on the TV), I make it back to bed and get to sleep in until 7:00. It was nice while it lasted, but now that Mickey is all over, it's time to get up. I had 2 showings for our house today, and both started at 10:00... leaving me 2.75 hours to get 48 hours of work done (The only thing worse than working on the weekend is working on a weekend while trying to entertain kids), clean the messes the kids made while I slept in, get everyone dressed, and head out the door. As I stumble out of bed for the 2nd time, I'm immediately confronted by Socks the Cat. "Meow!" she tells me. Although it takes me a few minutes of her repeating the same thing over and over, I eventually realize that perhaps I should feed her. Oddly enough, that's one of those Mommy things, and Dad's never attempted it. I find some food in the fridge, and based on the amount missing from the can, I decide a third-cup seems about the right amount. That, or a sixth is the right amount... or maybe half. I go with a third, figuring it was half way between my other two options anyway. Socks the Cat seems happy enough with my decision, and decides to leave me alone for now.
I get to work on my paid work after refilling a few drinks, and explaining that people are still hungry because they never ate their waffles I woke up at 6:00 to get them. They seem satisfied with the explanation, and leave me to do what I need to.
8:30 comes around, and I realize two important things - I only have about an hour to get the house clean and get everyone out, and I haven't heard the kids make any noise for quite some time. Lack of noise is always bad. Unless, of course, you're not suppose to be watching the kids... then it's great. But that rarely happens, and certainly not this weekend. I set off to find the kids, and they're right where they should be. Playing peacefully together while making a total mess of the playroom. Luckily for me, Devin just learned the cleanup song. "Clean up, clean up. Everybody everywhere. Clean up clean up, everybody do your share." It has a great ring to it, and any time Trevor sings it, he instantly starts picking things up. Devin was nice enough to sing it for me as I picked things up. I guess he hasn't quite learned what the words mean yet. Meanwhile, I hear the sound of legos being dumped all over the floor coming from the basement. The cycle continues until about 9:00. I decide that my best option is to try to keep the kids entertained and out of the house for the day. After a few more cycles of cleaning the rooms I just cleaned, we all get dressed and head to Cracker Barrel for breakfast. Trevor's first choice was Starbucks, and although I do like paying $5 for a cup of coffee without refills, their breakfast choices seem rather limited. I went with his second choice. Maybe tomorrow I'll let Devin choose.
Breakfast at the nice sit-down restaurant went better than expected. There was one moment where I was a little concerned when Devin decided we wanted to see where the fire exit door went to, but I averted any alarms sounding by grabbing him just before his hands made it to the convenient push-bar on the door.
Following breakfast, we headed over to the Woodfield mall for some far-from-home time passing. First stop (after riding escalators up and down many times... who doesn't love that??) was the Disney Store. The nice greeter lady told us all about there specials for the day, then started asking Trevor about what his favorite toys were. "Cars!" he answers without thinking. Delighted to hear his response, she directs him towards the ever-expanding Cars(tm) section. He looks for a moment, then goes back to the nice lady. "Excuse me", he says in his attention getting voice. "Yes?" she replies. "Do you have any Matchbox(tm) cars? I really like those." Did I mention he wanted to just go to Target for the day? After finding some clearance Mickey, Dash, and Jack the Pumpkin King shirts ($2.99 each!), we head over to the Lego store.
I've always enjoyed the Lego store. Not only do they have legos, but they also have little areas where you can take your kids to be entertained as they build legos to race down the 2-foot track. The only downside to this is the fact that there are 15 kids gathered around the 2-foot track and car building area. If only it were a private event... someplace other than home. We pick up a couple Bionicles and continue on our walk. We stopped by the Discovery store, where Trevor found a book of the Human Body - each page was a recreation of a different system, and when you put them all together, it made a full skeleton with all the internal organs. He loved it, but then Devin took an interest in it too. As Devin attempted to remove the liver, I recalled the pop-up books we have at home... and the way they don't really have anything in them to pop up any more. As I thought about how difficult it would be to tape a spleen back into a book, I decided it was time to find another activity.
I asked Trevor what he'd like to do next. "Ikea!" was his first choice (though he didn't use a hyperlink when he said it). I told him we really had no reason to go there, and he reminded me that Devin needs his own weasel because he's always taking Trevor's. Thinking that every family needs at least two weasel's, I agree and we head for Ikea.
After dropping Trevor off at their "Play place" - a free supervised play area for potty-trained kids (with a limit of an hour), Devin and I head off in search of more rodents. Although we found many rats, spiders, and snakes, we never did find any weasels. Probably too popular with the international market. We settle on a small, soft, blue dog. After time passes and our hour expires, we pick Trevor up and he tells us all about how he desperately needs a soft little blue doggy. I decide the extra $2 is worth the future arguments between the two of them and we grab a second and head out.
It takes no more than 20 seconds after leaving Ikea for Trevor to tell me he's horribly thirsty. It's only 3:00 - too early for dinner - so Trevor again suggests Starbucks. We really need to cut down on his caffeine addictions. Fortunately, there's one on the way. Though I don't know which way that is, I'm certain there's on e on the way. I decide to head over to ABT (an electronics/appliance store with plenty of kid entertainment), and we stop at Starbucks along the way for raisin cookies and over-priced boxes of imitation milk.
We arrive at ABT, and it turns out to be a great choice. Not only do we get freshly made warm chocolate chip cookies that make in incredible mess on everything Devin touches, but we also get to see the Easter bunny. Devin got his picture taken (He's a sucker for anyone dressed in a furry outfit), but Trevor wanted nothing to do with it - at least until the Easter Bunny left. I could see a nap was in order (or maybe it was too many cookies). I preoccupied him with huge fish tanks, butterfly shadow walls, self-enclosed bubbles, and paper measuring tapes. (Who knew measuring things could be so entertaining to a 4-year old?) After reviewing the latest in technology, we headed off to dinner. Along the way, I remembered Trevor's Aunt commenting about how he needed to come spend the night, and I combined that with Mom's statement about not being home till late Monday. I made a quick call, only to find out that that night wasn't going to be tonight. I expected as much, but figured it was worth a try.
We arrived at Bob Chinn's for dinner around 4:30. Though much earlier than their standard dinner, they had their second breakfast (and ate a ton) around 10:30, so I figured it all worked out. Trevor ordered the shrimp (I talked him out of the crab legs - way too much mess and work for Dad!), Devin got the chicken fingers (much better than the chicken feet I had elsewhere), and I went with a Mai-Tai with a side of steak & shrimp. After dinner, it took both kids no more than 5 minutes to fall asleep, and I enjoyed a peaceful ride home.
The peace ended shortly after I walked through the door at home, as Trevor quickly remembered that he wanted his Bionicle put together, thereby triggering Devin to request the same. I got them all together andsent them on their way to play "quietly" in the basement while I watched "Flip This House" and wondered how they can really completely tare apart and rebuild an entire house for $15,000. Something just doesn't seem right there.

Just for the record - they were in bed by 8:00 (normal bedtime is 8:30, but they haven't learned how to tell time yet, so I can still get a break sometimes), and I expect them to wake me up at 5:00 tomorrow. I'll enjoy it while it lasts. Trevor ended the day with a request of "Can we go out for breakfast Tomorrow?" I don't know about breakfast, but I do have plans to get together with some of Trevor and Devin's friends tomorrow. They'll enjoy that...

--Dad

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Devin and colors

Devin doesn't know his colors. Everything is still blue. I think I've mentioned this before. I am trying, slowly but surely, to address this deficit of his. Every opportunity that comes up, I quiz him on his colors. A few minutes ago, he was looking at a picture, and he said, "pumpkin!" It was actually a flower, but it resembled a pumpkin. Anyway, I said, "Yeah...what color is it?"

"No ideas," he said kinda sadly.

I wasn't sure I had heard correctly. So, I pointed to another flower, a yellow one, and I asked what color that was.

Same response: "No ideas," he said a little sadly.

Where did this come from? His inflection is even just what it should be. He said it in a little Eeyore, hangdog voice.

Undeterred, I asked him what color his shirt was.

Undeterred, he looked at it, and exclaimed, "RACECAR!" Twice.

Well, his shirt is yellow. And, there is no racecar on it at all.

Catch Up Time!

Devin likes to sing. His latest song goes like this:
"mommy, mommy, mommy."

This is my favorite song, ever. With prompting, he will also sing:
"Daddy, daddy, daddy."

And, even:
"Trevor, Trevor, Trevor."

We went to a park the other day, and they had some xylophone pipes built into their big huge playset (Trevor called it his Power Ranger Ship). Devin would strike the pipes and sing, "Sing a Song, Sing a song."

He's very musical. A young prodigy.

On the way to that same park, we heard a lot of motorcycles. It was a beautiful day, and if I had a motorcycle, I would have been out on it myself. Whenever we heard a motorcycle, Devin would ask, "What's that noise?" (What dat nose?) It's not just motorcycles that prompt the What dat nose? question. Birds, Frogs, Trains also prompt the question. We had our windows open last night, and we live by a train track and a nature preserve. So, he asked What dat nose? a lot.

Trevor sat through an entire hour of Mammals vs. Dinos on the Science Channel. When he wasn't watching it as Trevor, he was watching it as Tyrannosaurus Rex. Trevor as Trevor noted that the prehistoric mammals were "so cute" like this: he looked me direct in the face and said, "Mommy, those little mammals are soooo cute." He said it like his little heart was about to burst because it was full of sweetness over those cute little mammals. When he was watching as Tyrannosaurus Rex, he asked, "Mommy, why did I use my enormous bite strength to eat that Triceratops?" I was a little concerned that the violence of one animal eating another may disturb Trevor and that he wouldn't be able to sleep. But, he seemed OK. I guess he would be ok since he was the Tyrannosaurus Rex and not the Triceratops.

I have painted myself into a corner over this interest in dinosaurs. He asks me what dinosaur I want to be. I always tell him that I will be Iguanadon. Sometimes, I tell him that that I'm Iguanadonna. That's fun to say. Well, since T-rex is the king of the dinosaurs, and I'm an Iguanadon, he is the boss of me. That's what he tells me, at least.

And, then finally, Devin and Trevor marched into our bed this morning after the alarm when off. Trevor showed me his weasle toy and said, "I'm going to call him my cute little mammal." And, Devin said, "M-ow, M-ow, I'm a cat!"

And since no big meteor his earth or Jupiter today, we're all in great shape...

Have I mentioned that astronomy is my new Exorcist (the movie, as in it's keeping me up at night)?

Monday, March 26, 2007

can you say irony?

Devin can't. Or, at least, he won't.

But he understands it. Oh, yes, he understands it.

He got in bed with us yesterday around 6 am. Several times, He told me and his father, "Leave me alone! I'm trying to sleep!!"

Each time he said this, he punctuated his statement with fake sleep...Hah shu, Hah Shu, Hah shu (you know, fake cartoony sleep.)

Sunday, March 25, 2007

Trevor's Knowledge Base

Trevor knows more about dinosaurs, bugs and planets than me. He's learning these things at school. This is great, and despite my competitive nature when it comes to things like school, I am OK with him knowing more than me. Still, I don't like it when he asks me a question to which I simply don't know the answer.

So, last night, Tivo tuned the TV to the Discovery Channel. It had probably been watching Mythbusters or Dirty Jobs originally, but was still tuned to Discovery Channel when I turned it on around 7. As I continued to watch, a show about planets came on. Lucky me, I decided to watch to see what I could learn so that, maybe, I can answer a few questions.

But, then the boys came up and started talking and I couldn't really hear too much.

What I did hear, though, is that planets migrate, that Jupiter is huge, and that if Jupiter begins to migrate, the earth will be destroyed in one of two way: a death plunge into the sun or a direct hit by Jupiter. Jupiter is not all bad, though. Every now and then, meteors destined for earth hit Jupiter instead and save the earth.

When they talked about the death plunge into the sun, they showed a graphic. I was disturbed by this graphic. And, I couldn't stop myself from saying out loud, "that's a little frightening."

Trevor is a fearful child. I was a fearful child, so I know what it's like. I shouldn't have said anything about the death plunge. I feel pretty confident the death plunge or the Jupiter Smash won't happen for a few eons. Still, it's been 12 hours since we saw that show, and we've been asleep 8 of those hours, and my fearful Trevor has asked about three times, "why is it scary for the earth to hit the sun?" What's worse is my inability to smooth this over with some gentle lie. I try to gentle the truth, but that's the best I can do...

Tonight, the Discovery Channel is going to add fuel to mine and Trevor's fearful fires while we watch a show called Mammals vs. Dinos. I think an asteroid hitting earth will be featured.

Thursday, March 22, 2007

I love being a mommy...

Trevor called me pretty this morning.

Now, if their Daddy would be bring me flowers and chocolate truffles (I really like those organic ones from Dominick's) I could have a perfect day.

Oh, wait. The rain last night led to flooding on the road, and my commute was hell-ish. No way today can be perfect.

Flowers and truffles would still be nice.

Friday, March 16, 2007

Relish Tray

There are a lot of things floating around in my head and antibiotic floating around in my system. I have a cold, too. So, please don't expect cohesion here. And, don't expect anything to be pickled.

Minutia
Getting ready to leave for work earlier this week, I put Devin's shoes on him and then set him down. He immediately cried out, "TOO TIGHT. SHOE TOO TIGHT!" That back part piece had gotten folded down inside. Never a comfortable feeling. I took his shoe off and put it back on right, and then he said, "Not too tight anymore." I'm just wondering how he knows how to use the word "anymore" in a sentence correctly. What's the Spanish word for anymore? If I had to acquire a language on my own, I'm not sure I could modify my sentences with words/concepts like anymore. He, like Clever Trevor, is brilliant. Dazzling Devin. Too girly. Deep Devin. That's a little better. Discerning Devin? Too much something like I would say in real life. Well, he's brilliant.

When I drop the boys off at daycare, most days I have to put Adriot Devin's shoes back on his feet. Nothing like a 30 minute ride in the car with no shoes in the middle of winter. He certainly seems to think that way.

After putting his shoes back on, we all pile out of the car, which may, in fact, be too small for daycare dropoff duty (Toyota Sienna??), Trevor races up the sidewalk while Devin LOLLYGAGS behind. Devin is definitely not as safety conscious as Trevor, so I lollygag with him so that he doesn't wander into the path of an oncoming car in the nearby street. But, this puts other parents of the awkward position of what to do with Trevor who is standing, apparently by himself, at the door of the daycare. I normally yell, "He's OK. He's with me." Sometimes they let him in. Sometimes he waits for me anyway.

Devin, in addition to being adroit, discerning, brilliant, dazzling, and sometimes deep, has also been very indecisive lately. This morning as we walked into daycare, he requested that I hold him. That was OK with me because Trevor was already way ahead of us. But, as soon as I picked him up, he said, "No, I walk." So, I put him down, but told him he had to race to catch up with Trevor. Instead of racing, he called out, "TREVOR. COME BACK HERE."

I don't think he gets it about racing. Bossing his brother around, he gets. Racing, not so much.

Racing is a big motivator for Trevor. In the morning, Daddy and I sometimes challenge him to a shoe or coat race. This morning, I had to help him with his shoes for one reason or another, and I mentioned if this was a race, he wouldn't win since I had to help him.

He replied back that I had cheated. He knew that I had cheated because he is supposed to win the shoe race. I think he might have a competitive spirit.

Hmm...how about that? It turned out more cohesive than I expected. Like a relish tray with none of those yucky cocktail onions...

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

the Lovefest continued

Last night, Trevor sat next to me on the couch told me that he loved me and that he loved his daddy, insisted that I keep my arm around him, and told me how much he liked having my arm around him.

He was sweet and cuddly and darn-it if it wasn't the most precious thing in the entire world. I had heard about thus cuddly phase, and I do hope it persists for several years.

But, when my child is so sweet and cuddly, I don't expect tantrums. So, this morning, when he told me wanted to watch Higglytown Heroes and I told him no because we had to go, the ensuing tantrum baffled me completely. How can this child who adores the very couch that I sit on throw a tantrum in the morning when I'm at my grumpiest? How can that be possible? I don't get it.

I just don't get it.

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

I got nothin'

But, I feel the need to post. It's my mom. She looks forward to reading this whenever her computer is up and running, and I don't want to disappoint my mom. Who would?

So, here goes.

This morning, Trevor was especially sweet. Daddy came down as Trevor was eating breakfast and said good-bye and kissed him on the head. As he walked away, Trevor said, "Oh, wait, I forgot something..."

He got off the barstool and went and hugged his Daddy around the legs and I think he even said, "I love you."

After Daddy had left the room and Trevor had resumed his breakfast, he said, "I love Daddy."

It certainly seemed that way this morning.

Monday, March 12, 2007

Other People's Children

On Saturday, our neighbor came over to play. Devin loves the neighbor even though he's really Trevor's friend. So, he did his very best to play beside his brother and his friend, even when he wasn't necessarily wanted.

At one point, he started to cry. I went to check on him, and I asked him what happened. "E hit me!" he told me.

I asked E if he had hit Devin.

"No," he said. "I punched him."

Other people's children are pretty funny, too.

I told his parents this story yesterday. I prefaced it with, "I'm only telling you this because it's funny, so don't get mad."

Still, when I got to the *punch* line, they weren't all that amused. Both had wide eyes and had to cover their mouths to avoid gaping at me in shock.

"NO! IT'S FUNNY!" I tried to tell them. I'm not sure they were really all that amused.

Friday, March 09, 2007

The Pioneerwoman in my family

My grandma, Trevor’s and Devin’s great-grandma, is a pretty incredible person. I could end this right here by saying simply, “she had 12 kids.” But, that would be pretty boring.

No, I think she’s incredible for other reasons and for one incident in particular.

When I lived with Vikki in Arkansas, every now and then, Mom and Dad would come to visit and they would sometimes bring along Grandma and once they even brought my Aunt Margie. On this occasion, I decided to take the whole group of them on a leisurely canoe ride down the nearby Spring River. I knew that it would be leisurely because I had taken the same canoe ride with my then-boyfriend just a few weeks earlier. Maybe 6 weeks. I had experience the River, and I knew it to be gentle. So, I had no problems loading up the seniors, Vikki and my Mom and Dad, and heading out to the River.

There were two huge differences between my experiences with Spring River, not even including my companions. First, I went down the Spring River with my boyfriend in a fiberglass canoe on the first trip. It’s more flexible than the aluminum canoes I chose for me and my family that day. Second, the first trip occurred late in the Spring, and the rain had been plentiful. The second trip occurred in the middle of the summer, and there had not been so much rain.

Everything that I had learned about Spring River on my earlier trip simply did not apply. I was not in for the leisurely float trip I had anticipated and hyped to my guests. Did I mention that Aunt Margie was afraid of water? That’s because no one mentioned it to me, either!

Vikki and Mom eventually broke from the group and made it down the river in time to get Vikki to work that day. They really didn’t have any problems. I took the boat with Aunt Margie because I felt like I was probably the strongest canoer left after Vikki and Mom took off, and Margie probably needed the most help.

It was rough, so very rough. It wasn’t very much fun at all. At one point, I realized my sole goal for the day was to get everyone off the river safely. Forget fun. I didn’t think Margie walking up a rocky hill to some railroad tracks was going was doing much for accomplishing my goal, and I think she eventually got back into the boat. But, we switched. Dad and Margie went together, and I got to go in the boat with my Grandma.

My first ever float trip was with my Grandma and Grandpa. With all those grandkids, I don’t know I got lucky enough to spend time with them whenever they went camping every now and then, and I certainly don’t know how I got lucky enough to go on a float trip with them. And, maybe mom and dad were along, but all I remember is Grandma and Grandpa, coolers, aluminum canoes and the Illinois River. I do love floating down a lazy river with people who can paddle a canoe. I like stopping in the middle of the day for soggy sandwiches and sandy Dr. Pepper, and I like listening to far off traffic and wondering where it is. I need more float tips in my life.

So, I expected when I got in the canoe with Grandma that my float trip had started looking up.

I was right.

I was right for one incident in particular.

In the middle of the Spring River near the end of our trip, the river widened. In the middle, there was a small waterfall with about a 6 feet drop. As Grandma and I approached the waterfall, I noticed a little excitement, but I didn’t know what the excitement was about because I hadn’t seen the waterfall yet. Grandma and I were cruising down the middle of the river. I was in front. I may have thought I was the strongest canoe’r when I got Margie in my boat, but I must have recognized I was wrong when I decided to take the less important front seat. Since I was in front, I realized before Grandma did what was coming up. I think I mentioned it to her in time to make the correction so that we could go around the water fall. She was in the back, and she was steering. She didn’t say much, so I don’t know what she was really thinking, but we didn’t change course. We went over the waterfall. We didn’t turn our boat over.

A group had gathered so they could try this waterfall until they made it over successfully. Once they got the bottom and crashed, as they inevitably did, they carried their boat back to the top to try it again.

They cheered a little when Grandma and I cruised down that waterfall like the old pros that I guess we were.

My grandma, Trevor and Devin’s great-Grandma, is a pretty incredible person.

lame...

Yesterday's post was so totally lame. I'm sorry. This one is sort of a continuation of that one so brace yourself...

This morning in the car, I played "Fishin' in the Dark" by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band for the boys. It's become one of their favorites, and both boys know a few of the words.

After the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band was done singing, I went solo. I have the most beautiful voice really. At least, I thought I did until Devin said, "No, Mommy, don't sing that song! I sing that song myself."

Silence. So, it was a ploy just to get me to stop singing. At least, I think that's what it was. But, I called his bluff. I told him to sing that song himself. So, he did.

"Fishin' in the dark! Stars!"

Trevor joined in and sang the first few lines almost perfectly.

It was a harmonious trip into work, indeed.

Thursday, March 08, 2007

Independent Little Cuss

For the past two weeks with Devin, everything is, "No, Me do it!" He wants to get put his own clothes on, get in his carseat by himself, undress himself, go potty (sit on the potty). Everything.

Well, it's a new phase. It's really cute. No good story here. Nothing too funny has happened. He just says, "No, me do it" all the time.

You probably remember that phase with your own children or grandchildren. Think on that time fondly now...

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Turning a POSITIVE into a NEGATIVE

The boys were playing at dinnertime the other night. We were out at a restaurant, and they were playing Monster Jam before the food arrived. It was a night of firsts. Trevor asked Devin to come and sit by him so that they could play monster jam together. First time I saw that! Then, Devin said no. First time I saw Devin say no to playing with Trevor! Then, Devin found a better mood and joined Trevor for a rousing round of Monster Jam.

They were playing and Devin wasn't really following Trevor's rules.

"NO, DEVIN! DON'T SMASH THE MONSTER JAM COURSE!"

Daddy suggested that Trevor should tell Devin what he should be doing instead of what he shouldn't be doing.

"DEVIN, YOU SHOULD LISTEN TO ME! DON'T SMASH THE MONSTER JAM COURSE!"

Monday, March 05, 2007

My Creative Genius

When I posted Devin's peanut song, I didn't realize just what a creative genius he really is. But, he really is...

This has its good sides, like the peanut song, and its bad sides, like this...

I was upstairs brushing my teeth yesterday when I heard Devin crying. I went the top of the stairs and asked him what was wrong. He continued to cry and asked, "Mommy, where are you?" I told him I was upstairs and since it wasn't life threatening, I went back to getting ready for the day. He made his way to the bathroom, and I asked again why he was sad.

"Daddy hit me," he said.

Well, Daddy doesn't hit Devin ever, so I knew this to be untrue. But, I played along.

"Where did Daddy hit you?"

"Right dere," he said as he pointed to his eye.

"Daddy hit you in the eye?"

"Yeah," he told me while nodding his head.

He did, in fact, make it all up. The thing that was making him sad was that Daddy wouldn't get him some yogurt.

This is the first time that Devin "made a lie" (as Trevor would say) about Daddy. Normally, his lies sound like this: "Trevor hit me."

Now, sometimes, I think Trevor actually commits some sort of transgression against Devin, although it might not involve hitting. But, Trevor is onto Devin and his creative (evil) genius. So, he's gotten pretty quick to point out the times that the thinks Devin is making a lie. The trials of a Mother of Two. It's cool. I think I know what I'm up against.

On the plus side of Devin's genius, he made up a little song and dance about Chuck E. Cheese yesterday. We decided to go there for lunch and games, and just before we loaded up, Devin started swaying back and forth and singing:
Chuck E. Cheese
Pizza!
Chuck E. Cheese
Pizza!
Chuck E. Cheese
Pizza!

Darnit if that wasn't just the cutest thing he did all day long.

Thursday, March 01, 2007

Peanuts, Peanuts!

The boys' daycare recently moved from nut sensitive to nut aware, which I think means nut free.

In the grand scheme of things, I am completely and totally OK denying my children peanuts and other tree nuts, as needed, in order to keep other kids safe. Some folks find this a controversial topic. Some folks think the right to a peanut butter sandwich is unalienable for children. Some even argue that peanut butter is a cheap, healthy, food source so we can't deny it to kids whose parents are just getting by. I'm not one of those. I just want to know what I have to do to keep my children's classmates safe from nuts.

Just wanted to make that clear on what side of the peanut allergy controversy I'm on.

Nut free is OK with me.

So, I have no problems with the daycare's move to a nut free status. I think it's a good move. I support it.

What I don't understand, though, is why Trevor now thinks he's allergic to peanuts?? Why does he cry when I tell him that he is, in fact, not allergic to peanuts? Why does he ask for peanut butter sandwiches when he thinks he has a peanut allergy? When did peanut allergies become cool? Is that what is going on here?

It's affected Devin, too. He wrote this little song (or maybe he just sings it):
Peanuts, Peanuts!
Yummy in my tummy!
Umm, Ummm!

I can't imagine that the nut-free daycare center would have the kids sing a song about Peanuts, so I'm pretty certain that Devin composed this little song himself. That would, in fact, make him brilliant, right?