Shower-time Shenanigans

Luke used to have free access to several pairs of (child-sized) scissors until Weston learned how to open the art cabinet, at which point I put all the scissors up high. Of course, what I saw as a deterrent, my younger child sees as a challenge. Yesterday, while I was taking a shower, he took it upon himself to very silently and sneakily bring a step stool into the bathroom where I was showering and help himself to a pair of scissors. This is the same kid who narrates every single thing he does all day long, and yet he moved so quietly through that bathroom that I didn't even realize he was in there. When I got out, Luke came into the bathroom holding the scissors.

Me: Whoa! Why do you have scissors?!
Luke: Weston got them down, but he's done with his turn, so now, it's my turn again!
Me: His turn doing what, exactly?
Luke, giving me his poor-mama-is-so-dumb look: Cutting.
Me: Cutting. What?
Weston, running in with a grin: I gived the horse a hair cut!
Me: Oh.
Luke: And I gave MYSELF a hair cut!
Me: You did what?! Where?!
Luke, pointing proudly at his forehead: Right here!

Luckily, Luke had stayed somewhat true to his rule-abiding self and had cut approximately six hairs. I can still see the spot on his head where those six hairs are missing, but I think if I hadn't known about it, I probably wouldn't notice it. Weston, being ever attentive to detail, had even taken the trouble to wet the horse's hair before cutting it because, as he explained, "I needed to tut wet hair be-tause that's how you do hair tuts." Clearly.

Equally clear is the fact that I cannot take another shower until they're both in high school.

Ferociously Five!

Luke turned five years old yesterday and suddenly, I have a big kid. He is totally into dinosaurs and crocodiles and venomous snakes and if you want to make him happy, all you have to do is ask, "Who'd win in a battle--a saltwater crocodile or a great white shark?" When we asked a few weeks ago what he wanted for his birthday, his number one request was a book called "Orca Whale vs. Great White Shark," and while he was excited about each of his gifts, when he opened the bag containing that one, his entire body radiated joy.

He has been so lovely with Elsa and I think all the big brotherly instincts that went into hibernation when Weston stopped being a baby (and started being a rival,) have come out with her. He spent an entire day petting her at every chance and calling her a "funny, good, big baby dog." Every night before bed, he asks to spend five minutes playing with her before he goes to sleep.

He is alternately super helpful and really obstinate. Most of the time, he's utterly convinced that he knows everything about everything. He has a few really good friends at school and loves to talk about them constantly. I got to spend some time volunteering in his classroom over the past couple of weeks and it has been so nice to see how friendly and loving these kids are with each other. I hope he gets that next year, when he starts real school.

Speaking of "real school," he is pretty excited at the thought of starting Kindergarten this year. If it were up to him, he'd just stop preschool right now and start Kinder. He will be going to a Spanish immersion, Montessori school and he is thrilled about every part of that. It'll be quite the transition, I'm sure, to go from 3 half days at a very arts focused, very small preschool to five full days at a regular, k-8 Montessori school where the primary language of instruction is one that is completely foreign to him. I'm hopeful that the transition isn't too rough and that he will ultimately find a good fit with this school.

Our recent trip to India has sparked a certain Indian pride in him and he is more interested in learning to speak (or at least understand) Tamil. He has been asking to go back and when I told him that maybe we could in a couple of years, he moaned about that being "much too long." He loves going to the nearby Indian buffet for lunch and when his school had a "Fancy" day when all the kids got dressed up, he chose to wear one of his Indian outfits.

He loves going to gymnastics and soccer and enjoys hikes and nature walks. Since Elsa joined our family, we've all been spending more time outside together and it has been a lovely change. He likes playing games of all sort and recently beat me at a card game, Skip-Bo--a big moment because it was the first time he'd won a game on his own merit.

We've been enjoying his emerging sense of humor and loving his take on life. I hope this year brings him new friends and happy, new adventures.

Please?

When Luke wants something, he turns to logic. He thinks of past cases when he has been able to come out on the winning end and he tries to apply similar arguments. He cites factoids and looks for loopholes. He's like a pint-sized attorney.

When Weston wants something, he does this:
-But Mama, it's so soooofffftttt. It's so niiiiiiiiiice. I liiiiiiiiiike it.
-Mama, I looooooove it so muuuuuuuuch!
-But I really, really waaaaaaaaant it.
-Pleeeeeeaaaaaaase?
-I love this toy AND I love YOU, Mama! You are my favorite! Now can I have it?

And to top it all off, he offers his most charming grin and tilts his head and looks all angelic. How do kids come up with this kind of stuff?!

Stream of Consciousness

Elsa wakes up at around 6:45 each morning, which is approximately 45 minutes before when my alarm rings. Needless to say, 6:45 is not a time of day when I like to be awake. McMoose's disdain for 6:45 am, however, far outweighs mine--and when I say "disdain for," I mean that he even if he heard the dog shuffle around, he would roll over and go back to sleep and we would have a phenomenal mess to clean up an hour later--the morning doggie duties have fallen to me. (As an exchange, all of the morning Luke and Weston duties have fallen to him. I get to spend the morning in peace and quiet, enjoying nature, while he gets to listen to arguing and whining over why they don't want to get out of their pajamas. I think I got the better end of the bargain.)

That being said, when I'm following a puppy around the yard with a plastic bag in the six o'clock hour, my thoughts go something like this...

I'm so glad I get to come out here first thing in the morning.
It's kind of cold today. I wonder what the high is.
*Check phone* Oh. 72 degrees. But at noon, it'll only be 65. Should the kids wear pants or shorts?
It's a school day. Luke is always the only one in shorts and everyone else wears pants. The other parents probably think we're neglectful or something.
But he likes shorts. Whatever. This is so not a battle I'm having.
Ooh, she's sniffing. Is she about to poop?
Come on, Elsa. Come onnnnn, Elsa.
Nope. Just digging a hole.
The websites say to ignore bad behavior, but if I ignore digging, we'll have holes all over the yard.
I'm telling her to stop.
There. That worked. She's such a good dog. She's perfect.
Does she like us?
I read that thing about how puppies from rescues can't be trusted because you don't know their pedigree. Can we trust her? With the kids?
She's sitting in front of me. She's rolling over to have her belly rubbed. Yeah, clearly, she's a menace.
Awww, what a good puppy!
I'm always getting rescue dogs in the future.
Geez louise, just poop already.
Two weeks ago, I would've still been in bed.
Two weeks ago, we didn't have the most perfect dog in the world.
Do I have time to work out this morning?
Weston has been asking to go to the museum every day this week. Maybe we should go.
Ack, I forgot to reply to the email from preschool yesterday! Great, now I'm going to be stuck bringing sandwiches for 30 people again. Geeez. Why can't I be more on top of this stuff so I could bring some crackers or something?
I bet Jonah's mom never gets stuck bringing sandwiches.
Ooh, I need to ask Jonah's mom what her job is. I thought she was a physician's assistant, but when she went in for career day, Luke said she brought animals.
How is it that she always does preschool drop off and pick up AND she always has the baby with her, but she has a job? What kind of job lets you have your baby with you?
Oh, but I think her mother in law lives in town and watches the kids. So then how come she never picks Jonah up from school?
I'm so jealous of people whose families live in town. Imagine not having to pay $15/hour for a baby-sitter!
I need to email the baby-sitter to confirm that she's coming next week. But maybe I should wait until a couple of days before so it can be the confirmation AND the reminder. I'd seem a little nuts if I emailed her twice within a week, wouldn't I?
What if she forgot and made other plans and can't baby-sit? The meeting at Luke's new school is mandatory. I guess I could go by myself and McMoose could stay with the kids.
Or I could stay with the kids and he could go. Yeah, no, I want to go.
I need to confirm Luke's doctor appointment next week.
Oh, wait, I need to fill out that questionnaire before we go to his appointment.
Will he need any shots? He got a shot before going to India and he was fine, so it'll probably be ok.
Maybe I could offer him a treat afterwards.
Am I encouraging an unhealthy relationship with food if I offer him a treat afterwards?
Maybe a sticker, then. Or a book! He'd love a book.
But maybe that's not teaching him the value of a dollar.
Of course, if he had a dollar, he'd use it on random toys at Target. Or apples. He'd probably buy apples.
I emailed that woman about editing her newsletter and she never got back to me. She's the one who hounded me about it until I agreed to it and now, nothing. Come on, lady.
It's been a really long time since I've sewed anything. Maybe I should sew today. Ugh, sewing.
Oooh, she's pooping! Score!
....And now I have to go pick it up. For goodness sake.

The Things They Say

Weston: I love rocks.
Me: Yes, I know you do!
Weston: I love rocks AND I love for you to pick me up. Those are my deals.
Me: Your...what?
Weston: My deals. My DEALS. So pick me up...deal?

(Where did this come from?)




Luke: That was a hammer bird!
Me: What's a hammer bird?
Luke: It's a bird that carries a hammer around.
Me: Really? I didn't see that bird carrying a hammer.
Luke: Just because you didn't see it, doesn't mean it didn't happen.

 (Philosophy, as thought up by a four-year-old.)

Elsa

After six months of pestering, McMoose finally agreed that perhaps we needed a new canine companion around here. Enter Elsa. She's three-and-a-half months old and will probably complicate life endlessly for the next few months. But, oh, she's so sweet. Luke is boycotting the name Elsa and instead calling her "Cheetah," but Weston is completely delighted with both the puppy and the name and calls her, "Elsa Princess Dog." We didn't mean to name our dog after a Disney princess...we actually meant to name her after a lion from the movie, Born Free. But of course, the princess reference is what gets the most mileage around here. In any case, I'm looking forward to this adventure!

Odd Little Memories

We went to India for two weeks and of course, forgot to take a camera. At some point, I trust that pictures that were taken on other people's cameras will find their way to us. Until then, what we have is this...

Me: Hey, Luke, what was your favorite part about going to India?
Luke: Uh...My favorite part was the crocodile farm in India.
Me: What other things do you remember doing in India?
Luke: The crocodile farm.
Me: But what else?
Luke: The crocodile farm.

A Friend: Weston, what did you see in India?
West: There was food. A lot of food. I ate a lot of food and it was yummy and I ate it all up!

Yep. We're going to have to get our hands on those pictures somehow.