Nakey Baby

It is getting to be an adventure to see what state Mite is in when I return from piano lessons! This week was the group hour lesson. I suppose I could go home for this one, but the Keegstra Dollar store beckoned me. I got out of there with only 2 bucks spent (a small miracle!). I didn't have much left after 23 bucks on Walgreens clearance the other day : ) Anyway, Cents and Mite opened the door when the garage door opened. Mite had on just his diaper. I left him fully clothed! But I guess a full diaper change was in order, or should I say in odor!

Buck turns 14

14 is 13 with experience.
14 is less moody than 12.
14 is 5 plus inches taller than 11.
14 has more movies you don't want them to see than 10.
14 is contacts wanted instead of glasses at 9.
14 is Mom's not cool like at 8.
14 is double of 7, but seems 7 minuites later.
14 is reading way less than at 6.
14 is finishing jr. high instead of beginning school at 5.
14 is a decade after 4!
14 is wii and surfing the net instead of sesame street's how many is 3.
14 is 2 years away from driving, instead of 2 driving me nuts.
14 is my 1st baby growing up 1 more year at a time.

Take Two

Thanks to some girlfriends and a game night I learned this game. It is basically using scrabble tiles to make your own crossword. Each time someone has used all their letters, they say take two and everyone has to take two tiles. And on you build. I thought I would introduce this game to The Prof and the family. I love a new game that The Prof hasn't learned yet. This gives me the advantage for about 2 rounds after which I will never win against him again. (there is more than one reason I'm calling him The Prof on the blogs) But I thought the speed of this game would keep me in a bit longer. After a few rounds we introduced the kids to the game and suprisingly Buck will play a few rounds. This is so huge to us. Buck does not like playing games. But he has sat down with us twice now without twisting his arm to play!!!!!! Thanks again girls. Pleasant time with a teen, now that is priceless. Okay, here is the funny. Buck wants to use alternative spellings, made up words, and text typing (is there a word for that?) You know lol, rotflol, pos. So the last round we played any word you could justify at the end you could use. Of course he used WTF - to which my husband replied - what is that? Watch The French? And they wouldn't accept my word QF. I tried to say that Mite says this all the time. They wouldn't believe me.

A Little Snack

Two Bits and I came back from piano lessons to find Mite wandering the house chewing on a raw potato. Buck, our most affordable and therefore favorite sitter, thought this amusing and reported that Mite found the potato in Two Bits and Half Buck's room. Hmmmmmm. Should I be worried about:

a) Mites' taste in snacks
b) Bucks' lack of concern
c) current food storage system
d) ever leaving the house without the babe again
e) all of the above

I'm Not Even Dirty

Cents didn't want to take her bath tonight and miss playing with her cousins. She informed me she wasn't even dirty. I reminded her it had been awhile since we washed her hair. So she agreed to take a bath "but we are only going to wash the parts that are dirty." I washed a few others as well.

My Mom used to throw a bunch of us in the tub at the same time. We Four Littles did just about everything together. Then my brother, John would get his turn alone. I can still here the refrains of my Dad yelling things like, "Use soap this time!" up the staircase. In those moments, when your parents come on over and possess you, I've found myself quoting this line to a boy or two of mine. And at the dinner table, I can hear the echo of, "your paws are like the paws of an animal."

On what day did we become our parents? Why did no one warn us, why didn't we listen, why didn't we run??? I can remember the first moment I felt I had become my Mother. And fittingly for this bath story it does involve water. When Buck was about 2 year old, we were in Russia. My friend Galya invited us to go to her Mother's dacha. Before you think of some nice cabin or get away this is not what this was. This was an over 100 year old cabin on an island in Lake Onega. Anyone we knew lucky enough to have a dacha used as much of it as possible to grow food for the winter. Any free summer days were spent working this mini farm and then relaxing a bit. You know relaxing while you haul and boil your own water, use an outhouse, chop lumber for the old woodstove kinda relaxing. Anyway, we get on this little boat that can hold about 4 people, a couple bags of supplies, and apparently no life vests! Half way across the lake the motor dies. Yep, that is when I knew that I'd become my Mother. I was just overcome by the worry of carring for this little foolish guy who would have climbed overboard just to go exploring. They got the engine going again and we had a wonderful dacha day.

Glasses

There should be an award for Mothers of Boys with glasses!!!!! And I win it! Two Bits lost his a week and a half ago, so we reordered on Tues. Then The Prof was back of Wed. with an eye infection. I went back on Thurs. when The Prof's glasses broke (of course, since he can't wear his contacts for a week). On Friday, Half Buck lost his glasses. Why they were found in the middle of his blankets remains an unexplained mystery. And on Saturday, the lost Two Bits pair were found.

Top that and I'll buy you a fru fru coffee!!!

Nicoderm

Two Bits and I were waiting in line for some medication at Meijer and there end cap at pharm pick up is Nicoderm. So Two Bits is busy reading that it is basically a gum in different flavors and could he have the mint please. After an explaination of what Nicoderm is for and how smoking is yucky and bad for you, he decides if he ever needs it, he is still going for the mint flavor. Glad he has his recovery plan in place already.