Who Needs Santa when you have Grandma?

My mom recently bought Maddie a t-shirt that reads "Who needs Santa when you have Grandma?" No truer words have ever been said.

You see, with pretty much everything that my kids have and love, they think it comes from Mimi. Actually, even a lot of the mundane stuff too, gets attributed to Mimi. And not that they are far from wrong on a lot of things, but it would be nice to get credit for the few true "hits" that I make in purchasing.

Maddie has a lovely handmade doll*. The doll's given name is Storm. However, like all of Maddie's dolls, she calls her Dolly. (Although I do believe even Maddie is starting to realize how confusing this is, as she has started to call this particular doll Brown Dolly. Perhaps not politically correct, but an accurate description nonethless...) Lately, she shows people the doll and says "Mimi gave it to me". Well, actually, Mommy found the cute doll. It shouldn't chafe so, as Mimi is extremely generous with the kids. But in this case it does. I know I'm being unreasonable.
I guess I need to get over it.

Sam needs help getting dressed, so I'll stop now. He needs help with his new underwear. "Did Mimi get these for me?????"

Mom, I know I can't ever possibly say it enough, but in case I haven't said it lately thanks for all you do for us and my kids. Thanks to Dad, too, for his great gift for creativity that he shares with them. You're generous to a fault!

*Storm was made by Hapslappy on Etsy. If you want Mimi to give you one, too, look at Shannon's adorable creations here.

My other son, Kevin

Did you know about my other son, Kevin? He is so quiet, most days I forget about him...

As I brought Maddie into her preschool classroom this morning, her teacher asked me if I had another son, Kevin. I started to reply "No", when I realized where this conversation was headed.

I said "yes, as a matter of fact, Sam has a brother named Kevin. Sometimes he is older, sometimes younger, sometimes taller than Sam, other times shorter than Maddie. I often mistakenly sit on him, and yes, he is quite often responsible for making Maddie cry, or for the toys spread about the room."

You see, Kevin is Sam's imaginary brother.

He's been living with us for about a year now. He must sleep a lot, or travel often, because we don't always hear about him. Apparently, he's grown quite a bit, because he is now in high school.

Mrs. Killick said "We were quite surprised to hear about Kevin. Sam said he was in high school, and had many tales to tell about what they did together, and where he was. We didn't think you were quite old enough to have a son in high school (Editors note: She gets a grand Christmas present for that comment, thank you) but thought, perhaps your husband might, from a previous marriage or the like."

He was quite convincing! His own teacher did say he was quite the thespian!

No wonder I'm so tired lately. I have three kids, not two!

Sam, the concert guitarist

Sam's first Suzuki Guitar concert was this past weekend.

Now, I have to admit, I was a bit concerned - in the weeks leading up to the concert, he was adamant that he was NOT going onstage, and he was not going to be in the concert. (And he didn't want to be a rock n roller anymore, at least not how Laura plays.) Not only was this his first concert, but he was the first up onstage - so we didn't know what to expect.

Thankfully, the morning of the big day, he was nearly beside himself with excitement! Now, as he'd only been taking lessons for about 6 weeks at this point, he wasn't playing a solo piece, as one might expect. Instead, he joined his guitar teacher onstage, and they have a fun duet of "If you're happy and you know it".

Blessedly, he grinned from ear to ear during his performance. It was quite a relief - in all the rehearsals, he had the saddest, most pained look on his face, and Miss Laura and I agreed that it was the most pitiful display for someone who was supposed to be happy.

He had a good time, and especially enjoyed the applause. However, like any normal 4-1/2 year old, once he was done playing HIS song, all he could focus on was going out to eat to celebrate!

Off to the pumpkin farm...

Today was Sam's class fieldtrip to the pumpkin farm. I think he was as excited (if not more) about riding the bus than the actual outing!

This year, they went to the Pumpkin Patch. Much less commercialized than where they have been going, they enjoyed

a hayride,

a corn maze, a petting zoo,

digging for (plastic) spiders in loose hay, picking pumpkins,

and climbing on the hay bales. Sam just likes being with his buddies!

As you can see, Maddie tagged along with me, as did some other siblings. Here is Maddie with her best friend, Molly! They have so much fun together.

It was a beautiful day, and the kids had a lot of fun!

Whining as a second language?

My lovely, sweet, bright kids are becoming quite fluent in another language. Sadly, it is not Spanish - that would be practical, and look good on a college application, too.

No, they are picking up that ugly tongue called whining.

Sam is particularly fluent in it. It is quite impressive. And unfortunately, painful to the ear, as it occurs in a high pitch that can be likened to an ice pick in one's ear.

Of course, I know not this language that they speak, so I cannot respond to it. (Yes, I'm a witch. Is there something wrong with that?) They get a lot of "what did you say? I can't understand you". With Maddie, too, comprehension is further complicated by the binkie around which she so proficiently speaks.

Oh, how I wish Babelfish had an "english-to-whine" translator. If I could invent one, I'd make a million.

In the meantime, I think I'm going to go look for some earplugs!

Guitar man

A glimpse of things to come?

When Sam grows up, he says he will be a rock 'n roller and play guitar, piano and drums. Then again, he also told me today that he will live with me forever. And that he wasn't going to school when he gets bigger.

I told him if he was not going to school, he would have to get a job. He said "No, I won't Mommy - I'm going to be a rock 'n roller, and live with you forever. " Huh?

Guess we'd better get on with our daily guitar practice, if that is how he is going to support me in retirement.

Backyardigans!

Pete and I tempted fate by taking Maddie and Sam into the city on the train to see "Backyardigans Live - Tale of the Mighty Knights" at the Chicago Theater. (Maddie's naptime falls around 12:30-1 - and an overstimulated, overtired Maddie in the containment of a commuter train could be a recipe for disaster....)





The kids are always excited to ride on the train, this time no exception. Minimal fighting was observed, and they both chatted animatedly to us about what they saw out the windows. I'm always amazed at how exciting parked construction trucks, street sweepers and garbage trucks continue to be to Sam!




Of course, we have now become those Damn Suburbanites, so we were unaware that the east side of the Loop El was shut down, so we had to convince Sam that a bus ride would be just as exciting. I was more interested in watching Pete try to maintain composure as the kids touched everything and anything on the bus, which of course is a breeding ground for every germ imaginable. Don't get me wrong, they probably are, but given that we used to ride the city buses with great frequency, its fun to watch Pete switch on Daddy mode.



Since we now had time to spare, a snack break at a nearby Starbucks was in order. Pete introduced my hips and I to their pumpkin muffin while the kids knoshed on a blueberry muffin. Maddie yelled "hi" to the "pretty birdies" outside. Again, I appreciate the toddler viewpoint, as that is the last thing I'd have to say about pigeons. Thankfully we didn't have any muffin left for her to feed to them. A pair of helmeted Chicago police officers wheeled by on Segways. I'm not sure what exactly they benefit by being on a Segway - but they look funny, and they twirled in circles in front of our window to entertain the kids. Honestly, should cops have that much fun on duty?



So off to the Chicago Theater we went, briefly delayed by Maddie's discovery of the automatic door button at Loehmanns. As cameras weren't allowed in the theater, I hid mine under Maddie's blankie deep in my purse - the security guards were wise not to touch that - I have no pics of the show. However, armed with our Backyardigans shields and magic wands (Momma knew better, but Daddy is a sucker - or got suckered - into spending $30 for the pair) we were ready for the show.


Now, I'll admit, while the Backyardigans is one of the few shows the kids watch that I can enjoy watching with them, I was prepared for a cheesey show, but there was great audience involvement and the kids (and adults both) had a great time.

Back to the train station to pick up a late lunch to eat on the train, and we were off again. Maddie held up remarkably well, and entertained the lower level when she sang to her Happy Meal dolly. Both kids are exhausted and will definitely be in bed early. (Bonus)

Bring the Rain

Another preschool mom at Little Angels had a link to the blog Bring the Rain on her own blog. It came with a warning to find a comfortable spot for the next 12 hours and plan on ignoring children and husband, dinner, etc. as you will get drawn into the blogger's story.

Well, that was this morning, and its now midnight. Sam and Maddie watched a lot of television again (and lets keep that between you and me, 'kay?) and were hunting me down "Mommy, can we have dinner now?, and "mommy, are you laughing or crying?"

Angie's blog is funny, sad, powerful, and spiritual. I don't talk much about my bible studies or prayer groups, or the peace that I'm finding these days, but this touched me deeply. Angie's faith is powerful, as is her writings. Heartbreaking, to be sure, but more than worth the read.

So throw a casserole in a crock pot, make a pot of coffee, and fill sippies for the kids, and read Angie's blog. There is a link on the upper left-hand side of the page that will take you to her first post. You will need to read it backwards, but its worth it.

Stay Back

Ever have one of those days?

Me too.

Maddie

Maddie is rarely seen without a stuffed animal, doll and/or blankie in hand.
She has more "woobies" than I have shoes.

I love this picture of her. It really captures her impish personality!

For Cousin Sarah

Cousin Sarah, Maddie was SO pleased with her new argyle knee socks that she asked me to take a picture of them, since she couldn't show them to you in person yesterday.

We think you'll approve!

Raincoats and Rubber Boots

I've been meaning to post these pictures of Sam and Maddie, playing in the rain.

Doesn't it make you want to get a pair of rainboots for yourself and join them?

Happy Wake Up Calls

Sam is an early waker, always has been. Typically I wake up when Pete gets up for work. Today, he had a 6:30 am flight, so I went back to sleep after he left.

I woke with the sensation of being, well, watched.

Next to me, snuggled under the covers, was my Sam, his face inches from mine.
"Mommy you ARE awake". (Ever the perceptive one, my Sam).

He snuggled in closer, "Mommy, I love you SO much."

A few quiet moments together, before things get crazy. What a way to start the day!