First Boyfriend?

Ok, I don't think it's quite that serious yet...in fact, we never discuss boyfriends and girlfriends. Avery and Reese both know they aren't allowed to get married until they are 30, which means boyfriend talk is a LONG way off. Plus, as we all know, Avery practically IS a boy, so the last thing she is thinking about is having a boyfriend. Well, that's what I thought, anyway.
Last night, I was getting her schoolwork out of her backpack and came across a piece of red construction paper with dinosaurs drawn all over it. At the top it said AVERY JACK with a heart in between. As in Avery loves Jack? I couldn't imagine it, but I had to ask. I said "Hey, Ave, what's this?" She said, "Jack made that for me." "At school?" I asked. "No, he made it at home and brought it to me." hmmmmm...interesting. I pointed to the heart and said "What's this?" She said "Mom, it's a heart. It means Love, Jack. Because Jack made it." I asked her why she thought he would make her a picture and she said "'Cause he's my best friend, Mom." Then she got busy making him a picture. It also had AVERY (heart) JACK.
I waited until later to ask her, "Why is Jack your best friend? I mean, why do you think you like him the best out of all the other boys in your class?" Her answer is Classic Avery. "Mom, he's the only boy who can take me down."
Gotta love a tomboy!

p.s. This may be one of those messages that I shouldn't share with everyone but I just HAD to have it documented. I can't ever forget it. So if you happen to run into Avery, ixnay on the ackJay. Ok?

Super Artist

Can you guess who made the pumpkin on the upper left?




If you guessed "Dash" from The Incredibles, you were correct.

(I never noticed that he looks like he's carrying a small squirrel in his pants. Sorry, Buddy...it was the smallest one they had!)

Having trouble keeping track of your pumpkin?

(Is this what happens when you refuse to get your kids a pet? They'll just start putting a leash on anything?)

Seriously?

So, I took the kids to the playground yesterday after school. We went to the one across the field from the school because it has swings, so it wasn't too crowded. There were just a few little girls there, all around Avery's age. We hadn't been there 10 minutes when one of the girls walked up to Avery and said, "Are those real Uggs?" I learned later that she also said "How much did those cost?"
May I remind all of you that Avery is a first grader? She, for one, had no idea what Uggs are and whether hers were real or not. For the record, they are, but let me explain: My mom, her Grammy, saw them at Dillard's after Christmas about 3 years ago. They were on sale for, like, $25. Mom thought they were just too cute to pass up even though they wouldn't fit anyone at the time. They just now fit Avery and the reason she likes them is because the "fur feels good" and because "Grammy bought them."
What I want to know is, how in the world does a first or second grader know anything about "real" Uggs? More importantly, WHY does she know? I already know that answer and, if I had met that child's mother, I would probably not be surprised to see her look me up and down in my Target t shirt.
It's none of my business what values (or the lack thereof) any other parent teaches their child, but I felt a bit disheartened that the materialistic cattiness is starting so early. I didn't expect it until at least the ripe old age of about 9. Ah, girls.

And speaking of girls and Uggs, I caught Reese talking to Avery in a southern accent last night...she was imitating a country girl from our Wii bowling game who says "Aw, shucks" in a very womanly, sexy southern drawl. But Reese wasn't saying "Aw, shucks." She was saying, "Aw, shugs." She was batting her eyes and flipping her hand in that dismissive fashion that all southern ladies do when they are professing disappointment. She said it over and over. "Aw, shugs," and "Well, shugs."
Ok, this has nothing to do with Uggs except that shugs rhymes with Uggs. And I thought it was funny. And my heartache over catty little girls melted away into laughter at my little 4 year old goofball.

Happy Birthday Sweet Reesie!

Good morning, Birthday Girl!

It's hard for me to believe that it was four years ago today that I first met this sweet little baby girl. My heart still swells when I see this shiny little face grinning at me first thing each morning.

Maybe it's because she had such a tough time getting here that day four years ago, maybe it's because she's the middle child and gets overshadowed so much of the time, but I wanted to make her day as special as we could. She doesn't go to school and isn't in any activities (we've tried) so she doesn't really have any little girls her own age to invite to a birthday party (bless her little heart), so we just decided to make it a special party weekend! Her actual birthday is today, but we celebrated with my mom, Grammy, Saturday. She chose bowling as her official party. Here she is with Grammy at the bowling alley:


She had her cake and presents on Saturday and I was kind of worried that today would be somewhat anticlimactic, but my sweet friends agreed to do a special playgroup today, in honor of Reese. Jennifer hosted and turned playgroup into a little surprise party. Reese couldn't have been more proud to be the guest of honor.
(Before we got to Jennifer's, I said "Are you going to go in and tell everyone it was your birthday?" and she said "No. They will just know because I am four now." Remember the days when you thought you would somehow be bigger on your birthday?)

She may not be any bigger, at least not that I can tell, but I still think it turned out to be one of the best birthdays ever, even if there wasn't a "real" party to speak of - we partied for three days with our closest family and friends. You can't beat that!

My favorite thing about today? This morning, soon after Reese got out of bed and walked into the kitchen to see it decorated for her birthday. She said "I'm four today!?" almost as a question. I said "I know it, can you believe it?" She said "I'm a big girl now!" I responded with "I know it...you have to stop growing up!" She looked at me, then ran into her room and came back with her "tippy taps" that Grammy gave her Saturday.

She ran into the kitchen, holding the tippy taps and started to put them on. She seemed somewhat distressed. She said "I hope they still fit since I'm four now!" After trying them on, she yelled, excitedly 'Mom, they still fit me even though I'm already four!" Whew.

Mood Swings

I always find it amazing how roller coaster-ish parenthood is. Actually, I believe that very statement, or something similar, was made in the movie, Parenthood. Children have a way of worming their way into your heart and soul. You love them to distraction and sometimes, the things they do and say can leave you speechless - for better or for worse. Only a mother (or father) knows that you can be so joyful you think your heart will burst when your child makes you a card for Mother's Day when no one told them to, and then so angry you could scream when they kick a soccer ball in the house and it bends the blinds and breaks a plant in the kitchen. I think most parents would agree that, when it comes to kids, it's a crap shoot. You have a 50/50 shot of wanting to either hug them or smack them.
And I realized this morning that I think kids feel the same way. Here are two recent conversations between Avery and I to help support my argument:

Last week:
Avery: Mom, can I ride my bike to school?
Me: Sure. I don't think it's supposed to rain today, so we should be safe this afternoon too.

Because I think my house has been swept up in a tornado and, instead of Oz, has landed in Seattle, we're never safe from rain lately. And of course, we walk out the door and it's drizzling. Reese starts to whine because she doesn't want to be wet and cold, so I say "You know what? Let's just take the car. I don't want to walk all the way there and back with Reese whining, plus, if it's raining now, it may be raining after school and I'll have to load your bike up in the car."
Now, Avery is more than a little disappointed. She's already on her bike and wearing her helmet. I knew she would be irritated and with good reason. There's been too much car riding to and from school lately. She says "I thought you said it wasn't supposed to rain today."
Me: I didn't think it was. The weather says there is only a 10% chance and I heard them say it wasn't likely. I guess they were wrong."

We get in the car and head toward the school, where we see a gazillion cars lined up from the drop off point to the stop sign at the main intersection. I say, "Wow, looks like nobody wanted to walk today."
And Avery responds, in the most smart-ass voice I've ever heard her use,
"Wow. I wonder how come their moms knew it was raining and you didn't." Gasp. Gulp. Gasp.

I responded with something about how that was really mean and if we weren't going to school, she'd be in her room alone for an eternity and that she needed to just stop talking if she was going to be ugly. She apologized and I dropped her off, giving her a hug and a kiss as usual, but still kind of smarting from the sting of her remark.

Then, last night, I went in to lay with her. Hanging from her top bunk was a letter I had written her at parent/teacher conferences and left in her desk. It just says something about having a great day and we miss her when she's gone and she's the coolest first grader I know. And she hung it up. Went to the trouble to find tape, go in her room and find a spot for it.
When I saw it last night, I said "Hey, what's that?" She said, "It's my letter from you. I hang it there so I can see it every night." I actually had to bite my lip and hold my breath for a minute to keep from crying. My heart was as big as the helium balloon that flew away without a kid in it. I told her I thought it was so sweet of her and that I almost wanted to cry and she goes, "Hey, it helps me read and it makes me feel happy."

God, I love that kid. And she drives me crazy sometimes. But mostly I love her.
There isn't enough Prozac, Midol or booze to control these emotional mood swings. I guess, as they say in the movie, we have to just buckle up and enjoy the ride. I'm already feeling dizzy.

I did NOT make them do this....

(I just made them do it again, for the camera.)