Best Birthday Ever!

And it came with an origami cootie catcher, too!

Who could ask for anything more?! 29 is going to be great!

Feelin' the burn!

I can't believe that I forgot to post this! Ethan had a hard time falling asleep in the light this summer (since it wouldn't get dark until around 10:00 pm, staying awake was NOT an option...) and Mommy had to get creative to get him to bed on time. I settled on doing what my mother did to me in such circumstances when I was little and a new workout craze was born!

And now here to demonstrate are Ethan and Mason, getting their bedtime wiggles out!

The wheels on the bus.

Another school year has begun!! And none too soon! Ethan was bored out of his mind, and so I was completely out of things to entertain the boys with. This year, I have two boys in school!! Ethan is my super proud 2nd grader and Sloan is old enough for the Pre-K program in our school district. It's a half day everyday, but the half day is longer than Las Vegas Kindergarten!! Woot woot! For three full hours this afternoon I was down to one, napping, kid. I got SO much done! A girl could get used to this!! Of course, in a few weeks, I'll probably be thinking that this makes my day lonely. Go figure.

They were both so excited to go. Even Mason got in on the action and wore "his" backpack ALL DAY LONG. He was pretty torn up each time we dropped a brother off. He really thought that he ought to be going to school, too. Poor kid. He's still stuck with Mom. But, hey, I gotta keep one playmate!

All my boys, ready for school!

Since Sloan has PM Preschool, we dropped Ethan off at school and went back home for a few hours.

He watched cartoons in his backpack and shoes. He wouldn't take them off, he was so excited!

We live really close to the elementary school, so they don't get a bus from our house, but Sloan's preschool is a several miles away from us, so he gets to catch a bus from the elementary. Sloan refused to let me drive him down to his preschool like all the other moms were doing because he was "just too excited!" to ride a real bus!

This photo is proof of said excitement. He didn't want to pose. He just wanted to hop on!

My baby is somewhere in that huge bus.

The excitement didn't last too long. I got a call from the preschool a couple hours later from the secretary telling me that his teacher had told him that he would be getting back onto "that bus" when the day was done and he had a meltdown. I had to drive down to the preschool and rescue him. After talking about it, he told me that there are lots of hills and bumps and being without a seatbelt is "just unsafe!". He then declared that he was "never getting on that thing again". I guess we'll try again in a few weeks...

Quote of the day:

Me: "Sloan, how was your day?"

Sloan: "Well... I sit by a girl. Which is... wild."

I love my boys, but after a long day at school, I love them more.

Cougar Town

We already know that Ethan has some high expectations for his future Mrs. If you can't recall, see here. Last night just before bed (as this seems to be the time when my children open up to me most...) he enlightened me as to further qualifications for his future spouse.

Upon picking up my People magazine, he saw this add on the inside cover and took notice:

"Well, now! That's a pretty girl."

"Oh yeah? She's a little old for you, buddy." said I, remembering that, according to the People Birthday Calendar, she is 40 years his senior. "Maybe you'll have to set your sights closer to home."

"I don't know. Lots of girls are pretty but plain."

"Yeah? What other girls do you think are pretty?" I said, fishing for names of girls in his class to scout out when I am volunteering next...

"Well. . . I like this one. . ." he said, poking his finger at Kim Kardashian's face on the magazine's cover.

Ah, well. Not that I wouldn't mind being Julia Robert's mother-in-law...

Coping with loss.

It's always sad when you see one that you love so much nearing the end. We have been experiencing such a thing, and will probably be for quite some time as Ethan has trouble letting go. And I must say that I feel his pain.

When I was a young child, before the mere age of four, I had one such beloved friend: Blue Blankie. Blue was, as her name would suggest, blue. But not just any blue. Blue was a soft blue material with a darker blue flower print and had a blue satin binding. Blue was the most perfect of all companions. Blue was warm when I was cold, cold when I was warm. Blue dried my tears and comforted my fears. As you may be able to tell, Blue is no more.

As I mentioned before, Blue met her demise when I was four. I caught the stomach flu (probably from one of my jealous siblings, out to sabotage our relationship, no doubt) and naturally, regurgitated on her at some point in the night. My mother tells me that Blue was already in tatters. This is where we disagree. I do not remember any such distress. In my mind, Blue was perfect. My mother even argues that had she tried to put her into the washer one more time, Blue would have come out in threads. So, in order to save the dignity of Blue, she simply placed her into the garbage can the night before trash pick-up day.

I recall clearly, sitting next to the garbage can in the garage, crying for what seemed like hours. I couldn't believe that I would no longer have Blue and was so mad at my mother's refusal to attempt Blue's resuscitation. Frequently, I tell this story at family gatherings to a rapt audience as my mother rolls her eyes.

What's that they say about what goes around...?

Ethan has had his blanket (aptly named "Blanket") since before he was born. Grandma Gailey pieced it together herself. He took it everywhere from the time he was one year old.

The binding began to wear. The piece with the chicken went first. Piece by piece, Blanket began to die.

Blanket in his glory days:

And now:

My dilemma is this: Do I take his blanket from him now, before it becomes as tattered and unstable as Blue and store it away in a box so that he can look at it when he is old or do I let him have as much time with him as the fabric will allow before I am forced to accept such an undignified exit as my Blue?

I decided to let Ethan choose, which he refuses to do. Denial. Instead, he told me his blanket was fine as he put his head through the hole in the middle.

For the time being, it is in his possession, but the clock is ticking and time is short.

What would you do?

Ethan's Big Day!

Ethan had a really big week. Or rather, I think , I did. My baby is growing up and there's nothing that I can do to stop it. Again, how long until I'm allowed to have a mid-life crisis?

We began the week with a Kindergartner and a full-set of primary teeth. I'm sure that you can see where I am going with this...

We ended the week with a 1st Grader and a less-than-full set of primary teeth.

Pictures. I'm good with pictures.

Singing "Macarena Math".

Class of 2022!

Shaking hands with the principal, Ms. Newton.

Please excuse the blurry nature of the photos...

someone may or may not have licked my camera lens with frosting saliva.

My hole-y not-so-baby.

In Memoriam:

Baby Tooth P

January 23rd, 2005 - June 6th, 2010

Hooked on Phonics

It's very entertaining, having a Kindergartner who is in the process of learning how to read and write. I find little "love notes" around the house addressed to "Momy", and labels and caution signs on everything. Some of my favorites this week include:

"WinisGRamohER"

Translation: "When is Grandma here?"

This is header of the picture holding his countdown chain to Disneyland.

Grandma is coming a few days before and coming with us! Yeah!

"STop RiTt hear IT IZ SLiPRE"

Translation: "Stop right here, it is slippery."

This I found on his bathroom door after he had helped Daddy with Saturday chores.

Totally didn't cry because my baby is growing up so fast or anything like that...

Memo to Ethan's Wife:

He wants kids. Lots of kids.

10 girls and 10 boys, to be exact.

The first will be a boy that you are allowed to name all by yourself. The second, a girl, named Rose. Rose will be joined by her little sister, Watersplash, (judging from the pace you must keep to have 20 kids...) shortly.

All of your children will be born in the month of January which, of course, is the only month in which you are allowed to consume cupcakes.

All 20 will spend summers with Grandma and Grandpa where the boys will roughhouse with Grandpa and the girls will stay downstairs in our condo (the length of time is not yet determined.) because girls might not like to wrestle.

Just thought that you might like to know.

Livin' the dream.

I've often wondered as a housewife, what it would be like to find myself the employer of various household help. I dream of having a maid, butler, or a cook. I am sure that I am not alone. Today, I took a step into the life of the rich and famous as I woke up and found myself face to face with my own, sticky, chocolate-covered butler.

"We made you breakfast in bed, Mom!"

How sweet. However, it was not yet 6:30 and the baby was still sleeping. Nothing short of a hostage crisis was going to pry me out of the warm comfort of my sheets. The idea of cleaning Carnation Instant Breakfast out of my carpet put the brakes on the whole deal.

"Thank you very much! Please don't try to bring it upstairs by yourself. The baby will be up soon, and then I will be down to join you for breakfast."

The baby did not wake until 9:00. He's never done that.

As the old adage goes and still applies in the Gailey household, "You snooze, you lose.". Finding a warm 1/4 gallon of milk, soggy cereal, and the last two packets of Instant Breakfast wasted on my kitchen table made me sad. Oh well, how about a raincheck, Geeves?

My wasted breakfast, complete with tray for convenience.

My new employees.

*Notice the chocolate on their noses and chins. Butlering is very hard work, indeed.

My Little Runaway.

Now, before you watch this and think of what a horrible mother I am, just know that all this drama was self-inflicted.

The story:

While Josh was working a dental clinic for veterans a couple weeks ago on a perfectly wonderful Saturday morning, I made chocolate chip pancakes and then I put the boys in the bath. After warning them several times that bath time would be over when the splashing was out of control, I finally took them out of the bath, kicking and screaming. Having had a bad week with misbehaving children, I was in no mood when a soggy Ethan, standing on my carpet, told me that I was a mean mommy and that he was going to run away.

"I am going to get in the shower," I said. "By the time I get out, I want your things packed. Oh, and don't forget your toothbrush and underwear."

To my surprise, he was, in fact, packed when I got out of the shower. Since this kind of scenario has happened before, I decided to really ham it up. "Don't forget to tell your new mommy and daddy that you need to go to the dentist in December. Oh, and try to stay in the school district, won't you?"

It was when he tearfully requested photographs of his "old mommy and daddy and Sloan and Mason", that my heart broke and I knew that both of us had taken it too far. However, unwilling to lose ground, I prepared for his departure. I'll let the video take it from here:

Happy Trails to You

Ethan just informed me that he is running away from home.

I was wondering when it might come to this.

The catalyst? I gave him a collared shirt to wear for the day, not realizing that it makes it impossible to wear a Batman cape. Shame on me. He was up one hour extra last night.

Never again. Bon voyage, Ethan.

5 Going On 15...

Ethan graduated Preschool in mid-May. I can't believe my baby is 5. Is it too early for my first mid-life crisis? He's thinking a lot about his future, specifically about the girls that he will and won't marry. He's not a fan of freckles or girls that push. At least he's selective...

I was trying to take a picture, and forgot that I had set the camera to video for the class ABC's. Whoops. So, enjoy anyway.

Congratulations, Ethan!

We're on our way to Kindergarten!

P.S. The graduation cap is still sitting on a shelf in my room. I just can't handle it...

Oh, what do you do in the summertime?

Why, you crash birthday parties at the park, of course!

Ethan had a marvelous 5^th Birthday, complete with a Superhero-themed bash at the local park. It all started out normal enough… costume-clad guests arriving with gifts in tow, sudden unforcasted wind gusts blowing balloons to dust, and heat damage to a handmade, one-of-a-kind, butter cream Spiderman birthday cake. All was going well until…

Guest “L” informed us that she had to use the potty. No potty available; a slight oversight on my part. Hmmm… I can’t force someone else’s kid to pee in the bushes… ergo, Josh takes L to our house while I keep watch over 8 2-5 year olds, and him…

I have no idea who he is. He showed up moments after the gate swung shut behind Josh. We eventually got a name out of him after he ingested a cupcake and several servings of ice cream, but since this is a public blog, we’ll just call him by the initials he wrote on his own arm with my face paint: E.R.S.. I, being the kind person I am, couldn’t figure out how to tactfully tell him that it was a private, invitation only party, and did the proper thing; waited for Josh to get back to handle it. Handle it, however, he did not.

Thanks to Josh, who was very handy with the camera, we now have the experience properly documented for your viewing pleasure. Without further ado:

Enjoying the refreshments...

Making friends with shy guests...

Redecorating with and releasing Ethan's balloons...

And my personal favorite... practicing artwork on the guests.

Thanks for the help. It was nice to have met you, E.R.S. May there be many more a party to crash.

According to Ethan

This is 1/3 of my Mother's Day present from Ethan:

What I like and know about my mother: ( as transcribed by Ethan's preschool teacher)

My favorite thing that I like to do with my mother is: Share video games.

I like it best when my mother: Plays games.

My mom looks the prettiest when: She blows her hair.

My mom is funniest when she: Spits and stuff.

My favorite dinner that my mom makes is: Macaroni and Cheese.

My mom's favorite color is: Pink.

My mom's hair is: Black.

My mom's eyes are: Blue.

My mom is (  7  ) years old. Her name is: Brooks Gailey.

I love my mom because: When baby Mason is in my mommy looks so beautiful.

If I could give her any gift in the whole world it would be: A Doll.

(Ethan loves secret movie night!)

I'll let you decide for yourselves which of these is factual, and which one made a very hormonal me break down in a weepy mess.

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers that I know and love.

Wake-up Call.

Many of you, like me, may wonder at what age you should insist your child leave you alone while you shower. The answer is:  Sometime before five. Turns out, even boys are much more observant than you might think. Then again, boys do become men.

Evidence supporting this conclusion came across my path this week in the form of Ethan’s artwork.

Ethan:

Grandma:

Baby:

Me:

Currently, we are displaying his craft in his room… not sure where it should go from there. Just how much more trauma can I impose…? On the plus side, at least he was more generous with my “nimbles” than was Mother Nature.

FYI: Monday’s FHE was all about privacy. Not a bad topic for the week, I’d say.

Retro

Where did my baby boy go? I mean, really. Ethan loves to watch videos of himself as a baby/toddler and each time I humor him in some one-on-one viewing, I recognize the baby on the screen less and less. I’m sure most of you can relate.

That said, I would like to now share with you my all-time favorite video of my first baby boy. Mind you, this does not demonstrate the best of my mothering capabilities. He’s nearly naked and what is with that hair!? Please don’t judge me.

Taken sometime just before he was two (I think… Again, please don’t judge me.),  I really can’t tell you what he is saying. (And again, please don't judge me.) But, be sure to listen to him right after I tell him that I'm just taking a video. This is my baby boy:

I love you, Ethan!