Allthebody & The lost tooth

Shrek has coined yet another new expression. His version of the word "everybody," which shows that he understands the meaning of what he is saying, although not gramatically correct, is "allthebody." He usually uses the word in extreme expressions of emotions, for example, "I love allthebody." Or, lately, "I hate allthebody." Drama. Sometimes he says both phrases within minutes of each other. Such is the short lived mood swing of a toddler!

Shrek also understands the concept of a birthday and is really looking forward to his coming up. He often holds up 2 fingers and says, "I dis numbah." Then he carefully figures out how to put up another finger and says, "I gonna dis numbah." MJ thinks the Shrek needs to learn the actual names of the numbers so I encouraged him to teach him. We'll see how that goes.

In other kid news, MJ lost his first tooth tonight. He was wrestling with Bo and it just popped out. A complete shock! No weeks of wiggling or tying on strings and slamming doors. Just surprise! And despite MJ's recent development of the fear of blood, he was not traumatized, but seemed proud of his "grown up" status. Plus we told him to hold onto it so he can put it under his pillow for the tooth fairy. We put it in a special ring box and he asked for more clarification as to exactly where the tooth should go under the pillow. "Do I put it inside the pillow case?" he wanted to know. I told him to just make sure the tooth fairy can reach it easily.

This begs an important question. How much does the tooth fairy leave for a tooth these days? When I was a kid, she left a quarter. A quarter today just doesn't have the same buying power. So I'm wondering if the tooth fairy adjusts for inflation. I guess we'll find out tonight. But I'd be curious to hear what the tooth fairy leaves for your kids, if they've lost teeth recently (wink, wink).

Serves Me Right!

Today was the potluck and I excitedly (and guiltily) brought my "dish" to pass. We had to go to church early for small group so I figured I could just throw it in the oven an hour before and be good to go. Well, the oven was already "on" when I got there so I just put it in and went to service. After church, I went back to grab it from the oven and it was stone cold. The oven wasn't actually "on" but was waiting for someone to type in more info on the control panel (gotta love technology--I can't even figure out how to run an oven!). SO, as far as I can tell, God, in his infinite mercy, prevented the poor potluck attendees from experiencing the Chicken Broccoli Ziti that I should have thrown away a month ago when I made it!

I now see the error of my ways and will never again attempt such a devious plan to unload gross cooking errors on unsuspecting victims. I actually can't believe I thought it was a good idea in the first place! (Neither can Bo.) For those of you who were praying for my warped conscience to be brought back into line, thank you.

Potluck!

OK, those of you who have been tracking with me will appreciate my excitement when I tell you that we are going to a Potluck on Sunday. A very LARGE potluck where we will be able to anonymously drop off our dishes in the church kitchen. I still have 2 9x13 pans of chicken broccoli ziti in disposable pans in my freezer just waiting for such a prime opportunity!!

Now don't look at me like that. It's not like it's going to kill anyone. My family ate the other 2 pans and it wasn't that bad (with hot sauce anyway). Maybe I'll make something else in addition, just to off set the effects of the infamous CBZ. Either way-it's now or never! I just can't let this chance slip away. Think of me what you must. I am my mother's daughter and I cannot let perfectly good (well, by "good" I mean edible) Chicken Broccoli Ziti go to waste!

Only 4 months!

The lonliness of making a major move has set in. I hesitate to even be that vulnerable for fear that some of you will read it and feel sorry for me. This is not a cry for help or an attempt to get anyone to do anything. I'm just venting OK!?

Anyway, perhaps it has something to do with the fact that we are going to be visiting Buffalo in a few weeks (notice how I carefully wrote "visiting Buffalo" not "going home"--I slip up from time to time and refer to our trip as "going home" and I remind myself that Nebraska is my new home. But I know that when I am with you, I will feel at home!). When I think about rushing around to squeeze in visits with everyone I want to see, I feel giddy with excitement. It makes me realize how much I miss my friends and family and it reminds me that I used to be connected and loved by people who knew me and loved me anyway!

Even though I know I will eventually get connected here, I am anxious for it to happen. I just have to remind myself that it has only been 4 months! Can you believe that? It has only been 4 months since we left Buffalo. In some ways it feels like forever. I get news from friends or family and I already feel so out of the loop. My house here feels very "lived in." My junk drawers show no signs of newness. Our pantry is finally stocked (after having to buy everything from baking powder to vinegar---ooh, we could do some cool science experiments with those ingredients!). I've even met a couple people who are newer to town than I am. I've been practicing saying "we" and "our" when referring to our church here. All adjustments to a new life.

In some ways, I am claiming to belong to a place where I don't yet fit and letting go of what used to be comfortable. I'm sure this first visit will be the one that feels most like a homecoming. As we sink deeper into life here in Nebraska, visiting will feel more like visiting and less like going "home." But for now, I'm looking forward to feeling at home...if only for a week or so.

I Need Privacy!

Yesterday at the Library I heard the funniest thing out of Shrek's mouth. (As a review for those who haven't been following my blog, Shrek is my younger son's alias. I know there has been some confusion about this and I don't want anyone to worry that I've suddenly started hanging out with Ogres.) Anyway, our library has bathrooms with those tiny little toilets right off the children's section....brilliant planning, by the way--I just love our local library. Skrek loves these pottys so we usually go while we're there. Well, yesterday Shrek walked into the bathroom, closed the door and when he realized I was right behind him, he opened the door back up and said emphatically, "Mommy, I need privacy!"

"Ok, Ok, " I said. And then I had a little laugh.

"Why," you ask? (After all, that is an entirely appropriate thing to say while closing the bathroom door.)

I had to laugh BECAUSE Shrek is just about the least "private" kid on the planet. He's the one who moons the camera every time we pull it out to take pictures. He's the one who prefers to be naked on any occassion. He's the one who says, "I have to go poopy...come with me mommy!" I have never witnessed Shrek closing the bathroom door in our home and whenever I turn on the water to take a shower, he runs in pulling his clothes off saying, "I want to take a shallah too!"

And now he wants privacy!

OK. Whatever. You've got it Shrek. I don't want to smell your stinky poo anyway.

The Battle of Backtalk

OK moms, I need you to weigh in on this one. We have a serious backtalk issue going on in our house and I finally have decided to go to battle on this one. Sometimes I use the common phrase, "Pick your battles" to avoid any battles with my kids. I have recently reached a point where I know that some things are worth fighting for.

The way my kids speak to me and Bo (and each other for that matter) has gotten completely out of hand. This week I am dedicating my energy to adopting a zero tolerance for rude, disrespectful speech. MJ is well aware that the war is on and he has come out with guns blazing. Yesterday I witnessed the most embarrassing and horrendous outburst on record...in public. Only one other time has MJ completely lost it in a public place like that. But I wonder if it's because mostly I indulge him in order to avoid a scene. Ugh. It's hard to turn this ship around!

So moms. Help me out. How do you deal with backtalk? What works for you? Particularly, what do you do when you're out in public? Thanks!

Touting the Benefits of "Work Dates"

I don't know if this idea will catch on...maybe it's a matter of marketing. I probably need to give it a sexier name. Maybe that will be my next contest. Anyway, here's the concept: Stay-at-home moms need each other for lots of reasons. We need adult conversations, we need to get out of the house, we need our kids to have friends and a chance to play with each other. Thus the birth of "play dates." Moms get together with their kids to play, talk and generally have social interaction. It's fabulous. It's as much for the moms as it is for the kids. Well, here's the problem I see. Maintaining a household is a ton of work. Work that is constantly being undone and can be really, really hard to even get done because of the constant interruptions from the kids. After awhile it becomes easier to load up and head out to play dates, ignoring the housework that is forever piling up. Then at some point, we have to lock ourselves in the house and "catch up" or we will be living in total chaos and our marriages will suffer.

Here's my solution: It's a throw back to the amish "bee." A good-old-fashioned "work date." Invite someone over to tackle that project that feels overwhelming (folding 52 piles of clean laundry, cleaning the refrigerator, sorting the piles of papers on the table, organizing the office...whatever it is). It's so much more fun to work on this stuff with someone else AND you can enjoy just as much conversation while scrubbing than sipping coffee. Plus, the added benefit is that while one mom handles the constant interruptions from the children, the other mom keeps the project going. It's fabulous! This is guilt-free girlfriend time. For those women who have no problem in the cleaning area, maybe you could invite someone to help you make up some home cooked freezer meals or do yardwork...whatever!

It makes so much sense, I'm not quite sure why the idea is slow to catch on. Every time I mention it, moms are like, "That's a great idea!" I think it has something to do with our pride and embarrassment that our homes aren't perfect or that we don't have it all together. The first time I asked someone for help, it was a really humbling experience. But I thought of a person who was really organized and said, "My office is unbearable and Bo is about to leave me (yes, I'm a bit melodramatic!). Please help!" She seemed delighted to do it and we had a great time. The awesome thing too was that she kept the project going long after I would have quit for the day (or week or month or year). And she didn't judge me or make me feel like a worthless failure as a wife and mom for letting my piles of paper overwhelm me. (Thanks Traci!)

Does anyone else do this? If so, tell me about it. Share your ideas! If you've never done it and decide to try it, let me know that too.

Happy working!