Dragons and Knights!

The picture speaks for itself....somebody is not happy to be the dragon in this story!  Believe it or not, a minute before this picture was taken the "dragon" was happily chasing the scared knight but when the knight decided to fight back the dragon did not like it - not one little bit. Regardless of the chase, the pouting and the lack of princess (Rebecca) in distress, I adore this picture and it represents what I have to look forward to every morning; days full of imagination, role playing and childhood games!  Although I am not sure if  given the choice I would have chosen to lead this kind of life, now that I am deep up to my neck in it, I don't think I would have trade it for any other choice.  Having the time to re-discover each holiday with my kids and enjoying every small thing through the eyes of a child is just priceless and I am thankful to God for allowing me to be a kid again!

Pink Beads

Got my mammogram today and I am so happy I don't have to do more this time.  Yes, since the first time I had a mammogram I have been going to the dreadful second and third and the occasional biopsy.  I have gotten so used to the process that I couldn't believe the doctor when she said, "everything is OK, see you next year"  - I could hug her!  OK, I did hug her!  She probably thought I was crazy but I didn't care - I do not have to deal with this until next year and that is worth celebrating.   

So, in honor of Tia Orfita and to celebrate the news, I got some pink beads today at the grocery store while getting my usual stuff.  Our local Safeway (pretty much like Publix for you Floridians) is always raising money for this or that and giving you all sorts of colored beads for your donation.  Of course, October is breast cancer awareness and the pink in everything is kind of getting on my nerves - I don't like pink but I don't like cancer either so I am coping. Regardless of my aversion for the color pink, I am proudly wearing my beads today and if I could, without getting too weird, I would tell everyone I encounter today that my mammogram was perfect - for the first time EVER!  No, that would be too weird even for Seattle standards;  I will just wear my beads and enjoy the news inside my heart.

Barry B Boots

This morning was a typical Fall Seattle morning, gray, rainy and very windy.  As soon as I opened the garage door, my three kids ran to put on their shinny rain boots that did not get to be used enough last season.  Although this year we had a great Spring and a glorious Summer, my kids were itchy to wear their boots and I must agree, they are fun to wear!  Unfortunately, we were experiencing not only changes in the weather but also in some body's shoe size, Frankie's boot did not fit and this was the beginning of the end of my pleasant morning so far. Of course, there was no way Frankie will put on sneakers after trying on the boots, especially after Victor and Rebecca were sporting their boots, so after about 10 minutes of feeling like the worst mother in the world - how could I not foresee this drama??? - I secured a barefooted Frankie in his car seat and headed for the school rounds with the mission of hitting the store right after to take care of Frankie's boots.  We went to our favorite department store to find the same type of boots Frankie outgrew and I was surprised to find out he needed boots two sizes bigger than the ones he currently had - WOW, no wonder he was screaming "ouch, ouch" so loud this morning!  After much searching, I was able to find the new size on the same color, navy blue and red, perfect match for his coat - I felt like a great mom again!  Sadly, I was not able to enjoy this feeling for too long because it was interrupted by Frankie's discovery of the "Barry Boots."

"Look, look!" he cried "I want Barry Boots, Barry Boots!"  Of course, I was hopelessly lost and had no clue of what he was referring to....Who was this Barry? By process of elimination and with the aid of his very good pointing skills, I was able to figure out what Frankie was asking for.  He was talking about this hideous black boots with yellow tips, the loudest boots on the rack and that, by the way, did not match with ANYTHING my son had hanging in his closet, let alone his very nice navy blue coat.  Even though I was not even remotely thinking of buying those boots, I wanted to find out more about the connection Frankie made of the boots and this mysterious fellow named "Barry" - could he be a fireman?  The boots did resemble firemen boots so I continued to ask Frankie who Barry was.

No, it turns out it was not a fireman; "Barry B Benson," is the main character of   "The Bee Movie" and by the way, his closet is full of black and yellow sweaters.  The story put a big laugh in my heart and I had to take the horrible boots and walk to the register to pay for them.  Yes, I bought the ugly boots.  I had just been witnessed to two wonderful miracles that took place in this local store, on a windy, grey and rainy Seattle Fall morning.  First, I had just found out that my son was not color blind - and don't laugh because my father is!  Second and most important, my son was using his long-term memory, coupled with his imagination and exercising his creativity to connect this cartoon character he loved with a pair of boots in a store. 

As far as I am concerned, Barry B Benson does not wear rain boots in the movie - he wears sneakers; furthermore, Barry, as well as most bees, can't fly in the rain so there would be no point in marketing his character in children's rain boots, right?  Regardless, my son will wear his "Barry Boots" with pride because they are one of a kind - he picked them, he named them and they are very special, just like him.  As for me and my wounded sense of fashion, I will turn a blind eye at those loud yellow tips and think:  Black and Yellow, fellow!  Perhaps that will help.

PS:  Victor wants Barry Boots too!

The Toilet Dialogues

Lately, my family seems to be centered around the potty.  I am in a mission to potty train one of my children for the first time and re-train another!  Yes, I know I have three but the middle one is actually OK, at least for now.  

Lucky for me, the subject of my "first time" potty training efforts is Frankie.  This is the same little boy who was born the very day he was scheduled to arrive (all on his own) and decided he was done breastfeeding at seven months.  I am beginning to think that he is deciding to become a big boy all on his own...once more.  We started the potty training with a "potty" chair but this was not good enough for him so we moved on to a ring.  You can anticipate that the ring was not going to be good enough for him either so he took it off and now he sits on the toilet, balancing his little bottom as he tries to keep the "stream" inside - thank God for this!  This past week, he decided it was time to  "produce" for mommy every time I sit him down to potty.  Of course, he is not asking to go yet - get real, the kid is two years old and A BOY!  Still, I am delighted to celebrate each success with lots of high-fives and loud cheering!

Now, here is the other reason for me to hang around the toilet, Rebecca.  My poor daughter will kill me if she finds out I am writing about this - she is already mortified as it is, just to be seeing a urologist at the very difficult age of eleven.  I can't help to find it so funny that not only do I have to remember to sit Frankie at the potty but I have to help her keep a "voiding" diary for her doctor too, under very loud protest, by the way.  Here I am, running all over this house (with FOUR bathrooms) making sure Frankie goes to potty and Rebecca keeps her log.  It seems like Rebecca needs to be re-trained because she is waiting too long to go to the bathroom and her body has been now programed to function this way.  I guess a mother's job is never done and although you might think your kids are ready to go on their own, you can never anticipate that you might have to re-live those days again!  Sorry, no time for blogging a lot these days; I am too busy keeping up with the toilet dialogues :-)