A Rainy Day in Tiny Town

We are banking Grandma and Grandpa time this summer before we head to Tucson. Today we decided to meet them in Tiny Town. We went there with Nicco two summers ago. He had some fun, but he was much more into the buildings this time around. Two years made quite a difference! Too bad the weather didn't cooperate well with our plans.
This is Nicco in front of the "Storybook House." There are some familiar story characters inside.

He liked the windmill. It was one of the first things to catch his attention.

Here he is wandering among the miniature buildings with Grandma, watching the worker ladies dust off the square dancing dolls from the dance hall. Dad made a comment about girls never growing up, getting themselves dollhouses to furnish and dolls to dress up. I think the same could be said about boys and garages/cars. (I can actually hear Diana and Rachel agreeing with me emphatically.) The difference is that grown-up girls with dollhouses are content to play with toys, boys seem to think they need REAL garages and cars to play with! By the way, I don't want any comments from boys about girls wanting real houses and babies to furnish and dress up. That is LIFE, not play.

Case in point...Nicco is already fantasizing about a garage and cars and motorcycles!

There is also a little train that runs around the outskirts of Tiny Town. Although I am sure I didn't need to mention that, since the sign reads "World Famous Tiny Town Railroad." We rode the train twice, once in the brief moments of sunshine, and once in pouring rain. Nicco was happy when we rode past the mini replica of the Hot Dog.

Fun times, in spite of the rain!

P.S. Nicco just said "You know mommy, this was the best rainy day EVER!"

You keep saying that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

This afternoon Nicco was wrapping himself up and unwrapping himself and rewrapping himself in his plethora of soft blankies. At one point he said "URRGGH! I'm reducing!"

I am not sure if he meant "redoing," given the fact that he was wrapping and unwrapping repeatedly, or if he heard that word somewhere and liked it and created his own context in which to use it. Regardless, it was the second time he has said it (both times in similar situations) and I do not think it means what he thinks it means.

Petting Zoo at the Park

I plan to pack in a lot of Colorado fun before we head south. Today was a play day at the park with Nicco's friends Tommy and Eli. The first stop was the little farm. Nicco wanted to go in the pool with the duck. He didn't care for the animal smell. It offended his sensitive sniffer. You can see how enthusiastic he was about the petting aspect of the petting zoo. I had to beg and bribe him to even get him this close to the sheep. There was a little pony too, and I thought he would be excited about that, but alas, no. Needless to say, we didn't spend much time with the animals. His favorite was the rooster who walked around crowing.

Train Ride

All three boys were excited about the train. We were among about 1000 people who thought the park sounded great today, and the most popular attraction was the train. We gave the boys snacks and let them sit on the bench to wait while we took turns holding our spot in line. While they were waiting their turn, there was a school group of kids about 6-7 years old already on the train. One of those boys was yelling at Eli "Hey, you in the hat..." and proceeded to say some not nice and not pleasant things to him. Eli is a tough cookie and defended himself, but Eli's mom was in line and my mama bear instincts kicked in (along with my teacher training...) and I hollered back at the kid (meanwhile making eye contact with his teacher) to be kind and friendly and to stop picking on 3-year olds. I did think it was funny that the kid identified Eli as "You in the hat" considering the attire of the other two boys in his company.
Here they are at the end of their ride in front of the little train. They had a blast making chugga-chugga choo-choo sounds, especially when we went through the tunnel.

Nicco and Eli on the train ride. Tommy chose to sit behind us with his mommy.

I love Tommy's smile-for-the-camera face.

Playing in the Stream

The boys and baby girls were getting hungry and cranky, so we had a little picnic by the stream before we let them wade in the water. Nicco was the first of the adventuresome trio to dip his toes. He wandered up and down the stream and found his friend Sarah. I think he would have preferred to play with her, but I convinced him to wander back to the people we came with and all our stuff. I tried to invite Sarah to join us too, but her brother didn't want to. Oh well.

The fishermen. At this point, Nicco and Tommy were soaked tip to toe. Eli was more timid with the water. He has foot sensory issues and could not handle the sand in his shoes. He eventually lost the shoes, but didn't really get in the water. Tommy slipped face first in the water and popped right back up without a peep of protest.

I really should have taken a picture of Nicco as we were leaving. I stripped him down to his undies, socks, shoes and hat to walk back to the car. A good look for a 3-year old! I did not plan the adventure well in terms of water play. For some reason I thought Nicco would wade in the water, not "wade" in the water. What was I thinking? I didn't have a towel or a change of clothes. I did have his jacket and soft blankie in the car, so once he was buckled in, he had his toasty warm jacket and toasty warm blankie to recover from the water play.

A fun day with friends!

I Love the Mountains

I love the mountains. I love four distinct seasons. I love hot cocoa by a roaring fire and a cozy blanket. I love white Christmases. I love green grass and shady trees. I love ponds and lakes. I love my Colorado home. I love living 45 minutes from my parents' house. I love taking Nicco to school with me. I love my neighborhood. I love my bookshelf. I love my grape vine. I love my comfy, familiar, happy place.
I love the desert. I love adventure. I love new beginnings. I love swimming pools. I love warm climates. I love staying home with my kid. I love being a short and relatively inexpensive airplane ride from Denver.

So, as happy and comfy as we have been here in Denver, we are starting fresh and new in Tucson. I got my cry out and now I am excited to get on with the new adventure.

Wait For It...Now THAT'S What I'm Talkin' About

Preface:
Nicco incorporates phrases from his favorite shows into his vocabulary. Two recent (overused) phrases are "wait for it" and "Now THAT'S what I'm talkin' about."

This particular morning has consisted of me making lists, making phone calls, and "working." While I was "working," Nicco was watching Pink Panther cartoons via Netflix. When I say Pink Panther cartoons, I really mean the same cartoon over and over again. The episodes are about 5 minutes long on average, and he has been watching the same one for the entire hour I have been working. The episode of the day is one in which the Pink Panther buys a used car. Nicco collects his "squishy cars" and lines them up and plays out whatever is happening on the screen. His cars also sometimes have conversations--he's using his imagination, not just sitting idly in front of the video. A reasonable justification, right? Right?

On about the 10th time of watching the Pink Piston, Nicco's cars were chatting amongst themselves and getting mad at each other for not lining up in a proper straight line. You may not be familiar with Nicco's penchant for straight lines, especially when they form a square. Let's just say he REALLY likes proper squares and lines. So when "Orangey" finally got in line, he said...wait for it...

"Now THAT'S what I'm talkin' about."

The Countdown Continues

I thought I was done counting down days when school was over, but in light of recent events, I am going to have to start a new one. Nicco is so excited to visit his cousins in July, but the abstract concept of time is a difficult one for him to comprehend. He knows we are going to Utah, he knows we are going in July. He asked if it was July yet (this was last week, when it was still May) and I told him we had to finish May, get through June, and most of July before we can go. On Tante Zouzou's birthday, he heard the words "June 2nd" and he said to me "We are through June! Now we can go!" I went through the timeline with him again. Today, we got our tickets. He said "We have our tickets now, can we go?" I got the calendar down and we X-ed off the first few days of June and counted all the days until our trip. Just now as he snuggled in for sleep he said "So, mom, we got through June, that means it's July. Now we can go." I think I will make a counting down candy chain like we have at Christmas so he can visualize the goal. In case anyone wonders, there are 44 days.

Summer Magic

Every year, I buy Nicco a new backyard pool. He did grow out of his first one but the subsequent pools had to be replaced because they wore out--I confess to a bit of neglect. They may have lasted more than one summer if I had been better at packing and cleaning them up after being used.

Nicco's first pool:

Pool #2

Pool #3

A few days ago when it was 90 degrees outside, Nicco reminded me that the Froggie pool is gone and we need to get a new pool. I agreed with him, and we purchased pool #4 the other day. It was late-ish in the afternoon and he wanted to blow it up, but I said no. Mean mommy! We went to Bailey on Friday, so I told him we could set up his new pool on Saturday. He asked me if it was Saturday yet. I said no, it is still Thursday. He asked "Can you make it Saturday?" I told him that we just have to wait for two days, then it will be Saturday. He said "Can't you use your magic?" I had to disappoint him and tell him that my magic doesn't work like that. He waved his hands over me and made a "magic" noise and said "There you go." Sadly, we still had to wait two days for Saturday. This morning when I asked him if he wanted to show his daddy his new pool his eyes got huge and so did his smile as he asked with eager anticipation "Is it Saturday?" Here he is in pool #4, this Saturday morning:

Singin' In the Rain

The other day it was pouring rain. I was working on the computer and Nicco was just bugging around the office like he does, and he asked me if I wanted fresh air. I let him open the patio door and he was amazed that he was getting wet through the screen. With wide eyes, he asked if he could go out there. It was about 75 degrees in spite of the rain and there was no thunder and lightning, so I let him go out to enjoy the spring storm. He spun around and jumped in the puddles. He came running to the door at one point squealing "Mom! Mom! The rain made a river!!! You HAVE to see this!" and pointed to the water streaming down the gutter.
After several minutes outside he came back to the door and told me he needed a towel. I told him to stay on the patio until I brought one for him to step on and we would put fresh clothes on. He obediently stepped onto the towel, then wrapped himself up in it and proceeded to go right back outside. I think at that point the towel only weighed him down, but he still thought it was necessary.

A little later he came to the door sniffing, telling me I had to smell this. I asked what I had to smell, and he said "I think it is the rain." We smelled the fresh spring smell of the rainstorm for a few minutes together. Then he came back with his fingers nearly up his nose, saying "I can't smell the rain on my fingers." He dipped his hand in a puddle repeatedly trying to get the rain smell on his fingers. Alas, it is a non-transferable scent.

This whole episode reminded me of a time several years ago when Sheila was telling me about her Joy School experiences, specifically about the "Joy of Spontaneous Delight." This particular spring storm was definitely a "spontaneous delight" for Nicco.

Nightmare

Nicco came into my bed this morning and said "Mom, there were ghost-es in my room last night." I asked if they were friendly ghosts. He said "No, there were LOTS of them and they scared me." I told him that if he gets scared in the night, he should tell the ghosts to just leave him alone and put his "shields up." He said "But they were TICKLING me! And that was scary."

I may have to borrow a page from either my friend Kirsten's or mom's handbook and chase the ghosts out of the house or use "ghost spray" (a.k.a. Febreze) to protect Nicco from things that go bump (or tickle) in the night.

Ridiculous Customs and Traditions, Like...Preschool "Graduation"

I HATE preschool "graduation." Hate it.

1. Preschoolers don't graduate, they turn 5.
2. It feels a little like a junior pageant, dressing kids up like grown-ups and celebrating what should be a grown-up accomplishment. (At least a TEEN accomplishment. At the very least an ACTUAL accomplishment! The passage of time is not an accomplishment.) Besides, what will REAL graduation mean in high school and college to people who have been "graduating" since they were 5?
3. It is also like gay marriage in the sense that gay marriage isn't MARRIAGE, it is a civil union. Preschool graduation isn't graduation, it is a transition. An end of one era, a beginning of a new one. Let's call it that. Preschool TRANSITION! Does anyone think it will fly? Yeah, me either.
4. It is totally age-inappropriate. It means NOTHING to the kids, they just want ice cream.
5. It is all about the parents. It turns my stomach to make false platitudinous comments to a bunch of people who think that I (should) love their kids as much as they do. Newsflash: I don't. I like my job, I mostly like the kids, but I really only love my kid. A year end party with cake and ice cream would be sufficient.
6. It is an enormous pain in my behind.
7. It has become a tradition, so now it is expected and demanded. I actually think I could be burned at the stake if I suggested doing away with the whole stupid thing.

That is my rant for the day.

P.S. I really am a good teacher, I just hate graduation.

Dance Recital

The Monday afternoon enrichment program at school is a dance class. The kids have been practicing a "hip hop" dance to the Move it Move it song from Madagascar for the past several weeks, leading up to this FANTASTIC performance. Nicco loved it and frequently made me jump and clap and jump and clap and move it move it and roll pump pump with him at home. He seemed to have a little bit of performance anxiety in this large group in front of the parents. In his little group, he would get into it and do all the moves, believe it or not. I know because I sometimes spy on him at school. My brain was about to explode trying to get all the video clips to work in one post but I was unsuccessful, so the the 4 clips that follow are the dance in its entirety. Except for when I stopped filming to make Nicco turn around so I could see his face. I was only mildly successful with that.

Move it, Move it!

We Party Hearty

Huah, huah...pose.

The End

Two More Days...

...and graduation. That is all.

Counting Down

There are 7 more actual days until school is out. That is about 152 hours from this moment. Only 5 school days. That is only 29 hours. Of course, we have to include RIDICULOUS graduation (another rant for another day...I'll save it for next week) so that means I have about 33 more hours with the kids/parents this year. 33 hours. So really, it's like a day and a half.

A Friend Is A Friend Till The End Of The End, That's Forever, And A Day

The long title comes from a musical sequence in an episode of SpongeBob in which Sponge and Patrick befriend a worm while house-sitting for Sandy. They even give "Wormy" a Best Friend ribbon.

Yesterday we worked in the yard trimming trees and preparing the boxes for this summer's garden. While digging up the roots of the weeds in the boxes, we came across several worms.

• editorial aside: Nicco LOVES animals. Cats, dogs, horses, pets of all kinds. I dread the day that he seriously longs for a real pet of his own. For now, he claims all furry, feathered, even slimy critters as his pets.

Nicco collected the worms in a slimy pile. He talked to them in a squeaky, tender, loving voice saying things like "Oh, you're sooo cute! And you are my friends!" He got a little distressed when they tried to squirm back to the cool, damp, dark dirt. "No, you are my pets! And my friends! You do not want to go back into the earth!"

Patrice made a comment about the contentment of our little family digging in the dirt together on a beautiful spring Saturday. I could hardly ask for more on the day before Mother's Day. Or any day, for that matter.

The kicker? I turned my head from my weeding just in time to stop Nicco from filling his pockets with worms. Thank goodness I was able to prevent worms in the bed/couch/laundry! Phew!

Happy Mother's Day

This is how Nicco sees me, apparently:
These are his responses to the "mommy survey" at school:

Why do you love your mommy? So much.
What do you like to do with your mommy? Play cars with her.
What is your mommy's favorite food? Salad.
Does your mommy go to work? What does she do there? She plays.
How old is your mommy? I don't know.

Not too bad. We do enjoy playing cars together, I eat salads regularly, but I prefer a good burger and fries. I pretty much play at work. Except for when I am yelling at obnoxious kids. He asked me how old I am several times in the days before our Mommy celebration. I told him, but I guess 36 is beyond the comprehension of a boy who only counts to about 15 with any consistency. He said that his dad is 3. At least he recognizes that he and I are not the same age. I do love him so much. I'm glad to be his mommy!

I Scream, You Scream

Nicco was whining that he wanted to go home (as we were driving home...) and I told him that we will be home soon, long enough to put our school things away and get a quick snack before we have to go fix Daddy's car. He told me "Ice cream store or home. Those are your choices."

Jurassic Park

Nicco and his classmate Eli have become quite good little buddies lately. Eli really likes dinosaurs, so when I saw that the Botanic Gardens has a special Jurassic Garden exhibit through September, I thought it would be a good opportunity for Nicco and I to develop this budding friendship. Both boys wore dinosaur t-shirts today and they were very excited to see the dinosaur garden after school.

Here they are in front of the Quetzalcoatlicus nest:
And here they are by the Edmontosaurus (Nicco has his "happy" going on...a literal bounce in his step)
Digging up dinosaur bones in the sandbox:

And watching the koy fish swimming in the Japanese garden:

The two boys had as much fun playing in/near the water as they did hunting the dinosaurs stationed throughout the gardens. It was a super fun time. I got to know Eli's mom better, and I think that we will enjoy getting our little guys together more often. Yay for new friends!

I Think That I Shall Never See a Poem Lovely As a Tree

"I frequently tramped eight or ten miles through the deepest snow to keep an appointment with a beech tree, or a yellow birch, or an old acquaintance among the pines."

I am no H.D. Thoreau, but I do love and appreciate nature. I love my backyard trees, and we have one particular "venerable neighbor" in our yard. This tree has suffered and survived quite a lot in its life. It was struck by lightning once upon a time. . . It was attacked by crazy-mutant-immigrant-New Zealand wasps last summer. . .
And yet, she blooms:

This is the latest atrocity committed against our lovely tree:

Again, quoting H.D. Thoreau, "Every creature is better alive than dead, men and moose and pine trees, and he who understands it aright will rather preserve its life than destroy it."

So which life has more value? That of the tree, or the woodpecker building a nest in its core?

To answer that question, I am THIS CLOSE [------] to buying some birdshot and borrowing dad's 22. Yep. This close [------].

Confounded by Google, or Back in the Public Eye

(And by "public" I mean the 10 people I know.)
So, making my blog private meant that the google translator didn't work anymore, since I can't authorize google as a reader of my blog. It is more important that my French relatives be able to keep up with our lives (and by "our" lives, I mostly just mean Nicco) than keeping others away. I am going to call that random stranger just a fluke and be like Rachel...pretend the likes of him don't really exist except for in the back of my mind. Darn. I liked being in a secluded dark corner.

Huh???

Nicco just asked me if I will go to New York with him, but not New York City.

I repeat, huh?

Safety First!

Last night Nicco was climbing up onto the arm of the couch and juming off repeatedly. I told him I didn't like that, and I wanted him to stop. When he asked why, I told him that he was not being safe. So, he brought his left hand up to his right shoulder then down and across to his left hip with a "Cha-chink." Thus buckled up, he proceeded to jump off the arm of the couch again. I laughed and let him go ahead. Couldn't help it.

Quote of the Day

Nicco asked for a sippy with "chowocate" milk. I obliged. Roughly 30 seconds later, he said he wanted another one. What the what? Already? Here is the conversation that followed:

me: No, you just had one.
Nicco: No means yes!
Me: What? Since when? Where did you learn that?
Nicco: Because...I love you!

Moral of the story: when you back yourself into a proverbial corner, use "I love you" to get out of it.

Bobby Fischer

Nicco likes to play "chest." He will ask any willing participant if they "want to play a little chest?" then take their hand and give instructions: "You be the golds, I'll be the blues." "Chest" is different from chess in that winning involves being the first to line up your pieces in a proper square. Not a whole lot of strategic planning.

Taking Care of Grandpa

Grandpa is at the doctor getting his inside owie fixed. Nicco is quite concerned about this. He is not only concerned about Grandpa's surgery, he is also concerned about Grandma. He is glad she will be sleeping with us tonight, because otherwise she would be alone at her house. Right now, he is playing "Taking Care of Grandpa" with his Lightning cars. Two of his Lightning McQueen cars are Grandma and Grandpa, and his Mack truck is taking Grandpa to the doctor and bringing Grandma to our house. The Grandma Lightning gives the Grandpa Lightning a hug and kiss, tells him to get better, and that she will see him in the morning. Mack says "Let's go home now. He needs to rest so his owie can get better."

I love watching and listening to pretend play. Such an insight to what is going on in kids' heads. I am glad that Nicco is concerned about both his grandparents, and that he apparently understands that there is a reason to be a little worried, but that everything will be okay, and that we all take care of each other. Sweet.

The Butterfly Pavillion

Today is our last day of spring break. How silly is it that we have to go back to school on a Friday? Anyway, we crammed in one more fun excursion before getting back to the grind. We met our friends Kirsten and Riley at the Butterfly Pavilion. Nicco liked all the creepy crawlers and was even brave enough to hold Rosie, the icky tarantula. I have been to the Butterfly Pavilion twice and in those two trips the only people in my company who held the spider were Nicco and Grandma Madsen. MY Grandma Madsen. A sweet little old lady and a 3-year-old out braved me both times.

This picture is a little fuzzy because Nicco was bouncing with excitement pointing to the big, bright, blue butterfly that flew past his head.

Here are Nicco and Riley posing for us.

This is in the exploratorium where they got to climb in a psuedo-spiderweb.

And here they are jumping and playing in the bee hive.

Another fun day. I am not looking forward to going back to work tomorrow, but at least the weekend is coming up soon! (I know, poor me. Feel sorry for me when you get a moment.)

Wildlife Experience

I wanted to have some fun with mom and dad before my break is over. We planned to go to the Firefighters' Museum in Denver, thinking it would be fun and interesting and something new for us all. However, after reflecting a bit, we realized that the museum is just blocks away from Civic Center Park, the home of a Tax Day Tea Party. Considering that we all prefer to avoid crowds, (meaning more than 10 people, according to dad) rowdy crowds in particular, and wacky protest crowds ESPECIALLY, we decided that the Wildlife Experience on the other end of town would be preferable to the Firefighters' Museum. Also taking into consideration Nicco's fear of firetrucks, (what the what???? I do not know where that fear came from, and how he even thinks firetrucks are something to be afraid of is quite beyond me) the animal exhibit was a much better choice.

This fun place has ever-changing exhibits. The current collection is called Animal Grossology. One section was all about poop, another featured blood sucking critters like leeches, mosquitoes and tics. There was a wide variety of body functions and creepy looking creatures from air, land, and sea. Here, Nicco is pumping blood into a leech. Mmmm...

Here he is listening to an animated fly discuss fly habits, including vomiting on people picnics.
The next shots are in a different section, all about forest animals. Here he is in an eagle's nest,

Now he is crawling out of a cave, home to bears, bats, and foxes,

and here he is inspecting some insects under a magnifying glass.

We had lots of fun and enjoyed the art and sculptures and playing with the interactive exhibits. All in all, I think this was a much better day than we would have had with the tax day protesters.

The Big T.V.

When we moved things around to make room for our big t.v., we decided that it would be a good idea to paint the wall. Nicco is helping. Such a helper.
And here it is...see? Not so bad. Just like a large picture hanging on the wall.

P.S. Please ignore the clutter on the table...that is one issue that is yet to be resolved.

Quote of the Day

Nicco and I have some little traditions when we go to the store. When we go to Target, we get pizza and soda and "an airplane or somethin'" and when we go to King Soopers, we get a free pink cookie and ride the penny pony. On our way out of the store today I asked him how his cookie tasted. He said "It's cookie-tastic!"

Going Private

After receiving a comment from a random stranger, I have decided to make my blog private. I look at friends of friend's blogs, so it doesn't surprise me that others might find me through friends of friends, but still...a little creepy. I am receding into a darker corner of my little world.

Happy Easter

For about a week Nicco has been saying that we will be going up to Grandma and Grandpa's house when it is Easter time. Sunday morning when I started packing up his little travel bag, he looked at his wrist (naked of a timepiece) and said with wide eyes, big smile and slight quiver of excitement in his voice "Is it Easter time? Is it on?" I said "Oh yes, it's on."

Nicco got his silly on later in the evening, above is a silly face, below is a silly game he played over and over where he made his daddy grab him by the britches while he ran cartoon style with his little plumber's crack showing, until he collapsed in a heap of giggles only to jump up and say "Do it again, Daddy!"

Here he is making all his favorite colors.
Checking out the pictures on Grandma and Grandpa's camera, in his handsome Easter outfit.

And the egg hunt.

As always, we enjoyed the day with Grandma and Grandpa. The Easter services were lovely, dinner was delightful, and we only had to brave the raging blizzard for half of our drive home. We did actually go home, in spite of the weather and Nicco's insistence that "we can sleep here. Let's do that!"

Mommy and Nicco's Day of Fun

We got dressed, brushed teeth and hair, got in the car, and went on an adventure! First we went to the Children's Museum (which was dirty, and...let's just say we were a minority ethnic group) I was lucky that Nicco was sleeping when we pulled up, because there was a HUGE sign for a new ride at the Aquarium-a SPONGEBOB ride. I may have to check it out in more detail and venture back to that neck of the woods next week. After a short visit at the museum, we went to the Build-a-Bear Workshop so Nicco could build-a-bunny for Easter. He named it Sarah. Hmmm...a crush on Sarah at school perhaps? He likes doing the computer stuff at BABW. Then, we went to McDonald's to play. We got there just as the crew was finishing a 6-hour cleanse of the play place, and we were the only ones there! Bliss! After a while, another little girl arrived with her grandma. Nicco loves to follow bigger kids around, and was thrilled to have a companion. Here are some snippets from their conversations:

Nicco: You! You! You! We have the same! See, you? We have the same! (referring to their happy meal toys)
Me: Nicco, perhaps you should say, 'Excuse me, what is your name? My name is Nicco, and we have the same monster toys.'
Nicco: Excuse me, I'm Nicco. See, we have the same! What is your name?
Ella: I'm Ella, and I know.

Nicco: (to me) She asked me how old I am.
Me: Did you tell her?
Nicco: (Head shake no, and shoulder shrug)
Me: Say 'I'm 3. How old are you?'
Nicco: I'm 3.
Ella: I'm 5. I have a cousin who's 4, and he thinks he's so smart but when he climbs up here, he just gets stuck and calls "grandma, grandma!" He's not as smart as me, but I'm 5. So...

Ella: I'm going to go up here.
Nicco: I'm going to go up here.
Ella: I'm going down the red slide.
Nicco: I'm going down the red slide.
Ella: I'm going to look for the letters in my name. E-L-L-A
Nicco: I'm going to look for the letters in my name E-L-L
Ella: You are just repeating me.
Nicco: You are just repeating me.
Ella: Stop repeating me.
Nicco: Stop repeating me.
Ella's Grandma: Ella, he's littler than you, and just having fun.
Nicco: He's little and having fun
Ella: Now you are repeating my grandma.
Nicco: Now you are repeating my grandma.
Ella: Stop.
Nicco: Stop.
Ella: Say okay
Nicco: Say okay
Ella: Say okay
Nicco: Say okay
Ella: Say okay
Nicco: Say okay
Ella: Say OKAY!!!
Nicco: Say OKAY!!!

Nicco: Hello you.
Ella: I think you mean Ella.
Nicco: (Shoots a look at me as if to say "What in the heck is she talking about? I wasn't talking to her. I was carrying on a random conversation with one of my many invisible pals. Is she CRAZY?")

Nicco followed poor Ella up and down and around. She was a pretty pleasant girl, relatively tolerant of my little copycat/follower, if not quite as enthusiastic for his attention as his loving cousins.

Cat and Mouse

I am "working" (a.k.a. getting paid $5.50 to read and blog for an hour) and Nicco is downstairs watching Tom and Jerry, L-A-U-G-H-I-N-G his pants off. I can't see him, but based on the giggles streaming up the stairs and through the hallway, his pants are most certainly laughed-off. The other day, we raced around the table and the circle that encompasses our living/dining/family rooms and kitchen, taking turns being the mouse and the cat. I don't want my kid to be a tv junkie (well done so far. phtt.) but the giggles and games of cat and mouse once in a while are a good payoff for my fabulous parenting. I promise, when I am done "working," I am going to turn the tv off and we are GETTING DRESSED and GOING SOMEWHERE. Then I will come back and clean some more.

Kudos

So, Patrice has been at his new job for two months. Practically every day, his employers thank him profusely and compliment him on the work he does. He has been harboring hopes that this enthusiasm for his efforts will eventually translate into a bonus of some kind, preferably a bonus with the portaits of our former presidents. Green portraits of former presidents. Small green portraits of former presidents that might fit, oh, I don't know, in a wallet or something. Anyway, last night he came home with good news and bad news. The good news was that we won't have to pay as much in taxes as we anticipated. The bad news, he said, was that he would not be able to ask his employers for a raise any time soon. That being the bad news, I worried that they had an eccentric mood swing and fired him on the spot. He quickly relieved my anxiety and took me out to the garage to see his "bonus." A 47" flat screen HDTV. We will need a bigger house to accomodate it! Kidding, kidding. The T.V. is just a T.V., but the message was important. It is nice to be appreciated and to have your efforts rewarded. I am proud of him. In spite of the monstrosity that is now housed in my living room.

P.S. After actually moving furniture around to accomodate the new television, it is not the monster I imagined it to be when I first saw the box. I will even go as far as to say it looks just fine.

Late Night Paranoia

So here's how my night went:

1. Load up on Exedrine Extra Strength Migraine formula
2. Place a cool washcloth over forehead
3. Curl up in fetal position
4. Hope and wish and pray for relief before the sun comes up

My attempts at alleviating my insane headache were unsuccessful. Then sometime in the middle of the night, I heard someone (or something) knocking on our door. There were flashing lights outside. I could not hear Nicco breathing through the monitor. I heard the knocking again. I had a sudden overwhelming sense of fear that Nicco had somehow woken up and gone outside in the FREEZING cold and snow and was knocking on the door to be let back in. Then I thought someone stole him and the lights are the police and they are knocking to give my poor frozen child back to me. Then I thought it was some crazy homeless tramp who smelled all the food Patrice and his friend spent all day cooking trying to get in and was holding my baby hostage because he sneaked out because I still could not hear him breathing on the monitor. When I finally gathered my wits a little bit, I leaped out of bed, head and heart pounding, and checked on Nicco. He was in his bed, sleeping soundly, apparently not having moved an inch since I snuggled him to sleep in the first place. Then I looked out his window and saw the flashing lights on a big truck. That still didn't compute with my drugged up brain, but I felt better knowing my kid was sleeping safely in his bed. I went back to bed, wide eyed and alert in spite of the pain in my head. I heard the knocking a few more times and debated about waking Patrice to go check on who (or what) was outside. Eventually, I calmed down enough to shut my eyes again just before the heat, computer, printer, and monitor sprang back to life in a whooshing and beeping return of power.

So here's what actually happened:
The power went out. That is why I couldn't hear Nicco.
The power went out and Excel had utility trucks out all night working to restore the power, and that is why there were flashing lights and a big truck outside my window.
There were really high winds. That is why the power went out.

I still can't explain the knocking...probably just the pounding in my head.

Whimper, Sigh

Camera, broken.

Tamara, sad.

Right before spring break. And Taxes.