Before and After

Nicco has been due for a hair cut for a while now. He was adamantly opposed to a trim this time around, insisting that his hair "won't be wild this time, see? I promise!" as he smoothed down his curly locks. His tactics ranged from screaming NOOOO!!! in his highest pitched squeal to tipping his head to the side, batting his little eyes, and smiling his sweetest smile while telling me how cute he is and how he loves his curls. He even gave the hair cut plan two thumbs down the other day. I only got him to the shearing station in my bathroom by telling him he couldn't go swimming until he got his hair cut. I have a feeling the pool will come in handy as a parenting/negotiating tool! He consented to the trim, but he would not cooperate for his Before picture:

I always love his hair best just before he REALLY needs a cut. I wish I had those curls!

...and after, with his pile of hair on the counter behind him. He looks so different after a trim!

Me, a Mother

Nicco loves holidays. He's been giddy as can be in anticipation of Mother's Day. All the commercials for flowers and chocolates and such have added to his excitement in ways I would never have expected. He talks back to the voice-over on television commercials saying things like, "You're RIGHT! Flowers WOULD make a great Mother's Day gift!" Once he asked me what I want for my Mother's Day gift. I told him I just want a hug and a kiss. He rolled his eyes and said "Oh, come on! That's not a gift, that's love, and I've done that a million times. Why don't you just think about what you want for Mother's Day." I told him that he needs to talk to Daddy about that. The Daddy asked me what I want, and I said nothing. He said, "But it's Mother's Day." I really don't need or want more than what I have already, and besides...My Boy's Daddy recently bought me a house. I told him he's covered for a few years, to which he responded "Good answer."

The big day arrived, and with the scorpion scare last night, something akin to the nesting instinct kicked in today and I cleaned my house. I emptied closets, vacuumed every little nook and cranny. The Daddy took The Boy to Home Depot to buy scorpion repellent spray and materials for shelves so we could get all our closet things off the floor. I also washed, folded, AND put away four loads of laundry, ran the dishwasher, made lunch for my small family (Patrice helped), and squeezed in some pool time. At one point in the day, Patrice said to me that I shouldn't be working like this on Mother's Day, and I said "What is the point of being a mother if I can't take care of my family?" As I folded my laundry, a smile spread over my face and my heart swelled with love for these two boys who made me a mother. I did all my wife/mom jobs today with a sincere sense of fulfillment. I know there are women in the world who view household chores as something of a divine role, that of Wife or Mother. I am not one of those women, but today, as I looked at my house, my little boy playing and making noise, my big boy building and working, I feel my place in this family; me, a mother, and I am content.

Our new patio set, with my Arizona bouqet

Appropriate, don't you think, for an Arizona mom. Nicco picked it out himself.

Nicco's school Mother's Day project. He was not happy with it, because he "didn't even smile."

My baby wanted to write a note for his Daddy the other day. He asked me how to spell the words, but did all the writing himself. I love his Daddy too. I'm glad to be a Mother.

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P.S. After Nicco finished his sippy as we snuggled for sleep, I said "Good night, my good boy." He said "Good night, my good mom, and happy mother's day. I wonder what we should get for your next happy mother's day gift." I told him he has a long time to think about it. He told me I'm right, and next we need to think about Father's Day. I said "What do you think Daddy wants for Father's Day?" He said "We'll have to think about it. Daddy's thinking about a Jeep."

Welcome to Arizona

I know we've been here for a while, and I suppose the rattlesnake on my doorstep in September could be considered an initiation of sorts, but I think we can claim official Arizonan status today.

With the weather warming up, the scorpions (Nicco calls them e-scorpions) are coming out. It is our new nightly habit to check our house with our blue light before turning in. Good thing, too! We had a little stinker (not the word I used when I realized he was still alive...) in Nicco's room! AAAHHH!!! I still feel a little sick to my tummy.

Taking Bets...

How long do you think I can hold off turning on the air conditioner? Winner gets a million invisible dollars.

Quote of the Day

"What happens at 8:30?"

"Bedtime."

"I thought something good was coming."

Monday Fun and a Happy Spring Surprise

Our Monday fun day was a busy one, we had three things! Two stores and the movie. Nicco really enjoys the big movie screen, but gets a little bugged by the big 3-D glasses falling down. He decided to wear his own sunglasses because they don't fall down. He changed his mind quickly in the darkness of the theater. We saw the dragon movie and enjoyed it quite a bit. I laughed out loud at the rite of passage gift from Stoick to his son Hiccup: a Viking hat that his mother would have wanted him to have, made from half of her breast plate.

When we came home, we had some chores to do. Nicco and Patrice watered our citrus trees and made this little discovery when they pulled out the hose:

Mama quail tending her eggs

I can't wait to see the babies bobbing in a line behind their parents!

P.S. Nicco counted the eggs and proudly announced that "we are going to have 12 babies! I am so exciting!"

Strolling Through the Garden (aka our quest for a Grand Star)

Our visit to Tohono Chul Park was a delightful adventure, narrated and accompanied by Nicco as we made our way from one garden to another.
Taking a rest at the beehive fireplace.

A charming water feature

The world's biggest horned lizard

Another fountain

chimes in the children's garden

This rattlesnake bench wound all around the children's garden

Owls peeking out of the iron saguaro

My little sunshine

Spiral maze

Nicco waiting for his little wooden boat to catch up to him

Taking a rest, because "my legs are so tired."

I made a mistake of stopping at the gallery before exiting the gardens. Nicco was ready to go, but became reenergized when he saw the gift shop attached to the gallery. He was very angry with me for not buying him a $7 plastic rattlesnake, so on our way out, he made a wish for a snake, "a pretend one," in this fountain. When I asked if he was ready to go, he said no, that he was waiting for his wish to come true. Sorry buddy, not every wishing well wish comes true, particularly immediately upon making the wish. He finally decided to put the pretend snake on his birthday list. I'm pretty sure the wish will go unfulfilled, and unnoticed.

Fauna

I took Nicco to the Tohono Chul Park today. I've been planning to visit pretty much since we moved here, but I'm glad I waited till spring! The park's website claims it is "recognized as one of the world's greatest botanical gardens" and while I think it is probably eclipsed by other gardens of the world, it is definitely a beautiful place. There are 39 acres of trails and a variety of desert plants and animals. When we arrived, one of the volunteers was showing off a gila monster and a coral snake.
This is a non-venomous breed, but Nicco had no interest whatsoever in touching it. The little 11-year old boy who was holding him said I could go ahead and take a picture, "he's used to it. He even likes it." Then gave me his most charming smile. Silly little boy.

Here is the gila monster.

One of the many lizards scurrying about

A desert tortoise

Again, Nicco was not interested in touching him. He is surprisingly soft!

Pup fish pond.

Speaking of the desert wildlife, two coyotes crossed the road in front of me on my way home from Nicco's school the other day, and my quails are a pair again. I hope they will be a family soon!

Flora

At the risk of being considered a nerd by my younger sister for taking pictures of plants, I present...pictures of plants!

The desert is in full bloom right now, and it is quite spectacular. And from what I understand, this is a uniquely brilliant spring due to an unusually wet winter. So, proceed if you wish, to see the mean, spiky, harsh desert transformed in explosions of color.

(Whenever Nicco sees white daisies, he stops me and says "Mom, look! Those are my grandma's favorites." He insisted that I take a picture of this bunch because "My grandma wants to see them")

The saguaro have only just started to get their buds, and I've only seen one actual bloom. I will have to update when they blossom.

Funtasticks Family Fun Park

Monday Fun-day found the Boudou Family at Funtasticks Family Fun Park. Nobody was there. We thought it was closed. Nope, just a school day and nobody was around. It cost us roughly $20 apiece for all the fun we could handle in this run down little place. Oh, unless we wanted to go to the batting cages, the video arcade, or the laser tag. Holy moly.
We started with a round of mini-golf. With Nicco, Captain OCD, this was destined to be one extreme or another, he would either love it and want to do it over and over again, or he would "not do great at this" and would end up kicking and screaming on the ground with clubs and balls a-flyin'. Happily, it was the former, rather than the latter. Here he is getting a lesson from the daddy.

His form on subsequent shots was less than ideal, but he actually did pretty well, all things considered. If we had been keeping score, he probably would have beat me. Which says more about me than him, truth being told. Anyway, he had fun.

The haunted hole was one of his favorites. It is reminiscent of one of Super Mario's galaxies, after all. Then again, pretty much everything is reminiscent of a galaxy these days.

The bumper/squirty boats were refreshing after a round of golf. I got soaked. I think Patrice and Nicco maybe got a little spray, but mostly, they soaked me.

Nicco got to ride the kiddieland rides as many times as he wanted, since we were the only ones at the park. Bliss for a 4 year old!

This is the second round on the carousel, after the second round in the bumper boats. Nicco rode with me that time, hence the wet hair.

We also rode go-karts, but I am not coordinated enough to drive and take pictures at the same time. We did a second round of golf, in which we adhered to the traditional rules of mini golf even more loosely than the first time around.

The park was dirty, the equipment was run down, the train wasn't running, and it was way overpriced. But, Nicco said he wants to go golfing again tomorrow, and you just can't put a price on childhood summertime fun. Right?