Edward has good manners..for a vampire

I let my son watch Twilight. (He had to cover his eyes @ 2 parts.) He didn't notice what I thought he would. Instead he noticed Edwards manners. He caught Bella's apple. He opened doors, bought her dinner & rescued her. "He sure is nice for a vampire," he said. He also liked the way Edward dressed & how smart he was. "Edward is pretty cool & smart." I am pleasantly surprised I must say. Reid is very sweet I shouldn't be surprised. At the beginning of the year a dad of one of the girls in his class came up to shake his hand. "I hear you pull out my daughter's chair everyday, that's great. You're a nice young man." I turned to look at Reid & he just shrugged it off. Apparently a few weeks later she didn't like it so much that he did this for every girl. Reid also noticed that Edward is different & some people don't like him. People are mean to him. He has experience with that as well. I guess out of all the role models I can think of, Edward isn't so bad. He is handsome, smart & well groomed. All in all, he's pretty nice for a vampire.

Toddler fight Club

I always told myself I would never tell my kids it's ok to hit someone. Fast forward through several years & different incidents & as usual, I lied to myself. My nephew is a serial hitter. I love the kid but he hits all the time, for no reason & thinks it's funny. He also likes to throw things at people's faces. Like trains, metal cars, etc. When he's at my house I always did the whole 'No hit, hands to yourself" that works on most kids at least once. So after the third time Reagan came to me complaining & nothing was working I committed the mother of all parent sins. I told him to hit back. Mostly because I got sick of watching my kid take it upside the head & smile it away. Something snapped & I remembered how some kids/people never learn. My kids know when he comes over, they're gonna get hit so they hide the heavy stuff. If nothing else I taught my kids they don't have to smile as they're getting smacked in the face with their own toys. My nephew didn't mind. I brought old karate equipment & a kicking bag & let them go at it. I wouldn't normally recommend this method but I can report the hitting is less severe & less frequent.

Thomas Addiction

Rowan has always liked Thomas. It is truly his first love. He knows all the trains, their names & colors. He can spot Thomas on anything a hundred yards away. Thanks to a wonderful marketing strategy Thomas is indeed on anything now. Stickers, plates, clothes, pillows, band aids, toothbrushes, blankets, socks, lunch boxes & backpacks. Which we have. All birthday presents from loving grandparents, aunts & uncles. Rowan likes to rotate his favorites. One week it's Rheneas (pronounced Ru-nay-us) to you novices. The next week it's Billy. Thomas is getting hard to escape. Nowhere is safe. Target & Walmart have a section devoted to Thomas. I went to a christian bookstore last week & was drug to a certain area after Thomas blue was spotted. In order for everyone to get out in one piece we purchased Mavis. It was also a bribe because we had several places to go that day. I'm an enabler. I know this. The sad thing is my only wish is that Rowan had a cheaper habit.

He's touching me!!!

We all know this game. Played in the backseat on many a family trip. Short or long. If this was an Olympic sport I hate to brag but MY kids would take home Gold. I assure you it's an artform they've mastered. Coming so close to an arm or leg without actually making physical contact is a gift. I'm so happy they've all found their gift & yet so disappointed because there's no bumper sticker for it. I would slap that sucker on the back of my car so fast. "My kid came dangerously close to actually touching his brother, but didn't." Not so catchy when in fine print, huh? I swear today the middle child actually raised his shoulder to allow contact just so he could make contact of his own. It was in the form of a 5 year old punch to the leg. Annoying like a mosquito. But the damage was done. Reid screeched & howled like Reagan was performing ancient Mayan brain surgery through his nose. I realized a sacrifice had to be made for unity so I took away every one's privileges for the evening. Soon the togetherness was back on as chants of "You're so mean, You can't do that to us" floated through the house. "Us" was the two people that were just pummeling each other. Faced with the loss of precious TV, DS's & PS2's brought them back together. It continued through dinner as my apparent lack of compassion was discussed at length. The whole time getting along marvelously. The only touching was high-fives & bumps given to show camaraderie.

Jonas Brothers

I'm deaf. 74,000 fans were at Reliant Stadium & I promise you over half were girls. Girls scream. Loud. A lot. Especially when anything Jonas is involved. They were fun. Sang all the faves. The boys had a blast, which was the whole point.

Fuggiddabout it

I want to know how it's possible for children that can memorize video game levels to forget what to do every...single...morning. Here's the deal. They stagger out of bed every morning & go to the couch. I remind them breakfast is on the table. They proceed to stagger to the table. Protests begin. "I wanted cereal, not waffles." "I wanted apple juice, not orange juice." I remind them I don't care. They decide to eat. After that is over it's time to brush teeth, put on clothes & go to school. What happens is they disperse in every direction. I threaten to take away privileges. They start putting on clothes; aka wrestle time with your brother. Stealing socks, laughing at stuck heads in shirts. Good times. Always a bonus if farting is involved. With three boys that is frequently the case. I take away a privileges & we're back on track. Then it's medicine time, hair fixing, lunch passing out & backpacks. This always makes me question WHY they even put the yellow gummy vitamins in the container? I have like 3 bottles w/ nothing but yellow gummy vitamins. I use it as a secret punishment. Whichever kid has been the biggest problem gets it. Moving along, whoever is line leader announces so several times as they elbow their way to the front door. Now it's time to go to the car. Who could forget that? My kids. Running like a wild herd to the car they drop stuff, try to pass "the leader". I'm still locking the front door & round the corner into complete chaos. By now I'm cursing myself because they don't ride the freakin' bus. I could be rid of them by now. While I buckle Rowan in his carseat Reagan has forgotten how to buckle his seat belt. I explain it...again. Reid is jacking with the radio & laughing at Reagan. Rowan is upset that he dropped his train & nobody can reach it. Now we're in the home stretch. I take the kids to school silently telling myself it's almost over. They hop out @ school & I exhale. If I could peel out I would. Instead the mental count down begins & Rowan & I head home. What are your mornings like? Better, worse or the same? If they're better, please lie.

My playroom was clean for 37 seconds today!!

There's a room in our house I'd like to annihilate. It looks like it's been bombed anyway. My kids have a 6th sense when the the toys have been placed in the right place. So naturally that means it's time to go put it back..on the floor. I tried to soothe myself once by thinking they'll grow out of it. Considering my husband is the type that drops his clothes on the floor..BY THE HAMPER, I can only assume that's false. I even organized it with cute IKEA toy bins I thought would do the trick. Wrong again. I gave up today when Rowan came into the room & pulled out every single thing I just put away & said "Mom, why did you move my stuff off the floor?" Silly me. So here's to everyone that's ever stepped on a block, train or miniature weapon of some sort. I feel your pain, literally.