Senor Detonde

I may not have the spelling of the name exactly right, but this is the name of my son's alter ego. Senor Detonde first made his grande appearance when Layne was about four years old. Layne would run around the house, fighting invisible evil people like a superhero, shouting "Senor Detonde never gives up!". Every now and then, Senor Detonde would turn on one of us for a "fight to the death". I loved it. I have no idea how he came up with the character nor the name. He dressed a little like Zorro but there was no Tonto. Layne spoke often of Senor Detonde and his adventures in Layne's dreams at night. It was truly amazing what trouble this character could get into! It was not until Layne was studying the solar system in pre-K that a drawing on Senor Detonde surfaced. I stared at it in amazement- I finally knew what this character looked like. Not only that, I saw his home planet and his sidekick!

Recently, Senor Detonde has not been around much- I guess this is part of him growing up. However, his name does come up when Blair is misbehaving. Layne is never slow to tell Blair that he can call Senor Detonde to arrange for a flight to take her to another planet and leave her there- it's nice to know people in higher places. :-) 

He's got moves...

Seven years old is Layne's magic age and I love it. I love seeing him uninhibited, confident, and learning to speak his mind. He asks questions, keeps me laughing, is affectionate and not embarrassed by me (yet), and still loves his sisters. I learn something new every time we talk and it has been great seeing the world through his eyes. What a joy my little man is and what a blessing! 

Now, back to the uninhibited comment. Layne has taken an interest in dancing and apparently the endless hours of watching "So You Think You Can Dance" have made quite an impression. I have witnessed moves that I cannot even begin to explain. Have no fear, if there is no music playing, he will simply sing while he is dancing. He dances in the car, at the dinner table, in our front yard, in the shower, I am positive that he dances at school- no surface is too big or small. He has dancing fever! While on vacation with my parents in April, my mother was able to video these incredible moves of Layne. I watch this video every day and every day it brings a smile to my face (and several laughs as well). I am sure that one day I will be accused of humiliating him and he will require extensive therapy to get over it, but I want to share my little dancing fool with you all. Enjoy!     http://youtu.be/sxaKvvdtB0s

With age comes.....

Easter 2012 (minus Layne & Blair)

This morning, as I was staring myself down in the mirror, I kept thinking of the saying, "With age comes wisdom.". There is some truth in this but I do not feel much wiser now than I did when I was turning 18. I know that I have experienced a lot since that time, but have I grown any wiser- really? Considering there are many days that I cannot recall what I had for breakfast, or even if I ate breakfast, maybe I have just forgotten how to be stupid. Maybe that is what really happens to us as we age, with memory loss (I blame mine of sleep deprivation and children) we just forget how to execute the stupid things that we did when we were younger. Great theory, huh? I guess my wisdom comes mainly from my parents and my spouse, both of which I turn to frequently to figure out answers, and from others that act as sounding blocks- something we all need. Some may come from knowing how to appreciate the gift of life and the gift of love- from truly loving and appreciating my children and their contributions to this world (they may be small but they are mighty). Also, from being able to share stories of my past without feeling embarrassed or stupid and to be able to shed a little light on right/wrong (or just to laugh at the craziness). I still have trouble not getting the last word in - something my husband is determined to break me of. I still have trouble being "idle"- but learning to knit has helped a lot in that department. I am still bossy, can come across as bitchy, teeter on the moody side, and my "filter" sometimes malfunctions. I love my family fiercely, enjoy tapping into my creative side (which is squelched far too often), and have a soft spot for non-profits. I am southern, I am baptist, and I am a card toting, registered Republican. I am not denying that I have "imperfections" but they make me the person that I am, so I am embracing them. Maybe I have gained a little more wisdom than I thought but I think that I am just becoming more comfortable with the true me.

I have received many birthday wishes today and with each one, I have paused to think about when the "wisher" came into my life and the impact they have had on me. I am 34 years old today, or as my Granny used to say, I am celebrating the 5th anniversary of my 29th birthday. In my 34 years, I have moved away from my "roots", survived college (with a diploma to prove it), gotten married- twice, gotten divorced, had four children, buried one child, and crossed a few things off of my bucket list. I know what love feels like, how your heart swells with pride when your children accomplish things, and what true heartbreak feels like. I love my life- the good, bad, and ugly and thank God for surrounding me with incredible things and people. Thank you all for thinking of me today, you have been a part of my life during a special time and helped shape me (in some way) into who I am today. I am blessed to have so many good people in my life (my Mimi told me that is key to living a long, happy life- she's on to something).

So, with age comes wrinkles and gray hair (and the wisdom to find ways to cover them up), another day to enjoy this thing called life, and friends and family to share the adventures with. You have to love it- I know I do!

Beach baggage

My parents have decided to embark upon a journey with Layne and Blair during Spring Break. They are headed to Florida for a little fun in the sun and the kids are bubbling over with excitement. As I am frantically trying to pull together their clothes for this trip and assemble Easter baskets, their main concern is the extras. Well, now that I have written that, it isn't exactly true. Layne has packed a football, Legos, and a few other odds and ends. Blair has packed a HUGE purse (complete with makeup, 10 tissues (because she doesn't want to have to stop if her nose starts running), and her jewelry), the other bag has books, Ella and all of Ella's clothes, more jewelry, playing cards, two box puzzles, red sun glasses, a purple hat, and another smaller bag. This is just what she is carrying in the car with her. This is just what they deem necessary to travel with them in the car.

This weekend, Blair and I had to go shopping. The child had outgrown most all of her clothes and swimsuits from last year and her wardrobe needed to be replenished. Saturday morning, Kennedy, Blair and I hit the stores for shoes, suits, and shorts. I had a plan of action (you have to with an 8 month old) and I was determined that we would be in and out of these places in record time, worst case scenario, I could just buy and make her try on when we got home. My plans quickly fell by the wayside, when the first place we went to, I was informed that she wasn't looking at clothes until she found a new beach bag for her beach toys she was taking. When I asked what toys, Blair informed me that she was taking all of the toys that we were going to be buying that day. I am still trying to figure out how clothing translated into toys. Then, she had to try on beach hats (big floppy ones), flip flops, and huge (cover half your face) sun glasses. Three stores later, she was still determined to purchase a new bag, sun glasses, and a hat (the toys had momentarily been forgotten). As Blair was busy trying on her beach accessories, and Kennedy was busy waving at every person that smiled at her, I hit the racks and snagged a few items. I had a lot of fun shopping with the girls but by 2:30, I was more than relieved to hear Blair asking to go home to rest. 

So, the laundry loads have started, the clothes have started being put into piles, and Blair has started issuing her orders. The first being, that Layne that he is only allowed to carry one small bag but she gets two suitcases because she has a lot more stuff to take. In the midst of all of this, I have started praying- hard. Praying for safe travels, a fun trip, but mostly for my parents' sanity and that they survive a week of Blair on the road. They are embarking upon a long road trip with a chatty little girl, couple that with the excitement of both of the kids, and it is a recipe for extreme overload. It's bad enough at the house right now, I imagine that car will be more than lively. I look forward to the calls and texts from the kids and my parents while they are away, I am sure that they will have a blast. In the meantime, Dean and I will be plugging away at work, and Kennedy will be enjoying being the only child (and the quiet of the house). 

When ROYGBIV just won't cut it.

As I was on the phone with our pediatrician last week, my boss walked into my office, only to hear "Well, there have been several of them, which is my concern. They are red- about the color of red velvet cake batter, and no they are not watery but they definitely aren't clumping like they are supposed to...", he erupted into laughter and said, "Omnicef? In our house, we were huge fans of the bubble gum medicine.". At that, he left and walked up to his office and I finished my discussion about poop with the nurse. 

I was thinking about this and I appreciate the fact that I am working with a man that has children and has been down this road before (and that he can laugh about it). What amazed me even more was the fact that I wasn't remotely embarrassed about it. I would like to know why they withhold this pertinent bit of information from you during those parenting/child birth classes you take in preparation for your first child (we took a refresher for the third child and it still wasn't discussed). They talk about mucus and using a the bulb syringe to suck it out (we fondly refer to it as the booger sucker in our house). They tell you how to wipe rear-end, change diapers, clip nails, but at no point does anyone ever say, "This is your warning. At some point in this child's life you will have to put your dignity aside and openly discuss poop with one or more people at your doctor's office. Please familiarize yourself with all of the colors in the big box of Crayola crayons because you will need to throw out one or more of those color names. Better yet, if you have time prior to your child's birth, we highly suggest you take an art class and a culinary (baking) class so you can become more descriptive in consistency and color." I am considering asking the hospitals or pediatrician offices to print off a color wheel to help new parents. 

In the meantime, for those of you who are just beginning down this road of child rearing or for those that lack knowledge of colors beyond ROYGBIV or Crayola's basis eight colors, I am attaching a link to aid you in your quest to find that perfect word/adjective. Please visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Crayola_crayon_colors, it seems to be the most comprehensive list that I have found short of going to the paint store. I wish you the best of luck because I know the first few times will be rough, your cheeks will become a little flushed, but you eventually get over it and it becomes as second nature as brushing your teeth. 

For those of you who do not have children, I apologize for subjecting you to this but hope that you find humor in it.

Bed bugs

I love snuggling with my children. It doesn't matter if it is at night before bed time or early in the mornings, when you want those few extra minutes of rest and they are standing beside your bed, with puppy dog eyes, begging to crawl in bed with you. I just love those times- probably because I know my days are numbered before they get too old to even consider it. It is hard to resist the opportunity to watch those sweet little faces when they finally do doze off. 

The one thing that I have noticed is how quickly the bed shrinks when one of them climbs in. Last night, Layne and Blair were soundly snoring away in their beds (every now and then I heard "boo" coming from Blair's room- no idea what she was scaring away) and Kennedy was in bed with Dean and I "winding down" (using us as her personal jungle gym and squealing as loudly as possible). She finally decided to grab her bunny and lay down, whack us a few times with it, and snuggle up. Shortly after this sudden stop in her activity, I looked over and Dean was asleep, Kennedy promptly followed his lead and was out and curled up in a ball. Then the sprawl began. First it was the legs, then the arms, then the torso twisted a little and before I knew what had happened, she had managed to secure her spot in over half of the bed. Two adults and one 7 month old- you would think that the proportions would be dramatically different with the adults taking up the bulk of the space but noooooo..... Dean was on the edge, I was on the edge, and Kennedy was sleeping soundly in the middle. She looked like an overgrown starfish with her arms spread open wide, legs propped up on me, and her head on his chest. Twenty-nine inches of baby, taking up the equivalent of an entire queen size bed. 

From seven months to seven years, it does not matter. If a child is in my bed (with or without Dean), I find myself going from comfortably situated to dangling over the edge, dodging flailing arms and kicking legs, and praying that they do not move another inch of I will surely end up on the floor. They are little and they are so sweet (especially when they are asleep), yet they move in and take over the bed each time- inch by inch.  

Lords and Love

Layne, age 3

Layne is going through a medieval phase (long with Star Wars and pirates). He is hungrily reading anything he can get his hands on regarding knights, lords, castles, moats, etc. As I am reading these volumes of information with him, I am learning a lot myself. Last night, while sitting in my bed reading, we stumbled upon information regarding Lords and Ladies getting married. I told him that Lords and Ladies usually were married by age 14 and they were arranged marriages. This totally blew his mind and it furthered baffled him that often they didn't meet who they were marrying until the wedding day. I could see his little mind working and knew from his the look on his face that he really needed to tell me something. He took my hand and said, "Mommy, I love you. If you want to make me marry someone I understand. I just want you to know that I don't want her to wear glasses. So, pick any girl you think is cute, but just no glasses.". Well.... do I laugh or not? He was so serious when he was telling me this. There was great relief on his face when I told him there were laws in place that would keep him from marrying anyone at age 14. Then there was more.... 

"Mommy, when we go to lunch at school we can't talk the first five minutes. This is because we need those five minutes to eat." (I am amazed that he can eat in five minutes- it takes him a lot longer during dinner.) "Today we were at lunch and B (I will not use her name) signed to me that she loves me. Then someone told her that she couldn't sign to anyone because that was talking even though you aren't saying anything. I tried to sign back "ok" but I forgot how to and just ignored her." I just smiled, nodded, and asked him if anything else happened at school that was interesting. He then informed me that if I am choosing how he marries, then maybe I need to see if her parents would want her to marry him because she loves him, doesn't wear glasses, and likes Legos too but maybe we could wait until they could drive. 

So, as Sir Layne and I continue down this path of discovery, I am going to cherish these moments with my little boy because it is becoming more and more obvious, children today grow up far too quickly.