What else do we need?

I

2011-12-18T18:34:00.000-05:00

The other day, Cameron and I were driving to school, just the two of us. "You know what?" Cameron said from the backseat. "When I was in preprimary, everyone knew Matthew was my brother. But in elementary, some of the kids haven't seen Matthew before. Lots of times, when they do see him, they say, 'Who's that kid?'"
"What do you say to them?" I asked.

"I say, 'That's my little brother, Matthew.' And then they usually say, 'How is he your brother?' I think because Matthew's black and I'm white."

"I think you're right," I said. "Lots of kids aren't used to seeing brothers that have different skin colors. What do you say when kids say that?"

"Well," said Cameron, "I just tell them! He's my brother because I adopted him!"

The Beginning, revisited

2011-12-11T17:50:00.000-05:00

Last week, we had an amazing experience. We took Matthew back to the hospital he was born at, so he could see where he was before he came home with us. He's seen the photos and he always has questions -- where's that room? where's that tiny bottle? who took care of me?

So I contacted a social worker at the hospital and told her what I wanted to do. She came through in a BIG way! Matthew was able to see the very room where we took our first family photo, the very nursery where Cameron first saw him, the very rocking chair that we first held him in. The nurse who had taken care of him remembered him and wrote him a beautiful letter. The social worker gave him a tiny baby bottle and a knit hat like the one he came home in. Matthew was fascinated by it all and it brought back so many happy memories for the rest of our family. And as soon as we got home, Matthew stretched the little hat over his great big head, filled the tiny bottle with water and requested that I rock and feed him like a tiny baby. Which I did, but I will resist the urge to post the photo here, lest he be embarassed by it when he's a teenager!

Hockey

2011-11-26T12:35:00.001-05:00

For a Thanksgiving treat, we took the boys to their first University of Michigan hockey home game. They were so excited to see the action up close and we enjoyed reliving our college days. But outings with children are a little different than those in college.

As we walked to the game, I reached in the pocket of my Michigan sweatshirt and found a piece of paper on which Cameron had written "Weapons for sale, 2 for $1000." "Oh," he said, "that was for Lego weapons."

"Uh oh," I joked, "if they find this on me I'm going to get arrested."

Surreptitiously, Cameron slid his hand towards me and whispered, "Give it to me. They won't arrest a kid."

Thankfully, neither of us was arrested.
-----------

After the end of the first period, we watched the Zamboni clearing the ice. Up on the scoreboard, the timer ticked down. Finally, Cameron turned to me and said, "So, there are three periods in hockey right?"

"Right," I answered.

He pointed at the time and said, "Sooooo is the second period just with the Zamboni?"

------------

When the real second period started, I was cheering for the Wolverines when Cameron said, "Oh no! Oh no! Mom! My shoe!" Cameron had slipped off one of his shoes and it was now . . . gone. It slid down to no man's land. We waited until the end of the game and David approached an usher who immediately said, "Whaddya drop?" Turns out Cameron is not the first child to lose a shoe at the ice arena and it was quickly retrieved, saving him a long hop to the car.

----------

Before the third period, Matthew needed to use the bathroom. David took him but the line was long and I guess men don't let small children cut to the front. The line turned out to be too long.

---------

At the end of the game, we had lost. A man a few rows in front of us was . . . unhappy . . . with the outcome and shared his displeasure vocally. Cameron leaned over and whispered, "I feel like I should go say, 'Calm down. It's just a game.'"

Reach for the stars

2011-11-06T08:41:00.000-05:00

Cameron brings his spelling list home on Thursday and we quiz him on the words a few times before his spelling test the following Thurday. This week he brought home his list and I began. "Cameron, spell straight."

"S-t-r-a-i-g-h-t."

"Spell laid."

"L-a-i-d."

"Spell waitress." At this point, I started to think it was a little funny that these three words were on his list.

Then, as Cameron said, "W-a-i-t-r-e-s-s," I glanced down the list to see "disease" and "cheater!"

Concerned parent that I am, I e-mailed his teacher immediately. "I am appalled by the words on this week's spelling list. Apparently, you don't think Cameron is capable of spelling 'philanderer.'"

Book boys

2011-11-06T08:30:00.000-05:00

There was recently a book fair at the boys' school and each had a chance to visit it and make a "wish list."

I love books. Good books. And I want my boys to love good books, too. Cameron is an avid reader and Matthew loves to be read to, so I am hopeful. But when you are four years old, sometimes there are things you care about more than good literature.

Cameron's list included a book about algebra and geometry, Shel Silverstein's Everything on It, and reference book about rocks and minerals and National Geographic's Treasury of Greek Mythology. Matthew's list? Star Wars Villains, Star Wars Darth Maul's Mission, Star Wars The Hunt for Grievous and Star Wars 3D.

Wish list

2011-11-02T14:38:00.000-04:00

Matthew wants a baby sister. He tells me nearly every day now and is unswayed by all obstacles. HE would change the baby's diapers. HE would hold the baby when she cries. HE would put the baby to bed and THEN he'd put himself to bed.

This morning, Matthew told me he also wants a computer. "Really?" I said "What would you do with the computer?"

"Play games," he answered.

"Hmmm," I said, "a computer and a baby sister, huh?"

"Yep."

"If you only got to choose one," I asked out of sheer curiosity, "which would you choose?"

"A baby sister," he answered immediately. "No, wait. I changed my mind. A football game for the Wii."

Brothers. Super Mario Brothers.

2011-10-16T10:48:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite parts of the year is choosing and making the boys' Halloween costumes. But this year, they decided that they wanted to go as Mario and Luigi. I spent hours thinking about how I'd make their costumes -- how much do a pair of overalls cost? felt for the hats? accessories? And it was adding up to a lot of time, a lot of effort and a lot of money. And I knew I could get these costumes (not as cute, not as detailed, not as "I'm a good mom"-y) for about $20 a pop. And I decided to give myself permission to let this go this year. I ordered the costumes and they arrived one evening while I was off at my writing circle. When I came home, the boys were asleep and David told me that they loved their store bought costumes. And then, he showed me this series of photos that they staged.

1. Hello sir! We are Mario and Luigi!

2. We hear you have a plumbing problem. Not to worry!

3. Here it is. Here is the problem. My sink does not work!

4. Aha! It's this pipe! I'll use a screwdriver to repair it! (Alternatively, Look at this mess! Doesn't your wife ever clean the counters?)

5. We'll just tighten this . . . and replace that . . . and . . .

6. Ta-da! Good as new! That'll be $794.

7. See you later, paesano!

Call me King

2011-10-07T15:40:00.000-04:00

It's been a rough, rough week. Matthew has been sick all week long, and I am exhausted. There's been a lot of laying on the cough and watching TV this week and, since it's Matthew, that has meant watching the same football games over and over. We also broke out More than a Game, the documentary about LeBron James, just to mix it up a little.
One afternoon, Matthew said to me, "Mommy, you're just like LeBron James except you're a girl."

It's true. I get stopped on the streets all. the. time. with people asking for my autograph or complaining about how I betrayed Cleveland.

Or twelve

2011-09-30T06:24:00.000-04:00

As we drove to school the other day, Matthew asked, "How old will I be when I drive a car?"

"Sixteen," I said.

"Oh my GOSH," he bellowed, "that's in like FIVE HUNDRED YEARS!"

Names

2011-09-26T13:06:00.000-04:00

Yeesh, has it really been TEN days since I posted? Sorry, Mom.

So, the other day Matthew and I stopped at Panera. As I balanced my tray and carried Matthew's lunch box and held our two cups -- what, do I have four hands? -- Matthew dashed ahead of me, darting through the crowd at knee-height and below tray level. "Matthew!" I called as he cut in front of a woman, "Matthew! Stop! People can't see you!" Then I glanced at the woman, ready to apologize. "Linda!" It was my friend Linda, from writing circle! "Matthew! Come here, I want you to meet my friend! This is Linda!"

Linda and I chatted briefly and then Matthew and I found a table outside. As we were finishing our lunches, Matthew said, "Where's grandma?"

"Michigan," I answered.

"Noooooo, where's GRANDMA?" he persisted.

Both of Matthew's grandmas, Grandma Linda and Grandma T, live in Michigan. But there is also great-grandma, who lives in Florida. "Great-grandma?" I said, "She is in Florida."

Matthew was now visibly agitated. He pointed to the door and said, "NO. WHERE . . . IS . . . GRANDMA?"

And suddenly, I understood. Grandma Linda. My friend Linda. "Do you mean LINDA?" I asked.

"Yes," he sighed with relief. "Linda. That's right. Linda. Not Grandma."

Normalization

2011-09-16T14:02:00.000-04:00

Today, Matthew's teacher told me in private that he was not particularly focused this morning and that she had asked him multiple times to choose a work. After about the fourth time, he responded with a gruff, "I KNOW, that's WHAT I'm DOING!" This is okay -- he is in a Montessori classroom, it's his first year, it's understood.

I didn't discuss it with him.

Later in the day, I heard this conversation between David and Matthew:

David: What work did you do at school today, Matthew?
Matthew: Eh, I mostly just wandered around and didn't do any work.
David: You . . . wandered around?
Matthew: Yeah. Well, most of the time. Most of the time I just wandered around and stuff. But I did do one work!
David: What work did you do?
Matthew: It is something called "challenging work."

Thespian vs. Athlete

2011-09-14T12:40:00.000-04:00

Cameron has joined a drama club and one of his first tasks is to create a character for the play they will put on. This morning he was mulling over the possibilities.

Cameron: Maybe I could be a talking plant! And we could make leaves from felt and I could wear a green shirt . . .

Matthew: Oh! Oh! Cameron! You could be the Michigan Wolverines! No! The New England Patriots!

Cameron: Uh, Matthew, the Wolverines are college football and the Patriots are NFL. Hey! I could be a teacher and I could wear glasses and a button shirt.

Matthew: Oh! Pittsburgh Steelers! Be the Pittsburgh Steelers!

Cameron: And I could have a pencil behind my ear and I could be a teacher who doesn't know anything like "1 plus 1 is 18!"

Matthew: DETROIT LIONS! NOTRE DAME! CINCINNATI BENGALS!!!

It's a tough choice.

Ancient

2011-09-13T21:08:00.000-04:00

Cameron and I are reading Philip Hoose's excellent book, We Were There, Too! The book explores American history from 1492 to recent times, all from the stories of real children who lived through the events. Tonight, we read one of the first stories, about Columbus' voyage on the Santa Maria and the Tanios people who lived on the islands he "discovered." The text describes how the Tanios had small yellow dogs that did not bark, called alcos. "They are now extinct," I read to Cameron.

"Really?" he said. "Did they have those when you were little?"

Big boy goodbyes

2011-08-30T22:19:00.000-04:00

Matthew started going to his new preschool about a week ago. He's loving it and has happily said goodbye to me every morning. This morning, as usual, I bent down to give him a hug before I left. He glanced around uncomfortably and, from a few feet away, gave me a little wave. "Bye Mom."
"Can I have my hug?" I said.

"Moooommmm," he muttered as I knelt with my arms spread foolishly.

"So . . . can I have a high five?" He reluctantly high fived me and hurried off to join his friends.

Tonight, he told me that I can hug him anytime. At home. Not at school. But, if I would like to give him a fist bump and say, "Blow it up!" when I drop him off at school, that would be acceptable.

McLovin

2011-08-26T19:02:00.000-04:00

Today, I was driving along, listening to NPR while Matthew sat in the backseat playing with an Etch-a-Sketch. I didn't realize Matthew was also listening to the radio until the interviewee said of his teenage years, "Oh, I was completely inept. I didn't know anything about women."

From the back I heard Matthew's gravelly little voice, "He didn't know ANYTHING about women? I know about women. I KNOW about women." And then he began to sing a little tune, "I know women, I know women, I know women."

Questions and Answers

2011-08-21T15:20:00.000-04:00

The start of the school year is approaching and that means that Matthew and I are doing a lot of rehearsing. There are lots of questions that Matthew needs to be ready to answer that most kids don't, and we want him to be prepared. Here's how this morning went:

Me: Matthew, what would you say if your friend said, 'Do you want to try my cookies?'"
Matthew: No.

Me: Why not?
Matthew: Because I have food allergies.

Me: What if you accidentally ate something you shouldn't and you were getting bumps?
Matthew: Tell the teacher! Tell the teacher I need my Benadryl!

Me: What if someone says, "That can't be your mommy, she doesn't look like you!"
Matthew: Don't have to look alike to be a family. Love makes a family.

At this point, I'm feeling pretty good.

Me: What if they say, "But WHY don't you look like your mommy?"
Matthew: Well . . . because some people are from Chicago! And some people grow in another mommy that makes them different!

Note that Matthew is not from Chicago. We'll be working on this answer!

Stage 4, Trip 2

2011-08-16T12:48:00.003-04:00

To break up the endlessly long drive home, we spent some time in South Bend, Indiana, at the College Football Hall of Fame. There was a lot to see there . . .

And even more to do there.

The boys loved it. A lot. Matthew lost it both in the gift shop when we cruelly declined to purchase him his own helmet and out on the practice field when we cruelly insisted that we get back in the car as we still had approximately eleventy nine hours of driving left.

As always, a long car ride with kids becomes an even longer car ride, so about twelvty nine hours later we finally arrived at our home. Trip 2 complete.

Stage 3, Trip 2

2011-08-16T11:54:00.007-04:00

Same lake, different beach. Next stop was Ludington, Michigan. We spent our first evening enjoying the beach and watching the sunset.

Again, David's willingness to take a goofy photo is one of the things I find most endearing about him.

The next day, we went to the sand dunes. The hike to the lake was awesome and exciting! The hike back . . . sorta long.

That's Cameron up there. He was the only family member willing to go to the top of this mammoth dune!

The next day was the big day -- the day one of my best friends in the world would get married! After spending hours washing sand off of two boys, we were ready. The setting, on Lake Michigan, was gorgeous. The weather was gorgeous. The boys looked gorgeous. Then Cameron looked at the wedding program. Readings, vows, rings . . . wait. The Kiss?!?!

"Matthew, there's kissing!"

It was these two. They kissed. For real. I won't make you look at that photo . . . ewww!

Think about something else, think about something else . . . the reception!

Matthew slept.

Cameron danced.

Then, the bride and groom arrived and the party really got started!

Stage 2, Trip 2

2011-08-16T10:44:00.000-04:00

The next stage of our trip was Chicago, where the fun began at the Adler Planetarium.

This was awesome, as there were loads of opportunities to take funny photos. And isn't that what vacation is all about?

Matthew had little interest in the activities actually designed to teach you about space, aside from pumping this rocket launcher.

This display was awesome. Paper and pencils were provided so that you could post your own response to "I want to be the first ____ on the moon."

I swear, I did not write this response.

But Maxine totally stole my answer. I have always hoped to be the first author to write a memoir about my experience as a fashion-designing dolphin trainer on the moon.

And who could resist an opportunity to write 'fart' and stick it up on the wall of a planetarium? I mean, the Adler was practically begging for that answer when they created this display.

Cameron got to experience what it would be like to walk on the moon while Matthew stood nearby and bemoaned the fact that he was not tall enough. "But I AM! I AM big enough!"

It was fun.

The next day, we went to the Field Museum. We walked in and Matthew said, "I want to go home." Cameron enjoyed it, though.

We took the water taxi that day, ferry about from museums to Navy Pier to Michigan Ave to the Willis Tower. It was a super fun way to travel!

That night, we stayed up late so we could go on the Navy Pier ferris wheel at night. You can't tell, but we are on the ferris wheel. Really.

For our last day in Chicago, we went to the beach. The boys loved jumping in the waves, insisting on swimming even when they were chattering with cold.

Finally, they took a break from the water to build a few sand castles.

The next day, we would leave the shores of Lake Michigan to . . . drive along the shore of Lake Michigan and . . . spend some time on the beach and in the sand.

Stage 1, Trip 2

2011-08-16T09:11:00.000-04:00

So, I realize that I haven't even blogged about our first multi-stage trip of the summer (Saugatuck-Metro Detroit-NYC-Poconos trip), but we are on to trip number 2. Our first stop was Lafayette, Indiana, simply because it was a convenient stopping point and it had a water park. As we drove there, the weather was beautiful. When we pulled into the parking lot, we noted a concerning mass of dark clouds on the horizon. And shortly thereafter, we found ourselves huddled in the covered entrance of the local zoo, waiting out a huge downpour. Good times.

Once the weather cleared, however, Cameron and David spent their time on the huge water slide.

Matthew had a blast on the water slide, too. I realize it looks a bit ridiculous for him to be wearing a life jacket in ankle deep water but he loved it!

Familiar

2011-08-09T19:28:00.000-04:00

While in Chicago, Cameron pointed out a pair of pigeons. "Those two pigeons were just pecking at each other with their beaks!" he said. And as he said this, one of the pigeons hopped onto the other's back. A short pigeon fight ensued, with much pecking and flapping before the victor snagged the piece of bread that apparently inspired the melee. "Ahhh," said Cameron, "they must be brothers like me and Matthew."

Not my hobby

2011-08-05T19:12:00.000-04:00

"What do teachers do during the summer?" asked Cameron.
"Well," I answered, "some of them probably have a different job in the summer. And some of them probably are taking care of their kids. Maybe some of them travel, or enjoy hobbies that they don't have time for during the school year . . . "

"Like what kind of hobbies?"

"Well," I replied, "maybe biking or writing or painting . . ."

"Or doing math problems!" said Cameron.

Stylish

2011-08-05T13:08:00.000-04:00

Matthew has been going to a half-day camp this week and Cameron and I have been revelling in our ability to do things without an almost-four-year-old in tow. Mostly this has involved exciting outings such as dropping books off at the library and grocery shopping. However, we also had lunch together at a restaurant where Cameron fingered the cloth napkin and mouthed to me across the table, "This is really fancy!" And we went bowling with a friend. And one morning, thanks to a power outage, we went to the mall. We just needed someplace that 1) had power and 2) had coffee. Because we had neither. Fully caffeinated, we began to walk through the mall, enjoying the opportunity to talk to each other without a certain someone shouting, "I was talking first!" As we passed one of the mall kiosk places, a man called out, "Excuse me, miss? What do you use to style your hair?"
I politely declined to talk to him and, as Cameron and I walked away, I said to Cameron, "Little does he know that I'm happy if I just get to wash my hair let alone style it!"

Cameron laughed and said, "Yeah, you should have said, 'Sir, you are mistaken! This hair is not styled!'"

Note to Megan S.: Cameron totally reminded me of you when he said, "Sir!"

Mixed Feelings about Missouri

2011-08-02T20:00:00.000-04:00

"So, I have really mixed feelings about magic sometimes," said Cameron. "Like, I know that Harry Potter and wands and wizards aren't real. But then sometimes I think about things like leprechauns and tooth fairies and I have really, really mixed feelings. Like, on one hand, it seems like it's not real. But then on the other hand, I think, 'Could it be? Does that make sense? Maybe it could be?' Like stuff like Santa Claus, also known as Saint Nicholas."

"Right," agreed Matthew. "Like Saint Louis."

Hypothetically

2011-07-26T18:41:00.002-04:00

Cameron just came up to me, gave me a hug and said, "You're the best mom in the whole world. Well, actually, I don't KNOW that. But I bet you are."

Living it up in the mitten

2011-07-26T15:12:00.001-04:00

We just returned from a long and multi-phase vacation which began with David and I celebrating our anniversary in Saugatuck, Michigan. We spent two blissful days there WITHOUT the kids! (Thanks Mom and Dad!) As usual, this meant indulging in every food we can't eat in our home thanks to food allergies. Here's David with a smile that says, "Helloooo mustard!"

I think the best part of the weekend was seeing Chicago at the Mason Street Warehouse. We snapped this shot outside before taking our FRONT ROW AND CENTER seats!

And here we are on the porch of the B&B, being goofy.

One of my favorite things about David is that he loves to take goofy photos. As we walked along Lake Michigan, he spotted a fire pit surrounded by discarded beer cans. He immediately dove face first into the sand, laughing and saying, "Take a photo! Take a photo!" So I did.

This is his face afterwards.

David bravely ventured into Lake Michigan, which was frigid despite the scorching temperatures on land.

This is how far I was willing to go!

AKA

2011-07-26T07:38:00.000-04:00

Just got home from a very long vacation! One short story as I unpack . . .

Matthew recently took a few golf lessons (which he loved) and the teacher repeatedly called him "Matt." We have never, ever, never called Matthew "Matt," so he had no idea the teacher was talking to him! When I later explained that this is a nickname for his name, it led to a discussion of people's nicknames. "Daddy's name is David, but some people call him Dave," I said. "Cameron, I call you 'Cam' sometimes. Do you like that nickname?"

"Hmmm," replied Cameron, "I like when you call me Cam but not when other people do. What's your nickname Mom?"

"I don't have a nickname," I answered.

"Yes, you do!" piped up Matthew.

"I do?" I said. "What my nickname?"

"Sharon!"

A tip

2011-07-13T09:08:00.000-04:00

It's so easy to know the right thing to do when you are not the parent.

Yesterday, we were at the pool when nearby mother informed her son that it was time to go home. In a scene that was all too familiar to me, he began to scream and cry and shout. "You're not FAIR! Why do we have to leave THIS MINUTE!"

Ohhhh, have I been there. As anyone who was present at our local park one evening in June can attest to. Yeah, that was me with the small, thrashing, screaming three-year-old.

But back to THIS small, thrashing, screaming three-year-old who was NOT mine. I sat in my lounge chair and tried to pretend I couldn't hear as the mother restrained the boy and whispered through gritted teeth, "You are really making a scene. Look at everyone looking at you."

"I'm sorry," he whimpered.

"Well, thank you for saying sorry," she said and, foolishly, relaxed her grip.

The ploy had worked! The boy took off at a sprint, sobbing and hiccuping with rage at the unfairness of it all.

But now he really had his mom in a tough spot. (Again. Been there.) Now he had managed to get the baby pool between them and whichever direction she went, he darted in the other. I tried to send empathy and support vibes to the poor mom as she attempted to catch him. I know how ridiculous you feel when your preschooler is publicly mocking you, faking in one direction and then dashing in the other while you are panting and holding back tears.

And at this moment, Cameron leaned over and whispered to me, "This is really weird. I mean, isn't it weird to see ANOTHER kid act like that? I feel like I should go over to that mom and give her a tip. 'Hey, if you just pretend you're leaving, he'll follow you. Just start walking away.'"

Thankfully, the mom had friends with her and together they closed off the escape routes and helped her get him to the car. But I am saving this for the day that Cameron tells me about his own child's temper tantrum in public.

Priorities

2011-07-08T11:55:00.000-04:00

A very long story, but here's the short version:

Earlier this week we had some work done on our meters. I had been told when the appointment was scheduled that the repairman would need access to our house because our gas would be shut off and, upon restoration, the pilot lights would need to be manually lit. So the boys and I sat at home, waiting for the repairman who, of course, arrive in the last hour of the four hour window. He went to work outside. About an hour later, I discovered that he had left without a word! I was irritated but, whatever.

A couple of hours later, it occurred to me that maybe in addition to 'irritated' I should be 'concerned.' I mean, what about those pilot lights he was supposed to relight? I hurried to the basement to check and found that all of the pilot lights were light and there was no smell of gas. Phew!

When I came back upstairs, though, I realized that Cameron had been scared by the episode and had taken up post at the front door in case he needed to flee an inferno. In his hand, he held a bag. In the bag? The contents of his piggy bank. Just in case.

All mixed up

2011-07-06T15:33:00.000-04:00

Recently, we went to a large farmer's market -- we bought some fresh produce, enjoyed a cup of coffee and frantically searched for the bathroom since Matthew thinks that it is unnecessary to visit one except when you urgently, urgently need to. Thankfully, we located it in time.

At one point, David and Matthew were walking a few paces ahead of Cameron and me. Matthew's pants were on backwards, with the ties hanging behind him like a tail. (What? Like you've never gone out with your pants on backwards? His shoes were on the right feet, which is pretty much never the case.)

As Cameron and I walked along, two women next to us pointed. "Look!" said one. "His PANTS are on backwards!"

And, for a moment, I forgot that these women would probably never have guessed that the white woman walking next to them was the mother of the little black boy with the backwards pants. For that moment, I don't know why, I just thought that they were talking to me and I answered with a laugh, "I know! He dresses himself in the mornings and he's so proud, I don't point out the backwards pants!"

It was only when I saw the stunned embarassment on their faces that I realized the misunderstanding. So I smiled and Cameron and I went on to join my boy in his backwards pants!

Father's Day Classic

2011-06-30T15:09:00.000-04:00

Cameron and Matthew were excited for Father's Day beginning in about, oh, April. Way, waaayyyyy more excited than for Mother's Day. That is, I think, in part because selecting a present for Daddy is much more likely to involve something the boys will also like. They had lots of ideas, finally settling on a Lego Star Wars game that they were sure Daddy REALLY wanted. The truth was, I knew he would like it and they would, too.

Cameron also planned a surprise breakfast. "We'll burn the toast on purpose," he said, "and serve it to him in bed. It's a classic."

Poor David ate a bite of burnt toast (see Cameron covering his mouth and giggling above?) before we revealed that homemade crepes with fresh fruit and marscapone were waiting at the table.

All grown up

2011-06-29T18:26:00.000-04:00

*sniff* It seems like it was only weeks ago that Pete came into our lives. A cute little tadpole, all head and tail. Ohhh, how clearly I remember feeding him bloodworms and cleaning his aquarium. And then, before you know it, he's a frog.

To prevent Pete from devouring his aquarium-mates and taking our home learning straight from "unforgettable first hand experience" to "traumatic childhood memory," we took Pete back to his original home last weekend and set him free.

To my great relief, he hopped away into the water without being swallowed by a fish or snapped up by a turtle. The boys seemed completely matter-of-fact about the farewell. "Can we eat now?" said Cameron. "Can we throw rocks now?" said Matthew.

So long, Pete.

Froglet

2011-06-21T13:54:00.000-04:00

A few nights ago, Cameron pointed out that our largest tadpole had funny little holes on the side of his head. And the next morning, those holes were gone and there were two brand new front legs!

Hometown proud

2011-06-21T13:44:00.000-04:00

Neither of my boys have lived in Michigan, but David and I both grew up there. And somehow, without trying, we have instilled in our boys a fierce love and loyalty for the mitten. One day in May, I picked Matthew up from school. "He sure is excited about the weekend," said his teacher. "He's been following me around all morning, talking about how he's going to Michigan." As we drove off, Cameron gave a sigh and said, "Well, it is always nice to get back to your home state."

Not My Thing

2011-06-17T09:17:00.000-04:00

Things my 3-year-old said to me while playing baseball in the front yard this morning:

"No, no, no, no, no! You've got to CHARGE a pop-fly! Get right under it!"
"Bad pitch. Watch me. Look, step, throw. Got it?"
"You should have dived for the base."
"What do you mean you don't know how to throw a curve ball?!?!"
"I have a feeling I'm gonna win."

Duh

2011-06-13T22:17:00.002-04:00

Matthew: You know why my laugh sounds different from Cameron's?
Me: Why?
Matthew: Because I'm a different person.

Finally! A camera!

2011-06-07T22:44:00.000-04:00

Yay! Photos!

Cameron with the new aquarium.

One of the tadpoles. Which one? Couldn't tell ya.

A recovered photo of my boys in Chicago. I love this photo.

Cameron rockin' the monkey bars.

Matthew, unwilling to be beat at anything by his older brother.

Phew!

2011-06-06T22:49:00.000-04:00

I feel like this school year has been a marathon of packing lunches, writing papers, driving to and from and to and from and to and from, preparing lesson plans . . .

Matthew had his last day of his first year of preschool about a week ago, and then I had my last day of Montessori class and then Cameron had his last day of first grade. And now? After a year of not writing for fun, not reading for fun, not . . . being much fun . . . I am reveling in summer vacation. In the past few days, I've read a stack of books that I just wanted to read. I've written a humor essay. I've taken the boys to the river to catch tadpoles and spontaneously stopped at the aquarium store to buy a 10 gallon tank and some frozen bloodworms (ewwww!) to feed our new pet tadpoles. I've cuddled on the couch with Matthew. I've started reading a biography of Charles Darwin with Cameron. I am loving, loving, loving summer and hoping to stretch it out as long as possible!

This is what happens when you feed your kids local organic produce . . .

2011-06-03T11:31:00.000-04:00

In the car this morning, Cameron said, "Hey, mom, what do you call that thing that can last like two hundred years?"

"What? What kind of thing?"
"You know . . . it can last for a super long time because it's all full of preservatives? And it's got a cream filling?"

"A Twinkie?!?!"

"Yeah! That's it! A Twinkie!"

Just in time for swimsuit season

2011-06-01T10:21:00.002-04:00

Kids have this super special way of noticing little (or not so little) details. Like a few minutes ago, when Matthew said to me, "Mommy, why does your booty smush the couch down flat?"

Walks and Wax

2011-05-29T22:02:00.000-04:00

This morning, Cameron and I took a walk together. We were chatting about the merits of the Harry Potter series versus the Percy Jackson series which led us to talk about the book of Greek myths that Cameron has been reading which led us to discuss the Matisse paper cuttings, Icarus and The Fall of Icarus. If you aren't familiar with the myth, Daedelus makes wings of feathers set in wax so that he and his son, Icarus, can escape from Crete. Daedelus warns Icarus not to fly too close to the sun but Icarus, consumed with the excitement of flight and wanting to see what the gods see, flies higher and higher. Predictably, the wax melts and Icarus plunges to his death. "What do you think the moral of that myth is?" asked Cameron.

"Hmmm," I said. "Maybe it's about knowing your limits? Or . . . " I thought.

"Maybe the moral is, 'Never trust your son,'" said Cameron!

Hiding something

2011-05-26T18:32:00.000-04:00

Today, the boys and I took a few cardboard boxes, an empty paper towel tube, some string and tape and sat down to figure out what to do with it all. After some discussion, a pirate ship was ruled out and it was decided that we would make a spy car/boat.

I made the concealed wheels while Matthew went to work in his area. He snipped away with his scissors and then held up his creation. "A knife!" he announced.

Cameron, meanwhile, had made the dashboard -- folded cardboard featuring an innocent looking speedometer and fuel gauge with spy tools beneath the panel. He enthusiastically chattered about this feature as we assembled. "Like, you would be driving along and then you'd press a button and, whoa! The dashboard changes to your spy stuff! And your passenger is like, 'So, what's the deal with your dashboard?'"

With the taping and cutting and tying complete, the boys climbed in their new car/boat. Cameron took the driver's seat and, from the back, Matthew said, "So, what's the deal with your pastor?"

NOT ready for a license

2011-05-25T09:50:00.001-04:00

This morning, Matthew was riding his tricycle down the sidewalk when he spotted an ant. He did the traditional drag-your-shoes-until-you-stop braking, screeching to a halt a few inches from the ant. "Look! An ant!" he announced. He honked his horn. The ant, inexplicably, continued along the sidewalk. Matthew honked again, then more insistently, Honk honk honkhonkhonk. The ant meandered along, ignoring the warning. "Well," said Matthew as he began pedaling again, "I guess I have to run him over."

By invitation only

2011-05-15T21:40:00.000-04:00

Matthew has been a wee bit challenging lately. Last Monday he was . . . a whole lot challenging and I was despairing. I think there are a lot of factors at play -- sleep, food, getting dragged to big brother's activities, general being-three-ness. But I decided that there were a few things I could do to make things a little better.

One of those things was creating a space for Matthew. Cameron has a small room we call the Lego room, which has a desk for working at and floor space for impressive Lego construction. But Matthew didn't really have any place to call his own. So on Tuesday I announced that Matthew would have an area of the living room all to himself. With great fanfare, I brought up a small table and chairs from the basement and Matthew helped me scrub it off. Matthew selected a corner and, with a bit of rearranging, his spot was established. "This is where I do my homework," he announced quite pompously. "Where's my Scooby Doo coloring book?"

When Cameron got home from school, Matthew and I showed him Matthew's area. "Cameron," I said, "this is MATTHEW'S area. You are not allowed in this area unless Matthew invites you."

Cameron said, "What? The whole living room?"

"No," I said, sweeping a hand in a broad circle around the little table. "This is Matthew's area."

"Soooo," said Cameron, "can I do this?" He stuck a toe inside the imaginary circle.

"Not unless Matthew invites you," I replied.

"Matthew," said Cameron, "I would like to work with you at your table. Can I come in your area?"

"Hmmm," answered Matthew. "No, I don't think so."

Matthew has taken great pleasure over the last few days in going to his own area. And then, tonight, I was making dinner when Cameron and Matthew came running into the kitchen. "Matthew invited me to his area!" shouted Cameron.

"We're going to eat dinner at my table," announced Matthew. "I told Cameron, he can eat at my table with me."

So the boys took their dinner to Matthew's table and David and I enjoyed our Aloo Partha just the two of us.

Loving Matthew's area.

I've got a few good years left in me . . .

2011-05-15T21:26:00.000-04:00

Cameron: I think when you're a kid, you keep on getting wiser and wiser. And then, when you're a grown-up, you get wiser and wiser until eventually you stop getting wiser. And then you start to decline.

Me: What age do you think you start declining?

Cameron: I'm gonna say 40.

Well, this should work out quite nicely if Cameron's predictions are correct. When Cameron is in his teenage years, he will be getting ever closer to knowing everything. And I will be quickly growing clueless. Just the way it's supposed to be.

Who would think to look in the dresser?

2011-05-15T21:23:00.000-04:00

Last week, Cameron came to the breakfast table wearing no shirt and a red, faux-fur trimmed cape. "Well, what an honor to have you join us, Your Royal Highness," I quipped. "We don't often have kings partake of our oatmeal!"

Cameron gave me a derisive glare. "I'm not a king."

"Oh, well, my mistake. Who are you then?"

"I'm just a cold boy," he answered, "who couldn't find a t-shirt."

Mother's Day

2011-05-08T11:54:00.000-04:00

On Friday, I was invited to Cameron's school for a Mother's Day celebration. Cameron was very excited and informed me as we stood in line for our fruit salad and cucumber sandwiches that the kids "were supposed to be like the moms' servants for the afternoon." Luckily, I am not power hungry.

He handed me a plate, noted that his class had prepared the fruit salad and raised an eyebrow as he pointed out enticingly, "It has green grapes in it." Best of all, he shared with me a little essay he had written.

My Mom, by Cameron

This is about my mom. She is fun. She plays with me. She is exciting and happy mostly, except when Matthew gets mad. She cooks with me on Friday. She helps me with homework, but not too much. She is very funny. This is all about my mom.

I love the honesty -- it is the fact that he includes "except when Matthew gets mad" that makes me believe the "She is very funny."

It was also quite a treat to see the essays other kids had written about their mothers, my favorite being the one that included the line, "I cannot escape her!" Again, so honest.

Hard to think about

2011-05-08T11:25:00.000-04:00

Earlier this week, I was driving home with Cameron when he said, "You know, there are some things that are hard to think about."

"That's true," I said.

"Like the Big Bang," he continued. This, I must confess, took me a bit by surprise. I guess I had been thinking "hard to think about" like "death is hard to think about," not hard to think about like . . . the origins of the universe?

"Like, I try to picture it and it's like, there was nothing, but what is nothing? I picture all this blackness and then all of a sudden I see a big N. You know, the symbol for nitrogen? And the N explodes into stars and galaxies. Maybe not our galaxy, I'm not sure, but maybe other galaxies at first."

Hard to think about indeed.

The Stanford Peep Experiment

2011-04-24T09:13:00.000-04:00

The boys were up bright and early, searching for their Easter baskets. E.B. is pretty conservative with the candy at this house, preferring to leave Legos and baseballs. But he's not an Easter candy grinch either, so there were some jelly beans and Peeps to be found. You've no doubt heard of the famous marshmallow test, and if Peeps count as marshmallows, Matthew is in big trouble.

As if the boys were lacking for sugar, I made a batch of Vegan YumYum cinnamon buns for breakfast which were 1) delicious and 2) served to demonstrate that I, too, am lacking in self-control.

Now the boys are out in the pouring rain playing baseball with their new bat and balls and their very kind father. It's been raining pretty much for forever here and the forecast suggests that the rain will stop never. The other day, Matthew asked, "Who makes the rain?"

To which Cameron promptly replied, "Depends who you ask. The Greeks would say Zeus."

Zeus really has it out for us, but as Matthew says, "Nothing will stop me from playing baseball. Not rain. Not even if a baseball bonks me on the head!"

I'm not much for baseball, much less baseballs bonking me on the head in the rain, so instead I'm inside, prepping the roasted asparagus lasagna for our Easter dinner. And maybe sneaking a Peep when no one is looking.

Unfair advantage

2011-04-18T16:40:00.002-04:00

Matthew: Hey Cameron! Let's play soccer outside!
Cameron: No, let's play Star Wars outside!
Cameron and Matthew, in unison: NOOOO! BUT I WANNA . . .
Cameron: Wait! What if we play Star Wars soccer?
Matthew: Oh! OK!
Cameron: BUT, you are not allowed to use The Force.

Collectors

2011-04-13T13:02:00.000-04:00

Cameron has always had a penchant for collecting things, from "fossils" (aka, a few fossils and a whole lot of concrete chunks) to bottle caps (a bit embarassing at a party when he's asking every grownup if he can have the top off their beer).

Today, Matthew and I were riding bikes to the library when he brought his trike to a screeching halt. "Dandelions!" he shouted.

"Yes, dandelions," I said. "A big field full of dandelions!"

"Can we pick them?" he asked.

"Well, how about you pick one?"

"Nooooo, Mommy. I neeeeed the dandelions. A looooot of the dandelions. For my collection."

April Fools 2011

2011-04-12T17:45:00.000-04:00

A few tips for a really convincing April Fool's joke involving food:

1. Make sure your intended victim sees you making a REAL version of the food you will be tricking him with.

2. Play your trick on April 2.

The boys and I conspired, yet again, to fool David. This year, it was a sponge cake. We spent the afternoon baking and making frosting.

Then, we frosted and decorated a REAL SPONGE!!!

Super funny, people, super funny.

Sadly, these will be the last photos I post for a while. Our camera bit the dust and for a brief moment I thought, "Oooh! Maybe this is an opportunity to upgrade to one of those fancy DSLR cameras everyone seems to have these days!" Then I looked at the price of those cameras and thought, "Or maybe I'll just settle for the mediocre photos my cell phone takes."

In the car

2011-04-12T08:56:00.000-04:00

This morning in the car, the boys were playing the syllable game. 'Cause that's how we roll.

"Matthew, how many syllables in 'neighbor?'" said Cameron.

"Nay *clap* burr *clap* Two!" answered Matthew.

"Right! How many syllables in 'insect?'"

"In *clap* sect *clap* Tttt. Tttt. Hey! There's a T in insect!"

At this point, I interjected, "There is a T in insect!"

"Yep," replied Matthew. "Aaaand, insects don't have a backbone but we do."

"Matthew!" said Cameron. "Are you learning about insects right now?"

"Uh huh."

"What insects have you learned about? Can you tell me some insects?" asked Cameron.

"Well," said Matthew authoritatively, "there are blue insects. And there are some green insects . . . "

I totally knew what a biome was.

2011-04-08T10:54:00.000-04:00

When I picked Cameron up from school on Tuesday, I asked him how his day was. "IT WAS GREAT!!!" he said.

Cameron rarely says he had a bad day at school, but this was a more enthusiastic response than usual.

"What was so great about it?" I asked.

"Well, I spent all afternoon working with my friend on a diorama! It's a pop-up diorama of the biomes of Africa. Oh! And I need to bring in some cardboard from home, because we want to make it stand up more. Oh! And? Guess what? I drew a bunch of animals for the diorama and tomorrow we're going to do even more!"

At this point I had to interrupt to ask was a biome was, which led to Cameron giving me that pitying look that makes me feel hopelessly clueless. "Uh, Mom? A biome? You know, like in Africa the biomes are grassland, desert and rainforest?"

"Right. Of course. I was just making sure you knew what a biome was," I fibbbed. "So, is the diorama one of your weekly assignments?"

"No! It was free choice!"

How cool is it, first of all, that Cameron chooses his own work and, second of all, that he chooses to make a diorama of African biomes???

Guidance counselor

2011-04-05T22:37:00.000-04:00

Tonight, when it was time to come in from an evening spent playing basketball, baseball, soccer and lawn jarts, Matthew was NOT happy. "I want to play outside," he wailed. And then, for emphasis, he hit me.

That quickly ended any hope he may have had of playing outside a bit longer. Inside we went, him screaming, "I want to play outside," and me saying, "Hitting doesn't get you what you want." I suggested to Matthew that perhaps he could use some time alone to calm down and he retreated to the bedroom, still sobbing. Cameron followed him.

A few minutes later, Matthew walked into the kitchen, took a deep breath and said, "Mommy, I am sorry for my behavior."

"Thank you for saying sorry," I answered. "I know you were upset because you wanted to play outside, but it hurts me when you hit."

"I just really want to play outside . . . " he ventured.

"I know," I replied, "but it's time for our snack and then bed."

Calmly, Matthew turned and walked a few steps to Cameron. "Cameron," he whispered, "it's not working."

Cameron leaned down and whispered in Matthew's ear, then Matthew turned to me and held his arms out for a hug.

Must've been the rainbow chard

2011-04-04T19:20:00.001-04:00

When Cameron was potty training, I bought him a doll with a potty and . . . the appropriate parts for potty usage. We named him Paul, because he was wearing a little shirt that said "Paul." We spent a morning "teaching" Paul to use the potty and, next thing you know, Cameron was potty trained.

So when Matthew seemed to be ready, I decided to get him a similar doll. It turns out there is not a huge selection of anatomically correct black dolls and I ended up buying what is possibly the ugliest doll EVER. We named him Sammy, although he was not wearing a shirt with his name on it.

Matthew greatly enjoyed potty training Sammy, although he was not quite as enthusiastic as Cameron had been about giving the ol' potty a try himself.

That was months ago, but recently Matthew found Paul and Sammy. He excitedly set them up with their potty in the bathroom and then said, "Mommy? Remember when Sammy pooped in the potty? How did he do that?"

"Well," I confessed, "Sammy doesn't really go potty. I put a little bit of playdough in Sammy's potty so it would look like he went potty."

"Ohhhhh," said Matthew.

Later in the day, I found this scene.

Ewwww.

Either/Or

2011-03-30T12:55:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, I overheard Cameron and Matthew in the bathroom getting ready to take showers. "Okay, do we have towels?" said Cameron.

"Yep," answered Matthew. "Aaaand we need washclothes."

"No," said Cameron. "Mommy said we need to wash our hair. She didn't say we need to wash our bodies."

At which point I knocked on the door.

Polite as Pie

2011-03-27T08:41:00.000-04:00

It's 8:30am and this is the conversation I'm listening to:

Matthew: Cameron pie!
Cameron: I'm not pie.
M: Cameron pie, Cameron pie, CAMERON PIE!
C: I'M NOT PIE!

Ahhh, brothers.

Last night, we had some friends over. They don't have kids yet and they hadn't met our boys before. And it was . . . surreal. The boys were delightful, friendly and charming. Cameron set the table with no prompting and during the meal said, "This is really delicious! Thanks Mom!" When the conversation turned to movies, David mentioned that we had watched the classic Alice in Wonderland recently and he hadn't liked it. Cameron said, "I liked it, but I still preferred the book." After dinner, he cleared the table, again without prompting. Then he and Matthew played together, creatively and cooperatively, for a few hours. They made tickets and invited the guests to watch a "jumping show," which actually turned out to be very funny. Afterwards, Matthew said, "I want to go to bed now," went and put on his pajamas and brushed his teeth. No one punched anyone else. There was no wrestling over Lego minifigures or Wii controllers. No one called anyone pie.

It was lovely.

And short-lived.

Matthew: CAMERON PIIIEEEE!!!!
Cameron: MOOOMMMM!!! MATTHEW'S CALLING ME PIE!

Logical

2011-03-18T16:26:00.000-04:00

When I picked Cameron up from school yesterday, he said, "Jay wants me to bring in the leprechaun vest as proof. And that drawing that the toothfairy left me."

"Oh," I said, "Jay doesn't believe in leprechauns and toothfairies?"

"OF COURSE he believes in the tooth fairy!" Cameron scoffed. "But not leprechauns. He said there can't be leprechauns because a leprechaun has never visited his house. And I said, 'That's not even a logical argument. That's like saying, 'It's impossible to fall off a cliff because I've never fallen off a cliff.'"

Which is a pretty good counter argument for a first grader, I thought. "Hmmm," I said. "What do you think? Do you think there are really leprechauns and toothfairies or do you think it's pretend?"

At Christmas, I kept waiting for the "Santa's not really real" talk with Cameron, but it didn't come. Now, I fully expected Cameron to say something like, "Well, I'm not sure but . . . I think maybe it's not real."

Instead, he said, "I think it's REAL. I mean, if it isn't real, what does that mean? Like, who is leaving me quarters for my teeth? Who wrote the note from the leprechaun and gave me a Hex Bug? I mean, that's actually a lot of work. And, wouldn't it be sort of creepy? Like, what, some guy sneaks in our house to pretend he's a leprechaun? I don't think so!"

I'm starting to think I'm a little TOO convincing at being Santa/a toothfairy/a leprechaun. "Well, what if you found out it was pretend?" I said.

"Hmmm," he considered. "You know what? I still think it's real but even if it isn't, that's okay. Because it sure is fun!"

Top O' the Morning

2011-03-17T13:14:00.001-04:00

Last night, I came home from my Montessori class around 9:30pm. When I walked back to the bedrooms, I found Cameron still awake. "WHAT are you doing up?" I asked.

He was laying with his head at the foot of the bed and he was holding a periscope. Outside his door were this year's leprechaun traps. "I'm sleeping with my head by the door so that I can hear the leprechauns. Because I built another Lego bridge trap and when the leprechauns fall in the water, it will probably make a gentle plop and I'll wake up. But I won't sit up! I'll just sneeaak my periscope up over the edge of the bed and then . . . HA! . . . I'll see them!"

He was up a long time.

Much longer than one certain leprechaun would have liked.

And then, this morning, I woke up at 6am to find Cameron's face inches from mine. "I woke up at 3am," he whispered. "I think the leprechauns must have made a noise. But I couldn't see them and then I fell back asleep."

In the hall, we examined the Lego bridge trap. The leprechauns had been greeted with a handwritten note, inviting them to cross the bridge and go through the tunnel where they could help themselves to our gold. Little did they know that the bridge was slippery!!! Alas, the leprechauns had built a small raft of popsicle sticks and used it to cross the waterway beneath the bridge. There, they came across the tunnel. It was an oatmeal canister with the end cut off. Stretched across the far opening was plastic wrap, cleverly decorated with a rainbow and a pot of gold.

We had assumed that the leprechauns would be so enticed by the gold that they would run through the tunnel, failing to notice the double sided tape! Cameron examined the trap. "I woke up last night," he said, "and realized that if leprechauns wear shoes, they'd be able to escape this trap. They'd get stuck by the tape and just take off their shoes." But instead we found a wee leprechaun vest. We are conjecturing that a leprechaun leaped over the tape in his haste to reach the gold, only to bounce off the plastic wrap, landing on the tape, where he was forced to take off his vest to free himself. "I hope he had a shirt on underneath!" giggled Cameron. They had also left a rather reproachful note that led Cameron to say, "Maybe next year we should leave something for them instead of trying to catch them."

As always, leprechauns are gracious and generous. This time they left some "O'Jelly Bands" which they explained that they wear as bracelets. But when the boys attempted to wear them, they found they were only big enough for their fingers!

They had also left some Hex Bugs which they wrote were cars that they had planned to drive to the end of the rainbow. These have proved to be the highlight of Matthew's day. We have spent hours building Hex Bug obstacle courses. Cameron suggested that next year, we leave the leprechauns a Hex Bug spider that they could use for mass transportation.

So, until next year, Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Check back in ten years.

2011-03-14T21:10:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, I told Matthew I was going to cut his hair. "No, I don't want a haircut," he said.

"Just a trim," I said. "I'll just trim the edges, OK?"

Finally, he acquiesced. As he sat down on the stool he said, "But not my beard. I'm trying to grow a beard."

"OK," I promised, "I won't trim your beard."

As soon as I finished, Matthew felt his chin and gave me an accusatory glare. "Did you trim my beard?"

"I didn't touch your beard," I reassured him. "Remember? I only used the clippers on your head. I didn't do your face."

"OK," he agreed. "Good. I just didn't want you to cut my beard. I want to let it grow."

I think he'll be waiting a while.

Books Before Breakfast

2011-03-14T21:04:00.000-04:00

Last week, tornado sirens woke us at 5am and we all trooped down to the basement. Our basement is in the traditional 50's style -- cold cement floors, stacks of boxes and forgotten toys. Ohhhh, the forgotten toys! Toys that were discarded years ago as too babyish were suddenly treasures. The boys played and then Matthew discovered the old rocking chair. "Hold me!" he squealed. "Hold me like I'm a baby!"

Cameron, much too chipper for so early in the morning, gave an excited monologue as I rocked my 'baby.' "I wonder if it's a real tornado! What if it hit our house? What if we were like, 'Doh, doh, doh, I guess we can go upstairs now, the sirens have stopped!' and then we went upstair and the HOUSE was GONE!"

Fortunately, when the sirens did stop, we opened the door at the top of the stairs and the house remained. But now we were all wide awake and up really early . . . "I'm going to read Harry Potter," announced Cameron. He settled on the couch with his book.

"I'm going to read, too," said Matthew.

"Oh, do you want me to read to you?" I asked.

"No."

"Well, I don't know if Cameron will read to you right now. He's in the middle of his book."

Matthew marched to the book shelf, haughtily selected a board book and stalked over to the couch. "I said, 'I'm going to read,."

He sat down next to Cameron, opened his book and began, "Hi. My name is Emily Elizabeth. I have a dog."

He recited the book from beginning to end, word for word, flipping the pages at the right time. When he finished, he closed it and said, "I did it! I can't believe it! I CAN READ! I can't believe I did it! I read the whole book!"

Cameron better finish up Harry Potter soon. Matthews's right on his heels!

A Case for Soda and Candy

2011-03-02T09:53:00.000-05:00

One of Matthew's favorite books is When Louis Armstrong Taught Me Scat, which led me to pick up a few scat CDs at the library. As we were driving in the car listening to one recently, Cameron said, "You know, I bet that to be really good at scat, you'd have to have no teeth."

Grace and Courtesy

2011-02-27T21:30:00.001-05:00

After weeks of illness, we were finally healthy! I took Matthew to meet some friends at an indoor playground earlier this week. As I watched from outside them play structure, I saw Matthew playing with a little girl about his age. She gave a great, hacking cough and I cringed. Please, please, no more sickness! A moment later, it happened again and I said quietly to my friend, "Oh, I wish she would cover her mouth!"

One more cough and I heard Matthew. "You know," he said conversationally, "when you cough, you should cover your mouth." Then he lifted his elbow to his mouth and gave a dramatic little cough. "Like this."

"Okay!" the girl replied happily. And they continued playing. (And then I vigorously washed Matthew's hands.)

Connections

2011-02-27T21:25:00.001-05:00

This week was full of connections for me. At the beginning of the week, David and I went to hear a transracial adult adoptee speak about his experience growing up in a white family in Detroit in the 60s and 70s. It left me full of gratitude for adoptees who are willing to share their perspective and for the many friends we have who are also transracial adoptive families-- I think Matthew has more friends who are transracial adoptees than not. It also made me think about the ways we need to continue to try to do more and that's a wonderful thing. Every parent should be challenged to always do more to be the best parent possible for their kids.

Later in the week, I e-mailed with a woman I've never met but who is surviving a pregnancy with intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy. I had ICP when I was pregnant with Cameron. It's a rare pregnancy complication that causes extreme itching, especially of the hands and feet, as well as a terrifyingly high risk of fetal death. Reading the e-mail from this woman took me right back to that time and how scary and exceedingly uncomfortable it was. I wish I could help this poor woman feel better but I was so glad that I could just be there to say, "I know." Sometimes, you just need an "I know."

Then today. Today was a gorgeous, warm, sunny day and I spent most of it inside. And it was AWESOME. Cameron and I volunteered packing meals to be sent to children in Haiti. Not only did it feel incredible to spend the day doing something so worthwhile, but to watch my kid doing it joyfully? Really incredible. Cameron rotated jobs with three other kids, scooping dried vegetables and soy powder and filling bags. The whole time, music played over the speakers. I was the weigher, in charge of making sure the correct amount of food was in each package. When Cameron was the bagger, he'd hand me the bag, do a quick dance step in time to the music and then grab another bag! And every time I caught his eye, he'd smile and say, "This is GREAT, Mom!"

Somehow, all these events are linked together in my mind right now. All these ways I've connected with people this past week and how important each connection was to me. Hoping to make the coming week full of connections, too!

With a side of rhino

2011-02-27T21:12:00.001-05:00

A few days ago, Matthew was emphatically requesting hippopotamus for lunch.

"What? Hippopotamus?"

"Yes, hippopotamus. I want hippopotamus for lunch."

"I don't know what you mean, Matthew!"

"There! There!" he squealed. "No, not that," as I held up the soy milk. "No, no! The hippopotamus!" as I held up some jam. "Hippopotamus!"

Finally, I picked up the hummus. "YES! THAT'S IT! I want hippopotamus!"

Breakfast on the Death Star

2011-02-22T15:50:00.001-05:00

Cameron awaits the delivery of the mail with great anticipation every day. He rarely receives anything, but the mere possibility . . . it's intoxicating. So when the doorbell rang last week and we opened the door to find a big box addressed to Cameron and Matthew, you can imagine the dramatic clutching of chests, the frantic pulling of tape, the desperate pawing through packing materials.

Surprise packages are awesome.

Surprise packages are even more awesome when they are sent by someone who really, really understands you.

Inside the box we found a Star Wars apron, a Darth Vader AND a clone tropper spatula and some Lego minifigure magnets. Great jubilation and mass consumption of Yoda shaped pancakes followed.

And now Cameron's mailbox hopes are even higher. It's gonna be tough to top this one.

Inflation

2011-02-20T19:32:00.000-05:00

Cameron: Mom! Dad! Me and Matthew made up a jumping show. It's in the living room and it's only 10 cents a person!
Me: Oh, Cameron, I'm sorry. I'm right on my way out the door. But I saw you rehearsing for the show and it was great.
Cameron: Oh. OK. So, ummm, Daddy, the show is 20 cents a person now.

Why I Haven't Posted in Two Weeks

2011-02-19T21:21:00.000-05:00

We've been sick for two weeks. TWO weeks. First Cameron got sick and had a fever of 102 for a full five days.

He recovered.

I rejoiced.

And the next day Matthew had a fever of 102. For five days.

And in the middle of that, David and I caught it, although thankfully minus the high fever. So for two weeks I have been stuck at home, feeling not-so-great myself and always, always with at least one kid home sick.

Which is . . . wearing.

I've also lost my voice and am left with two options. I can whisper. "Matthew! Stop hitting your brother!" Or I can speak at normal volume but in deep and raspy man voice. Which totally cracks the boys up.

Matthew's School Day

2011-02-10T12:55:00.000-05:00

After visiting Cameron's classroom a few weeks ago, it was off to Matthew's for the day. He was sooooo excited to have me visit. As it turns out, his best friend (I'll call her Renae here) was also very excited to have me visit. Although Renae is 5 and Matthew is 3, they have been largely inseparable this year. Renae is a sweet, smart, friendly girl who has many times helped me out by taking a reluctant Matthew's hand in the morning and saying, "Come on! We'll have fun! And I would miss you if you weren't here!"

Renae calls me "Matthew's mom," and during Parent's Visiting Day I think I heard, "Matthew's mom" about as much as I heard, "Mommy." "

Matthew's mom, Matthew's mom! Watch me do this skeleton puzzle!"

"Matthew's mom, Matthew's mom! Come sit near me, I'm having snack!" So I watched Matthew and Renae do a loooootttt of two person works together! Once in a while, Matthew would select a one person work, like the transferring work in the photo above. Renae would quickly select a work and take her seat next to him!

The following day, David went to Parent's Visiting Day and was not nearly as popular with Renae! He said Matthew chose lots of one person works without interruption.

Tonight's Gonna Be a Good Night

2011-02-09T08:53:00.000-05:00

Matthew is a big sports fan. If I ever doubted that genetics plays a role in our interests and personality (which I didn't), I think Matthew is proof that it does. He was a sports fan from the start.

Last year, we DVR'ed the Super Bowl and Matthew rewatched it every day for months. "Do you want to watch Word World?" I 'd ask. "Or Super Why?"

"NO!" he'd respond. "Super BOWL."

So this year we threw another Super Bowl party for four. The boys were excited all day long, Cameron enthusiastically assisting me with the menu (Cheesehead Chili, Fumble Foccacia, Green Bay Guacamole, Sideline Salsa) and Matthew repeatedly asking when we would start watching football. Finally, the hour arrived. When the Packers scored their first touchdown, Matthew screamed so loudly I am sure the neighbors heard him. He jumped up and down on the couch, pumping his fist in the air and shrieking, "TOUCHDOWN!" When they scored again, he collapsed into hysterical laughter.

Sadly, the Super Bowl is not made for preschoolers and bed time arrived before the half-time show began. "But the Black-Eyed Peas, Mom!" protested Cameron. We reassured the boys that the DVR would ensure that they saw the Black-Eyed Peas and the game. (Sadly, the DVR cut off the end of the game, so when we watched it the next day it ends a couple of minutes too early. "What happened?" asked Matthew in confusion. "GREEN BAY WON!" I shouted and he cheered enthusiastically.)

Matthew has since rewatched the Super Bowl several times and the conversations around the viewing are pretty funny. At one point I heard Cameron say, "Oh no, now Woodson's hurt! THAT is why I like to WATCH football but I NEVER want to play football."

Also regarding injury, Matthew said, "Did Ben Roff-liss-burger get hurt? Or is he dead?"

But my favorite was hearing Matthew cheering, "Go Green Bay! Go Green Bay! I sure hope Green Bay wins." Then he whispered conspiratorially, "I know that they do."

Doesn't take the fun out of it.

And the half-time show also met the boys' expectations, with Matthew singing "Tonight's gonna be a gooood night, tonight's gonna be a good, good niiiight!" all day long. Which, I must confess, is an improvement over, "Let me see your tootsie roll."

Dysentery and Doorbells

2011-02-05T18:42:00.000-05:00

Weather and viruses collided this week, leaving me with too many days stuck at home with two boys. Fortunately, we're pretty good at coming up with ways to keep busy. Over the weekend, David had figured out how to get the old Oregon Trail game set up on our computer. The boys crowded around the screen, filled with curiosity to see this game that Mom and Dad used to play in computer class. We decided to be bankers, and stocked up on supplies before setting off for the Wild West. Several minutes into the game, as the tinny music played and we watched our wagon sink in the middle of the river (I KNEW we should have caulked it!), Matthew said, "When do we start playing the game?"

It grew on him, though, and the boys spent a fun morning announcing which of us had died of cholera, or broken an arm, or gotten lost. At one point, they called to me, "Mom? What does, 'Please flip the diskette to side 2' mean?"

Ahhh, memories.

Cameron, with help from David, also built a light up doorbell for his Lego/study room. It's pretty cool, but it's main use on the snow days seemed to be for Matthew to buzz insistently from the hallway while Cameron shouted from inside the room, "MATTHEW! QUIT RINGING THE BELL!"

Finally, I distracted Matthew with a haircut. Matthew usually goes to a black barbershop, but he really needs his hair cut every 2-3 weeks and that gets pricey. So, I picked up some clippers and I think I can manage to keep him looking presentable for a month or two. I still want him to go to the barbershop -- I think it's important for him to feel comfortable there -- but if he went a little less often it'd be great!

And, of course, we spent time baking and cleaning which are the definition of snow days to me!

Thankfully, the weather and our health has improved and we've been doing more exciting things than haircuts and ancient computer games this weekend!

All You Can Eat

2011-01-31T22:29:00.000-05:00

My kids aren't always the most adventurous eaters. We definitely have our share of "I can't eat that because it was touching that," or "It smells funny," or "I liked it last time but this time I don't want to taste it because it looks weird." But, overall they eat good food. They don't ask for chicken nuggets or mac & cheese, in part because Matthew's allergies mean we just don't have that kind of stuff. Instead, they'll polish off a plate of roasted broccoli and ask for more. They beg for homemade bread. They love scallops and shrimp, but Cameron will only eat the shrimp and Matthew will only eat the scallops. It works!

Sushi is Cameron's favorite treat . . . probably because it's also David's favorite treat . . . and mine. But Matthew has never been able to participate since his food allergies make it impossible to safely eat out. When Cameron asked for a sushi set for Christmas, I don't think he realized what a great gift he was getting for Matthew! We just had our third all-family sushi fest and we can finally ALL say sushi is our favorite treat!

Keeping my mouth shut

2011-01-27T17:02:00.000-05:00

Today, I spent the morning with Cameron at his school. He has been talking about his art class all year long, so I was excited to see it. The class was discussing artist Gustav Klimt, which floored me from the start. My recollection of first grade art class definitely did not include raising your hand and answering questions with "He's an Austrian symbolist painter." Cameron even raised his hand to volunteer that the bodies in Klimt's work were "mosaic." He leaned over to me and whispered, "I was straining to remember the word at first, but then I remembered, 'Mosaic! Like a Lego mosaic!'"

I found the discussion of how to draw a realistic face fascinating, as I am unable to think about faces without thinking about my Dysmorphology course in grad school. "What's the rule of the third eye?" asked the teacher.

"Ooooh! The distance between your eyes is the same as the length of an eye! So if you draw three eyes in a row and erase the middle one, that's the right distance between the eyes!" volunteered a student.

Silently I thought, "Well, unless your hyperteloric . . ." and scanned the class, noting who might have made a more realistic self-portrait had they only been schooled in dysmorphology.

"And where do we draw the ears?"

"Imagine a straight line from the eye!" came the answer.

Again, I reflected, "Yes, typically. But of course the ears could be low-set. Or posteriorly rotated."

It's a good thing I know how to keep my mouth shut.

Cameron's Klimt-inspired self-portrait was amazing and awaits only the "mosaic" body to be complete.

In the classroom, Cameron showed me how he manages his own time, choosing the order in which he does his work. I repeatedly had to remind myself that he gets his work done without his teachers nagging him, so I too should keep my mouth shut even though I wanted to tap his paper from time to time and say, "Cameron! Pay attention! Next problem!" When I left at lunch time, he had completed his grammar work, his math work, his language work and his daily assignment. His organizer still had a long list of work in it, though, and I feared that he'd never get it all done. But, once again, the Montessori method works -- a few hours later, he hopped in the car and announced, "I got all of my daily work done and even finished all my weekly assignments ahead of time!"

So I'll just keep on keeping my mouth shut, and be happy that it works!

Mistakes Happen

2011-01-22T17:28:00.000-05:00

Over the holidays, David introduced Cameron to chess. Actually, he introduced me as well, but Cameron grasped the finer points of the game a bit more quickly -- I kept saying things like, "What's this horse called again? Wait, do I move forward or sideways or diagonal? Hey! How'd you take that guy?"

The fates smiled upon Cameron, because the day after he said, "I wish I could learn more about chess," his school announced a new chess club!

The other day, Cameron and Matthew decided to play against each other on the computer. Cameron quickly grew frustrated with Matthew and tried to direct him. "If you move there you'll be in check! Matthew! No! You don't want to move there!"

"Cameron," I said, "you need to let Matthew make his own mistakes."

"Yeah," retorted Matthew, "that's HOW I LEARN!"

Playground chit chat

2011-01-20T10:47:00.000-05:00

Wow. Been a while since I've posted, huh? Kinda crazy around here lately.

Anyhoo. The weather has been, to use a meteorological term, icky lately. Matthew is a kid who NEEDS activity, so we've been hitting the indoor playgrounds big time. Matthew is always quick to make new friends, typically with older children. The other day he paired up with a 5-year-old girl who I'll call Ada. The place was fairly empty, so even when Matthew and Ada were playing on the floor above me, I could hear their conversations. Includindg the following exchanges:

Ada: I'm taller than you.
Matthew: No, I just grew an inch and I'm big enough for Cameron's kind of car seat.
Ada: No, you aren't taller than me. I'm tall enough for a booster seat. Without a back.
Matthew (impressed, naturally): Oh! How did you grow? How did you grow up to there?
Ada: Uhhh, I didn't. I just am this tall.
Matthew: Oh.

Later, Ada came down a slide and addressed her mom.

Ada: Mom, is this the slide Annie said was fast?
Matthew: Yes, it is.
Ada: You don't even know Annie!
Matthew: Yes, I do.
Ada: Is she three?
Matthew: No.
Ada: Then you don't know Annie! She IS three. She's my cousin.
Matthew: Oh, wait. I do know Annie. She is three. And also? I just bumped my head on the slide.

Do Not Open Until Cameron is 16

2011-01-09T19:02:00.000-05:00

Today, Cameron and I went on a wintery walk. We chatted about school, about Legos, about Christmas and about what it would be like when we go on a walk together when he's a teenager. "I wish I could prevent myself from being weird when I'm a teenager," said Cameron. "Like, I feel like I should write myself a letter? And put it in a waterproof bag that says 'Open when you are 16,' and put it in a hollow tree."

"What would you write to yourself?" I asked.

"I would write something like, 'Cameron, don't be weird! Be more serious. Be like you were when you were seven. Stop laughing so much!' No, cross that out. 'Be silly and laugh.' No, wait. OK. 'Laugh when it's funny and don't laugh if it's not.'"

This may not be a hollow tree, but I plan to pull this letter out when Cameron is 16 years old.

Sweet dreams

2011-01-04T22:05:00.000-05:00

For the past two nights, I've been awoken by Matthew talking in his sleep. The first night, I said, "Matthew?" and he sat up, grabbed me by the ears, mumbled, "Where's the straw?" and then sucked my nose.

Seriously.

"That's not a straw, Matthew, that's my nose. Are you dreaming?" I said.

"Yes," he answered. Then he put his head down on the pillow and went back to sleep.

Last night, I heard him again. "Matthew?"

He sat up, eyes open, and said, "I'll teach you how, Mommy. I'll teach you. Because, well . . . you aren't very good at it."

"Good at what Matthew?"

And again, he was asleep. Leaving me to wonder what I'm not so good at, aside from acting as a straw.

Or, you could use more Legos.

2011-01-04T13:00:00.000-05:00

Today, Matthew built what appeared to me to be a tower of Legos. "It's a trophy," he explained.

"Neat! Let's build some more trophies!" I said.

"Ummmm, we would have to have 'sssss,'" he said.

"What?"

"'Sssss.' You have to add an 's' to the end if you want 'trophies.'"

Rice Pudding

2011-01-04T12:54:00.000-05:00

Matthew loves to stretch his little arms across a doorway, blocking your path and demanding a password. For ages, I stood there saying, "Is it 'baseball?' Is it 'Knuffle Bunny?' Is it 'sushi?'"

Then, one day, Matthew blocked Cameron's path. "Can't get through! You need the password!" he announced.

"OK," said Cameron. "What's the password?"

"Rice pudding," responded Matthew.

"Rice pudding," repeated Cameron, and Matthew obligingly stepped aside.

Still Believes

2010-12-26T17:55:00.000-05:00

After several days of celebrating a very merry Christmas, today was the day we lazed around and enjoyed the presents. Santa came through with Matthew's socks and the much-desired vegetable peeler. "Uh, this isn't the right one," he announced as he opened it, but a test run with a carrot proved it worthy. Despite the lack of written correspondance, Cameron's time on Santa's knee was apparently well-spent, as he scored an awesome Harry Potter Lego set AND the sushi set of his dreams.

Today, Cameron and I hit the store to pick up wasabi and soy sauce and sushi rice and, of course, fish. As we made our selections, I saw a sushi set on display. I pointed it out to Cameron who replied, "But mine's better." I was pleased, but asked what made his better. "Uh, because we didn't have to PAY for it?" he answered.

I love this kid.

2010-12-22T19:06:00.000-05:00

The other night, Cameron was still rustling around in his room after bed time. I figured he was reading but a few minutes later he came running out. "Look what I'm doing!" He held up a sheet with row upon row of slash marks and his Science Explorer book. "It says here that there are 'more than 1,500 pictures' in this book. So, I'm finding out if it's true! AND if it IS true," he held up one finger and cocked an eyebrow, "HOW MANY MORE?" He's still counting but he's well into the thousands.

And so this is Christmas . . .

2010-12-16T14:41:00.000-05:00

Matthew is totally cool with Santa now. So much so that when he returned from his turn on the big guy's lap and I said, "What did you tell Santa?" he replied, "I'm not telling YOU!"

I think Cameron is starting to question this whole Santa business, as he declined to write his letter to Santa this year. "Uh, mom? I'm kind of too old for that." He wasn't quite confident enough, though, to completely skip giving Santa his wish list. I mean, what if he refused to sit on Santa's lap and then on Christmas morning, Matthew was gleefully opening a vegetable peeler while Cameron was NOT opening his longed-for sushi set???

So Cameron decided to hedge his bets and figured that a chat with Santa was slightly less embarassing than having his picture in the local paper. The local paper, however, is apparently unable to discern which child in the photo is the three-year-old and which is the seven-year-old as they published Matthew's letter and cropped him out of the photo, leaving a picture of Cameron next to "and please bring me Knuffle Bunny Free." Oh, the humiliation!

Impostor

2010-12-12T18:46:00.000-05:00

Earlier this week, I unpacked our bin of local produce. In it was a large, white, tuberous vegetable. I vaguely remembered that this week's bin was supposed to contain something I'd never cooked with before but . . . what was it again? "What is this?" I said, holding the daikon radish (for that is what it was) up to Matthew.

He studied it for a moment and then said, "Ohhhh! I know! It's a vegetable that's pretending to be a carrot!"

That's how I roll . . .

2010-12-06T10:51:00.001-05:00

Have you ever turned on the car, only to be shocked by the volume of the radio? And you think, It didn't seem that loud before! Did I really have it turned up that high last time I drove?

Yesterday, I studied with some of my classmates for an upcoming exam. It's stressing me out, along with various other life challenges at the moment. So as I drove home, I turned on the radio and found that Vanilla Ice's classic Ice, Ice, Baby was playing. I turned up the volume, instantly transported back to a time where my biggest concern was the unfairness of my bangs' lack of gravity-defying height. I mean, no matter how much AquaNet I sprayed on, my bangs were flat and droopy by the time I reached the bus stop. How, HOW did Anna Michelle Nicole McKlemounginton* get her bangs to stand straight up like that?!?! And ALL day long! Life was SO unfair in seventh grade.

The car needed gas, so I reluctantly turned off the car and Vanilla Ice's inspired lyrics. When the tank was full, I got back in the car, turned the key and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer blasted from the speakers. It is tough to look cool to Rudolph, even if you lean back in your seat and steer with one hand. "They never let poor Rudolph," I sang, "play in any reindeer games! Word to your mother!"

* You may find this hard to believe, but I did not have a classmate who was actually named Anna Michelle Nicole McKlemounginton. This is actually a clever pseudonym that I invented to represent multiple popular girls who were well-endowed in the bang department.

Santa's Stumble

2010-12-06T09:59:00.001-05:00

My aunt sent me a link to have a personalized Santa message e-mailed to your children. I did one for Matthew and it was super cute. I called Cameron and Matthew into the room and they were delighted! Until Santa said, "Matthew, I know you've been a good little boy this year."

Matthew was incensed. "Santa called me a LITTLE boy! I'm a BIG boy!"

Cameron hit replay and Matthew watched intently, apparently expecting that Santa would have heard his protest and appropriately modified his message. But no. Over and over and over again we watched and over and over and over again Matthew was outraged to hear Santa pair his name with the phrase "little boy."

Coordinated

2010-12-04T20:25:00.000-05:00

Tonight, Matthew and I were on our own while Cameron and David were at a birthday party. We had a great time together, the highlight of which was jumping on the bed. When it was time to GO to bed, Matthew was still interested in playing. We had been tossing a small basketball back and forth, so I said, "OK, we can keep playing catch until you drop the ball. When you drop the ball, then we'll go get ready for bed." Matthew enthusiastically agreed.

One hundred and four tosses later, he headed to bed.

One hundred and four.

It's complicated.

2010-11-30T19:53:00.001-05:00

Today, I was driving with Cameron, Matthew and one of Cameron's friends in the car. Matthew said what sounded like, "Frogs are made from gravity."

"What? Did you say FROGS are made from GRAVITY?" I said.

"Nooooo," replied Matthew. "CLOUDS are made from GRAVITY."

This lead to an unexpected conversation about what frogs ARE made from, if not gravity.

"Frogs are made from wood," said Matthew authoritatively.

"No," countered the friend, "frogs are made from skin. Or are they? What ARE frogs made from?"
Cameron gave a heavy sigh. "Oh, Mommy. I think you'll have to explain it to them. Because, guys, to explain what frogs are made of, I'd really have to start by explaining Phylum Chordata. And that could take a while."

Rootsman Drag?

2010-11-29T14:17:00.000-05:00

Matthew loves to listen to the same CD over and over and over. For the past month, minimum, it has been Putamayo Kids Reggae Playground. We've recently progressed to listening to the whole CD, but the first song is his favorite and for several weeks we listened to it exclusively. It's called "Rootsman Dread" and starts out, "Daddy, Daddy! It's Rootsman Dread!" Rootsman Dread is described as "a colorful character beloved by children." Matthew agrees with the both the "beloved" and the "colorful" part. Each morning he pleads, "Mommy, I want to listen to 'My Dress.'" Then he sings his little heart out. "Daddy, Daddy! It's just my dress!"

Give it to me straight.

2010-11-23T16:57:00.000-05:00

I made this farm set using colored pencils and cardstock. Matthew loved playing with it and added a few dinosaurs just to liven things up. The ducks promptly fled the pond.

Then I decided to use the farm in a Montessori language assignment. Cameron is my ever-ready volunteer. He's super helpful, pointing out where I've made mistakes and saying things during my practice presentation like, "Um, Mommy? My teachers always sat on THIS side of me when they showed me a work." He also loves to review which of his old preprimary classmates would have loved or hated my idea. "Andrew would choose this work all the time." His favorite part is faking a mistake to see how I handle it. "I really knew that was called a silo, but I don't know if every preprimary kid would, so I figured I'd pretend I didn't."

When he reviewed my farm lesson, he had this to say. "You have to draw the chicken again. Your chicken? Well, it looks like a duck wearing underwear."

What can I say? I'm training to be a Montessori teacher, not an artist. It appears, however, that the two sometimes overlap. Or should.

Best Friends

2010-11-16T10:50:00.001-05:00

I overheard Matthew talking to Cameron this morning. "Cameron, I am going to be your best friend, okay? And I will not even kick you."

Friday Night

2010-11-15T12:24:00.000-05:00

As our lives get busier and busier, we are finding it necessary to make a very conscious effort to find family time. A couple of weeks ago, we decided to start a Friday night tradition of homemade pizza and a movie. The boys LOVED it. They were so thrilled with every moment, from making the dough to watching the pizza bake to eating it to watching a movie, ALL FOUR OF US!

This past week, Cameron and I started the pizza preparations on Thursday. We roasted tomatoes, onions and peppers and then, we made fresh mozzarella cheese. Seriously. We did. I can hardly believe it myself, but it was fun and it was easy and Cameron was soooooo excited about it. The only not-so-fun part was keeping my milk-allergic preschooler away from the whole mess and very thoroughly cleaning up afterward. But, the end result was totally worth it.

Here's Cameron, just a tiny bit excited about cheesemaking.

The next night, Matthew got his turn. He loves to help make the dough, especially using the rolling pin. Then, we all got to top our pizzas -- cheese was left off until the pizza was done, Matthew's portion removed, and the remaining pizza returned to the oven to melt the cheese.

The end result was so delicious that I was left thinking it isn't much of a sacrifice to live without Domino's or Papa John's.

We are all anxiously awaiting next Friday and loving our new family tradition!

When Santa Says No

2010-11-12T21:34:00.000-05:00

As mentioned previously, I cook and bake. A lot. Matthew loves to help me and I think that this is a vital skill for him to learn. With his food allergies, there's a reasonable likelihood that he'll be doing a lot of cooking and baking in his adult life. That, or eating a pretty boring diet.

Currently, Matthew's specialty is licking spoons and bowls. Stirring comes in a close second, probably followed by pouring which is, to be honest, sort of touch and go. For a while, though, he's expressed an interest in having his own kitchen tools. In particular, he is desparate for his own vegetable peeler. "No problem," I told him. "I bet that Santa could bring you a vegetable peeler and, if you're reaaalllyyy good, maybe a few measuring spoons and a bowl."

"Yes!" said Matthew. "And, one of these." And he held one hand flat, made the other hand into a fist and rubbed it over the flat hand. ????

"A vegetable peeler?" I repeated.

"Nooooo! One of those things." He repeated the motion impatiently. "Those things! For . . . for . . . making little slicing?"

My 3-year-old wants Santa to bring him his very own mandoline slicer.

Uh, no.

2010-11-11T12:53:00.000-05:00

Matthew's food allergies have spurred me to become a much better and much more creative cook and baker. And lately, Matthew has presented me with many more challenges as his awareness of what other people get to eat grows.

"Mommy? Can you make me a safe brownie?" No problem.

"Mommy? Can you make me a safe rootbeer float?" Homemade vanilla bean sorbet saves the day, although it fails to produce that lovely rootbeer/ice cream foam.

"Mommy? Can I have a safe pizza?" Homemade dough, no cheese, safe sauce and local veggies -- a huge success!

But he got me the other day. "Mommy? Can you make me a safe egg?"

Tricky

2010-11-07T21:15:00.000-05:00

The other day, I picked Matthew up from his Montessori preschool and asked him about his day as we drove home. "Did you work with your teacher?" I asked.

"Yes!" he replied. "We did I Spy!"

I felt a thrill of excitement. In my Montessori training class we are focusing on the Language area right now and we just did I Spy!!! "Oh!" said. "You did I Spy! Did the teacher ask you to find something that began with mmmmm?"

"Not like THAT Mommy!" Matthew protested.

"Sorry. Did your teacher say, 'I spy, with my little eye, something that begins with mmmmm?'"

"Yes, like that! And gueesssss what? I TRICKED HER!" Matthew cackled with glee.

"You . . . tricked her? How?"

"I was supposed to give her the mop, but I gave her the elephant!" he said.

"Ohhhhh," said I. "And then . . . did you tell her it was a trick?"

"Nope!" said Matthew proudly. "I reeeaaallllyyyy tricked her! She thought elephant started with mmmm!"

sigh

2010-11-05T16:09:00.000-04:00

Remember, faithful readers, when I used to post every day? Or every other day if I was busy? These days, juggling my own school work with my daily parenting duties is leaving me with exactly . . . no time for blogging. Plus, we've been perpetually sick for the last month. Here's hoping for a healthy November.

So, briefly. Halloween.

Matthew was thrilled to bring homemade (allergen-free) sugar cookies to school for his Halloween party. He's still talking about it. "Cameron? Remember when I took cookies to school? Remember? Remember that? Mommy? Do you remember that? How I took those cookies to school?"

The highlight of Cameron's Halloween was his school dance. The kids learned everything from the Hokey Pokey to the Macarena in gym class, then showed up in costume to get their groove on with a REAL DJ! It was an incredible event. Here's Cameron (aka Dumbledore) doing the Chicken Dance with Darth Vader. Betcha didn't know Vader danced, huh? He's actually surprisingly nimble on his feet.

For trick or treating, we headed out with some good friends. Cameron found himself perpetually misidentified as Merlin, and once as a professor. "A professor?" he said indignantly to me (after politely saying thank you to the candy-giver.) "Does a PROFESSOR have a WAND! Well, I guess he was kind of right. Because Dumbledore WAS a professor at Hogwarts. But I don't think that guy even knew that!"

Matthew refused to keep his hood on, which left him pretty much wearing a feather-trimmed white sweater with wings. And thus, Harry Potter and Tonks were left trick or treating with a professor and an angel. At one house, a woman cooed, "Well aren't you just the sweetest angel?" to which Matthew replied, "Except I'm not."

Despite the costume confusion, the boys had a great time running house to house with their friends and grumbled surprisingly little when I confiscated most of their loot -- the majority of Halloween candy is a food allergy nightmare. A few homemade sugar cookies makes up for the lost Snickers any day though!

Two Soccer Stories

2010-10-27T14:21:00.000-04:00

Story #1:
Matthew loves to play soccer, pretty much all day, every day. We often play in our front yard, where our driveway and that of the neighbor act as goals. There are a few rules:

1. We must not be on the same team.
2. We must each choose a team color. (Although once I was the "Blue Team" and Matthew was the "Blue Blue Blue Team." Which was super confusing.)
3. The players are to be described by their team color and "guy."
4. I must play and simultaneously act as announcer, describing each play and referring to the team by the correct color. ("And a Blue guy kicks it, but a Blue Blue Blue guy blocks it! And now the Blue Blue Blue guy is dribbling down the field. Oh no! The Blue Blue Blue guy is out of bounds! So the Blue guy gets a throw in!")

So, the other day Matthew and I were playing in the front yard. I was on the Red Team and Matthew was on the Black Team. And just as a neighbor walked by, Matthew scored and I shouted, "And the Black guy gets a goal!" Which makes perfect sense if you know our rules, but just . . . sort of . . . sounds wrong when you are walking by.

Story #2:
Today I took Matthew to the art museum, where he spent the entire time telling me how much more fun it would be to play soccer. So, when we left, we got the ball from the car (we never leave home without it!) and kicked it around a nearby park. Finally, Matthew was worn out. "Carry me, mama, I'm so tired!" he whined. I declined to lug him back to the car and he dramatically dragged along the path. He picked up two huge leaves. "They're brothers," he explained to me. Then in a high little voice, he said, "Hi!" as he wiggled one leaf. "Hi!" replied the other leaf. "What do you want to do?" asked the first leaf. "Let's play soccer!" And Matthew and the brother leaves were off running, kicking the ball towards the car.

Not Sure How to Take This

2010-10-19T21:52:00.000-04:00

I wear makeup -- just a little powder and blush 'cause I'm pasty -- most days. This morning, as I was getting ready, Matthew said, "What are you doing?"

"I'm putting on my makeup," I replied.

"What's makeup?" he asked.

"It's . . . well, it's like colored powder that some women put on their faces." Which makes it sound sort of ridiculous, doesn't it?

"Why?"

"Well . . . I guess because they think it makes them look pretty." Ridiculous and faintly pathetic. Nothing like a three-year-old to give you a complex.

I put on a little powder.

"Uh oh," said Matthew. "It didn't work."

I picked up my blush. Matthew announced, "Last chance!"

I gave a few quick swipes and Matthew smiled at my reflection in the mirror. "Still pretty."

But Enough About You . . .

2010-10-14T18:50:00.000-04:00

Overheard as Cameron and Matthew sat at the table eating foccacia together:

Matthew: So, Cameron, how was my day?
Cameron: You mean, how was MY day?
Matthew: Nooooo, I mean, how was MY day? Well, I did a pin punching work! And I had a snack and I did tearing work and I played with Rachel and Rohan outside!

Past Tense Tricks

2010-10-14T14:27:00.000-04:00

Cameron loves listening to audiobooks. A few days ago, he paused his current selection and said to me, "There's no such word as 'writed,' is there? You say 'wrote' not 'writed.'"

"That's right," I replied.

"I knew it!" he crowed triumphantly. "They made a mistake in this book!"

"They did? They said 'writed' in your book? Are you sure they weren't quoting someone speaking?"

"No," he replied. "They said 'righted a wrong.'"