It's M-O-U-S-E...

As in Mickey Mouse and not "Mickey Louse".  I'm glad my kids have discovered Mickey.  He's cute, he's classic and hopefully now they won't be afraid when they meet him next summer :)

So they've been watching "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse."  Since neither can read or spell much other than their own name, don't really know what they're singing when they say "M-I-C-K-E-Y  L-O-U-S-E."  I can't convince them otherwise, so I guess I'll just keep giggling.

Even if he is sleeping in your sink, don't spit on the cat!

The other night, the kids were brushing their teeth and I noticed Alexander was standing at his sink brushing as usual, which includes spitting (of course!).  But, he had company...

Meet Dave (yes, our cat is named Dave...that's a different post entirely).  He likes water.  He's not a typical cat.  As the vet said, "those red-haired cats like get into trouble."  He wasn't exaggerating.  In the few months since he joined our family, he has nearly fallen off the second floor walking on the outside of the rails to the open foyer, burned his paws on the hot stove and escaped the house to walk outside in flooding rains.

Even after Alexander spit toothpaste on him, the cat didn't even leave the sink.  "Silly Dave!" is a common refrain in our house.

Don't lick the car

And we're not talking about the inside of the car either.  We're talking about the mid-summer, just back from a road trip and not-yet-through the carwash, kind of filthy, outside of the car.  I could see the place where he had licked it.

Is this what it means to be the mother of little boys?  Constantly saying things like "Don't lick the car? Don't eat your shoes? and Bugs aren't lunch?"  It is - at least for me - because in the past week I've said all of those things and some, more than once.

It's fine if he likes to wear pink!

My son's favorite color is pink.  He loves vacuums.  He likes to dress up like a princess.  He also likes to run around screaming and pretend he's shooting a gun. He's four.  He doesn't care what anyone thinks.  I love that.

But society cares and people judge.  I don't think it's fair.  Particularly, the double standard.  Girls can be tomboys. People fight for girls to be able to act like boys and even cheer them on, but I have to try and explain to my four year old boy why he should probably choose something other than a dress to wear to school.  I really liked this article that looked into the differences of acceptance between Princess Boys and Star Wars Girls.

He is who is and I love him no matter what.  Perhaps I love him even more because the likes to play construction worker in a dress - that takes imagination!  It does make me angry that I have to defend him (or myself) to anyone.  I shared this article Why Should Pink Have Us Seeing Red? with my family and although it sparked interesting conversation at Easter dinner, it didn't change any minds.

This has been in the news lately and all over the web.  It's got me thinking, how about you?

Can you please share your choking hazards with your brother?

OK, so that's not really what I said, but that's what my kids heard me say.

Yesterday was Valentine's Day.  My oldest goes to preschool and they had a party where all the kids gave each other valentines and most of those included candy and other treats.  My youngest does not go to school (do you see where this is going???) and did not have a Valentines party.  Being the terrible mommy that I am, I did not foresee the fact that the baby would be heartbroken about not being showered with Valentines Day treats.  You see, I don't do Valentine's Day.  I think it's a "Hallmark Holiday" that makes roses and candy  twice as expensive than any other day of the year.  My husband and I don't celebrate it so I didn't even think about buying gifts or treats for my children.  So, when the oldest asked if he could have something from his Valentine's bag today, I told him yes, but only if he shared with his brother.

You must be wondering when exactly I asked him to share a choking hazard, right?

As he searched through his bag for just the right treat, he finally found a small bag of hard candies shaped like hearts and asked if he could have them.  I had told him he could have whatever he wanted as long as he shared with his brother.  (I know 2 and 3 year olds shouldn't really be eating hard candies.)  After I opened the bag for him he looked at me and said "Mom, this is a choking hazard." and then Mr. Baby said "Can I have a choking hazard too?"  So, that's how my kids heard me ask them to share choking hazards.

**No children were harmed in the making of the blog post.

Honey, don't lick the shopping cart!

You know those people who wipe the shopping carts down with sanitizing wipes? Well, I'm one of them.  But, I'm also the parent of the reason you should be one of them too.

My oldest son never outgrew the oral phase.  You know the one where everything goes in their mouths?  He has always been the one to check the texture and taste of everything with his mouth (and I do mean everything).  Today, in two different stores, I had to ask him to stop licking the shopping carts.  I knew people could hear me, I knew they were thinking "how disgusting!" and they were right.  What's the typical incubation period for winter kid-crud?  That's about how long I have before he's sick and he shares it with little brother.  It makes for a long winter.

So, the next time you see a mom wiping down a shopping cart, remember that it might not be because she's paranoid or neurotic, she might just have a shopping cart-licker...or might have read this.

It's a SIT and spin, not a STAND and spin

My youngest (the one who says "Wheeee!" before he goes down the stairs) got a sit and spin from Santa.  He refuses to acknowledge the "sit" part.

There haven't been any injuries (yet).

Yes, Santa, he did say "tofu."

On the top of my 3 year old's Christmas list isn't what you might expect from a little boy. Santa asked him what he wanted for Christmas. He replied "Tofu" and then followed that up with "It has to go in the fridge." Of course, Santa looked at us for verification that he really was asking for tofu for Christmas and we had to confirm that he really does want tasteless soy protein delivered by Santa himself. Santa correctly assumed that tofu was not on the top of the 2 year old's list. He was much predictable when he said he wanted "cars."

I think we should do Christmas Cards

I love getting cards.  I love people having our cards.  I intensely dislike going through the process of finding pictures, ordering cards, addressing and mailing said cards.  I thought I would use the excuse of trying to be "greener" to get out of it completely and just send electronic greetings, but then remembered that we have some friends and family who just aren't very computer/internet savvy and some people who only get pictures of us when I send cards, so I decided to go ahead again this year.

I'm still attempting to be "greener" and not send as many as in past years, so if you do the internet...here you go!

Is that lipstick?

There was a brief moment of silence.  If you have kids (especially boys), you know that sound...and it scares you.

I heard that sound - or rather the absence of sound - this morning while my boys were playing.  I had called my mother to see how she was feeling after taking a tumble down some stairs earlier in the week (which is another story entirely and not mine to share).  My boys had seized that opportunity to get my purse, pull out all my credit cards and lipstick.  It wasn't until my 3 year old said "I want to look in the mirror" that I realized what had been going on.

Fortunately, I don't own dark lipstick, so the damage wasn't too bad.  And, I've been reminded as to why I usually leave my purse in the car.  I'm also accepting lipstick stain removal tips.

Slow down so you can breathe!

My 3 year old has asthma.  It's not severe, but what hits most kids as a regular cold can turn bad fast for him.  As irony would have it, the very medicines which open up his airways so he can breathe, also make him hyper.  And if you've ever met him, you know that he needs no help to be hyper under normal circumstances.  His cough got worse over the weekend and he spiked a fever this morning  (the highest reading I took was 103.9 right before we left for the doctor's office).  It's probably pneumonia, and he started antibiotics this morning.  Hopefully it will just be a few days before he clears up, but in the meantime, I'll be spending a lot of time asking him to stop running around so he can catch his breath.

Here he is in a brief moment of repose.

Don't hit your brother with the drumsticks!

It's been a long day in our house.  Alexander has been experiencing "growing pains" at night and has also decided he no longer will nap.  He's exhausted and when he's exhausted, he's not particularly kind to his brother.  Fortunately, no major injuries and bedtime is near.