I Have to Run!

In the summer, the kids and I often take walks around our neighborhood. Typically, I either carry Jolee using a mei tai baby carrier, or use a stroller. I let her choose. Alek will walk or ride his bike. He also gets to choose. Really, this is one of the highlights of my day.

About once a week, we also head to a local park. Admission is free for military families, Woo Hoo!. Anyway, I digress. During our last trip to the local park, my daughter discovered her joy of running. While quietly (okay, relatively quietly) walking down one of the water front paths, Jolee suddenly declared, "Mommy, I have to run!" Not "I want to run", but "have to run"

I did what any normal parent would do (in a safe environment). I unbuckled her and said, "go, Jo". And off she went.

Should I be scared?

Sunday night, my sister dropped some fudge off for my mother and me. It's still in the fridge. I forgot about it. Really.

On Tuesday, I received an email from my mother. It had one sentence.

"I know about the fudge..."

What??? Was this a threat? I couldn't help but laugh. My mother isn't normally the sarcastic, funny type normally. So, I was responded simply,

"What fudge?".

I think I'm going to use her quotes in all my email signatures for a while.

Sincerely,

Sarah
"I know about the fudge..."

It's Not Fair!

This month, I decided that it is time that Jolee needs to be potty trained. She is almost 3 years old and it is time. I'll be honest. I employ the bribery method using candy. Since the kids do not get a lot of candy, this is a major deal to both of them. Just last week, Jolee went to the potty without any prompting from me. I was so proud for those brief few minutes. But, like many things, it all went down hill from there. Here's how it went down.

Jolee: ( who just used the potty) I big girl now, Mommy! I big girl now! I get candy?
Me: Yay, Jolee you are a big girl!
So, I help Jolee dump, flush, pull up her pants and wash up. Then I give her a smartie from the Halloween bucket. Yes, it's leftover halloween candy. Jolee happily walks away. Alek, hears this and comes up stairs...

Alek: I used the potty...
Me: So?Alek: I used the potty...
Me: You're six, almost 7. You should be using the potty.
Alek: Realizing it's a lost cause, walks away

At that point, I realize that Alek has no way of earning such a treat, so I caved. I gave him a smartie. For using the potty. At 6, soon to be 7. I know, I'm not perfect. I aim to be the good enough mom. It's working well for me so far. Anyway...

Me: Okay, Alek you can have a smartie.

Alek runs away, happy with his smartie. Jolee, however sees this and is not happy. Not. One. Bit. She runs back to me, shouting,

Jolee: Alek no potty, get candy??? Alek no potty, get candy??? Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! Whaaaaaaaaaaaaa! WHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
Me: Crap. Okay, you get two for going potty.
Jolee: (tears instantly gone) Yay, Candy!!

Remeber, I'm not aiming for perfection. Actually, at that point, I was aiming for quiet since my husband had just called and I hadn't heard from him in days. A few minutes later, Miss Jolee came back demanding more candy. I firmly denied this request. Candy is for potty training (regardless of age). Once denied, my sweet daughter went into a full out tantrum. I watched said tantrum for a solid 30 minutes. Boy, I was exhausted just watching. After 30 minutes, it was bed time. Sweet, glorious, quiet bed time.

Talking with Jesus (an old favorite)

This is one of my all-time favorite stories about Alek. At the time, he was about 3 years old.

Background: Alek has never been a good sleeper. The first year he was home (he is adopted), he woke up at least once per hour each night. One night, however he had a surprisingly good night. The next morning over breakfast, we had the following conversation.

Me: Good Morning!
Alek: I had a good night. I didn't wake you up at all.
Me: I know...that's great!
Alek: Yes I know! When I woke up, I saw Jesus in my room and he was talking to me!
Me: Oh, Alek that is wonderful! I am so...
Alek: interrupting me But don't you worry, mama. I didn't talk to him because I don't talk to strangers!
Me: speechless

Gone Camping

Yesterday, Alek left for vacation with his grandparents. They are headed for Texas for ten days! Alek was so excited. He helped pack and load up the car. He even woke up before 5 am Monday morning ready to go and he didn't have to get up until 6:00 am.

But, now that he's left, I'm shocked at how quiet the house it. Even more shocking, I don't like it. Yes, Jolee is still home. But, she doesn't chatter nearly as much. Further, she is perfectly happy sitting quietly with a book or her "colors" for hours on end. Without Alek there, even Jolee is more quiet. I'm almost at a loss on what to say and do. Almost. I do have some plans to spend some good quality time alone with my girl. She never gets individual attention. So, this week, I plan to spend extra time reading and playing with her. Maybe I'll even force myself to take her to Chuck E. Cheese. Alek would be so furious that he missed this. Not that I will mention it to him.

Proud Moments

One Saturday while eating breakfast, Alek and I had the following conversation.

Me: Well guys, what would you like to do today?
Alek: It's all about you Mommy, what would you like
(yeah, I know he can be such a suck-up sometimes)
Me: No, seriously what would you like to do?
Alek: Oh, I know! I know! Can we clean the house? All day? Can we?
Me: As I wipe a tear of joy away, If that's what you really want...

Sometimes I can't believe I didn't give birth to this child!

Consequences

Recently, my husband and I have decided to buy a computer for our son. Alek did very well in school last semester. In fact, he improved in almost every subject. Furthermore, Alek has always loved computer class and consistently received good grades in that subject. To encourage this interest, and to reward him for a good semester, we decided to buy Alek a computer and have him build it with a friend of mine. So, with the help of my very smart friend, Branden, I ordered computer parts from NewEgg. The computer parts arrived less than 2 business days later-wow! Branden was to come over last Saturday to show Alek how to build his very own computer. Unfortunately, Alek happened.

On Friday, while at daycare, Alek intentionally broke his beloved Nintendo DS. The very Nintendo DS that he begged for for over a year. Originally, Alek told his care provider that he broke it because he was frustrated by a game. Alek is a lot of things, but destructive and violent are not it. Once home, when faced with threat of further punishement, Alek fessed up that he broke the game system, "just to see what would happen". This is exactly like something my son do, so I believed it. BUT, there were still consequences.

Alek: I just wanted to see what would happen.
Me: Oh, well that's easy. You wanted to know the consequences, huh? Well, that is something I help you figure out. Let me see... Consequence #1: You no longer have a DS, nor will anyone buy you a replacement. Consequence #2: You can no longer be trusted with expensive electronic toys. Since you cannot be trusted with expensive electronic toys, you can not build your computer tomorrow (or this month). Consequence #3: Do you need more?
Alek: No! Runs away sobbing.

I have to admit, I am very disappointed. I was really looking forward to Alek building his new computer. I know he would have loved it. It is such a great learning experience for him.

Oh, guess what? My super smart friend, Branden can fix the DS. Looks like I'm getting a refurbished Nintendo DS! Woo Hoo! I plan to play it in front of Alek whenever the opportunity presents itself. Sometimes it's good to be the queen, er I mean the mommy.

Telling the Truth is the Most Important, Right?

Lately, I've noticed that our bathroom sink doesn't seem to be draining very quickly. So, I've tried my normal baking soda/vinegar/boiling water thing, but it doesn't seem to be working like it normally does. While working on it again last night, my darling little boy came in for a chat... Our conversation went as follows:

Alek: Hi Mom. You still can't get that sink to drain?
Me: No, not really.
Alek: Oh, I think I know why.
Me: (distracted) Why is that?
Alek: Wellllll.... it's always good to tell the truth right. I won't get punished if I tell you the truth right?
This is the point I stop what I am doing and stare at DS. I just know it's not going to be good.
Me: Just tell me what you did.
Alek: Well, you know that game I play, right?
Me: Nooo, what game is that, Alek?
Alek: Oh, you know. That game where I cram things down the sink to see if they will fit. I'm pretty sure it was the link'n log that didn't make it all the way down.
Me: Alek, I'm giving you a 5 second head start. I suggest you start running now.
Alek: as he runs away But I told the truth!!!

Do Religion and Politics Mix?

On Sunday morning, in October 2008 I took Alek to Sunday School. We were the first to arrive, so Alek sat down at the table and started to color the picture his teacher set out for him. The conversation proceeded as follows:
Teacher: The picture is about King Josiah. Do you know who King Josiah is A?
A: No, but I do know who John McCain is!

I blame my father-in-law for this one.

On the same day, I also found a school paper that Alek completed just last week. The assignemt was "Write one sentence about yourself.". Alek wrote,"I am grait".

Enough said.

Some Mornings, Some Kids

Ever had a hard time getting out of the house? Yesterday morning, everytime I sat down in the car, I realized I forgot something. So, I had to get out of the car, go back in the house and return with the forgotten object. This went on about 3 times between forgotten lunches, medicines and paperwork (all mine, not the kids). When I finally sat down in the car and started it up, I tuned toward the kids to check seatbelt buckles one last time. At that point, I noticed that my son looked confused. Our conversation proceeded as follows:

Son:Bewildered look on his face
Me: I just had a terrible time getting out of the house today!
Son: Oh. Are you getting too big?
Me: Sigh, Yeah.