On Marriage

C: "Mom, when I grow up, I'm going to marry you!'"

Me: "Oh, you can't marry me. I'm your Mom."

C: "Why not? I love you the best!"

Me: "Because people don't marry their moms. And, I'm already married to Daddy, remember?"

C: "That's ok...I'll marry you again!"

Me: "You're very sweet. But, I am sure that by the time you are old enough to get married, you won't want to marry me anymore."

O pipes in: "Then I'll marry you, Mommy!"

I am soooo coming back to read this when the boys are older and don't want to be seen with their super lame Mom anymore.

Getting older

I am only in my mid 30s, but the last few weeks I've been feeling much older. I pulled a muscle in my back twice in two weeks, which left me hobbling around unable to stand up straight for several days each time. "Is this what it feels like to be an old lady?!" I asked Hubby repeatedly. I also noticed my first gray bang hair (I've had a few other grays before, but never in the bangs), and have overall just been exhausted. I guess the boys are picking up on these developments, because yesterday O announced:

"Mom, you're not three. You're twenty-hundred!"

Sigh...

How nice it is...

...to go for a hike without needing a stroller!

Stereotypes

Yesterday, while coloring, C mentioned that he was going to draw something pink. Pink is one of his three favorite colors (along with blue and green) and often shows up in his arts & crafts projects. Then he sighed, and said, "Mom. The other day in school, Millie laughed at me when I was riding the pink bike."
"She did?" I asked. "Why?"
"Because the pink bike is for girls, I guess." C said.
"How did that make you feel?" I asked.
"Sad," he said, with another deep sigh. "But I can ride the pink bike, right? Pink's not ALL for girls! Boys can like pink too, right Mom?"
"Of course you can!" I said. "It's fine that you like pink, and you can ride the pink bike if you want to."
"But, I forgot to laugh at her when she rode the blue boy bike today." C said. I pointed out that if he felt bad when Millie laughed at him, Millie would probably feel bad if he laughed at her, and he agreed.

It makes me sad that C is being pressured to conform to these gender stereotypes already. I've worked very hard to encourage all his interests, and even though he's always gravitated toward the more typical boyish toys (trains, cars, etc), he also has a play kitchen, and enjoys the book Pinkalicious. He loves to dance and be silly.

He just turned 5. Can't he still like pink if he wants to?

Hospitality

C: "Why did Daddy decide to be a hospitality doctor?"

Me: "A what?"

C: "You know, a hospitality doctor...A Paternarian!"

Cake Two

This past weekend we celebrated O's 3rd birthday, and with that came another adventure in baking.  This was a very hectic week for us, filled with illnesses and house hunting, and I just didn't have the energy to make another fancy cake. Cue the mommy guilt...now! However, O said that he wanted a Lightning race cake, and I think I managed to make that happen. Even though this cake was quite simple, just stacked rectangular cakes with an oreo cookie crumb raceway, O was thrilled that it displayed the final scene of his all time favorite movie CARS (Chick Hicks winning the race because Lightning is pushing the damaged King).

We also had a small party with a few of his friends, and Hubby noted that O was quite a stud, since all the guests were girls! We managed to get the group to play a party game (Pin the Sticker on the Lightning) and O seemed to have a great time.

Now he keeps announcing "I am bigger! I am Three!"

And I just can't believe it.

Imaginative Play

The Easter Bunny brought each of the boys a mini Lego set. C's was a pirate ship, and O's was a little house scene. We had fun coming up with some imaginative play that melded them both together.

The pirate came searching for the magic treasure chest that was hidden in the king's house. I'm not sure what Mater was doing there, but he was clearly important.

Who IS the Easter Bunny?

A conversation in the car, on the way to get egg dyeing materials...

O: "I love Easter Eggs! I want to have an Egg Hunt!"
Me: "Well, maybe the Easter Bunny will leave you some eggs to find."
O: "The Easter Bunny? Who is the Easter Bunny?"
Me: (hmmm...I guess he doesn't remember last year...he was only 2...) "You know...the Easter Bunny! The one who brings Easter baskets with candy to all the good little boys."
O: "But...who IS the Easter Bunny?"
Me: "Ummm....I don't know. But he's magic! Like Santa."
O: "Oh. But is he a guy? Or a bunny?"
Me: "He's a bunny. But a magic bunny."
O: "Maybe he turns into a magic guy...or...maybe he turns into A MAGIC RACE CAR!!!!"
Me: "Um...maybe? I don't know. I think he is just a bunny."
O: "Oh...(long sad sigh)...Or a magic tow truck??"
Me: "Sure!  I don't know how the magic works."
O: "Well, I love that Easter Bunny!"
Me: "You do?"
O: "Yeah, I'm going to give him a big hug!"
 

Lucky bunny.

April Fools

Driving home from school yesterday...

C: "Tomorrow is April First! That means it's April Fools Day, Mom!"
Me: "MmmHmm. Did you talk about that at school?"
C: "Yeah, on April Fools, you play tricks on people. So I'm going to play a trick on you! And on Daddy!"
Me: "Oh really? What kind of trick?"
C: "I haven't decided yet."
Me: "Did your teachers talk about what kind of tricks you could play?"
C: "A little bit. In Circle time. I know!! I could tell you that you have a snake in your hair!"
Me: "Oh."
C: "Or I could tell you that you're not driving! HA HA HA HA!!"
Me: "But...I AM driving."
C: "But, I could say that you're NOT! HA HA HA! April Fools!"

I just know I am going to be in big trouble when he actually figures out how this works...