In theaters near you

Connor went to his first movie yesterday. Some might say he went to the "cinema". Cinema. haha. No, it's movie theater, ok? I don't know what kind of shows they play at the cinema, but I guarantee it isn't Chimps in Space... which is what we saw. Chimps in Space. A fine flick. It's about, um... these chimps that, uh, go into space. I think you can figure out the rest.

We joined the summer movie program they have at the local theaters here. Because it's too dang hot to anything more than sit in a dark over-air conditioned room. So we now have prepaid tickets to see other feature films like Hotel for Dogs and Kungfu Panda. It's going to be a long summer.

When the flyer came home with Maddy from school about the summer movie program I had my doubts. I wasn't sure that Connor would be willing to sit still for that long. And I didn't want to commit to 10 weeks of a fidgeting boy. I was leaning towards giving it a shot, and then I heard a friend of mine and her kids were going to do it... so I signed up. I figured worst case I could take Connor out into the hall and Maddy could stay and watch the movie with our friends.

But it turns out that Connor is an excellent movie goer. He did so good. He sat mostly still and was into the movie. He didn't really get all the jokes. Everyone would laugh and then as soon as the laughter would die down Connor would bust out this really loud fake laugh. It was cracking me up. Now I don't know what's going to happen when the movie isn't quite as entertaining as Chimps in Space was... but we'll see.

Pool

So Happy Birthday to me! I turned 32 on Sunday. We didn't do much... went to Joe's BBQ for my free lunch and that was about it. Played some Mario Kart and generally hung around on the couch.

Oh! We played pool yesterday for like two hours. Haven't been able to do that in about 4 years. We used to play allll the time. Every weekend for sure. But I stopped playing when I was pregnant with Connor... all that bending isn't good for a pregnant lady. Then he was such a light sleeper/ sensitive baby that we couldn't play. Then he was such a Grabby McGrabberson that we couldn't play. If a ball got close to the edge he would run off with it. But finally now... we can play.

Yay! I've actually been thinking maybe we should get rid of the pool table since we never use it. And then whattayouknow.

He did so good. We gave him a couple of jobs. Stick caddy for one. He is in charge of holding the stick while you wait your turn. He is also in charge of getting the cue ball when someone scratches. It's the kind of cue ball that has the red dots on it. He calls it the "polka-nut dot" ball. He is also in charge of putting chalk on the sticks. And he does an excellent job. He even blows off the extra dust. Adorable!

So yeah, it was really fun. And after about an hour and a half of playing he got some trucks out and made a town under the pool table. That was good too. Better even.

Summer Vacation: Day 1

UG!

Ok, so school is out. It's 9:30 in the morning and I would estimate that I have broken up approximately 17 fights. I hope this is not a sign of how things are going to go. Maybe it's just everyone getting adjusted to the new routines. Hopefully. They are currently playing leap frog. I can't see this ending badly.

And I also had the pleasure of calling the IRS today. Ah.. now that's a phone call you tend to put off. It's actually not so bad. It's the second call I've made to the IRS in my life, and neither was terrible. I would rather call the IRS than the DMV. But one thing that cracks me up is that they always refer you to their website, IRS.gov. Like that site is so simple and easy to understand. Yes, reading Publication 15 Article 11 totally cleared up all my questions, thank you so much.

Anywho... Summer break is getting off to a less than stellar start.

The littlest pine tree

Maddy discovered a tiny little pine tree growing in the shade of a bush out front. It's about two inches tall, this pine tree. Larry started watering it, but as the heat gets hotter it seems like the little guy wasn't doing so well in the front.

So Larry got a pot and transplanted the mini pine tree to the backyard. We now have a pine tree growing in a small clay pot in the shade of the hot tub. It's the only place in the yard that doesn't get any direct sun. We have a couple of potted plants in that special spot now.

What's funny is that Larry (I'd say "we", but let's be honest) is going to try to save this tree. But then what? What the heck are we going to do with a pine tree? I suppose we will figure that out when/if the time comes.

And if anyone is interested... the library found The Look Book that I had been searching for. So phew!

Lovies

Maddy has a favorite bear that she has slept with every night since she was born. My cousin gave him to us while I was in the hospital after having Maddy. This bear has the ultra-creative name of "Bear". When she was little she took Bear everywhere she went. Strangers trying to be nice would say things like "Wow, that's a great bear! What is his name?" To which she would reply "Bear." and then the stranger would look at me. I would have to clarify... "The bear's name is Bear." with an apologetic look on my face. Naming things is not my daughter's strength. Never the less, Bear is well loved. Very well loved. When Maddy was about 18 months or so she started "wagging bear's tail" when she would fall asleep. She would hold the bottom of the tail with her thumb and middle finger and then move the tail back and forth with her pointer finger.

Connor also sleeps with a little teddy bear. My mother in law gave it to him while we were still in the hospital. His name is C.B. Which officially stands for "Connor's Bear" but has been changed to meet any passing fancy which pops into my head. C.B. also happens to be Connor's initials. When Connor had a pacifier he would suck his "fire" and hold the bottom of C.B.s foot against his nose. I don't know how that was comforting... but apparently it was. Once he stopped with the pacifier he took to putting C.B. under his head instead.

So about two weeks ago I was putting Connor to bed and he didn't want to lay his head on C.B. like usual. Instead he wanted C.B. sleeping on the pillow next to him, with the covers pulled up under C.B.s chin. I took sad note of this slight separation between Connor and his most cherished possession.

I walk directly from Connor's room to Maddy's room. I go in and Maddy burst into tears. "Bear's tail fell off!!" she wails. In her hand is a small, black, badly worn piece of string. Not a tail. Bear's tail hasn't been an actual tail in years. The fabric wore away long ago. All that was left was the seam of the tail. But it was good enough. But now... the seam has fallen off. A terrible thing. A heartbreaking event. Tears fell. Just a small hole where Bear's tail used to be.

I couldn't help but take notice of the difference here. Within minutes of each other my 3 year old makes a separation from his lovey and my seven year old wails in anguish over losing her lovey's best asset.

But don't worry... Maddy is still sleeping with Bear's tail. My child is comforted by a piece of string. Such a strange child.

The Look Book

Maddy jumps off the school bus this morning and comes running across the street with a panicked look on her face.

"I forgot my Look Book!"
"What?"
"The Look Book! We need to bring it back to school today!"
"You can't bring it tomorrow?" Keep in mind the whole bus stop is on the bus ready to go.
"No! If you bring it back today then you get a Popsicle." This is when another bus stop mom chimes in and verifies this fact. Actually, if whole class brings their library books back then they all get a Popsicle. It's everyone or no one.
"Do you know where the book is?"
"Yes!"
"Ok, run fast!"
When she doesn't come back immediately I poke my head in the door and can hear her crying in her room. I go in and she is digging around frantically under her bed in tears. I help her look but there is no book under there. I put her back on the bus with a promise that I will keep looking for it and will bring it to her.

I look... and look... and look for The Look Book. It's nowhere. I have no idea where The Look Book is. I drive over to her school to catch her before school starts. I tell her I looked and can't find it. She describes it for me. "You know like the sewers under the road? It has that on the cover. And it's black and orange." Um... ok? I tell her I've looked and I'll look again, but I don't think I'm going to find it.

And I didn't.

Bedtime battles

We've been having trouble with Connor going to bed. Granted, this is a problem that we've been having for 3 years and 86 days now, but it's been especially bad the last few weeks. This round had come to a head the night before last when Larry took his favorite toys out of his room and told him he could have them back in the morning if he would lay down and go to sleep. That finally worked. We didn't hear another peep out of him.

Then yesterday he wouldn't lay down for nap. I took him potty and put him in his bed. I told him I wasn't coming back no matter what. NO MATTER WHAT! We said good night and I closed the door. I hadn't even made it to the top of the stairs before he started his games. And he didn't hold back... he went right for the throat.

"Mommy! I need to go pee on the potty!!!!"
"MOMMY!"
"Mommy, I need to go PEEEEEEEEEEE"

This went on for about 45 minutes, but I stuck to my guns. I knew he didn't really have to go pee. He just went! But it was hard, I couldn't help but think he was up there just dying to go to the bathroom and what a horrible person I was for not taking him. Who makes a child beg for 45 minutes to go pee? A terrible person... that's who.

But he did finally give up and fall asleep. And I would like it noted that he didn't have to pee when he woke up.

I got my reward for all my hard work last night when he went down with no troubles at all. He didn't call for us even one time. At least not right away. About an hour after he had been put to bed he started calling...

"Mommy!"
"Mooooommmmyyyy"

But this time it was different. Any mom who has been a mom for more than a few weeks knows the difference between a "I'm mad because I'm not getting my way" cry and a real true "I'm upset, scared, hurt, or stuck" cry. And this was the latter.

But I still wasn't totally convinced. I went up there, but I wasn't happy about it.

I walk in and he doesn't stop crying right away. This is when I know something is truly wrong... it's not a trick. In the dim light I can see something is wrong with his shirt. The silly boy had taken his arm out of his sleeve. Then he put it up through the neck hole... and then back through the arm hole. It was quite a tangle. He cracks me up. I was laughing so hard I almost couldn't untangle him. What a silly boy I have.

I straightened his shirt and he went right to sleep. But now I'm afraid that he knows that getting himself in a predicament will get him after-lights-out attention. Let's hope that I don't have to make him sleep with his shirt half on and half inside out.