It's good to be not the favorite!

Everyone has favorites. Favorite foods, favorite colors, favorite clothes, favorite people.

We all do. It is just a matter of life. But what happens when you find out you are not anyone's favorite.

I am not the favorite in my family. Should my children be forced to choose, which I would never put them on the spot to do so, not me, they would choose Big-O-Daddy-O. They would. He is their favorite. The older and much wiser ones, well they are quick to say, "I love you both very much." But deep down, I know. Before I go any further I want you to know, I know they love me. I know they need me. I am their mom, so somewhere deep inside them they can't help but want me around. They like clean laundry. They like food in the house. But their favorite, I am not. I admit every once in a while it bothers me. I mean, hey, doesn't everyone want a chance at being the favorite? The top of the list. The first pick.

But this week, I got a peek at the other side of being the favorite.

We had to take two cars to Flutter Nutter's Party.

I drove the big white tank. Dad drove his car with Fun Mom and Hockey Player in it.

While I drove, I had to very timely hit the brakes, as a strong suggestion to Daddy's Buddy in the back to quit wailing and hollering. Wailing and hollering? Why you ask? Because he was stuck in the tank with me. He only wanted to ride with Big-O-Daddy-O. "Tough kid, you got me, and if you aren't careful, you are going to walk," I thought. We arrived to pick up friends and there was a very quick seat swap before mom could say, "I love you."

Party is over, gotta take the friends home. Flutter Nutter is in pieces now. He wants to ride with Daddy. We do not move his carseat. We are tired of carseat installations around here, so the tank is his vehicle. Mom and Dad swap vehicles. Drop the friends off at home, we go to McDonald's. Every 4 yr. old's dream birthday dinner ;) Loading up to go home after we eat, everyone runs to get in the tank. "I want to ride with Big-O-Daddy-O," is being shouted by all of them.

Hmmm, Mom got a very nice and quiet ride home. She even got home first and had some quiet in the house before they all came tumbling in. Not so bad, not being the favorite. :)

What's in a Name?

Shakespeare asked this same question in Romeo and Juliet.
So I ask, what is in a name? Why call it an I-Touch?

Fun Mom used her left over Ireland money to buy one for herself.

She loves it. It does all sorts of clever little things for her.

She almost doesn't need her laptop anymore.

But it can't keep her out of trouble.

Matter of fact it is more helpful to the mom in that area!

Tonight.... (by the way, it is 11:30ish P.M.)

I tiptoe downstairs to get something off the printer.
"Mom"

"Did you know cousin Mae broke her arm?"

"Yes, and get off your I-Touch! and go to sleep."

I-Touch, should have called it U-touch.

As in U-Touch and it is mine.

So,do know, the little trouble maker now has to be checked in upstairs at bedtime.
Fun Mom can thank a very timely magazine blurb I read the other night.
Encouraging parents to make sure teens charge their gizmos in a room other than the bedroom.
Especially, cell phones, because teens are texting all the time.

MP3s and all these special light up gizmos are so problematic.

They just shouldn't light up at night.

More Laundry Fun and a New First!

So I have shared the fun I have in doing my family's laundry here.
I really don't mind doing laundry. It is one of the few household chores that I find very satisfying to do. It was my favorite chore for a short time while Hockey Player was 4 and 5. Clean laundry meant the world to the boy. Every time I did laundry, I received a very enthusiastic and sincere, "Thank you mommy for doing my laundry!" Just melts my heart.
Chances are I will never hear, "Thank you mommy for cleaning the bathroom!" or "Thank you mom for sweeping the floor, dusting the house and changing the light bulbs!" Nope, but laundry... it is the the one thing that thrills everyone in the house when it is done. There is nothing more disappointing than to go to the closet and your favorite "--" is not there.

But my latest suprise was courtesy of Flutter Nutter.
In an effort to bring a little more peace in the "boys' room," the one shared by Daddy's Buddy and Flutter Nutter, we purchase green totes and clear totes. Green for Flutter Nutter (his favorite color) and clear for Daddy's Buddy. They now had individuals totest for their own personal stuff. Now when we introduced the totes and the opportunity for them to "protect" their personal possessions in their own boxes we were pleasantly suprised by their willingness to clean and sort thier toys.
Cleaning their rooms is no longer a battle. They don't want the other one to get their stuff. Who knew that thought pattern could work to a mother's advantage. They even pick up their clothes off the floor.
This last little bit is a my lead in....
So off to sorting the laundry, I am pondering out loud how 2 little boys can generate so much laundry. The pile was huge...their hamper was overflowing after 2 days. I get towards the bottom and what do I find but a clean shirt STILL ON THE HANGER! On the hanger no less! Did it ever make it to the closet? Who knows? But score one for me, because at least I knew it was clean without asking. It could be put in the clean basket to be put away. :)

The many smiles of Mr. Smiley

Before Flutter Nutter was named Flutter Nutter he was known as Mr. Smiley.
He has many smiles, most of which I think are quite infectious. He is a ham, and many think he is adorable. This he knows and works it as much as he can. He is a character. In my efforts to capture just a simple, happy smile I ended up with a slide show that pretty much captures Flutter Nutter as himself.

In all this cuteness, he also has the preciousness that comes with his age. When shopping for birthday supplies he was asked how old he was going to be. His answer, "I'm gonna be Superman!" Totally, not getting the birthday concept. We have been training and quizzing him so he can answer this question now. What does a number have to do with birthdays? Birthdays are all about the cake, fun, friends and party!!

The 30 day countdown!

Someone is always having a birthday. It's true, every day it seems is someone's birthday.
As soon as you know it is someone's birthday, there must be an appropriate amount of excitement and jubiliant birthday wishes given to the birthday person. And then it is mandatory to ponder and dream what it must be like to have a birthday of your own. Because after all, it is always someone else's birthday and "never my birthday." Who was it that thought each person should have only one birthday? And that a birthday should only come once a year? Crazy!

The talk continues and it never stops. Even if the child just had a birthday it is now 363 days, 5 hours and 6 minutes away. They want to talk with you about their cake, what they want to do, possible gifts and who they want to invite!

For the really little ones they want you to know at any given moment how much longer till their next birthday. For a mom like me, it means my children are completely disappointed! I think I need to be that Mom of 18 and counting....cause I am just not super Mom and the Wizard of Oz. I have trouble remembering my children's names much less how old they are! I am a complete disappointment in the motherhood memory contest, because when it comes to remembering the birthday cake they talked to me about July 26th, 2004 and the birthday cake their best friend had when they were 6 on their birthday on Sept. 30, 1998, I completely frustrate them with my blank look and soft admission of, "I don't remember."

So my children would not spend the year disappointed and disillusioned by their memory challenged mother I invoked the 30 day rule! Each child can only discuss their birthday with me during the 30 days before their birthday. During this time, I faithfully take notes. I create a document on the computer. I try really hard to disguise the fact I lost a few memory cells with each pregnancy.

So with the pending arrival of birthday #40 since I became a mother, I grabbed my paper and pen and asked Flutter Nutter what he wanted for his 4th birthday.

Super Man Legos
Batman Legos
Indiana Jones ....(never quite understood...he was talking to fast for his momma)
1,no 2, no 4 parachutes (so he could jump out of an airplane)
Nintendo DS

and then we always discuss the cake,
Flutter Nutter was very descriptive, he knew what he wanted...
The cake had to be green and white striped... so with some food coloring and careful cutting of cakes we ended up with:

(of course when you are 3 turning 4 it is mandatory to reach out and pull pieces of cake off... Taste testing is critical at this age.)
to get a better perspective of the shade of green he chose (after two bottles of green food dye):
Inside look:

But they not only choose the cake, but the decorations...
After some intense shopping at the "Cake Store" and not being able to decide, I suggested we go buy a toy at the store to put on top. For the money he wanted to spend on cake decorations I thought an actual toy that could be played with would be the best option, so we ended up with a lego theme. I suprised the boys with my lego building skill and constructed Flutter Nutter's construction vehicle and placed it on top!
(I do get some of the final say about the icing decorating... )


Their smiles are worth everything!
Deep breathe, I now have 35 more days till I have to begin exercising my memory skills! Just long enough to get through the Christmas season!!