Balentimes Day, Explained

Bella and Carter have been roommates, so to speak, for at least a year or so. Lately I've noticed an interesting, albeit sweet, trend: I put them to bed and they don't stop talking for at least an hour. So in honor of Valentine's Day, I thought I'd relay one of the most recent gems that I overheard, well after lights-out.

Carter: "...so you see, Bella, Balentime's Day is a really important holiday. You know all those cards I filled out downstairs? Well, I'm going to take those to school and hand them out to all the kids. But that's not the best part. The special thing is (he's nearly squealing with excitement at this point) THEY'RE GOING TO GIVE ME CARDS TOO! They might even pile all the way up to the ceiling - there's that many kids in my class. And that's what Balentime's Day is all about, after all."

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Zen and the Art of Tricycle Maintenance, or The Philosophical Musings of a Five Year Old

Last weekend, the kids and I went to Seattle and as I'm attempting to parallel park, (quite expertly, I might add...) Carter asks me earnestly, "Mommy, is this our destiny?"

Ummm...how do you answer that? So I ask him, "What do you mean by destiny?" (way to stall, Mommy...)

He sighs, clearly exasperated by my ignorance.

"You know. Your destiny. That's where the flag is."

My head is spinning. The flag? Think, think think...

And then, I hear it. Almost like it was spoken by God himself. As I'm finishing my final maneuver, squeezing my mid-sized SUV between a huge truck and a teeny tiny scooter (did I mention how expertly I did this yet?) My GPS rings out Ding! You have arrived at your destination. The signature checkered flag shows on the screen to let me know I made it to where I was going without getting lost.

"Honey, do you mean destination?"

"That's what I said. Destiny."

"Then yes, this is our destiny."

I can be so slow sometimes...

I'm baaaack

I have been absent from the world of bloggery for far too long. For this I apologize. But I'm back now, so you no longer have to spend sleepless nights, up wondering what mindless drivel I have to share with the world. :)

So much has happened since last we chatted...I'll try to give you the Cliff's Notes version:

The Family and I vacationed in the Happiest Place on Earth. It was truly an amazing trip and, although the weather was sickeningly hot and sticky, a good time was had by all. As evidenced here:




B losing her mind


Upon returning, Carter had his 5th birthday, and shortly thereafter, started Kindergarten *gasp*. The big yellow bus just showed up one day and took my baby away...He absolutely loves his teacher and has made some really good friends, so I'm happy for him. It's just impossible to believe that he (or I) can be that old already.



All Aboard

I started subbing shortly after school started and got bit by the teaching bug all over again. My school district had a bunch of positions that opened up after the school year started and I had the amazing fortune to land myself a job in an incredible school.

And thus, you can see why I've been neglecting my my bloggerly duties as of late. Hopefully I will find some time here and there to grace you all with my presence (ha) and keep you posted on the goings on of a supermom who is just trying to keep up.

Something Icky

This morning I woke up at 6:45 to Carter hitting me on the knee. "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy!" He said. Startled, I sat up and asked what's wrong. "One of the cats did something icky on the floor."

That's it? Here I was thinking Bella had seriously hurt herself or something. I told him I'd take care of it later, I just needed to sleep a little longer.

About a half hour later, I finally woke up and went to get the kids. I stumbled sleepily into their room and then...*SQUISH* stepped squarely into a pile of what can only be described as disgusting cold cat ralph.

I looked over at Carter who was laying in his bed, propped up on one elbow with a slight smile on his face.

"I told you so, Mommy."

Touche, sir. That you did.

Goolay Goo

...or is it spelled Goulez Gous? I'm not sure. Either way, it is the new term du jour at our house. Bella was standing in front of the refrigerator, pointing frantically saying "I want goolay goo!" Totally perplexed, I let her say it about 20 more times, thinking I would eventually figure out what in the world she wanted. I couldn't. So, I moved on to the next step: guessing. I started pointing to things.

Do you want milk?
No
Do you want cheese?
No
carrots?
NOOO!

I was getting nowhere, fast. Finally, I figured out that "goo" must refer to some type of juice. (If you're at all familiar with Bella-speak, you'll understand that this is not much of a leap)

Do you want apple juice??? (I'm getting frantic now because she's getting more and more agitated by the second)
NO, MOMMY, NOOOOO!!!!
Finally, I spotted it: there in the door, a container of ORANGE juice.

Is this what you want???
Yeah! Yay goolay goo!!!

I poured her a cup of goolay goo. She took a long sip, wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and said "Ahhhhhhhhh....I LOVE goolay goo!" (a moment highly reminiscent of my last post)

So that's our new word here. We use it all the time now. I find myself looking for excuses to work it into everyday conversation. You should try it. It's the coolest new word since 'fetch'. (I know, I know. Stop trying to make 'fetch' happen.)

I'm thinking this one might just catch on though.

The Sweet Tooth Conquers All

We have been trying to get Bella to say I love you for a long time now. It always comes out "I....you!" Lately, we've evolved a little bit. I tell her "I love you, Bella." She replies "I you too Mommy." Getting closer...

And then the other day we introduced something completely new to her: jelly beans. She popped one in her mouth, her eyes got really big and she looked at me and said "I LOVE jelly beans!"

Really?!

You can't say I love you, but you can say I love jelly beans.

I see how it is.

Fountain of Knowledge

A few days ago, Carter and I were sitting on the couch, watching the science channel (a favorite pass time at our house lately). He turned to me and asked, "are there things that you know that you haven't told me yet?" I though for a second, then told him "yes, there are probably things that I know that you don't, but you're still young and you've got lots of time." He considered this for a moment, settled back deeper into the couch and said, "ok, I'm ready. Tell me EVERYTHING you know - especially the stuff about science. Start with what you know about dinosaurs."

He laced his fingers behind his head, put his feet up on the couch and just waited. I told him the great thing about science is you get to discover your own knowledge and he gave me that look that says "nice try. Now start talking." Oh well. Kindergarten, here we come...