actual conversations with my 3yr old

little son: 'Will you be my friend?'
me: 'yes. i would love to be your friend. will you be my friend?'
little son: 'yes!'

we have this conversation about once a day
i'm guessing this is another new developmental milestone in a preschooler's life, but then again, i haven't gotten that far in the books.

what i am appreciating these days, is even after i feel like the world's worst mom, because i've lost my patience, or raised my voice at him, or i have to keep telling him no, or he's had another timeout...after all that, my son still wants to be my friend. he still loves me. and i still love him. even when parenting this strong willed child is destroying my emotional sanity and dragging my self worth thru the gutter.

***
other actual conversations with my son:

little son: 'Do you know the muffin man?'
me: 'the one who lives on drury lane?'
little son: 'YES!'
me: 'no'

***
little son: 'my milk is so good'
me: 'how come'
little son: 'cause it's chinese milk'

***
(i am lying with little son reading stories and he starts pulling at my hair)
me: 'what are you doing?'
little son: 'i'm looking for something'
me: 'what are you looking for?'
little son: 'grey hair'
me: 'WHAT?! where did you hear that?! mommy doesn't have grey hair, it's brown, see look'
little son: 'no it's grey'

my favorite post ever

seriously, people can tell you the purpose of a smart phone is to help you stay connected, become more efficient, get work done so you can have more family time, convenience, blah blah blah.

the reason to have a smart phone
is to keep your toddler occupied WHENEVER NEEDED

case in point, i know i've used my phone to text, call, take photos and use the internets, but i have used 'moustache king' more than all of them combined (*okay exaggeration but really, pics don't lie)

['classic']

['whale tale']

['zorro']

['peanut']

['brush']

['handlebar']

['kung fu']

['Sherrif']

['cowboy']

['pencil']

['more peanuts']

['saloon']

['bowtie']

['the king']

i am cracking up. these are only half of what are on my phone. little son is the artist behind the photos and staches. he may grow up to be a barber.

party protocol

dudes i need some help
i just had another 'first' in my life as a mother
and i'm kind of freaking out

judah got an invitation to a birthday party
from a mom i don't know!
is it possible for my kid to really have a friend at this age?
the whole class is not invited
which means my son made the cut
really?
how did that happen?
because according to his teachers, he takes other kids toys
is this normal?
have i mentioned i am rsvp'ing for this party and they have no idea who i am?

so i took him to this party
where i knew NO ONE
and we walked in, just the two of us (husband and smasher were at home)
and suddenly my jr. high girl resurfaces and i'm thinking
what am i doing here at this party?
i don't know anyone
will anyone talk to me?
will anyone play with little son?
am i wearing the right clothes and how's my hair look?

but really, do they all know each other?
have their kids gone to school together for years?

but kids are like pets
great ice breakers and conversation starters
especially when it's your kid that falls off the bounce slide in the first 5 minutes and face plants on the floor
because then everyone is so kind to us and making sure we're okay
and suddenly i have a way to talk to people!

and we have pizza
and he bounces and slides around
and then there's cake
and i've had some great conversations with some moms
and then, just like i've read in my recent preschool parenting books
the topic of 'playdates' comes up
and it's like i'm speaking a different language...i'm at a loss for words
because just like birthday parties for kids who I don't know...
how do you do playdates with people who you don't know?
are our kids really that social and want to hang out together?
there's no way i'm letting my kid over to their house alone
i barely know you people
so how does it work?
do you come over here?
do we meet at a park?
do i take them home with me from preschool and you meet us later for dinner?

seriously little son, stop growing up

(c)HI town, nice to see you

hello chicago
homeland of my husband
what a great visit we had with friends and family
the weather was so nice (always a plus for this california wimp)
the people even nicer
and the boys got a chance to hang out with their cousins

and while it's always great to say hi to chi
it's even better to say hello to home

photos of the phun:

[cousins! ps this was the start of little son NEVER smiling in photos without a bribe for treats or threat of timeouts]

[isn't my son so pretty? he needed a nap and the only sleep sack we had was cousin violets. pretty pink passie too.]

[husband = working out]

[time with mor mor. - side note grandpa nyquist's name is 'Bapoo' (don't ask me why) but my sister emailed and asked if we were having a great time with mor mor and 'Bo-peep' and i almost wet my pants]

[this is my favorite place in northpark, tre kroner. a swedish breakfast, brunch, lunch place where the coffee is strong and their quiches are homemade. it's like the local swedish 'watering-hole' of the neighborhood. i was a 'local' after going three days in a row]

[again no smiles from little son but cuz drew and the gorilla were having a blast]

[our future leaders]
[crazy to see them grow year after year]

twitter

oh my gosh
late to the party
but not too late to enjoy the party

i love twitter
it's become my headline news for the day
my own version of an rss feed
my comic relief
my current events ticker
please, don't bother following me
i have nothing to say
but everything to read

i mean where else could i find the best blog post on being a mom (seriously i was crying i was laughing so hard)
and who else is going to make me laugh every day with stories of his 'rude' 7 month old. (he tweets what i think about my 7 month old!)
and get sound bites of the state of the union without having to watch it (i also read thru sound bites of the golden globes and saved myself the 3 hours).

thank you twitter.
you are a time saver
and a time sucker
but let's focus on the positives

tweetly-deet

ps - before you start attacking me for liking twitter=social media, may i point out that twitter is totally different than facebook. but really it is.

want to know why i didn't blog this week...

because any free time i had was put into finishing THIS BOOK


truthfully, for someone who likes to be an original, i have average taste
cause seriously if it's available at costco, i kind of don't want to read it
which is lame, i know. since i have read those books at costco...because my mom buys them and i steal them from her to read! but i feel like i should be reading the classics, the new yorker, or poetry, or something super smart rather than 'the girl with the dragon tattoo' (haven't read this one either).

anyways, let's get to the important topics
i forfeited sleep to read this story
my sister was explaining it to me and the whole concept of people killing each other sounded so barbaric, i was disgusted. but i read the first chapter and was hooked. so phewph, i'm done so now i can finally sleep.

other important topics in our house this week included:
this book
who will read this book next
there are two more books in this series and i'm too scared to start them because i need sleep.

oh and i have kids
that's right

one got ice cream and then helped wash his dish:

the other one started solid foods, or mushy foods, or whatever you want to call it. watery cereal. he luffs it. mmmm plastic spoon.

The bittersweetness of working from home

do you see this photo?
do you see how i am surrounded by my work necessities (lap top, smart phone, notes)
and surrounded by the baby necessities (book, passie, exersaucer)

some people may not be able to handle this
but moms
Moms are amazing multi taskers