A few weeks ago, my son rediscovered how to roll from his tummy to his back and right back over again. Diaper changes have once again become wrestling matches. I continually have to move toys, furniture, and cats in order to make room for my son. And I can't leave him on his changing table for even 10 seconds because it takes much less time for him to get on his tummy...and back again.
But the other day I did something really stupid.
Hi! My name is Christian. That's me in the picture. Everyone says I look like my daddy, so everyone must think he's pretty cute too. I turned seven months old yesterday. I'm a big boy now! My mommy, Dawn, is a writer for Mommage. (She rocks!) Since Father's Day is coming, I asked her if I could write a posting about my daddy for this week. She told me that it was okay. (I told you she rocks!)
So Earth Day is BIG doings in my house.
I find the whole history of Earth Day to be fascinating. In September 1969 U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson spoke at a conference where he announced that April 22, 1970 would be the first nationwide protest to showcase environmental issues. And it sort of snowballed from there. Today we see huge open-air concerts, attended by millions, across the globe in order to promote environmental awareness. Going green, as Paris Hilton would say, is HOT.
I am not sure what they are teaching about the environment in the public school system today, but it's caused my son to become a raging environmentalist.... it's like living with Al Gore. Without the beard.
Is it healthy for children to idolize celebrities? And do celebrities deserve to
be worshiped as role models and heroes? Well, here's one that does. With so many kids being disappointed and disenchanted by the people they look up to, particularly in sports and entertainment, it's nice to know there are some idols who try to set a good example, not because they have to, but because they genuinely care about their fans. I know you think I'm merely impassioned, but the fact is I have read many stories similar to that of 10-year old Colin's experience with his favorite idol, and mine.
If your child has a hero or someone they look up to as a role model, here are some tips on how to talk to them about their expectations and disappointments:
Men can see your BRA. Yep. That's what the kiddo hissed at me while we were at breakfast one morning in Philadelphia. I was amused (mostly because it wasn't my bra ~ I had on a shirt with 2 layers and the lower layer was peaking out).
I guess it happens when you're a single mom. My friend Tracy says the same thing too....at some point your son becomes your father. Good thing I haven't started dating again. I can't imagine what it would be like to hear my son admonish my date to make sure he has me back by 11.
It's amazing how fast they grow up.
A fine holiday was had by all yesterday. Gifts were well-received and appreciated and we spent the afternoon watching Pirates of Caribbean and noshing on the most delightful ham sandwiches ever made and Christmas cookies. All Tuesdays should be that much fun.
My son had THE remark of the holiday ~ you know the one I'm talking about. The one that's repeated year in and year out after it's made with tears of laughter pouring out of your eyes. The kind of comment that lives on in holiday legend.
Sometimes kids surprise you. At least mine surprised me a few times this long holiday weekend. They were good surprises too ~ my son demonstrated glimpses of maturity that I didn't expect. After all, he is 13, which means sometimes he acts like he's 5 and other times like he's 40.
Alien abduction? Some kind of mind-altering rays? Has the CIA implanted something in his head? It was significant enough for me to wonder aloud at times, who are you and what have you done with my son?
Let me begin by telling you that it is REALLY okay to laugh at my expense. Goodness knows I've been doing it all morning. My Thanksgiving pecan pie is in the oven after a rather rocky start. (Forty-three minutes to cook.... and wow does it smell yummy already.)
My 13 year old son helped me make it. In addition to being very handy with tools, he's got some good cooking chops. He chopped the pecans and we mixed up a batter of eggs, butter, brown sugar, dark corn syrup, and vanilla. Finally the "batter" was all put together and I sent him to the computer to check the recipe and he essentially turned off the computer. I was fiddling with it to bring it back to life (he logged in as the wrong user, then it powered it off, blah blah blah).
So I was distracted. Which is what might prove to be the downfall of this pecan pie.
Time to pack up the goodies and ship 'em with the kids to school for partes. Halloween parties, birthday parties ~ the list goes on and on.
My dear friend (and former Mommage Mom) Nichole has a little bit of a problem with these parties, namely that two sons are allergic to chocolate. She filled out this information on her sons' registration papers and took the extra step of speaking to her sons' teachers ~ informing them of the allergy. The children in the class use chocolate chips as "counters" and Nichole informed the teacher of the allergy the first day of school.
Sounds like she covered all her bases right? Then why did her 4 year old, Zack, have such trouble when he refused to eat the chocolate cupccake served at a birthday party yesterday? Why did the teacher tell him to "be quiet and eat his snack" when the child protested?
What a weekend in my household!
There was a little incident at after school care with the kiddo on Friday. Apparently he got into a fight. I was absolutely shocked. (And even more shocked that my son made the other kid cry 'uncle'.) My son is 13 years old and while having a mouth on him that could melt the varnish off wood, I have NEVER known him to get physical with another child. But he did on Friday. It sounded vaguely like a fight you'd see at a hockey game. Kiddo dropped what he was holding and grabbed the other child, putting him in a headlock.
He was defending my honor.
