Happy Neew Yeearss!

This time last year I was with some friends celebrating New Years Eve on a much needed night out. I ended up bringing in 2011 in the bar bathroom after all those drinks kicked in. It wasn't by any means glamorous, but definitely memorable :). This year I'm bringing in 2012 with a bottle of wine on the couch with my Mom, listening to my 3 year old snore from the back bedroom, and watching Jaws on tv. All is right with the world. Don't worry, I'm not going to get all sentimental and reminisce about the past year. But I am thankful this year is over.  And I'm thankful to whoever decides to voluntarily read this blog! I love to share my experiences and stories about Kenny, and it's nice to know there are people who like to read it! Thank you guys so much! I hope I have lots to share with you in 2012! Have a safe and happy new year everyone!!

You Know You're an Adult When...

You get mucus relief pills and a bottle of Zyrtec in your stocking Christmas morning and you are ecstatic. I can't remember for certain but I'm pretty sure there was a happy dance involved. I don't remember at what age I started asking for practical gifts like a blender or something boring like that but this year I did good to even think of something to ask for. I mean for crying out loud, my Mother was asking what I wanted and it took me 30 minutes to write a Facebook message with " a hair dryer" in it. When the only thing you can think of that you actually WANT is a hair dryer, you've reached adulthood.

Kenny on the other hand knew exactly what he wanted for months and made sure he told me whenever he had the chance. Like everyday. I heard " Mommy can I have a skateboard?", or "Mommy can we go to the store and buy me a skateboard and a helmet so I don't break my head?" I had to explain to him each and every time that he had to wait till Christmas. And each and every time he hung his little head like he was just told the end of the world was coming. So when Christmas morning came and he finally unwrapped his skateboard, the look on his face was worth more then any present anyone could ever give me. Even the Zyrtec. I may not get alot of gifts like I did as a kid, but you know you're an adult when it doesn't matter.

 I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!!

Be Patient Mommy!

I naively set out this evening with every intent of creating one of those special holiday moments in the hope that Kenny would be so overcome with joy that he'd remember it for years to come. We ended up bailing on this glorious idea an hour after setting off.

I kept hearing about this holiday light thing at a local recreational park. It sounded really amazing and their events usually aren't that expensive. Seeing how I'm all about doing things that are cheap we headed out after dinner to see what it was all about. I was more excited then Kenny but after making such a big deal about it his enthusiasm started to climb. MY enthusiasm quickly left after turning onto the road which would take us to the park. It should take you about 5 minutes from this road to get there since it's only a couple of miles ahead. Almost immediately I hit traffic. Not just traffic, but traffic that wasn't moving. Bumper to bumper traffic that wasn't moving and we were no where near the park. But I keep talking to Kenny about being patient so I decided to be a trooper about it and make it there come hell or high water. After 30 minutes of moving less then a quarter of a mile ( or something like that), I started to reassess things. I told Kenny that " we may not make it there because of the traffic." and I got this reply, " Remember how we talked about being patient? That means we need to be patient in the car....it's not a big deal." So I was basically put in my place by my 3 year old son who has about as much patient skills of any 3 year old...0 to none. So I gave it one last chance, but after getting nowhere in an hours time I was done. Thankfully when I told Kenny he just said he " really REALLY wants to go home." Apparently he was all done too.

 I think I'll stick to creating special holiday moments with the kid at home. It's free and I don't have to wait in line for anything. And hopefully there I won't get a lesson on how to be patient from someone who thinks it's funny to announce to me that " he pooted". Boys. Sheesh.

A Somewhat Christmas Related Story...

Most of us should know of that movie A Christmas Story. Alot of us can't wait for the 24 hour marathon of it, and hearing over and over again how Ralphie will shoot his eye out. I loved watching this movie growing up and I still love it today. The perspective has changed slightly though. Like that scene at the dinner table when Randy won't eat his food....

(This version is unnecessarily long just fyi...)

I never understood how any parent in their right mind would let their kid eat their mashed potatoes like that. ENCOURAGE them to for that matter. I remember thinking how my kid would never do that and would act like a civilized adult at the table and eat their food the right way. Then I had Kenny and my perspective changed. I have begged, bribed and made those stupid airplane noises all in the attempt to get Kenny to eat. Every night is a challenge. I'm not sure why though. Because let's be honest....they're not going to starve. We act like they will though, and convince ourselves that we will be a better parent if we just get one more bite shoved in their mouth. We feel victorious when the vegetables are behind closed lips as if the fate of the world hung on whether or not those stupid green beans made it in. I try really hard not to make a big deal about it. But when I gave Kenny some mashed potatoes today and he started pouting and hitting it with his spoon all I could think of was Randy. He said he was " making a race track" and kept dragging the spoon across the mashed pototoes and then picking up a miniscule amount to eat. Drove. Me. Nuts.  And then it hit me....Randy's mother encouraged him to eat his mashed potatoes like a little piggy out of pure desperation. She just wanted to see him eat! I've never been that desperate, but I can relate. I still did not encourage Kenny to snort and smush his face in his plate today, and pray to God I never reach that point. But I did remind him that we were supposed to get a Christmas tree this afternoon. Some may call that bribery. I like to think of it as motivation. We all have our methods...to each his own right? :)

Yoda's in Heaven?

It only seems right to share my conversation with Kenny tonight given my last post...

" Kenny, what are we celebrating soon?" * points to half unpacked box of Christmas stuff*

" CHRISTMAS!!"

" And whose birthday is it on Christmas?"

"Uhh...I dunno."

" He lives in Heaven.....do you remember who lives in Heaven?"

" I DO!"

" Umm..no. Not for a long time I hope! Who else?"

" Yoda!"

It was kind of hard to continue with our conversation after that. I was laughing too hard at the thought of this living in Heaven..

Kenny of course meant this Yoda, who died earlier in the year...

So technically Kenny was right I guess, since I had told him Yoda the Cat went to live in Heaven. After he wholeheartedly discussed how Yoda has wings in Heaven I managed to slip in what I had tried to tell him before bursting into laughter. I certainly can't complain that there's a lack of entertainment in the house...

Boys Will Be Boys...

I tried to have a meaningful talk with Kenny the other night about Christmas and how it's Jesus's birthday. Ever since he started talking about Christmas this year I would try and sneak in little tidbits of the real reason for the season. Which is hard because well....he's three and will only concentrate for so long on a subject. But I try and keep it short and he generally will ask questions or at the very least seem interested. And sometimes he'll bring up things, especially after church on Sunday's. He has a great Sunday school class  and he's always coming home with little things they made that are relative to a verse they learned that day. So when he came out with a cow made out of a paper plate, I was curious as to what they had talked about. He didn't really give me much at the time I asked. Something about a cow and Jesus. I was trying to remember all the bible stories I had learned as a child and still couldn't come up with one about Jesus and a cow. Doesn't mean there isn't one but at the time I couldn't think of it! And given his mood I didn't feel like pressing the subject. That night he brought the cow into his room as we were getting ready for bed. He had lost one of  his wiggly eyes and was looking quite pitiful. Then, in a moment of clarity, I finally realized that his teachers were probably talking about all the different animals that were there when Jesus was born. Since it's almost Christmas and all that would make sense wouldn't it? So I asked " Kenny, were there so many animals there on Jesus's birthday? Like a cow?"
I fully expected him to start rattling off all these different kinds of animals, but instead I got a very enthusiastic " MOO!" After I laughed at him I tried again.." Did you know that Jesus was born in a barn Kenny? Is that why the cow was there?" "MOOO!"
I think I asked 2 more questions hoping he would eventually run out of moo's....he didn't. Oh well, boys will be boys. And I'm sure I'll have plenty more opportunities to talk about things like that with him...hopefully without any other animal sounds. Who knows though, because he's kind of like a one boy circus act. I think I'd rather him moo at me then drink from the dog's water dish though, which he was totally caught doing this week. Why? Because he was a dog and he got thirsty. Naturally.