That was my friend, I miss him...

Earlier this week, we blew up a bunch of balloons to play with. All but one had been popped until tonight. Joshua was playing with the balloon and his toy pliars, he was trying to pop the balloon by pinching it with his plairs. The balloon popped and he moved on to another activity.

A bit later, he found a piece of the popped balloon, brought it to me with tears in his eyes, asking me if what he was holding was a piece of his balloon. I told him it was. He starts crying uncontrollably, red faced, huge tears, nose running..."He's popped! Why is he popped?" I reminded Joshua that he is the one that popped the balloon with his pliars. He said "I wanted it to be a party game, but it wasn't a party game. Don't throw the pieces away. I want to keep them." Then, he is crying even harder and his speech sounds like a car with a dead battery trying to start as he says "That was my friend. I miss him. He just liked floating around." And over and over again...as soon as I think he has calmed down, he says "He just liked floating around." He did this for a good solid 15 minutes, which is a long time to be crying over a balloon that he popped himself that I can't do anything about!

Some things I will never understand...

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

The Good:
Joshua's friend, Caitlin, invited him to a teddy bear picnic today at her church. Everyone brought a blanket to spread on the floor and their favorite bear and ate hotdogs and chips. Then, they made a flower and flower pot craft, decorated and ate a cookie, sang and danced. The hotdog, craft and cookie were big hits with Joshua; the singing and dancing, not so much. He didn't want to go onto the dance floor, he didn't want to shake a maraca, he didn't want to stand, he wanted to sit on my lap. He finally started moving around a little, found a basketball and a friend and then had fun. He and his friend took turns shooting hoops and chasing each other around the room. Caitlin, the great entertainer that she is, danced on stage with the teenage girls. Joshua then got his turn honking the bulb horn, and Oh Boy!, did he have fun then!

Next, we got Joshua's haircut. He did such a good job, I was very proud of him. He sat in the chair by himself, he didn't have to hold my hand, he talked to the lady, he smiled, he laughed, he let her use the blow dryer. After the haircut, he took her into the play area and showed her all the toys and how they worked. He has come along way from sitting on my lap, refusing to wear a cape and screaming the entire time.

It being Saturday, it was time for our weekly trip to McDonalds. If McDonalds knows one thing, it's how to market to kids. Gotta get those Happy Meal toys. I really can't complain too much though, Joshua will agree to almost anything if a Happy Meal is involved.

The promise and delivery of a Happy Meal is how we ended up at the mall next. Davey Jones pirate Happy Meal toy in hand, Joshua followed me through the entire women's clothing section and was rather agreeable. He "helped" me pick out some tops and told me I looked beautiful in all of them as I tried them on. We then went to his clothing department and, luckily, he can't read clothing sizes yet...so, ummm, none of the shirts that came with toys were his size.

After such a successful and pleasant shopping experience, we couldn't leave the mall without going to the children's play area. It was so crowded that I could barely find a place to stand. Joshua didn't care though. He ran...and ran fast. He had numerous near misses and one head-on collision, from which he just stood up and kept on running. I really think he is in training for a BCS game (notice that I didn't specify ACC or SEC, we'll have to wait and see). Anyway, Joshua played and ran the entire time we were there. He can now jump onto the whistle, the baseball, the basketball...still can't get on the soccer ball or goals, but he tried. He also talked to a few other kids! It doesn't seem all that long ago that he would drag me saying "Mommy, come with me..." or not play at all.

The Bad:
Just some minor irritations about the children's play area in the mall. 1) There is a size limit. If you can't fit through the little door, you shouldn't be playing there; 2) The mall and all the other parents are not babysitters. You are not supposed to leave your too tall children in the play area while you are shopping; 3) Parents, watch your own children. I saw a too tall boy climb on the top of the slide and scoot over until he was almost above the entrance. I also saw a little girl push another little girl off of the bat. The dad of the pushee did say something to the pusher but the pusher's parent was no where in sight...that I know of...if the parent was in sight, the parent sure didn't take action.

The Ugly:
In the play area, I also saw a girl and a boy almost come to blows. I thought it became a little heated for a couple of 5 or 6 year olds. Not sure who ran into who, but the next thing I know they are pushing each other back and forth...Luckily, the mom of the boy came to the rescue. The parent of the girl was no where in sight...she was probably the big sister of the pusher mentioned above.

Not sure why, but I find it hard to say something to children in these situations, especially when the child isn't mine. Would I have done something if the two kids did start hitting each other or would I have stood there looking around hoping one of their parents would notice? I know I wouldn't have told the pushee "excuse me, but that was not a nice thing to do" like the pushee's dad did if she had pushed Joshua. I've never told a strange child to stop, don't do that, that wasn't nice or anything else.


Anyway, after all we did today, Joshua was still willing to get a few things from the grocery store so I gave him 2 quarters for the sticker machine...He got a Spongebob and a Patrick sticker so today was the best day ever.

move over Batman and Superman, there are some new toons in town

Joshua has gone, dare I say it, Spongebob Squarepants crazy. We watch Spongebob numerous times per day. When given the choice between Batman, Max and Ruby, Scooby Doo and Spongebob, he now chooses Spongebob!

He has certain scenes from the cartoons memorized and has me recite them with him...I can't remember how they go so he has to tell me what to say. For those of you that watch Spongebob, the scenes are the one where Spongebob wants to know what is in Patrick's secret box and the one where Squidward has "some errands to run" and Spongebob is left to mind The Krabby Patty alone. I'll have to admit, I do pretty good Patrick and Squidward impressions, but my Spongebob needs some work.

As for "stuff", Joshua has a Spongebob lamp, Spongebob pajamas, a Spongebob t-shirt, 2 Spongebob dvds, the Easter Bunny brought him Spongebob bedsheets. He asked me where his Spongebob blanket was, I told him he didn't have a Spongebob blanket. He said "Oh, but we will..."

Happy Easter

This was Easter weekend, and it was a good weekend. Joshua learned the story of Easter in preschool. I'm not one-hundred percent positive that the Easter story is such a good story to be teaching 4 year olds. Joshua was full of questions and concerns of bad soldiers putting stickers on our heads and nails in our hands and feet. One day, he was lying under a chair telling me that it was a cave that the bad soldiers put him in...Anyway, at least he did learn the story...not sure if 3 months makes a big difference, but he seems to have learned more and understood more of the Story of Easter than of the Story of Christmas.

Friday, a couple of Joshua's friends came over to play, hunt Easter Eggs and eat. Due to a new baby sister, illnesses and vacations, only two of his friends made it this year...probably not a bad thing at all because Joshua still hasn't mastered the art of sharing his toys while at his house. It was beautiful weather so we spent the entire morning outside playing T-ball, collecting rocks, walking through the woods on an adventure hike and hunting Easter Eggs. Of course, the cupcakes and Easter candy were the highlights of the day.

The Easter Bunny did visit and brought Joshua an Easter basket with one chocolate bunny, Peeps, Life Savers, a football and a cowboy costume. Joshua has been playing cowboy for the past several weeks...don't spread it around but his cowboy name is Golden Pudding...ok, no idea where that came from but it makes me think of banana pudding every time he says it...Anyway, he has been wearing my old straw golf hat, his belt, and carrying a stick shaped like a rifle. Now, he has the real deal. He is so funny walking around saying "How you doin' yall?" and "Howdy partner."

It was another beautiful day weather-wise so Joshua and Scott worked at clearing some brush and trees out of the woods while I sat and pulled weeds out of the flower bed. We had a super yummy Easter dinner with Scott's parents (w00t! w00t! no cooking or cleaning at our house-great big thanks going out to Memaw).

Joshua the sweet talker

Today, Joshua was running through his myriad of nicknames for me...Mommy booger in your nose, Mommy poo poo on your head, Mommy pooper scooper, etc., and I went through my myriad of eww yuckies, eww no's and eww I don't want to be called thats. Lastly, he came up with Mommy pupa supa. And then he asked me "Mommy, what is a pupa supa?" I said I didn't know, he is the one that said it, and I asked him what pupa supa meant. He said, with a huge smile on his face, "It means funny and beautiful."

Joshua is packing

Joshua and I are going on vacation to Mexico, leaving April 2. My mom, her husband John, his daughter Rachael and her son Jake will be there. They will be staying for two weeks, the first in Cancun, the second in Playa del Carmen. Joshua and I will only be staying one week, half a week in each place. I think it will be a lot of fun once we get there...I am a little worried about the plane trip, I'm hoping Joshua will not get bored and restless.

While in Cancun, we are staying at The Royal Sands. At Playa del Carmen, we are staying at Paseo Del Sol. (if you click on the names, you should be able to see pics of the places) The hotel in Cancun has a lot of kid activities that I'm hoping Joshua will participate in a little. Maybe if Jake goes without complaining, Joshua will too.

Joshua is super excited about going to Mexico to visit his cousin Jake. I have tried to explain to him that the people in Mexico talk differently, kind of like Dora and Diego. He understands a little bit about languages because he has asked me "why do they talk funny?" when we have overheard Spanish speaking people. I also explained to him that Jake talks differently too....Jake and his family live in England...I explained to Joshua that Jake will talk kind of like The Wiggles as I didn't want Joshua to yell out "Mommy! Why does Jake talk funny?" This is a picture of Jake, he looks like a real cutie and I can't wait to meet him. Joshua keeps telling me that he doesn't know what his cousin Jake looks like, so I showed him this picture.

Last week, Joshua started packing for his trip...remember, the trip isn't until April 2, last week was the second week of March. He chose which toys and books he wanted to take and was asking for his suitcase. I convinced him to wait a while before packing them. Yesterday, we bought his swim trunks...Sears had some beautiful Land's End swim trunks that I wanted to buy, Joshua wanted the ones with sharks...we bought the ones with sharks.

Joshua is fascinated by sharks, he has shark shirts, shark books, shark puzzles, we watch shark videos on the computer. One of the things he really wants to do while we are in Mexico is see a shark. So, in an attempt to make my dear son's desire to see a shark come true, I asked him if he wanted to see a shark in an aquarium or in the ocean. He said he has seen a shark in an aquarium, he wants to see a shark in the ocean. I asked him if he would be scared to see a shark in the ocean, he said no! If he saw a shark fin in the ocean, he wouldn't go in the water! I, personally, don't want to see a shark fin in the ocean...maybe we will see a shark somewhere to make him happy.

Well, that's about it. Practically each time we get in the car to go somewhere, he asks if we are going to Mexico now. Weeks must pass as slowly as years for a four year old.

new things

I bought Joshua a couple of new short sleeve shirts adorned with, yes, you guessed it, Superheroes. He didn't see them until yesterday and he asked me where he got them from. I told him that I bought them for him. He was so sweet, he came up to me, gave me a huge hug and a kiss and said "Oh, thank you mommy! I love you."

Joshua needed new sneakers for the spring/summer so yesterday, we went shoe shopping. He chose a really nice pair that he insisted he have...they did have green on them so I gave in...green is his very favorite color. He had to carry his shoes, he held onto them in the car, I made him go look in 2 other shoe stores just in case and he wanted to carry them in. When we got home, he put them on and ran all afternoon. The new shoes made him run so much faster than his older shoes. He couldn't wait to go to school so his friends could see how fast he can run in his new shoes!

Last weekend I had a pedicure. A few days later, I had on socks and sneakers, Joshua asked me if I still had my pretty toes. We saw an older girl at the park the other day, she was probably 14 years old and there with her little sister. Joshua told me she had really pretty red toes.

Last night, I had my hair cut and colored. As soon as I walked in the door, Joshua said "Mommy! I like your new hair!"

fears

Joshua has developed fears. After mentioning this to my doctor, she told me that it is very common for children ages 4 through 7 to develop fears, real and imagined. She said that their imagination is going full swing (the imagined fears) and they are becoming more aware of the world around them (the real fears...car accidents, bad people, etc.)

Joshua's biggest fear, for the moment, is his fear of the dark. When he goes to bed, he has two nightlights, a lamp and his overhead light on. The few times I tried to sneak in and turn his overhead light off, he woke up during the night crying for me to turn it back on. I've tried to tell him that there is nothing to be afraid of, we have discussed what he is afraid of in the dark and all he says is he is just scared of the dark. Last week, Scott was sick with a nasty cold and I thought I would sleep on Joshua's top bunk....I didn't want to catch the cold and I don't sleep well on the couch. I told Joshua that I couldn't sleep with the overhead light on and if he woke up during the night and the light was off, it meant I was sleeping on the top. He woke up, he cried, he told me he didn't want me to sleep in his room, he wanted the light on....I moved to the couch.

He is a little afraid that someone is going to get him. He wants me to stick close to him at the park, he doesn't want to go into the 4 year old class at church, I now have to go into the bathroom stall with him instead of waiting outside the stall door, all because he is scared someone is going to grab him.

He is also having some loud noise issues...loud noises scare him. In public restrooms, he can't be in the stall when I flush, he has to go over to the sink and cover his ears. Kids playing too loud at the playground, he covers his ears. All he says is it is too loud and it scares him.

Luckily, none of these are too serious, they don't interrupt our daily lives.

I woke up old

Mentally, I've felt old for a while now...I guess ever since having Joshua. He is so hard to keep up with some days. He is rather line the Energizer Bunny that keeps going and going and going. He wakes up turn on high and goes to bed turned on high... I start out turned on low, move through medium, and get to high for just a limited time before I short out. Having kids does not make you feel younger.


Physically, age is catching up with me. They grey hairs do not bother me so much, I've had them for 20 years, I color them, no worries. I've just recently noticed the back of my hands are starting to look old and wrinkled. That was the first thing I noticed on my mom several years ago....for those of you who don't know my mom, she, too, is like the Energizer Bunny. She has been years younger than me for as long as I can remember, she can keep up with Joshua better than I can....anyway, one day, I noticed the back of her hands were starting to look a little wrinkled. It wasn't until that very moment that I actually started thinking that I am a grown woman. I may feel old, but I've never felt grown up like an adult.


This weekend, I woke up, looked in the mirror, and noticed those little wrinkles that one starts getting at the eyes....crows feet, who in the world came up with the term crows feet?! That same day, I went to Target and bought eye cream and night cream. I started carrying a tube of hand lotion in my purse a couple of months ago and keep applying it to my hands.


A few other things...I have 8 bottles of medicine and vitamins and one of those little plastic pill keepers so I can remember to take the right pills at the right times. I get AARP postcards in the mail. I listen to talk radio. I do not have a scrapbook, I have photo albums. Today's clothing styles, I remember them the first time they were popular in the 70's. Most of the music I own, the musicians are dead. I haven't bought a new cd in 18 years. I do not own an Ipod, mp3 player or satellite radio. I even remember a time before Wal-Mart.

a few annoying things about Joshua right now

Right now, Joshua has been crying for 5 minutes repeating over and over "I want different paper." He was trying to take paper out of the printer while the printer was printing. I told him he couldn't have that paper, he could have a piece of the other paper (the paper in the ream sitting right beside the printer). So, he took one of those pieces of paper and tore it in half....it wasn't the piece he wanted...he wanted "different paper...."


Another thing that is driving me crazy is the "just tell me." For instance, Joshua will ask me where something is, I'll help him look for it, we won't be able to find it, and he will ask me again where it is, I tell him I don't know where it is, he will say "just tell me....come on, just tell me...won't you just tell me..." You know, if I knew, I would tell him and he wouldn't have to say "just tell me..."

...now, he is standing here whining "give me a different piece of paper." He is standing between me and the paper. He can reach the paper from where he is standing, but he wants ME to get it for him. I know you are supposed to pick and choose your battles, but I also know that he can't always win, I have to win. This is a stupid little battle, but I am not giving in to him. If he wants the piece of paper, he can lift up his hand and get it...


And, it isn't just about paper, it's also about toys. He has cried for 5 minutes because I will not get him a toy when all he has to do is stoop down to pick it up and I have to walk all the way across the room. He is doing some sort of testing but it isn't working on me.

Just so you don't think that all I'm going to do is complain today, Joshua is pretty funny. Before lunch, he demanded milk...he held his cup up in the air and yelled "MILK!...GET ME MILK!" I said "what happened to 'may I please have milk?'" Joshua said "he is out sick today...."

a few observations about Superheroes

Joshua loves superheroes. He has superhero posters, comic books, DVDs, action figures, toothbrushes, costumes, shirts, shoes, underwear, socks....I think you get the picture. He loves superheroes. Now, I know the names of a few, I have watched Superman and Batman on TV and have seen them, along with Spiderman at the movies, but they really don't compare to the kids animated series. I say "kids" rather loosely because a few of the newer series are a little too violent and downright scary and, I don't think, are marketed to younger kids. But, the DVDs we've rented at Blockbuster are in the kid section and a little more kid friendly.

Superman-He is different from the other superheroes I know. We all know Superman came from Krypton and his nemisis is Lex Luthor. Superman came by his superhero status honestly, he was born with his powers. He is always Superman but has to disguise himself as Clark Kent. Lex Luthor is just rich, spoiled, and up to no good. Honestly, if it wasn't for Dean Cain and Tom Welling, Superman would hardly be worth mentioning.

Batman-This is Joshua's favorite superhero. Batman is really Bruce Wayne. His parents were killed when he was a child and he grew up to become Batman to rid Gotham City of evil-doers. Batman has no superpowers, he just has an abundance of money and must be pretty smart to invent all his gadgets. Batman has no one nemisis, the bad guys are numerous. Off all the Batman bad guys that I have encountered, they are all bad guys because they want to be-except for Clay Face and Dr. Freeze-they became bad guys after having "accidents." The Batman comics and animated series are entertaining. Batman has a sarcastic sense of humor that I enjoy.

Spiderman is probably the most popular superhero of the day. Peter Parker is basically a geek who was bitten by a radioactive spider and now has spider-like characteristics. The most interesting thing about the Spiderman bad guys are that none of them want to be bad guys, they all suffered some sort of accident, usually involving a large vat of radioactive waste. I am constantly amazed at the number of vats of radioactive waste found in the city. Anyway, these bad guys don't want to be bad guys, they get transformed into some sort of mutants and then have no other choice but to become bad guys, I guess nobody likes mutants. Spiderman is rather humorous and has witty things to say....even if he does mostly talk to himself.

Joshua never pretends to be Superman. Sometimes, he is Batman and I am Robin. Lately, he has been playing a lot of Spiderman and I get to be Mary Jane. My all time favorite superhero is BatMoto. The picture is 6 months old and the costume has evolved a little bit....the goggles are now red, the rainboots are too small so any shoes will now do and the gloves are now green gloves and not socks, but you get the idea. And, I don't have to pretend to be in trouble so much any more... BatMoto just gets the bad guys and always wins in the end.

chores and allowances

I've decided it is time to start giving Joshua some chores to do around the house and a weekly allowance.
In the past, Joshua has been really good at helping, loved to help. Now, not so much....he says he wants to play. I think he can help pick up his toys and put his clean laundry away. I have his clothes in drawers so that he can easily get them out, he has just never had to put them in.

I read where his allowance should equal $1 for each year, so that would be $4 per week. I thought that $4 a week sounded high for a 4 year old, but if I have him put $2 per week in his piggy bank, $2 per week to spend or save up doesn't sound so bad.

We talked about it yesterday and he thought that it sounded like a good idea. He was a little concerned over what kinds of jobs he was going to have to do, but once I told him, he was ok with it. We'll see how it goes.

The best part is, I get to go shopping for a chore chart!

potty...yaaawwwnnnnnnn...or sleep

For the most part, Joshua has been fully daytime potty trained for over a year. I think, since not this past, but the previous November, he has only had 3 daytime accidents. YAY! Nights are a completely different story. He probably gets up wet, on a good run, once or twice every two weeks.

Lately, he has been doing much better; however, he is getting up around 6am every morning. 6am is evidently time to go potty and it is just light enough outside to where he considers it morning time and doesn't want to go back to bed. So, if he is up, I have to get up. The mornings he sleeps in until 7:00, 7:30 or the rare 8:00, he gets up wet.

As much as I enjoy not having to give him a bath in the morning and wash bedding, I would really like to sleep until at least 7am. If he only had to potty at 5, he could go and then go back to bed...he may sleep in longer then. I even thought about covering his window so when he looks out, it looks like it is still night.

Oh well, one of these days, I will once again be able to sleep in and wake up on my own, without the aid of an alarm clock, child, dog, husband, telephone, someone knocking on the door, etc. Or, maybe I'll just start getting in bed by 10pm...

Dumb Boys

Well, not a lot happened this week. Scott and I have been working, Joshua went to school 3 mornings and played and talked and made a wreck of the house the rest of the time. He is starting to get a bit of a cold, I hope it passes quickly.

Today, the weather was beautiful. Joshua and I went to the park so he could play with someone other than me and I not have to play. Soccer season has started so the fields were full and so was the playground, which is the destination of choice for future soccer stars in between games and siblings of same.

Joshua was having fun climbing and sliding and watching the "older boys" as he likes to call any boy older than him. He is just fascinated by older boys. At times, I don't think he realizes he isn't an older boy and thinks he can do everything they do. He had reached the bottom of the slide but had not yet gotten out when, down came two "older boys" at the same time, on their stomaches, head first, arms straight out like Superman, and bam! they ran right into Joshua, bumping him out of the slide, onto the mulch, and he hit the slide with his head. It wasn't an on purpose thing, Joshua was moving too slow and the "older boys" were moving too fast, accidents happen. Joshua runs to me crying, sits on my lap, and wants to know why the boys pushed him. It was hard getting him to realize that it was an accident, I still don't think he understands because he kept asking why the boys were mean to him. But, he didn't want to leave, he wanted to stay and play.

Once again, Joshua was having fun climbing and sliding and watching a different group of older boys. He was climbing up a ladder and, next thing I know, he is running to me crying and sits on my lap. The two boys came over to see if he was ok and said they were sorry if he was hurt. I saw Joshua going up the ladder, I saw the two boys at the top of the play structure, I figured Joshua was going up, one of the boys didn't see him and started to go down and bam!, accidents happen. Once again, I have the task of getting him to realize it was an accident. So, here I am comforting Joshua and I can see the boys playing. Two were on top of the play structure again and a third was climbing up the ladder. One of the boys stuck his butt in the hole so that the friend climbing the ladder had to "head butt" him to get up. Suddenly I realize that is what happened to Joshua. I don't think the boy meant to stick his butt on Joshua's head, I think he meant to stick his butt on his friend's head, but it was Joshua on the ladder and not the friend. Joshua said "See! That's what he did to me! He hit me with his butt!" I asked Joshua if he wanted to leave but he wanted to stay and play.

Finally, all the older boys went to the "baby slides" so Joshua and all the other younger kids had the entire big play structure to themselves. He was funny though...he kept running over to tell me that he wasn't going to go to the baby slides, he was going to stay and play on the big boy slides, but then he would run over to the baby slides to see what the older boys were doing and then he would run over and report to me, "Mommy! Why he took his shoes off?", "Mommy! Why he hang upside down?", "Mommy! Why he hit me with his butt?", and on and on and on. I spent most of our time at the park trying to explain to Joshua that they were just older boys doing dumb older boy things.

"Mommy! Why older boys do dumb things?" How in the world do you explain to a 4 year old boy why older boys do dumb things? They are boys, they do dumb things. When you get to be 7 years old, you are gonna do dumb things too because you think they are funny. Heck! You do things now that are dumb and you think they are funny!

Anyway, we finally left the park, got ice cream, and had a wonderful day.