He may have a knot and a bruise, but he's still Superman!

Tara Beth's and Baz's latest obsession is with super heroes. They love to run around after bath time wearing their hooded towels as capes. I bought a pair of Superman Pajamas for Baz, but apparently that was a bad decision. Last night I came into Tara Beth's room after hearing someone's cries. It turns out that a two year-old Superman can't fly after all!! Baz thought it would be a good idea to fly off the top of a rubber made container with the hopes of landing safely and softly on his toddler bed; however, sometimes things don't go as planned. He miscalculated his trajectory and hit his head on the bookcase. Superman now has a bruise, knot and a scratch on his forehead. At least he is able to protect his pride because his bangs cover his wounds!!

Here are some lessons that I learned from this experience: 1. put away all rubber made containers. 2. teething fish from the freezer make great ice packs. 3. it doesn't matter if you crash land and get a huge gash in your head, as longs as you pull down your bangs, straighten your cape and get up to fly again!!!

Not in the grass!

Over the weekend, my daughter went shopping with her BE and bought a new pair of running shoes. She was so excited to have running shoes just like mommy. I reminded her that the new shoes were to help her run fast on the soccer field. Yesterday after nap time, I told Tara Beth that she could wear her new shoes to practice soccer. She was extremely excited until I mentioned going outside to kick the ball. Tara Beth became tearful and said "Mama, no, not outside in the grass!". She was terrified of getting dirt or grass stains on her new running shoes. After calming her down, I explained that we could wash the shoes in the washing machine just like Mommy washes her shoes when they are dirty.

Well, my little soccer team and I proceeded outside and I set up the goal made of a sturdy cardboard box. We each had our own ball to kick around for a while. Baz was interested in the game for about 2 minutes, until he decided to climb on his daddy's tractor. Tara Beth's interest lasted a little longer, until I told her that she could not use her hands. She then became frustrated and decided that riding a princess bike was more fun.

So much for our first soccer experience. Maybe things will improve after our first team practice on Tuesday! Yeah right!?!

Sign of trouble to come?!

Today it finally happened. I received the dreaded "he's been naughty" report at school. Apparently until today, Baz managed to fool everyone at his daycare into thinking he was the perfectly behaved child. Mama and Daddy have known the real truth for a long time, so I really wasn't surprised when his teacher asked me if Baz has been misbehaving at home lately. She said that during the last few days, he has decided that he doesn't have to do things that his teachers ask. Baz seems to believe that he can get his way if he whines or blinks his big brown eyes and pouts. Maybe he is hitting the terrible twos. Even though I expected this day to come, it doesn't make it any easier to know that my baby boy is misbehaving at school. I can't help but feel that it is a poor reflection of his parents. Then on the other hand, it sounds like we may be in for a long sixteen to eighteen years if he acts like his daddy did growing-up!!! His mama was a little angel, though, so maybe there is some hope.

Only time will tell.

OJ Simpson in Goodwill?!

Yesterday morning I was too lazy to get up and run before work, so I was punished by running in the 100 degree heat at 4PM! Today, I was a little wiser and energetically awoke at 5:20AM to run in the "cooler" humidity. As I run, I am always aware, watching and listening for anything unusual, scary or maybe even funny. This morning I encountered all three. The unusual thing I found on my return trip was a big, black glove laying on the side of the road. The scary thing is that is wasn't there on my run out. I just tell myself that it was there and I didn't see it b/c I can't really imagine a one-armed man hanging out in the woods on my road and throwing down a glove just to freak me out! The funny thing is the thought that crossed my mind - what is OJ Simpson's bloody glove doing in Goodwill!?! Who would've thought?!

Under normal conditions, I am a pretty rational person, but in the pre-dawn hours, the scariness and humor in things are greatly distorted! If you don't find this funny, maybe only a runner who also has a collection of roadside treasures can understand!

Talk about breaking my heart!

Last weekend before bedtime I tried to prepare the children for the upcoming changes in our schedule as I headed back to work after summer break. I told them that we would all be going to bed earlier b/c we had to get up so they could go to daycare and mommy could go to work. Surprisingly, Tara was only concerned about wearing her princess outfits to school, but Baz, on the other hand, brought me to tears. He said "Mama, you not work. Daddy work!". It is amazing how a 2 year-old's words can be so piercing. This is the first summer that I haven't looked forward to going back to work.

I know things will be easier in a couple of weeks after we get back into a routine, but I don't think I'll ever forget how I felt hearing those words from Baz as I looked into his big brown eyes!

Somewhere in Arkansas

The following story is true, with no fabrications: I am writing this blog as I sit in the parking lot at some former roadside attraction with bar-b-q and old train cars that you can rent as
"cabins" for the night! Lee is shopping in the souvenir shop while I sit in the car with the children so they can "finish out" their naps before we take a scenic horseback trail ride over looking the Lake Ouachita. Vacation sure is different with toddlers, especially in Arkansas.

Funny Kids!

My two children have some very interesting conversations in the backseat as we travel down the road. Sometimes I have to try really hard to keep from running off the road because I laugh so hard. The following is an excerpt from two of their common heated discussions:

Baz - Daddy is at work. Tara - No, Daddy is working. Baz- No, Daddy is at work. Tara - No, daddy is working! Etc., Etc. Etc. They greatly disagree on the concept of "at work" and "working"!!

Baz - Mama Tara- No, her name is mommy. Baz - No, her name is mama. Tara - No, her name is mommy! Etc., Etc., Etc. Nothing like the old debate - is it mama or mommy?


Last week after a fun day of swimming in a large in-the-ground pool with a slide and diving board, Tara told me that "when her pool grew up, it was going to have a big slide like Aunt Nel's pool!" Tara's pool at home is small and plastic with a tiny slide attached. I thought that was sweet because she is always talking about what she will do when she "gets big!"