November's end

I am thankful that Dennis was fine today, eating like a champ, running and playing at school. His eyes looked tired and a bit red, and he was a trifle quiet, I think. Those who know him well asked if he'd been sick or if he was feeling okay. But he really was fine, he kept insisting, so we treated him as such!

We filled in the last pocket of the Thankful Tree tonight, with Dennis saying he was thankful for "my school, my family, my cousins, and my school friends." He asked where pockets 31 and 32 were. I explained that we were now finished with the tree, and tomorrow we'll start the Advent calendar. He's already been using his Santa counter to count down the days until Christmas, turning the blocks each morning at breakfast and today happily informing me "there are 25 days til Christmas, that means tomorrow it will be 24 days." And "what if there were twenty-hundred days until Christmas? That's way too long!!". I agree! We are noticing the Christmas lights going up all over town, and he's delighted to point out new ones each evening. It's the best time of year!

little sickie

We were getting ready for school when a sad little man wrapped himself around my legs and whined "I don't feel good, Mommy; my tummy hurts." This was immediately followed by him running to the bathroom and throwing up a couple of times. Then he said he felt better. Gran came over to watch him so I could go teach my class, and he mostly just dozed on the couch while she was here. He never threw up again, but he had bouts of pitifulness for the rest of the day. He has been able to eat just fine, thank goodness. Tonight he told me he was thankful for me. So sweet.

He was delighted that we all watched Christmas shows together tonight, snuggled up on the couch, enjoying the Grinch and some classic Mickey and Donald Christmas cartoons. His little eyes are red and he is exhausted, and he's climbed into our bed to sleep (a sickie tradition). I hope he's better in the morning.

Something I forgot to mention happened yesterday. He knew we were going to Walmart after school, so I saw him loading his pockets with some change from his piggy bank. I asked him what he was doing, and he said "getting money for when we go to Walmart." I wondered what he was planning to purchase. And then, before I asked him just that, he said "it's to put in that red bucket for the people that need money for Christmas." Sure enough, later when we arrived at Walmart, he reached in his pocket and dug out his change and put it all in the bucket. I'm humbled by his generous spirit, awed at his thoughtfulness. What a blessing he is!

taekwondo buddies

Ellen and Chloe and Ian came to visit us this afternoon! We had an awesome time, so awesome that it's turned into a spend-the-night party! We happened to remember that it's Bring A Buddy Week at Dennis' taekwondo class, so Chloe put on Michael's old karate uniform and Dennis' white belt and joined him in class. Dennis is often the only one in his class, so it was nice for him to have someone else in class with him. And Chloe has some incredibly high kicking power! They had their moments of silliness, of course, but were mostly very good. We took them out to McDonald's afterward and came home for more playtime for them (and baby snuggle time for me--Ian is a total cutie!). They got along wonderfully today, happily destroying and then cleaning up Dennis' room. And they actually played enough to go on to sleep instead of staying up giggling half the night.

Tonight he told me he was thankful for Chloe. I'm thankful for a day of catch-up time with our best friends!

Advent ninja

We didn't make it to church this morning, this first Sunday of Advent. Neither Dennis or I were up for it. It was rainy and cold and we were sniffly and exhausted. We snuggled in, took naps, and spent a lazy day at home. We lit the first candle in our Advent wreath tonight at dinner and talked about the hopes for the coming of the Savior, about the meaning of the season, the prophecy of His coming.

Dennis treated us to a ninja demo tonight, dressed in dump truck pajamas, a camouflage ninja head covering/eye mask, and boots: one brown cowboy boot and one black spider rainboot. He did some rapid spins and martial arts moves before running off to his next project. Just about bedtime, he told me "I need to shake my body now!". He put on his reindeer slippers, his superman ball cap, his batman sunglasses, some strands of Mardi Gras beads, and several rubber wrist bands. He told me to play "Rock Your Body" on my iPhone and set it on his ottomans. He danced and danced, some breakdancing, even, and indeed shook the heck out of his body for over 10 minutes. And then he had trouble getting to sleep. Tomorrow morning I'll have to peel him out of bed!

Tonight he is thankful for "every firefighter in the whole universe."

grooming revelation

I was trimming Dennis' nails tonight when I noticed that he'd been biting them. I asked him why he'd done that, and he replied "because I needed something else to eat, so I ate my fingernails." May I just say "YUCK!". I guess there are just so many Thanksgiving leftovers a person can eat.

Tonight he's thankful for Santa and for penguins. I'm thankful that we had a day together, just the three of us. We worked around the house, David building the framework for our fireplace, Dennis and me putting up Christmas decorations, Lemonade and Tabasco hanging out and keeping us company. Great day!

bargains!

No, we don't do Black Friday. I have never liked Christmas shopping in crowds and years ago began avoiding malls after Thanksgiving rolled around. And I really don't care to observe humanity at its worst at the beginning of what should be the most joyous time of the year. But I was offered a nice bargain today. Dennis told me "if you can go all day without yelling at me, I promise to clean my room tonight." I mentioned how rarely it is that I actually yell, and he clarified "I mean if you can go all day and not get mad at me." I think he was attempting to make the deal with both of us. I don't remember yelling at him, but I did ask him to sit down and finish his meal about 85 times (over the course of three meals). He was so wiggly and squirmy today! I overheard him trying to rush Granny this morning, demanding to know "why aren't you outside playing with me yet???" as she was getting ready. Oh the drama! He was either whining at me or kissing me all day long, and I'm hoping a good night's sleep will reconstruct the less whiny persona we've been working so hard to cultivate. And I hope it banishes my grouchies as well!

so very thankful

Another wonderful holiday shared with family and friends! We are so very blessed. As a matter of fact, I was delighted when Dennis said to me "when it's my birthday, I have a secret wish. I'm going to wish that my family will be all around me." Heartwarming, isn't it?

He woke up and said "this is a very special day: I love Thanksgiving!". He gave me a sweet hug and kiss and kept me company while I was cleaning house. He later dressed as Spiderman and asked if he could play outside. I told him he could, and when I happened to glance out the kitchen window, I saw Spiderman's head pop up over the top of my car, and suddenly Spiderman was all the way on top of my car. I watched him carefully climb back down, pull off his mask, and grin hugely. He ran in to tell me "you'll never guess what trick I can do!". I told him I'd seen him, and I told him his Daddy would be home soon and not to let Daddy catch him on top of the car. He agreed that this was wise. Of course we told Daddy about it later, but it would have given him a great shock to have seen it!

In honor of today's specialness, he added a clip-on tie to the front of his long-sleeved and hooded t-shirt. The colors weren't even remotely compatible. He was very proud of his high fashion look, and he received lots of compliments on his tie. It was almost as much fun as taking Flash Gordon to Walmart earlier this week (in red cape and mask). I love his creativity and individuality and try to encourage it wherever I can! How many other kids (age 4) ask for a zip line for Christmas?!

the supervisor strikes again

Procrastinator that I am, I didn't start work on cleaning my house until today. Company is coming tomorrow. Tomorrow I will be scrambling to finish, as I ran out of energy at 1:00 (that's AM). Dennis would periodically come by and survey my work and make helpful comments, as in "it's looking so much better in here, Mom. But there's still a bunch of stuff over there that needs cleaning." Yes, I know. Our house has been under construction for a year now with the front room remodel, and we've been so busy working on the outside that the inside has been majorly neglected. Dennis' room is the biggest job I have to work on tomorrow. He's promised to help clean the den (his mess, mostly) if I help clean his room (which is ALL his mess). Luckily our family meal isn't until afternoon! I should be finished bulldozing by then.

almost pitiful

Sad faced, head hung low, Dennis said "no one wants to tuck me in." He walked away sadly, bound for his bed. I followed him, of course, after waiting the usual 5 seconds to see if David was going to get up and do it. David, as usual, waited for me to make the first move and then got up also and said "I was going in there." We do this same dance very often. It isn't that I didn't want to tuck him in. I love to tuck him in. I did it this afternoon, twice, when it was time for his nap. I got him out of bed this morning. I read him bedtime stories tonight in my bed. I have been with him all day long. Again, I love to tuck him in. But I worked hard all day today, and I'm tired, and I didn't jump up as quickly as I should have, didn't rush to seize the opportunity to tuck him in as I should have. I know these days pass quickly. I will never regret tucking him in, only not doing so. And, I only waited a few seconds before I went in to tuck him in, enjoying the reward of his sweet hug and kiss. He said "you were only kidding when you weren't going to tuck me in, right?". I said "I'm tucking you in, aren't I?". He said "aren't is not a word--you're supposed to say 'an't I' (and no, he did not say 'ain't', which I HATE)". I said "no, it's 'aren't', I promise." He asked "Aren't I cute?". I told him he was, and that was the correct way to ask. He was proud.

witty Dennis

This morning, he pounced on our bed, somewhat later than usual, and announced "I've decided to switch to a Sleep Number bed." When asked why, he said "I just sink into my mattress!". Yes, all 42 pounds of him, I'm sure. At CVS, he picked up the Gyro Bowl he's just been dying to own and upon careful examination of the package, said "Mom! It's dishwasher safe!". Amazing! Later, I was recounting these things to his Daddy, even remembering when he held up the Pajama Jeans in Walmart and said "Mom--you need these. You'll LIVE in them!". He said to us both then "I don't like regular, normal commercials. I only like info-commercials." We can certainly tell.

He was wonderful at Taekwondo, obeying his instructor and doing some incredible kicks! He's really getting good at it. He'll test for his next belt in January. Afterward, we did some shopping, and though I'd told him he could pick out a little something, he elected to wait until we go to Prattville next and get a toy Rescue Hero (they don't sell them around here). Nice that he can delay gratification at age 4. We stopped at McDonald's for supper (Dennis' choice), and he ended up taking some food in the car with us after we finished (he is a pretty slow eater). He complained to us "Hey, I can't eat in the dark.... (long pause) .... or CAN I?". He's got excellent comic timing, I'll give him that.

Just now, as he was supposed to be brushing his teeth, he was stalking David in the hallway with his "spray eliminator", his "new invention" made up of my water spray bottle with my deodorant rubber banded to it. He came in to demonstrate its operation to me. He said "watch this--you spray it on someone's neck and they are eliminated." He sprayed his neck and fell to my floor, tongue lolled out. I love this kid more than I ever knew it was possible. I knew I'd love my child, but I had no idea I'd be so entertained by him!

my little performer

Dennis sang along with the Preschool Choir and Children's Choir this morning during two church services. I dropped him off at the gym for practice for his first performance, and somehow he escaped after the practice, crossed the street, and came to find me in his Sunday School class (where I had to teach and couldn't watch his first performance). Scary! He got to walk BACK across to the gym for his performance, this time escorted by the Children's Minister. He'd thought he was all done after they practiced and somehow missed the fact that he had to stay and actually perform during the service! I did get to see him sing at the Traditional Service, and he was making his customary joyful (loud) noise. He sang every word and did every hand motion. I'm so proud, especially since we've missed so many practices with the illnesses lately!

We treated him to lunch at Whataburger, where he asked the profound question "is there a cloud machine up in the sky?". He was treated to a more scientific explanation and paid attention to every word. We rushed back to church for the "hanging of the greens", a tradition we participated in last year for the first time. Dennis loved it, so this year, we invited his friend Marshall and his family to join us. Marshall is also age 4, and those two guys had a rip-roaring good time decorating the tree, pretending to give church announcements into the microphones, playing a duet on the piano, having free roam of the sanctuary and balcony, and eventually playing "superheroes" all over the church. Dennis wanted to distribute peppermints to the others there for the decorating, so we'd stopped to buy a tub of the soft ones to give out. Marshall followed him around, and Dennis would announce "here's a peppermint for you!" and Marshall would pipe up "they're the GOOD kind!"--they did this to every person present, more than once. They were so funny! They also helped me prepare the altar, cleaning off the Thanksgiving decor, packaging up the fruits and nuts that were in the cornucopia (and eating all the grapes), and helping me hang the purple banner to signify the season of Advent (just a week away!).

This morning in Sunday School, Grace brought her shiny pink diary and shiny pink feather pen over to me, turned to a blank page, and asked if I'd write "I love Dennis" in it. I was happy to do so. She was happy to show Dennis afterward. He was very cool about it, too, not making a big deal about it. She asked him to sit by her at the older children's musical performance tonight, and we took him there just so he could. And we watched a number of the children we've gotten to know perform in their show--SO much talent! Who knew we had so many little violinists? And we were so surprised by Dennis' friend Laura (neighbor at the lake) and her beautiful solo of Silent Night! We baked sugar cookies for the kids' Star-Studded Social for after the peformance (star-shaped, of course), and Dennis socialized with all his good friends at church (from age 2 to age 80+ as he's a pretty popular guy!). What a blessed day it was!

missile launcher

Dennis leaped onto our bed this morning, waking us up by delightedly announcing "I'm a missile launcher! Push this button right here" (pointing to his belly) "and see what happens!". He then spit a plastic missile at us, one from his happy meal toy launcher.

Later, he was helping Gran mix some mortar for the stones for the front of our house. As he was mixing it, some of the mortar got on his Shrek watch, down inside on of the ear stalks. He studied it for a moment and then told Gran "hey, Shrek has an ear infection!".

He's thankful for Jesus and thankful for the world tonight. Me, too.

giant storybook

Dennis tried his hardest to keep my attention on him today. It mostly was, but I also had a big project to work on. It's that time of year when I like to put my Christmas playlist on my iPhone, and due to problems with a computer virus, I hadn't synced the thing in six months. I also thought I might as well update the operating system while I was at it, and this turned into a 24 hour ordeal (and is still going). Ugh! While I was continuously restarting my iTunes every time it stopped responding, Dennis was running in and out, telling me things, doing tricks, asking for food, you name it! He tried doing somersaults in the hallway in front of my doorway, and said "I can't do that anymore--this floor is kind of hard!". I offered his KinderMat, resting neglected in my bedroom since we discontinued afternoon care at the preschool. He delightedly spread it out and rolled across it many times. Then he folded it, accordion-style, and carried it around. He brought it in and told me "this is my giant storybook--it has over 60,000 stories in it! Would you like me to read you some?". I agreed, and I heard "this is story 61,008: it's about a silly robot that disobeys." It was a short story. He danced back out of here after telling it to work on cleaning his room. I'm feeling the pressure of the upcoming holiday just a bit. I've got some big housecleaning to do this weekend, so I'm pleased that Dennis has started on his own stuff. We are spending the daylight hours working on the outside of the house, and the inside is looking REALLY neglected, but I'll be able to pull it together.

In other big news, Dennis got mad at David during lunch, and he disappeared to his bedroom. After 20 minutes of intense quiet, David checked in on him when he was on his way back to work. He'd put himself down for his nap. Very surprising. He's had a two hour nap almost every day this month! I guess he's been needing his rest.

earning more stripes

Dennis is on the mend, we think. Tonight he went to the bathroom without his panicked "I need to go poop!" cry yelled out beforehand. He was happy to inform us "it was mostly solid this time!". And he's been a hungry bear for two days, constantly asking for food.

Tonight at Taekwondo (where he went by himself as I was keeping child care kids at the gym tonight), he apparently did very well--he came back to me with two stripes added to his belt! He's really working his way up through the ranks, and we're so proud. Lots to be thankful for tonight! Dennis fell asleep before we did our Thankful Tree tonight. I wonder what things he'll come up with tomorrow.

blessing a home

I am thankful that the tornadoes of today passed us by, causing no damage other than making our pets a bit mental! Dennis said he was thankful for his toys! He took his bicycle helmet to school today and wore it when the tornado siren sounded and all the children were shuttled to the hallway. His choice. I'm glad he's protecting his brain! He came home singing "I'm glad I'm not a turkey this Thanksgiving!", a funny little number he learned at school this morning.

We took him to the doctor this morning, trying to discover how we can remedy his intestinal woes. We didn't get much help in that department other than to be assured that we are doing everything right and that it should run its course soon. We are still awaiting the lab results from the weekend. We did discover that he has an ear infection, which was a surprise. The dilemma: how to treat the ear infection while not exacerbating the original problem. Could be an interesting few days coming up. The doctor told us to keep him home, and I asked "why, is he contagious?" and she said "it isn't that--if he has an accident, it could really embarrass him." He spoke up then and said "no it wouldn't! I'd just change my clothes! I have spare underwear in my backpack!". So we returned to school, and he played superheroes with his friend Maddox while David watched (while the teachers had our staff meeting). I came out to see the Flash and Green Lantern flying around the playground in their capes. So fun!

We attended Gigi's house blessing this afternoon, a very special service by the priest and deacon of her local church (same priest who blessed Lemonade). Afterward, she served us a super gourmet soup meal--SO delicious! And then we headed to church. Dennis pretended to be a robot during his lesson, and he even stood and blinked rhythmically and moved his arms robotically during their song time. He didn't sing. "Rescue hero robots don't sing!" he said. He announced in robot voice a number of times "I. Am. Irv. I. Am. A. Rescue. Hero. Robot." to anyone who would listen. So we didn't watch Rescue Heroes tonight. And we talked about paying attention to the teacher. He did take in everything that was taught tonight, though, and proved it by reiterating the lesson to me! Love that kid. He's got the most sparkling personality!

open house fun

I didn't write yesterday because I just couldn't bring myself to write about poop again, and that's really the only thing of consequence that happened yesterday. Lots of times. There was much crying and whining, and my heart just broke for him, for his misery. He did go to school with me and took care of himself there with no trouble. He did the same today, and I'm troubled to report that he still isn't better. We will consult the pediatrician as soon as we can get an appointment.

Despite his GI tract woes, he had a good day. He helped me at school this morning, getting ready for our open house and art show tonight. He enjoyed a lunch at the newly remodeled Burger King (and tried out the brand-spanking-new indoor playground!). And he was thrilled to show his artwork to his family members--lots of them came to see it and then take him out to dinner (while I was still working at the open house). It was his special day, he said. He even read me a story when we got home. If only his tummy would clear up he'd be an even happier camper.

closer to a diagnosis

We've crossed yet another threshold of parenthood. We left the hospital yesterday with instructions to bring back a sample. They had enough poop for the in-house lab tests, but there wasn't quite enough to send out for more tests. Though we waited all day yesterday, no more was forthcoming (which was actually a relief, given the morning he'd had). We had a few almosts today, and then tonight, during his bath, he yelled for both of us. The hospital sent us home with a tray for over the toilet and a specimen jar and biohazard bag labeled with his info. Without getting any more graphic, let's just say that I had a very gross job to perform and I'm glad there were disposable gloves on hand. David handled delivery of the grossness to the hospital immediately afterward. Dennis observed all from the tub where he returned after the Main Event, making the necessary "ewww" sounds to help my job along. He said "wow, I guess I am still a little bit sick!". Not that you'd have been able to tell--he played outside all day long and ate and drank normal stuff. He wasn't whiny or pitiful and was full of his customary energy. Perhaps his rear end will soon get the message that he's well. At any rate, I'm glad there will be tests to make sure it was nothing really bad, despite what had to happen here to ensure that the tests could be performed. This was way more disgusting than a diaper change!

Tonight he's thankful for his family and "for all the drinks!" (the latter said while admiring his large bottle of blue Gatorade).

the hospital cure

Dennis was so sick this morning that he actually asked to go to the hospital. I feared that we weren't, after all, going to escape the stomach virus. He had diarrhea a few times last night, and when he woke up this morning, he yelled "Mommy, I feel like I need to throw up!". No words could get me awake and out of bed faster than those. I flew to the bathroom, and just as I reached out to hold him, he grinned up at me and said "I'm just kidding!". He must have been. He never did vomit or even claim any nausea. He did have very bad stomach pain and horrible, frequent diarrhea, so off we went to the emergency room at his request. We were there over 3 hours, and he continued to be sick until they decided they wanted a sample. He was only able to provide them with a small one and then he downed a Pedialyte (slowly) and kept it down and felt GREAT. He danced all over the hospital room after that, happy to be feeling better, 100% different from the child I brought to the ER hours earlier. He asked everyone who passed if we could leave yet. They presume it's a virus that's running its course quickly, so he was prescribed rest and a liquid diet. He wasn't supposed to eat food, but I kept catching him doing just that, and he's had no more trouble today. In fact, he even played outside all afternoon. It's supposed to be nothing we can catch from him, but we'll have test results in several days that will let us know what it really was. It's just amazing to me how he went from completely pitiful to completely better while we were at the ER. He wasn't given any medication at all, just an electrolyte drink that had magic of some sort in it. I'm glad to have my Dennis back.

He's thankful for pigs and horses, he says. I'm thankful for his health!

Seuss surprise

After playing outside for much of the early part of the day (and riding his bike and scooter), he fought me big time about taking a nap. When he got up, he was very excited to go and see Uncle Denny. But first, he had a prank to play on Pop. He found a huge black rubber spider and held it behind his back as he crept toward the woods behind the greenhouse where Pop was working, humming innocently as he walked. When Pop wasn't looking, Dennis tossed the spider onto the ground in front of him and yelled "oh no! Pop, LOOK!" as he pointed to the faux arachnid. Pop let out a yell of surprise before he laughed, and Dennis dissolved into big belly laughs, delighted with the success of his joke. David tried to hide a smirk of pride at his antics!

We took Lemonade with us to see Uncle Denny, and he whined in the car a good bit on the way down. I admit to feeling a bit disappointed--we've never had a dog that didn't love car rides! Dennis felt the need to inform me "Lemonade is crying again" whenever there was a whine (so helpful). When I stopped for gas, I bought Dennis some cheese puffs. At the next pitiful puppy moan, Dennis fed him a cheese puff. There were no more whines, not even on the drive back! Who knew that a cheese puff would be the solution? Now I'm hoping we can take him more and more places! On the way to the lake, though, Dennis did tell me "Lemonade has to go potty really bad!". Since I heard no whining from the crate, I asked "and how do you know that?". Dennis replied "because he's holding himself!". I cracked up laughing, but Dennis said "hey, I'm serious!". Oops.

Uncle Denny had a special surprise for Dennis, a book of the lost stories of Dr. Seuss. Dennis told me on the way home what a special day this was and how Uncle Denny made it special. He is so appreciative of everything we do for him, and I'm sure he's realized that just makes us want to do more things to delight him! I love that kid!

batman's misdeeds

Dennis came running to my classroom after school got out, and he promptly informed me "I was really bad today." I already knew this. I'd walked by his classroom twice and glanced in to see him in action during the day. The first time, I caught him pounding a kid's ear with a toy hammer. I yelled at him from the hallway and his teacher promptly took action. I saw him again during his snacktime, and I walked by just in time to see him lightly smack the kid next to him. I sent him my "I'm very disappointed" glare and called him out on it. His teacher told me later that he just couldn't keep his hands to himself today, that he wasn't malicious per se, but he was pretty physical. He confessed this to me and David AND to his Taekwondo teacher (who gave him a stern talking to and extra push-ups). He's lost his opportunity to see Santa again this weekend. He cried a good bit and promises to be better. He also asked me tonight if he could apologize to Mrs. Nancy and his friends. I will remind him of this next week at school.

Once we got home from school, Batman came out to play on the playground. He performed his death-defying stunts on the swingset. His Daddy stopped him from jumping out of his climbing tree and removed his cape before it could get hung. He's just a mess of sneezing and snot, and I hope that when he gets better, his violence might also improve. We've cut all violent cartoons, have for a few weeks now, and though we wonder about the Taekwondo lessons, he learns nonviolence there. And the stuff I saw him do was definitely not learned in Taekwondo, looked nothing like it. I heard him say to his preschool teacher "but Mrs. Nancy, I didn't mean to hurt them--those were just love taps!". I don't know where he got that particular terminology from, but we don't do 'love taps' or 'love hits' or 'love kicks' (all his words)!

biker dude!

I'm happy to report that his confidence on his bicycle has been restored! After I picked him up from school today he rode the entire driveway again and again, often with Lemonade running along beside him. I'm so proud! He fell a time or two but was not hurt or scared about it.

David and I took Lemonade to school today when we picked Dennis up (as a surprise), and Dennis was ecstatic to see his puppy coming toward the playground fence! All his friends saw and petted his puppy--he was proud to show him off! Mrs. Linda was happy to see him as well--he's grown a good bit since he left her house 6 weeks ago.

Tonight after church we stopped at Winn Dixie so Daddy could run in and buy more cold medicine for me (this illness keeps going and going!). On our way home, Dennis saw the local rescue training tower and asked "do the policemen use the training tower, too, to go in and get bad guys? And do they throw the bad guys out the windows?". We assured him that they didn't, and he said "oh, so they carry the bad guys out, like firefighters carry people out of a fire?". We enjoyed the mental image of bad guys being tossed out windows, but we decided that truth was a better option for Dennis!

He just walked into our room clad in his t-shirt, socks, underwear, sporting a shoebox over his head. He'd drawn a face on the shoebox, and came in giggling. He said "I fooled you! I drew my face on the box so you would think it was me!". Funny kid! He told me he was thankful for gummy worms, and then said "well, just write that I'm thankful for food!".

rolling around

Having been blessed with some gorgeous and very un-November-like afternoons lately, we've been spending some serious time outdoors. Dennis has been playing on his playground, and today he asked to roller skate. He skated a bit and then rode his scooter all around. We bought some brand new training wheels for his bike. He'd been falling a good bit because the training wheels were so small and flimsy, so we bought a new set today. I installed them (which took some doing) and he rode it just a little bit to test them out. He says they're better, and I'm glad because he'd stopped even wanting to ride his bike because he was scared. Even today he would pedal and then brake, never building up any speed to speak of, and I hope his confidence will soon return. After all his rolling, he took a LONG nap. After that he alternated between cleaning his room and coming in to tell me new items for his Christmas list. He's been appropriating catalogs from the mail and searching them for ideas. He reviews the Walmart Toy Book one daily, and he's added a new Optimus Prime (fortunately the $15.97 one and not the $59.97 one) to the list. He really really wants the new Rescue Heroes Billy Blazes Fire Truck ($36), and I told him no more fire trucks were coming to this house until he got rid of some. He said, "well, I hate to do this, but I can donate one to Mrs. Nancy's class, the one with the really long ladder." I approve of his choice--I got that one for $3 at a flea market. But I'm not in any hurry to go out and get the new (very large) one. His poor Billy Blazes figure can continue to straddle his current fire trucks (he doesn't fit inside any of them) unless someone else surprises him with that particular truck. He also wants a bike basket that fits his bike (and it's hard to find a small and masculine bike basket!) and a mini pillow pet panda and about 15 other things. Whew!

Tonight he's thankful for policemen. He said he wanted to grow up and be a policeman ("the kind of policemen that sleep at the police station").

snowball fight

Dennis was in such a funny, giggly mood tonight that it drew a most immature response from me. Our tickle fight evolved into a chase-each-other-and-hide-and-pop-out-and-scare-each-other fight, and we followed that up with a 'snowball' fight with wadded up bits of (clean) toilet paper. David looked at us as if we'd lost our minds, but he had a tiny half-smile on his face. After our snowball war degraded to a "let's throw dirty socks at each other" war (which I'm ashamed to admit that I initiated), my parent gene finally kicked in and we settled down to read bedtime stories. I think that I got so tired from working and having this awful cold that I just got a bit delirious and possibly a touch hysterical, but I'll bet I'm firmly cemented in Dennis' mind as "the fun parent" tonight! Sometimes it's just fun to be silly.

Yes, the exhaustion is total. I was called into work to substitute in a 3 year old class today, and it went very well, but I didn't get the rest I'd planned to get today. Dennis stayed home with David, and when Dennis napped, David and I worked on the house, then we all went to Taekwondo, then grocery shopped, and then I baked a couple of cakes for the church fundraiser tomorrow! I attempted to shut myself off in my room for a little downtime, but the little person that lives here kept beating on the door and asking to be let in (and that's when our evening of silly craziness started).

Last night we watched The Great Muppet Caper together, and Dennis loved it! I was reminded of watching Muppet movies with my favorite uncle when I was growing up. So I was surprised and excited to see that a new Muppet movie is coming out in theaters on Thanksgiving! Now that Dennis has seen and loved a Muppet movie, it'll be fun to share a new one with him AND the favorite uncle. I think Dennis has finally learned to say "Miss Piggy" instead of "that pig lady" or "Lady Pig".

Last night, Dennis said he was thankful for our church, and tonight he's thankful for Jesus and what He did for us. Powerful stuff. That's the best thing we all have going for us in this world, and I'm thankful that Dennis reminded me of what I myself should be most grateful for.

seriously busy Sunday

I got called to substitute teach the Preschool Sunday School class, and though I had planned to sleep in just a bit, Dennis is still set for Daylight Savings Time. Even so, he didn't force me out of bed until 7:45. He visited me several times prior to then, but 7:45 is when he insisted that he was starving and just had to have his breakfast! He didn't eat much of his breakfast, and so he and the others in his class reached a point where they nearly staged a coup, demanding for me to go and get them a snack because they were SO hungry. I held my position, though, and I heard later that when they got to their children's service that the teacher rewarded them for good behavior with Skittles. I bet they worked extra hard for those, given that they were so hungry!

I dashed out between Sunday School and church to get snacks for our function afterward, and I made it back just in time for the service. I dashed out again to collect Dennis from his children's service in time for Communion, which he'd asked to attend. I opened his classroom door and he hopped up, asking "is it time for Communion?". Then he RAN to the sanctuary, threw open the door, and dashed to the front pew. He sat there beside Uncle Denny and folded his hands in a prayer position as he listened to the Communion readings and prayer. He solemnly walked up with me and took the elements. When we returned to our seat, he whispered conversationally "the blood tasted like wine today!". Though I assured him it was grape juice, he repeated "well, it sure tasted like wine." To my knowledge, he's not tasted wine, but I know he's smelled it.

After the service, I was in charge of the Christmas ornament painting party, and Dennis helped me host (when he wasn't busy painting). And then he helped me clean up our Sunday School classroom and do my Walmart run. At Walmart, we were passing the floral department when he said "those are sure pretty flowers--I think we should get some for Gran. She's been sick, and I want to get her red roses to help her feel better." He picked up a big bouquet (expensive), and I had to downsize his thoughtfulness just a bit. So he chose a small bouquet (and gave it a sniff test). We got a text message from Gran that she was at Walmart, so we quickly paid for the roses and Dennis ran out to present them to her. I love his thoughtfulness!

We spent the rest of our afternoon resting! It was a BUSY day!

Surprise! It's Santa!!

When we received the circular from Bass Pro Shop that announced Santa would arrive on November 5, we made plans to go. We didn't tell Dennis. This morning I told him we were going to visit someone very special and that it was going to be his surprise. He asked us all the way there who it was and where we were going. When we got to Prattville, he asked if we could stop at Bass Pro Shop on the way to his surprise, and we were happy to tell him yes. When we got to the door, he asked if he could see the toys, and I told him that he needed to walk to the back of the store first. When he arrived at the back of the store and saw Santa's Wonderland all set up, he began jumping up and down and said "THIS is my surprise!!". He was so right! We played with trains, remote control cars, race cars, bows and arrows, toy rifles with targets; he wrote a letter to Santa and dropped it in the special mailbox and then colored a stocking. He had his picture made with Santa and looked at all the toys he wanted to look at. And then he was treated to a dinner of his choice, which turned out to be McDonald's (mmmmmmmmmmmm.... McRibs for us, Happy Meal for him). He made some friends on the playground, and he was rather amazingly well-behaved during the whole evening!

He chose a collar and new toy for Lemonade at PetSmart, and we went shopping at Target where he looked at all the toys and scored a super cheap Ironhide costume (his second favorite Transformer) and a new Billy Blazes action figure (leader of the Rescue Heroes, his favorite show). He said (even before we went into Target) "this is a very special night!". He chattered excitedly all the way home, playing with his new toy. He's been bouncing around the house delightedly since we got home. It was a really fun night for him and for us as well! We have another Prattville trip tentatively scheduled for next Friday, this time with Lemonade along. There's a free puppy class at PetSmart, and we are going to attempt a photo with Santa with Dennis and his puppy.

Tonight he's thankful for our dogs. I am as well. I spent a happy couple of hours romping with them this afternoon. Lemonade took off after a neighbor chicken but stopped and immediately returned to me when I called his name. I'm so proud!

surviving the week

We did it. We made it through 5 school days in a row while suffering from bad, bad colds. Dennis and I came home today with a big desire to sit around and do nothing, which we were happy to indulge. After his nap, we snuggled together on the couch and watched movies. We played with the dogs, and we laid around. It was fabulous! As my cold is beginning to wane, Dennis' seems to be amping up. And he's been complaining of a number of tummy aches lately, so many that we might make a trip to the doctor on Monday. From his description, it sounds like it's just gas, but I'm beginning to think it's time to be sure.

Today he said that he was thankful for God. And he wants his Gran to know that he's thankful she takes care of him when Mommy has to go to meetings.

And he told me, upon noticing that I had removed all my toenail polish, "hey--it looks like you have Daddy's feet!". I assured him I would repaint them tomorrow. He was glad.

new rank: yellow!

Dennis was presented with his brand new yellow belt tonight at Taekwondo. He's so proud of himself--he worked pretty hard and tested in front of judges to earn it! We're proud of him, too!

He was very speculative tonight in the car. He posed the questions "what if all the grownups in the world were kids and kids were the grownups? And what if all the dogs were cats and the cats were all dogs? That would be weird!". We got in the car tonight and he noticed the rain, and he said "is it raining all over the world?" which led to an interesting discussion on weather. Then he said "are there pizza restaurants all over the universe?", to which I answered "probably" and he replied "probably so, and probably there are McDonalds all over the universe, too. And Walmarts." Again, I had to agree!

After we watched an episode of his new favorite show, Rescue Heroes (the first television he's seen this week!), I told him it was bedtime. He laid himself across my lap and said "I'm too tired to walk to bed, but I'm not too tired to climb." I informed him that it takes a lot more energy to climb than it does to walk. He promptly replied "I only have a tiny bit of energy--just enough to climb and to wallow, but not enough to walk to bed." I carried him giggling to the bathroom to brush his teeth, and he was suddenly revived (or so I pointed out when he walked to our room after cleaning his teeth). He said "I drank some water--it revived me!". Tonight he is thankful for "being upside down", so I carried him thusly to the Thankful Tree hanging in the kitchen entrance so we could write that down put it in today's pocket. He crawled back to his bedroom, saying he was a little crane and I was a big crane. When we arrived at his doorway, I lifted him (crane-style, with appropriate mechanical noises) deposited him in bed. I am thankful for the hundreds of smiles he brings to my face each day!

is that Spiderman on the swingset?

"Dennis, don't wipe your nose on the bottom of your shirt!". "But, Mom, that's what YOU do!". Busted. His Daddy hastened to my defense, remarking that Mommy wouldn't do that if there were tissues or napkins or any available alternative! But yes, I've been known to do such on a hike or in desperation on the playground (though it's not the bottom of my shirt!).

After our super fun day at school, where we painted with dried corn on the cob, dug for acorns and peanuts in a giant tub of dried beans (because I was the super awesome Discovery Zone substitute teacher today), and joined herds of children from all over town to watch the Birmingham Children's Theater production of Cinderella in our school gym. Again Dennis was tired enough for a 3 hour nap, but not before he donned his Spiderman costume and played on his swingset. I looked out to see him standing on top of his Dad's old Mazda (our lovely lawn ornament), and I told him to get down. He yelled "I'm sorry, Mom, but I'm Spiderman, and Spiderman has to climb things." He did a stint as Batman, too, but that ended when David told him to stop throwing sticks and hitting things and he answered "you can't tell Batman what to do." Batman was stripped of his cape and promptly escorted to bed. He CLEARLY needed a nap!

Tonight we had a family project to work on, decorating a paper turkey feather with things we are thankful for this year. We had great fun working on it all together. He will turn it in to go on his class turkey, and I'm excited to see how all the feathers turn out! For his Thankful Tree today, he said he was thankful for the cat.

better than Black Friday

This was my first day to be free of afternoon care. Though I will probably stay a few minutes late many times in the future (to do lesson prep and such), Dennis and I got out of there at 11:59 today. We were in a terrible hurry to get to Walmart to buy discounted Halloween costumes (the day after Halloween being our favorite shopping day!). We were unsuccessful getting a Green Lantern one, which he really wanted, but we did score a Spiderman costume and a Batman Dark Knight costume for cheap! He giggled with glee as we put the costumes in the shopping cart, giggling the whole time he was touching the packages, and did some serious giggling while trying on the Spiderman mask. He wore the Batman mask and cape in the car. He put on the full costume upon our arrival home, whereupon he flew around the yard until Gran arrived to admire his super-ness. He did NOT want to remove it at naptime, but I insisted. When I got home tonight from my errands, Batman and David were watching guy shows together on the couch (and David happened to find the Looney Tunes episode where the coyote wears his Acme bat suit, which is almost as good as my all time favorite, the one with the earthquake pills).

It's November now, so we hung up our Thankful Tree. Dennis said "today I am thankful for Gran and Pop" so I wrote that on a slip of paper, and he happily found the pocket with the number "1" on it and slipped the paper inside. I am thankful for his Grandma who made our beautiful Thankful Tree!

He played a prank on me this morning. I went to wake him up, and I opened his door to find his light on and him lying face down on the floor, eyes closed, very still. I thought that he'd gotten up to play in the middle of the night and had fallen asleep amongst the scattered Legos, and I just felt awful that I hadn't checked on him in the middle of the night (thank you, Nyquil, for a great night's sleep!) and made him more comfortable! I yelled his name and crouched down as he opened his eyes to giggle at his joke, telling me "I heard you coming and I got down here and pretended I slept here all night." He sure fooled me!