When Did Birthday Parties Get So Carried Away?

This last weekend, there were two birthday parties to attend. 11am to 1pm and 1pm to 3pm. The first was a wizard party. Hosted by a company called Oogles and Googles. Tater and Tot were both invited to this one. Here is a few pictures I took with my phone camera...



And Tater:



Now the next one was at a private house. This was a classmate in Tater's class. This is just one of the activities they had in their backyard:



Wow. For a child who turned 6 years old just before school started and is now in the first grade. Tater asked if we could do that at his next party. The answer was absolutely NO. Don't get me wrong, this was a great party for kids. And if you have the money for it, go for it. Wow. The parents were extremely nice and fun to be around. It took me a while to find them, as there were a ton of people at the party. Maybe I'll be lucky enough to be invited to another one with Tot in tow. He would have loved it as well.

After attending those parties, I remembered how excited I was that we got to go to a gym for Tater's party. No clean up, kids entertained, tired out, and good company in the parents. It was a little more than if I held it at home, but not that much more. Worth it for me not to have all the prep work and cleanup after wards. My party was nothing like those... And I really enjoyed both of them... I just wonder how I got so lucky???? And when did the kids parties get this carried away? Or is it just me?

Finally, the First Day of School Pictures

Yipee, I finally got a few minutes to get the pictures together. Here is Tater showing off his backpack (which Bou was kind enough to pass on to my boys):



Waiting for the bus:



The bus is finally here:



There goes my first grader:



While I don't have pictures of Tot getting out of the car or waiting to go to school. I did get a first day picture of him in his pre-Kindergarten class.

What Boys Do in South Florida

I was thinking about this the other day. I am not big into spending money for summer camps. I used our money for karate and swimming. I did break down and spend it on a fishing camp. Yet... I hear a lot of the kids talk about golfing. It is a big deal down here. Bou had her kids taking Golf Camp. Still, I have been hesitant about it all... particularly since my boys play the Wii golf to see how far they can hit it. This included putting. Then all of the sudden, at the end of the summer... they got serious and actually tried to make it in the hole. Wow. Not sure why it wasn't funny to just wack it hard anymore.

Ok, cool. Pop plays golf two or three times a week. If I could get my kids into golfing, then they could go up to visit the in-laws and go golfing. Suddenly I had a huge STOP come to mind. Golf means buying golf bags, golf shoes, golf clubs, and ... you get the point. I think I will wait until they are older to see if they have an interest in golf. No Tiger Woods in this household. They can wait until they are older to see which sport they like, if any. We already own baseball bats, balls, cleats (which they have outgrown), gloves.. and they sit there. On the shelf. Nope, no more money going out of here anytime soon.

Nose and Drinking

Tot and I had a 'discussion' today. On the lines of:

Mom: Tot stop crying over the lid not going down.
Tot: Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Mom: Tot stop it or I'll send you straight to your room when you get home
Tot: Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Mom: One
Mom: Two
Tot: Fine, I'm going to drink my water
Mom: **blink** ok.
**brief moment of silence**
Tot: Mom, it won't go up my nose.
Mom: Huh?
Tot: I can't drink my water through my nose. I want to drink it through my nose.
Mom: **glances in rearview mirror and sees water bottle up to Tot's nose and him trying to pour water in nose** uhhhhhhhhh **Bou Blink**
Mom: Tot, is it going down your throat through your nose?
Tot: Nope
Mom: Chances are your nose is not made for drinking water.
Tot: oh.

**glances in rearview mirror over the next 10 minutes just to look at Tot**
**blinks in disbelief as he continues to figure out a way to drink water through his nose**

Mental Note: Never ever let children drink some of my drink. Never.

Muscle Man Boy

Tot loves to pose for pictures. He was 'taking' off his shirt when it ended up on his back. I asked him to pose for me as a muscle man and here is what I got (click to enlarge - it is worth it to see his face):









This is why this boy stays alive. He can drive me to insanity quickly but just as quickly look cute and make me smile. He is definitely a handful.

Larry Bird versus Word Bird

Life is always entertaining at my house. Tot was scanning through the TV guide that is on the TV. Yes, he does know how to use the tv flicker. He saw a listing for Larry Bird. And I hear him hollaring to me...

Tot: Mom, Mom... I want to watch Word Bird
Mom: Word Bird? On TV?
Tot: Yaa Mom, right here. How to I watch Word Bird?
Mom: **blinks** I don't see Word Bird on the listing.
Tot: Mommmmmm...
Mom: Oh... That is Larry Bird. See the L. LLLLL Larry not Word.
Tot: oh.

Sigh... I thought when they learned to walk life was hard... having them learn to read just a little is going to be even more entertaining and harder. I wonder what Larry would think if he found out that he wasn't worth watching since he wasn't Word Bird.

Too Hot

When it is too hot to picnic outdoors... might as well eat indoors. Of course, we cannot let our new book get to far away. Thanks Bou... just a touch of sarcasm. That book doesn't have many words in it, and can be very very very boring after the 30th time you have had to go over it again. Ahhhh... but Tot just loves it.



It's Friday. Phew....

Footprints at 7:20am

Tot wanted me to take pictures of him making footprints..

Reach and Pull

Tot is finally getting the right idea...




He is even getting decent at 'floating like a boat'...



More on life later...

Caption This Cutie

How could I resist such a cutie?? But my mind is blank... any suggestions on what story I should make up for this one? I was thinking something that could be used in the future when his date comes over. GRIN

Smell My... (Part 2)

I couldn't believe my ears... Tot was in the bathroom poop'in and he was hollaring for his dad. The conversation went something like this...

Tot: Dad, Dad, Dad
Dad: Just a minute
Tot: Dad, come smell my poop
Dad: What? No, it's stinks.
Tot: **Laughter**
Dad: **Laughter**

Unbelievable. I just hope they don't ask me to smell their hand anytime soon as Roses pointed out in the comments. Yikes!

Bedtime Antics

Click to enlarge.

He was getting undressed and decided to wear his shirt as a 'hat'. I laughed so hard with him. He was laughing and prancing around. Thank goodness he is cute in my eyes... can you imagine the Blackmail material for this when he gets older? The things I could say to his girlfriends... ;-)

Tot's Mark

Tot has discovered a mark on his belly. I call it a 'reverse' birth mark. You can only see it when he has a tan. It is very visible when looking at him... but I could not get a good picture... here it goes anyways...



The other pictures have him pointing at it, but the flash made it 'disappear'. Not really sure what it is, but I have seen it on him since birth. Most people only notice it once he has a tan. Yep, strange mom, strange kids. GRIN

How Not to Train Your Son to Put on Underwear

Seems there are some things you should not use to help teach your son how to put on underwear. Like explaining there is a pe-nis hole in the front. No matter how many times I explain that it is to be used when you are pee'ing... he still has to show me that he got it on the right way by sticking it out the hole. Please, someone explain to me how to get him to stop that!!!!

Bathroom Talk

There is nothing like having small children to keep you humble. Tater decided he had to go the bathroom while we were in Michaels. Which was fine until I discovered he had to poop. Ugh. Trying to keep Tot entertained in a strange bathroom while not allowing him to touch anything is always a treat... add a 5 to 15 minute wait due to pooping... not fun.

This time... it was humbling. There were only two stalls in the bathroom. Tater had one and some lady on a cell phone had the other (the handicapped stall). I am usually surprised by people who talk on the phone while in a bathroom, but this time I was happy she was talking. Particularly when a conversation something like this started with Tot using his 'outside voice':

Tot: Mom, is she pee'ing?
Mom: I don't know. Try hopping 3 tiles.
Tot: Mom, is she pooping?
Mom: Tot, this is really not something we need to discuss. How about hopping some tiles?
Tot: Mom, she must be pee'ing, I can't hear her pooping.
Mom: **blink**

And The Caption Is???

I put out this picture a few days ago... and laughed so hard at the captions...

Man, Mom and Dad are wearing me out!!!!!! (from Uncle Bobby)
Walk like an Egyptian! (from Marie)
TKO? (from the Gray Monk)
what did you do knock him out with that big horseshoe? (from Sticks)



Thanks for the help! They all made me laugh...

Sleep Time

Here is the little bugger sleeping on the floor. He is driving me nuts. I was trying to come up with a good caption, but can't think of one. Any ideas?

Asthma

After 4 vials of blood, it seems that Tot is not allergic to dog dander, cat dander and a whole host of other pollens and the like. He still has asthma. Since I wanted to be more aware of what could set off an attack... I have seen it happen when he is sick. When I got carried away with the Febreeze and once when he was running around like crazy for hours. Now I have found a couple of places that make me see that I am not insane and those things really could have sparked an attack...

From Asthma and Children I found:

What are asthma triggers?

Asthma triggers are factors that start asthma symptoms or an asthma attack by irritating the airways or worsening the inflammation in the airways. These triggers can provoke attacks in individuals who already have a tendency to asthma, but they are not necessarily part of the cause of that tendency. The following triggers can cause asthma symptoms or start an asthma attack:

* infections, usually those caused by a virus (e.g. colds or flu)
* allergens, most commonly from house dust mites, pets or pollen
* play and exercise, especially in cold weather
* emotions, such as excitement, fear or anger
* irritants, such as air pollution
* smoking ? the parents of asthmatic children should avoid smoking
* changes in the weather (e.g. a cold spell)
* food allergens, such as peanuts (sensitised or allergic children can have a very severe allergic reaction); more rarely, food additives such as tartrazine (an artificial food colouring) may also act as triggers.
* certain medications ? some children may be allergic to some drugs (e.g. aspirin).

I liked the one about "emotions, such as excitement, fear or anger"... my son that has the temper tantrums.

From the University of Maryland I found more on what are the triggers that can cause an asthma attack. Nice table layout that I can't get to work in this post. Go check it out at the link above.

Seems I am going to have an interesting couple of years. i know that colds can bring it on... and that if I use a lot of Febreeze, it will happen. Only once has it happened from too much exercise. It won't happen again.

Always entertaining at my household.

Tot Poses

Tot needs to have 3 photos sent in with his Preschool registration. I asked him to come stand in front of the wall and let me take some pictures. This is what I got:


1.

= = =

2.

= = =

3.

= = =

4.

= = =

5.

Entertaining but only one got selected and printed three times. Sigh... And it was NOT number 3.

More Toilet Info

Some days I just don't get it... I walked into the bathroom to make sure Tot was ok... he went in to go pee and I heard the toilet flush but nothing else. No washing of the hands, no noise, nothing. And wished I had not walked in... because I shouted... "Get your head out of that toilet".

Yaaa. Looked like he was barfing in the toilet but after I yelled at him, he just looked up at me and smiled.