He's Faking It

Alex and the coveted basketball

Tonight, the boys and I headed over to the mall for dinner in the food court, as part of a school event. We had a relaxing meal with friends, then made our way to the book store for story time with the teachers. Both kids enjoyed their leisurely strolls up and down the aisles in the children's section of the store, eventually choosing a couple of titles to take home. (I mean, they were excited over books. BOOKS! And, it benefited the school. How could I say no to that?!? Well played, school.)

Once I finally convinced the boys that it was time to leave, we attempted to make an exit from the mall, but we were sucked into a new store. Mesmerized by the glowing basketball in the shiny new Dick's Sporting Goods sign, the kids made a beeline into the tidy rows of athletic wear. Alex declared that he was looking for a new basketball, and then told me I could buy it for him.

Enter teachable moment. Or so I thought...

After finding a ball he liked (a nice Under Armour basketball), Al started making his way to the check out. "Hang on there, dude. I am not buying a new basketball for you tonight. It's nice, but we'll have to get it another day. Let's put it back."

"Nope," came his quick reply. "I'll buy it with my own monies."

I sighed. Loudly. It had been a long day, and it wasn't over yet. "How about we tell Santa?", I almost-too-desperately called after him. He stopped. Score!!

"Yes. Let's take a picture and email it to Santa!" Alex was elated. I thought of the cute blog post I could whip up after the kids fell asleep tonight. Win win, right?

We snapped the photo, and I again asked him to put the ball away. "Nope. I gotta give it to a guy."

Here we go. I was just plain exasperated at this point. I was losing this battle. I figured I should just hear him out and let him give the stinking ball back to someone who worked there, and decided to chalk it up as an opportunity to practice social skills.

He marched right up to a sales associate, and no sooner than the guy said "Hey, buddy!" did Al hold that ball out and say "I want this for Christmas. Will you tell Santa?"

Up went my left eyebrow, and I frantically looked up at the sales guy. His reaction was going to make an important impression on Alex. Please don't blow this, Mr Sales Guy.

"I will tell Santa!! I will go call him right now!" The guy didn't miss a beat. Al beamed. I let out the breath that I didn't realize I was holding until then.

I suggested, for the third time, that Alex put the ball back on its shelf. As he triumphantly marched away, I looked at the sales guy and said "Thanks! I appreciate your response to him," and turned to watch Al make his way back towards me.

Later, after finally dragging them out of the mall, Alex and I were waiting while Andrew got his hair cut. Al was flipping through the photos on my phone, and stopped on the picture we had just taken earlier, with the basketball.

"How cool is it that the guy called Santa to tell him about this ball?!?" Apparently, I thought it was way cooler than Al did, because he quickly responded.

"Nah. He was faking it."

I let that statement fall flat, which took a lot of effort, because I guess I'm not ready for Alex to let go of Santa quite yet. It could easily happen at this point, for any of my kids, as they are all getting older. Too old, and too smart, for their own good.

Whether he truly still believes or not, I really do appreciate the sales guy (Tommy, at the Polaris store, if anyone local is wondering) for his quick thinking and cooperation. There aren't many that would have played along, but he did, and that was very cool.

And yes, I will go back for the ball, so that Santa really can leave it under our tree for Alex...

Sneaky

Tonight, as I checked out the kids before I went to my room to watch tv, I noticed a fuzzy little nose peeking out from the boys' room. I quickly deduced that Alex took Maisey to his room, probably with hopes she would snuggle up in his bed. 

As I opened the door, I heard some loud, fake snoring. This was apparently Al's attempt to convince me that Maisey came upstairs on her own and shut the door. 

Funny guy. You have to give him credit for trying. ;)

Ballad

After we (finally!) made it through Alex's homework assignment tonight, he told me that he was sad today because his friend Erick had to leave school early. Apparently, Erick got sick in art class. After explaining this to me, Al grabbed a nearby toy to use as a microphone and launched into a ballad worthy of long hair and leopard print jeans:

Errrrrrrrrrick!! I miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiss you!
But you threw uuuuuuuuuuuuuup!
I looooooove you!

(Repeat, at least 14 times.)

Erick, we hope you feel well soon!

Monnnnnnnnnnnnnnday

Longest. Day. Ever.

Actually, just from 4:30pm to now has been awful. The rest of today, not so much. But good gravy has this evening sucked.

Alex got all smiley faces at school today, which lends a perfect explanation as to why he is so difficult tonight. From battling over homework, dinner, more homework, and the reasons why we can't eat Oreos after we brush our teeth, I have completely had it with this day.

Mark bowls on Monday nights, and I texted him earlier asking for peanut butter pie and some Valium. I didn't get a response (his phone either died or he turned it off so as to not feel obligated to read my pathetic play by plays of life at home), so Plan B is to dive into that bag of mini Reece's that I bought yesterday while watching what's left of Dancing with the Stars.

Seriously, is it Friday yet?

Guest Blogger

yjy,..m,h,;.k.y

nmmgm

Ok, so my brilliant idea to have Alex play the role of guest blogger tonight kind of backfired. He did type those two lines; he tells me it says "blah, blah, blah".

That's probably about how people are reading most of my blog posts, having read so many of my lovely ramblings since I started blogging every day on January 1.

So much for a creative blog post idea. Back to the drawing board.

Funny Guy

On Wednesdays, Alex has speech therapy after school and I have to pick him up so we arrive to his appointment on time (if he rode the bus home, we'd never make it!). It has become our tradition to stop at Starbucks on our way to the session; this not only soothes the sting of not getting to ride the bus home, but also provides my afternoon dose of caffeine.

The baristas are familiar with Alex by now, and even remember his name and his order (although they always wait patiently while he finds the words to place his own order!). He always asks for the same things: a chocolate chip cookie and a cup of water. His smile after he orders shows us all how proud he is of this aspect of independence.

Today, after he devoured his cookie in the car, he asked me if I could "clean him up" when we got to speech. Of course, I agreed, to which he replied "Good. I'm a hot mess."

This kid. Love him.

Halfway

Alex had a terrific evening, celebrating his 10th birthday with buddies from school. He insisted that he could only invite boys (I think because Ad is having a sleep over for her birthday and therefore is only inviting girls...), and so he spent the party bowling and playing arcade games with his friends.

He had a couple of meltdowns during the party; I think the noise, lights, and excitement got to him a bit, but his friends stuck it out with him, and tried to coax him back into the party spirit. They were successful, and Alex ended up having quite a lot of fun. He has such a great group of friends, and I was happy to see that they appeared to be having fun, too.

So this brings us to the halfway point of Birthdaypalooza 2014.  Tomorrow, we switch gears to begin celebrating Addie's 8th birthday. She is beside herself with excitement, and I hope she has as wonderful a birthday celebration as Alex had.

Happy 10th Birthday, Alex

Today was a big day. My first born is now ten years old. Hard to believe, but here it is.

We celebrated by sharing ice cream with friends, opening presents, and going out to dinner (the "friend party" is tomorrow night!). I told him about all the lovely birthday wishes on Facebook (because, of course I had to post one or four thousand adorable baby photos!), and he beamed over each one.

On our way to dinner, Mark turned to Alex and asked "Al, who loves you?"

Alex began counting: "Mommy, Daddy, Addie, Andrew, Nana, Papa...all the people."

And it seems he is correct. So many people love and care about our Little A (which is what we called him when he was born), or Big Al, as he is better known these days. It is beyond heartwarming to see so many people taking a moment to wish him a happy birthday, whether it be in person, on Facebook or Twitter, or by phone.

It makes him smile. He loves his birthday. And I love to see this kid so happy. Thank you for being a part of his day.

Happy birthday, Big Al!

Birthday Week!

Today kicks off our annual July Birthday Week; both Alex and Addie will celebrate birthdays this week. We will begin the party on Wednesday (Al's 10th birthday) and keep going through Saturday (Ad's 8th birthday).  Their birthday parties fall in between, and we'll cap everything off with a big family gathering on Sunday.

It will be a fun, extra chaotic week. Fingers crossed I make it through without falling over.

PS: This is your VERY LAST CHANCE to get a limited edition #Inclusion Matters tshirt!!  Do not miss out on this opportunity to support Addie's message and get an awesome shirt!  Go here to order and share!! Thanks.

Chatting with Alex

This evening, Alex and I headed over to Target to pick up a couple of last minute items that he'll need at day camp this week.  As we talked about the things on our list, I commented that I would pick up a new toothbrush for myself while we were there.

"No, Mommy.  I don't think so.  That is too dangerous," was Al's reply.

I was understandably confused.  "What?  A new toothbrush?  A toothbrush is too dangerous?!?"

"Yes.  Too dangerous.  Not happening."  He wasn't budging.

Well, ok then.  (I did get a new toothbrush, and he seems to think that is it safe enough, so everyone is happy.)

I can never predict what may come out of this kid's mouth.  He certainly brings an interesting spin to even the most mundane of activities...like picking up a new toothbrush at Target.

Music

This afternoon, Alex began music lessons.  I noticed a Facebook post on a local networking board, and when I checked out the website, I was immediately intrigued.

Alex has always loved music.  He enjoys singing, dancing, playing instruments; all aspects of music really appeal to him, and we've always tried to encourage that.  So far, I think we've done a pretty good job of that.  He takes dance classes and sings with the children's choir at church; the only thing that was missing was music lessons.

I've hesitated with lessons in the past because I didn't think we could find anyone who would just let Alex explore and enjoy whatever instrument was put in front of him.  I didn't want another recital, or more testing; the kid just wants to play music.  After reading the philosophy of the music teacher who posted on Facebook, I thought we had hit the musical jackpot, and we were really excited to get him started.  Even better, the teacher is just as excited to work with Alex.  Sometimes, it's really cool how things just seem to work out.

Alex sat with him today and played different notes, in different sounds, on a keyboard.  He loved it!  After the lesson, when I was talking to Al about the next lesson, he said that his teacher was going to bring a guitar. "I love that!", he said, beaming, and then bounced off to play basketball.

I look forward to seeing (and hearing!) how Alex progresses in his lessons.  It should be a fun ride!

Muppets

Rainy days make for good movie days.  Especially on Spring Break.

Today, I took the kids and we met up with friends to see the new Muppets movie.  They have been talking about it for what seems like months; I'm sure we saw a preview for it a long time ago.  Addie and Andrew were very excited to finally get a chance to watch it; Alex was excited for the popcorn.

I grew up watching the Muppet Show, so I will admit that I was happy to see the newest installment of the Muppet adventures.  What I have a hard time getting past, though, is the different voices.  Sure, I suppose things must change in 30 years, but it is still a little off-putting to hear a character speaking in a voice that just doesn't seem quite right.  Beyond that, it was fun to see characters that I've enjoyed for many years in a new story line.

The kids enjoyed the movie, but they also enjoy the experience of being at the movie theater.  With the new reclining seats, you can't really blame them.  Add the bottomless bag of popcorn, and it's a nice way to spend a couple of hours!

With the high cost of taking the whole family to a movie (typically, at least $60!), going to the theater is reserved for special treats (unless, of course, we can wait a couple extra months to see a film at the "cheap theater"...all of us can go there, and have treats from the snack bar, for under $25!).  I am happy to see that several local theaters are offering showtimes with $5 tickets.  That is way more reasonable!  Maybe someone finally realized that lowering ticket prices means that families will frequent theaters more often.

We had a great afternoon, and thanks to the previews, the kids have several more movies on their "To See" lists.

Jump!

This kid LOVES to jump at Sky Zone!

This evening, Alex attended the birthday party of a good friend.  He and several other friends celebrated their buddy's 10th birthday at Sky Zone.  After an hour of jumping from one trampoline to another, climbing in and out of foam pits, and playing a few games of air hockey, Al should be fairly worn out.

One would think so, anyway.

He even went to dance class right from the birthday party, so on top of all the jumping he danced for another hour.  He should be exhausted.  Alas, he is busy playing pretend with my cooking utensils as I type. Apparently, the wooden spoon does not want to marry the Pampered Chef spatula, and that is not going over well at all with the other kitchen gadgets.  Oh, the drama!

I wish I had that much energy left at the end of my day.  I am worn out.  To be fair, I am fighting off a head cold (with the crazy weather we've had, I can't believe I've held out this long), but still.  It's not even 9:30 on a Friday night and I am done.

Now if only I could convince Alex that he is done, too...