Today’s Memorable Conversation:

T: Hey Mom. You know how you told me that families are all different and that’s okay?

M: Yes, I do remember telling you that.

T: Well, some families have a mom and dad, some have two dads, some have grandparents and some don’t. Some families don’t even have puppies. But it’s okay to be different!

M: You’re right. I’m glad you remembered that. We need to be kind to everyone, no matter what their family life is like.

T: That’s right Mom. Good thing because you are a different part of our family. Me, Daddy and the boys all have such beautiful blue eyes. You have beautiful green eyes and the dog’s are brown, but our family will love you even though you are different.

Maybe I should stop passing along my wisdom from now on.

This evening, the kids were watching Cinderella. They got to the famous scene where it became midnight and all of the magical things turned back into the animals and inanimate objects they formerly were. Taylor looks up at the TV and says “Oh crap!” She says some crazy things that she hears on her silly Disney TV shows (like ‘Oh Craters!’) so I figured that’s what she was saying. I asked her to repeat what she said and sure as day she said “Oh crap! The pumpkin and mouse turned back!” Well okay! We discussed how that was not at all appropriate language and now that she knows, she’s never to say it again. After our talk, I went into the next room and laughed silently.

Taylor’s “baby puppy” had an annual check up today. He had to get a bunch of vaccinations. Taylor asked me if I could please hold Ranger’s paw while he was getting his shots so he wouldn’t be so scared. When we got home, she was so happy to see him and said “Mom, was Ranger really brave?!” How cute is that? Ranger’s favorite vet tech, Michelle, thought he lost weight right off the bat. I told her she must be mistaken, and with all the food the boys give him, he’s probably gained…a lot. Sure enough, she was right, and Ranger lost four pounds! Little stud.

 

Speaking of studs, I stumbled across this picture of me and a very old friend of mine, Eddie, from when we were kids. We used to have sleepovers all the time, and of course, he would wear a Knicks shirt and I…didn’t wear any clothing back then. I did rock the Alf sleeping bag though. It’s amazing that we both turned out to be such well-rounded adults. He’s now living the life in LA, taming dinosaurs during the day (for real) and being a hilarious comedian at night. Todd and I had the honor of seeing him live last summer and he was nothing short of incredible!

 

Taylor is still obsessed with the idea of having a baby. She’s now decided that if I won’t have another, she will have a baby (or two) herself. She came into the boys’ room like this earlier and said “My baby is going to come out at any minute now! Are you ready?” No kid, I’m not quite ready to be a grandma.

Tonight, T got up to go to the bathroom and saw that Todd was using the bathroom himself. She watched him and said “Hey Daddy, I’ve never seen you go to the bathroom like that. It’s like filling up a bucket with a hose!”

I haven’t laughed so hard in a while.

I don’t have very many words for what happened at nap time, so I will just leave you with a bunch of self explanatory pictures. It’s diaper cream, by the way.

Also, for those of you that are friends with me on Facebook, you may have already heard this story, but it’s worth repeating on here.

The kids asked to go downstairs and watch tv as I was getting snacks ready this morning. It was silent down there, so I began to worry. I quickly came down to find them captivated by the tv. They were watching Snooki & J-Wow (NOT a kids’ show). Apparently, the women were talking about body changes during pregnancy. Taylor looks at me and and says:

“Hey Mom, did you have watermelons in your breasts when I was in your tummy?” Thanks for the morning education, MTV!

Taylor spent a few weeks in school learning about community workers. She came home each day telling me about different people and what they do to help the community. She was proud to know so many firefighters (we have a handful of them just on our street alone, and her Daddy was a volunteer for many years) and she talked about the many times she’s visited various firehouses. She talked about the crossing guard we’ve become friendly with during school pickup, and how he not only helps people cross the street, but he’s nice to her and always talks to her and smiles. We spoke about how her doctors and nurses are community workers and how they are always there to help when she and her brothers don’t feel well. We spoke about veterinarians and how they help Ranger and other puppies. We discussed teachers being community workers, and she was proud to know that both her G and her Auntie are teachers who “always help teach kids and are so nice.”

When asked to name her favorite community worker, she didn’t hesitate to say that it was Ann. Ann is one of my closest friends, and her daughter, Emma, and Taylor happen to be best buddies. It also happens that Ann is a paramedic. Taylor is proud to know someone who “helps sick people get better and brings them to the hospital in her ambulance.” She reminded us of one of the times that the boys had croup and had respiratory issues and Ann came up the street within minutes to check their breathing sounds with a stethoscope so we could avoid an unnecessary ER trip. She also ran up the street to help and hug this crying, distraught Mama when Joseph choked on Gold Fish and we had about 15 firefighters here. She was nine months pregnant at the time.

It made Todd and I so proud that Taylor not only knows the importance of Ann’s profession, but admires her and loves her as much as we do. So Ann, you may have had a rough last shift, but just know that there is a little girl who admires you so much for being a community helper (and a good friend). In case you wanted to know what a hero looks like through a 4 year old’s eyes, here it is: ambulance and stethoscope included.

 

 

Taylor had school all week, and we had various shopping trips and appointments too, so we really wanted to make sure we got out of the house to have some fun on Saturday. It’s supposed to rain all week, which I am not looking forward to. The rain brings out something evil in my boys. In all fairness; snow, wind, sunshine and darkness also make them nuts…

We spent a while at the Nature Center again. We always have such a great time there, and even though the animals are basically the same, it’s always a different experience. We spoke with a very animated goose and got it on video so T can watch it back later! The kids had a great time expelling some energy and talking to the animals. The three of them really love being together, and it’s just so fun to watch! We ran into a woman I used to baby sit for only to learn that one of her girls is headed off to college. Talk about feeling old!

We had a relaxing pajama day today. By relaxing, I mean Todd and I are ready to start drinking heavily (neither of us are drinkers) and we’ve run out of places to put the tornado twins while in time out. They often need to serve their sentences at the same time, but they sit there and speak to each other in their twin language and laugh. It makes time out enjoyable for them, which is clearly not the point. We are kind of scared of what these two are capable of saying about us without us even knowing what’s being said! We also had a “Shake it Off” bubble dance party, before the boys went rogue and broke the bubble machine. As I was putting away laundry tonight, I found that the boys had unlocked their sock drawer (we have “toddler proof” furniture locks on), separated almost all of the nicely paired socks they own, and firmly secured the lock in place. What a fun surprise. I’m glad we spent the money on the locks.

Taylor has new Star Wars pajamas that she is so proud of. I’m pretty sure Todd is proud too! She modeled a makeshift Princess Leia hairstyle today, but made sure to tell us that she really wasn’t Leia, she was “Princess Taylor.” As if we could ever be confused.

Taylor woke us up yesterday morning and said she was ready for the day because she had lined up all of her “people” on her bed. We have no idea where she got her OCD tendencies from as I would never do something like that. [Sarcasm] This may or may not be a picture of chocolates lined up on my counter because I didn’t want to see the pile.

I am hoping for an easy week. I’m pretty excited because we are hopefully having an Auntie play date with Diane, and I have family we don’t get to see often coming for Mother’s Day. The kids will probably be on their best behavior on both occasions to make it look like we are crazy when we say how insane they are, but whatever.