Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss

I must start out by saying that my "embarrassment meter" is bit off. In retrospect I'm pretty sure I was a HUGE nerd during my school years. But I didn't know I was a nerd so I didn't care.

See, I don't know when I should be embarrassed. I act with reckless abandon and only later do I think that perhaps my actions were embarrassing.

I tell you this because apparently my oldest son's embarrassment meter works quite well at the ripe old age of 5 and I am trying to figure out how to back myself off a bit so as not to mortify him before he is a teenager.

Today is Dr. Seuss's birthday.

You may recall that a few years back my kids dressed as Dr. Seuss characters for Halloween.



So this morning I dug out the Thing 1 Thing 2 logos. In my mind it was appropriate to wear to school. It is Dr. Seuss's birthday after all.

This may be a good time to mention that a week or so ago they learned about Pirates in preschool and Zoey went all decked out in her best Pirate garb. And, in my mind, that was totally normal, acceptable behavior.



I convinced Adam to wear a red sweater to school and just before it was time to walk out the door I safety pinned the Thing 1 logo to both his front and back. I, too, was wearing a red shirt and I told him I was coming to his class later and I would come as Thing 2.

He said "When are you coming?"

I told him I would come after his study buddies. (The 5th graders come in each Tuesday to read with the kindergarten students."

Upon hearing I wasn't coming in my Thing 2 attire until after he met with his study buddies he suddenly became very agitated.

"I want to take this off, mom."

I couldn't understand his reaction but he was nearly in tears. I tried to explain that he could simply take his sweater off if he wanted (he was wearing a t-shirt beneath) but this was NOT good enough. He wanted Thing 1 off, and he wanted it off NOW.

I complied and started to unpin the Thing 1 logo. As I was taking the one off his back he said "Did you want me to wear it?"

I told him that I thought it would be fun but it was no big deal. At that he started to cry even harder. "I want to do what you want me to do!!!!"

By now we were running late so I once again reiterated that it really wasn't a big deal and we just needed to go. I told him it was fine if he didn't want to go to school as Thing 1 and that I wasn't disappointed. REALLY it was fine.

As we walked to school he walked behind me the entire time. I kept trying to get him to walk beside me but he refused. I finally realized it was because I had told him at home that he needed to stop crying or everybody would see his red eyes and now he was embarrassed about that!

Moms! They just don't get it!

I would like to add that Zoey attended preschool today as Thing 2 and didn't seem the least bit scarred by it. Apparently her "embarrassment meter" is more in line with mine.

You're my what?

Overheard at lunch

Moira: Adam, when I say to you that you are my BAB then you have to say back to me that I'm your BAB.
Adam: It's not BAB. It's BFF
Zoey: Yea, because we are friends forever so it has to be BFF
Moira: Adam, you are my BFF
Zoey: No, just me and Moira are BFF. Adam has to be a BFF with a boy.
Harrison: (in his super cute 2 year old toddler voice) Who is my BFF? I want a BFF.

Snow

2 pairs of Snow pants, 60% off at Shopko: $24
2 pairs of Gloves, 50% off at Kmart: $9
2 pairs of Boots 50% off at Landsend: $35

4 hours of warm outdoor play with dad: Priceless

Far, Far Away

Yesterday....

Me: Hey kids-get your shoes and socks on
Kids: Why?
Me: Because it's time to go
Kids: Where are we going
Me: (singing) Far, far away, on Judea's plain
Kids: We're going on a plane?
Me: No, that's just a song
Kids: Where is Judea?
Me: No, I was just singing a Christmas song. We're going to Kmart
Kids: We have to take a plane to Kmart????????
Me: No, we're taking the car to Kmart.
Kids: Then where are we going on a plane?
Me:Just get your shoes on!

And we're back!

And we've missed much! The kids haven't stopped being funny or insightful or clever for one second. I somehow just stopped writing about it.

But I'm not going to get into that here. (I did get into that here if you care. If you don't, then read on.)

Part of me knows I needed the break. But another part of me is sad that I missed out on nearly 6 months of kidisms. Things that I swore I wasn't going to forget, that I'd write down, to catalog to be remembered for eternity.

But I'm a mom. I barely remember what I had for breakfast this morning. So, much is lost in void that is my mommy brain.

I do remember clearly Adam's first day of kindergarten.

Too bad I have no pictures. That's right. I walked him to school, snapping pictures all the way. Only to get home and find out I had no memory card in my camera. Tears were the result (and not the "oh my baby is growing up" kind of tears, either.)

And I do remember this precious little gem from Mike's birthday earlier in the month.

I overheard Adam giving Zoey the following rundown.

"We have to do whatever daddy says today because it is his birthday. And whoever's birthday it is is in charge that day. But when it's nobody's birthday mom is in charge."

Glad he knows how things work around here.

Modern Princess

Adam and Zoey are playing princess. Well, Zoey is playing princess and is trying to convince Adam to be the knight that comes and saves her. He finally concedes and comes riding up on his valiant steed and says in his most knighly voice "I am here to rescue you princess"

Her response? "Just a second, my phone is ringing."

I can only imagine she is video conferencing in all her best princess buddies so they can see her brave knight in action.

Brand Conscious

On Saturday I bought Adam a new pair of shoes. He needed dress shoes but Famous Footwear was having their buy one get one half off sale so of course I offered to buy him a pair of tennis shoes, too. He is starting school next month and will need them.

So, of course he picks out a pair of Sketchers that have lights that blink. I tried to talk him into a different, less ostentatious pair, but this was love at first sight. I'm too cheap to buy brand name shoes for my kids when they grow out of them in 6-8 months. But I was getting them half off and I also had a $10 voucher from their rewards program. So it brought the fancy shoes down into a price range I could stomach.

The next day I heard him call to Zoey, "I'll be right out. I just need to put my Sketchers on." I was taken aback. While shoe shopping the day before the word Sketcher had never been said. I merely called them tennis shoes. So how did he know they were Sketchers? So I asked him.

Of course he looked at my completely dumbfounded and in his very best "duh mom" voice he said "Because they have a big S on them mom." I think he may have even rolled his eyes at me.

But this did not clear things up for me, since the only television he watches is PBS. So whatever his exposure to the Sketcher's S logo it was limited. And yet he still knew that his shoes were Sketchers. And he's only 5.

Damn, those marketing people are good!