The Beauty of Improv

I was sitting on the couch earlier this afternoon, trying to finish up a book, while I encouraged some independent play time. Suddenly, I heard a loud rip. I glanced down in the floor where Drew had been coloring and flipping through the current Pottery Barn Kids catalog. His fascination with those things always amazes me; so after I finish flipping through and daydreaming, I pass them on to him. Anyway, back to the rip. Apparently his all-boyness had kicked in and he was demolishing said catalog piece by piece. I shrugged my shoulders, reminded him that it would have to be cleaned up before bedtime and went back to reading. It was just going to get thrown away and in the meantime, he was playing on his own.

15 minutes later, I surveyed the damage. The entire front half of the living room floor was covered in PBK scraps. I probably should have been slightly annoyed but much like the tissue box incidents the summer before his 1st birthday, it amused me. What had formerly been a mere PBK magazine was now a potential art project. Armed with some construction paper, scissors and glue, I settled down in the floor. My little artist ran around grabbing his favorite scraps, telling me what he wanted cut out more and an hour of fun later...we have our masterpiece. Drew, of course, finds himself utterly brilliant and is delighted that his new work will be displayed in the gallery (i.e. the refrigerator). That my friends, is the beauty of improv... seizing the moment, running with what you have and in the end, entertainment for all.

Mommy Moments

Today has been a day of moments to step back and realize...yep, I'm most definitely a mommy. It started at 1:00 am when the precious monkey decided he couldn't sleep and then at 3:45 am when he decided to kick his wall and scream bloody murder and then continued on when I unfolded myself from the pretzel that is required to sleep in his bed with him at the sound of my alarm.

I hurried to get ready so that I would have time to do some dishes before our adventure filled day. We had a new experience today; Drew and I made a joint trip with my friend Ashley and her 2 year old, Jim, to Wal-Mart. Now this may sound like a rather boring outing to many of you and most are probably wondering why we would plan a day around it. However, going to Wal-Mart is at best a 25 minute drive over the mountains. When you add in two 2 year olds who are having a yelling competition in the back seat and one stop to change a poopy diaper plus a 15 minute potty break upon arrival at said destination, it begins to get interesting.

The fun continued as Ashley and I scanned our lists. About that time, both boys started yelling, and shouting requests for snacks, sippy cups, toy cars and needing "to hold you." I should clarify, that this does not mean that they actually want to hold us...they are, in fact, requesting for us to push the carts, read our lists and hold THEM, all at the same time. Anyway, I digress. We quickly realized that our first stop was the gardening center. Once again, I should clarify; despite the fact that between the two of us we have zero knowledge of gardening, Ashley's husband had decided that we should go in search of everything necessary to start a vegetable garden. Yes, yes, I can hear many of you laughing at me from miles away.

By the time we had secured at least enough stuff so that Justin could see that we had made a valiant effort, the cries and begging had escalated to astronomical levels. At that point, I snatched a bag of trail mix off an endcap, ripped it open and filled those little jacket pockets with raisins, almonds, and M&Ms. That taken care of, we made a bee line for the Matchbox car aisle, where thankfully, someone had the intelligence to package individual cars of all shapes and sizes for a mere $0.97 (I cannot tell you how many of those I've bought).

I'll fast forward through the search for grey legging ($3 on clearance) and the stocking up of sippy cups and diapers (why does something our children poop in cost so much?). That brings us to the grocery side. At this point, Jim decides he isn't a fan of the trail mix anymore. So Ashley grabs a package of string cheese (it is actually on her list) and tears it open to give him a stick. Unfortunately, its virtually impossible to give one of these kids something without the other partaking so she tosses me one for Drew. As they munch on their cheese we race through the grocery section, when suddenly they realize that maybe they picked the wrong Matchbox cars (too bad). We get to the end, only for me to realize that I forgot to grab Tupperware, which just so happens to be on the other side of the store. I race off to grab some as Drew yells, "NOOOOooooooo, I have to stay with JIM!!!!!!!!!" I ignore the yells and the stares...We finally arrive with a sigh at the check out.

Afterwards, Ashley and I realize we're starving and so we stop to eat before we get back on the road. As we're wrestling with both boys trying to make them stay in their seats, it suddenly dawns on me, "Ummm, Ashley? They probably aren't hungry...THEY ate all the way through Wal-Mart." No, they weren't hungry but they did want the toys that came with their kids meals. One problem, they were two different toys and one was infinitely cooler than the other. I looked at Ashley and grabbed both toys, marched up to the counter and calmly asked the wide eyed kid at the register if he could give me matching toys. He glanced at the ruckus coming from the corner booth and said he'd be happy to.

After clearing up our corner of destruction, we loaded the boys back in the Durango and hit the road. About 5 minutes later, the toy flying and yelling started. Then Jim managed to unbuckle his harness (lets just say that at that point, we pulled over). On the road again, the yelling and seat kicking continued. Ashley and I turned up some Praise and Worship (really loud), talked over it and completely drowned them out. Jim was asleep within 5 minutes and Drew was in a glassy eyed comatose state.

We were enjoying the quiet and talking about plans to take the boys hiking and to play down at the river this summer when suddenly we stopped. Ashley looked down at her swelling, pregnant belly and the look on my face was as easy to read as Go Dog, Go, "I'm hoping to be pregnant by then!?!?" If we are going to cut it in this mommy world, we are definitely going to have to step up our game. There are only two of them now but there will be three by this summer and by next summer, hopefully four. Finally, we made it home somewhere around 2:00 (we left at 10:00).

At home later this afternoon, I sent Drew to the potty. He came running back in tears. Somehow he managed to drop that brand new Matchbox car into the toilet. I think we all know what I did. I shoved my hand into the toilet, found the bleach and a few minutes later handed that car right back. This mommy life isn't for the birds...I better get busy eating my Wheaties and spending a WHOLE lot of time in prayer. On that note, it sounds like a small flood may be going on in my bathroom....

Oh That Boy!

It looks like today is going to be another compilation of Drew funnies. He has been cracking me up today and I don't think I could possibly focus on one instance. So, here we go...in no particular order. :)

Drew and I were wrestling around on my bed earlier. "Lay down and pe-tend to go sweep Mommy." I asked him why, to which he responded, "So I can go get my sword and smack you wit it."

I poured his water out of a "big boy cup" and into his sippy before his rest time. He proceeded to throw himself in the floor yelling, "No!!!! Not dat cup...I'm going to have to run away!"

I walked into the living room to see him coloring. He was talking up a storm, "Dis is Jesus. He's a wittle boy. Dis is God. Dey are fwiends."

I love how he refers to chicken nuggets as "Chickens" and will ask, "Mommy can I have chickens for wunch?" So cute!

Earlier today, he was determined that Bop-Bop (his sacred yellow blanket) be folded up like a towel. He carried it all over the house like that and came close to a panic attack anytime it came unfolded.

While "helping" me make the bed, he managed to undo everything I had just done and then proceeded to hide under the covers...this led to the previously mentioned wrestling.

He ran around pretending to bite Jesse and I this morning yelling, "My eat you up I wove you so!"

He was pretending to play hockey earlier and every time he got his ball in the goal, I would yell "score!" One time I didn't. He came up and leaned very close and in the most pitiful voice said, "Mommy, you no score the goal."

He calls his tambourine a "cam-or-ree" and an ambulance an "amby-lance"

Ok, well I guess that's it for now. The munchkin just came and asked for supper...although he seems to think it should involve putting peaches in the oven...hmmmm.

St. Patty's Day Fun

Today has been an absolutely beautiful day. Being the Irish blooded people we are we started off by donning green shirts before we headed to meet our friends at the park. About then it occurred to me that I could use St. Patty's as a teaching tool to work on Drew's colors...today's color being:GREEN. After some fun at the park, we came home for lunch and rest time (i.e. Drew is still refusing to nap so its now called "resting").

I had already explained to Drew why we were all wearing green shirts and been quizzing him a little about what color the were. So after nap...excuse me, rest time...I took a quick look out the balcony to check the weather. It is so beautiful! Although I'm sure the snow will return soon, at the moment its 70 degrees and sunny. The top picture is the view from our balcony and I quickly spotted our destination...the grocery store. Its the tan building on the left. I asked Drew if he remembered what color shirts we were wearing ("geen") and then asked if he wanted to go do something fun. Of course his agreement was quick to follow. We headed out for a stroll to the grocery store were we picked up some quick ingredients ("We makin' cookies!?!?! MMmmm, my wove dem!").

Back at home we mixed the batter and put the first batch in and then the fun started. Drew helped me squeeze some green food coloring into the frosting and mix it. He helped me spread the frosting later and add some green sprinkles. Meanwhile, we sang the green song and watched Shrek 2 who's main characters just so happen to be green.

I've accepted that I will probably always be a preschool teacher at heart. That probably means receiving a few curious looks and smirks at my occasional child like behavior and love of "themey" activities. I'm ok with that though...I know what I love and it makes my time with Drew even more enjoyable. By the way, the St. Patty's Day Funfetti cookies were pretty enjoyable too!

"Just a Wittle Boy"

After an afternoon at the park yesterday with some new friends (yay!!!), I brought Drew home to cook supper and get him bathed. As we were headed for the "run in the door, kick off your shoes, and sprint to the potty" routine, I tossed him up over my shoulder and carried him giggling into the bathroom. No sooner had I done that then I got the whiff; nope, there was no accident from this big guy...what I got was the pure sweet smell of a little boy. He was quick to explain that to me too. I tickled him and said, "Boy, you ARE STINKY!" His quick reply was, "Mom, I not stinky...my just a wittle boy." He couldn't have been more accurate because despite the fact that Jesse or I will occasionally slip and reference, "the baby" there isn't actually a baby anymore. There is nothing about this towering, talkative, soon to be potty trained child that points to him having once been a baby.

Of course, that sweet stink isn't the only thing that points to his boyhood. The poor peacock at the zoo over the weekend figured out what he was dealing with fairly quickly (although it took two incidents...something that makes me question the intelligence of that fine feathered bird). Upon first spotting Drew, the peacock made its approach hoping to get some food. Drew introduced himself by trying to grab a handful of tail feathers and proceed to chase the poor bird the length of a football field in his persistence to get acquainted. When the creature was so dense as to return for the second time, Drew thought he would try force feeding it a rock...that didn't go so well either. My frustrations at potential animal cruelty and expasperations that I never would have tried that quickly faded as I reminded myself that he is all boy. With the abundance of curiosity constantly growing in that child, I should be thankful that was the extent of our encounter with that unfortunate bird.

So my sweet baby has quickly grown into a little boy and as he pointed out last night that isn't going to change. In fact, he informed me that he was going to "be all growed up someday and get mawwied and have a wittle boy too." Of course, as a mommy who is holding on for dear life to this little monkey that I adore, I reminded him that it was long time until that would happen. For now, he's just MY "wittle boy."

Funny Drew-isms

So things have been crazy busy lately and I haven't had time to blog. Still winding down but I thought I'd throw out some recent "funnies" from the little monkey (a.k.a. The Family Comedian).

Its about 6:45 pm here and I hear a big sigh from the living room, "Man I'm sweepy...I tink I need to go back and get in my bed."

For some reason, instead of saying "sometimes" Drew says, "Happentimes." Example: "Happentimes I bump my head."

We're making major progress with the potty training. Tonight he went poo-poo and said, "Wow! Mom, did you see dat fall out my booty?"

When told that Daddy would be taking him to storytime at the library this morning he said, "Yay!!! Daddy gives me cookies!"

He's taken to referring to all family members as "good fwiends" lately.

Jesse and I have been hanging stuff on the walls and so we've had the measuring tape and level out. For the record, the correct pronunciation for measure is "May-shur"...that boy's from Texas!

Upon realizing that mommy got new shoes on her shopping trip he said, "My need new shoes too dough!" I told him that it was ok, he had his boots. To which he said, "No, day JOHN DEERE boots and my wove dem." Nothing more was said about needing new shoes.

And one more for the road:

This morning he spotted a bug crawling down the baseboard. He took off running with his clean underwear and tried to use it squish it. I told him not to use that and he kicked the baseboard as hard as he could and yelled, "Ha Ha! My kicked it in da head!"

Out of the Mouth of a Babe

Lately Drew has really been pushing the, "I want a baby sister" issue. It seems like we're talking about babies 3 or 4 times a day and the conversations get funnier every time. Like the time I asked him a couple of weeks ago if he knew what a baby sister was and he said, "Uh huh...she going to pway tactors wif me." I asked him if he was sure he didn't want a brother for that and he informed me that he sure he wanted a sister.

Last night and today we've reached a new intensity. It started when I was holding him in our glider. I told him that he had gotten so big and that he used to be so tiny when Mommy rocked him. He said, "Yea, my use to be wittle bitty in your tummy." I laughed and said yes, that I had rocked in the glider then too. He said, "Mommy, could you heawr me cwying in dere?" I told him that I didn't think he had been crying then...I was pretty sure he was happy. He said, "How I get in dere?" I told him that Jesus had given him to me. "Hmmm," he said as he peeked into my shirt, "Someday I might have to go back in." I laughed and told him no that he was too big now. He said, "Well, maybe Jesus put anoder baby in dere." I told him that I hoped so. Then he said, "But I use to be in dere. Jesus put me dere one time...but den I felled out." I laughed hysterically and then told him that he didn't fall but he came out in the hospital.

Then he wanted to see pictures. So I showed him the ones I put with this blog (ok, insert gripe: I can't figure out how to put the pictures where I want them or in a specific order...grrrr). He looked at the one with me pregnant and said, "Wow! Mommy, you got a big tummy. I tink I was about to fall out dere." I laughed again and said it was pretty soon after that. Then we looked at some of him right after birth and then the one shown here. He said, "Mommy, my was so, so wittle!" I told him yes but that now he was great big and I loved him so very much. "Yes Mommy," he said, "Jesus gave me to you." I told him that was true and that he is the most precious gift.

I love him. I love these talks. I love watching him learn and grow. And of course, I love laughing at what comes out of that mouth while he's learning.

Its all about the Focus

It was bound to happen. In fact, its been a long time coming. Drew started his terrible twos at about 14 months and has kept up a steady string of, "No!" ever since. He's beautiful, he's brilliant, he's athletic and he's mine which means he also has a smart mouth. Honestly, there are days that I find it difficult not to laugh at the things he says, that other boys his age can only think. Like recently when I told him it was time to do something and he very flippantly said, "Ummm, no...I don't tink so" and then went about his business. Or there was yesterday when I was trying to impose the rules of naptime. He looked up at me and growled, "You go back in dat oder woom and watch a movie wif Daddy...just weave me awone!" It comes as a shock and I never know whether to reprimand or shake my head at his verbal tenacity. Of course, I know that ultimately, discipline is in order and so after a long day of my brilliant child's smart mouthed rebuttals and a long list of time outs and discussions I find myself exhausted.

On days like today, when my precocious little man's verbal gymnastics are the least of my concern, I have to take a second and regroup. Which is what I'm doing now, taking a step back and re-focusing. It is all about what I chose to focus on. Yes, Drew threw a screaming fit in the floor today, wearing absolutely nothing from the waist down because he didn't want to put his underwear on. When a take a step back though, I remind myself that he helped put laundry away for the first time today too. Isn't that what I want to remember about today? I've also been awake (aside from a power nap this morning) since roughly 3 am when Drew had a bad dream and then couldn't go back to sleep in his bed...he had to take over Mommy's. Then again, exactly how long will that last? He's growing up so fast that it seems like I could wake up tomorrow and he'll be too old and big to come get in bed with us. And even though I get frustrated at the 5000th request to find a football (or hockey, or basketball, or baseball) game on TV for him to watch when there is absolutely none to be found (and the subsequent fit that often follows), I have to remind myself that maybe this insane 2 year old passion he has for sports is an integral part of his future. Which reminds me of that picture and then I can't help but laugh. So, I laugh and I thank God for my beautiful, brilliant, hilarious, athletic...and yes, smart mouthed little boy.