Mickey

Mickey has been a part of our family since the Boy was somewhere in his 3^rd year. Although Mickey had been one of many stuffed animals he had received in his early years, it took a while for the attachment to grow and ultimately he became the favorite . . . the one that is at the Boy's side all the time. When I was pregnant with Pickle Mickey became his “Brudder” and another one of the children.

His attachment to Mickey has been and continues to be so strong that JP and I are always careful to keep an eye out for the Mouse making sure he stays at home when we leave or doesn’t get manhandled by one (or both) of the girls. We have always been fearful something would happen to Mick and we would be left with a screaming toddler (or now a sulking 7 year old) at bedtime.

There was one instance several years ago where we got to the dinner table on a Sunday evening and the Boy suddenly remembered he had left Mickey at the library. I called and found out that yes, a Mickey Mouse had been found in the kids’ area but they were closing soon so I could pick it up the next day. HELLO? Are you MAD lady? I want to get some sleep tonight! I ran out of the house and drove well over the speed limit to get there before they locked me out and Mickey in . . . the result was positive but I can still remember that tangible fear.

At least 2 nights out of seven the three of us end of up searching for Mickey who has been left behind in a random place (wheelbarrow outside is the most memorable – always fun to see JP put the headlamp on for searching). There have been only a few nights that I can recall where he went to bed without Mickey and JP or I would find him and put him to bed with the sleeping boy, but never has he been missing for longer than a few hours.

Which brings us to a very rough Tuesday night a few weeks ago when Mouse could not be found and he went to bed with promises that Mommy & Daddy would find Mickey and bring him to bed. We did not find him. Nor was he found the next morning or all day and another frantic search began at bedtime Wednesday night. This time he was not so easily assuaged into bed. There were lots of moaning and many tears. At one point the Boy asked Josh if this was a practical joke . . . that was when JP’s heart really broke. I think Dad was taking it harder than the Boy.

Over the tense 36 hours we looked in every drawer and cabinet– multiple times – and under beds and beneath covers. I promise no stone was unturned or possibility not considered but the Mouse could not be found. JP even donned rubber gloves and dug through the trash, he tore open a tied up bag of diapers, and he looked in the alley dumpsters. We emptied every laundry basket, bin of stuffed animals, and Lego container but the Mouse was not to be found.

Finally on that Thursday morning I stood in the middle of the Boy’s room and looked around, casually picked up a small cardboard cube, shook it, and opened  it to find this

Pure joy on the Boy’s face when he came home from school that day!

Mugshots

No really! how is it that Christi's looks almost good and the rest of us look like we are in the county lockup? These are in fact our passport photos. The entire experience of getting a passport was an ordeal. I got sent home 2 times to retake my picture before I got one accepted. To get New Kid to even take a picture in front of the screen while looking at the camera was nearly impossible. The first set of photos for her were rejected and she obviously didn't take it well as is evident by her crying in the accepted photo.  

Learning Resourcefulness

It must be pretty tough standing around to play with toys. When you are all of 16 months and 22 pounds nothing is more difficult than dragging your tired carcass over to your noise maker to get the fun on. Enter the school bus. Not only can it get you to the toy but it can double as a seat when you just can't stand anymore.

The Trip

I have many fond memories of road trips with my entire family but some of the most fond were just me and my dad. Since The Boy was born I have looked longingly to a day when he and I could take trips together. We had a brief jaunt by ourselves last June when I took him up to camp but he was so excited to be heading off to camp and it was such a short trip that it didn't amount to much. This past weekend we went on a little bigger trip.

We loaded up Goldie and headed east to run into my Brother-in-Law who was driving my jeep west. More on that debacle later. The boy and I made great time on our journey and had a ton of fun. There was little to no complaining from him about how long it was taking and never a question of "are we there yet?" The only time there was a hint of whine in his voice was when I told him he couldn't poop for another 20 miles!

My only regret is the trip went too fast. We didn't stop to take any pictures or explore anything. Although we were in the respective cars for close to 23 hours it really didn't seem like a very long time. He was never bored as he had activity books to do and he read the Fudge series of books by Judy Blume. I don't know if he read the entire series but he devoured the four books he brought on the trip and then reread them again. After he read he took a nap in one of the most uncomfortable positions I have ever seen. He slept this way for 2 hours.

In short we had a great time. I hope that he remembers it fondly as we get to take more trips.

Pickle's an all day kid

Pickle has finally made it to all day kid status, or luncher as she likes to call it. She has been counting down the days all summer until she could go to school for the whole day like Bubba. She is out of the house at 9 and doesn't return until 3. A full day of learning in store. I told her teacher today that I wanted her reading by Christmas! I hope she didn't think I was kidding.

Someone else was pretty excited to see Pickle go all day too! New Kid isn't going to know what to do with all the quiet around here.

2nd Grade

The yearly ritual of taking a picture on the first day of school is so ingrained now, that after getting dressed, The Boy actually walked down the hall and stood in the spot on the wall waiting for his photo to be taken. So this begins the second grade for him. He trotted off to school with Christi by his side and a backpack laden with too many supplies that I feel certain will never be used.

Addition to my Office

JP recently hung some shelves in my office which are to serve a couple of purposes. 1) Makes it more office like and 2) considering my office is in my bedroom for now, it is also holding pictures and other items that we had on the armoire in the room. I love the sleek look of the shelves.

The log cabin was a Lego purchase I made for ME . . . not the boy, not JP, but ME! I like to play with Legos as much as they do and I wanted the cabin! I put it together (sharing the fun with all) over the 4th of July weekend and decided to display it in my office. I figure it is also a visualization tool to manifest what I want . . . my own log cabin on a river with a canoe. I've just taken it up a notch from cutting pictures out of a magazine to make a story board of my wants, I create them with Legos!

JP asked if we could park his Ferrari next to the log cabin but I feel it is a bit pretentious to park your sports car next to your 2nd home.