Good Day

Some days you just want to remember.

Today was a day with my boy that could have been fraught with disaster and has turned into a simply wonderful time with him.

B had to have some routine bloodwork this morning and we were both dreading it. He’s grown so much since his last shot, though! Everyone in ours and the neighboring zipcode may have heard him cry his discontent, but he DID NOT MOVE. This is progress, people. We have watched him mature so much this summer, and it has ben so exciting to be able to reason with my child!

After the lab, I’d promised that we would stand in line to get the autograph of one of his favorite Orioles, Chris Davis. I greatly underestimated this event. I found out later that at 10:30am, we were between 500 and 600th in line. Chris was to arrive at noon and leave promptly at 1 (He stayed later than 1). Only the first 200 were guaranteed autographs. After this PR announcement was made, everyone stubbornly stood their ground. I explained to B what was happening. You won’t see Chris Davis today. Even if we wait and wait. He looked at me with those puppy dog eyes and begged me to let him trrrrryyyyyy.

That’s the tail of his limo behind B up there. In the next 3 hours we made friends with about 20 people in line. And in all transparency…about 1.5 hours in the whining began (him, not me, although I considered it). At hour 2, I put his face in my hand and reminded him that we were here for HIM, not me. I’m into teaching gratitude and I thought this was a good time for a lesson. 🙂 He had his usual 3 count to pull it together or I was pulling us out of line (lest you think the whole day was roses, we almost made it to 3, it wasn’t pretty, and I was being generous-glad THAT didn’t make the news!). My boy did pull it together, though, and the rest of the wait was an adventure we won’t forget. As we circled the building, the end in sight, we heard rumors that Chris Davis was about to run out to his car, meaning no signing for us. The crowd stampeded over to snap pictures of him and we couldn’t get there fast enough for B to get a look, a second disappointment for him. A little boy walked past us, wailing. I looked down and reminded B that we weren’t going to cry like that, because we knew this was coming, right? “I know, I know”, he said. “Thank you for taking me here for a treat, Mom.” And then I almost cried. I’m so glad you are learning to be grateful. It makes it easier to swallow that I walked all over Dobbin Center looking to see where you sat down that Winnie the Pooh book after sitting on a hot parking lot for 3 hours. One “thank you” out of your mouth, and this crazy mama would do it all over again.

So we went to get ice cream, which softens almost any blow. 🙂

And we made this, which I think is more valuable than some MLB signed ball anyway.

Summer Love

Dear B, I am soaking up this summer with you. You start kindergarten in a couple of short weeks and it is still so hard to believe. It shouldn’t be. You are the size of a 4th grader, you just started reading your first chapter book, and last week you started riding your bike without training wheels. It’s probably time. But still… You still need a nightlight, you reach for my hand when we’re walking together, and you ask your mama out on dates. You asked if we could go on a date yesterday (copying your dad, of course), and I was happy to oblige, since Dad had evening plans anyways. Our night out last night was perfect. I talked you into going to my favorite sushi place (you aren’t the only con-artist in the family), and then we went to play mini-golf. I was so proud to see that you are learning to be grateful. You thanked me several times, although you were less than gracious that I squeezed in a grocery store stop there at the end.

Also, you really set yourself apart from the grown men I’ve dated by announcing loudly at the lovely sushi restaurant that you needed to go number 3 (number 1 plus 2). When I hissed that maybe you could hold it because they might clear our table if we get up, you pulled a classic B: “Oh, no I don’t need to go. I tooted. I just tooted.”

Oh B. I love you.

I’ve been Framed

See what I did there?

I’m knee-deep in a really fun frame project that I thought would be very simple and is not. Which is totally fine, and typical for me. It’s still going to be very cute and very inexpensive. I bought a ton of cheap frames from the thrift store and have been spray painting them a couple different colors. I’m painting some of the bigger ones with chalk board paint. I plan to have the wall covered with pictures and words that make us happy.

I also have high hopes that I can show you a finished picture of this project before 2014 begins.

I spent a ridiculous amount of time peeling those little price tags off that glass.

1st sign complete!