An overly emotional mom moment

I was watching Biggest Loser tonight and listening to Abby tell her story about the night she lost everything because her husband and two beautiful children were killed in a car crash and I couldn't help but think about how precious life is and how you sometimes have no warning before you lose everything. Then I heard Collin still awake upstairs. I couldn't help it, I went up to hug him and tell him I love him. I tried to dry my tears so he wouldn't see me crying but they fell again as soon as I hugged him. Collin wanted to know why I was crying so I told him I was watching a really sad story on tv. He is so perceptive and smart. He said "Mom, did a baby die? It's ok, you know. If you saw it on tv it wasn't real." If only that were true. I am overly emotional and I didn't mean for him to see me cry but it made me so proud to see how compassionate he was and that he knows tv isn't reality. For as long as I can remember I have always kissed my kids and told them I loved them when I put them in the car or before I send them out the door because you just never know what will happen and if the worst were to happen to me or to them I want that to be the last thing that I said and did. So guys, if you get to read this someday, I love you more than you could ever possibly imagine and I know eventually it won't be cool to let mom kiss you goodbye anymore but indulge me, ok? It's one of those silly Mom things that really matters to me.

Conversation with my Son

My children have taken to using the term "that's awesome, baby!" On occasion the just add baby at the end of a sentence. When that sentence is addressed to me, I'm pretty quick to tell them that I am their mother and they may not address me as baby. Here is how the conversation went with Nick as I tried to put him to bed last night:

Nick: That's ok baby.
Me: Nick, we do not address Mommy as baby. That is not acceptable.
Nick: Ok, girlie!
Me: (hiding a shocked snicker) Girlie is not ok either. My name is Mommy.
Nick: All right Mama. (snickering himself at this point)
Me: Mama is just fine.
Nick: I love you Mommy.

Where he got girlie from I don't know but I about choked when he said it. It was just so totally unexpected. He was definitely trying hard to get a reaction out of me.

How young is too young?

My boys went outside to play with their friends when we got home tonight. A few minutes after the 4 of them started playing another little boy showed up. A few minutes after that, his cell phone rang. My neighbor jabbed me and said "Oh my gosh, he has a cell phone". I'm thinking his mom must have sent him out with hers. Oh no, that was not the case. Of course the boys all noticed that he had a phone so they asked him about it. It was indeed his. He is 6!!!! I'm floored. I know kids are getting phones earlier and earlier but 6? I don't think so. I was thinking more like 16 when they start driving and have a legitimate need for a cell phone not to mention a job and an ability to pay for it. Clearly I'm going to have the meet them somewhere in the middle because I'm going to be the "worst mom in the whole world" for not letting them have one until they drive. I'll probably still be the "worst mom in the world" even if I cave and get it for them when they're 14 or 15. I just don't see why they need one, nor do I want them to have a form of communication I can't monitor. So when they do get one it will come with the rule that I will be able to read any text message at any time or they will lose it. I know I am the parent and what I say goes but at some point, and I suspect it will be way before 16, they really will be the only ones without their own phones. This parenting thing gets harder all the time. When I was little no one had a cell phone before they drove and you were lucky to get one then. I remember I got my first one for Christmas one year after I had my license. It was a really big deal. That was way before text messaging and camera phones. How the heck did I get so old? Listen to me, when I was young we didn't even have text messaging....and we walked to school, barefoot, up hill, in the snow.

Budding Baker

Nick and Collin helped me bake cookies tonight. I LOVE the KitchenAid mixer! It makes cookie making so much easier. Nick was really excited to be able to put the flour in the mix all by himself. He used the scoop and put the entire bowl of dry ingredients into the wet ones and let the mixer do all the work. The he got to lick the mixer attachment clean before I washed it. Tomorrow they'll be able to eat some of their cookies. I'm so proud of how independent he was. They're both growing up so very fast.

Nick's Halloween Costume

It's here!!! It came super fast, I'm so thrilled with the person I bought it from on ebay. Nick is really excited that its here too. He couldn't wait to try it on and as soon as we zipped it up here ran around the house saying "I'm a raffe. I'm so scary!" He was so darn cute.

Another Collinism

I got Collin a spiderman costume for Halloween and he got to try it on tonight. Despite the fact that it is supposed to fit sizes 4-6 it just barely fits him. When I realized this I jokingly told him he'd better not grow any bigger between now and Halloween. He said "Ok Mom, I'll stay up all night". All night? Now this is definitely not what I wanted to hear. I was pretty certain I knew why he was saying this but I asked anyway. He told me that he would stay up all night because he grows when he sleeps and I had just told him not grow any before Halloween. Collin hates to go to bed at night so I do tell him that he has to sleep because that is when he grows bigger so his logic makes perfect sense. I just made me laugh because he was so earnest in his desire to stay up all night so he wouldn't grow. In other news I was able to find Nick's "raffe" (giraffe) costume on ebay for a reasonable price. So it should be here in about a week. He's still got his heart set on being a giraffe. Why he picked that I have no idea, last week he wanted to be Mickey Mouse.

Welcome Fall!

Fall is here!!! The weather is finally cool and there is a crispness to the air in the morning. I can go without a jacket in the afternoons but more mornings than not I'm reaching for it before I leave the house. The boys shorts are being put away and their winter clothes have been pulled down out of the attic. Every year when we drag all the clothes out of the attic it makes me really happy because it means that my favorite season has arrived.

There isn't anything I don't love about the fall. The changing leaves, the pumpkins, the apples and all the yummy things you can make from them, the fun fall activities; it all just gives me a sense of joy. I look around and everything is so beautiful and I can't help but marvel at it. The colors of fall are so warm and inviting and they're everywhere. The leaves are changing to orange, yellow and red. The bright orange pumpkins have arrived and there are apples available in a variety of colors. I can't wait to make homemade apple pie and applesauce. My boys have eaten two 5lb bags of apples in the past 6 days. Clearly they're happy apple season is here too. Sometime soon we'll head back to Larriland Farms and pick our own apples and partake in all the fall festivities like hay rides and scarecrow making. Fall also means football season is here. I love nothing more than sitting on the couch with my boys and watching the game. Collin and Nick get so excited and jump up and down cheering for the Ravens and the Steelers. Then there is Halloween and pumpkin carving, two of my very favorite activities. I'm already trying to decide which pattern I'll carve for the boys this year. Collin has already decided he will be Spiderman this year and Nick will be a groom or a vampire so I can get some more use out of the tux I bought for Aunt Bella's wedding. Something about this time of year makes me feel energized and excited. There are so many things to see and do and to share with my boys. Summer is fun but I'd trade the heat and humidity for the crispness of fall every time.