Focus, Mason, Focus

Have you ever heard yourself speaking through your child? Today, on the way home from preschool, I asked Hunter if he would help me feed Mason while I made dinner (in preparation for our trip to karate class and Chuck-E-Cheese, Hunter's promised reward if he behaved at karate). He said he would. As I scrambled through the kitchen, trying to get dinner going, I could hear Hunter encouraging Mason, whose mouth was clamped shut, to eat. I could hear Hunter saying, over and over, "Focus, Mason, focus." I heard also, on our drive home, Hunter saying to Mason, "Hi, Mason, hi! (high pitched voice- I'm sure mimicking mommy) are you hungry. Do you want to eat? Hi, Mason, hi!"

Other Hunter-isms-

Papa-scules- for popsicle
Lizzers- for scissors
"Mr. Brown Can Do Can You?" for "Mr. Brown Can Moo Can You?"

Motivation

I realized today that my boys are quite motivated by anything gadgety. My son Hunter has always been that way, but today, my nine-month-old son Mason crawled on all fours (first time I've really seen him do it) across a room to grab a controller for Playstation 2. He's so into cords right now too. Lamp cords. TV cords. Anything dangerous is just fine with him! I recall this being the case a few years ago with Hunter, and now, here we are again. It's fun and exhausting all at the same time.

As we put Hunter to bed tonight, I was struck by the fact that he was once a tiny baby and now he is a four-year-old boy who insists his father show him pictures on his cell phone before bed and who knows how to use a touch pad on a laptop computer. I'm amazed by what he can do. I wonder what they'll (Hunter and Mason) be like as teenagers?

Under No Circumstances

My family and I returned home today, a day early, from our family vacation in northern Minnesota. Our four-year-old son fell ill with the stomach flu. He was ill all day yesterday and opened our morning today with an episode of vomiting in the kitchen of our lake cabin. Needless to say, we came home and have stayed in all day, playing, sleeping, "rocking out" (Guitar Hero), etc. An interesting story stemming from my son's sickness is one that involves a boat and a reservation. One of the things I most wanted to do during our vacation is take our son on a boat cruise. I thought he would get a kick out of it. I made a reservation on Tuesday afternoon and was told that I would not receive a refund under any circumstances if we were unable to make the trip. Being an optimist, for once in my life, I made the reservation thinking that all would be well within the next twenty-four hours. The next morning, Hunter awoke proclaiming an "icky" stomach and began a day of throwing up. I was amazed by how strong he was. He was such a good patient. He even managed to run around laughing with his cousin between episodes of sickness. Kids are so resilient. A couple things I have learned as a result of our first family vacation. When you have children, everything needs to be spur of the moment. Advance planning will only prompt the forces of nature to turn on you :) ! Also, every time my son has fallen ill, he has recently consumed chocolate milk at a restaurant. So, no more chocolate milk for Hunter!

Another funny story from our vacation involves, again, dinner. My sister's family and our family thought we had selected the perfect restaurant for the evening. According to a travel booklet, the restaurant had the best outdoor seating in Duluth and featured a children's menu, which meant the restaurant would be family friendly. Not so. When we arrived we realized it was pretty much just a bar that served food on the side. Not really knowing the area, we ventured to another restaurant nearby. When we walked in, we knew we had made a terrible mistake but there really was no turning back. My husband would have had a meltdown. The restaurant was quite nice and the hostess was quite irritated at the sight of our small children. Of course, my younger son, who is always quite quiet and agreeable, decided this would be the night he started to talking (and loud). He yelled throughout our dinner, "ba ba ba ba." The groups around us, as well as the waitstaff, watched us throughout our meal. I waited to eat until my husband finished. My brother-in-law ate quickly and took my older son and his son out of the restaurant. We basically ate everything within twenty minutes and got the heck out. I left feeling partly embarrassed and also partly irritated by the fact that our society basically declares children a nuisance when it comes to eating out. Hey, parents are people too. Kids can be loud but they're also 100% genuine and we can actually learn a lot about loving life from them. I don't know. I guess the next time I go out without children, I'll keep my irritation in check when I see someone out with their kids. They want to eat and enjoy love a bit too.

Windows Open

I'm someone who enjoys keeping the windows open whenever possible. That's not always the best idea when a person has the kind of seasonal allergies that I have during the months of June and July. My right eye was nearly swollen shut this morning and this evening, after my walk, both eyes are swollen, itchy, and feel as if there is sand in them. I don't have much more to say, except "ah-choo!"

What's in a Name?

As I walked my dog last night, following my four-mile route through the streets of Minneapolis, I began thinking about the names Mitch and I have chosen for our two sons, Hunter James and Mason John. Interestingly, at least to me, is that Mitch and I selected Hunter's name seven years before he was born. Early in our relationship, I can recall sitting on the living room floor in my college apartment talking about baby names with the guy (later man) who would eventually become my husband. Mitch would say he picked the name and that he picked it because he enjoys Hunter, which is actually incorrect. I picked the name years before while reading a teen mag, probably YM, and discovered that a model during that time had twin boys, one of whom was named Hunter. I loved the name and decided that if I were ever to have a baby boy, that's what his name would be. Also, on another interesting note, I remember reading a book as a young adolescent/early teenager that featured a young man who became a father during high school and decided to raise the child on his own. He named his little boy Mason. I remember liking the name and did not remember that particular book until after my husband said he'd like to name our second child Mason, if we did in fact have a boy. In terms of middle names, James is my father's name and John is Mitch's grandfather's (his dad's dad) middle name. According to my mother, if I had been a boy, my name would have been James Weston. We almost selected Weston as our boy name. A girl name that I almost received was Rachel. Mitch's mother almost named him Harold! I'm so glad she and Roger selected Mitchell instead.

The Bike Catastrophe

Have you ever witnessed a four-year-old little boy, sweet, fresh-faced, and innocent, turn into a pitbull, teeth bared and ready for an hour-long stand-off with his mother? I was the lucky mother who had the opportunity to pick that forty-one pound pitbull-of-a-child up, his legs wrapped around his bicycle, and carry him, hooked to the bike, while pushing a stroller with a twenty-four pound baby boy home after a good idea (bike ride) went horribly wrong! This was after he, the four-year-old, made a beeline down the street (opposite direction from me) as someone was backing out of their driveway. I screamed like a maniac, just to let you know. The woman backing out of her driveway did not see him and my world began flashing before my eyes. I didn't know that happened when someone else was in harm's way, but it does, especially when it's your child!