He's not easy...

Yesterday Rion and I ran some errands together. I just wanted to get his hair cut before school started and let him pick out a birthday present for Torii, but it ended up as an afternoon for just the two of us to hang out. I rarely get to do anything with just Rion and with school starting it will probably happen even less often. So I took the opportunity today to just go out with him. As I was getting him in the car I asked him what he thought Torii would like for his birthday and he said, "I don't know. He's not easy." We wandered around Target for awhile and found a few small things. Rion thought he would like the Word World play dough set, which he is probably right, but I vetoed that idea. With Cordelia exploring like she is, it is not the time for play dough. After the haircut, we wandered again around Walmart. Not only did we have to find gifts from us, but my grandma also gave me money to get him something from her. It took some time but we finally made some decisions. Maybe I should have just gotten him some gift cards and he could pick out his own gift. I did forget the one gift he said he wanted, which was the Cocoa Puffs. I mean how do you shop for a boy who wants cereal, but no toys?

Play with me

I was reading an article by a mom who asked her kids what they remember playing from childhood and how that influenced their future. All of them remember playing something that influenced what they chose as careers. The one that liked pretending and dressing up became an actor. The one who liked bikes choose a career in the bicycle industry. And when I think about the things I played in my childhood one thing I remember very clearly is creating a newspaper. We wrote articles and drew comic strips for the paper. My friend got mad at me for criticizing an article she wrote. (She interviewed me, but put things about herself in the article. Even then I knew that wasn't allowed in a newspaper article). I find it funny that in my first two years of college I had no idea what I wanted to do for a career. Then one day it dawned on me that even as a child I knew what I wanted to do and I enrolled in the mass communications program, emphasis in journalism.

I like to watch the boys and see what they really enjoy doing. I could see Rion as a mechanic or an engineer. He loves to put things together and figure out how things work. Torii might be a gymnast. He loves to do summersaults. I showed him some of the gymnasitics they were doing in the Olympics and his eyes got wide and he said, "Record this!" Part of that article was about finding the things our kids like and encouraging it. Rion has Legos that he creates new things with. Torii should probably be signed up for gymnanstics. I think everyone has a special talent and who knows, that could be Torii's.

My name is..

When Rion was a baby we started calling him Fred Rion to avoid confusion with daddy Fred. And I use Rion on the blog just so I don't have to type out Fred Rion all the time. Normally I do call him Fred Rion, but sometimes I just call him Rion. So when it was time to sign him up for school I asked him what he wanted to go by. Fred Rion? Fred? Rion? He said he wanted to be called Fred. I still call him Fred Rion all the time, but Daddy Fred has been good about calling him Fred. We are trying to be consistent so he doesn't get confused at school. During his summer school program the teacher said he wasn't responding to Fred all the time. Since he wants to go by Fred I want to make sure that's what he is used to. I don't want the teachers to call him Fred Rion because I'm sure as he gets older that will embarrass him. I'm really bad about getting into new routines so I really have to work at calling him just Fred. I'm sure he would be embarrassed if his friends heard his mom call him Fred Rion too.

Where's the baby?

After throwing some clothes in the dryer tonight I noticed Cordelia was gone. I looked in the boys' room, the dining room, the living room, my room and still no Cordelia. Then I heard the toilet flush. I ran to the bathroom hoping the lid was down. I got to the bathroom and there was Cordelia, crying and crawling as fast as she could away from the toilet.

Baby news

Last night Kelly called with the news that they are expecting! Laurie is in town and was over for dinner when she called. The face Laurie gave me when I said "Congratulations" on the phone was hilarious! Kelly will be a first time mom and I get to be a first time aunt. Being a mom is great, but an aunt has some really great benefits. I can't wait to spoil that kid! I told Torii Auntie Kelly and Uncle Brian are going to have a baby and he'll have a cousin. He said he wants a girl cousin. Rion said he wants a boy cousin.

What's there to eat?

I really didn't know what to title this post, but I know my mom hated it when we asked that all the time. The kids don't say that much yet, but Fred does. This question gets dirty looks as well as "I'm hungry."

My tastes have gotten more sophisticated the older I've gotten. I hated vegetables as I kid. Lately, I've discovered how much I love spinach and brussell sprouts. And I hated chili too. Way too many beans. Now I love beans, especially black beans. As much as I love to try new foods and recipes, I could still eat kid's food everyday. Pizza, mac and cheese, hot dogs. Yummy! Here's a new recipe I tried the other that was a hit with everyone in our family. Rion ate three muffins for dinner plus the half of one Torii didn't finish.

Corn dog muffins
2 packages (8 1/2 ounces each) corn bread/muffin mix
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 can (11 ounces) whole kernel corn, drained
5 hot dogs, chopped

In a large bowl, combine corn bread mix and brown sugar. Combine eggs and milk; stir into dry ingredients until moistened. Stir in corn and hot dogs (batter will be thin). Fill greased or paper lined muffin cups three-fourths full. Bake at 400 degrees for 14-18 minutes or until golden brown. Serve immediately or refrigerate.

I'll clean tomorrow....

"Boys are God's way of telling you your house is too clean." I saw that quote and really liked it. Although I've never been real great at housekeeping. And since the kids were born, keeping a clean house is a battle I refuse to compete in. Before Rion was born I read something that I really liked: "Your kids are only young once, but your dishes will be there tomorrow." So I'm not lazy. I'm just being a good mom. There are advantages of a mess. Take all the toys on the floor. It's part of the "Home Alone Security System." A burglar comes into our house, and wham! He slips on the Matchbox cars scattered on the floor. Then as he is getting up he presses the toe of some stuffed animal, which then makes noise, alerting the members of the household that someone is in the house. Instead of a security alarm sticker in our window, we just park the kids' bikes in front of the house. A burglar sees that and thinks twice about going into our house.