What to get the boy who has everything

Today the kids and I went to Target for a cookie treat and to pick up a few things. While there I told Torii we would look at the toys and he could tell me what he wanted for his birthday. We went through every aisle and spent a good amount of time in the toy section, but he didn't see anything he wanted. We looked at sports equipment and he didn't see anything he liked there either. So I gave up and I snooped at all the stuff I would like. All of a sudden Torii got excited, "I see what I want mommy!" I had no idea what it could be since we were near housewares. He ran over to the grocery side and picked up what he wanted. "Can I have this for my birthday," he asked. It was a box of Cocoa Puffs. If that's what he really wants, who am I to deny him?

Wanna feel old?

The baby on the cover of Nirvana's Nevermind album is 17 years old. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92833535

When I hear things like that I feel old. I swear that album just came out a few years ago. And by the way, they don't make music like that anymore. Which is just another statement from an old person.

Odds and Ends

Today at the doctor's appointment, the nurse was going through the list of developmental milestones and she asked if Torii plays board games. Playing board games is something I've never attempted with the boys. I'm not sure they would sit still to play a game. Plus anything with small pieces has been banned in this house. The boys like puzzles, but they can't keep all the pieces together. Rion likes Legos, but I find them around the house all the time. My second thought on this was "people still play board games?" I told the nurse the boys don't play board games, but they are great at the Playstation and computer games.

It's been a really long time since I've read Green Eggs and Ham to Rion. And I haven't read it enough that he would have it memorized. While we were waiting in the doctor's office, Rion picked it up and started reading it. I couldn't believe it. A few words he had to sound out, but he got them. He only read the first couple of pages, but I didn't know he knew that many words already.

When we went to McDonalds I parked in a spot right next to the drive thru. My first job was in fast food and anyone that had a special request was an annoyance. Now I think it's funny. I love to people watch so I would love to listen to people coming through the drive thru. As I was loading the kids up after our treat a women pulled up to the drive thru. First she made some request to fill her drink with 1/3 of something. I didn't quite catch it all. Then she ordered a chocolate sundae with extra hot fudge, half on the bottom, half on top, and she also needed some of the ice cream placed in another container so the original wasn't overflowing. When I hear someone like that I can't help but wonder if she got something extra in her sundae.

I had to wake the kids up for supper before soccer tonight. I thought about just skipping tonight, but we went. I thought it would be good to get Rion out running around before bedtime since he had a nap. He barely ran during soccer. He said his legs hurt too much from the shots. When we got home I took the band aids off and then he said he could run. He then ran through the house at full speed. He still fell asleep fairly fast tonight. The Tylenol I gave him might have had something to do with that.

Another day at the doctor

I believe Fred is the exact opposite of a hypochondriac. Instead of thinking he is always sick, he thinks everyone is always sick. Namely the kids. When one of the boys bumps their heads (which is a daily occurrence) Fred thinks they have a concussion. He makes them tell him how many fingers he is holding up. If they fall, Fred checks for broken bones. So I suppose one of these times he was bound to be right. Today the boys went to the doctor, Torii for a regular checkup, and Rion his pre-kindergarten checkup. Fred told me over and over to ask the doctor about Torii's left arm. "It feels and looks different," he said. "Ok," I said mid-eye roll, "I'll ask." So I asked. For once he was right. The doctor could tell a difference right away. So after shots for Rion, we headed down to x-rays. Rion, Cordelia and I got to stand in the little booth while the x-ray was done. Rion, who is obsessed with the parts of the human body, was thrilled to see the x-ray picture come up on the computer screen. While they positioned Torii's arm for another picture, the technician pointed to all the bones in the picture. Rion loved it. As we always do after doctor's appointments we went to McDonald's for a treat. After Rion got his shot I told him I knew of something that made shots feel better. After he asked me what it was, I told him "Ice cream!" The boys had McFlurry's while I finally got to have lunch. Rion took a few bites of the McFlurry and told me his shots were already feeling better. Since they were babies all of my kids, have always taken naps after getting shots. It hasn't changed. Rion fell asleep shortly after getting home. And it must be my lucky day because Torii and Cordelia followed soon after.

Gender roles

In a recent conversation with Fred, the subject of teaching Cordelia to cook came up. "Of course I will teach her to cook," I said, "but I'm also going to teach the boys." This is an equal opportunity household. I do try to get the boys in the kitchen often. Their special talent so far is dumping things in the bowl. Tonight they dumped the pudding mix into the bowl. They make great pudding. Rion wanted the box to add to his kitchen set and while I finished making the dessert, he played in his kitchen and made pudding. In boy fashion he also filled his shopping cart to overflowing and then dumped it all over the kitchen floor, but let's not go there right now. Rion also helped me wash dishes today. I didn't even ask him to. He just grabbed a towel and started washing. That is the perfect man. The one who does chores without even being asked to. And that's what I want to teach them. Someday, (hopefully very, very, very far into the future) some girl is going to want to marry him. Until then I feel it's my responsibility to teach him how to be a good husband. Do the dishes, cook, help bring in the groceries. That's just a few of the things I want my boys to do for their future wives. It's a lot easier to train them now then when they're married. And don't get me started on that.