Boondock Ramblings

Put your arms up and ride the rollercoaster! Whee-haw!

Dearest Jonathan,

You didn't have much say about mommy taking your picture when you were first born. I simply took the photos while you watched me with curiosity in your eyes.

It wasn't until about two weeks ago that you started holding up your hand and saying, "Mama! No. Not that!" or "Mama! Stop! Not me!"

It was a sad day, but one very much expected considering you've been the subject of my paparazzi ways for three years now. Three years Saturday that is.

That's right. You're turning three. That's very weird to me.

You've gone from chewing on anything you could get your hands on, to holding up Spidermen figures for me to take photos of, simply so I won't take anymore of you. It's like you turned Amish overnight and think each click of the shutter is stealing even more of your soul.

You never were one to cuddle with stuffed animals. Instead you fell asleep with a plastic Superman or Ironman clutched in your tiny grip. You still do.

You're opinionated now. Mommy and daddy have to "pay wit" you, but when we do we also have to "pay" the way you want to, playing with only the figures you tell us we can play with and how. Last night we (you and I) had to play "daddy" by putting on daddy's shirts while you said, "Me like Daddy.

You refuse to have your hair cut. You hate water being poured over your head to wash your hair. You whimper and scream your disapproval when we announce it's time to brush your teeth, take a bath, go to bed, turn off the cartoons, eat dinner, go to the babysitters, ask you to put your shoes or coat on, or suggest you might prefer sitting in time out for awhile to us freaking out and screaming as loud as you do.

You have an amazing imagination, always finding new household products to turn into armor or a laser blaster. You amaze your daddy and mommy with your ingenuity. You stun us with your inventive ideas. You exhaust us with your creativity. You create pride in us with each new scheme you conjure up.

 
This week you've clung to us as we leave you at the sitters and then cling to the sitter when we pick you up.

You are a source of contradictions. Your are up and then you are down. You are happy, then you are mad.

You are nasty, then you are sweet. You are Batman, then Spiderman, then Superman, then Ironman. Often I guess wrong and you tell me so.

Sometimes it is hard to keep up with the roller coaster. Other times it's easier just to strap ourselves in, put our arms up and enjoy the rush of wind in our hair.

Hosted by Cecily and Emily

Lesson 201: Don't pick your friends' boogers.

I could see Jonathan's 4-year old friend Ryan with his hand up to Jonathan's face, but I couldn't see what he was doing.

"Ryan? What are you doing?" I asked.

"Picking Johnny's booger," Ryan said, matter of fact.

"Oh, honey, don't do that," I said.

When Ryan's mom came to pick up her son at the sitters a few moments later I filled her in.

"Well, at least he didn't eat it," she said, as if this is a common occurrence for her.

Dear, Lord, it probably is and will be for me too soon.

At home I reminded Jonathan that it he shouldn't pick his friends boogers or let them pick his. After all, it's cold and flu season (Swine Flu as well), and that's how germs are spread.

He sighed. "O'tay, mama," he said.

Chalk this up to yet another sentence I never thought I'd have to utter to my child. That and "Stop hugging the dog's butt."

Things I've just discovered. . . Part I of 5,000

Hubby and I just recently upgraded to a DVR. I feel so...behind. . .*sigh* Oh. And a bit old. But mainly behind.

Wonder what DVR stands for, or how it has enriched my life? Pop on over to Powder Room Graffiti.

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OOPs! This was supposed to update tomorrow. So, I do have a post below this one for today. *sigh* I'm a bit of a moron today! :-)

The donut. Eat the donut! No! Without your hands! Ah, never mind.

Jonathan and I went to a community Halloween party in the park last week. He dressed up as Spiderman, of course, and found another Spiderman who he chased around all night long.

There was one game, which involved donuts being hung on a string and the kids being asked to eat the donuts off without using their hands. There was a string for the taller children and one for the smaller children. Jonathan didn't really seem to get the concept of not using his hands.

 

Oh well. He still had a blast.

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For more WordFUL Wednesdays head on over to Seven Clown Circus.

I also have a photo for Wordless Wednesday on Views Beyond the Lens entitled, "A message from the Future Plumbers of America." Pop over if you have time.

If not now, when?

JCK's post from the other day really hit home for me Monday, when I finally found time to read it.

The post was essentially about parents who spend so much time on their cellphones or Blackberries they absolutely lose out on precious moments with their children.

I've found myself on the cellphone while my son is on the slide at the playground. Usually I'm talking to Hubby or my mother. I don't have a lot of friends to shoot the breeze with. But, in the back of my mind is the idea that I need to get off the phone and pay attention to my son. He often wants me to climb the slide with him, or lift him up on the monkey bars. Sometimes I oblige, and climb up those metal stairs and scooch my over sized rear down the slide. Other times I say, "No, you just come down, honey," and take a photograph, or two, or. . . ten.

I've watched children reach out for their parents and call "Daddy! Come down with me!" and the father say, "Not now honey, you go."

If not now, then when? Someday she or he is going to stop asking and your going to wish they would.

On Friday there was a note in my Facebook inbox. It was from a friend of the family, who was asking for prayer for a family in my hometown. The woman, four years behind me when I was in school, had taken her son to the emergency room earlier that day and they diagnosed him with Swine Flu. They brought his fever down and sent her home.

The 4-year olds fever spiked again so the mother, a nurse, started a cool bath and placed her son in it. The phone rang and she went to grab it. I don't know how long she was gone. I don't know how deep the water was. All I know is the boy had a febrile seizure and a few hours later medical professionals declared him dead. I do know the mother fell into a heap and screamed, "I killed my baby!" over and over again.

Am I saying that her getting up to get the phone killed her child? Absolutely not. She may have only stepped into the next room, or right outside the door. Am I saying she was a horrible mother? Absolutely not. I have no idea what really happened in the situation.

What I am saying is to enjoy every.single.moment. Don't let it pass by. Hang up the cellphone when you're on the playground with your child and play. Close the lap top, turn off the desktop, for at least a little while, and throw yourself in the floor to color with your little one. They'll only be small for such a short time. Don't wait until the grandchildren come along. Enjoy the moments now, with your own children.

I'm not preaching to you.

I'm preaching to me.

Some new favorites. . . .

I have stumbled across a few new, favorite blogs of late. I'm not saying the blogs are new, but they are new for me. There is one that is new for me and somewhat new too, but I know the author in real life and he's an awesome "guy", no pun intended. He writes a column for our newspaper. His first name is Guy. Get it? "An awesome "guy."

OK. I started this post early in the morning, cut me some slack.

Anyhow, Romanguy is on livejournal and he is worth the read if you like down-home, country life blogs.

Another favorite of mine of late is "A Bumpy Path" where Theresa writes about life in the country and her beautiful horse Odin.

I may have linked to this one before, but one of my favorites of late is Mylestones. Great photography and great writing, if you haven't discovered her yet.

Wuzzle Makes Three is another fairly recent favorite.

And, of course, Simply Feather, is another "new" favorite for me!

Check out some of these and I'll be back later today, er. . . maybe tomorrow depending on how my little guy is feeling (he's been under the weather the last few days) . . . with another post.

Not all of us survived trick-or-treating. . .

Not all of us survived trick-or-treating

Most of the members of my family survived, and enjoyed trick-or-treating. However, one member didn't come back alive.

I know. I know. I'm freaking you out with those words, but this family member is more like a "thing."

Still, she is a member of the family, or should I say, "was"?

You know who she is. . . she's my camera.

My beautiful camera. Just a point and shoot, yes, but I loved her. I didn't judge her for not being an SLR (OK. I did, but shhh...that's just between you and me) but apparently it was all too much for her.

She knows I've been talking about replacing her when, or if, I can afford it. So, Thursday night, while Jonathan and I were out trick-or-treating with the nieces, she threw herself from my hands and against the sidewalk outside someone's home. She made an awful thud and when I retrieved her, I was grief stricken. She couldn't move.

She was - oh, be-still my heart - paralyzed.

Her lens moved slightly and then -- nothing. She was gone. I kissed her gently and then called Hubby.

I sniffled into the phone that she was gone. His response was less than comforting. He sighed one of those long, heavy, annoyed sighs. One of those sighs that says, "Oh crap. Here comes the drama."

"We'll figure out something," he told me after I'd whimpered, "But you know I can't live without a camera!"

Brother wasn't much more sympathetic. "Aw, you'll get over it," he said.

"But, I won't!" I insisted.

"You will. You'll be fine."

Mom, on the other hand, commiserated with me.

"Oh, that's awful," she said, understanding that my camera was like another family member for me. Behind her Dad responded that he would open up the Consumer Reports and find out what cameras are the best this year. Dad's answer to finding a new "anything" is looking in Consumer Reports. Not that I blame him, they are usually right.

You don't know how many times I tried to resuscitate her, but to no avail. My camera was indeed gone. Luckily the photos are safely stored on my camera card. However, I can't even download them at home because I don't have a card reader. I downloaded them at work to a CD and burned the CD. I brought the CD home and popped it into the CD reader at home. That's when the Blue Screen of Death appeared on my computer screen.

Luckily, after I removed the offensive CD, the computer came back to life. However, I'll have to wait until Monday to try to upload some of my photos at the office.

Oh right, you're probably wondering if Jonathan liked his first real trick-or-treat experience. Yes, and no. He liked being pushed around in a stroller while watching his cousins freak out and he liked being Spiderman -- part of the night -- but hid his face a larger part of the night when people tried to hand him candy and tell him how cute he was. Apparently he inherited more of my shyness than I realized.

At some point I'll share photos with you of the night. Until then, here is a couple from a small Halloween party in town. Oh no. Those are on the camera too. Aaaaaaaaargh! So here is some of him wearing his costume Monday night. *sigh*

(Incidentally -- I inadvertently lied to all of you last week when I told you our town didn't hold trick-or-treating on Halloween because of some football game. That's not why. I don't know why. The council in our town is loony. There. That's why. Whatever.)

Does Barbie have fat ankles?!

Does Barbie have fat ankles? What do you think? Designer Christian Louboutin thinks she does! Debate it at PR Graffiti on a piece I wrote for "Shout It!" While you are there, submit your own Graffiti if you like!

See today's PSF below!