Stop A Moment

The Tween has Spoken

Not long after fourth grade began,
these rules were suddenly found hanging from my son's door:

Family Rules Laws

1. Never go in my room without permission!

2. Never and I mean never call me "honey" in public!

3. Don't give me a hug or kiss at school!

4. Don't come in without knocking on the bathroom door!

So, I'm trying to follow these laws. I may have slipped on the calling Mr. Almost Ten "honey" in public. But I'm working on it. I am on my best behavior at school. I promise. And I do not go in his room except to put laundry away or straighten the mess. Thus far there have been no complaints about continuing my Mom Chores in the confines of his room. When the door is closed, I knock. And well, if Mr. Almost Ten would close the bathroom door now and then, well, then I could work on knocking more often! That's my story and I'm sticking with it. Otherwise, I plead the Fifth.

Okay, I know, he's growing up

He tells me that girls have cooties.

Although he says his teacher has said that she doesn't want the class using that word.

Yet, he DVR'd the Top Ten Beaches in Florida episode on the Travel Channel. We watched the show together. With my in-laws. But mid-way through the show, he asked to record it. My husband says it's not the sandy beaches with beautiful sunsets but the girls in bikinis.

Last week, he invited a friend over to play. A very cute blond girl. She's adorable, polite and friendly. After playing a multitude of outdoor games and I admit "showboating", he asks if they can have a root beer. I offer to go get the small cans which are considered treats in our house. He says "I'll go get them" and then I return inside. With soda cans in hand, he returns outdoors to his friend. My husband and I remain inside feeling like spies, when we hear our son issue this invitation:

 

"would you like to sit in the gazebo?"

It was precious. Until.

my husband says...

I think our son just went on his first date.

He likes the costumes

My husband got home early as tonight's boys only activity is going to the Circus at the Giant Center in Hershey.

Nicolas is having his after school snack and watching Dancing with the Stars courtesy of the DVR. I was wondering aloud why Nic enjoyed Dancing more than American Idol.

My husband tells me "it's the girls". What? My third grader is enjoying the scantily clad ladies.

I go in the living room and ask Nicolas "how's the show?".

His answer is "good". And it's said with no emotion and a why-are-you-bothering-me kind of tone.

I say "I really like the costumes that the girls are wearing". I fully anticipate that my third grade boy will say "okay" or even ignore me. But no.

Nic says "I do too" with enthusiasm. Maybe even a sparkle in his eye. Ouch.

I return to the kitchen and hubby says "I told you".

Not sure if this is an Amusing Mom Moment. Or. Not.

You're Mom is Awesome

Today I was at school helping with Jelly Bean Day. The kids get time outside to complete all kinds of fun activities which earn them points. They get to turn in the points for jelly beans. My son told me that he earned 14 jelly beans. So, I was working the bowling stations with one of my good Mom friends and...

I overhead one of my son's classmates say "Nicolas, you're Mom is awesome". Then, Nicolas said "sh. she's going to hear you.".

I'm pretty sure that I know why the third grader was giving me praise.

It's not my cool factor.

No. It's merely because during Teacher Appreciation week I watched a class during afternoon recess time so that the teacher could have a break. And...I gave the class five minutes extra recess minutes.

Apparently those five extra minutes truly increased my awesomeness.

The Boys Club

Each evening, my boys partake in at least 15 minutes of alone time. Husband and son wrestle, play Uno, build Legos, play video games. Guy activities.

I can watch. I can listen.

But I am not allowed to take part in the activity.

Tonight I was putting laundry away and overheard my husband and son during their Boys Club time. They were in Nic's room playing with Star Wars figures. I heard my husband say "I need a vehicle too". The responsible man becoming a boy again.

I treasure this time. Not because I could have some alone time but because I love to see my boys together. I try to give them privacy. But I can't help but listen and sometimes watch. As they do their boy thing.

Launch Crew Invite

Here's part of the invite:

The Party goes on

So, after bouncing.

The kids are thirsty and hungry. We serve drinks (mostly Sprite, a few Cokes and one lemonade) - just in case you're wondering.

and then Nic gets ready for cake.

Make a wish!

Thanks to our friends for helping to make Nic's birthday party an out-of-this world, moon-bouncing fun time!

To The Moon

Nicolas enjoyed his party today at Bounce U.

The kids bounced. Got sweaty. And thirsty. And had a super galactic good time.

The party hostess took care of every thing. It was "worth the price of admission" to have her entertain the kids as well as to supervise the opening of gifts. She even had a handy sheet to write down the gift information. Loved the organization! While last year's party was way high on the cool factor scale (Harry Potter themed complete with potions classes), this party was way high on the convenience scale.

Nic wanted a space themed party. Think astronauts, moon, space shuttle, rockets.

Here's the cake:

I had the bakery make the cake to look like a lunar surface. They didn't have any other decorations for a space theme so I bought the planets and stars and added them myself. Houston, the problem is solved.

Here is Nicolas with his friends:

Traditions

One of the traditions we have for Thanksgiving is to begin our meal with fruit salad. During this fruity treat, we go around the table and say what we are thankful for. Sometimes we are serious, sometimes we are light-hearted. For instance, it would be fine to be thankful for my microwave which makes warming up vegetables easier!

This morning, Nic and I took part in another tradition. We made place cards. Then Nicolas put the cards at the table, selecting where each guest will sit. I have saved these cards each year which show the progression of Nic's handwriting. This year, I didn't even have to spell anyone's name for him!

Another tradition is Thanksgiving Day Parade bingo. We DVR the parade and play this game later in the day with our guests. Everyone gets a different bingo card which states things to look for in the parade. Examples: a man holding a child on his shoulders, someone wearing a Santa hat, etc. My son was sure that Grandpa cheated last year! We first play a straight line, then maybe four corners, and then full card.

During dinner, we select Family Questions. Each year, I make different questions. My son just loves to read them and hear the answers as well as think of his own answers. Last year we asked "if you were a Macy's parade balloon, what would you be?", "what's your favorite vacation" and "what food that we are serving today would you not want to have thrown at you in a food fight".

This year's questions will be:
What was your favorite toy growing up?

If you could decorate your room any way you wanted it, what would it look like?

If you had your very own plane where would you fly to?  What would you do there?

If you could celebrate your birthday in any way you like, what would you do?

A monkey is not a good pet because it …

If you could pick a new first name, what would it be?

Who was your best friend growing up? Tell us one of your favorite stories about things you did together.

What is a new Thanksgiving tradition that you would like to start next year?

And so, it's now time for me to start making bread.

Then I will put the finishing touches on our
Bingo Cards.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Boo To You

Last night my son took part in one of his favorite activities. He chose two houses to "Boo" in our neighborhood.

How do you boo?

There are many helpful sites to get you started. You could google "how to boo". OR check out these handy tips.

There are many ways to boo.
How do we boo?

We made two copies of the ghost sign that was contained in the package that we received from a family that was clearly more organized for Halloween than I was. We made two copies of the Boo poem.

1. we taped our ghost sign in a window by our door so that neighbors would know that we had been ghosted. In our neighborhood, we call it "ghosting". It's frequent conversation between all the kids about who has ghosted, been ghosted or is going ghosting.

2. we purchased two fun Halloween gift bags. Then filled them with goodies. Pencils, bubbles, candy, other Halloween type treats.

3. we put a copy of a ghost and a copy of the poem into each bag.

4. I gave the bags to my son and said "have fun ghosting".

It was just after dark and he went on his way. He ghosted two houses nearby. I watched him out the window.

Did my dear hubby and I have more fun watching Nicolas sneak down the street or watching him try to hide when he rang the doorbells?

It's a toss-up.

Nic's tales of being "freaked out" when he saw lights come on and thought he was going to be caught were horrifyingly dramatic! So much fun!!

Start a tradition. Ghost your neighbors. Have elderly folks that live nearby? Maybe you could include a magazine, lottery ticket or baked good for them.

It's all about bringing our spirits closer together!