If Only the Whole World Could Follow the Lead of a Five-Year-Old

I have always loved "All I Really Need to Know, I Learned in Kindergarten".  I think there is a beautiful innocence in the mind of a child, not yet affected by the cynicism of the world or the beliefs of their peers.  It is "pure as the driven snow", sweet, loving and kind.

 I just had all this reinforced in my mind a few minutes ago while putting Zoe to bed.  Our conversation went like this:

"Mommy?  Is tomorrow a school day or a stay home day?"

"It's a stay home day."

"But we already stayed home two days, why is tomorrow a stay home day?"

"It's a holiday."

"What holiday?"

"Martin Luther King Day"

"What is 'Martin the King Day'?"

(Remember, she is only five, so I wanted to explain it as simply as possible)

"Well, Martin Luther King Jr was a black person.  He tried to make white people be nicer to black people and treat them the same way as other white people.  There was a time when white people were not very nice to black people."

"Like, how?  They couldn't eat in restaurants?"

(Clearly, they have discussed this at school)

"Exactly.  And no matter how tired they were, they weren't allowed to sit down on the bus, they had to stand and let the white people sit.  They also were not allowed to drink out of drinking fountains that white people used no matter how thirsty they were."

"That seems really mean."

"Yes, it does, doesn't it?  Martin Luther King Jr thought so too and he wanted to pass laws to make sure that black people could do everything that white people could do.  But, some people didn't like him and didn't want things to change, so they had him killed.  So, we remember him and the things he did on MLK Day because his birthday was in January."

"He died?"

"Yes."

"But the mean stuff doesn't happen anymore?"

"Unfortunately, sometimes it does."

"Wow.  That makes me sad."

"Me too, sweetie."

And then, she kissed me goodnight, interjected something random about one of her Barbies and rolled over to go to sleep.

If only all the grownups in the world were as sweet as their children.  Then, maybe the world would be a better place.  But for now, there is always the HOPE that her opinion never changes and that she carries that conversation and those beliefs into her adulthood.

Hope.



Everything that is done in the world is done by hope.  ~Martin Luther

We judge of man's wisdom by his hope. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

"To Believe or Not To Believe?", That is the Question.

Last night, I was sitting on the couch reading after putting the kids to bed.  I heard the distinct sound of feet above my head and then I saw Noah come shuffling down the stairs, dragging his blanket a la Linus and crying.

"What's the matter, Boo?", I asked.

"Well, I was just lying in bed thinking about Christmas and wondering what I was going to get when I started thinking about Santa, his reindeer, elves and the North Pole.  And suddenly, I realized how silly and childish it all is. I know magic is not real, so how can that all be real?  I just want to believe in Santa, but I can't anymore and so I feel like I have lost my Christmas spirit."

My mind was racing.  I knew this conversation would come eventually, but somehow, I was still caught off-guard.  (and DJ was conveniently in the shower blissfully unaware of my interrogation downstairs) I was waiting for the bottom line- for him to ask me if Santa was real.

I started by saying that if not believing is making him so sad, then why didn't he just believe.  He said it just seemed too childish and silly when he thought about it and he just didn't believe anymore.  But, he was crying over it, so I felt he wasn't really ready to let it go.

My next approach was explaining that he didn't have to believe. But that if he didn't, he could not ruin it for any of his friends at school or other little kids- that part of the magic of Christmas is seeing them get so excited over it all.  I told him that he was mistaken when he believed he had lost his Christmas spirit because Christmas spirit was inside you and had nothing to do with Santa Claus.

"Honestly, Noah, I still get excited when I see Santa Claus!  Didn't you notice all the adults clapped and applauded when Father Christmas showed up at the Village Hall the other night? Don't you remember the guy in Browns Mills that drove around in his truck with a long white beard and mustache and looked EXACTLY like Santa?  I would squeal and say, 'Look! It's SANTA!' every time we saw him! And I am almost forty years old!! It is what he represents that is important.  It is about showing love for others, and us all taking care of one another.  When Daddy saw that man walking his bike home from base the other night, because it was too dark, icy and dangerous to ride on that road, he pulled over and gave him a ride.  That was helping our fellow man.  That was the Christmas spirit.  When you used your dollars you earned for good behavior in class to buy Zoe silly bands in your teacher's store last week, that was being kind and thoughtful toward your sister.  You did something out of the kindness of your heart and made her happy.  That is the Christmas spirit.  Do you remember how excited you got at the Village Hall when you saw all the presents the kids brought to Father Christmas for him to deliver to a local shelter?  And you even remarked to me that you thought those kids were going to be very excited.  THAT is the Christmas spirit inside of you.  And it doesn't have to just happen at Christmas.  We should love each other, be kind to each other and take care of everyone all year around.  It's called love.  And that is what Christmas is all about."

By this time, DJ had appeared downstairs and clued in on this conversation.  He nodded his head in affirmation of what all I had just said and added other examples of Christmas spirit to the mix.  We concluded with telling Noah it was okay if he didn't believe in Santa, but that that didn't mean he had lost his Christmas spirit.  I told him, essentially, each time we do a good deed for someone else, or give someone an unexpected gift just because we love them and are thinking of them, we are being Santa Claus at that moment.

He pondered this for a few seconds and then said, "Except- there is only ONE Santa Claus that lives at the North Pole and so we can't really say WE are Santa Claus."

DJ and I glanced at each other, confused, and then I think we both came to the same conclusion at once- that apparently Noah still isn't ready to give it up.

So, we nodded and said, "That's right, now go to bed!" and sent him on his way.

For the record he never once asked me if Santa was real or if we were Santa.  And I still am unsure if he believes or not.

So for now, I guess the spirit of Santa lives a little longer in our house.

And hopefully, our discussion instilled in him that the spirit of Christmas lives within us, always.

Conversations with Zoe

While waiting for the bus, Zoe mentioned she wanted me to take her to see the "poodle castle" (the Eiffel Tower- every time she sees a picture of it, there is a poodle in the picture, and so she thinks it is a poodle castle).

"Zoe, the Eiffel Tower is in France. That is a whole other country- really far away. We would have to cross and ocean to get there."

**gasp**

"Like, in Philadelphia!!??" (Philadelphia is 45 minutes away- but, admittedly, you have to cross a river to get there)

Later, at dinner, she randomly busted out with:

"When I was a baby, I was in your tummy? And when it was time for me to come out, you went to the dentist and he helped you get me out?"

Clearly, I am doing a FABULOUS job fulfilling that education clause in my parenting contract.

Now, I need to decide if I want to set her straight about babies (because I am afraid of more questions) or just cancel her dental appointment for April. If I don't clear it up, that could be a really awkward appointment.

Our Weekend

Saturday, we watched my friend's two kids all day while they attended a funeral. They were really good kids and all the kids got a long together, for the most part, but MAN I would not want four kids! My friend's kids are 9 and 3 and my kids are 8 and 4 so they were pretty evenly matched, but when it was time to get ready for Zoe's soccer game- keeping everyone in the same room and focused while trying to accomplish the task of socks, shoes, jackets was a MAJOR feat!

Also- my friend's little boy is the male counterpart of Zoe. They are LOUD- and head-strong. Interestingly enough, my friend's daughter is Noah's female counterpart. They are hilarious together. The spent the entire time chatting with each other on their Nintendo DS and discussing Harry Potter spells. (and yelling at their younger siblings)

Noah and Lexi last Easter

Zoe and Chase

Sunday, Noah decided he was ready for his spring "cut-it-all-off" haircut.

After the haircut, we went to Allaire State Park and visited the village. The shops were open and people were walking around the village in period costumes, giving tours of some of the buildings, demonstrating the trades and providing the history of the village. The blacksmith shop was the most exciting. There was a man actually heating up metal in the fire inside and bending the metal so that the kids could see how it works. It was pretty cool!

Last night, I was cleaning up Noah's iPod Touch. We plugged it into the computer to charge and noticed that he had a lot of pictures that were taking up all the space. I went through them and deleted a bunch of duplicates he had. In the process, I found some gems. He has a Snoopy Street Fair app that has a feature where you can take pictures and add graphics. I found these pretty hilarious.

I also found a short video. I cannot explain it. I can only say, that the life of an eight-year-old must be very exciting!

I Survived the Week That Had the Potential to Send Me to the Asylum

I am sorry there have been no posts this week. It is a crazy week here. Both of my kids are on early dismissal (two hours early) all week for parent-teacher conferences, plus I had to attend the actual conferences for both children (one glowing report, one tarnished report- wanna guess which is which?), it is Dr Seuss Week at both schools which is filled with fun days like silly sock day, crazy hat day, etc. And to top it all off, both schools had book fair this week and I volunteered at one school or the other every day this week and two nights. So... I'm beat.

I did take pictures, though.

Monday was Crazy Hat Day for Noah and Wocket in My Pocket Day for Zoe:

Tuesday, Noah was supposed to "wear a readable shirt" and Zoe had Crazy Sock Day:

Wednesday, Zoe wore her favorite sneakers and Noah had "Wacky Wednesday" and was instructed to wear his clothes, backwards, inside out and all mixed up. He is wearing his shirt inside out, a t-shirt on his head, swim trunks over his jeans and Zoe's leg warmers on his arms:

Thursday ushered in Crazy Hat Day for Zoe (where I cheated and recycled Noah's hat from last year) and Silly Sock Day for Noah.

Today is Green Eggs and Ham Day for Zoe- she is supposed to wear green and Noah's school has crazy hair day where they are instructed to wear their hair in the style of a Dr Seuss character. This is the point where blonde hair works so much better for hair color- his hair is COATED with blue spray but you can barely see it. We also lathered putty and hairspray in his hair and then DJ held him upside down while I blow-dried it, but his hair is too heavy to stay standing. I don't know what it is about his hair- I have tried many times in the past to get it to stand straight up and I have always failed.

Different Perspectives

Upon exiting the bus this afternoon, Noah rolled his eyes and said, "Well today was completely wasted! We got NOTHING done! We had a totally useless thirty minute assembly."

What was the assembly about? Why was it useless?

"The Cat in the Hat came to visit. It was so dumb. It was mainly for the little kids and we just had to sit there and watch."

*loud sigh followed by dramatic eye roll*

An hour and a half later, four-year-old Zoe practically jumped off the bus and was shouting with excitement at me as we crossed the street. The bus was too noisy and I couldn't hear her, but as soon as we got in the door, this is what I got:

"Mommy!! Guess what!? GUESS WHAT!!??"

What?

"The Cat in the Hat came to our school today... and we all got to go and wave at him... and his tail was pointy and pointing in my direction... and he waved at ME!! "

Wow! How exciting. You should tell your brother who came to see you at school today.

*Noah enters the room*

"Noah! GUESS WHO CAME TO OUR SCHOOL TODAY!?"

Noah, his interest genuinely peaked, "Who??"

*jumping up and down*

"The Cat in the Hat, THE CAT IN THE HAT!!!"

*massive eye roll*

I interjected, "Noah, tell her how exciting that is."

Now imagine a completely neutral mouth with a half-raised, awkward eyebrow and flat tone to his voice:

"Oh boy. How exciting. Lucky you."

We need to work on his acting skills.

Wordful Wednesday

Sunday afternoon, Noah discovered that at some point Saturday night, or Sunday morning, his fish had died. He was devastated and spent a good hour trying to convince me it was all his fault. And I spent that same amount of time telling him that fish die- and that this one had a good run- a lot of them only live a few months. This was his first pet to die and he is still taking it hard. Just this morning, he came in the kitchen sniffling and said that he went to feed Phineas and remembered he wasn't there.

Noah didn't like the idea of flushing him. He wanted a proper burial. So, we all went outside in the freezing wind on Sunday, I dug a hole and placed the fish inside, covered him up and placed a brick on top. (to keep the wildlife from digging him up- but I told Noah to make it look like a real grave) DJ grabbed two wood scraps and made a cross.

RIP Phineas- faithful fish, loved by Noah.

2010-2012

**I am linking up today with Dumb Mom at parenting BY dummies- Wordful Wednesday

The Preschool Dating Scene

At dinner last night, Zoe casually mentioned, "Eddie likes to jump on me and hang on me when we are outside."

As a response, DJ jokingly told her she needed to stay away from the little boys and was teasing her about it. Suddenly, Zoe began to defend her actions.

"But, Eddie likes the Bear Hunt song and I like the Bear Hunt Song. And Eddie and I both run like this (insert demonstration) during the Bear Hunt Song! And, Eddie likes to play in the kitchen with me. We make ice cream."

I wonder what an online personal ad for a preschooler would look like?

Looking for: single male, 4 or 5 years old. Must love long walks in the pretend forest whilst listening to the "Bear Hunt" song and jumping for hours on the trampoline. Pretend cooking skills a must. Interest in a good debate over the big issues such as bedtime, wardrobe and meal choices , a plus. Dislike of Hello Kitty, Barbie or the Disney Princesses and an inability to reach the bathroom light, use the potty and antagonize siblings need not apply.

How to Raise a Codger

If I were to just transcribe some of the conversations in this house without crediting the speaker, you might think I was living with an elderly relative.

I'm not.

I'm living with a Noah-who just happens to be eight-with the soul of an eighty-year-old man.

Unless you have experienced this, it is hard to understand. I have often heard people describe others as an "old soul". And I got it. But I didn't truly understand it until Noah was born. Even as a newborn infant, he was cranky. He cried most of the time. And when he wasn't crying, he was looking through me. THROUGH ME. It was unnerving- having a newborn stare right through me almost as if he was annoyed at my incompetence at keeping him happy. I almost got the impression he knew more than I did.

(He is four days old in this picture)

(here, he is not yet three, and yelling at me for taking his picture)

And now, today, he is a funny, funny little old man trapped in a child's body.

Yesterday, he scolded me when I woke him. He was tired and he told me I should not let him go to bed so late (his bedtime is 8- but it was 8:30 before he went to bed the night before). He informed me that he would be going to go to bed at 7 that night. HE MOVED HIS OWN BEDTIME!

We had a very unusual day here in New Jersey yesterday. It was sixty-five degrees! That is incredible for February. This time last year, we were buried in snow and I was cranky because I had to deal with it by myself since my husband was deployed all winter. Today was a day to be enjoyed. It was a day to be outdoors.

When Noah arrived on the bus yesterday afternoon, he lamented that he wished he could play outside, but he had a lot of homework. I told him to go play and enjoy the day and we would tackle his homework that evening. He worried about it for a few, finally ran off to jump on the trampoline and then fifteen minutes later, he decided he was going in to do his homework. His schoolwork, after all, was more important than playing. I reminded him that he is a kid and that ultimately he is supposed to PLAY. And that, yes, his school work is important and that we would get it done, but that there was no harm in taking advantage of this beautiful day, because it may not come again for several more months.

I had to force him to stay outside. Fast forward two hours and he was at the kitchen table working on his math when his father got home. He immediately tattled on me. He told his father how I told him that play was more important than school work and now he has to do all this homework and he just wished he had gotten it out of the way earlier. His dad backed up what I said and Noah sighed. Apparently he was not going to get any sympathy from his parents. Within the next few minutes, he was in tears- stressed because he was having trouble with his homework, sad that he hadn't finished, tired and still throwing the criticism my way as to my poor parenting skills.

Ultimately, he finished his homework within a half an hour, he ate his dinner, showered and put himself to bed at 7:30. (At least he didn't wake up at 4:30 this morning and ask for Grape Nuts)

I will let you know when he starts requesting we hit the early bird specials.

(Noah- this past December at his piano recital)

I am linking up with Jennifer's "Share Your Awesome" at Momma Made it Look Easy

Kids Today are So Pretend Lazy (Conversations with Zoe)

ZOE: When we sing Bear Hunt, we run like this (demonstrates) when the bear is chasing us!

ME: Oh wow! You run very quickly! You know, I remember singing that song when I was in preschool.

ZOE: Ohhh... that was a LONG time ago!

Me: Umm, yeah. So... what do you do when you come to the fence?

ZOE: We open the gate (demonstrates again).

ME: Hmmm... because we had to climb the fence....

ZOE : Well, it's easy to open the gate.

ME: I suppose so. What do you do when you get to the water?

ZOE: We go in a boat and use the stick things to make you go (oars).

ME: Wow- we had to swim.

ZOE: That's weird, why??

ME: Because my preschool couldn't afford pretend boats!

ZOE: (completely unmoved by my sarcastic response) Well, why didn't you just pretend the carpet was the boat? Because there are sharks and crocodiles that probably ate you.

ME: Well, I guess I didn't have to worry about the bear anymore if the sharks and crocodiles got me, huh?

ZOE: Well, when I went in the boat, I saw some sharks and they were tiny babies, so I don't think they ate you.

ME: Oh whew! I'm so glad!

ZOE: But the bear ate you because you didn't go through the gate.

The Glove Abyss (with a guest appearance by Aretha Franklin)

You all know about the sock abyss- that mysterious place in the dryer that sock mates go and never return? Well, in our house, not only do we have a sock abyss, but also a glove abyss. For some reason, the glove abyss only targets Noah, though.

It started last year. During the course of a few weeks, Noah managed to lose one or both of five pairs of gloves. At one point, he was wearing mismatched sets because I was so tired of buying gloves. And then, he lost the mismatched sets. After he lost the first set, I started buying the cheap, $1 gloves in the dollar section of JoAnn's. And then that supply ran out, the other stores cleared their winter gear for spring and Noah was gloveless. My neighbor saw him outside one morning playing without gloves and gave him a pair. I was mortally embarrassed. I washed them and gave them back with an explanation as to why he had no gloves.

As soon as the cheap gloves appeared in stores this year, I stocked up. (Note: I do have two good, waterproof pair of gloves for snow, but he is not allowed to wear those to school so that I am assured we will have them when we need them) And the cycle has already begun. He started a few weeks ago with a pair of blue gloves. They both went missing. He then got a pair of black gloves and returned home with only one. I put the mate in the bin in the closet and broke out the next pair. That afternoon, he brought home the mate to the black pair- his bus driver found it. So that pair was blissfully reunited in the closet. And somehow I get lost in the story here- but now he is missing the black pair again, the blue pair never returned and so we pulled the tags off the striped pair this morning. We will see how long that lasts. If he loses this pair, there is only one other pair in the closet, and it is only January. It's gonna be a loooong winter!

In other news: While Zoe and I were waiting in the car outside Noah's piano lesson the other night, she got bored and broke into a negro spiritual.

So, maybe they will both be musicians.

But Zoe will be a musician WITH gloves.

I am Sharing My Awesome with Momma Made it Look Easy

Winter Wonderland- by Noah

Noah came home with another one of his writing projects the other day. They are so funny! His writing is really coming along but he is struggling with keeping the stories short. He gets caught up in this elaborate story he wants to write and the details which have the potential to stretch on for pages. His teacher is trying to get him to rein it in and tell the same fabulous story in a few short paragraphs. When this happens, I can visibly see in the story that he has a whole thought process going on and then suddenly sees the end of the page coming and thinks, "Oh crap! I have to wrap this up!" and he ends the story abruptly. I am going to type this story out exactly as he has written it- with his spelling and punctuation. (Noah is 8)

"Yay!", I yelled excitedly turning off my TV. " A parade is coming down town!", I cried gasping for air. The next day we made our car into a sleigh and the front of the car is atached to a cardbord cutout of reindeer on weels so the car can push the cutout around. Then we took the car to sign up for the parade.

The parade came and the "best car contest" was first. There was only three cars at the contest. A judge announced that the winner will ride behind Santa's float and get pictures with him. "We won!", I yelled!

There were millions of people at the parade. Santa was waiting for us at the end of the parade. I forgot what I had on my wish list so I took the picture and went. It felt like an hour before Zoe got done with Santa. We all went home happy.

The End

Why Do the Rules Keep Changing?

Okay- so about a month ago, I posted THIS about my daughter. We got up early on picture day, curled her hair and then she refused to smile for the photographer.

Thankfully, the company has a policy where if you don't like the picture, you can send them back on picture re-take day and they will try again. Knowing this day was coming, I took Zoe shopping. I told her she was going to take her pictures again and I was going to let her choose whatever outfit she wanted to wear for pictures. She was extremely excited about this and happily picked out a dress and matching tights. She has asked to wear that outfit every day since we brought it home.

This morning, picture re-take day arrived. I pulled her outfit from the closet anticipating her excitement when she learned that today was the day she would get to wear her new outfit to school. We had even already discussed her hair and I agreed NOT to curl it again, but to only put a little bit of curl in the ends. She doesn't like it curly.

And then she stumbled in the kitchen and announced she didn't like her outfit.

The rest of the morning was filled with this:

How can I effectively parent when she keeps changing the stinking rules!!???

(I will be sure and update you when I get these pictures back- it should be interesting!)

**linking up with Wordful Wednesday @ parenting BY dummies.

Ask Noah- Political Edition

Noah, who do you think will win the Republican Primary?

The what?

Who will be the Republican candidate that will go up against Obama in November?

Who's running?

Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry.

They all sound like crazy people.

Okay, Ron Paul and Rick Perry are from Texas, Rick Santorum is from Pennsylvania, Newt Gingrich is from Pennsylvania, but served as a congressman for Georgia and Mitt Romney is from Massachusetts.

How is this information supposed to help me?

I don't KNOW!! I thought maybe telling you where they are from would help with your decision!

I don't know HOW!

Fine! How about pictures?

**I show him their pictures**

Who looks more presidential?

Obama.

Well, he IS the president. I am asking you who should run against Obama on the Republican side.

*skeptical, one-eyebrow-raised, stare*

OF THE REPUBLICANS, who do you think is or looks more presidential?

FINE! If I have to choose, then Mitt Romney.

Why do you think Mitt Romney?

Because you made me choose. And because he is from the northeast- and we are in the northeast too.

What do you think the President should do differently with our country?

Change the economy.

What is wrong with the economy?

I guess it is running out of money.

And how do you think they can fix that?

They need to make more jobs.

How do you make more jobs?

You just add more!

How will that help?

Because people will have more money.

What about foreign policy?

What is foreign policy?

How do we make other countries like us again?

By giving up wars?

Okay- let's switch gears- are you glad the basketball strike is over?

I didn't know there was one. (Yeah- most of us didn't care)

Alright, that was pointless, back to politics-

If someone ran for president of your school or the school district, what issues would you like them to address?

I would like french fries for lunch.

Oh, and I want Zoe in my school with me, because she is so cute (even though she is also a devil).

AND I want a recess that lasts 1/4 of the day!

I think we just got Noah's platform if he were running for president of his elementary school.....

Just Pondering

I admit it. I am a Facebook addict. I probably post more than most people want to know (but thankfully have not resorted- yet- to sharing too much information. I mean, nobody cares about your bathroom habits- just sayin') Since we live so far from home, family and many friends I had growing up, it is really nice to be able to keep in touch by actually seeing pictures and posts from people. It makes me feel like I am there and experiencing it. Like, recently, when the military once again got in the way of us attending our twenty year high school reunion. I watched the posts, tags and pictures on Facebook pop up that weekend and it was almost as good as being there- seeing faces I haven't seen in twenty years.

However- there are times, when it creeps me out. I am in a bit of a conundrum and am not sure yet what I want to do about it. My son has been asking me for a Facebook page for over a year now. I won't let him have one. He has his own email address and communicates with grandparents and cousins through it. I feel this is enough for now. I don't like the idea of my eight-year-old on Facebook. I have held firm in this.

I realized that you are usually stricter with your oldest child. And that Zoe will probably have these privileges at a younger age than her brother did, but that is the plight of the older child- to be the guinea pig. Now, with that said- I am not judging anyone who has a third grader with a Facebook page. I am sure there are children in Noah's class and grade with older siblings that have these privileges and therefore they have them too. In fact I know there are. Which brings me to my problem.

A student in Noah's class sent me a message on Facebook last week just telling me who she is and that she is in Noah's class and rides his bus. I figured she was looking for Noah, so I responded and told her he did not have a Facebook page yet, but shared his email address if she wanted to contact him. I got a message back that she knew he didn't have a Facebook page and that she lives pretty close to us. That was it. And I thought we were done with it. But, Noah never got an email from her, and today, I noticed I have a friend request from her.

I am not comfortable with this. I don't want to seem like a prude, but I am uncomfortable having a "friendship" with an eight-year-old. One of my son's classmates at that. I feel it somehow blurs that adult/child boundary. Not that I have an inappropriate Facebook page. I don't post crazy pictures or use filthy language (alright, I do swear sometimes, but I try to keep it PG for the most part) but, I also feel that some things I might do and say are adult things. I mean, it's bad enough that one day I will be held responsible on some therapist's couch for screwing up my own children. I don't need the added pressure of screwing up someone else's child too.

Am I wrong? Am I a prude? I am not in any way ashamed of my actions, but I feel sometimes things I say, or my humor might be too mature for an eight-year-old's eyes.

I would like your thoughts on this.

The Return of Peppermint

Last year, we received our very first visit from an Elf on the Shelf. The kids were delighted, quickly named him "Peppermint" and looked forward to finding his hiding spot every morning. On Christmas Eve, when Peppermint had to go back to the North Pole to help Santa for Christmas, the kids were sad to see him go.

The weekend after Thanksgiving this year, we went out in our sunroom to put up the Christmas tree and found Peppermint sitting out there with a note to the children. They were so happy he came back this year!

I have to say, this year, that little booger has really been getting into some mischief. I don't have a picture from every day, but here is a good summary of what has taken place so far:

Noah found him playing with his iPod Touch and DSi:

I found him in the bathroom:

One morning, he was just "hanging out" in the kitchen:

Zoe was not amused to find he had been joyriding in her Strawberry Shortcake car:

We went to Hershey, PA for the weekend, and he showed up in our hotel room :

He must have returned early from the North Pole one evening and got bored, so decided to indulge in a movie and popcorn:

He really must like the head rush that comes from hanging upside down:

One morning, he appeared in Noah's Legos:

Busted in the candy jar!

Watching Zoe sleep:

I placed an order with the Hershey Store online and when I received it, there was a mistake, they had packed a giant Hershey syrup bottle instead of a Hershey candle I ordered. I called customer service and sorted it out, but the next day, Peppermint was found on the Hershey bottle- perhaps he messed up my order?

Last night, I finished up a load of the kids' laundry, folded it and left it on the chair in the living room. I guess that was a big mistake, because this morning the kids found him on the tree after he had occupied himself by hanging their unmentionables all over the tree! Noah found this very funny, but Zoe was mortified. She instructs me to take her underwear down and put them away in her room while she was at school, because she did NOT like them there!

I can't wait to see what Peppermint comes up with next! ( I really can't wait, since I am running out of ideas and will be searching Pinterest again this evening!)

Do you have an elf? If so, what is his/her name and what sort of antics have they been into? I love hearing the names of everyone's elves. Our friends have elves named, Jingle Bell, Jerry and perhaps my favorite of all, Buzz Lightyear Henry!

Special One Question Edition of Ask Noah

Conversation just now in our living room after a promotional commercial for a television show:

NOAH: WHAT DID THEY SAY???

(which leads us to...)

Q: What do you think about the Duggars having another baby? That will make twenty kids!

I think that is just CRAZY! That is TOO. MANY. KIDS. I mean, if *I* had that many kids, I would have to start throwing them into shelters.

Noah- they are children, not kittens!

Yeah? Well someone needs to tell HER that!

Ummm.. yeah. We might need to work on basic morality with him. I hope he doesn't just throw DJ and I into a shelter when we are old and need care.

Ask Noah- Second Edition

Q: For almost as long as there have been humans there has been war and conflict. Do you think war will ever go away?

Yes, but we have to fight against war and everyone must have freedom. But I can't really predict the future. We have to work together will everyone and make the bad people that start wars better people. Then we can all get along.

Q: What do you think about McDonald's bringing back the McRib?

Yeah- I don't know how to answer that. I don't like that.

Q: What's better, cats or dogs?

That is a matter of opinion. Maybe somebody in Asia or Europe likes cats, but I like dogs.

Q: Why does your elementary school rock?

First we have a lot of fundraisers and we get money from the military. I like the way people treat others at my school. But, I really don't know if my school is the best, because I haven't ever been to another elementary school... so how would I compare?

Q:How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?

Well, it's almost impossible to tell that. Because, if a baby eats it, it will probably take forty or something. But, if a kid eats it, it would be less. If a grown up eats it, it would probably be ten licks and you are in the center.

Q: Are you wishing for a snowy winter? Why or why not?

YEAH! It means no school!

Yes, but it means you have to add days to the end of the year.

I don't care- it is worth it to play in the snow, build snow forts and have fun!

So, are you going to help me shovel it all this year?

I will help a little, but you know I can't shovel very much. My arms are not very strong. They aren't strong enough to push through snow.

**Methinks I won't be able to count on Noah for help shoveling snow**

Candy Conundrum

Have y'all seen the Jimmy Kimmel video where he challenged parents to tell their children they ate all their Halloween candy and then post the results on YouTube? If you haven't, it is hilarious and you can view it here.

I saw it on Facebook the other day and thought it was hilarious! And immediately decided it was something I must do to my children. So- I did. And here is the result- not quite as funny, but as usual, Noah reacts the opposite of how I think he will.

If Curiosity Killed the Cat, What Did Goofiness Do to the Boy?

"Hello?"

"Hi, Mrs. _____? This is the school nurse. Noah hit his head and has a small cut, but it is something I would like a doctor to look at. Can you come get him?"

"Sure, I am on my way."

My son is goofy. Sometimes too goofy. And on some days- to a fault. On the ten minute drive to the school, I was pondering how this happened. He had gym today- was it in gym? But a quick glance at the clock affirmed that it was not yet time for gym and he was probably at lunch. So I envisioned some sort of playground accident. I was wrong.

I am relaying this story based on the testimony of several different people, but putting their stories together and knowing my son, here is how I believe it went down:

The class was lining up to go to lunch and Noah happens to be line leader this week. Being his usual goofy self, as he made his way to the front of the line, he was walking backwards, looking at his classmates and saying, " Look at ME! I'm the LINE LEADER!". And then His Royal Leadership tripped over the basket that holds all the lunch boxes and hit his head on the brick wall. Yeah- I laughed at this too- even while standing in the nurse's office, holding an ice pack on my son's bleeding head. Because it is SO Noah!! You should go ahead and submit my name for Mother of the Year right now.. I will wait.

Now let me flash back to thirty-two years ago for a moment. I was in first grade and since Kindergarten was a half day at the time, it was our first year of full-day school and we had nap time in the afternoons. Now, as a class, we knew the routine. We came in from lunch and stopped at the bathrooms. We were allowed in a few at at time while the teacher stood outside and monitored the behavior and as we were finished, we were to walk down to our classroom, get our mats out and get ready for nap time. I had also recently acquired a most awesome pair of green sunglasses that I had managed to smuggle to school that morning to show off. In the absence of my teacher, I pulled out the sunglasses, put them on my head and began to dance and sing, "You Ain't Nothing But a Hound Dog".

Of course at that exact moment, my teacher walked in and immediately banished me to the corner. The problem was, our classroom was really one big giant room divided with a partition into two classrooms. She put me in the corner with the partition- right where it met the wall. I could see into the other classroom and there was someone lying on their mat right there just inches from where I was standing. So, I started chatting with him/her ( I just don't remember which). I got in trouble again and was moved to the real corner- where I struck up a conversation with whatever class mate was lying over near me. I wound up in the hallway, grabbing my ankles while I got my first paddling.

Now we will move forward a little bit to my freshman year of high school. You know when you are a freshman, you just want to blend in and not draw attention to yourself. Our high school was odd in that the majority of the building was built into a little hill and the lobby and gymnasium were sunken a little bit. It was all connected, but in order to go from the lobby into any of the three hallways, you had to go up about 7 or 8 stairs. So, one of my friends and I were walking UP the stairs into A-Hall and halfway up, I was struck with the urge to do a little jig just because I was goofy. And I fell, UP the stairs and books scattered everywhere! My friend walked off and left me and pretended she didn't know me. Upperclassmen laughed, but didn't help me and I was humiliated.

Next we will move to 2005. Noah was two years old and I had just lost all of my baby weight and was feeling fabulously cute again. It was spring and espadrilles were all the rage. I had gone shopping and purchased a cute top, capris and matching espadrilles. I was feeling wonderful. I got myself dressed, got Noah dressed and off we went to playgroup where I was certain everyone would notice how much weight I had lost. I opened the door and Noah started weaving around my feet like a cat and I made a GRAND entrance.. but not the wanted I had wanted to make. I opened the door and then literally fell INTO playgroup. They noticed me alright.

My point is that he comes by it honestly. I hope he learns to contain himself long before I ever did (actually I never did learn). Or else, I dread the impending injuries and awkward teen years.

And, for the record, he is fine. He was entertaining the ER staff- for example when the nurse asked him how it happened, he said, "Let's see..... A Thousand Ways to Bump Your Head- by Noah". So- yeah- his mental faculties were in check and he was still trying to be the entertainer. They cleaned the cut and determined it did not need stitches, put Neosporin on it and sent us on our way. He does, however, want me to show off his wound so that it doesn't seem like he was a exaggerating.