Wednesday, December 9, 2009

The Two Sides of Will

I will begin by admitting that my son has both a public and private personna. For this reason I believe that in the future should Will have any interest in becoming a politician he has the potential for success.(Of course we all know which side of the aisle he will espouse, after all he is with me much more than he is with Joe) We see his private personna all the time... some parts are sweet and cozy and some well.... let's just say he lets it all hang out!

Apparently his public personna is quite awesome especially when neither Joe nor I are around to witness. The reports I get from preschool are glowing... Will listens, Will follows directions, Will participates with lots of the other children, He is so sweet. I have to think... are they talking about the same Will that stomps his feet and yells "no" at the top of his lungs if I even suggest that he stop what he is doing to change gears? I suppose the answer is indeed yes and follows in a long one of children who do the same. He is also unbelieveably cooperative at the doctor and the dentist. He sits, does exactly what they ask him to do, and chats pleasantly with the nurse/hygenist. They all think he is "just soooo cute".

The only exception to this is Church on Sunday. If we can get to the point at which communion is distributed we consider it a major victory and we leave directly after communion so as not to prolong the agony ( for those around us). Yes, we adhere to the not commonly known Roman Catholic tradtition of "Host and Coast". Perhaps Will does not acknowledge that church is a public place or he is so comfortable at Church that he does not feel the need to project a favorable image... who knows? And about the grocery store.... don't even get me started, it's a lost cause.

Many tell me that some day I will look back on the days of quick church exits after having jumped off the kneeler for the third time and reminders of two quarters to "ride Bob the Builder" if grocery store behavior merits with nostalgia... I'll let you all know when that kicks in.... I'm guessing not for a while.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Mochamotor and other additions to Webster's

While Will is talking up a storm all day long, I might add, some of his words are creative to say the least. We enjoy trying to figure out what the actual vocabulary might be and usually we are close. Yesterday Will and Joe were playing "train" through the rooms in the house. Each of them would have a turn being the engine or as Joe (Mr. English Major) told him, the locomotive. Will comes racing through the kitchen shouting, "Mommy, I'm the mochamotor!" Honestly I was hoping that meant a chocolate making machine, alas!

On this same topic some of Will's favorite flying machines are "hepildoctors". You are familiar with such things... they take off perpendicular to the ground and have rotars... that's right heilocopters! And did you know that the emergency vehicle often seen racing down the street to a hospital is called an "ambience"? I hope that they have a terrific atmosphere of healing should I ever be transported in one.

There is only one more I will add... Will has a new set of zoo animals. We go through each one and name the animal. Until last week I was unaware of the new species of "rhinociteosaurusus" (rhino-cit-o-saur-us-us). I think we have been talking too much about animals and dinosaurs that he is perhaps getting them confused. Either that or Will just has a really bad cold!!!

Monday, November 9, 2009

GOTTCHA!

Let me begin by saying that Will's behavior in church has always been a bit suspect but we have managed to move to the "acceptable for a three year old" range until last Sunday! Yesterday was much better but last Sunday was perhaps his worst ever... who knows what prompted the wild toddler act perhaps it was the fact that Halloween was the night before. That could have been the issue! For whatever reason Will was AWFUL in church.

Whenever Will is not behaving appropropriately in church Joe will take him out into the vestibule. Usually they sit out there and have a discussion about why they left and what Will needs to do in order to return to the pew with me. In this case not only did they go out to the vestibule they also went for a walk into the old school building. Will continued to misbehave as they walked past the old cafeteria. Inside the cafeteria a group of people were setting up for the K of C breakfast that is held after the 9:30am mass. Joe sat Will down on one of the benches in between the cafeteria doors and the restroom. All of a sudden there was a loud "CRASH, BANG!" from the cafeteria. Will stopped for a minute, looked at Joe and asked, " What that sound was Daddy?" (He actually does talk a bit like Yoda sometimes.) Without missing a beat, or so he thought, Joe responded with, "That is probably Jesus coming to see why you are not behaving in church!" Will waited just a minute and then said in a matter of fact manner, " That not Jesus, Daddy. Jesus not walk. He on cross."

As Joe relayed this story to me after mass I asked him what his response was. He said, " I didn't have any. At that point I thought it best just to move on." So it goes... sometimes you just have to move on.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

William P- The Musical!!!!

"Something exciting. Something inviting. Something for everyone! A comedy by Will!" Ever since Will really began to notice sounds he has been drawn to music and singing of any kind, good or bad. He loves it all! We and our families have provided him with all sorts of musical toys, instruments, CD's and such, as yet mercifully no drums... I am hopeful we can avoid classifying a drum as an instrument. We'll see?

Preschool has brought a new level of musical awareness. Will is now old enough to learn songs! He has mastered "old Wabash" much to Joe's delight and is now working on entire repertoire. Lately, our family has been treated to what I refer to as Preschool Preludes. As we go through the day doing our usual mundane things Will suddenly breaks out into song... just like in a musical! These songs are the things he learns in preschool... one day he was sitting in the back seat of the car as Joe drove and began singing, " What's the weather? What's the weather? What's the weather outside? Is it sunny or rainy or cloudy outside?" Apparently, they sing this everyday. Yesterday at Grandma and Grandpa's house after lunch he went into the kitchen and started singing a days of the week song. It was the first time we had heard this one... "How many days are in a week? How many days are in a week? How many days are in a week? There are seven days in a week! Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Friday Thursday, Monday then comes Saturday! (As you may notice the lyrics need a bit of work but well... it's a new song!)

With Christmas coming I have no doubt that he will be singing up a storm. We have already listened to one ( an only one) holiday music CD! I am trying to hold him off just a bit. But he is right now in the background singing "Up on the Housetop" complete with hand motions thanks to some very early holiday commercial... uugh!

All this does make me wonder if the future holds school programs where Joe and I sit in the audience waiting for Will's class to perform and realize that THAT child who is over emphasizing, all the lyrics and choreography with great enthusiasm is yes, in fact our son! HMMMMM! Let's just say Will may espouse the " life is stage" philosophy.

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Halloween Gators

A while ago, back in the summer, I asked Will what he wanted to be for Halloween. He said he wanted to be a football player. This amazingly remained the same for months! I thought "great" this will be easy he can be Wabash player and I can go over to the bookstore and get a jersey, right? WRONG! They don't make Wabash jerseys for 3 year olds, go figure? Every other college has small jerseys but none for Wabash... so next on the list.

Some of you may know that we have a connection in Gainesville, Fl. My sister and brother-in-law are closely associated with the University of Florida (Go Gators!) Sorry, reflex action! Low and behold for Will's birthday they sent him of all things... a Gator jersey and not just ANY Gator jersey but a "Tebow" jersey! Whoo hoo, Halloween costume back on track! Because of Aunt Lisa and Uncle Bob Will is well versed in all things Gator. He knows the song " We are the boys of Old Florida" almost as well as "Old Wabash", he knows the "Rama Jama" cheer and my sister's personal favorite "It's Great to be a Florida Gator"... oh... and he can CHOMP with the best of them. And he can pick Tim Tebow out in magazine photos! All in all he is as big a Gator fan as a three year old can be. So moving on with the costume assembly. I figured that all I needed were football pants (check) and a helmet. Joe found the pants in a dress-up Colts uniform set and a Colts helmet. What I did not think about was that there is not a huge call for "Gator orange" paint in the midwest. I spent many hours in lots of home improvement stores looking for the correct orange. With a little help from some tinted primer I was able to paint the helmet and the Gainesville group provided the script helmet sitcker. We are set to go.

He wore the costume for the first time last week to the Children's Museum party and we added one more detail that apparently, for Will made the costume- eye black! I was instructed not to write the Phil 4:13 that Tebow writes on the stickers because Joe did not want to invite those sorts of conversations so we chose "Tebow Time" Will LOVES the eye black ( a proud dad moment) He looks at himself from all angles in the mirror in our room and then proclaims himself "really cool". That's really what we were going for a cool, fun costume! And I bet he will be the ONLY Tim Tebow this Halloween in Crawfordsville. Oh yeah... and just to finish out the look we have a Heisman trophy for him to carry and Joe, well.... Joe is going to be Urban Meyer... his costume you ask? A UF (Go Gators!) baseball hat. I can only do so much!

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Letters

Ever since Will has begun preschool he has become very interested in letters of the alphabet and spelling. I am happy to see that he is making the connection between the two and is also showing signs that he is interested in learning to read. Yes, I do realize that he is only 3, and is not ready to read, but the interest and understanding that letters of the alphabet are somehow connected to words on a page makes me happy. Anyway, I digress.... Will and I were playing together with his magnetic letters and he finds the letter "W". Immediately he point it out as a "W" and asks me to make his name. Then he spells his name for me, "W-I-L-L" I told him that was correct his name is spelled W-I-L-L! He waited a minute then he said, " I like the W best." "Great", I said, " I like the W as well and I am proud that you know how to spell your name Will, W-I-L-L!" He waited a moment and then said, "Not Will, Mommy. I like W best. Just call me W!" I began to laugh and then very firmly told him that under no circumstances is anyone in THIS house going to be using "W" as an actual name. His name is Will NOT "W"! some day I hope to be able to explain this conversation to him and if I am good at my work... his response will be, " Thanks, Mom! I couldn't imagine if you had called me "W". People might have thought that I was actually named after him! YIKES!" That is if I have done my job in counteracting all opposing influences.... HMMMMMM.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Birthdays are .... ugh!

As I sit down to wrrite this today I am not in the greatest frame of mind. Today is my 40th birthday and while I am happily listening to Will use his "yackuum" cleaner all over the house talking to our dog, I am reminded of just how... well...

My mother was almost 40 when I was born and that does make me feel better as I see her still very active, with exercise classes, maintaining their home, and generally running the house (the way it has always been). My dad is also quite active at 85, but let's face facts, he never ran the house and never will!! On the flip side my husband Joe's parents were 40 when Joe was a Junior at Wabash College and his brother was a freshman at Butler University. Wow, just Wow! And we have a 3 year old!!!!

In the past months I have been referred to as Will's Grandmother more times than I care to admit and have been asked if I have a son the the Wabash football team I suppose that is possible.

As I. look to the future I hope Will is able to keep me young.At some point I will embrace this age that I find for the first time in my life a bit depressing. I am hopeful that by the time Will is 40 that he will have accomplished far more in his 40 years than I have in mine, that many of the things that we worry about today money, diseases, wars etc... will be distant memories. I guess I will just have to wait and see.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Explanations... Always Explanations!

So many people tell me some day I will look back and wish for these days. Really? Sometimes I find that hard to believe! I love my little "Will-Will" dearly, but seriously there are many things that he is doing current.y that make me think people just don't remember the age of three very well. That in and of itself gives me hope!



Lately.. one of Will's less than endearing habits is to argue any explanation. "Mommy, why is that guy mowing his yard?" Me, "Because his grass was too tall." "No! It is because he have walnuts in his yard." "Excuse me, what!? We do have walnuts in our yard but that is not why we mow the yard. We mow it because the grass grows too tall." "No, Mommy it is because of walnuts!" This can go on for some time and for many things like colors or types of trucks. The other day he insisted that the fifth wheel camper we saw as we were driving was carrying horses and cows. I am sure this is probably a sign that he is smart and thinking and will not be easily swayed by others opinions... but right now I would just like him to accept an answer and be happy with it.



While I am on the subject of currently irritating behaviors, Will's lack of interest in ANY of his toys is right there at the top of the list. He is usually busy with something that involves getting into whatever project, space, or square inch that I happen to be. This is ridiculous to the point of insanity (mine) because he has more than a few toys that include everything from stuffed animals to monster trucks and anything in between. In the past few days I have told him that his toys will be disappearing if he does not care for them and that Santa Claus will not bring new ones if I tell him that Will is a child who does not like or want toys. Honestly, I wonder if there really are children who don't like toys and don't care to play with them! Please say no.... please say no.... I guess it is time for me to get the "red phone"(an antique rotary dial phone with picture of a train engine) down to prove that I can indeed call Santa if I so choose. It worked for my first graders when I was teaching... surely I won't have to explain that, or will I?

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Apples, Apples, and more Apples

Yesterday we went on an annual trip to the Apple Orchard. It was a beautiful fall day... clear, sunny and just a bit on the cool side. Will was excited because we had to leave early, pick up Grandma and Grandpa Nowak and then head about 40 minutes down the road to the orchard.

I am not sure which Will enjoyed more, "pickin' the apples from the branches" or "We go play with the farm doggies, now?" He climbed trees, picked apples off trees that were absolutlely loaded with apples, played in the hay mow and selected several very interesting gourds from the bins. It was a great day! The only ones who were happy to see our orchard time end were the farm doggies because Will was convinced that they all wanted to play with him... not that he wanted to play with them.

He was soooo tired that he had a very hard time staying awake at the restaurant we went to for lunch. It is a funny tradition that we go to a place called Gray's Cafeteria for fried chicken or pork tenderloins. Not exactly a low cal option but I probably eat fried chicken twice a year so it isn't that awful. Will was intrigued by the cafeteria experience as well as the size of the restaurant. I am thinking that the fascincation with cafeterias will be short lived... ahh well.... he is only three and it was his first time.

Today at preschool they even did some stamp painting with apples and he was apparently able to retell his apple orchard adventures... he did a bit of embellishment when it came to the tree climbing. At least I know that they didn't really think that I would let him climb to the top of the tree "all by himself" and "throw" the apples down. I am, however quite happy that he remembered as much of the day as he did.

The weekend will bring yet another football game at Wabash so ... off we go to try out my new apple peeler machine.... hmmmm ... exactly how smart is this idea?

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Is This Normal?

Just a few minutes ago Joe and I were getting dinner ready and Will was playing with several of his toys which, surprise, includes a couple of dolls. Yes, Joe knows about this! A couple were mine as a child and one is a boy who wears work boots and a baseball hat! Anyway... he was pretending to cook at his kitchen and suddenly he turns to one of the dolls and says, "Enough!" he takes the doll's teddy bear and walks into our kitchen. Joe and I were standing at the counter. He looks at us and announces, " My friend is not being nice. His bear is in time-out!" Then he walks back to the doll and says, " You are still happy? I take 'way your hammer, too!" (this doll wears a tool belt).

Joe looks at me with a shocked expression... " Is that normal?" he asks. "Yes" I said, "don't worry. It is perfectly normal for him to exact a similar punishment on his dolls as we do to him. "

Let's just say that Will's behavior at Mass this morning.... less than stellar! I think he was looking for a moment to even the score at least in his three year old mind! Pretty funny...

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Jude's Birthday Party, Really!

Yesterday was Will's buddy (BFF) Jude's Third birthday party. Let me begin by saying that this is the first time Will has been invited to a friend birthday party. If you all recall we spent time last week kpicking out a suitable gift for Jude and talked a bit about birthdays. I tried not to mention the upcoming party too much last week so as not to be bombarded with the inevitable, " Is it today, Mommy?" etc... I managed not to really bring it up until Monday night.

Will awakened on Monday morning with his usual thundering steps downstairs, ran into the kitchen and announced, "We goin' to Jude's party now. I ready!" I had to explain that Jude's party did not begin until the evening (5 pm). Since being three does not include understanding the concept of time this pretty much set the tone for the rest of the day. Periodically Will would tell me he was ready to go and I would respond, " not yet, Will, a little later." When I did tell him it was time to put on a clean shirt and get the wagon out of the garage you would have thought that he was on fast forward. I have never seen him get dressed that quickly! It was pretty funny!

We loaded up the wagon with Will, a blanket and Jude's gift. On the way we discussed and reminded Will that today was Jude's birthday and the cake and presents will be for him. I had deep concerns that he would just dive into opening the presents as if they were his.... this is a personal pet peeve of mine. I also have developed a "cake biting" phobia that was fueled by my best girlfriend's story years ago about a childs birthday party where one of the other little girls (not the birthday girl) actually leaned forward and took a bite out of the cake prior to singing "Happy Birthday!". Honestly, if Will did that I think I would .... well I don't know what I would do!

When we arrived at the party Jude's grandpa had brought a lawn tractor with a hay wagon attached for birthday Hayrides! It was awesome. Jude was so excited! He greated Will with his usual "Yea! Will Emmick is here!" followed by a big hug and kiss! At three the hug and kiss is really cute and he ALWAYS calls him "Will Emmick" never just "Will"! This was our kind of kid party, no ponies, bounce houses, major theme, outside entertainment etc... it was kids enjoying playing together on a beautiful fall evening having burgers, dogs and party cupcakes along with their parents. It was lots of fun.

Apparently my continual reminders about whose birthday it was made an impression and Will was outstanding. He sang nicely to Jude! More than once! and when presents were opened he did not even try to get to them. He did come over to me and say, "Mommy, those toys for Jude, right? I bein' good boy! " Yes, he was a good boy and he did well at his first birthday party. No cake biting, no gift grabbing, all in all a very nice experience. I hope this is the general trend!

Sunday, September 27, 2009

The Grocery Store

Having just come away from a Homecoming weekend spent mainly socializing with friends that we see far too infrequently and comparing notes on our children (note taking not always necessary as the live action version is often more memorable) I feel that I have narrowed the field of most detested tasks of mothers of three year olds... to one.... that would be.... GROCERY SHOPPING!

I had extremely high hopes for Will's first foray into the world of education, Preschool. I would drop him off, race home, take a shower, do the breakfast dishes, run load of laundry, vacuum the house, put things back in order, grocery shop for the week, etc... the list goes on but alas there are only three hours of preschool on Tuesday and Thursday. I have yet to make it to the store alone. The house is in order and the clothes are clean but I still have an assistant at the store... UGH! Someday....

I have devised a system that I do not recommend for the faint of heart. Will found, on one of our trips to Goodwill, a toy grocery cart. The Step2 kind. One day in weak moment I told Will he could bring the cart to the store and "help"me shop. Do I really need to elaborate and say that now the cart goes to EVERY shopping trip. Much to my amazement it does help somewhat because he can put groceries in the cart and he is not confined to the seat. I must make frequest remeinders not to run over other people in the aisle for example, but as long as I have a list and can go rather quickly through the store he stays close to me and happily pushes the cart around the entire grocery store. Just a warning to anyone who decides to try this... it does attract attention and strangers will talk to you. I'm just sayin'.... depending on where you live this can either be a blessing or a curse.

Friday, September 25, 2009

More Space

I have a constant quest to make more space for Will to play, in the family room, the library, his bedroom. It would sound as though there is LOTS of room, but really not so much. We are currently at a stage where ALL of his toys seem to be large and the rooms in our 100+ year old house are very small, plentiful but small. It appears no one had the foresight to expect train tables and vats of legos in the future... alas.

This morning I decided to move a couple of things in the family room to see if a new arrangement of Will's things would net a few more feet of play space. All we had to do was switch a bookcase and Will's play kitchen... sounds simple, right? Note that nothing that you ever think is simple actually is and the difficulty increases exponentially when you factor in the age of house (sloping floors, small doorways etc... ) First I go to move the bookcase ( just slide it over) I pull it away from the wall and viola it nearly collapses as I push it over an uneven part of the floor. I shriek and begin to unload the bookcase (so much for the $25 " just for now" bookcase from WalMart) Just as I am taking off the final 67 golden books Will arrives in the kitchen having just awakened. And what does a three year old do when they see a stack of books as tall as they are on the floor of the kitchen? They knock it over!!! And run through it!!! UGH!

I push the bookcase a bit more, it leans a bit more, and I curse, under my breath a bit more! So I decide to go ahead and move parts of the play kitchen! A good plan is always to move on to step 2, if step 1 isn't going so well. Now I have a legitamit MESS on my hands. Enter Joe!

The room is a mess, the bookcase if falling over and the floor is covered in children's books and he asks, " What are doing? Did you HAVE to do this this morning and do you know that the bookcase is leaning?" REEAALLLYYY? I hadn't noticed? ( more under the breath) After ten minutes of unnecessary discussion he decides to help me move the decripit bookcase. Amazingly it is moved and in place in 2 minutes and and hour and a half later I have the whole room back in shape. I had mistakenly thought that this was a 20 minute project in total. I really ought to now better by now. I do these things all the time. But... Will likes his new play kitchen set up and the reat of the room does seem more open.... we'll see how long this lasts.... ho hum

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Shopping with Will

Let's just say to be diplomatic that this is not my idea of a fun afternoon... and usually it involves some type of bribe, which I am definitely not above. Today was one of those days. We had to go about half an hour away (topic for another post) to get to a store that is worth my time, in order to buy a birthday gift. Yes, Will has been invited to his first friend birthday party next week! Wheee! So... we go to buy the gift. We talked ALL THE WAY about picking out a nice gift for his friend Jude and NOT FOR HIM. We discussed birthdays and how he celebrated his at the beach with Zach and Evan. We arrive at the store. We get out of the car. Will announces , " I do the shoppin' today, Mommy! " Great, that means he thinks that whatever he puts in the cart will magically follow us home. I cut him off at the pass and suggest that if he "behaves in the store we will stop to get frosty's on the way home. (Enter the bribe)

We go to the toy section of Marshall's. Will begins to look (for Jude), coming up first with a saxophone from one of the Backyardigans ( we don't know that Jude even WATCHES the Backyardigans!) He pleads to take it home "just to try it", I (ogre mom) says " No we are focusing on Jude. think about behaving and getting to stop for icecream, okay." Now, realize that this same exchange happens about 37 more times nearly word for word. We finally settle on a gift. Thank you, Jesus!

Will put the gift items in the cart and turns to me and says, " I ready to go now. Let's pay for stuff and go home."
"Great!" I say.
Next, Will takes off as fast as he can around one of the displays in the store. He circles it four times before I catch him.
"What was that?" I ask
" I was running?" says Will(mastery of stating the obvious)
" Is that the way to act in the store if you want to get icecream? Are you behaving?"
" Yes, Mommy. I stop runnin' now"
"Good idea Will!"
"Mommy? I'm bein' have now, okay! I still get icecream."
" We'll see if you can make it out of the store."
"Mommy? "
"Yes, Will?"
" I get icecream. I bein' have everys weeks in the stores, okay?

So much for backing off the bribes... and you think they won't catch on because they're little..... RIIIGGGHHHTT!

(Apparently "have" with a long "a" sound, is what you "be" when you get icecream!)

Monday, September 21, 2009

Thrift Stores

So... here is the deal with thrift stores like Goodwill and ALL the other ones. They are inherently wonderful as long as you go into it with the idea that it is sort of like a hunt. You may find what you are looking for or you may find something that you never thought you'd like or need BUT you have to have it. I love thrift stores and I am trying to make Will a fan as well. We average about twice a month at the local Goodwill. He loves going over to the children's books and toys. We find great books and videos. You can't beat the price of the videos at about $2 and books for $.50! I was able to stock our Disney movie collection for a whopping $5 and we are working on completing the "Little Critter" series a la Goodwill. I am not a big fan of the clothing selections, but the stuff is FAB! People who have visited our house over the years have asked where I find a lot of my seasonal decor... most of it is second hand!! The coolest stuff anyway! Joe thinks I am crazy but this year I had my moment... I subscribe to "Country Living" magazine. I receive the October issue and flip through the first pages to my favorite section "what's it worth?" There on the pages are not ONE but TWO of my favorite Halloween finds, a vintage trick-or-treat bag and a collection of noise makers. Joe is not a fan of either but Will LOVES the noise makers. The bag appraised at $65 and the noise makers $150!!! HA!!! As I always say he/she with the best eye wins!!! More thrift stores for me!

I've Got a cold in my Nose... ACHOO!

So Will has a VERY runny nose. Nothing too unusual about that, huh? But, it is the very first time that I remember him sounding like he has a stuffy. He must know that he sounds funny because this morning he got frustrated with the fact that I couldn't understand what he was saying. It took me five or six attempts to get " I want another pancake, please Mommy" out of " I bont nudder pickache, p mob!" It was pretty funny and he let out a BIG sigh when I finally repeated the phrase he was actually trying to say.

I have discovered that Will is a perfect name for him. He exhibits great strength of willpower when it comes to something he wants or perceives he wants/needs. I had the audacity to leave the room after telling him I was going upstairs to get a load of laundry. I had just asked if he wanted to watch something on tv and he was satisfied with the program that was on... 3 seconds later... he proceeded to meltdown because I had "left" and he wanted "Max and Ruby". It took him nearly half and hour to stop wailing about the situation. It ended when I told him I was going to sit on the floor and wail, too because I was upset about his continual meltdowns. I "wailed" for about 30 seconds when he came past the doorway, leaned his head in and said, "Mommy, I stopped cryin' already. Can we go downstairs now and have lunch." Meltdown over, move on... I hope that was all for today. Although I would never admit it to him the sitting on the floor and wailing thing does work out some frustration... hmmmmm...

Sunday, September 20, 2009

First Overnight with Grandma and Grandpa Emmick

... and not with Mommy and Daddy! Joe and I went to Chicago on Friday. We arrived at separate times since Joe had business at the lunch hour and after and the Grandparents came to pick up Mr. Will at 10 am. I headed off to the Big City around noon. I have to admit that driving without a car companion was odd to say the least. I had two hours without arguing or compromising on the music in the car or if we were "on the highway" as a method of requesting to put the window down. I cruised through and by 2:10pm I was happily walking down State Street to stop in P.O.S.H Chicago, and on to Oak Street to do a little shopping! It was a beautiful afternoon and I truly did enjoy moving at my own pace!

Will had been happy to go with Grandma and Grandpa, waving and shouting, "bye, bye... see you 'morrow, Mommy!" as they left. I managed to wait until just before Joe and I went out for dinner to call to check on him. I had to leave a message. Phone rang ten minutes later and a slightly tearful voice told me really he was fine and had been to McDonald's for dinner. By the time we hung up the phone he was hapily playing chase with Grandpa in the background.

Called again on Saturday morning to find Will finishing breakfast and providing a concert of song in the kitchen. They were going to leave for the "Bands and Barbeque Fest" and miniture horse show, both of which were HUGE hits! Joe and I went to the Wabash v. University of Chicago football game (WIN!!!) and then headed home with a stop for dinner in West Lafayette at Nine irish Brothers!

Will was waiting at the back door for us to arrive. Hugs and kisses all around. He had a great time tellling up about his weekend and showing us pictures Grandma had on her camera. We continue to hear snippets of activities. Apparently, riding in the front seat of Grandpa's "big, big, big truck!" was a favorite as well as a hayride around a "punkin" patch. It was a great weekend. he is still exhausted and I would guess that Grandma and Grandpa are too... time to relax... until tomorrow anyway.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

The Joke's on Me?

Lately Will has been becoming very interested in telling jokes and secrets! This is one of those stages that I remember from my sisters kids and it is a personal favorite. Will's jokes go something like this...
Will: Mommy, I have a joke for you.
Me: Okay, tell me the joke.
Will: Hmmmm... (putting finger on chin to show thinking) Purple monkeys!
Me: Purple Monkeys! That is so funny, Will!
This is the extent of the joke. He thinks he is a stand-up comedian. I will, of course laugh at anything he thinks is a joke, purple monkeys, red frogs, furry bananas (he atually said that yesterday during one of his joke telling sessions.) and anything else he comes up with...

Now it is breakfast time. Mini pancakes... AGAIN! Then off to preschool... I wonder if his pals at school laugh at his jokes?

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Monsters for Breakfast

Our mornings here at home are pretty low key. Will likes to get up, hang out in the bathroom and the closet with Daddy while he gets ready for work and then come downstairs to see me. Hopefully, if all has gone according to plan, I have had breakfast, completed a workout and finished at least one load of laundry BEFORE they arrive in the kitchen! I try very hard to make this happen, but it does involve my getting up when the alarm goes off at 5:30am!

Will's current video obsession is Pixar's Monster's Inc. He LOVES to have his breakfast on a tray table in our library room and watch the movie. I do believe I could recite from memory most of the dialogue. I am pleased that at least he has chosen a movie with a reasonably creative script and NOT something vile like The Wiggles to view over and over again.

I know that I am probably instilling bad habits in my son by allowing him to watch tv while eating breakfast and not sitting at the table for every meal... but I guess in the grand scheme of things this is what my sister, Lisa, would deem a 25 cent issue! So for the time being Will may eat and watch.

We head off to Indianapolis for the day today. I am continually bringing clothes to resale in Broadripple and Will can hang with my parents while I do the drop off and go to a really good grocery store. When we were there last week Grandma and Grandpa took Will to the ArtsPark at the Broadripple Art Center. There is a crooked house sculpture there that he really likes ecause you can go inside and walk around. He insists on playing ring around the rosie inside.... unique but very Will. On the way home we were talking in the car about the ArtsPark and I asked if he liked it. He replied, "Yes, but I don't want to go next time." I asked, "Why not?" He said, " I want to go to the one park with slides and swings and music. I go there next time, okay Mommy!" I had to think for a moment about what he was referring to and then I remembered that he had stayed with Grandma and Grandpa Nowak while Joe and I went out for our anniversary back in July and they had taken Will to Mcdonald's to get dinner and then ate at a picnic table in Broadripple Park during a "Jazz in the Park" event. He was able to eat, play and listen to music- a perfect Will evening and apparently even more of a hit than any of us had thought. I hope his interest in music translates into a desire to play an instrument at some point... that remains to be seen.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Our Weekly cookie bake!

So I have been baking ever since I cna remember! My mother is a champion baker and my sister and I carry on the line. I have vivid memories of my mother's kitchen, and lets face it a kitchen really does belong to the mother in the family even if they are not the cook, chances are they are the ones who chose the decor! I have been baking with Will long before he would remember the projects and today was our weekly baking project. It consisted of something basic: chocolate chip cookies. I have tried hundreds of recipies over the years and have finally settled on one that seems a good base with a few minor tweeks. Joe loves them and so does Will.
Will "helps" by dragging in his chair from the dining room and planting himself as close to "on the counter" as possible. I let him put in the butter and the chips when the time comes. He likes to watch me turn the mixer on high speed when I put the flour mixture in so that it creates a cloud of dust that takes a while to clean up post baking. I used to like the same thing as a child so I do it and he laughs- a lot! I have found that Will's main contribution to the baking process at his age (3) is the quality control (tasting the dough). He has probably eaten more than enough of it in the past few months. I have found that much to my chagrin that the favored Nestle chips have not been tasting nearly as good as I remember so having switched to Ghirardelli dark chocolate chips has been key. We are now waiting for the cookies to bake and will taste the warm cookies with a glass of milk. How very Martha, or very Beaver of us....

First Days of Preschool

So I have decided in my attempt to remember things clearly from Will's childhood, that creating a blog mght just be the thing to do. I am no good at the normal "Mommy" ways of remembering childhood events like scrapbooking and writing in a journal. So let's see how this goes.

Will began preschool on the first day of September!!!! He looked like such a big boy walking off to the car with his Cars backpack and his constant companion "Mr. Bear". He cried when I left and consequently so did I, but we both survived and suddenly it is now his third week and I find myself looking forward to a few quiet hours at home with Lulu, the 12 year old dog. She is VERY calm these days.

I will try in future entries to provide more stories and details for the sake of my memory as well as Will's.