Like the necklace? Well, my friends, soak up the tale of this treasure hanging 'round my neck. You'll find a suitable moral at the end.
(In an attempt to be delicate, the words "yummy candy," will be substituted for the word 'vomit.')
Cooper was supposed to get a haircut today, but he woke up this morning covered in yummy candy. There was yummy candy in his bed, yummy candy on the floor, and yummy candy in the hallway.
I washed off all the yummy candy and put Coop on the couch with a blanket. He was a bit warm. I pushed fluids and made him rest. We watched cartoons. He eventually fell asleep watching Phineas and Ferb--a new favorite in this house.
Then, Ruby started to fuss. I fed her and played with her as I watched over Cooper. There are moments when nothing else matters but being a mom to your kids. This was one of those.
By the afternoon, Cooper was awake and trying to convince me that he was fit as a fiddle. I made him drink water and eat plain macaroni.
"What are we going to do?" he asked.
"Rest," I said.
"Can we rest outside?" he pleaded.
"No,"I said.
"Oh, rats!" he complained, "I want to DO something!"
His eyes scanned the room.
"Hey, we could make something with those," he said pointing to the newly opened box of macaroni. A grin filled his face. He was in love with his suggestion.
"You want to make a necklace?" I asked.
"Yes! Yes!" he rejoiced.
I handed him the box of pasta (a mistake) and went to get string. Next to the string was a bag of beads so I snagged those, too. That's when I heard the entire box of macaroni being dumped onto the table.
"I'm ready to make the necklace, Mommy," he cheered. I was annoyed with the mess, but I couldn't yell a him because he was a.) sick and b.) so thrilled to be doing an activity with me.
"Here," I said, "We can use these beads, too."
"OOOOoooooooo," he cooed with approval.
He was stringing beads and macaroni and talking about colors.
"I like orange. I like pink. You know what red and white make? They make pink! And you know what happens when you mix all the colors together, Mommy? It turns black!"
While we were discussing color theory, Ruby started to cry. She needed to be changed. I guess that's why she was complaining earlier. Something was brewing.
"Coop, I'll be right back. I gotta changed your sister," I said leaving the table. (second mistake.)
I finished changing Ruby and was singing the alphabet song. I was at "K" when I heard Cooper scream. He ran into my room in a panic. He cried out, "MY NOSE!"
I rushed to him. I looked in his nose and saw a green bead stuck in the right nostril. I pressed on the outside of his nose to tried and free the bead.
"Blow out, Cooper!" I commanded. It wasn't moving.
He was hysterical. "It's stuck! It's staaaaaa-haaaaaa-huuuuuck!" he cried.
I could feel where it was. It wasn't past the point of no return, but I thought I might have to load both kids in the car and head for the emergency room.
"Cooper, look at me. Calm down. Mommy's gonna try and fix it."
I gently pushed down until the bead emerged like a turtle from his nostril and fell on the floor.
"Mommy got it!"
We hugged. I teared up thinking about how he had come to me immediately. What if he had decided to try and fish it out on his own? This could have gone way worse.
"Cooper. Don't ever put anything up your nose again! Ok?"
His sickly face held onto the fear that was just coursing through him.
"Ok, Mommy."
I saw my chance to nip something in the bud.
"That goes for fingers, too. NOTHING up the nose. Got it?"
"Got it," he whined. Perhaps this near tragedy will put an end to his rampant nose-picking.
I asked if his nose hurt. He shook his head. I asked if he was ok. He nodded. Crisis averted.
After a beat, I asked him to come and help me pick up.
"No, Mommy. I want to finish the necklace for you!"
I could see that this was very important to him. We scooped up Ruby and headed back to the table to finish the necklace. I will wear it with pride. It's a valuable gift from my son. And I just love jewelry that comes with a story.
What have we learned, kids?
Don't stick stuff up your nose!!!
What have we learned, adults?
Moms do it all. They change dipes. They clean up yummy candies. They cook hundreds of meals. They even remove foreign objects from your body from time to time. Show your mom some love today. It will mean the world to her.
A Valuable Piece
No Matter What's Happening...
One look at Ruby and my attitude goes from Wha Whaaaa to TA DAH!
Hey Ruby, we have a few minutes to ourselves today. Do you wanna watch Classical Baby and be lulled by the sweet sounds of Bach while mommy cleans? Or would you rather say blow to housework and watch Kill Bill Vol. 1?
Yeah. Beatrix Kiddo does kick butt.
Let's Go RED SOX (clap-clap-clapclapclap)
It was an outing for the boys, so I don't have much to write about the game.
I do know that Cooper was REALLY excited to eat peanuts and throw the shells on the ground.
He looked at me, smiled and said, "When you eat peanuts at the ballgame, the GROUND is the TRASH!"
I asked him who won the game and he just kept talking about the food. He ate a hot dog and had ice cream. Those were the highlights for him.
Conversation From the Future
Ruby: "I like that picture of me lying on the poop-colored carpet from the Tujunga house."
Cooper: "Yep. I'm looking down at you and I'm wearing my French Fry shirt. I love that picture."
That's a conversation I imagined them having in 2021. Just for fun, You can vote on what the next line might end up being:
a. "That's back when dad had a beard."
b. "The Tujunga house had lizards, fruit trees and a fireplace!"
c. "I don't even remember the Tujunga house.
d. "Mom's a cuckoo."
Ruby Rawk Gurl at Two Months
Dear Ruby Zuzu,
First things first...rawk is actually spelled R-O-C-K and gurl is actually spelled G-I-R-L. Sorry. It's a habit I picked up last decade. I wonder how your generation will talk and spell. I wonder how the language will adapt/erode. I'm sure I won't "get it," because I'll be, "elderlier." (That's how kids in the future say "old.")
The other day I was looking at you and I thought to myself, "My goodness...she's beautiful." In fact I started singing, "You Are So Beautiful (To Me)."
It wasn't so much the Joe Cocker version. It was more like the version from The Simpsons when Homer has hair and an assistant named Carl voiced by Harvey Fierstein and he hires a guy to sing it to Marge on her anniversary. Remember? Yes, everything CAN be categorized in Simpsonese!
And then my next thought was, "My goodness...before I know it she'll have a purse and a phone."
You see, now that your brother is four, I realize how fast this all goes by. You'll be talking, walking, eating real food, and zipping around in L.A. traffic before I can say, "I don't care that nobody else on the planet has a curfew, YOU HAVE A CURFEW."
I'm trying to enjoy these little moment while you're still little. After all, you'll never be this small again.
You've made it through month number two! You're smiling. You're sleeping through the night. You're growing. You're moving all around. I can see how eager you are to get up and run. Honestly, it fills me with both joy and worry. I always want to keep you safe.
And yes, you still have cranky fits and atrocious gas. But every now and then you look at me with this expression that seems to say, "It's ok, Mom."
And that makes me feel better.
And so thank you.
TOY STORY FUN ZONE!!!
Cooper has been waiting for Toy Story 3 to come out since he started seeing the billboards in late April. It was his first, "I-can't-wait-for-that-to-be-released-in-the-theater!" cinema anticipation experience.
So...why not do it right and go to the INSANE SUPER CRAZY FUN ZONE area that they have constructed by the El Capitain in Hollywood.
Disney took over the football field of Hollywood High and turned it into a hyperactive preschooler's paradise.
There was a playground, a bounce house and games.
There was also a LIVE SHOW!
Coop made himself very comfortable in a bean bag chair and watched the "Dancing with the Toys" program in its entirety.
And got to MEET THE STARS THEMSELVES.
Can you believe it? He met THE Woody and THE Buzz.
I wish I could go to a fun zone and meet my heroes. Please tell me if David Lynch, Tim Burton and Julie Taymor come together to make a fun zone. I'm there! I'm a little terrified, but I'm there.
Violet's Birthday
All Cooper wanted for his birthday was a play date with Violet. And in return, Violet was kind enough to invite Coop to her birthday last weekend.
It was a lovely tea party complete with yummy cupcake fun!
At first the kids ran around screaming and laughing wildly, as kids do. Then when tea time began, each child sat in their seat and sipped tea like the most civilized of civilians. You could practically hear the classical music in the background!
They were perfect ladies and gentlemen. Well, gentleman. I had to say it was a good day.