My baby is growing up so fast

Aidan will be 8 on March 5th. When he was younger, 8 was the Ultimate Milestone. Everything was going to happen, "when I am 8."

We've begun birthday party planning and initially, he wanted a bowling party. Then he changed his mind -- he wants a sleepover! Wow. Having a hard time wrapping my mind around that one. I mean, he's been to a sleepover, but we've never hosted one. And he'll be 8. Sniff. And he's so considerate. He immediately started telling everyone who would listen that he was going to have a sleepover party and that, "there won't be any dairy there because my friend, he is allergic and can't have dairy."

What a sweet boy.

Tenacious N

I took the kids to get their H1N1 booster today. I knew that they'd have a crap day if I told them ahead of time, so I didn't tell them till I pulled into the parking lot, quickly adding, "but when we get home, you can make ice cream sundaes!"

Elliott was crying before we even got out of the car. But that was nothing.

We sat down to get the shots (the kids, not me). There was another firefighter/EMT there that was administering shots who, from across the room, said, "Hey! I remember you!" (from the last time). Yes - it was because my kids screamed and fought so loud last time.

Aidan was super brave for his shot. Elliott cried, but then put on a brave face as best he could. Then came Norah. Oh dear. That girl is powerful. She fought so awfully that I had to hold her on my lap and hold her in a hug while 2 other nurses helped me hold her down/still and a fireman administered the shot. She still was thrashing (and screaming. OH! the screaming) through all that. She's fights a good fight, that's for sure.

One thing I know for sure....Norah's got some will. And she can handle herself.

RIP Pizza Man - you will be missed

Early this morning, Pizza Man, a long standing pizza joint/wine bar on the East Side, burned down in a 5 alarm fire. Aside from the Christmas that the twins first came home for, my fondest memory of a holiday is our Christmas that we dined at Pizza Man. It was just the 5 of us and we stayed in our PJs all day and then our little family ventured out for some yummy pizza for our Christmas Dinner. No hustle and bustle or rushing around. Just us. And Pizza Man.

RIP.

I won! I won!

Its rare that I win anything. (I think I won a Packer hat and shirt in 1997 for being caller # 102 on a radio station and I won a gift card from Land of Nod once ---that rocked). So I was very excited to see that I won this cool print that Heather was giving away on her blog!!

What about the elf??

The kids have been concerned about fire safety lately and asking what we'd do if there was a fire in the house, so we've had a few conversations about what to do. They've asked about the cats and I've drilled into them that you DO NOT look for the cats or go back into the house for the cats. The firemen will look for the animals or the animals will get out themselves. So the question came up...

"What about the elf?"

The elf being Fred Christmas, our Elf on the Shelf. Apparently, I forgot that he was a family member.

"Will the firemen rescue him?" "Can we go back for him?"

Just as I was thinking, "oh crap, I've backed myself into a corner." Elliott says, "the elf will use his magic to get out of his box and get out of the house and go to the North Pole."

whew.

Another Elliott-ism

This was yesterday as we were baking cookies:

E: "Mommy, I think rain is God's tears."

Me: "That's an interesting insight."

E: "And sunshine is him smiling."

Me: "Could be."

E: "That means snow would be his poop."

This is where I turned and just gave him a 'whatchoo talkin' about Willis' type of look. Not sure what to say to that.

A Daisy For My Little Daisy

On January 7th, Norah had her Daisy investiture ceremony. She is officially official :) And now she's selling cookies!!

She was so happy to partake in the ceremony with her fellow Daisies, although she did clam up when it was her turn to "light" her candle and say her line. It was fun to see her running and playing with the girls. Naturally, leading a game of kitty/meow-meow (oh if you could see my eyes).

The Machine

machine.JPG
Originally uploaded by flabonganator

The doorbell rang again and there was Elliott, smiling, and he said, "look what I made, mommy!"
I replied, "oh - another birthday cake?"
(sure looked like the cake he made 2 minutes before)
"No mommy! Its a machine. A machine to kill all the bad guys who hurt and killed Jesus."

I am really uncertain where his mind was operating, but okaaaay.