people are people

today, i made the mistake of trying to rationalize with my toddler that he is, in fact, human.

this resulted in a pint-sized person with chubby little crossed arms yelling,

“You NO call me people, mama! I NOT a person!”

we are agreeing to disagree on this one. 

(7.2.10)

oh my gosh, mom! 
i have been waiting to have this my WHOLE LIFE!
thank you!

(pause)

um...what is it? 


-anth, gratefully confused by the cotton candy i brought home from a Student Life event today

dance break

compliments of Yo Gabba Gabba, the boys occassionally 

break out into a "dance" they call "getting the sillies out" 

something close to sweetness

benny was in a cuddly mood tonight after reading a few books for bedtime.

he was quietly playing with my hair while we rocked in his chair.

at one point, he leaned back to look at me and said, “i lub you, momma,” then plopped his head back on my chest. 

i was about to tell him that i loved him right back when he leaned up again

and whispered in my ear, “but yo haiw is SO messy.” 

fail photo friday - 4

this photo is clearly older, but it is truly one of my all-time favorites of the boys together. 

what, exactly, does ben's expression mean? 

more importantly, what could have possibly made him make it? 

interpretation

• benny is getting bigger far too fast, and his language skills are keeping the same pace. thankfully, he still has a few bennyisms that i adore. should you bump into him, here are a few essentials to know.
• if he asks for a FOOFIE...he would like a smoothie
• if he tells you ANNIE MY BRUDDO...he is sharing his relation to Anthony
• should he suggest you provide him a LIZARD... he is hoping for a trip to Dairy Queen
• (if anth asks you for a MR. AND MRS. D FLOAT...he would like a trip to the same location...for a Mr. Misty float.)
• if he insists DARK BAY-DOUGH SMEEN! ...he is commenting on Star Wars' central antagonist
• should he demand TANNY...he is looking for a piece of candy
• if he is adamant about receiving ALLAMUM...he would like all of whatever it is that you have
• if he wants to play SHOOT-O with you...you are going to get shot with a squirt gun
• if he begs you for a DADDY TOOKIE...he is in desperate need of an oreo. stat.
• and, if he is mad that you TOOK HIS FAHT...you have sat in the chair that was previously his spot

hi, ben! i'm....YOU!!!!

-benny, watching a video of himself on my phone

Fettuccine Alfredo- it's like mac and cheese for grown ups.

- anth, regarding his pre-school lunch menu

humble

i was sitting on the floor with the boys getting them into their jammies after bathtime. 

we were having an i-love-you-more contest. (wholesome, i know.) 

anth touched the top of my head and declared, “i love you all the way up to here!”

then he paused for a moment, visibly in thought. 

“i guess that means all you have to do is stand up and i’ll love you even more.” 

anth stands up, pulls up his jammie bottoms, and looks back at me over his shoulder, 

“gosh, i’m smart.” 

here, momma... i done wif dis.

- benny, wearing only a shirt, handing me his diaper.
   charming. as always.

sitter story: scooby couture (8.21.10)

• (kindly submitted by Kelsey Tschanen...RA/babysitter from 8.18.2010 post/co-director of OSU's Off The Lake Productions, my favorite collection of people ever/wonderful human)
• Scene: So we're sitting on the couch watching a Scooby Doo movie and I made a mental note that they had updated some of the gang's usual 70s attire with a more modern version. Fred, in particular, was wearing a blue shirt and a khaki cargo vest instead of his staple white v-neck sweater. As Fred was getting ready for dinner, he pulled an orange (what I called) scarf out of the drawer, put it on, frowned, and said "Nah", before throwing it back in the drawer. In seeing this, I let out a small chortle. The conversation proceeded as follows:
• Anth: What's so funny?
• Kelsey: Well, back when I was young and watched this show, Fred wore that orange scarf ALL the time, so the fact that he thought it looked silly and put it back in the drawer is funny.
• Anth: Scarf?
• Kelsey: Yeah, that orange thing he had around his neck.
• *Anthony got kinda quiet, but I didn't think too much of it.
• *3 mins later
• Anth: Did you mean "ascot" earlier?
• Kelsey: .....I....uh......huh?!
• Anth: Fred put on an ascot, not a scarf. You probably just forgot what it was called... It's ok, though, it happens to me all the time.
• (personally, i wonder if he spent those 3 minutes searching for the right word...or debating if he should or shouldn't correct the babysitter)

fail photo friday 3

benny was thrilled by the 3D chalk-art fun.

anth was notably less impressed....

not quite there yet

at work yesterday, a colleague shared a “This I Believe” segment from NPR that i found particularly touching.

it included 30 “i believe…” statements generated by a 5-year-old.

a, in my opinion, extremely centered 5-year-old. 

(http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99478226)

in my brilliance, i came home and asked Anth if he could share the things he believes.

i thought it would be a wonderful keepsake.

so i grabbed the pen-on-a-lanyard that was sitting on the counter and a notebook and sat down with him. 

this is what he offered…

1. i believe that monsters are real… even though i know they aren’t. 

2. i believe that daddies are strong and think a lot

(anth pauses. general look of disinterest in mommy’s project, followed by flash of inspiration. takes pen out of my hand, and puts the lanyard around my neck.)

3. i believe you should wear this pen, mom…so that you can write down whatever your boss tells you to. 

(end scene)

…perhaps we’ll try this again at 6.

when i grow up

• Background: my husband has been working on an evening MBA program for the last two years. we have both worked full-time on the same campus for 8 years.
• while driving to daycare this morning, i explained to the boys that they would have a new babysitter tomorrow night and that she is an RA
• Anth: she's an RA like you, mom?
• Me: do you think I'm an RA, hon?
• Anth: yeah...
• Me: what do you think RAs do?
• Anth: i dunno. Probably play on their computers all day?
• Me: hmmmm...
• Realization #1: my son has probably been telling the child care staff that I am an RA and my husband is a student
• Realization #2: i have a brand new, 3-foot, generation to which i need to explain my career choice and the fact that i am, actually, no longer a student
• fantastic...

piddy boy

• Setting: master bathroom in the am.

( benny is applying my pressed powder to his cheek.)

• Daddy: do you feel pretty now, ben?
• Benny: i not piddy NOW... i ALWEADY piddy!

forgetful

ben asked me for a sippy of water.

per usual, i wandered off to the kitchen, got distracted, and forgot about the water. 

as i rounded the corner back into the living room, i almost bumped into a defiant looking toddler, feet set apart, arms crossed. 

head tilted down, eyes looking up, my sweet boy reminded me

“i WAITING at you, Momma!” 

oh man! this stuff is really spicin' out my breath!

- anth, snacking on nacho cheese popcorn

starting young...

we are currently on the road home from Grandpa Savarese's. benny has ripped a twizzler into two pieces that he is using as one cell phone per ear. the "conversation" on his end?


"no, no Bibby (Vivi is the little girl he dotes on in daycare)...I in duh car. I on my way to your house."
(hangs up twizzler/phone.)


bern asked benny if he was talking to Vivi. "yeah, daddy. i was talking to vivi savarese."


neat.

failed photo friday...

benny simply couldn't find the "i'm happy for you" place regarding his brother's 

new backpack for kindergarten.

*note: all was well moments later when benny received his new 

"big boy spinny toof-bwush"

secrets

setting: straightening upstairs, i overheard/quietly witnessed this...
Anth: oh! ben! i forgot! i have to show you the super special secret! come here... (walks toward bathroom)
Benny: otay (follows)
Anth: (climbs onto footstool in front of sink) okay ben, are you ready?
Benny: uh-huh!
Anth: we have a secret hole in the wall!
Benny: (captivated silence)
Anth: (with super-self-impressed look on his face...opens our medicine cabinet behind the sink)
Benny: (whispers) wow...da secwet
Anth: i know, isn't it cool? a hole in our own wall!

...we have since made 2 trips back to the cabinet to open it again for benny. it is, apparently, another way in to Narnia. 

hey...

yep, our pre-schooler prefers showers to baths. 

apparently, for the acoustics.

manners

we are trying to raise polite kids. "please" is a required word in our house if the boys want to have something. if the boys forget to say it, we give them the friendly tilt-my-head-toward-you-and-cup-my-ear-while-raising-the-eyebrows. benny sometimes misses this cue, so we give him a "puh..." and he fills in the "leez!"

benny really wanted a cookie tonight. when he's focused, he tends to get ahead of himself. "cookie, mama!"I responded with the requisite cupping the ear..."cookie, mama!"

so, i leaned over and whispered "puh..." He got up on his tiptoes, cupped his hands around my ears, and emphatically whispered "puh-COOKIE!"

...sometimes cute wins. sometimes.

why are you laughing, mom?

...not surprisingly, the boys are currently back on a Toy Story kick



...benny has an older Woody doll that he calls “big woody”


...this is because we recently got the boys little Lego Toy Story keychains


...benny refers to the keychain as “little woody”


...benny has also recently taken to playing with a bicycle bell that he calls his “ding-dong”


...take a moment to imagine how much the adults in the house have been entertained by their sibling rivalry as they lose, find and fight over these toys


...(except for when it happened at Target regarding a large character pillow)

...(that was just awkward…)

...moral of the story?

...someone at Pixar is giggling.

"Hey, Mom. I think i figured out the difference between pre-school and kindergarten.
In pre-school, computers are for games.
In kindergarten, they’re for homework.


(pause)


I don’t know if I’ll like that."
 

– our soon-to-be-kindergartener

wrong butt

benny has taken to going down the stairs step by step on his tush. today he missed the last step and came crashing down on his rear end. immediately in tears, he ran over for a “hug and a tiss.” i gave him a squeeze and leaned over and kissed his diapered tush.



benny immediately swiveled around, arms crossed, with a look of sheer disgust. pointing to his left butt cheek, “no Mommy, you tissed my WRONG butt.”


and off he went.

fail photo friday...

so…i take a lot of photos of the boys.

a LOT.

a ton, in fact.

i think they’re cute. i am, of course, biased.

but my favorites have always been the ones that are either not at all what i was trying to capture, or just utterly ridiculous.

the disaster shots.

the ones i go back to because they make me laugh.

my thought is that this is as good a place as any to share my favorite failed photos. friday seems like a good day to do that.

this is a picture of my boys celebrating “oreo time.”

(i have been asked what, on earth, my childres are doing in this picture.)

anth was literally singing "i love oreooooooooos" as i took this shot.

ben concurred.

Happy Friday!

where are duh Oweos?

ben gets one Oreo daily.
we are out.
this is problematic.
ben just grabbed my phone, and while typing, muttered under his breath, “Daddy, daddy. I lub you. Peez where are duh Oweos?” then handed the phone back to me and said, “there, Mommy” and walked away.

problem solved?
(7.26.10)

hiccups (3.23.10)

Benny: i have da hiccups, mommy.


Me: oh, yeah? do you like them?


Benny: uh-huh. i eat 'em!


Me: what do hiccups taste like?


Benny: my mouf!!!

hey Mom, I think the news is on next….so we can find out who got hurt today.

– anth (3.18.10)

my attempt at tech-savvyness

1. my husband has been taking classes for the last few years
2. which means i’ve spent a lot of quality time with our boys
3. they say and do a lot of funny stuff
4. i’ve been posting said stuff to facebook
5. apparently, other folks find my boys funny as well
6. we don’t live near the rest of my family
7. so this will be my attempt at bringing the gems from my boys to them
8. so as to not put the boys under the duress of needing to be funny (aka, i need some lag time to figure out how this blogging thing works), i will be posting some old gems slowly in the meantime
9. oh, and i like lists
10. good times

Cat Deeley! I love her!

– anth’s response to me turning on SYTYCD. Parent of the Year Award goes to me. (10.26.09)