Yes – my kid is cute, but please stop telling HIM that….

I have 3 boys. Ethan – the oldest – is my brooder – the one always thinking, trying to do good. However, he’s easily distracted and also has a short fuse for his brothers. Give him one or two step instructions & he’ll help you get all the laundry done (& remind him every few minutes which of those two steps he was on – but still, he’ll help). Then he’ll get angry cause while he’s being helpful, his brothers are not – they are “screwing around,” playing, undoing what he just did, etc. (yeah, I know – welcome the world of being a mom, kid – mom’s deal with that all day, every day). He tries though & he likes being helpful. He does worry too much about things that he doesn’t need to worry about but he’s got a big heart & he comes by worrying naturally – he gets it from me.

Now let’s move to Alex – middle child extraordinaire – the ladies’ man, class clown, people pleaser. He’s happy to help with whatever, so long as you wouldn’t actually consider it “work” and other people can see him doing it & pat him on the back 100 times. If it IS actual “work” (that darn dirty word) or there’s no one around to see him & give him credit beyond his family, he’s going to whine the entire time & probably complain because he “always does everything”…. Uh, nope – that would be the parents and/or your big brother, kid…you do the bare minimum to get the credit. He’s not all bad – he does a really good job helping as long as it’s not really chores or if it’s for someone other than his parents – so he’s a good helper for other people. He’s also a very good “friend” – looking out for his friends & making sure someone always has someone or something to play with. He doesn’t like to see anyone alone and definitely not upset – if that’s the case, he’ll charge right in cracking jokes and sharing whatever to cheer that person right up.

Then there’s Cameron – the baby, the runt – the one for whom the rules don’t apply…ever. He’s happy to help with whatever – NEVER – under no circumstances if it’s “work” will he be happy to help. If it’s fun – baking cookies, etc. – he’s up for helping with that but only the fun parts. If that batter gets tough to stir, he’s out….if he can’t eat the dough, he’s out. I shouldn’t say “never” – he is most happy to help keep tabs on everyone else & let you know exactly what they are doing wrong….even if he’s doing that same thing with that person – he’ll continue doing it while telling you that other one is doing that thing you said not to do – Uh? You’re doing it, too…”well, yeah, but that rule doesn’t apply to me, right?” He’s half the size his brothers were at his age and he revels in continuing to be considered “the baby” by everyone cause he’s just so little & cute. We tell him to do something, he smiles & says “no”….um, what? Someone else snickers & tells him how cute he is….ummmm, WHAT? My kid just flat out said “no” to me asking him to put his dish away & that’s “cute” to you cause he bats his little eyes & you think it’s funny? That is NOT helpful to me....He was getting in trouble at school & thought it was awesome – was so proud of it – cause so many people have told him he’s “cute” when he’s in trouble. You know what? He IS cute & I think it’s great that you want to tell him that – but pick your moments. Do NOT tell him he’s cute when he’s being mean, disrespectful, or disobedient. He’ll be the cutest kid in prison one day, too, if you keep that up.

All 3 of my boys have excellent traits. All 3 of them have some traits I really wish they didn’t. I wouldn’t trade them for the world though cause they are my boys – through & through (Cameron is so much my child – it’s scary – looks like me, tattle-tale like me, bossy-butt like me … I was more respectful though – wouldn’t have dared saying “no” to my parents like he does). They have traits from their daddy, too, I don’t get all the blame/credit – Ethan looks exactly like his daddy at that age; Alex is a clown like his daddy & has never met a stranger like his daddy; pretty sure that disrespect thing with Cameron came from his daddy – his mom says it came from Steve anyway. They all like to ham it up though & are quite cute when they do – please feel free to tell them how cute they are during THOSE times 😃

Time to get this party restarted....

When I started this blog several years ago, it was to keep family & friends up-to-date on the goings on in our world. The boys were growing quickly (and continue to do so without asking) & life is ever changing for all of us. We don’t get to catch up often so this was my outlet. I’ve taken a long break from it but have decided to pick it up again.

What might this blog hold in the future? Well with 3 boys in elementary school, life is quite hectic – you’ll get some rambling recaps of special events, random conversations, proud moments, not-so-proud moments, laughter, possibly tears, random thoughts (if I don’t write them down, I’ll never remember them later), sarcasm (if you don’t speak this fluently, I apologize – my view is that if I can’t laugh at myself, someone else certainly will so I might as well laugh at myself & I often do this through sarcasm). Who really knows what this blog will hold? I’m a working mom of 3 very active kids with a husband, an extended family & a church family – there’s chaos in this house quite a bit. That will all spill out into blog form, I’m quite sure. But I promise, it’s my aim to have fun on the ride.

HA – I started to say “tomorrow I will post…” but if I say that, there’s a very good chance it won’t happen tomorrow. I’m a procrastinator & if I give myself a deadline, it’ll never happen – I’ll ask for an extension. So instead I’ll say, I’ll post a real update soon.

I wanted to go ahead & put this disclaimer out there though. I blog about what I want to talk about or share. I will question my own parenting skills in a very sarcastic manner because that’s just who I am (ie, my kids may drink more soda & eat more junk than they should; yes, I know I shouldn’t let that happen but oh well, it’ll balance out eventually, right?). I’m not asking for you to make me feel better about the choices or asking your opinion of those choices – I’m just blogging. I’m not thinking of someone else who is judging me for that when I type it so if you get that impression, I do apologize but it won’t change how I do it. If you have a comment, please feel free to share it; but if you don’t want to share it & you don’t like it, my only other suggestion would be that you not read it. I have lots of self-doubt in my parenting style & I’m very tongue-in-cheek about it. Why? Because I have absolutely no doubt that I will screw up sometimes when I’m parenting – it’s part of being human. I’m also comforted knowing that chances are good, I’m not the first one to make the mistake or at least something similar. AND I’m content in the knowledge that God has a plan for me which I likely didn’t follow when I screwed up or maybe I did & He wanted me to learn from it. Basically, I’ll tell you all about it, sarcastically most likely, and then move on – or maybe wallow in it for a bit & then move on – but either way, my family will come out on the other end of this thing called LIFE with some stories, lots of love & hopefully at least a little bit of courage & caring in their hearts.

So – welcome back to our WATERS FAMILY TIDBITS – I hope you’ll enjoy our (my) stories!


P.S. - Being OCD & deciding to restart your blog at 10:45pm is probably not the smartest move. Restarting the blog means updating the cover pictures, the overall look & feel AND writing the actual post (ok – that part took about 10 minutes). It’s now 1:00am, I have to work tomorrow & have decided it’s just going to have to do for now (so please notice I updated the pictures, etc). I blame the graphic artists I used to work with for the fact that I can’t just slap something up there & call it a day (you know who you are).

What I Learned from My Mommy :)

Yes, it's another milestone.  Those that know her well, know which milestone birthday this is.  For those who don't already know, I like that my mother & I are friends and I'd like to keep it that way so I won't rat her out.  However, it's a milestone nonetheless so I thought I'd reflect on some of the things I've learned from my wonderful "Mommy" (as I still call her) over the years.  Please keep in mind, these are in no certain order.

1. Not quite sure how to phrase this one but it's like this - I try to be very involved in everything my boys do.  With Ethan - I'm very involved in PTA, help out with field trips, school parties, take cake pops or cup cakes to school for his birthday, I try to help with Uptown at church as well.  With Alex & now Cameron - I'm very involved in the preschool area of church - teaching, leading worship, helping in the nursery - whatever is needed.  I help with homework, read books, play games, sing songs, kiss boo-boos.  I also work full time and others ask me how I can do all those things.  My mom worked when Megan & I were little, then she stayed home for a while when Jes & Annie were little - sometimes she worked, sometimes not but the one constant that sticks out for me is that I remember her helping with PTA carnivals, being a girl scout troop leader, cooking dinner every night, teaching us how to cook, how to iron, how to do all those things.  She did all of that whether she was working out of the home or as a stay-at-home mom, when she was in school part-time & full-time and when she was working part-time while going to school full-time.  She did all of that.  I don't want to sound pompous but I think I turned out fairly well & I think that's got a whole lot to do with the stability that I had in knowing my mom was always there & always involved in everything.  I want the same things for my boys & as long as they aren't embarrassed by "mom" being at school all the time (which I'm told won't be forever), I'm taking full advantage.
2. When canning, yes, salt is a preservative but there is such a thing as too much salt - however, potatoes can save the day.  We had a huge garden which was often something I dreaded & hated with a passion (I have an entirely different view of this now but it's a bit late to realize it, I'm afraid).  I remember one year - likely one of the first years - my mom canned, there was an entire batch of green beans that she slaved over that were .... let's say, uneatable.  Keep in mind there were likely 2 toddlers around at the time of this canning period as Jes & Annie were likely not in school yet so she had several distractions which were likely the cause of whatever happened but I remember nonetheless a batch of home-canned green beans that needed a little more bean to go with the salt.  I know today that if you add to much salt to something, you can put a raw potato in it & it'll absorb some of the salt.  I don't recall us throwing out that entire batch of beans & while I can't remember the actual conversation or events that prove it, I'm fairly sure that a potato or 2 were used to help unseason that batch of green beans as we did, in fact, eat them.
3. No matter how much you think your parents can or have embarrassed you - they have been embarrassed far worse.  I honestly can't remember what would bring up these stories because I can't really remember my mom embarrassing me (my dad? oh yeah - that I can recall).  But I do remember hearing stories that started like - "well, when I was about to go somewhere with my friends [or a boy] Mom would ask me if I had clean underwear on under my skirt and pull up the skirt to check" - that's probably not exactly the story she'd relay but it was something about Grandma pulling up her skirt to check for clean underwear or cutting off her skirt because it was too short so she might as well not have been wearing one.  I think that was it - the short skirt thing - and it was likely said when she was telling me to change or pull the skirt (or whatever) down because it was too short but at least she wasn't like Grandma who would just cut it off in front of someone if I didn't go change - at least she was doing it in private.  Honestly, I don't remember wearing short skirts so it could have just been she was trying to make us thankful that she'd been scarred for life by such things so would never do them to us.  
4. Making fudge takes patience & attention - do not attempt with young children underfoot.  The thing is - this is something I should have learned from my mother but clearly didn't.  Mommy makes excellent fudge but some batches are much better than others.  She can also scorch a pan of fudge better than anyone I know.  I think I have her beaten though.  She'd usually scorch the fudge when making it when others were awake & running wild...when the kids were in bed or only one of us in the room to "help stir," things went more smoothly.  I should have remembered that but this year when making fudge, I'd clearly forgotten.  It won't happen again.  I don't recall Mommy ever making fudge that didn't turn out unless she scorched it which usually only happened once a season & then she'd get it out of her system.  I, however, managed to cook it so long that it was actually scorched (smelled burned) and as hard as cement.  Do you know how long you have to cook & stir fudge to get it so hard it's beyond the "hard crack" phase?  I do - it takes 42 "ALEX!!!!," 30 "ETHAN TANNER WATERS," 65 "BOYS!!!! SIT DOWN" all followed by 5 minutes of timeout for both of them & then the realization that your candy thermometer has said the same temperature since the 30th Alex which was way before the timeout clock started counting....aw crap!  As soon as I took it off the stove & poured it, I knew 2 things - 1) it was going to be a brown brick & 2) I am never allowed to comment on Mommy scorching a pan of fudge again because this takes the cake.  
5. You can't do homework in front of the TV.  I was a good student but that's not necessarily because I studied all the time because I didn't.  However, when I did, it wasn't in front of the TV.  Homework was done at the kitchen table or in my room (which had no TV).  Homework was also done before TV.  It's a rule Ethan doesn't like (neither does Steve when he's home) but oh well.  Ethan does watch TV before homework but that's because I'm not home.  I get home from work & fix dinner.  We eat - Alex goes upstairs to watch TV & Ethan & I work on homework (without TV in the living room) until it's done.  If he wants to watch TV, he has to finish homework.  If he doesn't finish until time for bed, no TV.  He can't focus with distractions so his brothers and the TV both have to be upstairs.  So Ethan, thank Nana for teaching me that.
6. When your mom asks "how's school" don't tell her "boring."  What you mean when you say "boring" is that School.  Is.  Boring.  What your mom hears is that you are bored because you aren't challenged by school and therefore need to be challenged.  Mommy went to school or more than one occasion complaining that I wasn't challenged and they needed to do something about it.  That's how I went to some type of math and science camp one year while Megan got to go with our extended family to the beach.  It's also how I went to Girl's State another year (a thing about government) after spending the weekend at the lake & falling asleep in the sun getting a blistered face (great way to meet new people) - I went to Girl's State while everyone else either stayed a few more days at the lake or went home but either way, they weren't at an educational type camp-like thing with a blistered face.  OK - so in the long run, those things were pretty beneficial to me and especially the math/science thing might be part of why I'm good with computers but still - I missed the beach & then had a blistered face.  Don't tell your mother you are bored - it doesn't mean the same thing to you as it does to her.  If you are bored - she thinks she needs to fix it.  I promise you, life will be simpler if you tell her school is AWESOME!
7. In an emergency - it doesn't help to freak out; if you are a mom, you don't get that luxury anyway so just suck it up & get the job done.  My little sister had a seizure - my mom took her to the ambulance & went to the hospital.  She looks fine they said - she disagreed.  Then she seized on them & then realized she might be right.  My cousin was visiting & had a bike wreck - busted her arm wide open.  I stood there looking at it and kind of freaked a little - my mom looked at me & told me I wasn't helping & to knock it off (cousin is about 8 years younger than me).  I tried to gag in silence while my mom tried to staunch the flow of blood.  She got it slowed down but still it required an ER visit.  So about a year later (maybe more; let's face it, my perception of time is extremely messed up) I'm home with my brother (I feel like Annie wasn't home but I can't for the life of me figure out where she was) - Mommy was at work (as an RN or Aid, not sure which) - it was raining - a drizzling kind of rain.  It was pretty much the same weather conditions as when my cousin wrecked when she was riding bikes with Annie.  Jes is riding with his friend & I told them to stop because of the rain cause this is how the other accident happened.  But I'm his older sister & he's fearless so he said something to the effect of "nah, I'll be fine."  Again, my perception of time is really screwed but I really do think it was only about 5 minutes before he started screaming.  He was right - he was fine; his friend, on the other hand, wrecked and slid on top of Jes down the fine graveled part of our driveway.  I sent the friend home & took Jes in the house & immediately called Mommy at work.  I said something to the effect of "it's not as bad as the last time but they wrecked on their bikes & there are rocks in his knee & how do I get them out & fix it."  She set about telling me where lidocaine or something that would sting like crap but numb him up was & how to sterilize tweezers, etc.  Long story short - we did that for a bit & then Jes resorted to soaking in a bathtub & scrubbing the rocks out himself just so I wouldn't keep torturing him by digging out the rocks.  Keep in mind when other bloody things happened, I totally freaked & was completely unhelpful - my mom was rock solid.  This was my first experience being the rock solid one.  That has served me well as I have 3 boys with Alex who at age 3 had 3 scars on his head already as the middle of those 3 boys.  By the way, this is my chance to say just one more time, "Jes - I told you so.  Don't ride your bike down the driveway in the drizzle.  You'll wreck - it'll hurt."
8. The best gifts are not things you buy.  When you have a rather large extended family and a family with four kids in your immediate family - it's not all that feasible to buy gifts for everyone but my mom always made sure we had something for my dad for his birthday or father's day or Christmas as well as grandmothers and Aunt Audrey.  Now don't get me wrong, when we were little, I'm sure she either did it for us or bought something for us but from the time we could do stuff ourselves - we helped bake Christmas goodies or made things.  We did needlepoint or crochet (not me so much with the crochet as I am not remotely good at it).  When we went to Louisville each year at Christmas, we always went with a box or can of cookies and/or fudge that we had helped make as well as a gift of some kind for Aunt Audrey & Grandma Recktenwald.  A few years ago Aunt Audrey brought me something for Christmas.  She told me it wasn't much, just something little but she remembered how we always had something for her at Christmas and she wanted to get me something, too.  When Grandma Recktenwald passed away, someone brought me a box of embroidery thread that she had had as well because of all the things I'd embroidered for her over the years as well.  I can't remember half the things that have been bought for me over the years or things I've bought for others but I remember pretty well things I've made for people and I remember seeing them in their houses & thinking "hey, I made that."  Those things make a lasting impression.
9. You can't really teach independence I don't think but I think I got it from my mom.  It's not that she wanted me to not "need" her but she taught me, us really, how to do everything in life.  Some moms do it all for you - your laundry, your cooking, cleaning, etc.  Oh yeah - as a teenager, I envied those people.  Not today.  She taught us how to do laundry, how to clean (I still stuck at that today), how to iron (I still hate that but do it well today when needed), how to cook, how to bake (harder than cooking).  Anything you would need to know to be able to live by yourself without a full-time maid, butler or lackey, she taught us how to do.  By knowing that I could do all those things on my own, most other things don't really intimidate me.  As I've said before, I like to know things, so if I can read the instructions, I can figure it out.  If I need to do something, I'm confident in my ability to figure it out on my own.  Yes, I'm a weakling, but I can find a way to do even something that it takes some muscle to do.  The car wouldn't start one day when I was leaving from work - it was 30ish degrees outside, I was probably about 5-6 months pregnant with Cameron & Steve was at home with a flat tire on the van & no air in the spare so couldn't come to my rescue (something was wrong with the van anyway). I got someone at work to jump start the car & Steve told me to go to Autozone & they'd test the battery but I needed to go to Walmart first.  I should have listened because the car wouldn't start again at Walmart only now it's dark & no one would help me.  At Autozone they will do this for you - but this Walmart didn't have the TLE so they wouldn't do it for me.  I was on my own - I bought a ratchet set & a battery & went out in the dark - by the light of the store signs & street lights & changed the battery in the Camry.  It took me over an hour to get the battery out & 1) I'm stubborn so wouldn't outright ask anyone to help me & 2) I'm pigheaded so thought they should just offer so 3) I froze but finally got the corroded, rusted battery bolts off the battery to put the new one in & the Camry started right up.  See - even a weakling, given the right tools, can get a rusted bolt loose enough to change a battery.  Yes, it would have been easier to do it if I'd listened to my husband (happy, honey?  I admitted it publicly) and went to Autozone but my mom taught me that I can do anything I put my mind to and I should never listen to anyone who thinks I can't.  I'm quite certain she's told me that over the years and she's right - I can do anything I put my mind to.  It may take me longer than it should, but I can do it.

OK, as I've said, these are in no certain order - just as they came to me & I totally left out that she taught me anything you bake tastes better if you've burned yourself in the process (it seems to be true but I'm not sure why - the best things she made she burned herself while making & I seem to do that, too).  As I said, I am quite happy to say I am friends with my mother - I hope that's true after some of the stories I've mentioned above (salty beans for example) but I wanted to write about her because I am who am I and I am the mom I am to my boys because of who she is and the lessons I learned from her - some she taught, some I just picked up from hindsight realizing what all she did for me, for us, over the years.  I love you very much, Mommy.  I hope you've had a wonderful birthday & wish I could have spent it with you.  The boys & I made you something special with the help of their cousins & aunts & uncle.  We hope you like it.  Happy Birthday!

What My Daddy Taught Me

Today was a really wonderful day.  The sky was beautiful, moods were mostly upbeat and, best of all, it was my Daddy's 65th birthday.  I really couldn't ask for a better dad so I thought I'd take a few minutes to note some of the things I've learned from him:

1. Everyone deserves a second chance and some deserve a third or fourth.  I won't name names but I can think of several examples where he's been burned by an event or a person and he's still been right there to help them or try it again time and time again.  There are other times when people have just needed a second chance at their lives, to start over, to get on their feet.  He's offered his home to several over the years - some stayed a short time others stayed longer.  They just needed a second chance - he's been there; he understands.  He wants them to know they are worth it & life is worth it.  I think at least one of them (maybe more) got a third or fourth chance to start over - a spot on the couch or spare bedroom more than once to just get it together.  
2. Every problem has a solution.  If you think about it long enough, ask for help when you need it; you'll figure it out.  The solution may not be what you had hoped but the problem will be solved none the less.  He had a car that got him from A to B most of the time but if he needed to go someplace farther than B, like from A to M; he borrowed a car.  The solution?  Car accident caused totaled car = new car that will easily go from A to M or even Z if needed.  Maybe not the solution you hoped for (who wants a new car that way?) but the car problem is solved after all.  
3. Life will pass you by if you don't stop to enjoy it a little bit.  Busy weekend, flying by?  Let's go for a hike where we can just talk - no tv, no music, just us, the mountain, the trees & maybe some singing.  This one also taught me to love nature and to long for the mountains in the fall when the leaves are all different colors.  God's beauty is everywhere in those mountains - I had a chance to see that when growing up and going on those hikes but didn't really appreciate it until I grew up and moved away.  
4. It might be easier to assemble or repair something by reading the directions but it's much more interesting (& time consuming) if you just wing it.  You may have spare parts when you are finished, but if it still works, you didn't need them anyway.  I can't think of anything specific for this one but I also can't think of anyone that knows my dad that wouldn't agree with this statement.  Who has time for directions - that takes all the fun & guess work out of it.  This could actually be my fault though.  He tells me that when I was 5ish, all I wanted for Christmas was a book of instructions.  When he asked "instructions for what," I told him "everything."  Apparently I did get a book (or box) full of instructions that year for Christmas so maybe he never uses instruction manuals because he gave them all to me?  Possible only if that book (or box) got more full the past 30+ years each time he got something else with instructions and I'm pretty sure that didn't happen.
5. People make life interesting - not just places or events you've been to - but the people you've done them with.  Boring things are made more interesting by the people.  We had many 2+ hour car rides growing up; he always lived about 2 hours away so he could come get us on the weekends.  Portable DVD players didn't exist; CD's didn't exist (in the beginning); cell phones didn't really exist & those that did came in a bag & didn't work in the mountains & were for emergencies only.  So what do you do when the radio station goes out?  You play Dan Fogleberg....ummmm, no thank you.  Oh, that's right, you talk to yourself in the rearview mirror with yourself pretending to be the character of your dog, Ernest Timothy Rathbone, who speaks with a British accent despite the fact that he lives in Eastern KY.  Yep - that keeps your children occupied for long periods of time in the car.  
6. Parents are supposed to embarrass their children & usually they don't even have to try.  It's the 80s and he's still a hippie; it's the 90s and he's still a hippie.  The sad part is, I should have been embarrassed by this but wasn't.  Most people seemed to grow out of that at some point but here it is 2013, he's 65 years old and he has still not grown out of it.  It's just a little quirk of his that I love too much to be embarrassed by it.  
7. Be true to who you are, not who others think you are or want you to be.  See #6 above re: Hippie.  If he grew out of it, he wouldn't really be him anymore.  I was a shy kid and not always the happiest - he'd take me on a hike just me and make sure I knew how wonderful I was.  "You know you're pretty wonderful [or great] just the way you are."  
8. If someone needs a hand, give it to them.  If they've done something great, clap for them.  If they have fallen down, help them up.  If they need to move, help them.  If you have plans, but they broke down - help them.  I remember my dad & I were driving to Louisville when I was in college I think, to visit my grandmother.  We passed a car that had on flashers on I-64.  My dad is not a small man and I think we're driving his Toyota Tercel hatchback.  The car was driven by a black lady who had at least 3 family members with her.  They were on their way to Louisville as well, car was dead.  I think my dad may have loaned them his phone to call her son (who they were going to see).  He had me get out with him to check on them so they wouldn't be freaked out by this large white guy coming towards them (did I mention it's late at night & dark as pitch except for a couple of street lights).  The verdict was that the son could come get them but they'd be sitting there for at least another hour.  We're going that way anyway - let's shove every piece of luggage we can into the trunk and we'll take you to Louisville and you can come tomorrow to get the car in daylight.  Her 3 passengers in the back seat, she & I in the front passenger seat & my dad driving.  We probably left a note on the car about coming in the morning to pick it up.  I think they really couldn't believe that he offered to do this but he kept assuring them that I was proof he wasn't a serial killer or something I think.  We took them to her son's house which I'm pretty sure was in a part of Louisville we shouldn't have been to after dark, dropped them off & went to Grandma's.  They needed a hand - we gave them one.  
9. Post emergency phone numbers by every phone and make sure you have a working phone before starting something stupid dangerous.  One of the houses my dad lived in was directly beside my aunt and uncle's house separated by their driveway.  Someone had a new (to them) tractor or something that was rusted (or something) and needed to be cleaned - I'm not sure which of them it was.  My dad and uncle decided to clean it with gasoline - apparently whatever the issue is could be cleaned with gasoline (it was a long time ago, I can't remember exactly).  This can't end well, right?  So before they started, they moved the thing out of the driveway, right, so it wouldn't be between the two houses?  Nah - we got this.  I don't remember much about this (& I'm not even sure I was there, I may have just heard about the event) but something happened and then all of a sudden my dad is running around like a chicken with his head cut off yelling to every person he can find "QUICK!  WHAT'S THE NUMBER TO 9-1-1?"  Ummmm, 9-1-1?  I think it actually was but it hadn't been for long - this was basically the boonies so fire, ambulance & police had individual numbers.  He wanted to call the actual fire department because the tractor (or maybe it was a lawnmower?) was on fire right between the houses.  While he was running around trying to find the number & call, I think my uncle got the fire out but I'd just about bet if you go to my dad's house, you'll find emergency numbers by most phones and some other prominent locations.

So this may not be a complete list (definitely isn't - he taught me to change a tire & change the oil & build stuff & & &), it's some key points, some funny points, some serious points and above all some great reasons why I love my dad so much.  He is a truly amazing man with many friends and family that love him dearly for so many reasons.  I, at least, can freely say that I am a better person for having him in my life.

The Paci Has GOT to Go

So if you've seen more than one picture of Cameron, I'm sure you are aware that he likes loves his paci.  It's the "don't leave home without it" kind of thing.  For Alex is was his "blankie" - we only made the mistake of forgetting that on one trip to Megan's & had to break down & go to Walmart in search of a replacement.  The replacement got us home but was discarded as soon as we walked in the door in place of the real thing.

Cameron goes to bed right around 8:00 - that's his choice.  When he goes to bed, he wants something to drink though he'll go without it & he wants his paci - which he will not go without.  He won't say "hey Mama, I'm ready for bed" - that would be too easy.  He instead says "Mama, Mama, Mama" until I finally answer & then nothing - he bascially wants me to look at him when I can see how tired he is I'll ask if he wants to go to bed & he'll nod.  That's the extent of the "speaking" part of his half of the conversation - grunting & "Mama" - not because he can't talk - because he won't talk.  I'll work on that one right after I fix this paci issue as that was the bane of my existence today.

With Ethan there wasn't anything in particular that he HAD to have so we didn't know better when we introduced this blankie to Alex and thought it was so cute how much he liked it.  It wasn't until later when we realized that this particular blanket is a specialty item (given as a gift by my boss when I had Ethan & Ethan gave it to Alex as he never was into any ONE thing) that it could be a problem & was when we couldn't find it or as mentioned before, forgot to take it somewhere with us.  This brings us back to Cameron.  We knew better with Cameron - we have no excuses.  Hey - we didn't get him a one of a kind blankie or stuffed animal.  We got him a paci - we made sure we had more than one at all times.  We can't go wrong, right?  WRONG....we've been to the store late at night on more than one occasion to buy a new set of pacis when they vanish into thin air.  Now, however, he's 19 months old (almost 20) - we're not buying more pacis.  He needs to give them up.  If you've seen him lately, you know that's not really happening.  I decided today it needed to.

I didn't just "decide" really - I was driven to this great idea by the fact that from the moment I got home from work tonight I didn't see a paci anywhere.  Steve was fixing dinner - he'd be leaving for work right after we ate then it would be homework time & a little play before bed.  I wasn't the one home today but would be the one putting him to bed so I usually make sure I know where a paci is before Steve is gone.  Did I mention it's Monday & most everything about my day screamed "MONDAY" so why would this be any different?  I forgot to ask Steve about the paci.

So I'm doing homework with Ethan when the grunting "Mama" conversation starts.  It was early tonight - started around 7 but he's been eating a lot & sleeping a lot the past few days so I didn't think that odd - growth spurt time I guess.  I kept telling him to go upstairs & play with Alex while we finished homework.  Finally I gave up & told Ethan to go ahead & put him in his crib.  He was essentially begging us to do it.  Ethan came back downstairs - finished the last little bit of homework through Cameron's wailing & I told him, "ok, time to find the paci."  Ethan went up to look for it & called back down, "Mama, he just wants you."  I was in the kitchen checking counters, floor, fridge, etc & yelled back that he didn't really want me, he just wanted the paci.  We traded places - Ethan went downstairs to check the toy bin, pack-n-play, etc while I went to Cameron.  Alex is now in the game looking through the mess we call "Ethan's room" where they'd been playing.  Cameron whiningly says "Mama" - I give him his sippy cup - he chills out, drinks a little then starts the "Mama" wail again.  I said, "I know, honey, I'm looking for it.  Do you know where your paci is?"  He shook his head yes.  I let him out & he went to Ethan's room & then Alex's & started to go downstairs.  At this point Ethan & I have both checked all areas of the 1st floor - I vetoed his decision to go downstairs - it wasn't down there.

I told Ethan to get his library book & we read instead.  Cameron calmly drank his milk while I read the bedtime story to them & then we said prayers.  When we finished, I sent Ethan & Alex out of the room & told Cameron that we couldn't find a paci but it was bedtime.  He snuggled into my shoulder and then pulled back.  I said, "I think it's time we give up the paci anyway.  Right?"  He shook his head yes in agreement.  "You can do it, right? You don't need that silly paci."  He smiled & again shook his head - apparently that was a shaking of his head as if to say "yes, I do need it" because he started wailing again as soon as I put him in the crib.  Ethan & Alex then got to help me straighten most of Ethan's room & then again I moved the crib away from the wall to check behind & under it.  This was after I called Steve & he assured me Cameron had a paci at naptime & then didn't bring it out of the crib after nap so it "must" be there.  It wasn't but I did find one of the pacis we had before the last late night trip to RiteAid for new ones.  The problem is - with that trip to RiteAid, we had to switch to latex instead of rubber pacis because they didn't have the rubber ones & now he doesn't like the rubber ones anymore...the old one was rubber.  I happily told him I found it - the wailing ceased instantly & I went to wash it.  I brought it back & gave it to him & he looked at it like I was giving him a completely foreign object & handed it right back to me.  I gave it back & said, "it's just the old one sweety.  Go ahead, it really is a paci."  He again handed it right back though this time he did get it closer to his mouth first.  So I took him & the paci out of the crib & sat with him - he again gave me the paci.  So I sucked on it for a few minutes to prove it really was a paci then tried again to give it to him.  Nope - he wouldn't take it.  I told him it was all we had & he'd have to take it & put him in the crib & walked away....

Instant wailing again - wailing in itself I could stand but the fact that he was wailing "Mama" as if to say - "how could you do this to me, you are the only one who can help me, please Mama, please help me" - that is a bit beyond what I can stand for a Monday night.  I went back to Ethan's room which is still utter chaos & again got the boys out of bed to help me look....finally, I found another old paci - this one oddly is latex that he refused earlier in the paci progression at about 6 months old so we had to find more rubber ones.  He decided though later that latex were ok & started using that one again about 4 months ago so we now have 3 "good" pacis - the 2 we bought last & this old one.  You have absolutely no idea how happy I was to find this paci which, by the way, we hadn't seen in a week.  I washed it, took it to a wailing Cameron who happily took it, ceased all noises, laid down contentedly & went to sleep in roughly 4 minutes.

From start of the "find the paci" game to the end was roughly an hour and 15 minutes.  I still did not find either of the newest 2 pacis that we have & which he had this morning when I left for work.  Tomorrow either before I get home from work or when I get home from work, Ethan's entire room will be cleaned & I'm fairly certain there will be at least 2 pacis found in the clutter.  Also, Cameron is now allowed to have a paci at naptime & bedtime & no other time....in a couple of weeks, those will be gone as well.  I can't handle another hour+ search for a paci.  My meds just aren't strong enough to sustain that :)