Bedtime Questions

Rebekah was the type of baby/child that when put to bed, we said goodnight and never heard a peep from her until we got her out of her crib/bed in the morning. As a baby she would actually reach for her crib as we were rocking her, wanting to get into her crib. I honestly can recall maybe 2 nights that she woke up in the middle of the night or got out of her bed (once she started sleeping through the night) and both of those were due to high fevers. We transitioned her from crib to bed at 2 years old without so much as a peep. I know we were lucky! I use the word "were" because that suddenly changed this past spring. The arrival of spring not only brought beautiful daffodils to our neighborhood, but it also brought "THE WOODPECKER." The residents of B Road were blessed this spring with a woodpecker who decided that pecking on our gutters was much more productive than pecking on TREES!! This woodpecker hit every house on my street, early in the mornings. The first time I heard it (at 6am) I flew out of bed thinking that a jackhammer was digging for signs on water on my gutters. That ended Rebekah's 2 1/2 year sleeping pattern. She also flew out of bed and immediately came out of her room crying. I don't blame her, but from that moment on, the beautiful sleeping arrangement changed. After the woodpecker incident came the 8:00 spring and summer thunderstorms (perfect timing Mother Nature). We didn't have to check the weather channel, we knew what time the summer storms would hit. She also began to notice the trash truck that just so happens to come during nap time every Wednesday and so on and so on. We finally got her back into her bed time routine, but she no longer reaches for the bed, gives a kiss and says good night . . . No, we go through a long list of questions. If these are not asked and answered in perfect order, Rebekah does not go to bed. Listed below is the NIGHTLY bedtime conversation that we have after books, bible, prayers, hugs and kisses:

Rebekah: I want my door opened.
Mom and Dad: No, we close our doors at night.
R: I want my door cracked.
M&D: We close our doors at night.
R: I want my bedroom light on.
M&D: Bedroom light goes off at night.
R: Please leave the hall light on.
M&D: OK, we'll leave the hall light on.
R: No woodpeckers?
M&D: No woodpeckers.
R: No rain?
M&D: No rain.
R: No thunder?
M&D: No thunder. (Hopefully, we pray)
R: No birdies?
M&D: No birdies.
R: No trash trucks?
M&D: No trash trucks. We love you. See you in the morning.
R: I love you.

Door Shuts.
Rebekah: I want you to stay upstairs (thanks to her brother for that one).
M&D: OK (as we are walking downstairs).

Sometimes we throw in an extra animal just to get her--"No whales either, Rebekah" To that Rebekah giggles and says, "What?"


Thanks Woody!

Weather Talk

Below is a conversation that I heard through the bedroom monitor early one morning between Aiden (5) and Rebekah (2):

A: Tornado's are cool.
R: Oh yea!
A: Can you say Tornado?
R: Tomato
A: No! Tornado!
R: TOMATO
A: Say it slow, TOR-NA-DO. TORNADO.
R: TO-NA-DO. TOMATO--I said it!
A: No! TOR-NA-DO. TORNADO!
R: TO-NA-DO. TOMATO. I said it!
Fits of laughter between Aiden and Rebekah!

Fits of giggles coming from me (quietly).

After 3 weeks in school for Aiden, we decided that a 3 day weekend deserved a day trip. We went to the Virginia Safari Park in Natural Bridge, VA. It's something that we've wanted to do with the kids since we moved down here. One of those drive-through-in-your-car parks where you see and feed all of the animals. We knew the kids would love to see all of the animals up close. Once we got there and saw just how big it was, we opted for the guided wagon tour. It was a little more laid back, informative, and worth the extra funds as the minivan would have eaten three times the cost in gas alone (thanks "Big Oil").

The kids loved seeing the kangaroos, giraffes, as well as all of the various breeds of oxen, deer, and large birds. Rebekah watched from a close distance as they animals approached the wagon. She did get to hold an ostrich egg...which she thought was . I would have posted that picture, but the woman sitting next to Rebekah had a Janet Jackson-esque "wardrobe malfunction". Let's keep this G-rated. Aiden had a wonderful time pelting sleeping animals with feed pellets as the wagon passed, inevitably hoping they would just eat. It was like an Old MacDonald drive-by with hamster food.

Next we fed the remaining food to the piggies and baby goats. Yes, lots of hand sanitizer... Then it was off to the bird cage (no, not South Beach). The zoo workers would give you nectar in a cup to feed these, well, I guess they were like miniature parrots. Of course, we were the first in the cage and these birds were apparently pretty hungry. It was like a backwoods (although colorful) re-make of the Alfred Hitchcock movie. I threw my cup of nectar into the air, Aiden and Rebekah took off running in terror, and Mike was inundated by three rabid (although colorful) birds. All that was missing was the phone booth...

The day was a success and the kids had a lot of fun. Of course, there was the customary stop at Cracker Barrel, Target, and Kohl's in Waynesboro on the way home. Ah, to enjoy such amenities that we took for granted in NoVA. Last but not least, we made a quick stop on an Afton Mountain overlook to enjoy a view that we never got in NoVA. I'll take the mountains over Kohl's anyday.

Rainy Day

It's a rainy day today---a much needed rainy day!! I love the idea of a rainy day--stuck inside, dry and cozy. The only thing that would make it better is if Aiden were here to ask me to build a tent out of sheets. Guess I'll have to wait for a snow day for that. The thing that makes me sad that he isn't here is that I got a call this morning from the school nurse saying that Aiden had been in her office because his teacher thought he had a fever--no fever--he just told the nurse that he missed his mommy! It took all I had not to hop in the car and bring him home to our cozy house.

Rebekah decided this morning that she was going to take the disks from Aiden's Nerf disk gun and make stepping stones for her little people. There are stepping stones at our Church and the kids love walking on them. I guess Rebekah wanted to share that fun with her little people. To make this cozy, rainy day even better, Mike came home from work early--the kindergarten cooties have set in and he is the first to have a cold. It's not good that he's sick, but it's nice having him in the house. Rebekah cozied up to him after lunch and promptly fell asleep. This rainy day isn't just good for the grass, it's good for the soul.

Birthday Boy!

Today is Aiden's 5th Birthday!! I was getting a little teary eyed this morning as reminisced with Aiden about his birth 5 years ago, that is until he asked exactly how he got in my tummy and then out. Luckily Rebekah saw a deer from the car window and the subject was quickly changed. Yesterday we told Aiden it was his last day of being 4. We made a huge deal out of it, so when he woke up this morning we measured him because we swore he had grown during the night. He loved it and we even wondered if shoes would fit since he was no longer 4. The most exciting part of the morning was not quite what we expected. Aiden's birthday surprise from us was a new Jets' jersey (reference back to the picture of Aiden in his 3T Jets' Jersey) and a fish tank (something he has been asking for for a long time). We're going tonight so he can pick out his own fish. You would think this would be the best part of the morning . . . nope---Aiden was MOST excited that he would be able to take a whole vitamin instead of half. As I told my friend Cindy that story, we both commented, "Oh, if life was only that simple!" I hope and pray that as Aiden goes from 5 to 6 and on, he continues to see life with those amazing rose colored glasses.


Happy Birthday Handsome Boy!

Fleas, Friday Night Fun and Fluffy Friends

It's one of those moments as a parent. Your son or daughter says something that you won't soon forget. Aiden was reciting what he learned in school that day. "Mary had a little lamb...it's fleece was white as snow..." Then, with a serious look on his face that still makes me giggle like ten year old, it just comes out mid-thought. "Mom, why does the lamb have fleas?" I had to turn my head and look at the ceiling to avoid having the boy see my quivering, ear-to-ear grin. That's all I will ever think of from now when I hear that song. Do they make a flea collar for lambs? Someone should tell Mary.

Friday nights are family nights here. Pizza, movies, and ice cream. A good way to unwind after a long week. I think more ice cream wound up on their faces than in their mouths. Thank goodness for the hardwood floors on the back porch. The carpet frowns upon those things. Once the sugar kicks in...it usual spirals into an all-out pillow fight (not even the dofg is safe) and a impromptu session of "dog-pile" on mommy. This may get a little more hazardous in about ten years. Unless we find a cheap chiropractor out here, that is.

Bailey has a new friend. When he was younger, he got a stuffed duck for Christmas. He immediately emptied it of the "quack" (batteries and wires all over the house) and all of it's stuffing. It looks like a pillow spontaneously combusted. He carried that awful carcass around for months...eventually losing it in the woods. Proper burial, I guess? We bought him another one and, like clockwork, emptied it of its innards. Now, he carries the torn up hide all over the house. If I find that nasty thing on my pillow, we're going to have another burial.

Green Day

If I wasn't a parent and I read the title of this blog, I'd immediately think of the band, Green Day. Ahhhh, but I'm the parent of a kindergartner who is "studying" colors in school. Today was Green Day for Aiden. On Saturday, several days before "green day" Aiden asked me when green day was. I was a bit interested in why he wanted to know about this particular color when blue is his favorite. One the other hand, his JETS loving father knew why and sat quietly with a smile on his face. I told Aiden that it was Wednesday and Aiden immediately declared that he would wear his JETS jersey for green day. The problem, the jersey is 2 sizes too small for him. I had actually just cleaned out his drawers a few weeks ago and found the jersey. I knew that this would be an article clothing that I would keep instead of passing it on to his cousin. I should have immediately packed it away so that Aiden would not have been able to go to school today wearing the too small shirt. But away he went, proud to be wearing the jersey of his Dad's favorite football team. As we walked to the bus, we talked about what they might do at school for "green day." He guessed that they might make zucchini muffins since zucchini's are green. I silently doubted that his teacher would make zucchini muffins for 19 kindergartners, so when Rebekah and I got home from the bus stop, we made a batch of zucchini muffins for Aiden to have when he comes home from school.

GOOOOO JETS!!