I Love...This Thing!

It was recently my birthday on September 11th, which brought along with it reflections on the national tragedy in conjuction with the Birthday Fairy.  The Birthday Fairy is my mother's invention (don't tell my kids!), and she makes birthday mornings ever so much fun!  You wake up on your birthday with a trail of goodies from your bed to the living room where, like a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, you get some presents.  My kids love it, even when it's their mom's birthday.  M woke me up bursting and said "come see what you got, it's so exciting!!"

This year I chose several items from Amazon to "help" the Birthday Fairy choose things that I would truly love to have.  I found an old Super Nintendo game I used to love to play when I was a kid visiting my cousins house for under $10, as well as an almond flour cookbook to give support to my GAPS diet, and a CD that I haven't heard in years.  But the thing I am loving most is having this little doohickey around.  It's a scalp massager and I love it.  It relieves my stress and it was about $3, which relieves my stress a little more, ha!  The first time I used it on M he stopped in his tracks with half-closed eyes and said "it makes me feel all shiver-y".  Exactly.

Things M Says (Part 41)

M, after talking incessantly to Super Mario World: "Hey Mom, is there a guy that pops out right here that goes 'zoop! zoop! zoop! zoop! ahh! and then throws fireballs?" 


Um, nope. Pretty sure I would have noticed that.

Things M Says (part 40)

M, comparing his manhood to E's: "E!  Your pen!s is getting bigger, but not as big as mine!"

Oooo-kay.  It starts young, no?

Things M Says (part 39)

M says the full name of any show that he wants to watch.

M: "Mom, can I watch Avatar: The Last Airbender?"
M: "Hey Dad!  We have five episodes of Spongebob Squarepants!"
M: "Can we watch the special extended edition of The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring?"

Okay, that last one is made up.  But you get the picture.

Things M Says (part 38)

critiquing me, like a judge on Top Chef


M: "This is a really nice smoothie, probably the best one you've made so far.  It's got a good flavor from the kefir and berries, and it's really cold.  Overall, very delicious Mom."
me: "Um, thanks."

M and His Butterflies

M got caterpillars for Christmas.  Well, he got a netted container with a voucher for caterpillars anyway. I love Amazon, and we generally buy most things through it, from grocery items to birthdays and Christmas presents.  We sent away from M's caterpillars at the end of December. His caterpillars finally arrived a few weeks ago.  They crawled around, tiny, eating their food for several days.  They grew and grew and eventually hung from their lid, each forming a chrysalis.  Then, we moved the chrysalides to the netted container and watched them every day.

A few days ago, one chrysalis turned dark and a butterfly emerged.  Yesterday, two more followed.  And today, the final butterfly emerged.  M is the proud papa of four painted lady butterflies.  M named them, in order of emergence from their pods: Iam, Isaac, Sheila and Hella.  According to M, Iam and Isaac are boys, and Sheila and Hella are girls.

We have been giving the butterflies slices of orange to munch on until they were all ready to be released outside.  Of course, M had to be ready too.  A few minutes ago, M announced that he was ready to let them go in the backyard.  We took the net outside, opened the top and gently helped them come out.  They hung around the patio for a few minutes, walking around and trying out their wings.  But then one took flight (we could swear it was Sheila) and we yelled "goodbye!" to her.  While we prepared a plate with sugar-water and orange slices to place in the backyard,  two more butterflies flew off to explore the neighborhood.  M and I hope they come back to visit.  Maybe they will fly by to say "hi" and have a little snack.

(I included the Amazon link above for the brand we bought.  We love it, and their customer service was very nice.)

Things M Says (part 37)

M, choosing a song on the iPod that R doesn't like:

R: "Can you change it? I'm not digging this song."
M, changing it to the next one: "Are you digging for this one?"

Things M Says (Part 36)

M: "I'm not going to spend my money from now alllllll the way until I am a grown-up."
me: "Oh yeah?  What are you saving it for?"
M: "I want to go to outer space."
me: "Well, going to outer space is very expensive."
M: "So they don't have coupons for that?"

Things M Says (Part 35)

earlier today, for the millionth time:

M: "Mom, we're going to make popsicles, right?"
me: "No, and if you say 'popsicles' again you will go to time out.  Don't ask me again."

just now:

M (very concerned and upset): "Mom.  I feel like saying 'popsicles' again."
me, bursting out laughing: "It's okay buddy, I know you really really want to make them!  But we can't, we don't have frozen berries."
M (feeling much better after seeing me laugh): "Okay, we will make them another day." (and then, overcome with love and relief after realizing, again, that I'm not mad) "Mom, I love you SO MUCH!"

Things M Says (Part 34)

M, looking out the window at the moon: "Hey Mom, do you see Earth's moon?"
K: "Yes."

Lol!

Things E Says (Part Ten)

E, at night as either R or I walks out of the room: "Nigh-niiiigh!!"

Things M Says (Part 33)

Whilst singing the revised "Spider on the Floor" song today in the car:

M (singing): "There's a spider on the switch on the swiiiitch,

there's a spider on the switch on the swiiitch

...(thinking of a rhyme)...

he looks like Harry Potter looking for the Snitch,

that spider on the switch,

there's a spider on the switch,

on the swiiiiiiiiitch!!"

Things M Says (Part 32)

On the way home from preschool lately, M and I have been singing "There's a Spider on the Floor", but with silly words put in. It's a good way to learn rhyming, and creativity, and just be plain ol' silly. (Though it's not like we have a shortage of silliness at our house.)

M was singing his own version of "There's a Spider on the Floor" when he came up with this rhyme:

M, singing: "Oh there's a spider on the flag, on the flag. Hey mom, 'gag' rhymes with 'flag'. There's a spider gagging on a flag, gagging on a flaaaag!"

Things M Says (Part 31)

While M and R are playing "20 Questions", M's new favorite game:

M: "Is it something we can go inside?"

R: "Yes."

M: "Is is a big dinosaur bone with cracks in it so that people can walk inside it?"

R: "Uh, no."

M: "Oh, I should have said a big dinosaur skeleton."

R was thinking of a house. Lol!

Things M Says (Part 30)

This morning while I was in the kitchen making breakfast, I heard M on the couch calling for me: "Mom! I'm a little birdie freaking out for it's mom. TWEET! TWEEEEEEEET!!!!!"

Things E Says (Part Nine)

E, while poking my sore, scraped knee, repeatedly: "Boo-boo. Boo-boo."

Things E Says (Part Eight)

E, while going to bed: "Na-niiiigh, na-niiigh!"

Things E Says (Part Seven)

E, while waving: "Hi-eee, Hi-eee!"

Things M Says (Part 29)

I was trying to remember the whining exchange M and I had earlier today and just blogged in the previous post (Part 28), so I asked M if he remembered what I had thought was cute and funny in the car. He said he didn't remember, and asked why I wanted to know.

I explained about my blog and said: "I like to write cute and funny things you say on there."
M: "Like 'funny quarters'?! Hahahahaha!!"
me: "'Funny quarters?' You are so silly!"
M: "That's funny! Write that on your blog!"
me: "Okay!"

Things M Says (Part 28)

me, in the car: "No you can't hold the iPod, we're almost home."
M, after a moment: "I was about to whine, but I thought to myself 'Hmm, I think if I whine I will go to time out, and I don't want to go to time out' and then I didn't whine!!!"
me: "Good job, buddy!" *snicker*