Dawsonisms

The other day, Anabelle approached me all tearey eyed and pouty lipped. She chokes out "Mom. Dawson says he doesn't love me, and that makes me sad because I really really love him."

I know she is especially dramatic these days but her little act actually tugged on the one remaining string of pity i have left in my blackened mom heart. So naturally I found Dawson and sat him down for a lil chat.

We talked for a while about our family, and how important of a part we all play, and how we are a team and we need to look out for each other. We talked about how people feel when they get their feelings hurt, and why its not OK to say you don't love someone who is that important even when you might not like something they're doing.

I thought to myself by the end of it that he'd really gotten the right impression as I gently prompted "what do you think you need to say to your sister...?"

He looked her straight in the eye with the deepest and most heartfelt remorse and sweetly responded,

"Anabelle, I'm so sorry that I don't love you."

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Last night I was teaching him the magical wonder of 'pinkie promises.' Tyson and I said something cheesy, and then hooked pinkies to demonstrate how it works. Then, Dawson wanted to give it a try. I said, "OK, Dawson, I want you to PINKY PROMISE Mommy that you will grow up and be a doctor who makes lots of money and saves lots of sick people's lives." He shook his head and firmly replied,

"NO, Mom! I want to be an ice cream truck driver!"

I think its the first time in my life I actually wished for a broken promise.

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Tyson noticed there is a small crack in our living room TV set yesterday. The daycare kids are constantly touching it and sometimes pounding it or throwing things at it before I can tell them to stop, since its at eye level with the toddlers I'm shocked its taken this long to happen.

Ty was not as understanding (can you blame him?). He started muttering about how getting a crack in a TV set is bad bad bad news, and Dawson, who is overhearing this, pipes up with deep concern and says "...because when there is a crack in the TV, Indiana Jones can jump out of it?"

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Dawson is just so amazing to me on so many levels right now. I feel like 5 is the big fat 'parenting pay-off,' where he finally knows what is expected of him, and is not only eager to meet our expectations, but to exceed them. He tries with all his little heart to find ways to show Ty and I how much he loves and cares for us, it just melts me. He loves to be polite, make the 'right' choice (and then point it out to us), and be the 'older' big brother (even though Anabelle doesn't see him that way... yet).

The kids are playing along side each other so amazingly well these days. Last night, I was making dinner and Tyson ran to the grocery store on a quick errand. Dawson and Anabelle were in his room playing Lego's THE ENTIRE TIME, I didn't say a single word to them, and there was not one melt down.

They also spent some time with their great grandma Violet in her new apartment downtown this weekend. The kids got a great report for their excellent manners and came home and spoke several times of how much they loved spending time with 'the old people.' HA. It kind of burned my ears to hear them talk so irreverently of the elderly, but they said it so sweetly, and fondly, and I guess when you're 5, EVERYONE is an old person. So we let it slide.

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Lastly, I wanted to brag a bit about Dawson's billiant artistic ability. His teacher pointed out his talent in the conference we just had, particularly for being the youngest in his class his small motor skills are pretty amazing.

Here is a copy of the coloring contest entry we are sending in to the newspaper. I know I'm bias, but I think he's brilliant and I bet he wins big:

And below is a little list of a few of the things Dawson is most thankful for this year.

Just when you thought you couldn't love and appreciate your kid ANY more than you already do... you can!:

If you're wondering about the yellow and blue in the right corner... that is a picture of him about to fall in the river at Mr. Jerad's wedding. Just ask him about it. ;):

Here is the evidence that the first Dawsonism is just plain and simple poppycock:

What an awesome kid I have.

Blog Therapy.

I'm having a 'Mama said thered be days like this' kind of week, and THAT'S RIGHT, FOLKS!, its ONLY TUESDAY!

Highlights include (but are NOT limited to):

A Monday morning that began with peed sheets AND poop in the bathtub (not mine, just a kid I know), and actually managed to get worse from there.

A Tuesday morning that started off with a great attitude and an attempt to be productive in doing some laundry at 5:45am. When I went to collect my warm and fresh towels, my hand met a petrified lizard carcass that had somehow made it thru the wash AND dry cycle with my 'clean' towels that now needed to be rewashed. Did I mention how I touched DEAD LIZARD?!?!? All before my morning coffee!?!?!?!?!? Nobody deserves that.

Work stress on multiple levels.

Family stress on multiple levels.

My darling children, who FOR THE LIFE OF THEM, cant seem to process simple instructions even when repeated over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over AND OVER TIMES INFINITY.

A plague of flies that has descended upon our land, that is SO horrific that we can't so much as open the front door a tiny crack without 15 dozen of the little beasts zooming in and immediately landing and puking their feces or whatever atrocity it is that they were created to do (why, God?) upon every available surface of our entire house. Dinner, anyone?

Side note: Do you think the school automatically calls CPS if you send your kid in last nights PJ's because they didn't hear you to ask them to get dressed ANY of the fifteen times you said it (despite the fact that you took the time to provide them with clean laundry that you washed, folded, put away, then LAID OUT for them, and all they had to do was put it on...), or if you send them without a snack (because they didn't bring you their lunchbox with yesterdays rotting delight still inside any of the bajillion times you sweetly requested), or if they don't have their homework (even after you took the time to sit with them, read to them, review it with them, sign off on it for them, and put it in a folder NEXT TO their backpack but they chose to ignore your repeated reminders to gather their things and leave them ready to go by the front door). I think there needs to be a PARENT protective services, that is a safe place for parents to go and work thru their child inflicted pain.

My poor husband, who is coming off a 6 day work week (as usual), in which he was not home before 6:30 ONE SINGLE DAY, meaning he worked 12 hour days 6 days in a row. My kids asked the UPS man to play catch with them last night. Ok, that's a lie. But they really do miss their father.

Loading 5 children into 'the ark,' buckling each of them in with tender loving care and hauling all the appropriately packed luggage for their day at school inside only to hop in the freezing cold front seat and turning the key to find (yippeeeee!) a dead car battery as we were already running behind schedule...

And... finally... my husband, in attempting to come to my rescue for the dead battery... who rushed home to jump the car, but forgot to let me know in the process that HE LEFT THE CAR RUNNING so the battery could recharge again.

Yah. It ran out of gas in the driveway.

The good news is... the form that my nervous breakdown took on yesterday was less hostile on our family morale. I could NOT stop laughing (HA!!). It was just... hysterical. I mean, HOW can THAT many lame things happen to ONE person in such a sequence? How does such karma attack a poor mom just tryin to do her best with what she has? Did I accidently walk past a bell ringer without putting a dollar in the bucket? Did I somehow run over a litter of kittens unknowingly? I just.dont.understand. how the horrors of the universe have followed me so closely over the last several hours... but mark my words, I am bound and determined to shake them tomorrow.

Otherwise, Im moving to Australia with Alexander.

Five is a Four Letter Word

...to a Mom who can't believe how fast time has come and stolen her little baby boy.

As of yesterday, at 11:27am, Dawson is officially a 5 year old. I know everyone else seems as blown away as I am at how fast its gone by. I was surprised at how sad it makes me to know he will probably never again smell like baby powder and sour milk, and at how happy it makes me to see him so grown up and loving every moment of the world around him. I spent the 2 days before Saturday begging, no, PLEADING with him... "Dawson! NO! Don't do it! DON'T turn 5! PLEASE stay 4, FOREVER! That's why they call it 4! You have to stay it FOUR-EVER!" He thought this was hilarious, so we talked about it constantly. An old woman in the grocery store overheard such discussion, and she curtly asked, "Well, then, young lady... would you mind telling us how old YOU are?!"... to which I smartly replied, "Why, yes ma'am. I am four years old."

He didn't buy it. But in the end, he DID say I could still call him my little baby, even when he is 5. We shook on it.

On Friday (the 13th, no less!), we took rice krispie treats with gingerbread man sprinkles on top (because we are STILL not over 'gingerbread week' from the second week of school) to his class. I got to stay and help awhile, as Mrs. Romera was out sick and the sub was overly happy to have me. And I was overly happy to be there. And Dawson always loves it when I go. Win.Win.Win.

Saturday morning, Dawson received a good and proper 5 year old wake up call, to the HAPPY BIRTHDAY! song and dance party, and a highly decorated every-square-inch of the house. I think his face is permanently stuck in an ear-to-ear grin, because he wore it all day long.

(Health food for breakfast. Mmmmmmmmm.)

We had a lazy morning, while he played his new Indiana Jones video game from Tyson and I, counted all his birthday card loot over and over and over again, and had random bursts of balloon fights with his almost as excitable sister while I hung out in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on party details for the afternoon. This year, he was allowed to invite five friends, because he is five years old... and we settled on a bicycle theme. My parents generously offered their amazing private city park of a yard for the event.

Party favors of course included water bottles and first aid kits from the dollar store. The kids LOVED them...

...and I loved watching all the five year olds toddle around on their bikes thru the obstacle course in the driveway. Ty and Dawson built a ramp out of ply wood for the occasion, and at one point we had a small wipe out for one of the kids. I teasingly called "Get the first aide kit! Get the first aid kit!" and one of the cute little kindergartners yells back "I WANT THE SECOND-AID KIT!" Soo adorable and hilarious.

The party was a short 2 hours, we did a small craft making a 'license plate' for their bikes, and then we did the obstacle course, a pinata, cake, and the kids just played and played in my parent's amazing back yard tree house and on the trampoline until it got cold and almost dark (which doesn't take long these days in case you haven't noticed... BRRRR!).

These girls CRACK me up, Addie lost her bike privileges due to a morning of behavioral discrepancies... she was bummed to not have it when everyone else was doing the obstacle course (because her Mom is a great mom who sticks to her guns...) but of COURSE her bff Anabelle didn't see it that way at all, and the stinkers quickly devised a plan to make sure Addie was included in all the fun. They are so rotten and adorable.

So, there you have it. The boy is five. And he says he already LOVES it.

Secretly, I do too. But please don't let it get back to him... im afraid if word gets out, this getting older thing may become a nasty habit for him.

XOXO

McDermott Monster Mash

We are allll sugared out round these here parts of town.

All the Halloween festivities began last Thursday, with a small daycare and neighborhood gathering where we frosted cupcakes and decorated pumpkins... and all the adorables sported their finest costume and dress up apparel.






That night, while the house was still good and trashed (the mark of ANY good party), we had the great pumpkin slaughter of 2009. Dawson really wanted to enter his spooky face in the pumpkin carving contest the next day. He drew the face he wanted on a piece of paper, and Tyson helped cut it out on the pumpkin. He won third place! Following in his father's artistic footsteps already.


This was the first year he would have ANY part in sticking his hand in the slime and seeds. He really really really didnt want to do it, but finally talked himself into it. Since I can remember including him, he will not WONT and no DONT make him do it put his hands inside the goo. He was (is?) downright petrified... and this year he's just about grown out of the phobia, apparently. Awwwww.
This was a bittersweet year for me... it was the first year the kids had their own ideas about what to dress up as. Ive always had the pleasure of extorting them in whatever adorable matchiness I could clever up...

2005 Dumbledoor, Molly Weasley (A-belle baby bump), Baby Harry Potter:

2006 baby bumblebee and his delicate little flower:

2007 Captain Hook and the Crocodile (obviously both VERY busy that year, couldnt even hold still for a decent pic!):
2008 Superman and Supergirl (Super Mom wore a cowgirl outfit that day, heh)!:

Anyhoot. Obviously, we've done some major growing up, and I've had more than fun dressing my little puppets up any which way I pleased. This year, they both made independent selections, and although they weren't matchy-matchy, they looked pretty durn cute if I may say so.

2009 Princess Aurora and Army Man Dawson (Oh... and Tyson the Redneck, who is almost too painful to look at...):

Our neighborhood is QUITE a candy brothel on October 31st... it gets more happenin' every year. My parents have been our faithful candy dispensers the past few years since we are out hoarding masses of candy with the best of them. Even Kyle made an appearance this year!

Arent they amazing sports?:

Needless to say, a grand old time . And Im still coming off a sugar high myself... someone has to save the little darlings from the gluttony of it all!
...like you didn't do the saaaame thing.

Now bring on the turkey and pumpkin pie!... and the giant sized blue jeans. (sigh)

xo

The "Whoa" Part of Whoa-Semite...

So... sorry. The last blog I was trying to post was wigging out, and I lost my motivation to regroup my thoughts for a few days. But I'm back now... and AS I was saying...

We had a fantastic time and couldn't wait for the part where we got to find out how Jerad was planning to go about this grand proposal event. Saturday night, Stephanie excused herself to the bathrooms (or something like that I think) and Jerad quickly grouped us around the campfire to spill the dirty details (FINALLY!).

They were NOT what we were expecting.

Stephanie was well aware of Jerad's evil plan all along. In fact, she was in on it... and he would NOT be proposing the next day, but actually tying the knot on the shores of a mountain stream in their sacred Yosemite, with all of us there and taking part in the ceremony.

Whoa.

It was a surprise wedding.

Steph was in on it all along, and had actually purchased a dress, brought flowers, obtained permits, and planned her little heart out without any of us knowing. So, after an amazing camp breakfast bright and early the next morning, we all mustered up our Sunday (suitcase) best, braved the primitive camp showers with community soap, shampoo and makeup, and prepared to be a part of the moment marking the rest of our dearest friend's lives.

Taylor was the only friend who was 'in' on the secret. He was secretly ordained to have the honor of marrying them.

We all had a part of the ceremony, to read a little something, say a little something, hold something, take pictures, etc.


I wish I had brought my clone along to take more pictures of the actual ceremony, but KJ snapped his little heart out with his trusty fancy pants camera the whole time. Im sure there will be many more quality snapshots to come. But it was absolutely breathtaking to be a speck in the shadows of nature's majesty, breathing the clean air, listening to and taking part in the promises of a lifetime to come.


Congratulations, Steph and Jerad! What an amazing suprise...

May all your troubles be little ones.

May all your children have wealthy parents!

May all your ups and downs be between the sheets.

Love you both! MUAH!

xo