Tie-Dye

While I was out of town in Palm Springs with the crew from North High, Scott tokk the boys to Anton Stover's 5th birthday party. Scott exercised his crafty side making these tie-dye shirts with the boys. Later we added on some cool iron on patches. Luke was so fired up, he slept in his :)

Getting Funky to Jason Mraz

MOMs Club Playdate

I have recently joined the North-West chapter of the Torrance MOMs Club, and we are really enjoying it. Today we hosted a playdate for the preschool age children at my house, and there were four moms and seven kids in all. Luke helped me set up "stations" around the house- a playdough station, a costume station, a coloring station, and a food station- all his ideas. What a blast we all had!

What I really love about this group is that these are all families with whom Luke will go to school; these will be his peers (and mine) for possibly the next thirteen years. You can probably tell by the pictures that so far, this is going really well.

I am a joiner in the fashion of my own Grandma Aileen, enjoying the book club, the "Mom's Nights Out" and the field trips that are all part of being in the MOMs Club. It makes the not working less isolating, and provides an extra set of hands in the form of other moms when we are at the park or aquarium, etc. Now if I could just find a way to stay home forever...

Discipline... Yuck!

Discipline has, by necessity, become a daily part of our lives... and wow! It's hard.

Luke is a real handful as he approaches five years old. He is King of asserting his independence, but even worse he has begun to "needle". For example, he tells Scott all the time that he hates UCLA and loves SC. Sometimes when he is getting dressed in the morning he moans about how he NEEDS an SC shirt. But worse, when he is mad at Scott, he YELLS, "I love SC Daddy! I. HATE. UCLA.!!!!"

Recently I put him in time out for some disobedient action, and he is in his room screaming, "I'm going to DESTROY YOUR WEDDING RING!!!!!" His attempt at going straight for the jugular.

He's so sassy. "No!" "I WON'T" and "NEVER" are seemingly his favorite words, and the growl is his noise of choice. Recently I told him he was going to have his mouth washed out with soap if he kept up the sass, and he marched himself into the bathroom, pumped the soap in his mouth two times, winced for a minute, rinsed. And then said, "THERE! I washed my mouth out with soap!" Oh. My. God.

I have had to pull over the car at least twice in the last week. And we are spanking when we need to. And of course we're trying rewards, time outs, and all those other measures. You have to do it, but you walk the fine line of being either a bully or a pushover. In the moment, I struggle not to be angry and reactive, yet secretly I am also always rooting for Luke, proud of his strong will, his independence, and his intelligence.

Nothing will change the course of discipline and behavior in our house but consistency and time. And hopefully Kindergarten. Still, discipline is hard...Yuck.

Armed Forces Day Parade

The Armed Forces Day Parade in Torrance, the longest running in the nation, is a really big deal. We are lucky enough to have two groups of friends who live along the parade route, so we party hopped. We started with a BBQ at Bob and Kim's, where we played with the Lines boys and little Gabby. Then we went to watch the parade with the larger group, and it was boy heaven! All kinds of aircraft do fly-bys, and there are giant tankers that squirt the crowd with water. Many of the soldiers come by to give the kids a high five, which they always line up to do. When the older veterans go by, it is really moving to hear the roar of the crowd and watch your four year old proudly wave his little American flag. I always think of my own Dad, and how fired up he would be by the Navy boats that come by on trailers, as the Captain yells into the microphone, "Go Navy!"

After the parade, we wandered across the street to the Massey's house. This gathering was mostly a North High gathering, including the Ormsby's and the Gutierrez family; there was a lot of young testosterone brewing, so when the wrestling matches turned ugly, it was time for us to head home.

Looking forward to next year!!

Mother's Day at Mimi's

Mother's Day weekend, Mommy and Daddy went to Las Vegas for an adult weekend (Dave Matthews/Jason Mraz!) with Jenny and Mike. The boys were lucky enough to be taken in by Bumpa and Melly, who spoiled them rotten with trips to the lagoon, jacuzzi swims, and Cheetohs galore. On Mother's Day, Bumpa dropped the boys off at Mimi's, so Aunt Lindsey and Luke's godmother, JuJu, could watch the kids til our flight got in. The weekend concluded with all of us reuniting for a BBQ, where Shyla, Luke, Nate and Kylie all enjoyed the hammock with Mimi.

During our time away, Jenny and I talked about the "It Takes a Village" style of parenting. This weekend we experienced it. I'm so glad to have all these wonderful people in my life and the lives of my boys. Thank You Family!

The 15 Month Checkup

Nate just had his 15 month check up and he is doing great! He is off the charts in height, and in the 80th percentile of weight. His noggin is of average size, although it looks like a big head to me. He has developed quite a vocabulary in the last two weeks- so here is a decoder should you converse with him soon:

Mama

Dada

Bra Bra (Luke)

Uppa (Up)

Tar (guitar)

Ma (Molly and dog)

Bal (Ball)

Aloo (Balloon)

EIZZZZZZ (eyes)

Bye Bye

EMO (Elmo)

A-Aid (outside)

Bo (Boat)

Baaa (Bath)

Monsters Inc.

Ever since our recent visit to California Adventure, Luke has been infatuated by Monsters Inc. It is on constant replay in the DVD player, and he colors Monsters Inc. pictures for hours on end each day. He has become quite adept at drawing Sully and Mike, and this picture shows what a shrine to Monsters Inc. his bedroom has become. Whenever we are in a public restroom, Luke also makes us reenact a scene where Randall, the bad guy, hits all the stall doors; or Luke pretends he's Boo, singing on the toilet, and I have to be Sully, asking him repeatedly if he's finished yet.

Mother's Day Tea

Today was the Mother's Day Tea at Luke's preschool, La Primera. All the moms gathered outside, and then one by one the kids come out. As the lump in my throat grew, Luke approached me and gave me a homemade heart necklace, decorated with a rainbow and the "Luke Heart Mom". He escorted me inside and seated me in a tiny chair, then served me apple juice, strawberries, and cheese. We sat together eating our cheese while the other moms and kids got settled. Then, Ms. Alba, Luke's teacher got the kids ready for their poem recitation, "I Love You Mommy". During the poem, Luke held hands with his buddies Ethan and Tyler, and then afterwards charged toward me for a big hug. And if that wasn't enough to melt the heart, he then invited me to dance, and soon eleven moms and eleven kids were grooving and swinging on the dance floor. The finale was the presentation of the gifts. Luke made a beautiful tulip card with the "I Love You Mommy" poem inside, with a framed picture he had drawn of the two of us together. We finished by just playing around for awhile with the other kids and moms- in this picture Luke is hanging out with Leo and Tyler. Happy Mother's Day to you all- may yours be as special as mine :)

Soka International Festival

Today Grandma Laurie and Grandpa Burt invited us to the International Festival at Soka University in Aliso Viejo. Jenny, Mike and Shyla also met us and we all went to Chili's afterward.

At the festival Luke had his face painted like Spiderman, went on the giant slide, and played horseshoes. Nate chased balloons. The highlight, though, was when Luke had a mini karate lesson, and actually broke a piece of wood with his bare hand. We have a real superhero in the house! Amazing!!

Inevitably, Luke had to use the restroom on the car ride home. This has been happening enough that I am starting to think that Luke prefers a public poop to a private one. So, I have to give a shout out to the Benihana in Costa Mesa. Their facilities are lovely.