Out of the Mouth of Babes

This week seemed to be the funny story week.  Wednesday Mason was supposed to go with his class on a field trip to the movies.  Instead of wanting to go, he woke up and refused to go.  I called the school to see what the movie would be to see if I could intice him.   It was some Dinosaurs with Sesame Street.  

I told Mason that and he states "I hate Elmo"  I explained that there were Dinosaurs that he learned about in school that week, and he replied "Daddy doesn't go to school, He teaches people how to Drive!"  Then he pretended to drive around the room.   We then went into how he was going to be JUST like DADDY and not watch Elmo or go to school again.  (Doesn't that make you feel wonderful!)

We had a good laugh, and I called Mark who explained when he was 5 he LOVED dinosaurs and school.  Mason never did give in (He explained to me just 5 minutes ago he still hates Elmo) but at least he wants to go back to school. 

Well, I got my moment today when we went through the Drive-Thru at Wendy's for food.  They handed us Frosties and then asked us to pull forward and wait for the rest of the order.  When they delivered the food, I asked if they put spoons in the bag.  He replied "Ummm, They should have" 

Later after we pull away and Katrina asks for a spoon, I look and sure enough, no spoons!  She replied with more wisdom than a 9 year old should "If they respond with an Ummm, you should double check the bag"    I mentioned she was right and she said "It's because of my natural born instincts."  

I laughed a little and said "You must get those from your Dad"   She agreed and said "Yea, I do.  I don't think you have any natural instincts, Mom"   

Gee, Thanks!

1148 Miles, 22 hours, and Four Kids with Small Bladders

Last weekend was really exciting for us.  Mark's sister Sammie was sealed to her husband Doug and their children.   Of course that meant taking a whirlwind trip to Mesa from Roswell.  The trip actually went well.  

We left Thursday and got to Safford at midnight (Arizona time) and stayed the night with Shirley and Ed.  Of course the kids don't sleep in and we were up at 6:30 the next day.  After breakfast, visiting, and lunch, it was back in the car for another 3 1/2 hour drive to Mesa.   We got to Mesa around 4, and found out the gov't stimulus check was deposited so of COURSE we tried to figure out what to spend it on as quickly as possible.  (We're doing our part to stimulate the economy).  We decided that my poor broken laptop with the external monitor and thousands of cords wasn't going to last much longer so we went to the Apple Store and bought a new iMac.  I love it and it has all kinds of gadgets.  BUT I digress about the real reason we went!

We went through a session with them at 10:30 and then they were sealed around 1:15.   I haven't been to a sealing with children before and they were all so beautiful and everyone was teary eyed.  It was such a blessing to be a part of that.  

Thankfully Ky and Lynaya brought our kids and a camera and took pictures of everyone because everyone else's cameras were gone missing or broken.    

Later that night it was back in the van, back to Safford to sleep for the night, then up and gone by 9:00 AM back to Roswell.  We made it back around 6:00 pm NM time and I am still trying to recover.   I won't say never again... but I will think long and hard about a plane ticket!

Who Thought Up Beating Animals for Birthday Entertainment?

Piñatas of course.  But come on, seriously?  First you stuff the carcass full of things you want to eat later, then you beat the thing to a bloody pulp for "fun"?  What are we teaching our children?

So honestly, we had a party for Mason today and we try to have birthday parties for them every four years.  It's supposed to be 4, 8, 12, and 16, but it ended up being 5 for Mason.  5 is probably better anyhow.  It's more the coming of age (kindergarten) party anyhow right?  So we went to pick out a Piñata for him, and they had little itty bitty ones for 16 and GINORMOUS piñatas for 26.  Now mind you, these aren't filled, and it would of taken 50 dollars worth of candy to fill the big one,  so being a "smart shopper" I passed both of these at Wal-mart and went to Target and got the medium sized one for 12.    They had one identical to Burro on Viva Piñata, but we went with the manly colored one instead :)  

Well, after 4 bags of candy and a mix of whistles, bouncy balls, tops and other annoying things that you seem to get out of Oriental Trading Company, we make our way home to stuff the thing.  Only one thing... Being so "user friendly" now, the compartment they make for this donkey is only 1/4 of the darn thing.    Yup, the "itty bitty"ones were actually totally hollow, this one was stuffed full of paper except for the tail end.  

Being so smart though, I decided to just poke a hole through to the rest of the animal.  Whoops...found the paper...  Now what?  I take on the job as Veterinarian and perform a Burro Tracheotomy to remove the blockage.  Warning:  These pictures may seem graphic to those with weak stomaches.  

Sorry you have to see this folks, but it's all in the name of entertainment.  
So now we have enough room to STUFF the darn thing full and I go to cut the tag off and decide to read it.  I mean, I've done a lot of Piñatas but I have never had a tag on one. So the first thing I notice is the "Safety Warning"  NOTICE:   Only use a Piñata Whacker to break open. Do not use broomsticks or handles on Piñata.     

Well, hello. .What the heck is a Piñata Whacker (TM) ?   Some accessory you are to buy along with it for 12 dollars?    That's it, I'm opening a Piñata Whacker (TM) factory to sell to the Gringos who actually read labels on Piñatas and then TRY and follow them.  

Then it has directions. 

1) Stuff Piñata with small toys and candy

2) Hang Piñata up with rope or twine.  

3) Take turns hitting at the Piñata until it breaks open.  

Ok so if you are actually buying a Piñata at the store, wouldn't you already know sorta that this is what you DO with a piñata?? That this isn't a cake topping or picture frame?  (I must over estimate the intelligence of the general public)

Ok so back to the poor animal.  We get it stuffed from behind and front, and get him set up at the Birthday party.  And WHACK one hit from the kid over 3 and it breaks off at the neck.  Apparently, the structural integrity of the piñata might of been compromised.  Who knew?  Kids just want the candy, not a chance to whack some poor animal.   Oh, and don't worry.  We used the next best thing to a Piñata Whacker (TM)... the baseball bat (Plastic) Mason got as a birthday present!

Birfday Time

So It's Mason's Birthday! Happy Birthday Mason dear! He is 5 as of 3:25 (I think) PM on May 4th. I need to look that one up.

Funny, I remember ever detail of Katrina's and a lot of Caroline's. Mason's was lost in the confusion of epidurals (which I will never do again), delivery by Billy, the 3rd year (student? Intern? Couldn't tell ya), the nICU, and my first time ever separated

from my girls.

He is a handful now, but he was the calmest baby I have ever had. On a schedule, always waking and taking nap at the exact same time every day, content to just do his own thing.

Now he does his own thing, but usually it needs supervision to make sure it doesn't involve explosives or knives.

Happy Birthday Mason, We love you!