Should I sign him up for Clean House now?

Graysen is a collector! Right now we have 3 different collection going on (listed in order of gross factor):

CANDY WRAPPERS!
Anytime he finds a candy wrapper from anywhere he must pick it up, save it to bring home and put in his special box. I caught him going into the garbage at the park the other day to grab a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup wrapper that had Batman on it! I swear everyone there thought that we were some homeless family. I saw one mom pity Maddox,who was staring at their pears, give him one.

POPSICLE STICKS!
For the last few months Graysen has been keeping each and every popsicle stick that he has eaten (at home at least) so that he can "count how many he eats his whole long life" Ok this one wouldn't be so bad if I didn't catch Maddox under the train table sucking the last bit of orange of some month old popsicle stick. These sticks are kept in the special box too.

MOVIE TICKETS!Ok so this one isn't so gross, strange, or even annoying other then it shows was shitty parents Bay and I are by what movies we have taken our 4 and 3 year old to. IRON MAN, TRANSFORMERS ETC. I did put my foot down on the Mitchell's Brothers All Day Movie Explosion though! :)Now the movie ticket thing wouldn't be so bad if Graysen didn't beg every family member for their movie tickets. Now we have envelopes full of old ripped half readable tickets! Also keep in his special box

Now to the special box. It is a corn dog flip top box that Graysen drew G's all over so that everyone in the world will know that it belongs to him and if it is ever lost they can look up G for Graysen and know to bring it back to him on Elm Street.

What Is A Boy?

He's an imp and an angel, a dreamer, a tease.

An explorer of meadows, and a climber of trees.

A runner of errands, and doer of chores.

Who tears his best trousers, and tracks up your floors.

He's a solemn young man with some mud on his feet, and a daredevil riding his bike down the street.

A bundle of questions, who wants to know "why" the world goes around and the stars fill the sky.

He's adventurous, timid, excited or quiet, there's nothing so new that he won't care to try it.

And just when your temper and patience wear thin, he'll look up at you with an innocent grin.

And your heart melts again your pride and joy.

That mischievous, wonderful treasure---your boy!!

A friend sent this to me today and when I was just about to google: Boarding School-Preschool! Five words: Graysen, Maddox, early morning, and fridge!

A place to hide

I am hiding in my room. Today was a blah day around here. I feel grumpy. I feel tired. I feel like I really want to have McDonald...And whatever I get I want LARGE sized. ha ha ha

So as I sit here Maddox is in his room playing and Graysen is eating a carrot in the dining room.

M: Graysen come here I NEED you!

G: No I am busy

M: Graysen come here I NEED you! I'm in big trouble

G: Ok I will come.

I am a bad mother even though Maddox was in "big trouble" I still sat here reading TMZ and finding out that Heidi Klum has a beef with J Lo. Luckily we have blob that will keep the boys busy until daddy comes home, and I have an unopened bottle of wine, a new book, and a hot bath to crawl into.

It is only days away before he wire taps me

We got this build-a-safe kit from Micheal's and we put it together today. It was really easy and lots of fun. This 20 minute project lead to hours of fun here at our house. Graysen and Maddox each had a section to screw together while I used all my muscles and held it tightly until it started to take shape of a box.

It has a lock door front and a top slit that you can easily slip "secret" papers into it. Since putting it together Graysen has gotten a spy kit together: The tools from the safe kit, the safe, his binoculars, a pad of paper, pencil, and his camera. How he knew to add these items to make a spy kit I have no idea?

While I was making lunch G and M were spy's. Taking notes and "pictures" of me making lunch and then locking up the info in the safe. I pretended to be extra sneaky so they would have something to spy on...I also did a silly dance so they could "photograph" it. They boys each worked out a sharing schedule so they could each have a turn putting their special secret stuff in the safe. Graysen gets it for 100 days and then Maddox gets it for 3 days.

I did finesse the schedule a bit and gave them each 3 days to have it before they had to pass it along to the other one.

Fantastic Friday!

"Do I need to be liked? Absolutely not. I like to be liked. I enjoy being liked. I have to be liked. But it's not like this, compulsive, need, to be liked. Like my need to be praised." (Micheal from The Office)

Why even at 30 years old are girls still always girls?

Friday's at Graysen's school are my day to work the classroom (Not to be confused with the 2 Wednesdays a month when I have yard duty from 1145 until 1). I was really worried about Maddox who has NEVER EVER stayed with anyone that he didn't know...I.E. Bailey, Corrina, and Lyndley. And then Graysen was ALWAYS with him. Ok so I was taken back to how he didn't care that I was leaving once he saw the huge fire truck toy they had. Graysen and I marched up the stairs to his classroom. I turned to my son for moral support as we both were going to weave through the politics of school-he left me! I had to to walk into the door alone as my son ran off to play Lego's with a group of other boys....I felt alone...like I was having one of those in front of the class naked dreams. I went to the Mom's Apron Station...Everything has a catchy little jingle and it's own station at Graysen's school.

Noooooo big deal JUST NEXT time I will have to set up my outfit around the BRIGHT RED apron with the HUGE station letter sprawled across my chest. I grab C and walk to my station. I am in charge of the entire Playhouse Station ....Each and every toy is located in this section. Each and every shoe, hat, and scarf of the dress ups. Each and every Lego, truck, and the inside jungle gyms. I try to lean up against the jungle gym trying to look cool. Like I do this all the time. And I know I have that weird nervous smile I get and if I did talk to anyone I would end each sentence with that annoying fake laugh I get. Just then I turn and I see a mom who did match her outfit to the apron walk into my playhouse area wearing the damn C apron! I do that smile and laugh thing trying to inch away to check the mom job station binder to see if I SOMEHOW made a horrible mistake!

Apron H The Outside Motor Development Station is where I am supposed to be! Nervous Laughter. I go outside to see that how "old moms" have stepped up to the plate and did my station set up. DAMNIT!

First thing is the Morning Circle Time and Groups.

My group went outside and played this ball catch game. Not bad..Had fun time. Little bummed that Graysen isn't in my group. But they do that on purpose. Snack time....Now I am feeling good from my groups and go back upstairs...You can totally see the old moms new moms. It is like the red sea. And in that moment I want all the old moms to like me and want to be my best friend..For their kids to love Graysen and be best friends....I had this deep down from the pit of my belly feeling that I HOPED they would all like me! I had to bitch slap myself and bring myself back to the real world!

School on the mom level is so far interesting...Graysen loves it. Maddox loves his babysitting set-up. Mommy's nervous how everything will go along...And Daddy he is happy that Graysen is so happy.

Families are like fudge - mostly sweet with a few nuts.

I have this childhood idea of what my extended family was when I was a child..This may or not (some how) be some figment of my imagination. I am hoping that it is real cause when I think of it I am filled with this wonderful feeling of pure joy that I can only think is love.

I have this memory of my family: It is after Thanksgiving and we have eaten and the adults of my family are in the kitchen laughing, yelling, everyone talking at once, name that song game going on with a few different people it is just pure conversation at it's best. Everyone is there no one has gotten mad, moved or died.

My Uncle Dale sitting in the bar stool nearest to the phone. My Uncle Les next to him with my grandma in the third bar stool. My grandma is sitting her her arms crossed and wearing that grey sweatshirt jacket. My Aunt Mary leaning up against the end of the counter with my Uncle Greg kind of standing behind her. Laughing away and smiling. My Aunt Phyllis is standing on the opposite side of the counter facing everyone with a towel on her shoulder. She's calling everyone "Shril" "Mar" "Sande" "Beck" "Sha" in that perfectly cracked Aunt Phyllis voice. My Aunt Sandy on sitting at the table with her back slightly turned away from her sisters but Still sitting at the table with Kelly, Aunt Kathy, Geri, and myself calling us Dillas. While Amy stood up cause there wasn't enough seats.

The kids are playing in Devin's and Zac's room. Kids are always age order of 18 and under in my family. There back there playing the same games I played after Thanksgiving when I was a kid. Corrina May, Jessica, and Z-A-C are walking from room to room talking to each other in a whispered hush......

Everyone in that house was thinking the same thing..Man it's getting late and I have a 45 minute drive home but ONE MORE COKE AND WE'RE LEAVING!

No Shirts No Service!

Maddox doesn't like shirts....

Maddox doesn't like under ware....

Maddox doesn't like the top button of his jeans buttoned....

Maddox doesn't like to eat peanut butter and jelly together....

Maddox likes to have sharpie drawn tiger scribbles all over his body....

Maddox likes only pink kitty cat vitamins from Trader Joes....

Maddox likes to dance to Leona Lewis while wearing his skunk costume....

Maddox likes to kiss animals on their mouths cause "That's wear you kiss"

I didn't learn anything I learned EVERYTHING

Yesterday Graysen started his school! We enrolled him in a parent's co-op: Mon, Wed, and Fri for 3 hours int he morning. Fridays I am there with him slaving away in his classroom.
He was so excited when he woke up in the morning singing "I AM GOING TO SCHOOL". As we walked there Maddox ate a banana and Graysen carried his lunch, skipped, and told me everything he would be doing there. I nicely reminded him to hurry so we wouldn't be late.

As we walked to the school his teacher "Teacher Nancy" was ringing a massive old school bell and welcoming all the kids to their first day. We walked up the stairs and put his lunch in his cubbie and went over to the carpet to hear a song and have Teacher Nancy give us some reminders and then Mondays working parents went to their stations and the kids had free time....All other parents were asked to leave. I stood around chit chatting with some other mothers, meeting them and staring at my son who kissed and hugged me went off to start his day of playing and meeting new friends. I picked up Maddox and off we went downstairs..

Maddox started to scream as we reached the stroller crying "WE LEFT GRAYSEN!!! MY GRAYSEN MY GRAYSEN GO GET MY GRAYSEN MAMA GRAYSEN IS UP THERE GRAYSENNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN"

When it was time to get Graysen Maddox was happy and Graysen was happy to see us. We walked home where Graysen gave me a play by play of his day, friends, snacks, and told me he was so happy!

When Bailey came home Graysen informed him that "He didn't' learn anything. He learned everything!"