where did it go?

i really need a camera for this!
a really good camera that can zoom in & perfectly capture this.
will shaved one of his eyebrows off!
i noticed it tonight when he crawled onto my lap.
i asked where his eyebrow went,
and he had no idea what i was talking about.
he kept begging pete to tell him where it went.
pete kept begging will to tell how it came off.
he said he fell on the sidewalk,
he skidded on a rock,
and it just fell off.
then with tears he admitted that he had no idea where it went.
it was easy for us to make the connection.
he was messing with a razor last night in the bath.
i thought we took it away very quickly,
but i guess it wasn't quick enough.
i carried him the bathroom,
showed him the razor,
and then got the confession.
he said he put shaving cream on his eye and moved dad's razor over it since he couldn't find the kid one.
well, now he has no eyebrow.
he was so embarassed.
he sat on my lap and cried.
he wanted it to grow back,
and he didn't want anyone in the family looking at him or talking about it.
it's a good thing we can hold our tongues,
but i'm certain that on the inside we were all fighting backs tears of laughter.
hair grows back sooner or later.

it's all good

i've been a little heavy feeling lately,

looking constantly for reminders to snap me out of my funk.

i stumbled upon this,

(thank you, pinterest)

and it has become the daily mantra chant.

then my children delivered me the reminder that my life is great.

they were delightful in every way today....

playing together all day without fighting,

or at least resolving their own conflicts,

playing make believe with any item in sight like the zebra rug & brass miniatures,

playing outside alone without being told to go out,

playing drums with one my clients,

lots of whispering to each other,

self-entertaining while i did hair,

hiking excitedly with dad,

and balancing cups of water on each other while laying in the backyard.

yes, balancing water,

on stomachs, faces, and necks.

a few unforgettable things were heard, too.

sam saying kindly to will,

"lets clean this up before we go in.",

and the best thing...

sam: "can tomorrow be an off day (no media), too? today was so fun i want to do it again."

bless you, children!

thank you for so wonderfully reminding me how terrific my life is.

i have the best life because of the people in it.

in the middle

i have 1 older brother
and 2 younger sisters.
technically, i could be considered a middle child.
however, it doesn't feel that way at all.
i wasn't raised with my brother,
and even if i had been,
i think being the oldest girl somehow canceled out my middle child status.
i learn a lot about being a middle child by watching will.
he is an official middle child,
smack dab in the middle of 1 older brother and 1 younger sister.
he came with the perfect personality to be a successful middle child.
he has always been tender,
oh so tender,
thoughtful,
and very much aware of other people's feelings.
he has much admiration for his brother & sister,
despite how they might treat him.
case in point...
tonight pete took will with him for an errand,
and i took sam & maggie on a different errand.
as we were both returning home,
pete called.
he said will had been such a good boy he was going to get a slurpee.
will was very concerned about sam not getting one,
so much so he had pete call to see what flavor sam wanted.
will is CONSTANTLY trying to please his brother,
and i make a CONSTANT reminder to sam to return the favor & offer equal treatment.
i told sam about how nice will was for thinking of him.
i reminded him how much will loves him,
and i encouraged him to do something equally nice for will.
i could tell he was not fond of that idea.
he was blank.
i offered a suggestion to offer will the stuffed animal that he has been coveting.
not permanently,
just for a day.
silence.
i could tell he wasn't going for it.
instead of arguing,
he just said
"i'll see what i can do."
i was proud & looked forward to see what that would be.
(desperately hoping it would be something big! will deserves it for sure.)
as we were getting out of the van,
sam stole a (meaning 1) mento from maggie,
and he said
"i'll give this to will."
and he did.
will was delighted,
but i must admit i was disappointed.
a stolen mento?
really?
we could all use a bit more of will's unconditional giving spirit.
i'm hoping that a lifetime together will's influence will be more prevelant,
that sam will give more,
and not that will will give less.


side note: after sam gave will the stolen mento he then offered will to play with the new skateboard ramp he bought tonight with his own money. i'm sure in kid world that amounts to something much greater than it seems to me.

messing with schedule

tonight's bedtime talk with Sam....

Sam: I don't want to go to school tomorrow.
Me: Why?
Sam: It just messes up my schedule for the whole day.
Me: What would you do all day if you didn't go to school?
Sam: Oh, just the usual.
(Brace myself. I have no idea what the usual is)
Me: What's the usual?
Sam: You know, playing with you all day.

glad to know i still make the scheduling cut.

p.s. one of these days i will start posting again with pictures.
that would require me to get a new camera to replace the broken one.
someday.

call 911 for emergencies only

just in case you are wondering,
if you call 911,
then a policeman will show up at your house.
we learned that today.
i was downstairs sewing.
the boys were in & out.
will was taunting sam that he was going to call 911.
he does this taunt often and is always reminded to not call 911.
today the taunt was real.
he actually did it once they left the room.
i heard the doorbell ring and heard will answer it.
we were expecting our plumber to replace our water heater.
we know him well,
so i didn't rush up,
until i heard an unrecognizable voice telling will that he needed to go get his mom.
he told him i was sewing.
i was quickly up the stairs to find a police officer on my porch.
will had called 911.
as soon as he opened the door he apparently confessed to the officer he had called,
until maggie walked around the corner.
then he said that she actually did it.
i was something....
mortified, embarrassed, humored, or something.
the officer handled it great.
he talked to will about why it's not ok to call 911 unless it's an emergency.
will was very polite & responsive,
but i could see the panic in his eyes.
i was quite certain he could've passed out.
he was as white as a ghost with no color left in his lips even.
after he left i took will in my arms & asked if he was going to call 911 again.
he said no.
i asked if he was going to call 911 if our house was on fire.
he said yes.
then he burst into tears.
lesson was learned.
(oh, and the plumber did show up while the police officer was on our porch.)

sheltered

i've never liked the idea of raising sheltered kids.
i have been extremely aware of this because of where i live.
however, sam showed a sheltered side this weekend that i was totally ok with.
we were talking about a friend we were inviting over for dinner.
the kids asked if her mom & dad would be here, too.
we said just her mom.
of course they wanted to know why her dad wasn't coming.
her parents are divorced,
so we just explained that her mom & dad don't live together
and she just lives with her mom.
this sent sam's brain into a tailspin.
he had no idea what we were talking about
or why the mom and dad wouldn't be living together.
we tried to explain divorce to a child who had never even considered the idea.
he was very concerned about such a possibility.
i was grateful for this sheltered attitude
because i was a child of divorce,
and i hated it.
i am glad this is a reality that my children don't know,
at least on a personal level,
and i was happy for the confidence that pete & i were able to assure him that we were never getting divorced.
this assurance is the best thing i have to offer my children.