Paul's Artwork

Ok, I'm a proud mom. Here are some of Paul's drawings from last night. Coker challenged me to name each character. It's no problem, because the drawing is so good. Left to right, top to bottom: Spiderman, Spiderman, Hulk, Static Shock, a monkey, Batman, Super Paul (his power is being smart), Two Face, Super TJ(power of headbumps), Invisible man, Dinosaur head guy, Superman, Supermom, Superdad (with force power), Force man, and Fire man.

Happy Birthday, Papaw!

Today is my dad's birthday. I got him a little gift and had him over for dinner. It's sad to me that I don't get to make a cake. For medical reasons, he doesn't eat sweets. No sweets means no birthday cake or even a nibble of a Christmas or Thanksgiving treat. He has more willpower for that sort of thing than I would. We had salmon with a black bean and corn relish, broccoli, brown rice, and bread. Healthy. Mostly. The boys entertained us, and oh yeah, the gift.

The boys and I went out looking for a hat for Papaw's birthday. For medical reasons, he has to stay out of the sun. A hat is a necessity and a thoughtful gift idea. I couldn't find one that suited me, or that I thought suited him. Noticing the clothing with extra SPF, I picked a nice polo-style shirt, but it's the same one I've given him before. When did I realize this? When he showed up at my door wearing it.

Does anyone have good dad gift ideas? I'm obviously out.

And I Thought Boys Didn't Play Dress-Up

Paul had us all dressed up tonight. He wore his Power Ranger costume, TJ wore a diaper and Superman cape (the Jedi cloak was too much for him under the cape) and I wore the Jedi cloak. Paul gave us all weapons and then rallied his troops, "let's go defeat the evil mentions!"

I don't like potty talk, either. Let's go!

The "Whys" I Remember from the Past Two Days

Why do we have to have girls?
Why do we have moms?
Why won't you let me eat everything I want and do everything I want?

Why do we have noses?
Why do we breathe?
Why don't we have superpowers?
Why do we have eyebrows?
Why do we have hair?

You can see the progression with many of the questions. The jump from breathing to superpowers is logical, but it was a long conversation.

No Hablo

Paul is in the office playing an old-fashioned computer game and yelling, "de-stinkos!" I think he's trying to say a word Miss Rosa used on PBS kids recently. Destinctos? I don't know Spanish, and neither does Paul.

My mom, by Paul (4) and TJ (2)…

This is an interview many of my Facebook friends have conducted with their children.
1.What is something mom always says to you?
P: I don’t know
T: Puppy, bath

2. What makes mom happy?
P: flowers
T: candy

3. What makes mom sad?
P: dead flowers
T: cry

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
P: when I get in her bed
T: candy

5. What was your mom like as a child?
P: A baby girl
T: baby

6. How old is your mom?
P: 34
T: 4

7. How tall is your mom?
P: 30 feet tall
T: mom big

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
P: stay in the bed
T: candy

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
P: boog (as in booger = blowing the nose)
T: poopy

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
P: I don’t know; ask dad
T: poopy (I think we’re stuck on this answer)

11. What is your mom really good at?
P: taking a shower
T: cookie

12. What is your mom not very good at?
P: golf (true)
T: ride a bike

13. What does your mom do for a job?
P: golf (???)
T: dad is working

14.What is your mom's favorite food?
P: rice crispies (not really)
T: foood (with an eyebrow lift)

15.What makes you proud of your mom?
P: talking to dad
T: (he’s too busy talking to his truck to answer)

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
P: Hannah Montana
T: TJ

17. What do you and your mom do together?
P: go to the toy store
T: candy (Coker gave him a Starburst)

18. How are you and your mom the same?
P: brown hair
T: I have candy

19. How are you and your mom different?
P: mom has more hair
T: (no answer)

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
P: books
T: I want oranges mama

21. What does your mom like most about your dad?
P: he’s her wife
T: (no answer)

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
P: the waterpark
T: mumbles

Zoo Day

We met some friends at the zoo today. The little guys are looking at the monkeys and the big guys are acting like monkeys.Here, everyone is checking out the Pumbas. What are they called? Warthogs? Well, I have a picture of each of the two of them at Paul's insistence. I had to take a picture of one playing with a ball and the other sniffing. Paul examined each picture on my camera to make sure it was just what he wanted. This is "Digger" the armadillo. I've never seen one so close up in 3-D. I've never really looked at a flat one, either. That's too yucky. I kept thinking that many of my neighbors would not have fond feelings for "Digger." TJ really liked him and petted him for a long time. We washed hands carefully.

TJ is a true animal lover. Here he is watching the huge snapping turtle walk around under water while Paul climbs on everything he can find. We had fun and promised to return soon, but not tomorrow or the next tomorrow or the next tomorrow...(if you know Paul you know where this is going.)

Paul's Sandwich Order

I asked Paul what kind of sandwich he would like me to make him and he thought for a minute. "I want a little bit of peanut butter, a little bit of honey and a lot of jelly. Oh yeah, and onions and lettuce." I brought some lettuce along separately, but claimed the onions would be too smelly to pack.

I Need to Bye-Bye

My mom stopped by tonight for a few minutes and we walked her out when she left. Coker, wanting to make sure TJ was safe, took his hand as mom was ready to pull away from the curb. TJ protested, "I need to bye-bye." TJ took his hand back, waved big open-handed waves and called out "bye-bye, bye-bye."