A Plagiaristic Christmas

OK, so I have been so busy with "who knows what" that I haven't blogged about all the fabulously wonderful happenings and events going on this Christmas season!

While I promise forthcoming blogs on Norky the elf and his twin brother Izzy Peanut, various tree lightings, naked elves (use your imaginations here!) and many more fantastic happenings, right now I am simply going to link you over to my great friend Liz's blog, as she captures a hilarious pretend play session that her son Danny and Parker shared with us this past week.

One post note to Liz's blog, however. While the pretend play was funny while Liz and Danny were here, it is important to know that Parker continued insisting that I call him Norky and be "surprised" at his appearance every 1.8 minutes for the next hour and a half.

Finally, after 90 minutes of exclaiming, "Wow! Hi, Norky! Glad you're here! I've been so good this year!" over and over and over and over and over (seriously, it was THAT annoying) it was time to leave and pick up Brady.

When "Norky" followed me into the car, I couldn't take it any more and found myself telling him that Mommy's ears were really hurting and that I really needed to just listen softly to music in the car.

Think Santa will skip my stocking for that one?

Enjoy The Elves on the Shelves

A Week of Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving for the Plummer Family 2009 was a whirlwind of family, fun and food!

We were blessed to have Grandma and Grandpa come in from Florida for the celebrations, as well as the boys' Aunt Patti from Virginia, cousins Dan and Lindsey from Boston, and many other friends and family from around the Atlanta area.

The week began with a wonderful Grandparents' Day celebration at St. Benedict's, where Brady proudly introduced Grandma, Grandpa, Nana and Grandy to all his teachers and friends. While I wanted to attend - so bad - I knew that my presence would alter the dynamics, so Parker and I sat happily at home while Brady took the lead role in showing his grandparents his beloved school and chapel.

Thanksgiving Day found us at Ginny and Al's for a Fabulous Feast! We were joined (as the Plummers have been since 1971!) by the Teem family - another 3 generations of friends! The children played merrily together - as was evidenced by the "destroyed" basement playroom! Toward the end of the evening, Ginny and the children headed to the basement storage area to find the many "creatures" that inhabit her house for the holidays! They include a variety of singing, dancing, rocking and often obnoxious Santas, Snowmen, Reindeer and randomly wacky creatures! These visitors are always a hit with every child who visits!

Friday night the family joined us at our house for more Thanksgiving cheer, and we were joined by some of my Mershon clan. Uncle Steve treated us all to some fantastic Little Green Egged pork tenderloin (yummy!) and then unveiled his true talent for the boys - funny voices! I grew up with Steve's hilarious voices, and I was thrilled when they discovered he could talk just like Daffy Duck! It took about 2 minutes for Brady to find all 4 of his Ethan Long "Duck" books - all of which are funny when even an amateur like me reads them. Add in Steve's awesome voices, his lovable demeanor and his great snuggles, and Brady literally couldn't control himself with laughter.

We had several days of fun, too much food, way too much wine and lots of laughs and love. We are truly thankful indeed.

My Silly Turkeys

I am thankful this season for so many wonderful blessings in my life... especially for my two silly, goofy, funny, happy, AWESOME turkeys!

Playing Hooky Together

I wanted to share a few pictures of a fun family day out we enjoyed earlier this month. Brady had a day off of school for a Teacher Work Day, so Bill took a vacation day and we pulled Parker from preschool for the day (we're pretty sure Parker will catch up the missing 'work'!)

The boys asked to go see the new Curious George exhibit at The Children's Museum. While we have been to this museum no less than twenty times in the past few years, it is always a unique experience. As the boys grow and learn, the exhibits which attract them change, and how they interact with the exhibits - and each other - is constantly evolving.

We enjoyed a wonderful day of play, laughter, and togetherness. It was the perfect day to play hooky!

Parker, Got Hot Chocolate?

The cooler fall weather means many things, not the least of which is that the drop in temperature provides a great reason to indulge in yummy hot chocolate. Parker takes his hot chocolate very seriously, and makes sure he thoroughly enjoys every last sip!

No philosophical or deeper meaning to this post... just a cute picture of my little man!

You're a WHAT?

As an admitted Halloween skeptic, I tend not to get very excited about the holiday. In fact, I sort of dread it. That said, for the sake of my children (this is the mom-guilt insert for when they read this blog years from now) I tried to put forth a valiant effort this year - complete with house decorations, homemade cut-out cookies for them to ice and eat each night after dinner for the week leading up to the Big Day, and immersion into their school festivities.

This year the boys chose their costumes early - knowing exactly what they wanted to be.

Parker chose the Transformer Bumblebee. Why? Who the hell knows. As with most action figure-type characters he has NEVER seen the movie or this cartoon (is Transformers a cartoon?), and he knows nothing about the character other than that he thinks he looks cool. That's enough for a three year old, I guess.

Leading up to Halloween, people would ask Parker what he was going to be, and he would happily report back "Bumblebee!" This declaration would get a smile and an "oh, that will be so cute!" answer, thinking about an ACTUAL little stinging insect (really not so sure what's cute about a bee anyway.) I had to train him to be more clear and say "Bumblebee the Transformer," to which most people just nodded and said, "oh."

Brady's choice was of the Bakugan Battle Brawler, Dan. This choice received an even bigger host of blank stares, for unless you are a total anime geek or have a boy between the ages of 5 and 10, you probably have no idea who this character is... don't worry, I don't think you're missing much.

The best part of Brady's costume was his hair. After fighting that crazy mop every morning before school, it was actually fun to get to fill it with sticky product and spike it high.... too bad we had his hair cut a few weeks earlier or he would have been a deadringer for Dan!

Their school parties were excitedly crazy, chaotic and exhausting - everything you'd expect from school Halloween functions. Our "scary" Halloween adventure involved the totaling of Bill's car the night before Halloween, and Trick-or-Treating was cold, wet and wonderful.

Nana came to man the house while we embarked out on the other side of the neighborhood to gather candy with friends. When we had managed to get a respectable stash, we headed home for warm jammies, hot chocolate and PB&J sandwiches.

The boys parked themselves in our front hall and excitedly watched for the next hour as the older kids came through. They found even more joy in giving the candy away than they did in receiving it - always a nice attribute to see brought out in your children.

Maybe Halloween isn't so bad after all...

Off to the Junkyard

Well, it's official. Bill's RDX has been classified as a "total loss" and will shortly be used for scrap metal.

A little sad to see it go, but we're glad we don't have to wait through a 6-week repair schedule only to have the car act like George on an episode of Seinfeld and be unable to "go to the left."

Guess it's time to step up the car shopping. Stay tuned.

Our very own 'Angel and Demon'

Yeah, Yeah, I'll download the Halloween Pictures and blog about that spooktacular evening in the next few days. In the meantime I had to share this image from Sunday morning.

After a year of renovation and millions of dollars, St. Benedict's Episcopal Church opened its Nave doors this past Sunday for its first worship service in our new church.

It was an exciting, celebratory day, and the sanctuary was packed with wall-to-wall people. As is customary, the children come down from Children's Chapel after the Offering and before Communion.

Well, the church doors opened (much like during a wedding) and the children stepped forward before the hundreds of church-goers.

And guess who was standing right up front, with a robe and a cross?

You got it! Mr. Holy Roller Himself! Beaming from ear to ear, Brady was our little priest-in-training!

Luckily we were sitting far enough back that Bill could capture the moment on his Blackberry.

Check out that smile, though... I'm not sure. Angel or Demon?

Just plastic and metal.

Just plastic and metal. Not flesh and soul. Just plastic and metal. Not flesh and soul. Just plastic and metal. Not flesh and soul. Just plastic and metal. Not flesh and soul.

That's all I could say when I drove up to a head-on crash last night that (we think) has left the RDX totaled. Bill walked away - thank you again, God.

He was coming up behind the mall on Cumberland and was just passing the Chuck. He was in the far right lane of three. The two left lanes all line up to turn onto Spring Road and always back up early during rush hour. Those two lanes were stopped. Bill's was not. A car came from the opposite direction, and saw that the first two lanes were stopped, yet had no vision about the third lane. He turned left (into Carrabas/old Roasters) in front of the first two lanes and entered the third lane, just as Bill came up the hill and into view.

Bill hit the front of the other car head-on. His airbag deployed, and the front half of his car looks like it fell from a cliff. The paramedics were amazed that he wasn't more injured. He has some bruising and burn marks on his wrists and a stiff neck, but that's it. We don't know anything about the other driver. He was older and was taken away by the ambulance, though the paramedics didn't think it was life-threatening.

The car was towed to basically a junk yard last night, and GEICO is towing it again to their "special lot" in Loganville. That move alone means "don't expect to see this car again," and they strongly suggested Bill remove every item from his car. That meant Bill had to go to the corner of Windy Hill and South Cobb last night at 9pm to rummage through and make sure he got every last thing out. When I asked him about the place he simply said, "yeah, a little scary."

Thank you again to my longtime sister Shannon for dropping everything, rushing to my house and taking care of the boys. Her steadiness in purpose allowed me to get to Bill focused and calm.

He is momentarily taking off at the Silver Comet Trail getting ready to run another half marathon, though admittedly he doesn't think this will be his best race ever.

I don't care how slow he runs. In my opinion, it's the best run he's ever had.

Just plastic and metal.

Trading my virginity for cheap prices

1. Sorry about the blog-out. I just haven't felt inspired to write anything... though I actually do have a backlog of photos I have taken over the past two weeks. I'll get to them some day.

2. Now, please stop the snickering and snooky comments about my virginity. Two kids is proof positive that it no longer exists anyway. This is a story of another sorts.

As Bill can undoubtedly verify, I grocery shop each week at three different stores - Publix, ALDI and COSTCO. Each store has unique items that I prefer, and I basically have my shopping process down to a science.

Because of this ultra-organization (not something I'm generally known for!) I have been hesitant to venture into any other grocery-type stores, thus I might need to now visit four stores each week for specifically tagged items.

For a long time I have been reluctant to tackle Trader Joes, afraid that I might love it too much. And since there is not a Trader Joes extremely close (15-20 minutes each way in decent traffic) and I'm already a fan of ALDI's $3 wine, I have been able to avoid it without guilt.

Well, thanks to Liz's bad-girl influence I'm now a Trader Joes Floosey.

The unique options! The great prices! The fun atmosphere!

And of course, the free samples, cookies, balloons and stickers... what more could a woman (or a three year-old boy) ask for from a new romance?

I guess next time I'm at COSTCO I'd better gas up the van. It looks like I'm gonna be driving a little more.

Return of the Wooba Wooba Monster

As a little girl there was a singular word in my vocabulary that could - when repeated in slow, menacing tones - send me running, screaming and shrieking ... in delight!

When the Wooba Wooba Monster appeared (generally after dinner when Dad should have been helping us to calm down rather than rile us up) the situation would quickly dissolved into pure mayhem in the Mershon household.

Michael would climb onto Dad's back and chase his poor, defenseless sister (that would be me!) around the house while terrorizing her with the all-fearful chant of "Wooba! Wooba! Wooba!"

I would shriek. I would run. Dad (with Michael on board) would chase on all fours.

And Mom would predictably warn, "Skip, they just ate...!" (though I'm pretty sure none of us ever threw up.)

Fast forward 30+ years.

I am cleaning up dinner dishes, and Bill and the boys are playing loudly and crazily in the living room, through the dining room, around the kitchen and back again.

Bill is chasing them. The boys are running, screaming and shrieking ... in delight!

Parker climbs on Bill's back, and before I can stop myself I call out, "Bill, they just ate...!"

[Sigh]

The Wooba Wooba Monster has been reincarnated in Smyrna, Ga.

And I have become my mother.

Drama when you least expect it

Brady and I went to see Dr. Ellerine this past Thursday for his 6-year well-visit check. While we were there about a month ago to deal with the phantom bloody ear episode, this was supposed to be a more relaxed, stress-free visit.... or so I thought.

To begin with, I had prepared Brady that he and Parker would be receiving their flu shots next Tuesday from Mommy's doctor, as the pediatrician was not making appointments for flu shots (they were awaiting their next shipment). What I did not realize was that if you were visiting the office for another reason, they had enough left to give you one. So, I weighed my options and decided that getting Brady's shot while there made sense. Parker could still go see Mommy's doctor on Tuesday. This would leave me only one screaming child at a time, right?

Thus, Drama #1. When Brady took one look into the "Orange Room" (the little cubbyhole generally reserved for vaccinations) he started to cry. Lucky for us all, Dr. E's nurse is the bomb and quietly shepherded him back to the exam room with the needle on her clipboard. I pulled Brady onto my lap (no small feat these days) and she was done in an instant.

Thinking we were done with needles, I told him nothing else would hurt. I sure wish I had known about the finger prick BEFORE I promised that one!

Enter Drama #2. You would have thought that she used a plunger to suck the blood from him the way he screamed at the finger prick. This child seriously has no tolerance for pain or needles. Good news is that his hemoglobin and cholesterol are perfectly normal.

When the nurse left, I thought it was all smooth-sailing from there. You would think I'd have learned by now.

Enter (Mommy) Drama #3. Dr. E asked Brady a bunch of questions about school, sports, sleep habits, eating habits, etc. He answered them all gladly and with ease. Then she looked at me and asked how he was doing in school. I answered her that we had no academic concerns. He is reading, doing math, writing well, etc.

I did however mention that on his progress report last week the only areas where he seems to fall short are conduct and control related. While he has "Mastered" many of the kindergarten skills and is "Progressing" in the remainder, he did receive the infamous "Needs Improvement" in using suitable voice control, not interrupting, letting other children answer, etc.

Now, when I had received the progress report I chuckled when I read it. We all know Brady's communication level - and we know that what is one of his greatest strengths can also be one of his weaknesses. What I wasn't prepared for was when Dr. E. looked at me and (over Brady's talking head) asked me if I thought perhaps we have ADHD with which to contend.

WHAT?!?! Did she really just throw that wrench? Now, according to Wikipedia (the proverbial answer for everything) here is what we're talking about:

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder is a neurobehavioral developmental disorder. ADHD is primarily characterized by the co-existence of attentional problems and hyperactivity, with each behavior occurring infrequently alone. While symptoms may appear to be innocent and merely annoying nuisances to observers, if left untreated, the persistent and pervasive effects of ADHD symptoms can insidiously and severely interfere with one's ability to get the most out of education, fulfill one's potential in the workplace, establish and maintain interpersonal relationships, and maintain a generally positive sense of self.

Shaking my head I said, "but he can easily sit and concentrate on reading, Legos, writing/coloring, etc. He can totally get into something and focus well." Yes, most ADHD kids can "hyper-focus," she said. What they cannot do is focus on one thing when there are other distractions around or control their reactions and their voices/bodies when there are surrounding interruptions to their focus.

Oh. Crap.

At this point all we can do is keep parenting and guiding, making sure we communicate regularly with his teachers about his classroom behavior. She said the other key thing to monitor closely is his self-esteem. One of the most heartbreaking parts of ADHD is that kids receive so much negative attention for their behaviors that they begin to think of themselves as bad kids.

This puts a lump in my throat just thinking about it. Brady has such an amazing sense of self, and the thought of him feeling defeated just kills me as a mom. Now, maybe it's all a bunch of babble that will right itself as he matures. Maybe not. Who knows at this point?

What I am 100% certain of is that this little boy - weighing in at 46 inches and 48 pounds - possesses such an amazing mind and an excitable, open and loving spirit. People who meet him - kids and adults alike - are drawn to his personality and his intelligence. He offers so much creativity and passion to this world.

What his future holds is of course unknown, but as a 'Mama Bear,' I will protect those gifts.

Time to Dry Off

You might think that this post would be about Atlanta - and the greater Southeast- finally drying out from its week-plus of rain, floods and overall misery.... Well, it's not.

While I am very thankful that the waters have mostly receded, the boys and I sadly said goodbye this past Friday to a sweet summer love - the POOL.

Bill and I have been so blessed to have two waterbugs for children. They have always loved the water - whether in pool or lake form. And they were quick to learn to swim unaided by flotation (or parents!)

This year has marked the turn in our afternoon swimming jaunts. The boys play and create their own water wonder world and Mommy relaxes poolside with a magazine! The boys are continually excited by the thrill of jumping, diving, racing and splashing. And afternoons swims have forever been the best nighttime sleep aid.

Well, the air is cooling and the waters are chilling, so it was time to enjoy one last 80+ sunny afternoon... in a Hotlanta pool that felt more similar to our Pelican Lake swims!

Until next spring, dear wet wonder, when we all meet again!

Had I had my "blogger brain" on I would have grabbed my camera for some goodbye pictures, but alas, I did not. So, we'll have to make due with a couple of pictures captured this past year of my waterbugs... of course you cannot see their faces because they are underwater as usual. I find that fitting.

Such is the life of fish.

Brady body surfing in the Atlantic Ocean:

Parker body surfing in Pelican Lake:

Congratulações Tia Alicia

Brady, Parker, Bill and I all want to extend a HUGE Congratulations to our wonderful, smart, loving, thoughtful, talented and ORGANIZED Aunt Alicia! Lici was promoted last week to Senior White House Producer for NBC News Washington!

Here is a snipit from the announcement:

Since moving to the White House in 2003—jumping into the deep end with President Bush’s five-nation trip to Africa--Alicia has become a master at juggling the many editorial, logistical and diplomatic balls on the White House beat. She has helped us make a seamless transition to a new administration all while taking a few months off to have her second child. She will be a superb leader to our White House production team.

In some weird cosmic way Parker must have channeled Alicia last week - the very day we received the announcement - by grabbing the NBC Peacock (given to us, of course, by Alicia), bringing him downstairs from his room, and snuggling him tight with Blue Blankie!

And although he calls him a turkey, not a peacock, we are hoping Parker is cute enough for Aunt Lici to forgive that transgression.

Go Lici! We love you, and we are proud of you!

Honoring Liz by Plagiarizing Jennifer

Today we are celebrating one of my best buddy's birthdays - Happy 35th Birthday to Liz!

Last night a few of us convened to enjoy good food, good spirits and good company. Jennifer had the camera, and she blogged first. So..... Ditto for me!

Happy Birthday to a fabulously funny, beautiful, smart and loving woman! You are da Bomb!

http://pryintothepryors.blogspot.com/

Set, Set, Hike! ... GOAL!!!

This weekend marked the first of many Saturday Sports Spectaculars in the Plummer family! With one boy playing soccer and one playing football, it will be a busy fall of tightening our cleats, grabbing our Gatorade and racing from field to field (which, btw, are conveniently NOT in close proximity to each other.)

We headed first to the soccer fields for Parker's inaugural "Real Soccer" game on Team Magic. He and his best buddy Danny (above at their first practice) both did great! Danny and a little neighbor friend of ours Emma, were go-getters who kept the pace moving and kept the balls scoring! Parker also put a couple of balls in the net, and that reinforcement brought smiles and high-fives all around.

Parker got a little sad partway through when he felt that his friends weren't "sharing" the ball. Yes, Love, it's a hard pill to swallow, but in 3 and 4 year-old soccer, it's every preschooler for himself! I feel pretty confident that as Parker gets the gist that if he wants to kick the ball he's going to have to steal the ball - even if it means kicking it away from a teammate - that he'll be in there for the score too!

After some much needed juice and teddy grahams, Parker and I headed off to the football field to join the other half of the Plummer clan. Bill and Brady had been able to come to the first 15 minutes of Parker's game, and we were able to make it to the football field by the end of the first quarter, so everyone got a good amount of support and cheers.

Flag football with 5 and 6 year-olds is also a pretty funny site. There are a handful of athletic kids who seem to dominate the game, and the rest basically stand around waiting to be lined back up for the next play. Brady seemed to enjoy himself as part of the Cardinals (though I think he was happiest when he was sitting and chatting with the kids on the sideline.) But he was out there and willing to participate, so we need to be satisfied with that much.

The feeling of Fall has certainly settled upon us, and our Saturday mornings are booked solid for the next few months with over-sized uniforms, grassy cleats, sweaty faces and lots of fun!

Birthday Weekend Recap

Brady sure is one lucky boy - he managed to stretch out his 6th birthday into a four-day extravaganza!

While Liz and I got sprinkled on during our morning walk Thursday, by the afternoon the skies had cleared and the sun was shining. As we did for number 5, we celebrated with many friends at our neighborhood pool.

This was a wonderful event, attended by a fun group of kids and parents (and grandparents!) from a cross-section of Brady's life: Neighborhood pals, Preschool buddies and Elementary school classmates. Everyone enjoyed pizza, cake and one final dip before the summer's end!

While sleeping Thursday night, the G'Rent Fairies came into town, and Brady awoke on his birthday Friday morning to find Grandma and Grandpa Mershon in our house! While the big boys took advantage of the day to explore a new golf course, Grandma had other ideas - she wanted to go to school!

Ms. Brackin (Brady's teacher) invited us to stop in at lunch and share a treat, and then we returned at the end of the day so Grandma could read "Happy Birthday, Moon" to the kids. Brady was proud to introduce little brother and Grandma to his class, and the kids loved the story Grandma chose!

Friday night was family dinner at our house, welcoming Nana and Grandy to the fun. Sorry! No pictures! ;-) But we have LOTS of Legos to prove it happened!

Saturday morning the boys had their big .5K race! While they were both about to embark on nasty three-day long colds, we pushed them anyway! They were smiles in the beginning, though they both seemed to lose steam as the event went on. Even so, this is a cool family event, and they are so proud to have earned a race t-shirt... just like Daddy!

Saturday afternoon the boys were all treated to a wonderful gift by Aunt Kathy and Uncle Steve- tickets to the GA Tech game!! While Grandma and I held down the fort, the boys took off for some cotton-candy eating and some football watching ... at least until Parker could no longer hold his head up!

Saturday night we all enjoyed an al fresco dinner at Ginny and Al's! It was another fantastic opportunity for out extended family to spend time together. And here is where my sentimentality comes out...

I am so thankful for the huge blessing of Grandparents that Brady and Parker enjoy. They believe, as I did growing up, that they are part of one large, multi-layered family. There is no sense of "Mom's" or "Dad's" - all family is simply Theirs. To have four wonderfully loving, generous and engaged people in their lives - and to have those people be one strong unit in my kids' universe - is a precious and rare gift.

Love abounds in my boys' lives, and I am so very grateful!

Trying not to BLINK

It's impossible NOT to blink in motherhood.




You bring home this tiny, helpless newborn, then - BLINK -

1. He's walking and playing, exerting independence, then - BLINK -

2. He's headed off to preschool and peeing in the potty, then - BLINK -

3. He's jumping from the side of the pool, free of floatation, making his own way within the water, then - BLINK -

4. He looks at the book and reads the words to me at night, then - BLINK -

5. He's tackling 100+ piece puzzles and 30-page Lego instructions...

I'm afraid to blink again.

I'm excited to blink again.

I know I will blink again. And when I do I will be amazed, proud and thrilled - just as I have been every other time.

Happy Birthday to my Wonderful, Loving, Funny, Smart and - BLINK - SIX year old boy!