The Armadillo Tales

He's Old Enough ...

Now to say things like this ...

Armadillo: "Mommy, Daddy, you're not my friend anymore.  Don't talk to me."

Mommy: "That's not a nice thing to say."

Armadillo: "Don't talk to me!"

Mommy: "Okay."

Armadillo (few seconds later): "Mommy ... mommy ... (waits a few seconds) ... MOMMY!!!!"

Mommy: "What is it?   You said not to talk to you."

Armadillo: "You not listening to me.  I don't like that!"

Mommy: (SIGHS)

Count

The other night before the armadillo and sumo baby were going to take their bath, the armadillo was in a time out.  I told him that he could finish his time out by counting to ten.   He's done it many times before so I know he could do it again.   So he started ... "one, two ...."  then he would stop.   Count to ten I told him.    "One, two, ..." ... same thing.  It's not that he didn't know what came after two, but he was just being lazy.     Then B-Dad and I started to count with the armadillo ... "one ... two ..." prompting the armadillo to say the next number.    Then we heard, "Three!".    But it wasn't the armadillo, it was the sumo baby.   It was hilarious.    The sumo baby started shouting to the armadillo, "three! three! threeee!".   As if telling him "It's three silly!".    Wish we had that on video.

Lake Tahoe

This past weekend the family took a road trip to Lake Tahoe.    B-Dad and I needed to get our gambling fix and Harrah's really wanted us to visit, as evident in the amount of special offers and coupons we've been receiving.    The temperatures dipped into the high 40's while we were there, so we spent most of our time inside.   Fortunately the hotel has an arcade and an indoor pool so that is where we took the boys during their waking hours for most of the trip.   I don't think there were any complaints on their side, as what little child would complain about playing in water, getting wet, flashing lights and beeping sounds for entertainment.   

Of course us grown ups played our games too.   Unfortunately I don't think we had as much fun as the boys did.   Sure it was good to gamble but it would have been better if we won some money.  Ah such is life.   The last time we were all there was in August, I think.   Or was it July?  I know it was sometime during the summer.    You know you gamble a good number of hours when you return after being away for several months and the staff recognizes you.   I had a couple of pit bosses and dealers recognize me from an earlier visit.   I wasn't sure whether or not to be embarrassed or flattered.   Well whatever, as long as they get my comps right and track my play accurately.   

The hubby and I have player's cards for Harrah's.   If you love gambling as much as we do, I would highly suggest getting a card.   They track your play and give you points based on how much you gamble.   You work your way up to certain tiers (Gold, Platinum, Diamond, and Seven Stars).    Then the offers and comps come your way.   I love it.   This past trip our rooms and food was all comp'd.   All we ended up paying for was for our gambling and miscellaneous stuff (tips, etc ...).    That definitely makes losing money much more bearable.   We figure we lost what we would have spent on our rooms and food.   So no harm done.   

Now we're back and I'm exhausted.  I'm not sure why but I'm fatigued and still carrying that headache from Sunday.   Ugh.   I always found it strange how you need a vacation to recover from a vacation.   But this definitely applies here.    Time to end this post as my eyelids are heavy and threatening to close.

Be Prepared, No Really

I don't know why I do this.   I think I'm being prepared for the impending rains and cold weather so I buy certain items in advance.   My favorite store, Target, started selling rain gear months, months ago.    Being a good mommy I bought a Cars poncho for the armadillo, a couple pairs of rain boots for the armadillo and the sumo baby, socks, hats, jackets, ... the whole nine yards.   Well today's the day.   It's raining.  Has been since the morning.   What has this good mommy done to prepare for this?   Nothing, nada.   I totally forgot all about the cool rain gear I bought for the boys and sent them to school somewhat covered.    They both had their shoes, no rain boots.   They had their jackets, but no rain jackets and no poncho.   Poor sumo baby, his jacket hood couldn't even stay on his head.    There were all of these other children at the school that had their rain jackets and fancy rain boots on.     Ah, oh well.   I'm grateful that they at least were dressed warmly enough and covered so that they wouldn't get wet, somewhat.      

I'll have to have the armadillo and the sumo baby try on their rain boots at home so that they get used to walking in them.   It's a double edge sword with the boots though.   Once they get it on, I know it will be a b1tch to get it off.  The boys are going to want to wear it everywhere.    Everywhere.    Fun fun fun!   (sarcastic tone)   

Soccer Love

"Mommy, mommy I had fun playing soccer! ... I kicked the balls.   It was a lot of fun!"

That was the wonderful greeting I received from the armadillo as my mama friend and I met the boys at the end of their soccer class.   It's our third class and it's going very well.  (knock on wood!)    I seriously don't know how they do it.  Their coach has them run up and down the length of the gym, kicking balls at the same time.    Then they come out of class running still, all around the front area of the gym.   I wish someone could bottle up that energy and sell it over the counter.  It would put Red Bull out of business for sure.   

The sumo baby was hanging out in the child care area and a collective sigh of relief appears to be doing well also.    I packed a little bento of yogurt, cheese and grapes cut in quarters for the sumo baby to snack on while in the child care.     He only ate the grapes of course, because as soon as he sees grapes, nothing else matters or exists.    I wish I took a photo of his snack bento.  Not that it looked awesome or anything like that, but it's a bit of proof that my children actually do eat some healthy food from time to time.

No More Tears

The school situation with the sumo baby has definitely improved, though not that it was all that bad in the first place.   There were a few tears here and there when I dropped him off in the mornings, but now, no more tears!    I'll give him a kiss and hug, and tell him I'll see him soon.   One of his teachers, who are all lovely by the way, will come and pick him up so he can see me leaving and waving goodbye.    Collective sighs of relief are silently uttered as I walk away.   

Now I can get my pedicure without a guilty conscience.

Low Supply

Earlier this week I was dropping off the boys at their school.  I normally take the armadillo to his class first and then I head over to the sumo baby's class area.   While giving our customary hugs and kisses to each other, the armadillo had this to say to me.

Mama: Can I get a hug and kiss please?  Mommy is going to take sumo baby to his classroom.   

Armadillo: Okay (proceeds to give me a hug and kiss as I bent down)

Mama: Thank you armadillo.   

Armadillo: Mommy, I don't have any more kisses right now.  I'll have more later.

Mama: Oh (stifling a laugh) ... I can't wait till you have more.  WIll you let me know when you have more kisses?

Armadillo:  Okay. (Then he's off to the slide going up and down with his friends.)

... Just to let you know that he did have more kisses for me when I picked the armadillo up that afternoon.     Whew!

Dragging His Feet

Mornings are difficult.   Yes tell me something I don't know.   But mornings are hard, especially for the armadillo.   I have learned over the past few months that he is not a morning person.     To get the armadillo to go to the bathroom and dressed in the mornings when he has school is a pain in the you-know-where.   Dragging his feet every morning, it takes about 15 minutes for a 3 year old boy to do his duty in the bathroom, take off his pj's and put on his clothes for the day.    Granted he can do all of these things himself, but to get him to actually do it is like pulling teeth ... excruciating.   If we tell him that we are going to help him with getting dressed, he throws a fit.   The armadillo wants to do it by himself, whenever he gets around to doing it.   

Is it considered cruel to use a smelling salt on a sleepy 3 year old?  ... I'm kidding.    Plus I don't think it would work anyway.   It would just make the armadillo an angry armadillo, rather than a sleepy armadillo.   

Soccer

Today was the armadillo's first soccer class.   Our local gym has a soccer class for the next 6 weeks, so my mama friend and I signed up the armadillo and his BFF.    The armadillo was excited this morning when I told him where we were going.   When we got to the gym my mama friend and I dropped off the sumo baby and the twins at the childcare, then we headed off to the soccer class.    Of course it went exactly as I anticipated.   

The boys were running around and yelling outside the gym and inside, but when we got in the class, they clammed up.    There was no running and they seemed to have lost their voices.   The teacher was nice and tried to encourage the boys to run and kick the soccer balls along with the other boys.   No deal.   The armadillo told me he didn't want to be there, that he didn't want to kick the ball or run around.   I was thinking, but isn't this what you do at home and I tell you NOT to do it.   Here you can do this for 50 minutes and no one will get mad at you.   The armadillo wasn't buying it.   He grudgingly kicked the ball around and walked up and down the length of the gym.   This went on for the rest of the class.   "I don't want to ... I'm hungry ... I'm thirsty ... I want to sit down ... "     Over and over.    This was the same for the armadillo's BFF.   Neither of them were enjoying the class or even attempted to have fun.   

I was not enjoying myself either having to run back and forth while kicking a soccer ball, trying to entice the armadillo to participate.    Um, hello, I didn't sign up for the class.    My mama friend and I were talking that the next time we'll just drop the boys off and leave.   Sometimes with us being there I think it hinders the boys from participating or even getting curious about what's going on.   

Of course I'm not going to push hard with the whole soccer thing, if he really doesn't want to then we'll stop going.   But it would be kind of cool if he could "bend it like Beckham" right??

Wipe Out

Ever since the sumo baby started going to school, putting him down for his afternoon nap has been somewhat easy.  (knock on wood!)    I guess with the activities that he participates in at school it must tire his little sumo baby body out.   The past couple of times driving home I've had to reach into my bag of tricks to keep him awake in the car.    If he falls asleep it makes it so much harder for him to take his nap when at home.    Today it was something new.   I didn't have to roll the car windows up and down to keep him awake, he made it home okay.   It was during lunch.   The sumo baby fell asleep while eating lunch in his highchair!    I saw him eating slowly with his eyes half close.   Oh no, I thought.  What am I going to do?  I still had my lunch to eat, I had some things I wanted to get done before taking him upstairs, get the bag ready for the park after picking up the armadillo, ... all the usual stuff.   But it was time to ad lib.    I hurriedly brought my things upstairs then went back down and took the sumo baby out of the highchair slowly and quietly.   We made it to his bedroom and I laid him down in his crib.  Fortunately his diaper was changed right before we left school so I didn't have to deal with that.   I turned on his little aquarium music maker and left the room.   Nice.

Mondays aren't all that bad.