I said GO and they WENT!

YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY!

Tyler even went out front and rang the bell after the game! So exciting! I'm sure that my neighbors think I'm not all there. I mean I was sitting at the desk in the kitchen office in front of a laptop screaming and jumping and actin' a fool...can't even imagine what that looked like from the back windows...

I'm crossing my fingers for a bowl bid, preferrably Shreveport or Memphis so we can go!!!!

GO STATE!

In Texas the only way to watch the game is on the computer on ESPN 360...but who cares - at least it's on.

GO STATE!!!!!!!!!

I believe in Santa

So, this year as an extra incentive to really step up the behavior game I'm doing a modified version of Elf on the Shelf. By modified I mean, I didn't order that elf, I got my own and invented my own story. I sent my mother on a wild goose chase to find a 'realistic elf' (I know) and she finally found one at Garden Ridge...on a wreath. So she got the wreath and took it home and pulled the elf off only to find that he had a little rod in his back that was holding him to the wreath. To fix that she got some 'patches' of brown felt and glued them all over. The elf totally looks like the hardest worker at the North Pole... Anyway, she also sewed his name (Willie) on one patch and sewed that to his chest. I had already been building up the "scout elf" story and how Santa sends an elf to kids houses and the elf reports back on their behavior, etc., so Tiki was ready. I put Willie on the piano and told Teeks that his visitor was here.

To say that Teeks was skeptical of Willie would be an understatement. He was like "That is NOT a real elf". I said "No, I know. It's the North Pole law that elves CANNOT interact with humans, so when we come in the room he turns into a stuffed elf." And to that he replied "You are telling a lie." So I let it go for a while and then right before bed (a truly horrific time for us each night) I brought Willie back up and asked "Where do you think Willie will hide tonight and where will we find him in the morning?" And this is what I heard from inside the closet as he was getting undressed "Listen, I believe in Santa, but I do NOT believe in Willie."

That kid is lucky he's cute :-)

I've got a sharp stick...

And I can't stop poking myself in the eye with it.

I allowed a very keyed up 4.75 year old to go to 'Garden Bridge' with my today and then I okayed a suggestion to follow that up with dinner at a restaurant...good thinking on my part. So, why was I surprised when it got so bad that I had to leave over 1/2 my meal on the table and spend the rest of the time in the parking lot scolding, wiping tears, explaining the problem ad nauseum, scolding more and wiping more tears. Oh, I wasn't. What I am surprised about is that my limited math skills tell me I should weigh much less than I do if I end up skipping 1/2 of my dinner every night. Seriously.

I'm so thankful that 5 is just around the corner. I'm certain that will be a turning point or the point where I freecycle a gently used 5 year old.

Overheard at Target

TKW: Mommy, can I have this candy?
Me: No, no candy, it's late - close to bedtime, no candy
TKW: Awwww, how about this candy?
Me: No, NO candy tonight. You had a cookie earlier and that's enough sugar.
TKW: Awwww, come on mommy, all I had today was protein and some grapes. I'm really ready for candy now.

So, mother's take note, when all you've given your kid is 'protein and some grapes' their bodies will be really in need of the candy food group.

TK learns to read...

So yesterday TK and I had a little mom and me time and part of that time was to go see Bee Movie (great, by the way). After the movie we had to use the restroom and although I'm sure he could do it by himself, I'm too paranoid to send him into a public restroom by himself, so into the ladies room with me he goes. We went to the far back handicap access stall and per our normal arrangement, he runs into the stall and says "gentlemen first" (we are still working on that etiquette). So, he finished using the restroom and it was my turn. This is the point where he would normally start messing with the door lock or examining the flush mechanism so this next thing wasn't totally unexpected... He goes to the feminine box and start pushing in the little door tell him to leave that alone because it's yucky. He asks what it is and I tell him it's a special place for lady bathroom things that can't go in the toilet and be flushed, etc. He didn't understand so I said - like a baby diaper - they can't be flushed, right? He gets that so we are all set. Let's just finish and get out of here...

The next thing I hear is "tuh-am-puh-aw-enn... ta-m-paw-n... tam-p-on... tampon... tampon... tampon... is that right, is that what that says?" I said "Yes, shhhhhh" and he was like "What is a tampon, what is that, what is a tampon?" By now I'm starting to laugh and still shusshing him and trying to get out of the stall and redirect. He's still saying that same thing over and over again except now we are walking toward the sinks and he's being very dramatic, playing up to my laughter, using his very theatrical gestures "What is a tampon, why won't you tell me what a tampon is?" So the folks waiting in line for a stall are howling with laughter. Nice.

We get to the sinks and I say "Shhhh, okay what does that spell?" and he says

"SOAP...I already know that, but what I don't know is what a TAMPON is!".

Seriously - this is why I had kids...:-)