15 Days Left Of...

Asking, "How are you doing on your homework?"
Early morning hustling out the door
Afternoon pick ups when Sam is napping
The BEST Principal EVER!
Being asked after pick up, "Can we get an ice cream today?"
Praising perfect spelling
Helping in the classroom
PTA President
Checking homework assignments (googling for answers)
Being bribed to buy books from Scholastic
Teachers fighting over who gets to cuddle Sam next
Morning kisses goodbye
Students shouting "Hi, Mrs. Reyes!!!"
Looking at the Hot Lunch Menu and indecisiveness from a picky eater
Reminders to not forget your glasses
Sneaking a peek at Sing A Long to see if Max is actually singing along
Being tested on my spelling... "Mom, how do you spell METAMORPHOSIS?"
Eraser shavings EVERYWHERE!
8:30 bedtimes (maybe I'll keep this one a bit longer)

As daunting as some of these are, I will miss them for the 3 months of summer vacation.

Believe in Magic.

Sunday at church, Max finally lost the tooth he had been tinkering with for the last few days. To my surprise, it was pearly white and as Max put it, "It's gonna be worth lots of money!" As I was tucking him in Sunday night he playfully put his tooth
under a shell on his window sill, hoping to "trick" the Tooth Fairy! Well, what do you know? She must have been REALLY tired
or completely fooled, because there was no money left in the morning!

All I have to say is...He sure showed her!

Last Night: Round Two. Eight year old boy tucked in bed with his tooth (that has now mysteriously split in two) on his sill in
plain sight.

The Tooth Fairy appears and finds this note...



6am this morning, Max wakes me up and reads the note she left for him. His questions are for the Fairy are finally answered
and there is a great relief and gratitude for the three crisp dollar bills left behind! Yes, we still believe in our Magical Tooth
Fairy!

57 Varieties of...Germs?

We are not big fast food eaters. Don't get me wrong, I am a fast food junkie at heart but can't live with the guilt of eating it regularly. You will rarely (probably never) see me turn down a float from A&W or a burger from In N Out...yummmmm! Anyway, tonight as Max and Leon were leaving for their annual Father-Son Camp Out, Max said, "Don't party while were gone!"

This was hilarious to me because the extent of me "partying" would be driving thru and having a fast food frenzy. And so I did. But, as I was being handed my bag of treats I was asked, "Would you like ketchup with your fries?" Of course I did and so he grabbed a handful and tossed them into the bag. I am always somewhat grossed out by this and I am sure it's ridiculous. For some reason I don't trust that the cashiers hands are as clean as the person making my food and hate that those packets are now on my "clean" fries. Is this silly? I SERIOUSLY think of this EVERY TIME, I can't help it.

Know When To Pick 'Em

Driving with the boys, Max announces from the back seat...

Max: Mom, Sam has a big booger hanging and he keeps rubbing his nose. I think he's trying to get it.

Me: Can you wipe it?

Max: Mom, it's a BIG BOOGER!

Me: Just pick it for him and wipe it on this ( I hand him a piece of scratch paper).

Max: I'm not going to pick it, I only pick MY OWN boogers!

Me: Yes, you do.

What's Your Motto?

The other day I was driving with Max and he asked me if I have a motto. There are a couple of things I live by... #1 When you know better, do better #2 It's always harder to do the right thing

Max is a very literal person and very much a deep thinker. I love that he thinks about things with thoughtfulness, like creating a motto. We then discussed how to create a motto (talk about brain stretching). I asked him what was important to him. He quickly answered, HONESTY. I asked him why this is important to him. This created a lot of thought and great discussion. In the end this is his motto:

You Always Go Further With Honesty

So, there you have it. Awesome.

*Side note: Leon was asked the same question the next day by Max. TOTALLY different conversation! We later told Leon that cartoon sayings don't count for a motto..."Knowing is half the battle" But thank you anyway, G.I. JOE!

Rotten Sandwiches and Messy Desks.

Last night while sifting through Max's backpack, I came across a bunch of junk and this...



In case you aren't sure what "this" is, it is a ham and cheese sandwich from
THREE WEEKS AGO!

Lately, I have seen Max be very overwhelmed with stuff piling up. I have recognized how easily things get lost or misplaced in the little pile ups we create. It's frustrating and it is time to simplify. I thought I had, but now I mean business.

So, last night we talked. I shared a story of the time when I was in 3rd grade. My teacher, Mr. Lamareaux asked everyone to get a pencil out. I looked through the heap of papers and junk in my desk and no matter how deep I dug, I couldn't find one. The anxiety of knowing the class was waiting for me was making it even harder to search. Although I was TOTALLY at fault for my messiness and disorganized clutter, I never will forget what happened next.

Mr. Lamareaux took my desk, turned it upside down, and shook every little bit of anything and everything that was in the desk, onto the floor. Dramatic, yes. Embarrassing, very much so. As I think about it now, I cry for that little girl who was ashamed and humiliated.

I knew when I saw Max's sandwich I had a chance to help instead of blow up with frustration. We took everything out of his room last night with the plan of returning things slowly and with real thought...Do I need this? Could someone else enjoy this? When do I plan on using this?

So, for awhile I will be the Librarian of Toys and they will be checked out and in by me. I really hope our experiment works for us. I have put Order at the top of my list, for my sake and his. Who would have ever guessed a rotten sandwich could create a pivotal turning point? Crazy motherhood.

Yes, Peas!

So, Sam doesn't like rice cereal. He gags. He coughs. He spits. Picky. Picky. Picky. But, he does like peas! After the first taste of tartness, he squirms and makes a hilarious bitter face, but always comes back for more!

He couldn't get enough of them, so he sucked the leftovers off of the highchair.