Bat Dude and Monkey Boy

Years ago when I phoned the Bug for my weekly Wednesday night call, he told me that his friend Harley (a boy) was there playing with him and that they had masks on.

"What kind of masks?" I asked.

The Bug replied, "I am Batman and Harley is Bat Girl."

13 Reasons Why I Suck

Today was DramaMama's birthday.

1) She got her present on Saturday.

2) She got her birthday dinner on Saturday.

3) I woke up too late to make her breakfast in bed

4) I was so busy at work, I wasn't able to call her during the day.

5) Today was payday. I was too busy, and was not able to get my paycheck.

6) I worked very late, because I got stuck on a project that had to be completed.

7) We have $73, so my plan to take out for dinner was bagged to make sure we don't get overdrawn before my check that I didn't pick up gets deposited.

8) DramaMama made dinner.

9) I helped the Bear make a birthday card. DramaMama pretended to be happy.

10) I told her happy birthday, which elicited the response "Woopdie doo... it's been like any regular day." Confirming that I do indeed suck for not making this a special day for her.

11) DramaMama went to bed at 8:00 because she did not get a special day.

12) DramaMama always goes out of her way to make sure my birthday is special.

13) I feel horrible, and now anything I do is filed under 'make up call'.

Why Do They Wanna Grow Up So Fast?

Over this past weekend I traveled to Utah with DramaMama and the Bear to visit the Bug whose 12th birthday was on Sunday.

On the trip there, we stopped at a Burger King for lunch. DramaMama bought the Bear one of the Star Wars watches. As she was putting it on him she said, "You are such a big boy to be able to wear a watch!"

Without skipping a beat, the Bear said, "NOW can I drive?"

Here There Be Monsters!

In every child's room lurks some figment of their imagination that causes them great distress. Be it a hairy beast named Burt, a slimy worm creature from the depth's of the pile of clothes and toys on their floor, or a growling tooth beast that resides under the bed.

The Bear is no exception. Some nights when we lay him down to sleep, he is very tense and tells us he is scared of "Monsurrs".

Several weeks ago, DramaMama had a stroke of genius. She got out a can of room deodorizer, and told him it was monster spray. We sprayed the room down with it, and told him that monsters don't like the smell of monster spray, so they stay away.

Last night, the Bear came to his mommy and said that we needed to spray again because it wore off. Two nights ago, he came down and ended up sleeping with us, because he was scared to death of "the brothers on the handle." Neither of us had a clue what he was talking about.

So, I got the monster spray, and went to work on his room. The Bear pointed to the doorknob and said something the brothers in the handle again. Ahhhhhh! Apparently he was seeing a reflection in his doorknob that was causing him distress.

I squirted the doorknob full on. Then sprayed down the rest of the room. This seemed to ease his stress. I started reading to him, and he kept looking over at the doorknob. But I pointed out that they weren't there because I sprayed it. He was fine after that.

Hats off to a smart mom, and to whoever came up with the monster spray idea.

A Rare Find

Occasionally in our lives, we will stumble upon something that is a true treasure and means a great deal to us.

Such was the case today. My dad was getting ready for a Valentine's party at his home tomorrow, so my sister and niece were there helping him decorate. Sometime during the day, my sister was rummaging through a closet, and found a box.

She opened it and found some wonderful and amazing things. There were several very old photographs of people from my mother's ancestry. Her great grandmother and her children, and several of our other ancestors. This was cool in and of itself, but there were also birth certificates, and death certificates.

There were two items in particular that captured my attention. They were a report card, and a spelling notebook that belonged to my Grandmother's sister. Her name was Lillian. Part of the poignancy of that little notebook was that her spelling tests (all with 100%) were dated. October 21, 1913, October 29, 1913, October 30, 1913... Lillian died on October 31, 1913.

That little notebook was one of the last things she held before her leaving this earth.

I am not sure what age she was, but I do know she was in grade school. My grandmother would have been about 7.

One other treasure in the box was a transcript of a discussion with my Grandmother and my Great Aunt with them telling things about their lives. I was quite young when this took place. The taped conversations were typed to be put together a life history for them.

Over time, the transcript was forgotten, and thought lost. It had been in this box for many years some rather unsuitable spots. It was known to have spent a great deal of time in Grandma's loft over her garage.

It was really cool to see all of the things in that box. My sister is going to have it all properly preserved. I look forward to reading the re-transcribed discussion with my Grandma and great aunt.

A Child's Prayer

Last night, the Bear was very sad when it was time for bed, because he couldn't find his little stuffed Elmo. We all searched high and low with no success. I finally had to tell the Bear that we would find him in the morning.

I tried to read him a story, but he continued to cry and tell me that he missed Elmo and that he can't sleep good without him.

After about ten minutes of unsuccessful reading and an inconsolable Bear, I asked him if he would like to say a prayer and ask Heavenly Father to help him find his Elmo. He said yes.

What followed was both very cute and sad at the same time. A distraught little boy in his jammies knelt beside his bed. Sobbing, he told Heavenly Father that he needed to find his Elmo so that he could sleep good. Then he asked Heavenly Father to help him find it.

When he had finished his prayer, we went looking again, and found Elmo within a couple minutes. The Bear was thrilled, and all of his sadness flew away in an instant. He went right to bed, and to sleep.

It was very heartwarming. The Bear is a special little kid.

Puzzle of the Day

Two sentences from the Bear. Whoever guesses the circumstances under which they were spoken wins. (DramaMama is excluded, because she already knows.) ;)

1) I don't want to see your butt!

2) Look, I'm a burrito!

Game on... Give me your best shot.