I Happy Mama

I'm ready to let Tom go to daycare now. he's talking, he eats well and loves to be around other children. All along I have been the one pushing Aleck into letting Tom go to daycare. I've argued that he's an only child and he needs to be around other kids, he needs to do his own thing, I need to go back to work,blah blah blah , you know the whole spiel. Now the time has come for us to shop around and look into different places and find the right one for Tom. I'm panicking. I'm doing the back-splash. I'm worried. I've just finished reading Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Piccoult about a boy who was bullied and ostracized so much he snapped and shot out his high school Columbine style. Suppose I'm that parent who misses the signs and Tom is unhappy or tortured and I can't help him? What if something happens to him that I can't control and he's scarred for life? The list of horror scenarios can go on and on. OK , I know, it's a bit much, its only daycare not a war zone. I was sitting on the balcony with Tom enjoying the sun and killing bugs, nothing special just a mundane activity on an ordinary day. Tom looked up at me and said,
"Hey mom!"
"Hmm what is it Tom?" I asked.
"I happy mama."
"Yeah? how comes?"
"Nuttin' I happy."
That was it. that was our conversation. A simple declaration yet so profound. I know he'll be OK. He's happy.

No Mama,Yucky! Yucky! Sgingy!

So Tom's finally hit the big two. We always hear about the terrible two's. All along I've been thinking, well they don't seem too bad. Thompson at two so far has been fun, he's talking and understanding words a little more. He's more independent, happy to play alone for a bit so I can squeeze in some chores. He follows me everywhere asking a tirade of questions, "Mama what's this? What is it? What are you doowin? Are you OK? Can I come?"  It goes on and on. I can handle that, I understand it's a curiosity borne of learning and experiencing his world in a whole new light. Sometime last week my stomach was bothering me. I just couldn't feel settled and eventually I felt a sudden attack of the runs and rushed to the toilet with Thompson in tow.
"Hey mom! whata doing?"
"Oh nothing Tom," I said, "I just want to pee."
"A pee mama OK," and he left.
Once done I realized, "Oh no I don't have enough toilet paper, just two flimsy squares left." I called Tom for help. So Tom came over and stood just outside the toilet. I pointed to the linen closet beside him and asked him to pass me a new roll of tissue by showing him the old one. He managed to grab two rolls and dropped them on the floor. So I said, " Thank-you Tom, now give mama."  He took one step back and shook his head,
"No mama, no, mine."
I said, " Please Tommy, I need it."
He said,
"Mama , a pee?'
"Yes Tom mama pee, please give me tissue, please please."
So he said," Mama a pee?"  I nodded. He shook his head,
"No mama yucky. Mama washoom (washroom), mama pooh!"
OK, he got me. Frustrated and feeling a little draughty at this point, I said,
"Tom, you don't have to stay for lunch just come in, hand me the tissue and go back to play! Please Tommy give mama!"
I saw the naughty grin spread across his face and  mischievous gleam in his eye as he ran off laughing and  saying, "No mama yucky! yucky sgingy,(stinky,) diaper. No mama no!" The boy left me out to dry...literally! Grrr terrible twos! terrible terrible two's!
Happy weekend everyone...

Manner-isms

We've all come across one at some point in time. You know the rude and obnoxious self- entitled loudmouth holding up the line at the supermarket. I don't want my Tom to be that jerk, so with his vocabulary and awareness growing at weed's pace, we've started to focus on manners. It's no longer acceptable for him to just yell for and demand his favorite things like juice and banana or book without the required pleases and thank-yous. He's doing well for the most part. I even heard him say "Bless you," to his cousin once and I don't remember teaching him to say  that, so I'm proud and impressed that he gets it. I always have to suppress a laugh whenever he walks up to me with his head cocked to one side and his palms up and he lisps "Peath Mama." ("Please Mama.") It's just so adorable to see. Of course I may have a well-mannered son, but he's a well-mannered sneaky son as I learned a few days ago while I was doing dishes. Tom shouted "Peath!" from his room while watching cartoons. Being distracted in my own thoughts and the mundane task of dishes, I must have  automatically replied, "OK!" because he took a moment to run over to me and sweetly say, "Enk you Mama!" (Thank-you Mama!) before dashing back. Ten minutes later I went over to check on him and there he was on the bed, rubbing  lotion on everything in his reach. From his stuffed Elmo toy, to the duvet, his clothes and his hair. It was a creamy vanilla oatmeal mess. He looked  up at me grinning and  rubbing his small palms together and said, "Mmm, enk you Mama, kith!" (Mmm, thank-you Mama, kiss!) Needless to say our next lesson went a little something like, "Sorry Mama, hug!"

Nope Mine!

Hi everyone its been a long time since I chronicled my adventures with Tom I know, but the Christmas holidays always drag me into that vortex of lazy fun! But now we're back and ready for a new year and new experiences...

Ok, I think we're raising a selfish pessimist. This boy walks around the house clinging to every single toy he owns shrugging his shoulders and shaking his head saying, "mine!" Indeed our innocent boy has taken a bite off the forbidden apple and no longer submits to mommy hugs and kisses. Rather, he's embraced a brave new world of No and Mine. A world where it's alright to look your mom right in the eye when she calls you, and yell "NO!" as you walk into the coat closet and shut her out. I'm annoyed and exasperated by the negative aura in the house. I'm a little worried at Tom's refusal to do anything. He says no to food, bathing, brushing his teeth or combing his hair. I'm afraid some day I'll have to carry to bed a scrawny, hungry, dirty, smelly, boy with singing hot apple juice breath and dreadlocks! But then again, I could take a page out of, Tom's Selfishness Guide for Dummies, and own it. Hi, my name is Amanda and our son is a selfish naysayer!
Happy Valentine's Everybody.