Mommathon

Between two five-year olds:

Cissy: We can read, can't we?
Isaac: Yeh, we can.
Cissy: Have you ever heard of Hooked on Phonics?
Isaac: No.
Cissy: It's really good.

Sitting here watching Barack Obama come out of church on this Inauguration Day and watching the reaction of the people waiting for the Inauguration to begin who are watching his every move this morning on the large screens set up on the Mall makes me nervous for him. He is more than a president; he is a rock star. When he came out of church this morning the crowd went wild-WILD. I know I haven't watched too many inaugurations, but I think most people would agree that this day is different. There is so much hope and emotion surrounding this day. There is so much expected of him and so much that needs to be done both here and abroad. There are people waiting for him to fail so they can say I told you so. There are even more people who want him to succeed, to deliver on all of those promises he made during his campaign. They want their lives to be better and they want hope not only for today but for the future. I wish him the best for a thousand different reasons, but I do not envy him.

Can someone please explain this to me? Why is it that the ONE DAY that Colm doesn't have school he decided he needed to wake up at the crack of dawn? Usually it is a very choreographed dance of orange juice and cajoling that gets him out of bed each morning, but the one day he has off he prances into our room before the sun has come up and is asking me about Easter eggs. Now, I must admit that my mom would tell a similar tale. I remember school day mornings not being the happiest of times in our house. I was not so easy to get up. However, on Saturdays I was always up in time to catch all the cartoons. I think I am getting a little of what I gave. Karma!!!!

Colm went through a stage not too long ago where pretty much all he wanted us to read were Curious George books. I don't think there is a Curious George book out there that we haven't read. Then, magically, he forgot all about George and moved on to other books. Well, much to my dismay, George is back. Don't get me wrong. I love George as much as the next person...but in moderation...Colm doesn't see it that way.

I knew it was going to happen sooner or later, but I was hoping for later, or never. Our neighbor who lives behind us works for a local phone company that is notorious for laying people off. (I am sure you can make a wild guess and figure it out.) He has been waiting and waiting to see if his name will come up or not and they keep toying with him about when they will actually find out if they are on the chopping block or not. This has been going on for over a year. So, they decided to be proactive and find a job instead of just sitting around waiting. Now, I know neighbors come and neighbors go, but this just isn't ANY neighbor, this is Liam's ~best~ friend. This is the boy with whom Liam had his first sleepover (and many more after that) and had his first lemonade stand. He lives right behind us and they can just go back and forth between houses. They both love video games, Pokemon cards and Legos. Not only am I sad about Liam having to experience that loss, but I am sad because it is such a great family. They treat Liam like one of the family and he is always welcome and vice versa. I know Liam will find another friend and life will go on, but I am still sad. They are not leaving until April though, so we have plenty of time to have sleepovers and playdates, to share birthdays and to play at recess.

I read this book to help out the librarian at Colm's school (yes, I said Colm's school..that topic deserves a whole other post) so that she would be ready for Battle of the Books in a few months. She asked me to read the book and write about 20-25 questions about the book. This book is geared towards fourth through sixth graders (I think) and it was really good. It takes place in the mid-1800's and tells the story of a Bostonian family who is forced to move to rural Maine after the dad loses his high paying banking job in the city. I like how the title of the book ends up in the story, too.

They were arguing tonight about how to make a proper "nanny nanny boo boo" face. It was hilarious. One would make what he thought was the proper face and then the other one would say "ugh ugh" THIS is how you do it. It went on and on like that while I laughed hysterically in the background.