I'll Have an Egg...Hold the Pan!?!

Much as I'd like to block out Loic's eating habits of late, I've decided they are too strange not to share in writing, and save for some future occasion when I need a good...reminder of how "Icky" he can really be. I've said it before -- this kid will eat anything I put in front of him. And then some. His hearty appetite, adventurous spirit, and unfathomable gymnastic skills are together enough to make any sane mother lose it. Good thing I already lost it a long time ago.

Loic's experimenting goes well beyond the concoctions he creates on his plate or in his bowl, consisting of every food & drink given to him at any meal. Although those are worth mentioning, too. I've heard or read some parenting rule about not letting your kids play with their food, but the thing is, he actually eats the stuff after it's all together. Might be orange juice in his oatmeal, or applesauce in his spaghetti with meatballs, milk in his green beans -- all delicious. Ah, but any mom would tell you this type of thing is nothing unusual, I know.

But that's not really what this post is about. The questionable foods I'm speaking of all make their way to his mouth by his own gathering process. The kid is resourceful, that's for sure. Take Sunday, for example, when during the 1-minute ride home from the grocery store, Loic somehow managed to get the eggs out of the grocery bag and had one halfway in his mouth prepared to take a bite when I opened the door to get him out of his seat. Of course I said the only logical thing one would say in this situation, "Don't bite that egg! Don't you know what a mess that would make all over the car?" (Come to think of it, there's another rule about consuming raw egg, isn't there?) Then there was the other day when he made his way up into the refrigerator and got down the butter, removed the lid, and ate a few fingers-full before I caught him. He's started answering me before I even ask, "What are you doing?" because he's knows it's coming. "Mmm, Icky like butter!" Not sure where I was then -- perhaps just at the sink, 8 or so feet away with my back to him. He's sneaky...and quiet! And of course I have to mention last week when I took 45 seconds to visit the bathroom, came into the kitchen and found Loic standing on the counter, a bottle of oregano in hand. "Oh, Loic!" I sighed, while rushing over to get him down, expecting to see a nice pile of oregano on the counter. "Eccchhh!" he replied, sticking out his tongue, which was covered in the dried green leafy spice. I couldn't believe it! I've finally discovered something he doesn't like. And looking back, I'm wondering what kind of parent I am...for not grabbing the camera to take a picture before I wiped his tongue clean with a wet paper towel. Ah, well, next time. Oh, there WILL be plenty of next times, don't worry.

The Trouble with the Bus

Today marks week two of riding the bus to kindergarten for Laurence. After a rough first two days, things were much improved and he was boarding before and after school without hesitation. Today brought a new issue, however. He bounded down the bus stairs this afternoon with this issue to report, "There are two girls who want to be my girlfriend, but their perfume smells awful." It didn't hit me at first that he was talking about girls on the bus, so I said, "Oh, two girls in your class?" "No, Mommy, on the bus!" Oh boy. This means it could be difficult to avoid the stench, which by the way, is NOT flowery, according to Laurence, because it doesn't make him want to sneeze. Flowery perfume was my first thought, of course. Anyway, he continued with, "I just don't know WHY they want to sit on my seat, with all the other seats on the bus. And their perfume is just awful. I need to be gross, so they don't like me." Oh, the trials and tribulations of a 5-year-old. The conversation went on and we came up with a plan -- tomorrow he is going to sit in a different seat to try and avoid any nasal unpleasantries. In the meantime I also discovered that this is a problem only in the mornings, as these girls are in 4-year-old kindergarten and have only half days. Is it me, or does it seem disturbing that 4-year-olds are coming to school wearing perfume?

What's that sound?

Oh, what a crazy & emotional week it's been. Monday the family got to get a glimpse of our newest family member at my ultrasound, one day shy of 22 weeks. Laurence was thrilled, and loved hearing the heartbeat, but wondered if we could hear the baby fussing! The technician told him the heartbeat was the only sound we'd hear, and he seemed satisfied. Oh, and no, we didn't find out what we're having, and yes, we didn't find out on purpose. We love being surprised on the day of delivery! I thought both boys were girls, Bill thought both boys were boys...this time I'm sure it's a boy and he's convinced it's a girl. Chances are...

That night after the doctor's appointment we went to the open house at the elementary school where Laurence is starting kindergarten. He's been quite excited ever since he finished preschool in the spring, and this night was no different. Then Wednesday we went to meet with his teacher and have his 1:1 assessment, which he also found intriguing and he was certainly not ready to leave! Today was his first full day, which was all he could talk about yesterday. Even this morning he woke up all smiles...yet, I still had this nagging feeling... He did great up until we got to the playground and saw all those kids. The tears starting flowing, followed by "I'm not going!" repeated over and over thru the sobs. He calmed down a bit when we lined up by the kindergarten door, but as the kids starting filing in he lost it again. This time it was screams! There was my kid, the only kid screaming and yelling, or even crying for that matter. Oh, help. The teacher & I pried him off me, and I walked away. Yet I could still hear the horrible sound from the playground...Laurence screaming inside the hall. Needless to say it was a very hard & sad day for me. Luckily, when I picked him up the teacher said he had a great day, which Laurence followed up with, "Once I got into the hall, my heart felt better and I stopped crying." He concurred that it was a great day. Phew. Now we must tackle riding the bus...

There's no mistaking baby heartbeats & kindergartners screaming, but this morning there was a mysterious sound in the house that had me stumped. As I shut off the shower, I heard what sounded like a motor running, and it appeared to be coming from the shower head. It got louder and softer as I moved the head around, turned the water on & off, and played with the water flow settings, but it did not stop. I tried turning on the sink, thinking the two must be linked and maybe that would do the trick. Nope. At one point Bill called from work and I asked him if he heard the sound earlier, and even held the phone up to the shower head. He said he thought he heard something after his shower, but that it sounded like it was outside. He encouraged me to check the basement to be sure there weren't any leaks...or flooding! I finished getting dressed and was about to go downstairs when Laurence stopped me and said, "What were you and Daddy talking about?" "The sound in the shower," I said, "do you hear it?" He stopped, listened, then said with a hint of "duh, mom" in his voice, "Is your razor on?" I burst out laughing and said, "Yep! That's got to be it!" Sure enough, my fancy little Gilette Power razor had apparently gotten bumped and turned on without me realizing it. Laurence giggled and giggled and felt so proud for solving the mystery. We even called Bill back on the way to school to tell him, and he got a good laugh, too. Thank goodness for laughter - like the other sounds this week, there's no mistaking it.