Our Fall 2011

I realize it's been awhile since I've blogged. It's been a quick fall.  The biggest change in our lives is that Ollie started preschool and he rides a 'big yellow bus' every day. The first couple of weeks were rough (for both of us) and many tears were shed on that bus! Now he loves the bus and looks forward to his bus ride each morning. 

Here is a cute story. 

A couple of nights ago Ollie and I were listening to music while I was cooking dinner. The song was Bruno Mars 'Marry Me.' After the song he looked deep in thought and asked, "mom, what does marry mean?"

I needed to think about this before I responded. I came up with this. " Well Ollie, when a man and woman love each other very much they get married. Then they live together for the rest of their lives."

After a few seconds he came back with, "Mommy, are we married?"

Truth be told, he was not very happy when I explained marriage is only for grownups and he could never marry me because I was his mom. Very touching. :) 

Turkey in the Straw

When we were driving home the other day we were listening to some kids music- and this was the conversation. First up- Turkey in the Straw.

Ollie: Mom, how did the turkey get into the straw?

Me: Well Ollie it's not a drinking straw it's a different kind of straw

Ollie: But mom, how did he get in the straw? Isn't he too big?

Me: Ollie it's a type of grain they feed animals

Ollie: huh?

Me: I'll show you a picture when we get home

Ollie: Why don't you have a picture now?

This continued for another several minutes until he was satisfied I'd show him a picture until.....

Jimmy Crack Corn

Ollie: Mom what is Jimmy crack corn?

Me: Ask Nana

And that was the end of the conversation! Whew! Because I REALLY had no idea how to explain Jimmy Crack Corn. However the next time he saw Nana he made sure to ask her about Jimmy Crack Corn.

To those of you who were wondering you can read about Jimmy Crack Corn here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Tail_Fly

A Tale of Two Chickens

Anyone who has met Ollie since the age of 1 has also met his Chicken aka 'Chicky' (left). This bird has followed Ollie everywhere for the past two years! It's a pretty cute story... while visiting California for Spring Break two years ago he found his Chicky which was an Easter decoration at my Uncle's house. He picked Chicky up and never put him back down. However recently while at a garage sale with his dad Ollie found a NEW chicken exactly like Chicky. Unbelievable! He is now, of course, attached to both.

Need a Little Christmas (music to be PUT AWAY)

I'm celebrating that I was finally able to put Christmas music away! For the past hmmm... 3 and a half months we've been listening to the Glee Christmas CD pretty much on a daily basis. It's Ollie's favorite CD and because I would rather listen to that than Wheels on the Bus or Polly Put the Kettle On I've indulged. My nephews are pretty pumped because only in Auntie May May's car can you hear Christmas music year round. However if I have to hear Ollie's rendition of 'Need a Little Chrismas' one more time I may pull my hair out.

The solution? I downloaded some fun peppy Glee songs and convinced Ollie that these are the SAME people from his Christmas music! So now I get to listen to 'Sweet Caroline', 'Don't Stop Believing', 'Singing in the Rain', etc. The drive to and from school has become a little more fun.

Just a note: I do NOT allow my son to watch Glee, just listen to the music. :)

My little buddy burner

Since Ollie was 6 weeks old he has slept through the night. I believe the fact he is an excellent sleeper was God's gift to me because he is such an active toddler. I can probably count on my hand the times he's been up in the middle of the night. However the past few weeks he has been sneaking into my room and climbing in bed with me around 3am.

I know I should be breaking him of this. However I'm allowing it to continue for a couple of reasons.

1. I am half asleep when he comes in.

2. He lays next to me and scratches my back just like I do to him when I put him to sleep.

It's very endearing.

Besides how can I say no to this?

And yes, Chicky comes too.

That's a bad choice mom...

Sometimes the fact that I'm a teacher clearly shows. I'm not sure if that's a good or a bad thing! The other day Ollie was playing before we had to leave for work and school. I asked Ollie to clean up so we could leave. His response? 'That's a bad choice mom....'. He used the expression again a couple more times this week. The funny thing is...I can't even remember ever saying that to him!