Buddy Roller's New Hobby

We were browsing around the bookstore one day, when we stumbled onto one of Buddy Roller's newest hobbies...

Mondays with Roller

Of all the space in this house, including two floors.

Of all the rooms.

Of all the chairs.

Of all the couches.

Of all the spaces.

Right next to me, is where this little guy always manages to end up. 

And you know what? 

I'm okay with that.

I really am.

I'll take all the cuddles, hugs, and closeness I can get...for as long as they last.

Happy Monday!

Mondays with Roller

One year ago, during this exact time, I started posting Six Word Memoirs.  This first post explains what they're all about. And then I came across this one...Mondays with Roller...which pretty much sums up how fast Buddy Roller is growing up, and how I'm savoring these years every chance I get.

That's all this Monday.

Reading with Roller

Most nights I'm the one reading to Buddy Roller.  I've been trying to get him to read to me, but my request has often been met with I want you to read to me, or I'm too tired.  Then last week I made a special order at Books Are Fun and got him a set of eight new Little Critter books and the best surprise this week....a lap desk with a LED light. What a big hit this has been!

Tonight we turned down the lights, Roller chose one of his new books, and guess who was sooo excited to read to me?

I'm hoping the novelty won't wear off anytime soon!

Mondays With Roller

My baby's growing up too fast

Six words won't do.  Not today. I have way more to say.

This morning I returned to work after two weeks off. Buddy Roller stayed home with The Hubs as kids don't go back to school until tomorrow. They spent the day going through ALL his old toys, deciding which ones to "give away" to kids who could use them.  We've been putting this off for a while, and if you're the parents of a young one, then you know how toys can accumulate over the years. Right?

Anyways I came home to find the toys already sorted into piles. There were all his Thomas trains and tracks, an assortment of all his other toy cars, trucks, and action figures...even some I thought for sure he would want to keep like his Power Rangers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. What?! He was ready to give them all away to other kids! I found the adorable set of six soft cars, the ones when you pull them back on their wheels they move forward on their own...my mom had bought those for him. I remember the day she purchased them. I also remember when we went to a friend's house and Roller had accidentally forgotten one of them in the back yard. I remember calling that friend and begging her to find the car, which she did, and returned to me a few days later. I found the light-up stegosaurus I bought for him at one of our trips to the Fernbank Museum two summers ago. I went through each pile, touching each little toy, remembering and reminiscing. Where did the time go?

And then the tears came. I didn't think I would cry over something like this, and I was kind of glad The Hubs was here to do this with Roller because it might have been way too hard for me to take charge of this milestone task.  I'm beginning to understand why mothers cry when their children go off to college, when they get married, and then when they turn around and have babies themselves. It's really bittersweet to watch your kids grow up and then become mature and independent.

Sigh.

I'm telling you...I'm taking the advice of moms who've already told me to hug and love on my kid as much as I can. I know there will be a day when he will not want me to. So every chance I get, I hug him plenty and kiss him millions of times all over his sweet, sweet face.

There is nothing like a mother's love. And no matter how much someone would try to tell me, I would never, never understand until I had a baby of my own.

Buddy Roller...mommy loves you so, so much. I love you to the moon and back. I love you to infinity and beyond. I love you to pieces!

And just for old times sake, my little guy humored me and put on his Thomas hat, scarf and lanyard just one more time. The engineer hat is a bit snug now for this growing boy. Look at those eyes!

Now compare those photos with this one taken when he was almost three years old!

Motherhood is a journey. I feel so lucky to be on this ride of a lifetime with these two special guys.

Mondays with Roller

What's your favorite part of the day?

Mine is cuddling up with the Roller at the end of a long day to read bedtime stories and just talk. My favorite questions to ask are: What did you have for lunch today? What did you learn today? What was your favorite class? Why? What was your favorite part of the day? Almost always, I get a very detailed answer with arms and fingers moving around to explain the goings-on of a five year old in kindergarten.

Lately, the conversation always ends up with animated talk about Lego Batman or Injustice...these are the computer games he plays with The Hubs when they have their "male bonding time." To be honest, I'm not a big fan (at all!) when it comes to electronics. I know...I'm no fun right! But...I think it's super cute that they have their fun together as father and son. Buddy Roller is always trying to get me sucked in to playing with them, but so far...this mommy is not budging. Ha!

Do you have a good trick for getting your little ones out of a bad mood? 

At the end of the day, when Buddy Roller gets super tired, he gets super cranky.  Oh my! Like tonight, for example, he got really sulky because I told him, "No, you can't play Lego Batman on a school night." "But daddy said I could," he complained. "Well the rules are no electronics on a school night," I said, firmly holding my ground. And then his cute little face contorted into a monstrous being...I hardly recognized him!  Oh my again! Things would have gone downhill from there, but I had a trick up my sleeve.

When in doubt, start singing! Yes, you heard me right. I started singing the Star-Spangled Banner, and it worked like a charm! He forgot all about his five year old worries and started belting out those tunes....all off key and everything.  The truth is for the past several weeks,  he's been singing this song over and over again...during his shower. Yes I know this because for the past several weeks, he's sang it to me, and then has asked me when he's done, if I want to hear it again. And I answer, "Of course I want to hear it again!" LOL, the things we do as moms.

After that, things were quite jolly. We read not one, but two books, said prayers, and little Roller fell asleep in no time. And you know what? I'm looking forward to doing it all over again...tomorrow.

Mondays With Roller

Researchers say you do it about 15 to 20 times a day, and they say it's what you need to live a longer, happier, and more stress-free life.

It's laughing!

You've heard it before, and you know it makes a difference. Laughing out loud can make you feel better.

In my continued efforts to find more balance and live a more stress-free life, I decided to leave work at a decent time, meet The Hubs, pick up Buddy Roller, and head to his soccer practice.

Yes, there were tons of things I could have done like write a paper that's due on Thursday, or clean my house...but I decided that family is more important. Before heading to practice, I made Buddy Roller one of his favorite sandwiches...ham and cheese, grabbed some fruit and water and headed out to the soccer field. And it was totally worth it!

Buddy Roller squealed with delight to not just have daddy, but mommy pick him up too. On the way to soccer, he chatted exuberantly about his day and what he did at school. It was awesome, and then when I gave him his sandwich, his excitement grew. It doesn't take much to make this five year old happy.

Me: "I made your sandwich with love."

Buddy Roller laughing: "I'm eating the love."

And the rest of the night, I wore a smile on my face and even managed to laugh here and there. I was happy to be spending time with my family. Happy to NOT be focused on the other unimportant things.

I did laugh.

It felt good.

Mondays With Roller

There's something special about Dunkin' Donuts that gets this little guy so excited! So after meeting with Buddy Roller's teacher today for a parent conference, The Hubs and I took him to one of his favorite places to nosh on some good ole donut holes.  His favorites are the glazed ones, but today I had him try the pumpkin holes, and judging by the following snap shots I took, I think he's found a new fave.

By the way, the Roller is doing well in school, with math his top subject. Go figure, the apple sure doesn't fall far from the tree as his dad is "mathematically talented." All in all, he's off to a great start this school year. We're still working out the kinks when it comes to self-control for this free-spirited five year old who's full of personality and charm. But he's in good hands. He's got a teacher who loves him and encourages him to be his best every day, and that I'm thankful for.

That's all I have today.

Hope your week is off to a great start!

Mondays With Roller

Do you have an effective way of waking up your kids in the morning? And by that, I mean a way that actually works and gets them up and out of bed...with no tears and no fussing.

I've been struggling with this since Buddy Roller was a toddler. He is NOT a morning person, and he does not understand that if we're late, he will miss the bus, I will be late for work, and yada, yada, yada. In the past, I have tried jumping on his bed, even driving the plethora of his toy cars over his body in hopes of waking him up in a fun way. I have tried bribing him with a short game of Subway Surfers or Angry Birds on my cell phone. That only worked for a few days!

In fact, it seems just when I come up with a clever idea, the novelty of it wears off and we are back to tears and moans and groans.

Not so, though, this morning.

We tried the online bomb timer. It was a huge hit! Once you access the link, you should also scroll down and click on "classroom timers" for more kid friendly and entertaining countdowns.  Buddy Roller actually saw me use it yesterday as I was planning a lesson for my kids. He thought it was the next best thing. He got so tickled silly when time was up and the bomb went off. And so after he woke up this morning, we set the timer and off he went to brush his teeth and get dressed. I've never seen him get dressed so fast AND be in a great mood all at the same time!

I'm hoping this novel idea won't wear off any time soon. If that happens, I guess I'll have to resort to dressing him in his sleep. And that will be no fun for anyone.

If you have a funny story of how you wake up your little ones or have any good strategies that have been working for you, please leave me a comment. I would love to hear from you.