Chez Mommy

"Mommy, let's pretend this is a restaurant."

"Ok." (speaking in exaggerated accent) "Good evening, Sir. Welcome to Chez Mommy. How can I serve you this evening?"

(also in exaggerated accent) "I think I would like the chicken with bones."

"Very well, sir. I'll be right back." (speaking into the empty kitchen) "Chef, the gentlemen would like the chicken with bones." (bringing him a chicken leg on a plate) "Here you are, Sir. Is there anything else I can get for you?"

"Yes, I would like a drink."

"What can I get you to drink?"

"I'll have strawberry milk." (stage whispering) "don't forget to tell the chef!"

(speaking into the empty kitchen) "Chef, the gentlemen would like strawberry milk." (setting a cup on the table) "Here is your strawberry milk, Sir."

<minutes pass>

"Oh waiter!"

"Yes Sir, how can I help you?"

"I would have some dessert please."

"What can I get you for dessert?"

"I would like some runts please."

"I'm sorry, Sir, but we are all out of Runts. Can I interest you in a delightful pack of two Starburst?"

"Ooh! TWO desserts! Yes, I will take some Starburst."

Anniversaries, Cupcakes, Finances, and...Oh Yeah! Ryan Friday!

Overall, it's been a good week for us. Sunday happened to be the thirteen year anniversary of Boo's Dad and Boo's Mom saying I Do. :D We didn't do anything particularly special, although I did decide to order a pizza for supper so I wouldn't have to cook or clean up. The city in which we live has an event once a year called City Wide Clean-up. This is a week where you can put virtually anything at the curb and the city will pick it up and dispose of it for you. It is a big help for people like us who don't have a truck to haul large items to the dump. The only thing you can't get rid of is lawn/garden stuff like tree limbs. Inspired by this event, we decided to do something we've been putting off for a long time. We removed the nasty, stained, ancient blue shag carpeting from Boo's playroom. Thankfully, there was linoleum tiles underneath, so we don't have to be in any hurry getting the replacement carpet installed.

Later that afternoon, we took Boo outside to play with his new "pipes," an idea inspired by a fellow mommy blogger.

Monday was uneventful save for the hour that Boo and I spent on Skype with my BFF and her two children. Her daughter is the same age as Boo, and they just love making faces and showing each other their favorite toys.

Tuesday was a good day. I spent the afternoon baking cupcakes. I had a new awesome-sounding recipe I wanted to try for the family bbq. In the evening Boo asked to go to the park with the red slide. We spent a long time there, and he amazed me by climbing higher than ever before on all the playground equipment. He has always been afraid to go high in the past. Go Boo!

Wednesday was the rough day for me. It started pleasantly enough. I sat down at the table and balanced the checkbook and paid bills. Paying bills always makes my skin crawl. Without giving too much personal detail, I can tell you that it was disheartening. About an hour later, I received an email from an attorney whom we had hired last October to help us out with something. We'd had to borrow money from a family member for the retainer fee and in the end, the attorney fees exceeded that amount by several hundred dollars. We have still not been able to the remaining balance. The email was stating that the attorney was ready to file a suit against us for our failure to pay. I was able to make arrangements with him to make very small payments to keep it out of court, but the whole issue really opened my eyes. There are several family members we owe money to for personal loans and several creditors we owe also. We are not making any headway financially. My husband's new job is great, but we are barely keeping our heads above water. I had to pull my head out of the sand and face the fact that I must go back to work again. It cut me to my core. As much as it can drive me nuts some days being here at home with Boo, it is the most wonderful and rewarding thing I have ever had the privilege of doing. Giving it up feels like ripping the heart out of my chest. I spent a great deal of time crying.

Later, after I had discussed it with my mom and my husband and was feeling better, I set about making the frosting and finishing the cupcakes. It made me feel good to create something yummy and beautiful. The bbq itself helped too. It was so relaxing and fun to hang out with my family and to allow Boo to run around and play and wear himself out at Grandpa's house.

Thursday was wonderful too, as my mom came to visit for the afternoon. I hadn't spent time with her in so long! We had a blast, played, acted silly, and I helped her with some issues she was having with her computer. Boo was totally thrilled to have her here as well. I gave her one of the cupcakes to try and she was over the moon. She kept asking how much I could sell them for. I still have no idea. How much would you pay for one of these yummy pretties?

Cherry Limeade Cupcakes

And now, we have arrived at Friday. And you know what that means! Yep, it's "Special Needs Ryan Gosling" time! For more fabulous Ryan fun, click on the button at the bottom of this post and see all the other fabulous bloggers who are joining in. For my part, here's what Ryan had to say to me this week:

Oh Ryan, thank you. I just needed a big strong shoulder.

Why Ryan, you're making me blush!

You just never get enough, do you?

Click here to see all the other Ryans.





Have a great weekend everyone!

Puzzle Solver

We had read our books, said our goodnights, and hugged each other. He was laying with his back to me, still and quiet. His breathing was smooth and even. I had just decided it was safe to get up and leave the room. Suddenly, he rolled over and looked at me with the most satisfied expression on his face. He thrust his hand toward me, his middle fingers curled into his palm and announced, "He must have a hole in his wrist so his webbing can come out when he shoots it when he's wearing his costume!"

Yes, my love. You have figured it out. Now rest your lovely brain my darling. There are plenty more puzzles awaiting you tomorrow. I adore the way your little mind works!

Hey Girl...

This is my first time jumping on the Ryan Gosling bandwagon. If you need an explanation, go here.

Update: I just had to add this one:

More Than Meets the Eye

A few days ago Boo caught me watching trailers for summer release movies on the internet. When he walked up I was watching one for Transformers Dark of the Moon. He was very interested in what he was seeing. I was concerned that the dramatic fighting sequences would be too much for him. But he did not seem bothered. He asked a lot of questions and we talked a lot about what the transformers are and what they do. He asked to watch the trailer again. Then he noticed the thumbnail below for the Cars 2 trailer and asked to see that. We watched both of the Cars 2 trailers and talked about that.

About a month ago my dad had told me that Cars 2 would be coming out in June and said that he wants to take Boo to see it. I thought that sounded great, as I had already decided that I would like to attempt Boo's first movie theatre experience this summer. But I was concerned as to how well my dad would handle it. I have been discussing this with my mom and we decided that we need to start discussing it with Boo. We haven't really learned how to write social stories yet but we hoped that we could prepare him for what to expect just with discussion. So when he was all excited about the new cars movie, I decided to introduce the idea.

We talked about what a movie theatre is and what we do there. We talked about the fact that Cars 2 will not be available at Walmart. It will only be at the theatre. We talked about the fact that it will come to theatres on June 24. Boo was very excited. Every day since that he has asked me immediately upon waking if it is June yet. He showed both of the Cars 2 trailers and both of the Transformers trailers to his Mammo and told her all about them.

At church today Boo decided to join the children with Pastor up front for the children's message. He insisted I go with him as usual. The message was way over Boo's head, but he sat quiet and polite (mostly) while Pastor spoke. At one point, he whispered to me, "if I say 'excuse me' will it be my turn to talk?" (we have been working very hard to curtail his habit of interrupting) I told him that it would not, and that he must wait till Pastor finished the message and then he could talk to him. As soon as the message was done and the children were dismissed back to their parents, James said "Pastor?" The entire church sat silent and Pastor leaned down toward his little parishioner. "Yes, Boo?" And then Boo surprised me by suddenly launching into a description of Transformers, who they are, what they do, what they are called. I was trying to steer him away but he would not be dissuaded. It can be near impossible to stop him in the middle of one of these type of speeches. Somehow, perhaps by divine intervention, Pastor managed to say exactly the right thing. "Can we talk about it after church?"

All of this, of course, was broadcast for the congregation via Pastor's lapel microphone. We returned to our seats amid stifled giggles and grins. Boo was (mostly) good throughout the rest of the service. The instant that church was over, he just couldn't get to Pastor fast enough! He had not forgotten, and he was anxious for his promised chance to continue the discussion. When we finally got through the line and it was our turn to shake hands with Pastor, Boo gave quite the informative speech. He told Pastor that the good Transformers are called Autobots, and that the bad ones are Decepticons. You just never can tell what's going on inside that little mind.....