Too much WHINE, but also some RUNNING & READING

Yesterday as I was leaving for work amidst a chorus of whining and smearing food on my dry-clean-only work clothes, I believe I muttered something about driving west on I-40 right past the college and all the way to a nice hotel in Memphis. Getting a hotel room sounded really really fun at the time. Wednesdays are hard. The Goose comes home from school and is very clingy and The Dad is tired from working all day and The Mom is trying to get dressed for work and eat and get out the door in time to miss the afternoon traffic. This picture is sort of what it's like.

In the spring we will be trying a new schedule due to the fact that The Mom has secured a new part-time set up at a different school. I will be working five days a week (from 10 a.m. to noon) teaching two classes at the International English Institute. Goose will go to "school" on Wednesdays and on Fridays and The Dad is able to stay with him on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. We're hoping this will give us more family time and less mom's-headed-to-Memphis-for-a-motel moments.

After all of that craziness, this morning I got up and found a poem in my desk drawer. In order for you to fully appreciate it, I must first tell you about one of The Goose's favorite books, Is Your Mama a Llama? This book features Lloyd the Llama, who asks various animals if there mamas are llamas and then learns all about animal behavior through the other animals' answers to his question. For example, the opening lines are as follows:

"Is your mama a llama?" I asked my friend Dave. "No she is not," is the answer Dave gave. "She hangs by her feet and she lives in a cave. I do not believe that's how llamas behave!"

"Oh!" I said. "You are right about that. I think that your mama must be a BAT!"

The first joke that came from this book was my nickname: Kim Laden. The Husband would ask The Goose, "Is your mama Kim Laden?" (get it? It sounds kinda like "Is your mama a llama?") But now the joke has gone even further and has inspired Husband to become a poet. Here is what I found in my desk drawer:

"Is your mama a llama?" I asked my son Goose.

"No, she is not," The Goose let loose. "She holds me, scolds me, and plays with me all day. A llama you ask? NO WAY JOSE!"

"Mmmmm ... after hearing your list, I'd say your mama's a perfectionIST!"

ION ...

There are major developments going on around here. I think The Goose is saying, "Truck!" I think. I have thought that he was saying LOTS of other things as well but nothing is consistent besides "mama," da-da" and "bye." The "bye," however, has changed from a Scarlet O'Hara-like version to a more valley-girl style. Now it's like "bah-eee."

The second major development is the enjoyment (FINALLY!) of reading books (particularly, Sheep in a Jeep (on a hill that's steep), and Moo, Baa, La La La). I have been waiting and waiting for him to discover the fun of books and YAY! it has finally clicked. He has very certain preferences for the ones that I read and very certain preferences for the ones that The Dad reads. The aforementioned books are the ones that he always wants me to read (over and over and over) but when Dad is around, he wants Fix-It Duck. There's a specific page that he thinks is really funny (it's the page just after Fix-It Duck has gone to Sheep's house to borrow a ladder and then smashes Sheep's window and then gets a flat tire) and we have no idea what he's laughing at. But he very consistently laughs. I LOVE this whole reading thing. Seriously, I have been concerned up to now that something was wrong because he was so disinterested in books. Now we sit and read them over one zillion times in a row and I'm so happy about this development.

The third and final development is physical: RUNNING.

And basically that means that I do not have to go on a post-Thanksgiving diet because I, too, am running everywhere.

There are a few more pictures to view, which include shots of him holding his truck, him playing with the train set at the library, him holding his pink cup in the bathtub (which I try, unsuccessfully, not to let him drink bathwater out of), and him knocking down his new toy: 10 stackable buckets).

I love that Buddy, whiney or not. This weekend: Up goes the tree. And based on events of late, I'm expecting the tree to come down shortly after.