PractiGal

A boy and his car

"Mommy, I miss Herbie so much! And he misses me..." My son announced as we walked home from the garage.

I know you do, honey. He'll be fine. He's just having his oil changed. He'll be right back with us in no time.

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Back at home...

"Mommy, I really miss Herbie. A LOT."

I know, sweetie. He'll be home soon.

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On the toilet...

"I really really really miss Herbie!!!" 

There was pouting. Whining. I really have no patience for whining.

HE's FINE. HE'LL BE BACK BEFORE YOU KNOW IT.

And then I saw the tears. Actual real tears to go along with the pouty lips. It wasn't just melodrama. I am definitely in territory that I don't understand!

Oh, and when I called to make the appointment for my Subaru, I was reprimanded by my 4-year-old assistant after hanging up the phone. "He's NOT a Subaru, Mommy. He's HERBIE."

There you have it. My car is officially a member of the family.

In a nutshell

Wow. Life is crazy when your child gives up his nap!  6a.m. to 8p.m. every day = non-stop energy. Except today. He crashed. YES!

• We've been busy. Playing cars... Playing trains.... Reading Magic School Bus books. A lot of Magic School bus books.
• Before this week, when the weather turned crappy, we were riding bikes a lot.
• It was 43 degrees here at 9:00 this morning. It's May 22nd and our furnace is still running like crazy. Hello? This is nuts.
• To whomever: please stop giving the birds in my neighborhood Ex-Lax. My car has been shit-upon so many times lately, it is really disgusting. Enough!
• American Idol fans: were you psyched about the winner? surprised? After Tuesday night, I thought Archie would win. But I was psyched Cook won. Watching him perform with ZZ Top was a total rush. Can you imagine??
• I don't travel these days like I did pre-child. But all of a sudden I'm planning two back-to-back trips! I'm psyched! My son will be going on his first airplane ride soon!  Any tips for flying with a 4-year-old?
• I haven't begun to think about planting my garden. It's too damn cold. I usually have it planted by or around Memorial Day.
• My 25th high school reunion is this summer. 25th. !!! ???  I don't know if I'm going to go. I'd want to lose 20 pounds first. The 20th reunion was actually really fun. Looks like the same people are going to this one, so far.
• My niece graduates from high school next month. 25 years after her Old Aunt. It's 2008, and the world is her oyster. How cool is that?

Just incredible!

Isn't this every kid's dream? I know it was mine! Story here...

A belated happy mother's day!

Happy Mother's Day,  Moms!  Here's one of the e-mails I received for the occasion...  Hope you had a great day! Mine was nice - filled with yard work and a Thomas hangover (more on that another time...).

Idol thoughts

Anyone else following American Idol?

Please let this be the week they put Jason out of his oblivious misery. Yikes. Why is he in the top 4?

Am I the only one who wants to arrange for David A. to take her niece to the prom? How adorable and sweet is he?!

The best laid plans

I was proud of myself, doing some dinner prep work early. By the time 4:00 rolls around, I often feel like collapsing instead of cooking dinner. But today, we rode bikes after lunch, then came back for "quiet time" while I did some dinner prep. I was psyched to try this enchilada recipe I saw on Jody's food site.

So I grated cheese. I chopped onions. I prepared the enchilada sauce. I cut up chicken. In fact, I prepared & chopped twice the ingredients so I could put a big batch in the freezer. Yeah, I patted myself on the back big time, getting that all done by 3:00.

Then I started cleaning up my mess. Seems I grabbed the Ginger instead of the Cumin when I was making the sauce. Because, you know, the words Ginger and Cumin look so much alike. GAH. Holy culinary gaffe.

I tasted the sauce, and it's not half bad. Not your traditional enchilada sauce of course... We'll see how it tastes on the end product tonight.

Hopefully nothing a little sour cream can't fix!

A royal ball

The clock struck 6:30 as we began our preparation for the ball. I combed my hair and put on lip gloss. I helped him put his socks on and made sure his velcroed shoes were fastened securely.

We exited our chariot at 7pm sharp. The other queens, princes and princesses arrived then as well. Some more decked out than others. All the princesses more flouncy gowns and tiaras. The princes came in plain clothes.

The royal ball committee had outdone themselves. There were hand-made crowns for the queens, along with corsages and custom-painted clay pots with flowers. There were delightful little cakes and tea. There were stories about princesses and princes. And songs about Moms.

As the clock struck 8, the ball concluded with a dance. All the royals danced in a circle before collecting coats from their cubbies.

It was Moms' night at preschool, and my young prince and I had a grand time.