the lion, the witch...and the michigan

i feel like i live in pre-aslan narnia...always winter, but never christmas. the main differences being that michigan isn't enchanted...and lansing isn't a woodland...and we are missing the cute animals and creatures that live in cozy nooks.

winter, i'm tired. i'm a worn out girl who would like to see the lines on the road again. i would like to drive faster than 30 mph on the highway, and i would like to be able to leave without starting my car 30 minutes prior.

anatomy 101

dan calls me at work monday to relay a conversation he had with jaden.

Jaden: hey dad, i'm really excited

Dan: oh yeah buddy, why are you excited?

Jaden: I'm excited for the baby to come!

Dan: thats great. i'm really excited too.

Jaden: hey dad, where do you think the baby will come out? will it come out mom's mouth or her butt?

Dan: um...where do you think it will come out?

Jaden: well, her mouth is pretty small, and she poops out her butt...so maybe it will have to come out her belly.

Dan: well, maybe you should ask your mom when she gets home.

and yes...he did...and i tried to explain to the best of my abilities, but we may have to revisit this subject again a few years down the road.

my gourmet chef

Last night I had a meeting during dinner time, so i slacked on the making food thing and quickly gave my husband a rundown of options and leftovers in the fridge as i ran out the door.

when i got home a couple of hours later, it was getting close to jaden's bedtime which meant i immediately was asked by him what he could have for nighttime snack (part of his routine). i asked dan what he had had for dinner so i could evaluate the level of "health" i would need to instill into nighttime snack. dan smiled and said, "well, he kind of had a mix of stuff."

this "mix" was made up of:
-a pancake with powdered sugar
-a plate of lime flavored tortilla chips
-a small bowl of peanut butter

needless to say, jaden prefers dan's cooking to mine.

if it smells like pee...

dan and i had noticed about a week ago that there was a strong pee smell coming from Jaden's bedroom. i couldn't figure it out. there were no dirty clothes on the floor or stashed away. i stripped all his bedding and washed it, checked all his stuffed animals, and was getting nowhere.

that leads me to wednesday. i am in severe nesting mode right now. i'm like a machine that can't stop until the last underwear drawer has been organized. i say that because on wednesday i hit the floor running. i started picking up jaden's toys to get ready to clean the floors...and i noticed a puddle in the corner of his room.

yup, it was pee.

so i called jaden into the room.

me: hey buddy, i won't be mad at you, but i want you to be honest with me. did you pee on the floor?

jaden: not that i can remember.

i didn't want to make a huge deal of it, so i reminded him that it was only okay to pee in the toilet...and nowhere else.

he left and i started cleaning up. it had gotten on his rug so i took the rug downstairs to throw in the washer. i came back upstairs to his room....and lo and behold, there was another puddle on the floor.

now i'm confused.

but this time i looked closer and realized that the puddle was coming from the small trash can in his room.

and then i looked in the trash can.

i called jaden into the room again.

me: um...jaden, i have another question for you, and again...i just want you to be honest. you are not going to be in trouble. have you been peeing in the trash can?

jaden: yeah.

me: why?

jaden: i didn't know that i couldn't.

me: fair enough. well, just so you know...from here on out...where is the only place you are allowed to pee?

jaden: the toilet.

i'll spare you the details, but it seems that he had been peeing in the trash can for a few days. thankfully (i think) the trash can isn't sealed at the bottom, so once all the garbage was dully soaked, it began to leak through the bottom and hence...the puddles.

we have had no problems since then, but i did take the trash can out of his room, just in case.

and jaden...i apologize to you now in case you ever find these blog entries as a 15 year old.

reasons why michigan isn't so bad

so the weather is bad today. 4 below with a windchill of 19 below. cold. i considered posting about how miserable it is here and how i can't believe that of all places to land, we landed here. cold makes me cranky.

but then i realized i'm being a jerk to MI. aside from the rotten weather, michigan has been amazing to me.

1. i have a great job. i love my boss and all my coworkers...especially Jan, who i job share with.

2. i love my church. seriously, i've never known a church like mine...not perfect, but i would never want to go to a perfect church. i wouldn't fit in.

3. The best one...i love my friends. my community is a dream. you know what they did for me on friday? they threw me a surprise baby shower. i don't feel worthy of my friendships at all. it makes me want to do more to show them how important they are to me. when i look back over the past few years here, i'm overwhelmed by all the things that have been given to us, all the ways that we have been served, all the support we have received. we don't deserve it, but we are grateful.

so in reality, michigan is pretty great. if we lived in the bahamas without everyone, it would be a rotten place to be. location is just location.

my birthday gift

last night i was sitting at the table with jaden and i was explaining that tomorrow was my birthday. i then started teasing him a bit by asking what he got me for my birthday present(knowing full well this was the first time he had heard that today was my birthday).

he hesitated for a moment, and then looked me straight in the eyes and said, "mom, if i tell you...then you will know."

he has a point.

there are times when i can't believe i have a kid like him.

and even as i write this, i can hear him in his bed singing and talking to bear. he hasn't even tried to get up yet this morning even though i know he has been awake for almost an hour.

oops, it sounds like he and bear just got into a fight, i should probably intercede.

its already been a great birthday.