my new drink

broccoli, kale, cucumber, celery and asparagus. 

im trying to be healthy. still not sure if its making me healthier or just sick! bleccchhh!

they like me! they really like me!

when i married my husband, i inherited an amazing family. i love his family as if they were my own blood. ive always said that they ARE like my family...only nicer! :)

it couldnt be more true when it comes to all of my nieces and nephews. i never had any before i got married, and i was thrilled to have a big family. when i first met them, i was a hot commodity. especially with the older ones, dayna and emily. they adored me. i was an icon. i was the cool auntie lori. well...now they are both teenagers. they dont get so excited to see me anymore. now its all about my son. which im totally cool with! i get it. but i just assumed that they really didnt give me much thought anymore. then dayna showed me an essay she wrote for a school assignment. i was so touched by it. i cried. it meant a lot to me, and i always meant to post it. so here is an excerpt from her essay. by the way...my niece knows hows to type with the correct punctuation. i dont have the patience for that. so the lack of proper capitalization and punctuation is my doing...not hers! i assure you that her version was done correctly!!!

my mount rushmore

by dayna *******

throughout my life, there have been several significant individuals who i have come to admire, respect and aspire to take after. these people have aided in the shaping of the person that i am today. i can always count on them for guidance, and try to portray the same role they took on in the community. four individuals who make up my mount rushmore, include my grandma vicky, my aunt lori, anne frank and jackie robinson.

*my note: she talks about how grandma vicky is the best grandma and survived the holocaust; anne frank and her courage and optimism in a horrible situation; and how jackie robinson was the first african american baseball player in the major leagues. 

this is the paragraph where she discusses me:

my aunt lori came into my life only 5 years ago when she married my uncle dan. from the beginning, we knew that aunt lori was going to be a perfect addition to the family. whenever she came over for our family gatherings, her personality would light up the entire room. she is a person that i always look forward to seeing. about 3 years ago, my aunt lori was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. she has struggled day in and out with this terrible disease, suffering through surgeries, and chemotherapy. however, you would never know by looking at her. she is the most upbeat and positive person that i have ever met. despite the tragedy in her life, my aunt lori still goes strong. she is a true leader, trying to help others with ovarian cancer by speaking at different charity events, playing a major role in the relay for life, and generally assisting others in the community that suffer from cancer. the qualities that make my aunt lori a leader are her perspective on life and ability to connect with all different types of people. my aunt lori has so many loving friends that cherish her presence and her outlook on life.

my grandmother, aunt, anne frank and jackie robinson are four extremely qualified people that make up my mount rushmore. their beliefs and personalities are a kind that every leader of today should possess. they give me more than enough reason to be my role models.

* me again 

so now i have tears in my eyes once more. i just feel so honored. first of all...that dayna even thought that highly of me. im soooo touched! and secondly....that im in a category with anne frank! i feel like an nominee for an academy award, and im just thrilled to be nominated in the same category as these people. its kind of funny. and very flattering! i guess im still the cool aunt! who knew!?

thanx dayna. i love you!

xoxo

hayden sad

my not quite 4 year old son is my favorite thing in the world. and hes a pretty sweet kid. except for when hes not. i know hes doing his job when he does the complete opposite thing i ask him to do. he thinks its sooo funny. it pisses me off. we do many "projects" together. (he likes to call anything we do a "project"). and i love doing this stuff with him, because it lets me dig into the crayon box and play too! he absolutely gets his creative streak from me. (sorry, dan. maybe one day hell know what a baseball is!)

anyway. a few days ago we were doing valentines day "projects". he was coloring on the table. i asked him to not do that...and to color on paper only. but he thought it was funny that as i talked with him, he was coloring on the table with a piece of paper over it...so i couldnt see him doing it. it was obvious. and he was just smiling as he did it. so..i got angry and raised my voice. of course i always feel like the worst mother when i start to yell at my kid. but honestly...im not a "spanker", time out outs dont phase him too much, and he generally doesnt care when i raise my voice either. i know. frustrating as hell.

so...i walked away. i told him if he wasnt going to cooperate, i was not going to do this project with him. he whined. and cried. wanted me to come back. and he whined some more. i stood my ground, and ignored him as i checked my e mail. 

so after a brief ban from the table, i told him he could draw, but that i would not do it with him. so he did. and i was absorbed into something really important, like facebook or computer games. ya know...the stuff in life that really counts, right?!

he always asks me how to spell words. obscure words, like sushi, california roll, important, etc. (the food words were from the sushi menu he was making up). so...he asked me, "mommie....how do you spell sad?" of course i was in a very important game of "pathwords", and didnt think anything of it, and said to him, while glued on the computer, "s-a-d". honestly...he asks me to spell tons of word that he writes down. i didnt have my therapist thinking cap on that day, and didnt put 2 and 2 together. and this is what he showed me.

my heart melted. i saw what it said, but i asked him to read it to me. his response was, "no...you read it". now i felt like the biggest jackass. like joan crawford on a bad day! i was a terrible mommie. so i scooped him up, and planted a million kisses on him. i told him he was the sweetest and greatest kid. but that it is not acceptable to disrespect mommies wishes. if i say not to do something...it means dont do it! a simple request...which honestly...i dont think any kid has mastered. he wrote this note on the back of the valentines day card he drew for my mother in law. i cant send it to her; because i have to keep this one. thankfully, it will be kept in a box which contains mostly. "i love you mom"'s, mixed in with a few "projects" with words like "shrimp", "symphony", "steves deli", or drawings of musical notes and hearts.

my kid is smarter than your kid

i cant stand those parents who constantly brag about their kids. i dont mind hearing stories, and of course i find a lot of what kids say very amusing. but there are those parents who constantly have to inform you that their kid is smarter, cuter, speaks 15 different languages fluently, and is the most advanced student in the whole school, etcetera. its obnoxious.

that being said...id like to tell you....

my kid really is smarter, cuter, speaks 15 different languages fluently, and is the most advanced student in the whole school. etcetera. (actually...he speaks 25 languages fluently...but i dont want to brag)

i often wonder how my kid knows the things he knows. he says and does things every day that make me raise my eyebrow, and say, "hmmm".

sometimes its just the words he chooses.

2 days ago, he asked me what kind of song i wanted him to sing to me; little einsteins, or rock and roll. i told him i wanted to hear a specific song from little einsteins. he said, "that classical song isnt available".

yesterday he spent the day with my sister in law. she told him that she borrowed the car seat from grandmas car to get him. he said, "is she aware of this"?

he knows a lot about the arts. obviously...from me! last weekend my husband took him to the bookstore. he saw an art poster and said, "thats van gogh!" dan, not knowing art, looks at the poster closely and said, "youre right! it is van gogh!" he said that the couple sitting there were very impressed. last year, my parents had a piece of art delivered to their house. hayden saw it and said, "thats a monet!" it wasnt...but it looked like one! the store owner was blown away.

my sister in law told me that they were discussing the weather. she said to him, "its really cold here. do you think its this cold in california"? he says, "no. and its not this cold in florida or texas either." lisa says, "texas? what do you know about texas?" his response was, "well, i know our old president lives there." (!!!)

then she asked if he knew where the new president is from. without missing a beat, he responded, "chicago" (!!!)

i have no idea how he knows this. i have no idea how he knows a lot of the stuff he does. its funny, and i love hearing his responses to questions. its hysterical. when i ask how he knows things, he usually says, "i just know!"

and just to be real, and clear something up. i do not think my kid is smarter than your kid! i think all kids are exceptional. i do know that hayden is inquisitive and always wants to learn. i know hes interested in, and exposed to a lot of things that we are fortunate to be able to provide for him. i know that i am amazed by him every day. i also know that lots of kids amaze their parents every day. and i truly do believe that all kids are special and unique and add their own flair into the world. and kids with special needs? even more so. since they may lack skills in certain areas...they make up for it in other ways. all children are miracles. we need to listen to what they have to say. they can teach us more than most people give them credit for.