Care

Conversation on the way to Logan's new karate class:

LOGAN: Mom, I care about fire trucks, Spiderman, and you. That's all. I don't care about anything else.

ME: What about Shay?

LOGAN: Oh, yeah! I care about Shay and Dad. But I don't care about anything else.

ME: What about karate?

LOGAN: Oh, yeah! I care about karate too. And preschool. But I don't care about anything else.

ME: What about chocolate?

LOGAN: Oh, yeah! I care about chocolate too. But nothing else.

ME: What about books?

LOGAN: Mom, you're making me care about too many things.

Fall fun

So much going on around here! We went to California to see my dad at the end of August -- a trip that included much activity and excitement between the circus, the Discovery Museum, the beach, water balloons, sprinklers, a park with a fire truck AND an airplane, and more mac and cheese than Logan and Shay have eaten in a whole year.

Fall is one of my favorite times of year and even though it's been raining quite a bit, we've been busy. The local fire departments have a lot of activities for Fire Safety Week, including a fire truck parade down State Street, after which the trucks all park around the Capitol and the kids can meet the firefighters and sit in the trucks. Then the Fitchburg fire department had an open house that included actual RIDES on fire trucks (big excitement) and a safety demonstration where we had to crawl through a smoke-filled corridor (the same one the firefighters use during training).

Not to mention the massive police motorcycle, which thrilled Logan, and the free barbequed pork sandwiches, which thrilled Will.

We've gone on a field trip to a pumpkin patch farm with the Copper Room, baked lots of muffins and various breads, and I'm trying to get my book finally finished and sent off to my agent. About time, too.

Shay and Logan continue to amaze us every day. She is bright and lustrous, he has a mind that does not stop wondering and questioning everything ("Why do birds stay in the air if they're not flapping their wings?"). His love for firefighting knows no bounds - and his reaction to receiving a "real" firefighter costume for Halloween was peppered with many very sincere "thank yous" and "I love yous".

He is very into imaginative play, like putting blocks in a wooden box and announcing "Pudding for sale!", playing "Preschool Firefighter" where he is a firefighter coming to talk to his class about his job and gear. We play store quite a bit, not to mention games based on his books -- eg, tiger safari. He eats well, sleeps well, can whine like nobody's business when he wants to, but isn't prone to big temper tantrums and can usually be reasoned with.

Shay is more dramatic and loud when it comes to expressing her displeasure, but she is surprisingly good about channeling some inner zen when I tell her in a firm voice to "Be calm." She is still sparkly, inquisitive, social, and she doesn't hesitate to express her opinion about things. And she still PINCHES me when she's either trying to soothe herself or when she's getting excited about something. It's so weird, she did it as an infant when she would nurse -- pinching and clawing at my neck something fierce (so much so that I ended up wearing turtlenecks at night so she couldn't grab my skin) -- and she does it still.

Today we are busy -- after a morning running errands, we are going to the park after quiet time because it is a beautiful, sunny fall day. Then we're going to make chocolate-dipped pretzels with sprinkles for Logan's preschool Halloween party on Thursday. It's just me, Logan and Shay this week because Will is at a conference, and so far, so good with the trio teamwork!

Singular and Plural

Yesterday I was talking to Logan about singulars and plurals and thought I'd take the opportunity to have a bit of fun with him.

Me: It's one mouse, but two mice. So it's one moose, but two -- ?

Logan: Deer!

That'll learn me.

China

En route to Spanish class this afternoon:

LOGAN: Mommy, when I'm an adult, will I be all done with learning Spanish?

ME: I don't think so. When you're an adult, you might want to go and live in Spain. Then you'll be able to speak Spanish all the time.

LOGAN: You know where you go to learn all the languages?

ME: Where?

LOGAN: China.

ME: Really?

LOGAN: Yeah. That's where you learn Chinese, French, English, Spanish - all the languages. And that's also where you get Chinese food. And they have lots and lots of cookies.

ME: China sounds like a great place.

LOGAN: Yeah, and they have lots and lots of playgrounds and they ALL have monkey bars.

ME: The Chinese must be really good on the monkey bars, then. How many playgrounds are there in China?

LOGAN: One hundred in all of China.

ME: That many? How many cities are there in China?

LOGAN: Only two.

ME: That's it? What are the names of the cities?

LOGAN: Oz. Oz and West. They have lots and lots of policemen and firefighters. They used to be sort of scary cities but not really because all the police and firefighters protect it.

ME: That is very good to know.

Must be true

ME: Good morning, Logan. Did you sleep well?

LOGAN: Yes. Sleeping well is good for your feet muscles.

Uh...I guess so

Logan while putting on red socks embellished on the side with a little design consisting of a soccer ball, a basketball and a baseball:

"Mom, is everyone gonna see my balls?"

Logan: Storyteller and Scientist

One of Logan's recent mini-narratives:

"One Time I went to Kansas City and saw a woman with a beard and moustache. She had a bag of pistachios with pepper on them." (Do we really need cable, when we have nonstop entertainment like this?)

And his analysis of a recent thunderstorm that threatened to cancel a much-anticipated birthday party:

Logan: "The weather said it wasn't supposed to rain today."
Me: "Well, sometimes the weather is wrong."
Logan" No! The sky was wrong!"

Logan appears to be preparing for a future in numerical modeling.

Birthday

So finally a week later I'm getting around to talking about my great birthday last weekend! On Saturday Shay's wonderful daycare provider Diane had a "free day" in which she offered to watch both Logan and Shay (as well as her other charges) for free for most of the afternoon and into the evening -- strictly out of the goodness of her heart and to give parents a chance to go off and do something on their own.

So Will and I very happily dropped both kids off at about 2pm and promptly headed off to the movies (which we haven't been to since Diane's last free day almost a year ago). We were a little bummed out that the movie pickings were kind of slim, but we settled on Public Enemies, a two-hour-plus flick starring Johnny Depp as John Dillinger. Good movie, not great, could have been better but we enjoyed it nonetheless. Then we went to an Italian grill restaurant, where we both ordered prime rib (which I normally would never order, but had a weird urge for that particular night) - again, it was good not great but we enjoyed it all around. Best part was the wine and then the chocolate truffle cake for dessert!

It was really nice to get out to the movies and dinner since Will and I so rarely go out alone together (not a complaint, just a fact). Logan and Shay had a great time at Diane's, of course, and he's already asking when he can go again.

Then on Sunday, my actual birthday, we had Uncle Bill and Aunt Connie and our friend Heidi over for a lunch of quiche and fruit salad, and birthday cake made from scratch by Logan and Will. The previous day I suggested we stop at a local bakery and order a cake, to which Will responded, "Oh, I thought Logan and I would make you one."

To which I responded (rather than "Oh, what a nice, thoughtful idea") -- "Well, I don't want one made out of a box." There's gratitude for you!

Needless to say, the cake was not from a box - both it and the chocolate icing were from scratch and both were scrumptious. Logan had an utterly fabulous time with both the cake and Aunt Connie, whom he could not adore with more zeal, and after lunch we headed off to the park for a little while before our guests left.

All in all, a really nice weekend and a great birthday considering it was the big 40. Aside from having a lucrative publishing contract, there is nothing I would change about my life, and my birthday wish is for everyone to stay happy and healthy. And to look forward to many more birthdays together.

Watch, what you say?

My most recent breakfast conversation with Logan (occassioned, no doubt, by the fact that one of the other preschool boys just got a new watch).

LOGAN: Daddy, can I have your watch?

ME: Sure, you can wear it sometimes.

LOGAN: No, all the time.

ME: I have to know what time it is, too, you know. How can I do that without a watch?

LOGAN: You can look at the clock on the wall. Can I have your watch?

ME: Logan, didn't we get you a watch of your own? What happened to it?

LOGAN: I think I gave it to somebody as a present.

ME: Who did you give it to?

LOGAN: Shay. Can I have your watch now?

ME: I don't think so. Who did you give it to?

LOGAN: I think I gave it to you. Can I have your watch?

ME: First we need to figure out what happened to your watch.

LOGAN: Maybe we threw it in the trash by accident. Maybe it was you.

And thus he tries to get my watch by making me feel guilty for having done something I really hadn't done at all. Not the first time that's

Perspective

Yesterday morning at breakfast after several fussing and whining episodes:

ME: Logan, did you sleep well?

LOGAN: Yeah, I did.

ME: I was just wondering because you're kind of cranky this morning.

LOGAN: I slept well. I just didn't wake up well.