Man Day

B has no real interest in football, except for the week leading into, and the day of, the Superbowl. He really does enjoy watching it every year though. For the past two years we have spent the day with friends, but this year we were not included on the guest list. I thought the kids would be way more disappointed than they were, since they got to see many of their friends there. And I was pleasantly surprised to hear B say he would have "called in sick" if we had been invited. So it actually worked out quite nicely that we were home alone for it.

I made mini pizza bagels, mozzarella sticks, buffalo wings, and we got pretzels and Doritos and Cheeze Doodles. And the boys enjoyed their ginger ale along side B's Heineken. Later we had hamburgers, macaroni and cheese - out of a box, no less - and potato salad. They were all in manly junk-food heaven. They were all so cute lounging around watching TV snuggled in with their blankets. Actually, that was for about the last hour only; before that E had been running all around chasing balloons with his sword. He sat down when the food arrived, and pretty much passed out shortly thereafter. R went to bed before it ended too; his birthday party is tomorrow and he wants good energy.

Yes, while Man Day was being celebrated and catered to, I was also preparing my house for a birthday party. Clean kitchen, arrange furniture so all the kids have seats, put up streamers and balloons, make and decorate a cake... I so lived the Suzy Homemaker stereotype today. It can sometimes be somewhat disconcerting, but today I didn't mind actually. Throwing really fun kids birthday parties is something my mother taught me to do well :-) And I do enjoy them.

Friday found us at friends' house. We hadn't spent alone-time with them in eons. And both R and E had a wonderful time. R has always enjoyed C's company in the absence of a crowd, and thought he had "really cool stuff". E loved playing house and horses with R, and came home with a bunch of stuffed animals; gifts and loans. And I enjoyed checking in with my friend too.

On Saturday during R's basketball game, E starting noticing the really cool pattern on the bottom of his new sneakers. He wondered if he could use the texture to paint when we got home. When we got there, he gathered up a bunch of textures to use and set right to work. I was very glad "he" decided to use his old sneaker bottoms instead of his new ones.

Favorites? The boot bottom, the monster truck wheels, and his own feet, (of course)! Hands were cool too. He's loved finger painting since he was about 18 months old, that kid.

I'm reading The Edison Trait. A friend recommended it to me a long time ago, and although I've picked it up, I've always put it back. I think because maybe I was in denial. Anyhow, I'm into it now, and find that I have a Discoverer with huge Dynamo tendencies. The Dynamo is the part I find so challenging. It's been a really helpful book so far, in that I now know I'm not alone in some of the things I've been feeling. I'm not even up to the "what to do for the kid" part yet. It's going to take me a while to get through this book. Hopefully I'll be able to renew it since I got it through Interlibrary loan.

I guess I'm still coming to grips with the reality of who E is, and accepting that he will always keep me on my toes. He will continue to challenge me to see things differently, and to question my perception of how this world should work. He will continue to expand my horizons. If I could just get him to stop bouncing off the walls. Occasional silence would also be incredibly welcome. But I suppose the book will help me adjust that attitude...

A Gemini Dragon Discoverer Dynamo.
Now that's a label.