Moments to Remember

1) The other day, there was dead silence in the backseat of the car until, out of nowhere, Freddie started singing, "I got me (beat) shot! I got me (beat) shot!" I don't listen to "Hamilton" all that often when they're in the car with me, but apparently, I've listened just enough for Freddie to fall in love with one of my favorite songs from the soundtrack.

When we got to Mom and Daddy's, I made him sing it again, so I could record it for the ages. I am especially proud of - and impressed by - the way he captures the rhythm!
 

2) Jones is still really into the "Blue (by that he means 'Lone') Ranger." I'm guessing THAT'S where he was inspired to say this: our babysitter, Haylee, was over one day, and she was roughhousing with Freddie. Jones was playing with his broomstick horse and said to her, "Weave my brudder alone, ya ole Lazy Daisy." It was HILARIOUS.

Also, he continues to refer to the Lone Ranger's horse as "Hi Ho Silver Away." Used in a sentence: "Mama, Hi Ho Silver Away (sometimes just 'Hi Ho Silver') is hungry. Can he go to lunch with us?"

3) Just like my parents did before me - and my sister did with her kids before I did with mine - I'm really intentional about introducing my boys to the "classics." Cartoons, for instance - Sure, they love them some "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse," but they're just as excited about "Tommy Jerry," "Dripdy (Droopy)," and "the Smurfs." Lately, they've also gotten into Bugs Bunny, thanks to a $5 DVD I bought at Big Lots.

A few mornings ago, Freddie said he wanted to watch "Bugs Rabbit." Jones, acting annoyed, said, "It's BUNNNNY."

4) After church on Sunday, we went to what the boys call "The Strawberry Shop," which is what the rest of the world calls "Chili's" (but that pepper in their logo kinda DOES look like a strawberry, doesn't it?!?). There was a seat between Jeremy and Freddie, and Fred said, "This is for Reagan." I think he's a little sweet on his friend from church.

Jones has been bitten by the bug, too - he named his pumpkin Reagan. He named the scarecrow on our porch Reagan, and the potty-training baby that has always just been "Baby" was re-christened "Reagan" earlier this week. Reagan's mama is about to have her third baby, so I'm hoping that means Reagan and her little brother Brice get to spend a lot more time out here with us during the day. The boys would go BANANAS.

This reminds me of last Monday. Our friend Jason brought his now-fiancee and her twin daughters over for dinner. Her girls - Sophie and Grace - are four, and the four kids hit it off like CRAZYCAKES, playing GREAT together and eating, just the four of them, in the playroom, while the grownups were in the kitchen. When Sophie and Grace went to the potty, Freddie looked around from his little wooden seat and said, "Where are the girls?" It sounded like something straight out of "White Christmas," and we all laughed at how adorable it sounded.

5) Today, we were heading outside to play on what looks like it'll be the last super warm day for a few days. I decided I'd have some coffee, which is RARE, so I told the boys to hold up. "I'm gonna make some coffee." Freddie interjected, "I want some cop-py!" "Well, Buddy, coffee is just for mamas and daddies." "And Nanas," Freddie added before Jones finished with, "And Maymes."

6) Whenever Freddie sees me looking sad, he'll say, "You happy?" And if I say, "No," he'll say, "I YOUR boy," to make me feel better.

And it usually does.

7) For MONTHS, Jones has been saying something that sounds like, "It's Belligerence" when he'd get in trouble. I thought it was a blame-shifting thing - like "Belligerence," like the bug Jones often blames, is his imaginary fall guy. Well, today, he finally said it clearly enough for me to understand him. All this time, he's been saying, "It's a BIG ACCIDENT."

That makes SO much more sense.

8) Earlier this week, I went with some friends to see Dolly Parton (and Dollywood!) in Pigeon Forge. I FaceTimed the boys from the park when it was all lit up for Christmas. They were at Waffle House with Jeremy. When I showed the decorations to Jones, he said, "It's gorgeous," and then he added, "I want you to come back to YOUR house, Mama."

And so I did.

9) Anytime you give Jones medicine, he says, "Mmmmm. I'm all better," as soon as he's swallowed it.

10) Freddie wants medicine CONSTANTLY. He makes up excuses, things that hurt, so he can get a shot of that sweet elixir known as Benadryl.

11) This is gross but hilarious. The other day, Jones was ... doing his business. I asked him, "Can you squeeze that stinky out?" He said, "Yes. But the stinky will not squeeze out. It needs some batteries to squeeze it out."

What size?

12) While I was at Dollywood, Lynn noticed Freddie was missing. She found him in the bathroom, washing his hands. He then started using the soap to wash some of his toys. When he saw her watching, he said, "I don't need you. Go away." Not very sweet, but still pretty funny.

So that's all that comes to mind right now. I've been trying to get most of this on paper FOR TWO WEEKS. Blogging is hard, Y'all, primarily because I'm too tired to do it, like, 89% of the time and too lazy the other 11%.

"American Electorate"

As it was for most parents, taking my boys to the polls in this week's Presidential election was really important to me. They've gone along for every vote, since they've were born - but this was Freddie's first "big one."

Nothing all that memorable happened in the process (unless you count the suckers and the "I Voted!" stickers they were given at the end), but as I was getting Freddie dressed before we left, I said, "We're going to vote," and he said, "We're going on the boat?" I explained that, NO. We were, unfortunately, NOT going on the boat, but still. That was pretty adorable ...

... as is the thumbs-up gesture that Freddie's started making.  Now that he's got THAT move down, maybe HE'LL be on the ballot some Presidential election future. (Provided he stands for conservative values and small government:)), he'll surely have MY vote.

I feel like if the boys had a frat-rock band
called "American Electorate," this
would be the PERFECT album cover.
Another great name for their band
would be "Electoral College."
Just spitballing here.

On the flip side, if the boys ever go on a
Wallace & Davis, USO-style World Tour,
then THIS would be great for a poster
to put up on the bases they'd visit worldwide.

Probably my favorite outfit he's worn
in the last month. Seriously. 

Those monogrammed sweatshirt
may be the best money I've ever spent. 

"TRUMP WON?!?!"

Fred Pressley for President 2046

Focus on Freckle

The boys and I were reading some Thanksgiving books during dinner today. The characters in the book were listing things that made them happy, so I asked the boys, "What are some things that make YOU feel happy?" Without missing a beat, Freddie answered, "Mama."

So I let him eat candy for dinner and stay up an hour after his bedtime (I'm kidding. Bedtime is sacred, and if there were any candy in the house, I'D be the one eating it).

When I put him to bed, he asked me to "Pease sing to me in my bed," as he always does, so I climbed in to sing to him - "Jesus Loves Me" is always his first pick, followed, generally, by "Jesus," then "Deep and Wide" and "De-PART."

As I tried to climb out and leave, he grabbed hold of my neck and said, "You're stuck (which sounds more like 'duck')," and then he got a gleam in his giant blue eyes and said, "I lock you in."

And instead of getting up to go check on election returns, I let him "lock me in" for a few more minutes, reminding myself that, no matter WHO'S President, my baby boys are STILL the kings of my heart.

THAT is something that makes ME feel happy.

THAT just happened ...

It happened again.

By "it," I mean the boys' dragging their feet while eating their yogurt. A note about the yogurt: Activia Probiotic Yogurt has been a game changer for Jones's ... ahem ... digestion, so I am NEUROTIC about getting at least one but preferably two cups in him every day, and the thing is, they LOVE yogurt. It's just that they ALSO love playing around in the new booth Mom bought for our kitchen, which is fine, EXCEPT WHEN WE ARE UP AGAINST NAPTIME.

Anyway...

We were in our 30th minute of lunch today, which meant I'd said, "EAT YOUR YOGURT" at LEAST 30,000 times. Finally, I said it more loudly than I had been. I didn't YELL it, but it definitely came out at a higher-than-usual volume. Jones meekly put his hands over his ears and said, "Don't yell."

He didn't say this disrespectfully at all, so I sat down beside him and diplomatically said, "I'll make you a deal. I won't yell at you, if you will obey me without complaining."

By this point, he had his head resting on one arm on the table. When I said that, he looked up at me with that giant right eye and then stuck his left hand out to shake mine. "DEAL," he said, matter-of-factly.

I kid you not.

THAT just happened.

With my JUST turned four year old.

Where.in.the.world did he pick that up?

Regardlesss, our good-natured exchange seemed to have done the trick--at least temporarily. Within 90 seconds, the rest of his yogurt was gone, and soon after that, both boys were in bed.

Thanks be to God.

Short Stories

1) This morning, the boys were REALLY frustrating me, because they WOULD NOT JUST SIT STILL AND EAT THEIR FREAKING BREAKFASTS, so I yelled at them, and a few minutes later, as they STILL sat there (not) eating their yogurt, I went back into the kitchen and said, "I'm sorry I yelled at you boys. That was wrong of me. I lost my temper."

Jones tenderly put his hand on my forearm and said, "Okay, but you see, there are still con-sea-quences when we sin."

I simultaneously laughed and beamed with pride.

2) Jones, who's told people he was a cowboy, since he could speak, is really into watching "Lone Ranger" episodes on YouTube (via AppleTV). This morning, he was playing with little plastic cowboys / Indians / horses (think green Army men, only with a Wild West theme).

When I asked who he had, he held up a blue guy and said, "This is the Blue Ranger." He then held out a white horse and said, "And this is Hi-Ho-Silver-Away," as if the entire phrase were the horse's name.

That's another one of those things I'm just not gonna correct, because it's too, too CUTE.

This would also be an appropriate place to note that Jones refers to "Tom & Jerry," which he LOVES, as "Tommy Jerry."

3) Also, Nana Boone gave Jones a witch / Halloween movie for his birthday. Both boys like watching it - but especially Mr. Pookys himself, Jones Pressley. When the boys were playing in the yard on Friday, they turned their golf clubs into broomsticks and flew like the witch.

I had to teach the boys to never
pick the card that your opponent
wants you to pick!

The fact that Jones has a bare chest and bare feet IN NOVEMBER is just another one of those things that I LOVE about living in the South.

4) Aunt Nancy gave Jones some card games for his birthday - Old Maid, Go Fish, and Animal Rummy. On Saturday, we broke out the Old Maid cards, and the boys were HOOKED - especially Freddie. He's had a deck of cards in his hand pretty much ever since.

Freddie and Daddy beat Jones and me,
so this was their "good game" handshake.

Musings on a World Series Win

I am NOT a baseball fan.

I like hearing baseball on the radio. It reminds me of long trips riding, generally to Kentucky, as a kid. I also like when my father-in-law watches the Braves when we're at the lake in the summer; with its intoxicating blend of chatty announcers, distant organs playing peppy tunes that we all, somehow, know the words to, and the intermittent cracking of wooden bats, the broadcasts sound just like summer nites at my Mayme's house. I even like going to "the ballyard," as Chris Manos used to call it when he'd introduce shows for Atlanta's Theater of the Stars.

But, the truth is, when it comes to what's happening on the field, I could.not.care.less.

Until the Cubs are playing in the World Series, that is.

_____

I didn't know my Daddaw Phil. I know about him - he looked just like Daddy; he spoiled Bubba (and Mayme and, probably, Jim Bob); as they walked around the town square, he slipped his grandchildren Lifesavers, which the youngest came to call "Chews." He also operated Leslie's Drugstore in the tiny river town that holds my heart - and most of my childhood memories.

Leslie's was a typical Rexall spread. In addition to the "drugs" part of the "drugstore," it, of course, had sundries and a soda fountain. In rural Kentucky, though, Leslie's Drugstore was special. It had all of those things - but it ALSO had the first radio in Greenup, the ONLY radio in Greenup (for a time, anyway). And on that ONLY radio in Greenup, the ONLY team whose game broadcasts came through clearly was the Chicago Cubs.

That meant that, in addition to being a top-notch pharmacist, Phil Leslie was also a raging, major Cubs fan. Greenup's finest would congregate to listen to the games - or stop by to see the scores he'd post on a chalkboard in the drugstore. He passed this fandom down to some members of the family, as surely as he passed on his generous way of spoiling the ones he loved; others picked up his love for the sport but replaced the Cubs with the closer-to-home team Cincinnati Reds.

I didn't really get either - a love for the Cubs OR for baseball. I did, however, always feel like the Cubs were a gateway to get to know the man who'd meant so much to those who mean so much to me.

In 2001, just before my sister gave birth to my second nephew, our family pilgrimaged to Wrigley. I remember seeing the ivy on the outfield wall and feeling, finally, close to him. I felt that same feeling when I gave my first son Phil's middle name, and last nite, as I watched the Cubbies win the World Series for the first time since Daddaw was eight years old, there it was again.

Heavenly visions of a man I never met seemed completely real to me. There he is in his crisply pressed trousers and a dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He's holding a bottle Coke and beaming like he hadn't done since the day he met his little girl. In that moment, I had to fight the impulse to call him and say, "Daddaw, they DID it!" as if he'd even know who it was on the other end of the line.

In a few years, the family will pilgrimage again to Wrigley - this time, we'll take our Freddie Bear and Phillip Jones Leslie's namesake, Robert Jones Pressley, and when we do, we'll be sure they know why - and in whose honor - we "root, root, root for the Cub-bies!"

Until then, I wanted to write this down, so my boys will always know that, sometimes, sports is about more than fans.

It's about family.
_____________

(Speaking of, my baby cousin BJ is one member of the family to whom Daddaw's Cub-love trickled down. He now lives in Chicago and was at Harry Caray's restaurant last nite to watch the game. In this INCREDIBLE tribute to Harry Caray, BJ makes three appearances. That's almost as exciting to me as last nite's win!)

Ranger Danger

Notice the "Pow pow" in his hand.

I don't want to jump the gun (buh-dum-dum), but next year's Halloween costumes may already be decided.

Jones has become enamored with old cowboy shows, so yesterday, I played him some Lone Ranger episodes on YouTube. He.was.hooked. "So Tonto has a gray horse (the episode was in black and white), and 'Ranger' has a white horse," he said, figuring it all out.

So this morning, while I took a bath, the boys stayed in the den, watching "Ranger," and when I came back in, they'd both pulled out animals and were sitting on them, shooting - even raring them back, just like "Ranger" does.

It was oh-so-adorable and pretty much one of my favorite memories ever. The "We've got company comin'" line, the way Jones runs and jumps on his "horse," and the fact that Freddie reminds me that I'm one of them ("You're Jessie!") make this video WELL worth the watch, if I do say so myself.
 

This picture is terrible, but it's what I walked in on.
I just snapped a shot as best I could to capture
all the adorable.

"Hi-ho, Silver! AWAY!"