While this probably should be a post about how wonderful my mom is (and she IS wonderful), I wanted to do a special twist on it. I asked my mom to tell me about her memories of Mother’s Day. Good and bad. So I asked her to share the story of her most memorable Mother’s Day. This is what she said.

All 5 of us (my mom, dad, me and my two sisters) decided to go out for dinner for Mother’s Day which was going to be a real treat with 3 little girls. I think Cassie (my youngest sister) may have been about 14 months. We went to a nice restaurant EARLY to beat some of the crowd. All the girls were dressed up for the occasion. I was excited to be having a meal out on Mother’s Day at a nice restaurant.

From there it went downhill.

We were seated right away, our order was taken and the girl’s food was brought out. Of course they were hungry so they ate. We waited and waited a LONG time for our food. By the time our food was brought out the girls were finished eating and didn’t want anything to do with being patient while Mom and Dad ate. So, we ended up getting our meals in “to go boxes” and took everyone home.

I was so disappointed.

After getting everyone out of the car and in the house I put on my shoes and went for a long walk and let Dad deal with the girls.  So much for an enjoyable meal together on Mother’s Day. But the walk was really nice all by myself.

I don’t think we attempted to go to a nice restaurant again for quite some time with the girls except for McDonald’s.

I vaguely remember this happening, I was about 4.5 years old I think. Ahhh, memories.

What was your most memorable Mother’s Day?

This post was inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. Stop by to read more Mother’s Day memories.

Memories of Mom is a post from: Alli 'n Son

And then, it was this sister’s great idea that the three of us girls should attend to the Black Friday sales at the local outlet mall. This outlet mall, which really isn’t even an outlet mall since half of the stores are just normal old stores, begins the holiday craziness at midnight. So we all stayed up late (late for us anyway) or woke up from a brief nap, bundled up in our winter jackets, hats and mittens and hit the road. With only a 10 minute drive, we thought we would be OK leaving 10 minutes early. That was our first mistake, and the first sign that we are NOT cut out for Black Friday shopping. As we waited at the stop light, with police guiding traffic into the parking lot, I started thinking longingly of the kiddo, bundled up warmly in his bed, or Dad-oo playing WII with his brothers-in-law. But we were determined to take advantage of the amazing sales we expected to find.

Our first stop was old Navy, we browsed through the clothes, trying not to get run over by the millions (and by millions, I mean billions) of people crammed into this small store. We each grabbed a few things and went to find the end of the line, which coiled through the store like a python, reading to strike. After about 20 minutes in line, listening to people bitch and moan, gossip and just plain complain, we started eyeing up our selection. Are these things that we really can’t live without? Nope. Had we traveled more than 20 feet in the last 20 minutes? Nope. Time to bail.

The second, and final stop was at The Children’s Place, where you can get some awesome deals any day of the week, with $0.99 racks full of decent clothes. But this time we were a little smarter. One of us stood in line, while the other two shopped. Then we switched. We beat the system we thought slyly. And then we stood. And chatted. And stood, and found some more things to buy. And stood. And chatted with the women in front of us. And then two of us headed out to another few stores, thinking about how smart we are, the three of us multi-taking shoppers. Half an hour later we returned, to find that we were still only half way through the line. And halfway is being optimistic. So we waited, eyed up our selection and determined that this time, we really did need to make these purchases. I can’t turn down $5 shoes for the kiddo, $4 slippers and adorable footie PJ’s for less than $8. Plus an extra 25% off of the final total. So we waited. Had the exact same conversation with the same strange security guard at least twice, if not three times.  Raided my purse for any toddler emergency snacks that we could steal (two packs of fruit snacks and an granola bar). Waited. Complained of sore backs. And swore over and over that we would never do this again. Or if we do, we need to do some serious training before hand.

All in all, we shopped from midnight to 3:30 AM, and I made two purchases, clothes for the kiddo (totaling $16) and the second half of a b-day gift for my father-in-law. Was the amount of money I saved worth the hours in line (about 2 hours total at The Children’s Place)? Hell no! Never, ever, ever again will we do this. Especially since the kiddo woke up the second we got back, and cried on and off for the next 1.5-2 hours. And since we were all sleeping in the same room at my sisters house, and two other babies were in that house trying to sleep, bot me and Dad-oo spent that time trying to get the kiddo back to sleep. I treasure my sleep and sanity too much to ever do this again. Someone please remind me of this next year, when the amazing sales start tempting my pocket book, and I have selective amnesia about this year’s events.

My Black Friday Experience is a post from: Alli 'n Son

Sassy Eli

A few weeks ago I was pondering what Eli’s first curse word would be. I of course assumed that he would pick it up from me or Dad-oo and even went on to list some words that have been known to float through our house. But, as it turns out, I was wrong. Eli picked up his first curse word from his grandparents. Yes, you read that right. Dad-oo’s parents introduced Eli to his first naughty word. And of course, we all laughed after he said it.

Now, in their defense, they didn’t intentionally teach him this word. We were causally eating dinner at our house, homemade pizza (yum), drinking wine or beer. Eli was hobbling around on his cast, trying to grab food off our plates. Being the helpful Grandpa that he is, he introduced Eli to the word fork, as Eli grabbed for it off his plate. Then Grandma chimed in and repeated the word several times, to make sure that he understood it. And then Eli repeated it. Over and over and over. While my eyes continued to get bigger and bigger, because he wasn’t able to pronounce the full word. Oh no. He was leaving out the “r”. Yes, that’s right, Eli was saying the “f” word (this is a PG blog, you’re going to have to use your imagination to figure this one out). And they didn’t even realize that it had happened.

Finally Dad-oo stepped in. Eli kept repeating his new favorite word and the Grandparents were delighted that they were the ones to teach it to him, but they didn’t realize what it sounded like. Dad-oo kindly pointed it, there was a slight pause before Eli said it again, and then, of course, the Grandparents burst out laughing. Oh God. Can we please go back in time and stop this from even happening? No? OK, damage control then. Let’s teach Eli knife instead. Yes, much better. Sigh.

Thankfully he hasn’t repeated the word since then, even when it was mentioned the next day (I’ll give you two guesses who said it). I think for now, we’ve moved past it. Until I’m walking through the mall, and Eli decides to shout his new word at the top of his lungs. Much like he did with the word clock at Wal-Mart. I’ll give you one hint as to what that word sounds like. Eli doesn’t pronounce L’s very well.

The joys of having a toddler who picks up on every word he hears.

The “F” Word – Coming to an Eli Near You is a post from: Alli 'n Son

So what did they do during those 5 days? It would probably be shorter to list the things that they didn’t do! I think there are still one or two things on the list for next time, but they managed to do just about everything. (By the way, the first thing Grandma said to me as I walked in the door was to ask us to stay away longer next time!) Among the things they were able to check off there list included: visiting with friends, s’mores with friends, the local park, Cabela’s to see the fish, bunnies, and deer, the library, dinner with Great-grandma., lunch in the “forest” complete with little chairs and of course, don’t forget the yummy snacks: homemade cookies, chocolate pudding, ice cream popsicles, chocolate chip teddy grahams It wouldn’t be a grandma’s house without treats would it? Although I did hear Grandpa grumble from time to time that he never gets these special treats. We did have to remind he that chocolate pudding at 9:00 at night is not a great idea for a toddler. But I have to admit that a few days later, after we returned from Seattle, we took Eli out for custard at Kopps. Shhh, don’t tell Grandma!

Eli’s Vaca with the G-Parents is a post from: Alli 'n Son

Since the weather was so icky, Eli had only one or two chances to play in the sprinkler. And Labor Day weekend was probably the last chance of the year. So I grabbed my camera, Dad-oo and the pugs and we headed outside for one last run.  I hope you enjoy the photos! (Click on the photo to see it full size.)

The Last Days of Summer is a post from: Alli 'n Son

We had a lot of fun, made some good food, fresh corn on the cob, potatoes, chicken and burgers. Just what you would want for a Labor day gathering. And of course some yummy lemon bars made by yours truly. They must have been a hit since both of my sisters went back for seconds. And, well, I did too but Eli did eat half of my first bar. That’s my excuse anyway.

Over all we had a blast and I’m really glad that we made the trip. We don’t do it often enough. But…well, I wanted to take the time to talk about my sis Cassie’s dog Jasper. I can see her and Jason cringing right now. For the most part he’s a good dog and would be perfect for a family or individual that can spend some extra, one-on-one bonding training time with him. But he is not a good dog to have around children since he’s been known to bite, which of course makes me and Dad-oo extra caution when Eli is around him. Eli LOVES dogs, but he hasn’t figured out that not all dogs are as friendly and fun loving as our pugs. We’re working with him to be cautious around dogs he doesn’t know, but he is only 17 months old after all, so it may be a while before he really grasps what we are saying. So while we’re teaching him doggy boundaries, we’re keeping a close eye on Jasper.

For the most part, the day went off without a hitch, there were only one of two incidents that caused concerned. Jasper, in a playful mood, was running around the house, and got a little too close for comfort to Eli, jumping on and around him. We quickly intervened and chances are nothing would have happened, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. Can you imagine how Cassie and Jason would feel if Eli was bitten by Jasper? If he was bitten on the face and scared? And unfortunately, I think that Jasper would have to be put down if he ever bit a child. That’s not a fate I want for him.

Cassie and Jason have a baby on the way. In just 2.5 short months they will be welcoming a little boy (not yet named) into their lives. To prepare for this new bundle-of-joy, they are wisely searching for a new home for Jasper, but have not yet found a home that is the right fit. I truly hope they can find someone they are comfortable giving Jasper too. But, to help their cause, if anyone is interested in a cute yorkie who needs someone with patience and understanding, leave me a comment and I’ll send you their contact info.

Jasper

Family Time is a post from: Alli 'n Son

It’s always a little stressful traveling with Eli. We have to get the timing down (leaving right after lunch but before he falls asleep for his afternoon nap). We have to remember to pack everything, but not over pack for a one night trip. Sippy cupCHECK! Diapers, PJ’s and clothes, CHECK! Books and toys that Eli (and Momma) can’t live without, CHECK! Camera, CHECK (although we didn’t actually use it)! Running, sporty and high heeled shoes for Momma, CHECK! OK, I’ll uncheck that one, I guess I don’t really need that many shoes for one night.

But for this trip, we had an extra stress. Multiple kids in one small living room (the weather didn’t cooperate) all afternoon and into the evening. How would Eli react to these new tiny faces? Not just kids his own age, but crying babies as well. How would Momma react? Should we expect tears from both? Would Dad-oo stay for the whole party, or would he skip out early?

The part went off without a hitch (other than Nick already knowing about it). The kids (6 total, including 3 under the age of 5 months) were well behaved…for the most part. There were two small incidents involving Eli and a 2.5 year old boy who was definitely in the “I’m testing my limits” stage. This boy, let’s call him Joe, well he decided that it was his sole purpose in life to tackle Eli. And tackle him he did. Without any warning Joe came sprinting out of the kitchen and barreled into Eli, who was standing innocently in the door way. Now, this Joe has almost 1 year on Eli and about 3 inches (if not more), so it was a pretty fierce tackle. Eli of course handled it like a pro. There were a few tiny tears, more out of shock than being hurt. But he brushed it off, got a hug from Momma, an and went on his way. I was such a proud Momma!

The second incident was again from Joe. I don’t know all of the circumstances behind this one, since it happened in a corner by the dining room table and I couldn’t seen happened. All I know is what I was told by Joe, and he seemed to be telling me the truth. The two boys were in the corner playing, or so I thought. It was before dinner and I think both boys were getting a little hungry and a little crabby. Out of now where, Eli is crying, and Joe is sitting next to him, just kind of looking. I asked Joe what happened, and he motioned that he poked Eli on the head. Well, I don’t think that it was really a poke, I’m guessing that it was more of a hit or a punch. I know that all kids hit, Eli has been known to hit when he’s tired and hungry, so I wasn’t really upset about it. Eli was calming down and he didn’t have any bruises or welts, he was going to be fine But the thing that really bothered me, is that Joe refused to apologize. I told him that wasn’t a nice thing to do, and asked him to say sorry to Eli. At the first attempt, I got a blank stare. The second attempt, a blank stare. The third attempt, a blank stare. I finally gave up. He isn’t my child after all. But I was disappointed that his parents didn’t step in and take over. Each parent does have their own style, no one is perfect, and who and I to tell someone else how to raise their child?

But Eli did splendidly with all of the kids running around, the babies crying and a sugar rush from the ice cream cake. It’s always nice pat-on-the-back when you see your kid easily interacting with other kids, sharing (even if he did need a little guidance from Momma), and being able to quickly adapt to that chaotic environment. Must mean that we’re doing something right. Most of the time at least.

If anyone has photos of Eli from the party and wants to share, I’ll post them! Leave me a comment if you do.

Stay tuned, I have a great product review coming up. A must have for traveling with kids.

Suprise Party & Family Gathering is a post from: Alli 'n Son

I am, of course, exaggerating. Both Grandmas are wonderful, caring and thoughtful women. But it is interesting to observe how each interacts with Eli and even more interesting to imagine each grandma with myself or Mike as a child. Grams for instance, has a more laid back approach, helping when needed but also letting Eli explore and learn on his own. She’s very involved with him, but knows when it’s time for him to figure out how things work by doing it himself. Does Eli want to read 8 Silly Monkeys, but turn the pages himself? Yes he does! I can just see my mom helping me and my sisters with an art project, but stepping back and letting us figure out what happens when you mix blue and yellow paint (look Ma, it turned green!).

On the other hand, Grandma has a very energetic approach, running here and there with Eli, hovering over his every move, making sure that each and every one of his needs are take care of. Could he be hungry? Bring out the Goldfish! Is he cold? Here’s a sweat shirt! I can imagine her playing with Mike as a toddler, being involved with everything he does so she doesn’t miss a thing.

I guess the point of this isn’t to point out how different they are, or to say one is better than the other. The point is that I’m so grateful to have two very involved grandmas in my son’s life (and grandpas too, but we’ll get to that later). Both of these g-mas bring a different perspective to raising a child. Both bring a different, but similar, set of valuse to the table. And both love my little boy with all of their heart. I wouldn’t trade either one for anything in the world.

Oh, no veggies today, it was PBJ night, which Eli did of course wolf down. Oh well, tomorrow is another day.

Grams and 4 month old Eli

Grandma and 4 month old Eli

Battle of the G-Ma’s is a post from: Alli 'n Son