Facebook Posts, August, 2012

Here are my Leatherkid-related Facebook posts from August, 2012. They are unedited and should generally be assumed to start with "Carla Reiter Leatherman..."

There were a lot of good posts this month! This was the month of our "staycation," where Dan and I took a week off from work to hang out and do things in the area with the kids. The "sucker" posts later in the month were fun, and I do remember very vividly the "puke/naked buns" combo incident.  There were a couple of classic "thumb-sucking" posts, too.  I think I'd have to say my favorite was the one about Cal dressing like a father -- that was such a fun yet short-lived phase!

August 3, 2012
can't believe that Cal, Mr. Honest, totally LIED to the dentist this AM:

Dentist: "Cal, have you been sucking your thumb?"
Cal <without hesitating>: "No."
Me<flabberghasted>: "What?!?!?"
Dentist: "Cal, your mom thinks you are not telling the truth. Are you still sucking your thumb?"
Cal: "No."
Me: "Whatever. Yes, he's still sucking his thumb. We talked about this ALL week."

Ella's so pretty!
(posted 8/5/12)

August 5, 2012
had a conversation about "consequences" with her 3-1/2-year-old son tonight, initiated by him. At this rate, I'm going to run out of material by the time he's 5.

August 6, 2012
is a little disappointed in the "Okay to Wake" Owl's performance thus far.

August 6, 2012

Ella happy with her hot dog at
Kops 'n Kids Day in Lemont
(posted 8/5/12)

had a nice, busy first day of our "staycation"... got haircuts, handed kids off to Dan's parents for a trip to the zoo, bought running shoes at half their original price, worked out with new dumbbells, knocked out a couple of errands, had Choo Choo Johnny's for dinner, played cards with Dan's parents, and oohed and aahed about Dan's bathroom makeover... and now I'm enjoying some quiet time with the windows open.

Fireman Cal at Kops 'n
Kids Day in Lemont
(posted 8/5/12)

August 7, 2012
had a more relaxed and uneventful staycation day #2 today -- ran, hung out with the kids and Dan, used our rehabbed bathroom for the first time, had a family picnic dinner at the prairie path and used our $20 Kohl's cash on some clothes for Ella.

August 9, 2012
went to Chicago with the fam for staycation day #3 yesterday -- did the Sears Tower skydeck, said "hi" to the lions outside the Art Institute, checked out Millennium Park and the Bean and "played" some volleyball by the Fountain... and walked the whole way... with the kids... and a volleyball... :)

August 9, 2012
spent staycation day #4 with the fam again -- ran, dropped car off to have breaks checked, spent some time with Gramma Gramma, "swam" at the pool in Lemont, had dinner with Grandma and Grandpa Fred, survived a late meltdown by our napless Ella and took an unexpected nap from about 8-8:30pm.

August 11, 2012
had a casual staycation day # last yesterday... worked out, blogged, went to a couple of stores, (the kids) napped, played baseball in the driveway, went for a jog/walk with the kids, rolled a game with the new bowling ball, (the kids) ate ice cream and a bunch of little things in between and around.

August 12, 2012
likes Cal's suggestion that he wear his "cowboy gloves" (a pair of glove liners for extra warmth) to keep himself from sucking his thumb. No kidding -- all his idea!

August 12, 2012
is so proud of Cal who, when presented with the challenge of wearing his gloves all night to keep himself from sucking his thumb, is sound asleep with his gloves still on... :)

August 13, 2012

Cal looking "like a father" this AM,
complete with clip-on tie and
self-applied pomade
(posted 8/14/12)

loves her husband because he wore a shirt and tie to work today only because his son, also wearing a tie, asked him to.

August 15, 2012
So, for a month or two now, I've been telling Cal as I put him to bed at night to get some good sleep because he needs to rest up in order to change the world. Oftentimes, I tell him that he already has changed my world. Tonight, from his bed, he declared this as I started to walk down the stairs: "Mommy, I'm already changing the world. Mommy, I don't know what 'the world' is." It was already late, so I told him I'd explain that to him another day.

August 17, 2012
gets a kick out of Cal's problems-solving ideas. Tonight it was, "I could put my pillow over my head so my thumb can't go in my mouth." Hopefully it never comes to that.

August 19, 2012
Cal and I ran this route yesterday, he in stroller, me pushing him... it was great! Just like old times, except that he's looking for more conversation out of me, an historically non-talking runner, than he used to!

August 19, 2012

had this conversation with Cal last night during his first round of getting up out of bed:

Cal: "I have to go potty."
Me: "Didn't you go potty before you went to bed?"
Cal: "No."
Me <thinking 'big liar'>: "Go ahead and go, then."Cal: "I was spitting in my bed."
Me <I know, I heard>: "Why were you spitting, Cal?"
Cal: "Because I wanted to get you to come in to my room."
Me <thinking 'it almost worked, but I would have spit on you'>: "Cal, that's not a good way to get my attention. There are better ways, like ASK me for help."
And then there was more conversation about getting slippers and wearing long pants and riding motorcycles and...

August 20, 2012
was cleaning up Ella's and Zoe's piles of puke (conveniently "plopped" adjacent to each other on the floor) when she heard a loud crash from behind the bathroom door and open said door to find Cal's bare buns "staring" back at me from the sink. Apparently, he had stinky feet and wanted to clean them after using the toilet.

August 21, 2012
sent Cal to school today dressed "like a father" - long-sleeve button-down shirt, clip-on tie, khakis, and a homemade work badge hanging from his pants pocket.

August 25, 2012
loves how Cal points out when he sees Cars characters in everyday traffic. This morning it went like this:

Cal: "There's a black Doc!"
Dan and I: "You're right, Cal - it IS a black Doc!" (It really was.)
Cal: "Yeah, I know my Docs!"

August 25, 2012
Chuckled after this one outside of the bank this AM:

Dan (to Cal): "If you're patient and a good listener, you can ask politely to have a S-U-C-K-E-R. Do you know what that spells?
Cal: "Umm... lollipop?"

August 25, 2012
So Dan explained to Cal that "sucker" and "lollipop" are synonymous. A bit later, Dan asked what's synonymous with "lollipop," and Cal responded, "Sugar." Not a bad answer!

August 26, 2012
just asked for "two minutes of alone time" from her kids. Cal's response was, "okay, I'll count to two and you'll come with me." I guess I should've asked for 120 seconds. :)

August 30, 2012
sent Ella to school in an outfit picked out by Cal (wearing his own t-shirt backwards) - blue school t-shirt, teal plaid shorts, hot pink socks and diaper. It was good enough to think I selected it and bad enough to think I don't dress my kid very well.

August 31, 2012

Ella in shark jams

Several days this week, Cal picked out some of his jammies for Ella to wear to bed -- here she is in his shark jams, brushing her teeth while she stands on the stool, looking just like her big brother.