my pink toes » Kidlets

Excuse Me While I Kiss This Guy*

lsmith — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 18:47:00 +0000

When 5-year-old Peter sings my playlist, this is what comes out. Try and guess the REAL lyrics. I’ll give you a hint: The Glee songs are in frequent rotation. Answers after the jump.
1. “On a single day”
2. “I spit in my ears”
3. “Measles got the muse git”

1 Beyonce’s “All the Single Ladies”. By the way, if you haven’t heard/seen Pomplamoose’s version, you MUST watch it now! Also, do yourself a favorite and listen to your new favorite new song.
2. From “Somebody to Love“. (Where the lyrics say “I spent all my years in believing you”.)
3. Okay, so this is actually from So You Think You Can Dance. (Yes, my iPod is full of songs I’ve heard on TV). It’s Rhianna’s “Please Don’t Stop the Music”
You can stream all the GLEE songs here.
* For anyone who doesn’t get the title of this post, I send you here. You’ll be there for a while, trust me!

Brotherly Love Always Involves Resilience

lsmith — Wed, 06 May 2009 18:33:51 +0000

Henry starts at my bathroom and takes a long running leap onto my bed. He turns to me, smiles, and proudly says, “I do that jump over Petey all the time, and I hardly ever land on him.”

For the Love of the Game

lsmith — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 22:38:48 +0000

I was a reluctant baseball fan. I did not grow up with a love of the game. In fact, I thought it was boring and pointless until the ripe old age of 25. I’m not even sure why I fell in love with the game. I mean, there was the magical Mariners’ season of ’95 of and all, but I didn’t become a fan until 1997. In fact, when the ballot measure to fund the new stadium came up in 1995, I was soundly against it. I remember saying something along the lines of “if they won’t stay here without a new stadium, then I’ll personally tie a bow around the team and send them off”.
But somehow, the game of baseball grew on me. Specifically, the Mariners grew on me. I fell in love with the team of 1997. Slowly, I began to watch the games, to learn the rules, and to care. We took a road trip to Glacier and Yellowstone that year and I begged sports sections off of other travelers so I could check the AL West standings. In 1999, while backpacking through Europe, I was thrilled to get a glimpse on CNN of the new Safeco Field – as much as I could see on the Ken Griffey Jr. highlight reel, anyway.
For my 30th birthday, Dave bought a block of tickets and invited my best friends out to Safeco Field. Heidi and Jen even made a Baseball Bingo game to play while we watched. I drug the same Heidi and Jen down to Arizona under the guise of a “girls’ weekend” to see spring training. My 32nd birthday was on Opening Day, and Dave took the day off to take me to the game. That same year, friends of ours graciously invited us to sit in a suite with them. When I went into early labor with Peter, my prayer was that I’d make it past the date of that game. (I did).
Unfortunately, the Mariners now are not a good baseball team. In fact, there are currently the worst team in baseball, with a winning percentage so low, it is right around a great slugger’s batting average. I’m afraid it may even slip below the Mendoza line.
Every April for the last few seasons, I’ve been surprised and a bit concerned that I wasn’t chomping at the bit for baseball. I have been ho-hum about spring training, and even missed Opening Day and the first couple weeks of the season this year. Was I losing the baseball bug? Was it a phase? Even worse, was I the dreaded “Fair Weather Fan”?
Turns out the answers are no, no, and no. Even though none of the players I fell in love with play for the team anymore (I especially miss that dish-at-the-dish Dan Wilson), I still love the game. Perhaps because an entire baseball season and its 180 games are more like a marathon than a sprint, I have to warm up to the game every spring. I watch a game here and there, half-heartedly turn into the radio, worry that I’m losing my love for the game, and then – BAM – by the middle of May I’m hooked again.
Peter has always liked baseball, but he’s more of my sports-guy anyway. In the past I tried to get Henry to watch the games with me, but he was glued to the commercials instead. But this year, they are both really in to the game. They ask me about rules, they have learned the players’ names (if a 3-year-old saying Rauuuuuuul Ibanez! doesn’t melt your heart, I don’t know what will), and they even watch and listen to the games with me. I don’t have to fight for TV time, or listen to the radio in a corner of the house.
This last weekend, I had a dream come true: I attended a Mariners game with my boys (and my niece and my dad), who WATCHED THE ENTIRE THING. I couldn’t have been happier, or more proud.

Jammin’ in the Kitchen with Pete

lsmith — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 20:20:49 +0000

It’s little moments like this that make the “staying at home thing” all worth it.
(We were making this recipe by the way – it’s so worth it. And the song? U2′s “When Love Comes to Town” – particularly infectious when sung by an air-guitaring 3 year-old.)

A Case for Pre-Natal Poly-Fill Supplements?

lsmith — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 18:21:01 +0000

Even Superheros Need a Nap Sometimes
Peter takes a nap in his superhero costume –
sucking his fingers, and clutching his puppy.

3 1/2-year-old Peter: When I was in my mommy’s tummy, I didn’t ever sleep at all.
Nana: (very curiously) Oh, really?
Peter: Yep. I can’t sleep without my puppy and I didn’t have Puppy in my mommy’s tummy so I didn’t sleep!

I Am Just a New Soul, I Came into This Strange World

lsmith — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 06:52:12 +0000

cue: New Soul by Yael Naïm
At the mall, walking by the Apple store, spying a new MacBook Air in the window.
Me: Hey Henry, look at that! You see that?
7-year-old Henry: What? The computer?
Me: Yeah! Isn’t that amazing?
Henry: It looks just like yours
Me: Huh? No, I mean – it’s a laptop, yes, but – it’s so thin! It’s as thin as a peechee!
Henry: What’s a peechee?
Me: Um, I guess you guys call them folders now. It’s the size of your reading folder.
Henry: Okay. It’s a computer, Mom.
Me: No! Um, do you know how big computers were when they were first invented? They were -
Henry: I know, I know. rolls eyes. They were the size of our house. And really really expensive. You’ve told me already. exasperated, teenage-like sigh
Me: Yes! That’s why this one is so amazing.
Henry: So, is that the one you want?
Me: Yes, but… I mean no, not really, but… I mean, it’s just so cool! It’s so tiny!
Henry: long pause. Can we go now?
Back in my day…
And yes, I bought the song. I am such a Tool.

Merr-Wii Christmas!

lsmith — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 22:28:33 +0000

On Santa’s Lap…and On TV

lsmith — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 20:46:03 +0000

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Henry and Peter sit on Santa’s lap
- and get on TV
Watch the video here.

My children are so charming that they were on TV the other night. Well, OK, so the story wasn’t actually about them, it was about the cool Santa with whom we get our yearly photos taken. We just happened to be the first in line when Evening Magazine finished their interview with him (he grows his own real beard every year and is such a sweet man). And, the clip is actually from last year – but I’ve had lots of people emailing me saying “Hey, was that you?”. And yes, yes it was!
You can watch the little video here.
*Thanks to my friend Pam for taking the still shots off the video!

Day of the Ninja

lsmith — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 21:45:12 +0000

Peter and I had a Teachable Moment while he was helping me make my coffee today.
Peter: Where is God?
Me: God is everywhere.
Peter: In our house?
Me: Yes, he’s here too.
Peter: But I can’t see him.
Me: Yes, well, God is powerful, but also invisible.
Peter: Oh, so God is a Ninja! Niiiiaaaaahhh!
And this happened on Day of the Ninja, no less. Peter had no idea today was such a special day
Bonus: Celebrate Day of the Ninja by visiting : AskANinja.com. Also check the Writer’s Strike edition. And my all-time favorite: Ninja Dates. This is comedy gold, people!

Trimming the Tree, XY-Style

lsmith — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 22:26:22 +0000

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Humor Mama and Stop Fighting on the Ladder
Oh, the Christmas cheer

And after trimming the tree, we got out the nativity sets. Peter immediately engaged his Playmobil Mary in a swordfight with a Playmobil wiseman. Henry had Playmobil Joseph riding a Jetski. Dave kept introducing the robber into the scene. I finally compromised and had them get out the Roman soldiers and let them be as violent as they wanted because they were working for Herod and wanted to kill Jesus and later did kill Jesus and tried to kill Paul so of course they were bad. But they weren’t allowed to slice anyone in the nativity story not even the cow because Mommy said so. The End.

Marauding Christmas Pirates

You just think your tree is safe.

Super Spy Bracelet as Tree Ornament

I was told it was “so the tree could protect itself from the cats”

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He just looks quiet and unassuming…
How many times will this adorable
ball of fur knock down the tree?
Place your bets

Speaking of cats, we are currently taking bets on how many times this one will knock down the tree.
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