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Since we gave Ben the GameCube and about 8 games on Friday night he's been pretty much glued to it. We decided to let him "get it out of his system" this weekend, and the weather's been cold and rainy and we haven't really had anything else to do this weekend anyway. In fact Ben, Rebecca and I have not been out of the house all weekend yet. Ben stayed in his pajamas until 3:30 yesterday when I finally made him get dressed since we were having a party. Of course during the party, he introduced his friend Jared (who was over for the party) to the GameCube, so the two of them didn't make an appearance downstairs until it was time for dinner/candle lighting/presents and went right back upstairs after dessert.
Today has been a slight improvement - Ben only stayed in his pajamas until 1:30. Nanny and Papa arrived shortly thereafter to celebrate Hanukkah night #3 with us, and Ben wasted no time in introducing them to Super Mario Smash Brothers. Though by the looks of things, Nanny needs some practice.
We had some friends over for a Chanukah party last night. The kids helped to get ready by running around in circles as fast as they could. Though they did stop long enough to pose for a picture, right after I told them for the 100th time TO STOP RUNNING THROUGH THE KITCHEN. We all had a good time (and we hope our guests did too!) The kids topped it off by sleeping until 8 (Ben) and 9 (Becca) this morning. YEAH!
A certain Aunt and Uncle sent Becca a Raiderette outfit for Hanukkah and have been anxiously waiting to see a picture of her in it!
Aside from some issues this morning -- Ben sulking and almost missing the bus, and Rebecca causing me to wrench my back trying to get her into her car seat because of all the I-want-to-do-it-myself squirming -- we had a nice beginning to Chanukah 2009. Oh except for that the kids whined all through dinner for gelt and presents. The kids seemed to enjoy their presents, especially Ben, whose present wasn't even new -- we gave him an old GameCube video game system and some games we bought used at GameStop. He played Super Mario Sunshine for two hours and when we informed him that it was time to go to bed he burst into tears and threw the controller. He could only be pacified by the promise that he'd be allowed to play again tomorrow AS SOON AS HE WAKES UP. I am bracing myself for an early morning awakening. I think we're going to need to establish some ground rules with this video game stuff.
Lately the kids have been having their share of sibling rivalry issues -- Ben has declared on several occasions that he doesn't want a baby sister (a little too late for that I told him) -- and Rebecca is making up for her laid back first year or so of life by being anything but. "Strong willed" and "dramatic" are words that have been used diplomatically to describe her, recently at school. This morning was typical; Rebecca took off with Ben's underwear while he was trying to get dressed, and he pursued her half naked through the whole house before finally cornering her and taking them back.Tonight I witnessed a more mellow moment -- Ben read Rebecca a bedtime story and then as I put her in her crib She threw her arms over the side of the crib and called, "Ben! Come give me a hug!" Ben obliged and they gave each other a big hug. As Ben and I left the room, he turned to me and said, "That was really sweet, wasn't it?"
Last night we went out to dinner with our friends Joanna and Eric, whose son Jared goes to school with Ben, and their other son Evan goes to school with Rebecca. We went to a hibachi restaurant, which I was really looking forward to since we hadn't been to one since moving to Charlotte. Since Rebecca had never been to one, I was pretty sure she would freak during the cooking part, and I was not disappointed. She jumped into my lap and buried her head in my shoulder the whole time our food was being cooked. When the chef was done and was saying goodbye, she stood up on my lap and said tearfully, "Thank you! Thank you! Goodbye! Goodbye!" At least she was polite about it. She kept waving and saying goodbye until he had packed up his supplies and left - a not-so-subtle hint. But every time the waiter would come over to take drink orders, etc, she would jump into my arms again until they left. So she did not have the greatest time. The older boys, Ben and Jared, thought it was great, and Evan (a year older than Rebecca) watched the cooking while peeking through his fingers. I had steak and shrimp, and it was delicious!
On the way home we stopped at the grocery store so Joel could run in for some ice cream. The kids and I waited in the car, and Rebecca dropped one of her toys on the floor. I asked Ben if he could please find it for her, since he was out of his seat. He leaned over and started feeling around the floor for her toy, finally having to get down on hands and knees to get it. As he reached under the seat to get it, I heard him grumble, "I'M TOO OLD FOR THIS!"
Tonight while he was doing his homework Ben said very casually, "I don't know why, but I keep dreaming about going to see the knights, yesterday and today. I had the same dream.""Knights," I asked, "like knights in armor?" Ben doesn't usually talk about his dreams."Yes," he answered. "Knights with metal fingers. They stick them in me.""Umm," I said, "where do they stick them....?""I'm not telling you!" he giggled, "It's gross!" Then, changing his mind, he leaned over and whispered, "IN MY BUTT!" And then went back to happily coloring patterns on his homework sheet.From my years of watching The X Files, I of course immediately drew the conclusion that OH MY GOD MY SON IS BEING ABDUCTED BY SPACE ALIENS!!!!!I do, however, take some comfort in the fact that he at least seems to think it's funny...
Since June 19, 2008