As Easy as 1-2-3

My son has always been a great dancer. He LOVES to move and groove to music. Since he was just an infant, he was most happy when we were moving around, dancing together to a variety of tunes. He is the first one, despite normally being pretty shy, to stand up and dance in school or a group. And I have to say, he has some pretty good moves! Little Man has rhythm. I don't know where in his genetic code this was passed down because his father and I look like we're being stung by swarm of killer bees everything we "feel" the music. He is good. Lately, Little Man has been obsessed with Power Rangers. He has certain "karate" moves that he busts out when he is fighting the bad guys. It is quite cute and entertaining.

Yesterday, I took Little Man out to lunch and on the way home, "Boom Boom Pow" by Black Eyed Peas came on the radio. To say that Little Man loved it, is putting it mildly. He was moving away in his car seat and had all the right facial expressions to match. He asked me to buy it when we got home. As we entered the house, he told me he had a dance to teach me. Oy Vey. So I asked Little Man the name of this dance, it's "Flipping the Kick". Okay, so here is what I got down, exactly, per his instructions, "You put two fingers on the ground, like this,Mommy. Put your fingers down and do a kick, one, two times. Jump into the sky, roll over and flip, like this. You have to do this 3, 4 times. Maybe two ones. And then you kick the bad guy, jump up and flip into the car. Flip inside and then flip over the car, 5,6,7,8, 9 times. Okay? Then throw your jacket off, Mommy, throw is off and then spin around and around. And then, after you spin and flip, stop to break it down (at this point he stops and shakes his butt, HA! Break it down, I love it!). Okay, break it down like this (continues booty shake). And then kick one more time and put your fingers into the sky." Sounds easy enough...now let Mommy try.

A little back story before I go on to embarrass myself, I am in physical therapy for problems with my sciatica nerve. Yes, this is probably the same pain that you hear your 80-something year-old grandma complain about. I'm having problems due to the devastation that was inflicted upon my pelvis birthing my two huge boys. My pelvis separated and now the joints are loose and uneven. Ouch. Make that a double. Lately, I am hobbling and crawling around the house (seriously, I'm hurtin'), so trying to keep up with a 3 year-old's dance moves probably isn't smart. So, I decide to try anyway. I flip and twirl on the ground when "ZAP!" an excruciating bolt of pain shoots down my right leg, leaving me whimpering on the floor. Little Man checks on me and I recover. Five minutes later, Little Man is dancing away when he stops and falls to the ground and yells, "OUCH, I'M OLD!" This is how my kids see me! Not a hip and fit mommy, but a pathetic bag of old meat crying on the floor. On that note, time to go exercise.

Veteran's Day

I just read such an amazing book that it literally brought me to tears. I just finished reading Where Men Win Glory by Jon Krakauer. I love everything this author writes, Into Thin Air, Into the Wild, Under the Banner of Heaven, everything. This one is by far my favorite. This book is the story of Pat Tillman, the NFL safety on the Arizona Cardinals who left a multi-million dollar contract to fight in Afghanistan. At the start, we know that Tillman was killed by friendly fire in 2004. Knowing this, you know the story is not going to be a happy one, but it is an absolute page turner. I finished the book last night and was really and truly crying, hard. Little Man felt so bad he asked, "why are you sad, mommy?' I told him that my book was sad. He seemed so confused, "then don't read it, mommy, pick a different book." I told him that I liked my book and he could not understand how I could like a book that was making me cry, tears of sadness. He then went to our bookcase and brought over, God Few Tired of Us, a book about the lost boys of Sudan. Not exactly a good pick to make me less emotionl, another tear-jerker of a read, for sure. I cannot recommend this book enough. Not everyone will agree with Krakauer's politics, although I think many will. For the past 8 years I have intentional kept myself a little in the dark with the "War on Terror". I hate to admit that I was the person who put their head in the sand when I felt overwhelmed and powerless. During the last administration, I felt like all power was taken away from the people and I was afraid that the more I knew, the more enraged I would become. This book snapped me out of that fog. This book highlights just what a terrible situation our troops are in. I think it's apropos to think about all of the service men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan today (and our vets at home) and just what a tremendous job they have in front of them. I have much respect for Pat Tillman's mom, Dannie Tillman. I think you will too. Of course, this book made me think about the world that will be waiting for my boys in 15 or so years. I hope it's a world where humans have learned to respect one another and the planet that we live on. We don't all have to like one another or agree with everyone's politics, but we must learn to respect one another and learn to live with our hearts full of love for something, anything, instead of consumed with hate. Maybe our kids will grow up and teach us all a thing or two. I certainly hope so.

Rough and Tumble

The other night, Little Man, (my 3 year-old) broke 2 of his teeth. According to the dentist, we have to play a game of "wait and see" to see if they fall out or not. His poor, beautiful teeth! Boys and their rough play! Then again, I used to wrestle with my older brother ALL THE TIME as a kid. I loved to climb trees and beat up on boys, too. I just can't imagine the craziness that these walls will contain in the upcoming years as Mr.Man ( my 10 month-old, I know, weird nickname, but that's what it is!) gets older and can really raise havoc with his older brother. When Little Man has friends over now, it's madness, times 10. They love to run around, laugh and be zany little boys. It is all friendly play, not aggressive at all, so I let them play. Studies have shown that boys who are allowed to rough house play, tend to actually be less violent as adults. (Studies have shown too, that boys who are allowed to pretend play with toy guns are actually less violent as adults, as well). I don't mind the almost out-of-control boy wackiness. I know a lot of moms that cannot stand it, but I appreciate it. Give me that over drama, any day! My main concern, is injuries, like Little Man's broken teeth. There was quite a bit of blood afterward, definitely made my tummy flip a few times. Yuck. It's not out first foray into injuries in this house either, not by a long shot. My son is only 3 and he has had many trips to the doctor for bumps and bruises. Here's a short list:

1. A trip just a few days after his first birthday for falling in a wagon and splitting his frenulum (small piece of tissue holding your upper lip to your gums). So, so gross.

2. Just a few days after the above incident, we were back in because Little Man ran his poor, little hands up and down our new wood dog pen in the back and had about 15 splinters deeply inbedded in both hands. Doc had to manually remove each one with a NEEDLE! Lots of screams in her office that day.

3. Fell down backwards, on our basement stairs , landing on the base of his neck. This one scared me to the core, it was horrifying to see him fall and not be able to grab him in time. He cried for 5 minutes, then was totally fine.

4. Losing control of his big wheel riding down a hill and flipping over and hitting his head on a huge ceramic planter.

5. Slipping on a blanket while dancing and cutting his teeth right through his bottom lip.

Oh gosh, I'm feeling like a terrible mother! Look at these injuries. Being a mommy of active boys is not easy. Active kids, in general, I guess. I know my kids are going to keep me on my toes, especially once they become older and more daring...yikes. I hope they just don't follow in their Daddy's footsteps and decide to go running with the bulls in Pamplona...