Four for Four

So who's bright idea was it to have four shots at the four-year well-child ped visit? I hate needles so I think I was more anxious about this event than Z ever could have been. I had heard some say not to tell your child they are having shots, just take them to the doctor and spring it on them. I heard others say to warn them and not make a big deal about it. We chose the latter route simply because I know my Z and I know he likes to have all the facts and details about everything.

So when I mentioned his doctor visit about a week before the actual appointment, Z was full of all his usual questions...when, where, why, how and of course WHAT? He asked me where the shots would go and if they would hurt and I told him they would probably hurt just a little bit and then it would be over and we'd go do something he wanted to do. That was enough for him, he didn't make a big fuss at all. He mentioned several times to various people that after his birthday he would go to the doctor and have shots, but it was just a fact that he was stating.

So yesterday I didn't mention the doctor at all until I picked him up from school and he said "Oh, okay, I will go have my shots." The appointment was very normal, he's still taller than most kids his age and weighs more because of his height...I sometimes wonder where all those pounds go; he's so skinny! Dr. B came in and checked him out...eyes, ears nose, throat, heart, lungs oh and yes, boy parts.

Z giggled a little when Dr. B. looked down his pants and then matter of factly said..."Dr. Boarman! Why did you look at my (insert correct boy anatomy part here)?" Dr. B didn't hear him at first, so Z repeated louder. Then the doctor just said it was part of the exam to make sure it was okay and that seemed to pacify Z. Dr. B let Z use all his instruments and check out Tucker bear (who was still wearing his hospital gown and bandages from Z's tonsil surgery last summer) and our newly acquired "floppy cow" stuffed animals. He gave Z a sack full of goodies for his doctor kit at home and then he sent nurse Linda in with the infamous needles.

Z kept careening his head trying to watch the whole process and David and I kept telling him it might be better if he didn't watch, but there was really no stopping him. He was super curious even though a bit nervous. The first needle went in and all we heard from Z was a little grimace and an "ouch." The second needle got the same response. The third...well there was a little more nerves in his "ouch" and he added "that really hurt my leg!" But, we didn't get tears until the fourth one...the dreaded hot shot - MMR. So it burned and he let us know as much. He kept asking me when the needles were going to come out of his legs. Poor thing, thought Linda left them there. I assured him there were no needles in his legs and then he said "But, those needles left holes in my legs."

I had to explain the holes were so tiny that they already closed up and then we had a conversation about how porous skin is and how we already have holes all over our bodies...aye, aye, aye!

After two suckers and three stickers, Dr. B told Z that he really was one of his best ever patients and that if all patients were that good, Dr. B wouldn't be so old, HA! He also told me how smart he thinks Z is and how he must be reading on a second-grade level by now haha. I told him Z was more interested in geography than reading right now, but he's paying attention to his phonics as well. He asked Z if he'd ever thought of a career in acting and Z said he has (even though he likely doesn't know what that meant) and Dr. B said "Good, because you're way funnier than that kid on Two and a Half Men."

Now I'm gonna have to look up this TV kid and see what's he's talking about haha.

and it's One, Two, Three Frames, You're Out...

Alrighty, Z's first bowling experience was not especially pleasant. You see, David is a serious bowler and he hasn't played in about 6 years. Yes, we've been married just under 6 years, so I suppose this is all my fault hmmm? Anyway, I got a little sneaky because I knew he missed it and he really needs a hobby. I got him hooked up with a league that plays on Friday nights. At first he was just going to be an alternate for the rest of this season, but it turns out there was an opening and now he's a full timer.

The first week, he went by himself, but last week we decided to make it a family affair. Now I'm not a big bowler by any stretch of the imagination. I do have fond memories of bowling alleys and nachos though as I used to tag along with my mom and grandma in their league bowling days. I know it sounds silly, but those were the best nachos in the world...or maybe it was just because my Ma bought them and shared them with me....probably the latter. Geez I miss her, but I digress.

So Z and I ate Nachos last week...they were pretty nasty, I must admit...and watched David bowl while we waited for our own lane. They finally called our name and said we could play one game if we were done in about 45 mins. I thought...NO problem, we'd be done in 30 or less...HA HA HA. We picked out our mighty 8 lb balls and put on those nasty shoes (I swear I'm not wearing them ever again, I forgot how completely unfashionable and ugly they are) Mine were fushia and neon yellow...seriously?

We got the computer set up and the bumpers raised and I led Z up to the line to push his ball....it was the slowest moving ball I've ever seen, and that's when I realized we'd be lucky to finish in an hour...much less 45 mins. By the third frame, he was getting bored....he pushed his ball and it went about 3 feet and pretty much stopped...great, now what? Well, I forgot how slippery the lanes were and told Z to just walk out there and give it a push. Losing mom points yet again, he shuffled out there and leaned down to push the ball and yes...he fell. He got up and then picked up the ball...crap....before I could tell him to put it down, he fell again - this time the ball landed on his lap, smushed his fingers to the wood lane and he was crying. Obviously only thinking of saving my child, I walked out onto the lane and yes, surely and very suddenly my legs flew out from under me and I landed flat on my tail bone, legs out in front barely missing my child's face with my nasty bowling shoes. That sent him into a bigger cry and there we sat 3 feet into the lane, me holding him while he cried. I'm still baffled by the way NOT ONE PERSON offered to help us out...RUDE. I later found out that one lady on David's team saw the whole thing and never bothered to tell him...nice, real nice. So we crawled out and Z decided right then and there he hated bowling and he would not push another ball.

I do not waste money and we had paid $12 for this awesome experience, so I had to finish the whole thing by myself. He followed me to the lane each frame, so I couldn't really swing the ball. I think I bowled about a 60 that night...nice, real nice. Oh, did I mention that I really could not care less about bowling?

Then in the 8th frame...some magical happened. The people in the next lane had this metal contraption, apparently made for children to roll the ball down onto the lane so it's not such a painful wait for the ball to make it to the pins. They let us use it and Z became an instant fan of the sport because now, it was not bowling, it was a ball on a roller coaster, flying down the lane to massively destruct white poles and then waiting for the ball to magically reappear in the ball return...how does that happen so fast anyway?

So tonight, we'll try our hand again at bowling...only this time, we'll use the roller coaster beginning on frame ONE! I think most of the soreness of last week's disaster has worn off and we'll try to toe the line this time :) Still not sure if Z is going to love this as much as his daddy.

Suck It O'Charley's ...umm let me explain

So last night after work, we headed over to O'Charley's because we had a gift certificate to blow and we are a very "eat-out" kind of family. (Side note: if you ever don't know what to get any of us for anything...get us restaurant gift certificates lol). Z ordered chocolate milk, mandarin oranges and a house salad with white dressing and as we were waiting, he commenced singing The Ants Go Marching One by One Hoorah, Hoorah....well in the first verse the little one stops to suck his thumb yada yada. Z gets to verse three and can't remember what the little one stops to do....so he stops and then just loudly says SUCK IT!

Now I have to admit my reaction should've been more stern, however, all I could do was laugh hysterically. Pretty soon the waiter was in on the laughing and Z thought he was just the star of his own little show and so he kept repeating the phrase. I finally calmed down and told him that wasn't a good thing to say and he didn't understand because the little one stops to SUCK his thumb...we SUCK on lemons in our tea, etc. It was really hard to try to explain to my newly-turned 4 entertainer that in that context, it was not a nice thing to say. Let's see that would be mother-failure number...oh, I don't know....this week.

The moon is full of cheese and well, he's probably right

For all I know, the moon IS full of cheese. It's more fun to think that anyway, right? Random conversations with an almost-4-year-old. Apparently this last full moon was the closest to the Earth the moon will be in well...a year. So it looked so huge and me and Z love to look at the moon anyway. I told him it was almost full...he asked me what was it full of and of course daddy told him cheese. I hope they don't really start taking a lot of tourists to the moon anytime soon because we are a fairly cheese-lovin culture and you'd probably get hungry on the moon. ...then in a few decades, no more moon...we will have made queso dip from the entire ball.