Chuck D & Mr. T

What do you call an alligator in a vest?

An investigator.

I need to learn more jokes. Little kids love jokes.

Charlie had his check up today. He hadn’t had a sick visit since before his 5 year check up last year. Health well done, Charlie. He is 42 pounds (same as Huck) and 3’10 3/4″ (same as Huck I think). I try to hang back and let him be the center of the appointment since it is about him. He asked the doctor how much he grew since last year, giggled from tickles was during his exam, passed his hearing and vision test and opted for a nasal spray vaccine over a flu shot.

I cannot believe Charlie is 6. He is such an incredible,amazing boy. Such a gem, such a delight to everyone who knows him. I would say he is going to do something really amazing one day , but he is already doing it in that he brings such joy and is such a good friend and son and brother. I am in such awe of him and so inspired by him and so honored to be his mother. He has now lost 4 teeth, has so many friends, plays soccer, plays tennis, and skateboards. He asked for a skateboard for his birthday and within minutes of being on it was on a ramp.

When he tells me “Mama, I love you,” my heart is so full. I am so confident in his confidence and love of life, and enthusiasm and curiosity, humor, gentleness, goodness, and high spiritedness. I love him sooo much.

Diana was saying that some people in Columbia were protesting the country’s current tax policy and so we were chatting about taxes. Teddy chimed in “What are taxes? Why are those people mad?” So I said that everyone has to give money to the country to help pay for roads to be built, and the mailman to bring mail, and schools to run and sometimes people get mad if they think they pay too much or too few taxes, to which Teddy said
“I’m not doing that. I don’t like taxes. People have to keep their money to buy their kids candy. A lot of candy.”

Teddy has been cooking so much with me…pizza, muffins, pumpkin bread, cupcakes, pasta sauce. He likes when I call each dish “Teddy’s famous…”

The girls talk about horses a lot. They still talk about Scooby, Doozie, and Comet who were the horses we lived above in Ashville. They have both now successfully and happily been on horses. I have been riding every week (well, I was before surgery and can start again next week) and so will take them out to watch.

Jenny and I took them to the pumpkin patch and apple picking the other week. There were chickens, pigs, sheep, cows and goats. They loved seeing these animals and even today were still listing for me the animals they saw “but no horses.” Obivoulsy we will be going back. It’s so thrilling that all the children like animals.

Scottie and Nelly both like to sit with me and page through a Vogue and talk about the clothes. I am in total heaven. They especially like to smell the fragrance adds and to have me tear out the pages with their favorite dresses. Most recently, Nelly chose a Vera Wang ad and Scottie went for a really lovely but subdued black Carolina Herrara with large flowers on it.

The girls spend most every day totally in costume. Scottie, of course, wears her rainbow “Tutu Princess” as she has every day since June. Nelly generally wears one princess dress underneath her Ariel Mermaid costume (Nelly is wild about swimming and wild about mermaids). When they get to Blue Igloo they go straight to the costume and dress themselves.

They also love watching me get dressed and out on make up. They try on the make up and wear my shoes* and jewelry. I love sharing with them. They have a really great sense of style if that is possible.

*They are excellent at walking in heels and wear those little plastic heels and actually went trick or treating all over the neighborhood and up and down all the stairs in the heels. Talk about athleticism….

For Halloween they came up with excellent costumes: Nelly created “Princess Peter Rabbit” which involved a princess dress, bunny ears and tail, and painted on nose and riskers; Scottie was a “Princess” but carried a cat tail in her hand instead of putting it on (also, I painted her face with a little cat nose and whiskers and she looked in the mirror and beamed and started saying “Meow, meow, meow!!!” to herself in total delight and amazement); Teddy was the cutest batman; and Charlie wanted to be “A real ghost,” by which he meant one wearing a sheet, so we cut out eyes and he was a ghost. We went to the party and Parade at Blue Igloo, the parade at Horace Mann, and then had everyone to our and Elena’s houses for pizza and drinks before trick or treating. The perfect Halloween. Oh, and MJ was prince charming (though he looked a bit like a valet) since the girls kept asking him to be a prince and I was Snow White.  Huck was her usual tutu-wearing self.