A Boy’s Valentine Story

One night I was searching Pinterest for cute Valentine ideas for preschoolers. There are only four kids in my son’s class, so I figured I could do something really cute for them. Then, it dawned on me… If I do a super-cute crafty valentine this year for four, what happens when he is in elementary school with 20?

No, I thought… I am not going to be in charge of making his valentines. I decided to use it as a teaching moment. I would teach him the importance of giving a gift to the people who are special in his life.

So, I told him we were going to go on an adventure, looking for gifts for anyone he thought he wanted to give a Valentine to. Fortunately,when I asked him who he wanted to give to, all the kids in his class and his teacher were named among others. Phew.

As soon as he heard the word adventure, he went into his playroom and grabbed a hat. You can’t go on an adventure without a hat. He emptied a suitcase and told me he’d fill it with the gifts he finds.

We set out on our search. He decided his gift of choice for everyone was going to be rocks. He carefully inspected stones along the way, picking through them and discarding any he deemed unworthy. Each rock he chose was selected for a specific recipient.

It only took a matter of about two minutes before he found a stick, suddenly, our world morphed. We were no longer looking for gifts. We were searching for treasure. We turned into the woods and he told me about the “bad guy” who was after the same treasure. The treasure was a special rock for his teacher. It was a “singing golden rock” and there were two of them. He fought off bad guys as we walked through the woods and we barely made it home in one piece.

As he painted his rocks for his friends, he asked me to write down his adventure. I would start a sentence and he would finish it.

This is his story.

Bad Guys and Good Guys

The great explorer, Louis, set forth to find a pair of singing golden rocks. But, lurking in the distance was the evil Lord Cannonball! He too had his eye set on the magical stones.

Louis’s watch navigated the way. He journeyed through the dark forest, collecting stones as he went. With Lord Cannonball on his trail, Louis used his mighty stick to protect his treasures. 

Barely escaping the evil Lord Cannonball, Louis discovered the location of the Singing Golden Rocks. To his surprise, Lord Cannonball followed him! In a daring battle, the courageous Louis fought off Lord Cannonball’s army. 

He returned home, safely, and the people honored him as a hero.

The End.

Life with Louie: Cleaning Woes

I hate cleaning the kitchen. There is no other way to put it. I wish I had a maid whose sole purpose in my house was to attend to all things involved in kitchen tidiness. It is my least favorite thing to do. The biggest problem is that I use my kitchen; for three meals a day. I cook. I bake. Things get dirty in there.

Every night when I am cleaning up from a day of disaster making, I pout and feel sorry for myself for having to clean up my mess.

To describe this is the right tone, I thought a cartoon was necessary.

Life with Louie- Cleaning Woes

Life with Louie: What We Need

Ordinarily, I don’t speak publicly about my faith in great detail. I think it is a pretty personal aspect of one’s life. However, as my toddler becomes more demanding, I can’t help relating his frivolous demands with what so many of my prayers must sound like. I thought it was best described in picture.

Life with Louie: What We Need

 Disclosure: I am not saying my husband is God and I’m a saint. Let’s not go giving anyone inflated egos now. We are pretty cool though, just ask us.

Nightly Routines and Angry Birds

Lately, my son has been requesting that I sing three very specific songs to him before he goes to bed: 1) Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, 2) Mary had a Little Lamb, and 3) Hush Little Baby.

We follow our usual bedtime routine, but all of the sudden, about a week ago, he started asking me to sing to him after he is tucked in. He always asks for the songs, individually, in that order.

After stories, brushing teeth, and potty, I tuck him in and he will look at me and say “Twinkle Twinkle”.  I sing it to him and say “Good night.”

“Mary Yittle Yam” he demands. I sing it. He shuts his eyes. After the song is over, I kiss him and say “Good Night” again.

“Angry Birds” he says, 3/4 of the way asleep. I know he means “Hush Little Baby,” so I sing it.

Night after night, it is the same thing and I admit, I love it.

Tonight, he wakes up at midnight. I changed his diaper and got him back in bed, all tucked in, and he starts the routine all over. “Twinkle Twinkle,” “Mary Yittle Yam,” and “Angry Birds.”

Near the end of “Angry Birds” he was fully asleep, but I can’t just stop in the middle of a song, so I finish it up. I sing the last line “Mama’s gonna buy you a mocking…” and he whisper-sings, in his sleep, “biiiird.”

It was the cutest thing EVER. I wish I had it on video.

Life with Louie: Let’s Not Rush It

I’ve been complaining a lot lately about how my son refuses to call me Mommy, Ma, Mama, or anything like that. After thinking it through, I’ve decided it probably isn’t such a bad thing after all.

Life with Louie: Let's Not Rush It!

He’ll say it when he’s ready. Until then, maybe I should enjoy the “silence.” :)

(On a side note, I tried making the cartoon bigger, but it wouldn’t fit in the frame. Sorry, you’ll have to click on it to read it. Unless you have amazing eyesight, in which case, Bravo!)