Growing Pains

This month feels as though it has been full of growing pains.

There has been little time for blogging. Blogging keeps me sane. Imagine where my sanity is right now.

I’m getting used to our new schedule, and the constant flip-flop between between pick-ups, drop-offs and walks back-and-forth to and from the bus. And I’m slogging through all the paperwork that comes with the start of school…supplies, fundraisers, picture days, Box Tops, Labels for Education, homework, emergency forms, medical records, birthday treats, permission slips, calendars, home & school, events…I’ve never received this much paper in my life. And quite honestly, I’m struggling to stay organized. Last week, I bought a magazine file with folders to keep track of all the papers. Now, I’m trying to get used to my self-imposed filing system. So far, I’ve missed one cut-off date (to buy tickets for the Back-to-School Event…I didn’t even tell Ben about it!), and have an outstanding (as in I still need to get it filled-out and into the school) dental form.

Growing pains, indeed.

Throw-in a car accident. Ouch. Pierre was hit from behind on his way to work and squished between two SUVs. The car was totaled, but Pierre’s okay, and Pierre is what matters. The rest is just metal and tires, which have been replaced. Still, the unexpected can cause headaches.  

Add to this a mess of technology glitches making my class this semester very frustrating. Grrrrr…

And Ben had his tonsils and adenoids taken out today. He’s a trooper. More on this to come, but let me say what an incredible kid my oldest is. And what a stress-case his Mommy is.

At this point, I’m happy to see September on its way out. But before it goes, I wanted to share a few quick stories from the month.

First, Benjamin really does get growing pains. A few times a month, he wakes during the night with aches behind his knees. Poor kiddo. I got growing pains as a kid too, and they can really hurt. My dad used to rub my legs until I fell back asleep. Now Pierre and I do the same for Ben, with a heat-pillow and a little Advil on the side. That is, most of the time. Some nights, we’re pretty sure that those growing pains are imaginary – an excuse to get out of bed, right up there with needing another drink of water.

A few weeks ago, Ben was hit with a bout of growing pains: the imaginary kind. After a few trips upstairs, Pierre and I were growing tired of hearing Ben’s feet hit the floor beside his bed. On cue, Pierre and I both yelled for him to get back under the covers. Ben high-tailed it back to bed, where he cried for the next 10 minutes as Pierre and I exchanged looks on the couch. Was it really growing pains? Do we call Ben’s bluff? Finally, we caved. I threw the heat-pillow in the microwave and Pierre brought it to Ben.

As Pierre adjusted the pillow under Ben’s knees, our oldest told his Papa tearfully, “Papa, when you and Mommy yelled, I thought it was because you didn’t love me anymore.”

Now who has pains? Kids know just where to hit you hard, don’t they?

In the meantime, Nicholas has been on a search for cheese-eating dinosaurs. During our last trip to the grocery store, Nicholas insisted on stopping by the cheese counter to see if the “Cheese Guy” was there. The Cheese Guy gives out samples, and my boys never say no to a good sample. He also has a cheese-eating (plastic) dinosaur who encourages children to eat their milk products.

Unfortunately, our Cheese Guy and his cheese-eating reptile were nowhere to be found. As we continued on our way through the store, Nicholas asked me about the name of the cheese-eating dinosaur.

“I can’t remember, peanut. Sorry,” I said.

“But Mommy! You remember the dinosaur. He eats cheese. What’s his name?” Nicholas was adamant. How could I not know this very important bit of information?

“Honestly sweetie. Sometimes (often) Mommy’s brain is a little mushy. I can’t remember.”

“But, Mommy!!!!” Nicholas clearly thought that I was holding out on him. Who on Earth forgets a cheese-eating thunder-lizard?!

This conversation went back-and-forth for a few minutes, as I racked my brain for that (expletive) dinosaur’s name. Finally, a gentleman looking at hamburger meat beside us declared, “You mean Harold and his dinosaur, Cheeseasaurus Rex!”

Never underestimate the kindness of strangers. I have never been so happy to discuss cheesy dinosaurs and their owners.

Finally, this was the conversation at our dinner-table the other night:

Ben: “I’m going to change my name when I’m a grown-up.”

Me; “What are you going to change it to?”

Ben: “Benjamin Crimefighter.” Huh?

Nicholas: “I think you should change it to Ben Crimefighter.” Um...you both lost me at Crimefighter.

Ben: “No. Benjamin Crimefighter sounds better.” Clearly. What was I thinking?

More to come soon. Promise.

xo Naomi