The Best News Ever

A new favorite around here is playing "work". Kiefer has converted some of his play area into a full-blown office complete with old cell phones for all of those calls he has to keep up with. He walked past my office toward the door to the basement where his office is and paused...(insert silent phone ringing)

"Oh, this is important - I need to take this" as he opens his circa 2003 flip phone.

"Hello?"

"Oh, yeah. I can do that."

"Ok, thanks!"

"Bye."

He snapped his phone shut and turned to me.

"Well that was just the best news ever."

Oh really? What's that?

"Yeah, that was my boss. I get the whole summer off."

Santa's No Matchmaker, Sorry.

Ah, pre-Christmas Eve cookie baking day...so fun! Our great time in the kitchen was only made greater by this:

Track 4 delivered Mariah's delightful "All I Want For Christmas". Singing along, one lyric caught Kiefer's attention. "Mom... she doesn't care about presents?!?"

I took a stab at explaining that all Mariah wants is the love of her life on Christmas and that's it...

"Well, Mom. Santa CANNOT make people fall in love."

A small inquisition followed regarding why he thinks this or how he knows this fact... Conclusion: he just knows.

We sang along to the rest of the song and toward the end Kiefer shook his head and said, "Wow, that lady is gonna be REALLY disappointed on Christmas."

Performance Face

Kiefer recently had his first performance in front of an audience. He sang holiday songs with his Kindergarten classmates and the First Graders at his school's "Holiday Shop".

He was nervous. Leading up to his big gig, he mention several times how worried he was about his first REAL performance with an AUDIENCE. He had also mentioned prior to the event that he needed a prop so he picked out a flashing red reindeer nose while we were out shopping one day. After lots of singing around the house and practicing at school, he was ready! But nervous.

The Holiday Shop was well attended, so Kiefer's first audience was a big one. When it came time to sing, we shuffled Kiefer to the stage area, said our "goodbyes", returned to the audience and I immediately noticed almost-crying eyes. Luckily, to the rescue... his best buddy Samantha - the only other child with a flashing red nose for a prop, as it turned out. They exchanged giggles and it was on!

Once the music started, he went for it. He was singing loudly enough, I could pick out his voice. Aannnddd then I cried.

Well, what mama wouldn't with this Performance Face staring back at ya? Add this to the list of reasons I feel like such a lucky mama.

You Better Not Cry!

Haha! I almost started this post with a comment about how long it's been since I posted here, but that was my opening line on the LAST entry - from Dec 2010. So, that comment is officially getting old. I'll just summarize with, "Kiefer quips are fast and easy to post to facebook for fun" -- yeah and then I can't go see them without making a lifetime commitment of "view more posts"-ing. So, let's get something on the blog for crying out loud.

Speaking of crying. Kiefer's school is preparing for the holidays and hosting a Holiday Shop complete with a visit from Santa and musical performances from the kiddos. We listen to a lot of Christmas music every year when the season rolls around, so these songs are nothing new but now Kiefer has to PERFORM. So he's taking this seriously and learning lyrics.

Last night Kiefer started in on "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" and said, "wait, Mom... 'you better not cry?' I have cried before...like when I get hurt." So I tried to break this down.

You better watch out,

You better not cry,

You better not pout,

I'm telling you why...

Who wrote these lyrics? If you cry, Santa won't bring you presents? Confusing for me, let alone a five year old. I stumbled around then went with, "I think it means you shouldn't cry like whining crying." We decided that was legit and reasonable.

On the subject of Kiefer's holiday music stylings, I must give a nod to his creative mash-up of Deck the Halls (Fa-la-la-la-la La-la-la-la) and Lady Gaga's "Rah-rah-oh-la-la Roma-roma-ma" lyrics. It was awesome. It only happened once and I couldn't recreate it if I tried. I overlooked how bizarre (and I'm sure WRONG**) it was in lieu of the the fact that it was incredibly creative. Watch for Kief on Broadway someday.

**I know, I know...Gaga? Lame disclosure/excuse: He learned the Glee cover of Bad Romance from Glee: The Music, Volume 3 Showstoppers. I have a small addiction to everything show choir.

More Occupational Forecasting

Just realized two things: I haven't written a post on the blog for months and several of the posts I HAVE written are about Kiefer's occupational aspirations. What can I say, it's good stuff and I get a real kick out of "I'm gonna be's".

This morning Kiefer carried his breakfast dishes across the room to the sink very carefully and told me "Mom, I'm gonna be a restaurant waiter guy someday."

Oh? Well, you're being very careful so I think you'd do a great job.

"Well, I'm still going to also be a rockstar, too."

If you are shooting for "rockstar" it's like 99% chance you will need to master "restaurant waiter guy" as well along the way... Good plan.

And I can't forget this one:

A couple of weeks ago was "Community Helpers" week at Kiefer's school. All the kids wrote their name on a paper along with the title of their future occupation. Most of the boys went with firefighter, police officer, Batman or Superman. One girl must have said "mom" out loud because all of the girls listed "mom" as their future occupation. Searching the wall, I finally landed on Kiefer's sheet that read, "P r e s i d e n t".

Car Fixer Guy

After explaining to Kiefer that I had to take the car in for a quick fix on something simple, he responded with the offer that HE could just fix it for me.

"Mom, you know I'm a car fixer guy. That's my job. And I'm a scientist...and a sailor man...and a rockstar."

Wow, that is quite a resume. "You have all of those jobs, Kiefer?" To which he replied "yes" and followed Forrest Gump Bubba style:

"I have lots of jobs. I am a guy who makes movies, a teacher, a fix-the-house guy, a sell-a-house guy, an alarm fixer, a fire fighter, a policeman and a hat maker. I'm a pirate, a ship maker, a knight, a trash can maker, a guy who sits out restaurant tables and the President."

Wow, so like the President of the United States?

"YES. I'm really busy, Mom. I do one job each day and then it starts over. Oh, wait...one more: I am also a lifeguard. And I'm the guy who does groceries. Ok, the very last one is museum night guard."

I guess I'll have to wait for car fixer guy day to roll back around on the schedule so he can take a look.

Good Day

This morning, the garage door opened to beautiful sunshine and some wonderful June heat...ahhh! SOOO much better than sub-zero... have I mentioned how much we love Spring and Summer?

Kiefer walked out onto the driveway instead of around to his door to the car so I continued my "come on let's get in the car" campaign... I climbed into the car to drop his bag and my purse and just as I was ready to repeat the "let's go" speech, I looked up to notice he was standing in the driveway with his arms outreached, face to the sun. I asked if he was soaking up some nice warm sun and he spun around and said "yeah, mama, this feels so good... I am gonna have a good day!"

Then transitioning into a sort-of robot voice while spinning he said, "I am soaking up lots and lots of gas so I can be super fast at school today! Ok, I have lots of gas now, mom, let's go. Ryan won't be able to catch me today!"

Soak up a minute or two of sun today and have a GREAT DAY!

Taco "Belle"

Last night, in a moment of delusional fast-food weakness, I decided I wanted to drive through Taco Bell for two tacos (despite the fact that I have plenty of food at home AND that I'm pretty much against anything including and/or below Applebees on the eating-out-or-fast-food food chain.) Sometimes I just get a weird hankering for that delicious combination of fake meat, sour cream, lettuce, cheese, tomatoes and of course: authentic Taco Bell mild sauce.

As we pulled through the drive through, Kiefer asked "why is there a bell, mom?" spying the Taco Bell logo. Of course branding sort of being my thing, I started to launch into my take on why Taco Bell uses a bell in their logo and name... only to be corrected by the following explanation:

"No, I've got it Mama. Maybe someone who works at Taco Bell goes on vacation to Disney World and then when they're there, they dress up as Belle and then they are Belle at Disney World."

Well, that very well may be exactly right.

I'm A Really Good Artist

On a nice Saturday afternoon a few weeks ago, Kiefer and I were playing baseball in the backyard. I was impressed with how well he was hitting my not-so-great pitches and throwing the ball back to me.

"Kiefer, you are doing such a great job! You're really good at this!"

"Mom, I'm also a really good artist."

He followed with, "and you know what I'm going to be when I grow up?"

What?.....

"I'm gonna be a genius."

Well, that is an excellent aspiration. In the meantime, he's taking his "really good artist" title very seriously! Last week he drew a horse-drawn carriage on his easel, complete with the sun and clouds in the sky, a tree, some people and he asked me to draw some birds. Those two wing-dings in the sky were my contribution by request as he "didn't know how to make birds".


Last night, picking him up from school, he had just finished building a castle from legos. It was a very convincing four-sided castle-like structure. When Kiefer walked away from his design, two little girls, barbies in hand said "let's play with Kiefer's castle!"

So far, this artist thing looks like it's working for him. And...there's always the genius thing to fall back on if necessary.

Short Story

A Short Story... by Kiefer Ewy

"Once upon a time, there was a mean witch."

(pause)

"The End."

How can that not make you giggle? ;)

MagnaDoodle Message

There really are no special words necessary to explain a story here. I just wanted to capture this. Walking through the entryway tonight I had to step over Kiefer's MagnaDoodle that was left on the floor. It really made me smile. Big.

I'm so thankful for my sweet little guy. Tonight, walking through my quiet house and seeing this MagnaDoodle masterpiece made my heart grow three times it's size, Grinch style. Love you, little man.

Sweet Dreams

This morning, the first thing Kiefer said when he woke us was, "Mommy. God was reading me stories while I was sleeping last night." I did a triple-take after this comment and started asking questions. Sweet and interesting... Did he think he was dreaming, what kind of stories were they, etc.

He said, "the stories were not scary, they were nice!" I guess he associates dreams with nightmares - and I realized we probably talk more about dreams being bad than good. I asked if he could tell me what the stories were about and he said, "no Mama. I don't remember. That was just so long ago!"

I have noticed lately that it's not easy to "break it" to an innocent little guy that bad things happen in this world. I'm sure every parent encounters these topics around this age, but we've had several lately. Why is there dangerous weather? (earthquakes, tornadoes, etc) Why do people die? Why do accidents happen? But one thing remains - God is a part of all of these conversations and where there is bad....
there is also something good.

I'm thankful for God's Love and comfort not only for my child, but also for me on this journey called parenthood. It's not easy or always simple keeping up with a four-year-old question machine. I definitely don't have all the answers. But his questions keep me wondering, thinking and seeking God. Thank God for my son and for all the light He shines on this world - especially in the form of tender moments and sweet dreams.

Dinosaur 101

I received a little dinosaur 101 again this morning. Kiefer is still completely interested in everything about how dinosaurs lived, what happened to them and what makes them similar to or different from animals that live today. I suppose I can thank the Dinosaur Train on PBS along with every other book he's read or movie he's watched to gather all this knowledge!

"Mommy, did you know that pterodactyls are still alive today? That's weird. They must have just stayed away from the meteor. Or the cuddled up in a cave. And then made a little hole."

"And you know how dinosaurs got sick? Like if a great big T-Rex...SCRATCHED (insert reenactment scratching hands and scary mean face) them in the belly! Their bellies don't have anything to keep them safe. You know why they got sick, Mommy? Because back then they didn't have any MEDICINE!"

Leonardo Da Kiefer

Balloons by Kiefer Ewy

I haven't posted an update for a while, but Kiefer's latest interest in drawing is noteworthy.

This little guy picked up a perfectionist gene somewhere (hmmm...what?) and he's always been particular about how his ideas are portrayed on paper. Translate: he has the idea and tells you how to put it on paper. I remember a head-scratching moment roughly one year ago when I was being directed to watercolor an elephant that looked nothing like an elephant to me...yet I was doing it totally wrong and Kiefer was literally washing off my paper with a wet paper towel correcting me, "no, Mama, his tail is here." Anyone who spends much time with Kiefer has experienced the "hey, can we draw {fill in the blank obsession} and cut them out?" Again, to translate: you draw, you cut, Kiefer directs. Dinosaurs. Dalmations. Elephants. Pirates. Different Dinosaurs. More Pirates. More Dinosaurs.

Then about two weeks ago, he drew stick people. Just one day out of the blue...he drew people! And they were pirates. In a boat. Holding the sails.


A few days later he moved on to dinosaurs. These are "three horns" and one "long neck" that he cut out.


Today he drew these. The top one is a T-Rex with its eggs. The bottom two are a Triceratops family complete with three horns each and some eggs. Eat your heart out Da Vinci!

Definition of Help

This weekend, Kiefer and I spent some quality time building with the Lincoln Logs. We went off the beaten path and made a pirate ship, despite our lack of "constructions" (instructions). It didn't turn out half bad but after the ship had served it's time, it came down and Kiefer decided he wanted to make a cake next. So, he handed me a few pieces and said "here's the flour" and "here's the butter"...while I built. Then he went to the other side of the room and jumped up on the couch. I quickly requested, "hey, why don't you come help me?"

"I'll just tell you want to do. That's kind of like helping.."

Insert {you've got to be kidding me} mom response face here. Then a lot of giggling under my breath. Can't beat a zinger like that.

Origin of Food

Eating lunch today, Kiefer said, "Mom is pizza made out of strawberries?"

"No, buddy - but you know what it's made out of? Tomatoes. Pizza sauce comes from tomatoes."

"But I don't LIKE tomatoes, Mom?!?"

"Well, a lot of really yummy things come from tomatoes. You know what else? Ketchup...you like that... and spaghetti sauce for people who like that...and yup, pizza sauce. Lots of people like all of those things but don't necessarily like tomatoes."

Taking a bite of yogurt he said, "you know what else is made out of milk, Mom? (whispering) yo---gurt..."

"That's right! And you know what else? The cheese that's on your pizza comes from milk which comes from a cow."

"Yup. That's right mom. The cow drinks the milk. Then it comes out of the cow's bottom...then people drink it, mom!"

So, he got me. That's pretty much right. Sort of....

Now, I'm a bit disturbed that I had to think so hard about where pepperoni comes from. I hope it's legitimate meat - the sausage, pork, pig thing.... I hope.

Punkmin Season

"Mom, can we get one of these little punkmins?"

Friday evening we had to run to Price Chopper and Kiefer made this request as we approached the store. Upon approval, he selected one on our way inside.

After we were back in the car, Kiefer studied the pumpkin a little more closely. Pause... "Mom, check it out, this PUNK-min has moles on it!

Marshmallows

An evening trip to Target - not Kiefer's favorite thing to do. Anytime I break the news that we have to stop somewhere on the way home from work/daycare, Kiefer's typical response is something like, "Mom. Why can't you do these things when I'm not with you? Shopping is just so boring!"

I only needed a few things, but this stop required some persuasion. A special snack usually does the trick. So, tonight - among all the aisles and aisles of Halloween candy pouring off the shelves, Kiefer spotted marshmallows. They were "special" - white, orange and black ghost-shaped, medium-sized marshmallows. He was sold immediately and we were off to check out. "Mom, do not have him put those in a bag. I want to hold them."

We got in the car and Kiefer asked if he could have just a couple on the way home. So, I agreed and as I opened the bag and pulled out "one white one and one orange one, please" as requested, Kiefer said....

"Mom, can we please save these marshmallows until I grow up and go camping? Then I can take them camping with me!"

Wow, ok or maybe we can just buy you another bag of marshmallows when that time rolls around..!

Sooner than later, he requested to hold the bag so the softie behind the wheel gave in and I handed them back with the typical mom speech "don't eat too many of those...you need room in your tummy for dinner."

To which Kiefer replied, "they will just go on the sides, Mom."

Huh?

"The marshmallows will just go on the sides of my tummy. That way there will be room for my dinner to go right in the middle."

He was serious. Oh, the rationale...

Mom Talk

I love a day when we can finally just RELAX. This morning Kiefer and I got up and around and much to his approval - no work, no school! Nice. "So, let's just stay home and a-lax Mom," he requested. Amen to that, little man... So, we did. Stayed home. "A-laxed" (Relaxed).

We started the morning with a few a-laxing episodes of Curious George from the comfort of mom's bed (so I could "sleep in", not really - but at least not have to get up.) Then it was off to the playroom for a spin around the farm followed by good times with the Lego pirates, a new favorite. Please note, there are seven guys - I got one, Kiefer got six. What? How is my pirate going to have a chance at winning battles single-handedly with one cannon and no ammo while Kief has basically everything else? Well, of course I thought it was only appropriate to treat this as a "choosing teams" sort of fairness lesson. "Ok, Kiefer - let's put all the pirates in the middle and then take turns picking one at a time until we each have (close to) an equal number of pirates." Well, he agreed with this little game until he saw that I had three pirates then said, "Ok, Mom, I'll just take these two and you keep that one then I'll play with all of these. In one minute, we will take turns, ok?!" Boy, has someone heard the "sharing" speech/rationale a few thousand times...

So, we played and out of left field Kiefer said "You get what you get and you don't throw a fit, Mom." I realize this is excellent Mom Talk and a phrase that I should adopt, but I have never said this to Kiefer. I can't quite envision this one flying around at his school, so the jury is out on it's origin! Needless to say it brought down the house, even if it was just my party of one. In hindsight, he used this phrase out of context considering the conversation that preceded and followed his lecture, but I loved it nonetheless. I could use a lesson every once in a while to keeps the complaints to a minimum, so I'll try to remember this ;)

We had a great time today and spent part of the afternoon outside covering every square inch of the driveway in sidewalk chalk. Coloring with sidewalk chalk at our house usually consists of Kiefer picking out the colors then delegating to an adult what he wants where. "I need a huge pirate ship right over there. Now draw the sails. Now draw the anchor. Now draw the pirates... No, this one needs a bandana, not a hat." and so on and so on. Well, in an attempt to encourage Kiefer to execute his own creative vision I pulled out a chair and said "Ok, I'm going to relax a minute, it's your turn!" So, that lasted all of 30 seconds and Kiefer was pulling my arm, "Ok, my turn to a-lax, Mom. Now, go draw me an orange T-Rex, please."

When dinner time rolled around, we came in so I could get things ready. I guess we worked up an appetite relaxing because Kiefer actually asked for seconds and refills. When he asked for more milk I poured it saying, "boy, you sure are my milk drinker, buddy!" to which Kiefer replied...

"Mom, you sure are my water drinker."

Farm Love and Melting Hearts

I absolutely love the chance to take Kiefer to the Atchison County Fair each summer. It's a great opportunity to reminisce about my childhood and show Kiefer the animals that kids raise to bring to the fair. I love our suburban life, but I sure do miss going back to the farm. I would not trade growing up on a dairy farm for anything in the world. Granted, I didn't have to do anything (sorry Dustin...you got stuck with all the chores that required any real work!) But I have the best memories of adventure and fun on the farm including one where I follow flocks of baby chicks around our property seeing how close I can get, knowing I will never actually catch one.

This weekend we visited the Nebraska State Fair. Most importantly: the birthing barn, a small facility on the fairgrounds where mothers and newborn baby farm animals reside. Not only was the State Fair a major step up in the "see lots and lots of animals" department from the County Fair, but this mother and new baby thing serioulsy took the fair-going experience to the next level! Kiefer got to touch a piglet that was one day old. Fascinating. Not to mention extremely cute.


But the crecendo moment topping all State Fair experiences (well, a close tie with the bumper cars according to Kiefer) was holding a one day old baby chick. They literally were hatching on the spot and this sweet little guy was taking in his second day on earth from the palms of little eager hands wanting to love him to pieces. Cupping his hands around the chick, Kiefer stared in total adoration. Honestly, I wasn't sure we would be able to give this one back.


"Oh, mom. I want one of these babies. I really wish we lived on a farm so we could have baby am-ni-luls......." [aaaand insert heart melting here]

Which leads me to the second 1/2 of this story. On our drive home from Nebraska, Kiefer randomly said something very sweet - maybe it was an unprovoked "I love you, Mom" or something of similar nature. I can't even remember. The part burned into my short-term memory was this:

"Ah, Kiefer - you are breakin' my heart. Well, maybe that's not right- more like that MELTS my heart...!"

"But MOM, if your heart melts you will die!"

(Oh, my......!) "Wow, good point - ok - what I mean is that you said something really nice and it made my heart feel good, so how about 'that makes my heart smile'?"

Then a scary Star Wars voice answered from the back seat "I'm gonna shoot your heart with fire, Mom! Pbbbccchhhooo! Ppppbbdhdcchooo!" Well, I guess I lost him at my attempted heart melting explanation. He is still a boy, afterall... but I love the moments when his sweetness melts my heart - and makes it smile! xoxo, Kiefer - I love you little man.