My No-Bias Boy
My 5-year-old son LOVES cars… and trucks, and SUVs, and crossovers, and hybrids. He loves buses too, any type of vehicle, really.
He knows all the different brand logos and names and points them out to me in traffic. I honestly think this helped him learn to read.
“Look Mom, there’s a Honda.”
“Mom, there’s a Chevy!”
And his favorite,
“Mom! It’s a Toyota!”
Both of his grandmothers have Toyotas, thus, it IS his favorite type of car. And the topper this year: his preschool teacher drives a Toyota too- he’s over the moon! Yes, 5-year-old boys care about this kind of stuff.
I’ve made a point to not talk about car prices with my son. I don’t want to convey, even subconsciously, that when something is more expensive, it’s better. Because, especially us moms know, that is just not true.
He makes no judgment on how cool a car is in relation to its price.
It’s so fun to look at the world through his eyes- with no bias; if a car has a cool trunk, or headlights, or door handle, he points it out and he thinks it’s cool. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a Honda or a Hyundai, a Volkswagen or a Volvo, a Fiat or a Ferrari.
But it really hit home the other day.
I took my car in to be serviced at the dealership and we had to wait for a few minutes until it was done.
I looked across the street and said, “I’m going to show you a car you’ve never seen up close before.”
We walked across the small street to the (very small) Bentley dealership. The door was locked, but was opened for us. I asked if we could look at the 3 Bentleys they had in the small showroom. The guy at the desk said, ‘sure’ and continued his phone conversation. We were the only ones in there. There’s a slowdown in the economy right now, but frankly, I don’t think the Bentley showroom is ever mobbed.
We looked at the cars… he especially liked the tires on one of the models.
We looked them all over, they are beautiful cars. And as we walked to the front of the showroom with all glass facing the street, my Little Guy exclaimed,
“Look Mom, a Toyota!”
My son saw a Toyota drive by and was thrilled. The guy at the desk almost laughed, and gave me a look like, “Are you kidding me?”
But I got it-
No one he knows has a Bentley. No one he loves drives a Bentley.
He appreciates ALL CARS; My son realizes that all cars are created equal and merely help people in their journey for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
But, cars that mean the most to him are cars that belong to people he cares about.
Thanks for the reminder, my Little One…
So here’s to cars, big and small, fast and slow, bright and dull.
Here’s to little eyes who see their value for what they are,
A convenience, a help, and that is all.
By the way, if you are looking to buy a Bentley, first of all- good for you, congrats,
Click here for the Bethesda Bentley website; after a Google search, I believe it is the ONLY Bentley dealership in the DC area.
An abbreviated version of this can be read at DC Metro Moms.
Mommy likes Escargot… No, not like SpongeBob’s pet snail- Gary
So we’re in the car, talking about food- 1 of my favorite topics.
My husband starts listing ‘funny’ names for food, and brings up escargot, you know, snails.
“Guess who loves to eat escargot.”
“Who?” My Little Man asked.
“Mommy.”
Then there was a moment of silence…
“You mean like Gary, SpongeBob’s pet snail?”
My husband and I quickly exchanged looks and realized that we were in that little cloud in a 5-year-old’s world where reality and pretend sometimes collide…
“Oh no!” I quickly interjected. “Gary is SpongeBob’s pet.”
Then my husband adds, “Plus, he lives in the ocean.” Like he’s safe from your carnivore mother because there is no way a person could get to a snail, or a crab, or God forbid- a fish, in the water.
“… Oh, okay,” My Little Guy said, in a tone that seemed he was not quite convinced, yet, at the same time, completely satisfied with our answers.
Ah, another question answered… not an example of superior parenting, but answered, none the less.
Success in Life… It all comes down to not Peeing in Your Pants
How do we define success in life? Well, if you’re a mom, and you probably are if you are reading this: Successfully potty-training your child ranks up there with starting your own fortune 500 company. I’ve been through it and it is still something that is a source of pride for me. I think this and then I remind myself-
EVERYONE IN THE WORLD IS POTTY-TRAINED.
It can’t be that hard…Duh!
But maybe, just maybe… it is that big of a deal.
I got this in am email, I’m sure a mom wrote it:
SUCCESS IN LIFE
At age 4 success is . . . not piddling in your pants.
At age 12 success is . . . having friends.
At age 17 success is … having a drivers license.
At age 35 success is . . having money.
At age 50 success is . . having money.
At age 70 success is . . .. having a drivers license.
At age 75 success is . . having friends.
At age 80 success is . . not piddling in your pants.
Got Wine? The Absolute, Best, Guaranteed Get-Red-Wine-Stain-Out-Of Clothes Solution
Okay, I’ve got your attention. Have you ever gotten a splash or drip of red wine on your clothes?
I have. No, I don’t normally drip wine all over myself, but you know what I mean…
So, here is the solution to get red wine out of clothes- literally.
Get a bowl and mix a little
1) blue-colored Dawn dishwashing liquid WITH
2) a lot more Hydrogen Peroxide Solution.
Put the stained top/piece of clothing to soak in the bowl… You’re Done.
You can get Hydrogen Peroxide, the first aid antiseptic, at any grocery store or drugstore.
This TOTALLY works, every time. It even works on an ‘old’ stain. It gets just about any kind of stain out. I found this on the Internet a long time ago. The directions said ‘blue-colored Dawn’ so I went with it. I’ve never tried anything else, although I’m sure another-colored-dishwashing-liquid would work. I happen to have a light blue kitchen, so blue-colored Dawn is what I buy… I like to match, what can I say?
Good Luck,
and here’s to ‘unstained’ clothing!
Spring Tulips and… Icicles?
My mom stopped by the other day to say Hi and brought over these beautiful tulips. I love tulips.
They’ve got the whole ‘simple and elegant’ thing going on,
like they are are the Audrey Hepburn of flowers, or something.
Aren’t they lovely?
Meanwhile, outside my front door are these icicles. They are lovely too, in their own way. But it’s March. I guess Mother Nature didn’t look at my memo that ‘I’m done’ with Winter.
Remember: We ‘Spring Forward’ with clocks this weekend!
Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!
It’s Dr. Seuss’s Birthday! Well, it was yesterday, but since it was a ‘snow day’ from school, I didn’t get the chance to blog about it.
Dr. Suess’s birthday is a chance to celebrate! Make this hat with construction paper,
and click here for more craft projects you can do, inspired by Dr. Suess!
Or, just read a Dr. Seuss book, I’m sure you have one 
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I Was In The 2012 Show !
Check Out …
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Nicole’s Book
Design Credit:
