“Yes!”  My son was so excited.  And I’m thinking how much we are learning and what a great mom I am to have a planetarium made from a small tent in our computer room!!

And then is happened-

“Except for Martians, Mom!”

“Um… Martians are pretend.”

“They are?… Oh.”

And he was fine with that.  And we went on with our discussion, with me thinking all-the-while, 

I’m amazed that #1,  my son thought Martians were real and that #2,  having just been told that something he thought was real is in fact- NOT REAL, was fine with him…

I think we’re going to tackle a discussion about the ‘Milky Way’, not containing any milk today,

wish me luck!

I said to him,

“Have a Great Day at School Today!”

Without hesitating he replied,

“Mom, I always have a great day at school.”

He said it so matter-of-factly… like how could school be anything BUT GREAT.

Thank you for this ordinary day

And I flipped on TMZ. Yes, I admit it. A few minutes of celebrity gossip never hurt anybody…

Some footage of Michael Jackson was on the TV with some discussion of his ‘comeback’ tour or concert or whatever it is, I don’t really care and got back to picking up the living room.  

My husband and son came running through, stopped to talk to me and my son looked at the screen- while hearing them say, ‘Michael Jackson’.

“Mommy…”

“Yes?”

“Michael Jackson looks like a girl…  and a skeleton.”

That’s a direct quote.  I quickly fumbled for the remote and changed the channel to the Light Classical Music Channel (which is on right now, by the way).  My Little Guy quickly moved on and went to the playroom with my Big Guy, but wow?!

My son is 5 and saw Michael Jackson on TV for about 5 seconds and was a little freaked out by his appearance…

Note to Self:  Don’t indulge in TMZ for even a few minutes when your child is in the house, he may see something he shouldn’t… like Michael Jackson. 

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.

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  

The other day we were listening to kids’ music in the car, I don’t remember the exact song, but it was by Laurie Berkner, Justin Roberts, or They Might Be GIants… oh, or Dan Zanes.  He stopped singing but I continued in my earnest, yet sometimes flat singing voice, and then I heard,

“Mommy, Let’s Just Listen.”

Ummmm.  Okay.

Guess the days of him thinking ‘any song that came out of my mouth was melodious’- are over.

On Sunday, my guys went to the park while I went to the grocery store… yeah, I’m not quite sure how that was worked out- lucky me.

So I shop, buy the week’s worth of groceries (while forgetting my reusable bags, like I always do).  I come home and am putting groceries away when my phone rings, it’s my Little Guy,

“Hi Mom!  How are ya?”

“Great.”

“Where are ya?”

“I’m at home, putting away the groceries.”

“Well stop!  Dad and I are on our way home.  We’ll help you!”

Just another reason I love 5 Year Olds

“You are the best mom I’ve ever had,”  He said.  Immediately, I smiled and gave him a hug.

Like he’s had 50 different moms in his short life, and I’ve risen to the top of the list all of a sudden…

“You’re the best son I’ve ever had.”  My Little Man smiled and said, “Thanks!”  He’s my only son, but this did not lessen the compliment in his eyes…

Ah, the workings of a busy little mind…

all of this because, according to him,

“I’m 5 now.”

It’s wonderful to see my little man growing up, but it’s a little hard too…
Click here to read my whole blog over at DC Metro Moms.

It’s $4 for adults and $2 for kids; kids under 2 are free. Another FANTASTIC aspect of this museum is that it is adjacent to the College Park Airport (I didn’t even know there was a College Park airport). This is free to look at (obviously) and was almost as good as the museum inside (according to my 5-year-old).

We saw a plane take off when we were leaving !!!!!!!!

Did you now that The Wright Brothers worked on their planes in College Park right after they were at Kitty Hawk?!

While you are there you can have lunch at the 94th Aero Squadron Restaurant which is around the corner from the museum, but no food or drink is allowed inside.

** While you are in College Park, fill up your tank; Regular gas is $1.55 per gallon ! **