Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Make Me a Match

Today my son regaled us with the tale of his sister's arranged marriage. Earlier in the day, my friend did a sweet favor by watching my son, Owen, so I could attend my daughter's assembly at school. It works out well this way as our children are about exactly the same age and each other's best friends, both the girls and boys respectively. Our daughters, Jenna and Claire, are 6 and 7, both in first grade, and both obsessed with princesses. Our sons, Owen and Camren, are 3 and 4, in preschool, and both quite interested in trains, cars and pretty much anything else that has wheels.

Back to the story.

At dinner Owen piped up, "Today Camren told me that he's going to marry Jenna and kiss her when he grows older." Then he proceeded to tell us about how he gave Camren his permission and was quite excited as he related the details. The crowning moment in the story was when he said that they were going to go to the doctor for the ceremony. Apparently, in his little 3 year old mind, the doctor is the one who does the wedding! On top of this, he said that Camren was going to take Jenna home and she was going to sleep-at this point, I thought he was going to say in Camren's bed, at which point I was going to be quite mortified, but luckily he didn't-in Claire's room. Wow. I'm not sure how in depth the conversation went from there, but needless to say, I had an impossibly hard time trying to hold my laughter in.

Later, after hearing the story, Jenna simply replied, "But I don't want to marry Camren, I'm going to marry my brother." She's been saying that since he was an infant. I mean fresh out of the womb. Someday we'll clear up the matter if need be, but for now their sweet innocence and love for one another are priceless. Especially in the midst of increasingly frequent bickering, teasing, fighting and colliding!

My kids kill me. That's all I have to say on the matter. Oh, and I LOVE them!

Look at my BIG Boy!

On Wednesday, September 3rd 2008, my son, Owen Hovet, became a man! Well, sort of. He may not have the bulk or the brawn as of yet, but he took his first step and abandoned his "Oweo" haircut...forever!

Ever since he was born, Owen's thing has always been his hair. He was born with a head full, even more than his sister! He has probably grown enough hair in his short 3 1/2 years to join the "Locks for Love" crew. And I have loved it. Secretly, I've always been proud that neither of my children have ever been bald! Like I had anything to do with it! But there it is, the cat's out of the bag!

What all began as a conversation asking a friend where she got her son's hair cut ended with my son being buzzed within an inch of his life! My kids and I were driving home when we passed the Barber Shop my friend suggested. I decided to swing by and see what the hours were, sure that it was closed. But it wasn't. We sat there for probably 20 minutes, during which I failed to demonstrate to my sweet, impressionable little ones the art of having patience when waiting your turn. We ended up leaving and, truthfully, I was a little relieved. I wasn't sure that I could say good-bye to my baby!

As we headed home, I began to think about my son's propensity for "baby talk." He picked it up again after he potty-trained. It seemed to me that he was quite reluctant to give up his baby ways. And I actually enjoyed it to some extent because I've been so unsure about having a 3rd that I wanted to hold on to Owen's babyhood. My pondering resulted in my decision to take his hair into my own hands!

I put my daughter to bed and had a date with my son and some scissors. I stood there while he watched Arthur for about 15 minutes, so afraid to let go of his gorgeous locks. I started by cutting with scissors, but after a bit, I went for it! I pulled out the clippers, stuck on the #3, and off it came! By the end, I was loving it! In less than 20 minutes, my son went from "mop-top" to "buzz-head."

The result has impacted more than Owen's appearance. He is jumping higher, running faster, and taking chances in ways he has never done before. His alter-ego has been released. Destructo-kid is here! And while it isn't always easy, I love my BIG boy. Oh-and the baby-talk is history. He will always be Mama's boy, but he is now firmly planted in his big boy shoes. And I have let go of my baby. Its high time!

Teenage Pregnancy and the White House

Senator Palin, McCain's newly announced running-mate, has announced that her 17 year old daughter is prego. Surpisingly (sense the sarcasm), McCain has declared that he and his crew were fully aware of the situation prior to their public endorsment of endorsments, in choosing Paulin as his Vice Presidential candidate. Of course you did...how could you not want to compromise your already feeble campaign against Obama? Give me a break. Just as Palin's own pregnancy came as a torrential surprise to her own constituents, this must be quite the blow to your brilliant plan, Mr. McCain. Time will tell what the American public feels regarding this situation. And we all know how forgiving the American public is...especially right-winged conservatives. Personally, I think Ms. Palin needs to be spending more time at home raising her children. She has five of them for heaven sake! What a mess...

Pomp & Circumstance

My daughter, at the tender age of six, has now accomplished an extraordinary feat...she has graduated from Kindergarten!

Okay, that's a bit of an overstatement! Its kindergarten after all! But we were quite proud. There was a little graduation ceremony and a big presentation of songs. Jenna was smack in the middle of the crowd and quite an entertainer. They must have sung 10-15 songs ranging from the hilarious "A-Tooty-Tat," booty shaking and all, to "What a Wonderful World." That one was precious and brought tears to my eyes. They are all so sweet and pure, untouched by the world as of yet, and they really do believe that the world is a wonderful place. Oh so tender is the age of six.

Its hard to believe that I'm the mother of a school-aged child. Our first year pretty much went off without a hitch and Jenna has herself a new bosom-buddy out of the deal!

Well, that's it.