Oh, wait. I never went to parenting school. I had to go to school for more years than I can count to be qualified to do practically nothing, but I became a parent without any formal training at all. Oh yeah, right. Heh.

CJ ran up to me yesterday screeching “Dirty! Dirty!” and waving his hand around. Before I could grab his wrist and examine what was on his hand, he wiped his hand all over my sleeve and declared “All better.” And walked away.

Thanks, kid. Really. I didn’t like this shirt or anything. And I still haven’t figured out what it was that was on his hand that is now on my shirt. Which means it probably came from his nose.

Speaking of noses, I sneezed on my hand and wasn’t even the least bit disgusted by it, I just went to the sink and washed it off without giving it much thought at all. I am sure in my pre-child years I would have been horrified by the entire thing. Now… hey, worse things happen. For example, I ran CJ out to the bus yesterday morning with bare feet (my feet were bare not his) because we were running late and I didn’t want the bus to leave without him. The bus driver laughed at me. And it was cold! What’s a little snot on a hand… I mean, my feet were C-O-L-D.

Still not happy about the possible snot on my shirt though. Yet I didn’t bother to change it.

Alexa’s hair is very fine and a bit sparse, and as it has grown in, her hair has formed little ringlets in the back and on the sides. The top and front has been very straight (it is longer and thicker which I assume is why), so I figured that it was just a “baby hair” phenomenon and it would eventually go away.

And now it is. The little baby curls are starting to straighten and not curl quite as much. And for how sure I was that they weren’t permanent… I am frightfully attached. I pet the back of her head and tell the curls not to go away and get all choked up as her hair gets straighter and straighter. Yesterday her hair seemed almost completely straight in the back, and I actually thought for a moment I might cry.

Today it looks a little more curly. Or maybe it is my imagination. Wishful thinking perhaps…

They grow up so fast.

I won’t claim to have the most beautiful singing voice on the planet, but I know it is at least passable. I grew up singing in choruses at school and even doing a few solos, I was a music major (well, double major with biochemistry lol) in college and sang there, and I understand pitch and tempo and tone and can sing along accurately with most random music on the radio. Or on children’s TV shows.

CJ has inherited my love for singing, and frequently bursts into spontaneous song. I was getting CJ dressed for school up in his room and he started singing the theme song for “Little Einsteins”, a Disney TV show of which we have a few DVDs. I know the words too, funnily enough, so I started singing along (as I often do).

This time, CJ immediately stopped singing, looked at me kind of curiously, and simply said “Enough.”

I stopped and asked “What honey?” and he replied with a sigh, “Mommy, enough.”

He started singing again and I again joined in (I am a slow learner.) He immediately stopped and said even more firmly “Enough.”

So I stopped singing. He sang the rest of the song on his own. Happily.

On the one hand I was delighted with CJ’s correct usage of the word “Enough.” I’ve never heard him say that word before in context, or even say it I think, and I love how his language usage keeps growing by leaps and bounds. On the other hand… well hey! I like to sing and I know I don’t do a half bad job at it. He could be more appreciative.

I can sing, honest! Unlike my own mother who freely admits she is tone deaf… but that’s another story.

This past week, two of my posts were included in carnivals around the web. I really enjoyed reading the other posts in each of these carnivals so I wanted to highlight a few of my favorites from each one.

First off, the Carnival of Family Life was in Australia at Imaginif, and included my post No One Told Me This Stuff in Parenting School. I was really excited to be included among such great entries such as:

• Fiveberries In Texas: Shopping. With kids. Fun. I have to remember this, if I ever dare to bring my kids shopping. I’ll get a lot more done this way!
• Mama’s Coffee Break: One of Those Moms. I feel like that a lot. I need to meet more people. Maybe who don’t have kids even.

And at the Carnival of SAHMs at Adentures of an Awesome (Sometimes) Mother (what a great name for a blog!), my post Enough was included. Yes, my son has definitely had enough. Heh. I especially enjoyed this entry:

• More4Kids: A Typical Day in the Life of a SAHM. My kids are smaller so they don’t both leave the house all day, but a lot of this post was true for me. It is a very big juggling act!

I’ll chime in next weekend with this week’s carnivals and my picks from them! Thanks for reading.

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