The other day I took Nathanael and Noah to Toys R Us to spend Nathanael’s birthday money. After two hours, I’m not kidding TWO HOURS (who’s says I’m not patient) of helping Nathanael to decide on what he would purchase, I hobbled on sore feet to the checkout line.

We were waiting in line when Nathanael asks very matter-of-fact as if he is asking me if I like ketchup on my fries, “Mom you’re hot? Huh?”

“What?”, I ask, caught off guard.

“Not hot like the temperature hot,” he continues.

What? Where is this coming from I’m asking myself. Looking for someone to blame I immediately I feel like beheading Hannah Montana for corrupting my sweet innocent baby. I’ve never even seen the show, but I don’t like that she wears a long blond wig when she has perfectly beautiful natural brown hair. It’s just a disguise my friends say. I don’t care. She could have chose those black plastic glasses with the plastic nose attached.

In the car I ask Nathanael a few questions to try and find out where he heard the word “hot” in that context. I also ask him if he knows what it means. He says he heard it at school. Then smiles and says, “It’s kind of a love word, huh, Mom?”

“Yes honey. People say it when they think someone is really really beautiful,” I say.

Then he says, “I sort of wish I would have gotten the remote control boat.”

Noah: Bicycle from Jenn Nims on Vimeo.

Sometimes I get sad. Sometimes I cry. And sometimes joy comes in the funniest of ways.

Reindeer.

Last week I was sitting at the breakfast table with Brent crying. There was no fighting just crying when two little reindeer trotted into the kitchen holding a sign that said “Christmas Cerelers”. Nathanael and Noah had found some old Christmas reindeer antlers and they were singing the Jingle Bells chorus with the focus of a contestant on American Idol. When the chorus ended Nathanael launched bravely into the verse although it was clear he didn’t really know the words. And Noah kept right up with him smiling and moving his mouth. The little reindeer finished their performance. As they walked out of the kitchen I heard Nathanael whisper to Noah, “At least we made mommy stop crying.” Almost. Sad tears had turned to happy tears.

Noah and I had a conversation walking to his classroom the other day.

Me- Do you like writing your name in class?

Noah- No.

Me- Why not?

Noah- It’s boring.

Me- You know I heard someone say once that only boring people get bored. Are you boring?

Noah- Yes. And I’m not talking to you anymore.

Me- Why not.

Noah- Because you’re boring.

Today was Nathanael’s first day of second grade and Noah’s first day of pre-k. I like firsts. First taste of a new ice cream flavor. First time seeing the Rockies. First time hearing an amazing song. First time driving alone in a car. First time stroking the muzzle of a horse. First buds in spring after a long winter. Firsts are fun. Well most of the time. First shots are not. First speeding tickets are not. First time being made fun of for passing gas in public is not, well unless you are a 11 year old boy. One of the best things about having kids is getting to exerience “firsts” again and again. Many which have been forgotten. Simple pleasures and curiosities such as the first time catching a lighting bug or first time building a river in the sand at the oceans edge to fill up your castle moat. The not so great first can be scary, but this time around I am approaching them with some, I hope, wisdom. And maybe…just maybe with some thought, compassion, and a whole lot of prayer some of the blows of those not so great firsts can be lessened or even dodged. And maybe my boys firsts will sort of erase and help me to unlearn some of the jaded attitudes I have picked up over the years. Instead of being a big black mark my cynical attitude will become more of a smudge. Thankfully, both boys came home excited about their first day of school. Nathanael said he had so much fun. And I could tell Noah felt bigger and more responsible. He’s doing big stuff, sitting down and writing his name before he goes and plays. And I probably should mention, I had my own first. The first Monday in August where I was halfway organized, managed to complete some tasks with a pretty good attitude, sidestep depression, and remember other people are human beings just like me on a Monday. A good first day of second grade. A good first day of pre-k. A good first August Monday for mommy.

Noah loves to play “The Baby”. If you have played it with him you know “The Baby” can get intense. Thankfully he was a much easier baby than the one he pretends to be! The Baby started as Baby Bat. We’d lay in bed and I’d be Mommy Bat and Baby Bat would cuddle in his mommy’s wings. I loved being Mommy Bat so much a bought a t-shirt with bats on it. They weren’t serious bats though. Mommy Bat is much more serious than the bats on her shirt.

Some call it lies. I call it imagination.

We are all driving home from the gym when Noah exclaims I saw an “enchihuahua!”

“You did! Where?” I ask.

“We just passed it”, Noah continues.

“Are you sure?” Daddy asked.

“Yes, it was black,” says Noah.

Being animals lovers, we turn around and start looking for the “enchihuahau”. But there is not a dog in sight.

Noah says very seriously, “It went behind the building.”

Fooled again…

We all scream for ICE CREAM. Today, Nathanael and I found a brand new, still in the packaging, Rival ice cream maker at the Goodwill store today for $3.99! That’s less than one scoop with 3 mix-ins from Cold Stone. You would of thought I gave Nathanael the keys to his very own us Toy R Us when I said we could buy it! We brought it home and Brent was equally excited exclaiming, “It’s new. It’s even still in the plastic wrap,” as he opened up the box. Mmmm…I want organic homemade peach ice cream!

We are going on an adventure you can read about it here one million children

Nathanael lost a tooth yesterday. Here was his letter, ALL in his own words, to the Tooth Fairy and her, really his, reply to him.

May 5, 2007
Dear Tooth Fairy,
I lost a tooth and I have a big hole! I can fit a straw through it. I like having a big hole in my mouth. Have you ever lost any teeth? Where do you live? I’m hoping to get some money for my tooth. How do you get to our house? In kindergarten we thought you rode on a motorcycle to our house (that was not noisy). My teacher, Mrs. Stein, she read a tooth fairy story about you riding a motorcycle. I think you look very very pretty. Do you live in a mansion? I know that I have a lot of questions. Are you ok with that? Do you have a computer? Do you have a husband? Do you have Valentine’s Day and Christmas, and Thanksgiving Day and Easter? We like doing that. Do you have an office? Do you make lots of money? Do you have lights in your home?
Please answer these questions, all of them. Thank You
Love,
Nathanael Nims

Dear Nathanael,
I’m so happy to hear that you lost your tooth without actually loosing it this time… searching around the ditch at your grandma’s house was a lot of work!
I’m also glad you are finding the hole in your teeth useful by inserting a straw there. It must be nice to be able to smile & drink through a straw at the same time!
You like to ask a lot of questions, don’t you? That’s great. It’s so important to ask a lot of questions in life. I’m afraid I can’t answer all of them though, because some tooth fairy things are very secret. When I was a young tooth fairy I did loose my baby teeth, just like you. Then my tooth fairy came and took each tooth to our tooth treasury where we keep all our prized tooth collections. That’s so funny that you thought I rode a motorcycle! Ha Ha .That seems like a crazy way for a fairy to get around, don’t you think? I love to fly. I have wonderful fairy wings that carry me from place to place and keep me safe from harm. Thank you for your compliment, I think you are a beautiful little boy. My house is not large by human standards, but it is beautiful and peaceful and I love it very much. I wish you could visit but I’m afraid no human could ever venture there, it’s a secret!
I do not have computer, though I enjoy using the computers at the people I visit’s homes. In fact, I’m typing this on your daddy’s computer right now! These keys sure are hard to push though. I have to jump from letter to letter! I’m not married. I am a young fairy. We have different holidays from you but we do like to celebrate the birth and resurrection of our savior Jesus. We don’t call it Christmas & Easter though. I don’t have an office, my work is done in homes like yours where I find children’s teeth and leave rewards in return. We tooth fairies make a good living collecting and trading teeth. Of course I have lights in my home, I especially like to use candles.
Thank you for the beautiful tooth.
God Bless You
Love
The Tooth Fairy