My son, Matthew, noticed a photo of a friend on Facebook.  “How do you know Aunt Angela?,” he questioned.   “I went to school with her,” I answered.  Quite surprised, he responded, “Really?”  “Yes, why?,” I asked.  He wanted to know, “Does she take Botox?”  Starting to get annoyed with his line of questioning, “I said no, why do you ask?”  He said, “Because she’s not all wrinkly, how old is she?”  I told him she’s my age give or take a year.  Yeah, ok, she’s one year younger than me but I’m not “all wrinkly,” at least not the last time I checked.  When he found out her age, he said, “She looks like she’s 32.”  I wish it hadn’t been so late or I would have run to the phone to relay the compliment to my girlfriend.  Instead, I called her the next day and gave her the good news.  Needless to say, she was thrilled.  Wow, Matthew, working over the ladies already!

A co-worker and I started carpooling last year.  (Read more here)  It’s worked out rather well until one day this week he needed to get somewhere after work that was in the opposite direction of my house.  Luckily another co-worker that lives near me was able to give me a lift.  So I had the unexpected pleasure of sitting in the back seat with his two-year old son.  I was told he may serenade me and I was ready to enjoy some “Itsy Bitsy Spider” or “The Wheels on the Bus.”  However, as soon as the iPod was inserted into the player, my little friend was asked by his parents, “Douglas, what song would you like to hear?”  He responded, “Bad to the Bone.”  Wow, ok, I could go for some George Thorogood.  As soon as the song began,  little Douglas started rockin’ out.  As he sang I thought to myself he’s going to “break a thousand hearts” if he keeps this up.  His mother told me about his playlist and when it came time for the next request, I whispered in his ear, “Rock the Boat,” just to irritate his classical/jazz/rock loving dad.  Douglas was not swayed by my request for disco as he asked for “Me and Mrs. Jones.” Interesting song.  It was also one of my two-year old’s favorite songs.  I have a video of Matthew at twenty-two months singing his rendition of that 1972 hit about an extramarital affair.  He sang, “Mrs. Jones, Mrs. Jones, Mrs. Joooooones, MRS. JOOOOOOOOOOOOONES!”  Douglas stuck to the original arrangement and serenaded me. Continue Reading »

My son, Matthew loves to work out while watching the “Biggest Loser.”  He does jumping jacks, weight lifting, sit-ups and push-ups in front of the tv.  It’s really inspiring.  One week, he even asked me to run around the house with him for 5 minutes.  He set the kitchen timer on the microwave and didn’t let me stop until it beeped.  He’s asked me to work out with him other times but I usually can find something else to do instead like doing dishes, laundry or looking busy.  I think he’s concerned about the “Thanksgiving to Valentine’s Day” weight I’ve been carrying around.  I noticed once, he took his half eaten cheeseburger, out to the big trash can because he didn’t want me to eat it.  I’m not sure how many mothers out there do the dreaded, “Oh if you’re not going to finish that…”  He obviously didn’t want me adding his leftovers to my meal, but didn’t want to come right out and say it. Continue Reading »

My son, Matthew has been taking piano lessons for the last 5 years.  I know you must be thinking, “Here comes the part where we hear all about how talented and gifted he is.”  Well, I’m not going to do that, because this is a story about more than his God given ability.  The music teacher who first began to teach Matthew at age 5, had to deal with a squirmy little boy.  She taught him to the best of her ability until she told me in December that she was going to be recommending an advanced teacher for him.  She recommended a pianist from Russia, who teaches out of her home in Simi Valley.  Yeah, for me!  No more trips to Thousand Oaks.  She told me that the recommended teacher was disciplined and very serious and that Matthew needed a change.  He was quite pleased to hear that he “graduated.”  I explained that his 30-minute sessions would be increased to 45 minutes and that he must get very serious about “reading” the notes and not just memorizing or feeling his way around a song (part of his amazing talent and ear for music, oops, I said I wasn’t going to do that). Continue Reading »

There’s a funny youtube video going around, called “David after Dentist.”  I watched it several times and it made me laugh out loud.  I love when little David asked his father, “Is this real life?”  Wow, I thought that was profound, well is it?

Today, my 11-year old son went to the dentist because he was complaining about pain in his molars.  After examining him, the dentist explained that his adult molars were trying to come through but the primary ones were in the way.  The adult ones were coming through next to the baby molars.  Ouch!  She suggested pulling the baby teeth to allow the adult molars to grow in properly.  After she left the room, Matthew asked me, “Have you ever had a tooth pulled?”   I answered, “No,” not remembering the 4 impacted, wisdom teeth I had pulled when I was in my twenties, under general anesthesia.  Maybe I didn’t quite remember because I was like David, coming home from surgery.  Oh and those perkesets, those happy, little pills had me asking my husband at the time, “Is this real life?”  Matthew answered me, “Well, now I don’t have a point of reference.”  Point of reference?!  Where does he get these mature sayings? Continue Reading »

I’m a scanner.  I scan the radio in the car, I channel surf the tv, and I surf the internet.  I blame Quiet Riot’s “Cum on Feel the Noize,” for my radio scanning habit.  Embarrassing, I know, but it’s oh so true.  My girlfriend and I would scan her clock radio trying to find that song.  Maybe we couldn’t afford “Metal Health” or even the single.  But I really think the thrill was stumbling upon it, cranking it up and dancing around her bedroom.  We’d sing, “Girls rock your boys, we’ll get wild, wild, wild.”  We got as wild as the little speaker in a clock radio allowed 14-year old girls to get. Continue Reading »

My little boy is away from home for the first time.  He’s attending the Los Angeles County Outdoor Science School in Malibu, California.  Sure, he’s slept at his friends’ before, however, this is the first long period of time where he isn’t in our care.  I also want to clarify that by “little,” I mean he’s 11-years old, no longer a baby, I know.  As a matter of fact he’s actually a “tween,” with wispy armpit hair and a crush on Angelina. My first concern was “It’s going to rain, what if a mudslide washes the school into the Pacific?”  Then once I got over “Will he remember to wear a jacket if it gets cold?” I realized this experience is more than recognizing that I’m an overprotective mother, it’s the beginning of a lesson on “letting go.”  Letting go of fear, anxiety and mostly letting go of the supposed control I have over things I really have NO control over.  Letting go of my little boy? Continue Reading »