But I'm *NOT* Scared!

I have a trio of fun giveaways going on right now:

Family calendar giveaway from BusyBodyBook right here.

JumpStart Get Moving Family Fitness game for the Wii right here.

Spinbrush MyWay! (for girls) battery operated toothbrush right here.

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As a special treat last night, the wee ones and I headed to the library to borrow a movie to watch for a special movie night with Mommy. Have I mentioned how much I love the library? Free books, free movies, free artwork, free all sorts of great stuff!

I digress.

We went to the library partly because I want to start expanding the wee ones' repetoire of movies. While I tend to be fairly conservative about what I'm comfortable letting them see - just because it's G doesn't mean it's ok! - this also means they have seen only a handful of different movies. Ever.

As Mister Man is going into first grade, this is starting to be a social issue for him - and he has enough of those already. Part of the reason I don't show more movies is that Mister Man gets freaked out by them so much. When he's seen part of Ice Age while at a friend's house, he ran into the kitchen screaming because he was scared. We watched The Muppet Movie recently, and that scared Mister Man. We tried The Rugrats Movie, and Mister Man asked me to turn it off.

At some point, he needs to learn to be a little less sensitive, and my shielding him from the majority of television and movies (uhhhh yeah, we don't watch tv either - go fig) probably isn't helping matters any. That doesn't mean that I'm going to start having the wee ones watching any movie, but I do recognize that we need to start branching out.

In the end, we chose The Tale of Despereaux, which looked to be fairly cute and innocuous. But fairly innocuous doesn't mean that we won't have issues going trying to watch it.

In preparation for this, we talked about movies - how they are generally good versus evil, since that makes for a good story. We discussed how we know that in the end, good always wins out but that sometimes bad things might happen along the way. If nothing bad or surprising ever happened, it wouldn't make for very much of a story.

Mister Man seemed to be buying into this a little, and it was a pretty good conversation. We talked about the stories that he makes up in his head (he invented his own comic book "Beyond Time In Space" and is convinced he's going to write more Star Wars movies), and he seemed to realize that they also had the good versus evil theme.

We got home and ate dinner before I prepped the movie. I got out my Angie's Kettle Corn (too hot to pop popcorn on the stove last night!), and we started the movie.

Every few minutes - especially when something a little intense was happening like a cat trying to attack a mouse or knights chasing a rat - Mister Man would pipe up.

I'm not scared.

This part isn't scaring me.

This isn't scary to me.

It's ok. I don't think this is scary.

While some of this may have been more for his benefit than mine, he made it through the movie and loved it. He was so proud of himself, and he can't wait for another Movie Night with Mommy where he can choose a new movie.

And another entertaining moment today from Mister Man? When discussing how digestion works, he explained that, "Once food is digested and moves out of your stomach, it goes to your large Einstein." I was with my mom at the time, and we both had the worst time trying not to burst out laughing. Poor kid.

I Love Quality Time...

As I sit here typing this, Mister Man and I are enjoying a treasured ritual.

In general, both the wee ones apparently have a relatively early bedtime. I didn’t realize it when I started doing it, but whenever children’s bedtimes or sleeping habits come up, I realize how lucky I am (and how much my wee ones benefit from it). Little Miss goes down between 6 and 6:30 and wakes up around 7:30 (plus a 2-3 ½ hour nap).

Mister Man goes down and wakes up around the same time if he doesn’t have a nap. If he does sleep, I allow him to stay up until 8pm. At 4 ½, he still needs a nap – or at least quiet time – to avoid meltdowns. However, he only truly sleeps about every third or fourth day at this point. The last two days, he’s actually gone upstairs and put himself to sleep.

Apparently most children go to bed later, wake up earlier, fuss and protest about bedtime, or some or all of the above. Sometimes not knowing that there's an alternative means that you end up making things easier on yourself. Had I known that fighting bedtime was a "normal" childhood ritual, maybe I would have somehow unknowingly encouraged it. But for now, I know I'm blessed and I'm not taking it for granted!

On weekend nights, Mister Man gets a special treat if he’s taken a nap. Not only does he get to stay up until 8pm, but we get … MOVIE NIGHT WITH MOMMY!

There are very strict rules about Movie Night With Mommy. Mister Man gets to choose the movie (Dumbo, Fantasia, Robin Hood, or a Thomas episode). We do this after Little Miss goes to sleep. And we make popcorn.

Tonight, we’re again watching Robin Hood. Every time the Sheriff of Nottingham comes onscreen, he points to him and tells me that he’s a bad guy. Robin Hood or Maid Marian? “Mommy, that’s a good guy.” He laughs, he does the “Oh, no!” when something seemingly bad happens, and oh the facial expressions. If it weren’t for the fact that my camera is out of batteries, I would have tried to capture him moods. Words don’t do them justice.

And the popcorn isn’t just any popcorn. I’m a throwback. No funny tasting, overly salty popcorn for me! I go by the Alton Brown method and cook mine in a metal bowl on the stovetop with just a tiny sprinkling of salt. I’ve learned to use potholders that are the glove kind vs the squares when making it – but not before several burns, of course. Really, it’s not much more effort, but it’s a great workout for your triceps and the taste is so much better!

We’ve been quite companionably sitting here, chatting about the movie, and sharing our bowl of popcorn. Alas, the credits are starting to roll.

Mister Man: Mommy, can I watch a Thomas show now?
Me: No.
Mister Man: Pleeeeaaaassssse?
Me: Wait a minute. Do we have Movie Night with Mommy or Lots and Lots of Movies with Mommy?
Mister Man: Lots and Lots of Movies with Mommy.
Me: Are you sure?
Mister Man: No, I was just making a joke. It’s just Movie Night with Mommy. Did you know you make the best popcorn in the whole wide world?

Awwwww. He could melt your heart. Good thing I’m not a sucker. He’s a good kid though, and we went quietly and calmly upstairs, changed, brushed our teeth, read a book, and I haven’t since heard a peep. Perfect way to end a fun but busy day!