the post that almost didn't happen because I am lazy, my bed is comfy and I really am lazy!

* I was watching Ink Master this morning, while Nixon was doing his learning path on the computer. Nixon says to me, something about wanting a tattoo and how awesome tattoos are. Then he sees the actual tattoo needle and ink process, shown on the show. He says to me "Mommy, I think I don't want a tattoo anymore. Needles give me owies and I don't like them. Can you stop watching this show now? I don't like it anymore." I tell him I do like tattoos and the needles and he says "Mommy, that's gross! You need help!"
   The fantasy in my head of mother-son tattoos just died a little today....

* It's Shark Week!! WooHoo!!
   Even Nixon is getting into Shark Week, watching some good shark-filled shows with mac and I. Tonight we watched a show with some crew members of Mythbusters building a replica of Megalodon, an ancient shark that was HUGE! The replica was crushing all kinds of things and it was really impressive. Mac let out a "DAMN!" at one point and Nixon repeated the phrase and then said, "Right, Dad?". Right you are kiddo....but we reminded him not to say that word.

* Nixon has been cleaning up his room for one week! I am a happy and proud momma because since he's been doing it, he's making less of a mess in his room!

Boring day and it's okay by me.

* I like boring days that really nothing happens. It means no great disasters and no big meltdowns, in my book it means an epic win!
   He even choose a book not a toy when we were doing a quick grocery shopping trip today. A book!! What parent would turn that down?!? Not us.

* Nixon's kind of the coolest kid I know. Did you know he tells me when he's ready to go to bed? He'll grab his teddy bear and go to the stairs and say "Umm, Mom, I think I'd like to go to bed now. I think it's time."
   Yeah, he really is the coolest kid ever!

He just needed to know that Pinkie Pie had a best friend to make his bad mood go away...or at least that's the only logical explanation I have for his total mood change today.

* This morning did not start out good at all. We all got up and got ready to do our Monday morning tradition of breakfast at Denny's, even left and got to Denny's....only to have Nixon lose his effin' mind over Angry Birds! I mean, he LOST his mind! Crying, yelling...an epic tantrum that resulted in us getting back in the car and coming right back home.
   The end result was a family nap and a much happier Nixon. We went to Denny's for breakfast for dinner. Nixon was totally awesome. Ordered his meal, sat quietly, ate his whole meal...just a total 180 from the child he was in the morning.

* Nixon is becoming great at cleaning up his bedroom and living room before bed. Tonight he cleaned his room while his bath was filling up. It was great!

* Nixon woke up from his nap today and was walking down the stairs. I told him, to go bring his Pinkie Pie down with him. He stopped on the stairs and peeked around the corner at me and asked why. I told him there was someone who wanted to play with her...then he saw that my Build-A-Bear Princess Twilight Sparkle arrived and he got the biggest smile on his face and said "Pinkie Pie's best friend is home!"
   Best.Reaction.Ever! He brought Pinkie Pie downstairs and set the ponies up so they were hugging. It was adorable.

His heart's better, he's giving me kisses and bonding with daddy today! A total successful Sunday!

* From yesterday:
Nixon seeing Mac reading on his tablet: What the heck are you reading?!?!

* Nixon was in a much better place this morning. He said to me "Mommy, I have good smiles from when J visited. That's a good thing. Friends are good to have." Those words made me feel like the best mom in the world, because just last night he was swearing off of making friends ever.

* I struggled with another mild migraine today. As I was trying to sleep it off, Nixon came up to check on me. He saw I was hurting and he kissed my forehead saying "Oh, Mommy, you don't feel good do you? My poor mommy."

* I woke up to find Nixon and Mac playing Super Hero Squad together. Mac was playing, Nixon had a turned off control, but he didn't know it. They "played" 3 levels together and Nixon had a total blast! I was in love with both of them watching them together.

Life kind of sucks, even when you're only 4 with no real life issues.

* Another great signing at Third Eye Comics today. Nixon and I arrived way earlier than usual, got there before 9am. It was a great crew, chill day, Nixon was great. The creators we met were awesome! They even got the "Name Story" because they asked how we came up with his name (I had them sign something for him).

* Tonight Nixon and I had a deep conversation about friends, love, missing people and broken hearts. Much deeper material than I'd thought I'd have to address with a 4-year old, but he needed to hear it. He was saying he wanted to quit making friends. Why? Because his heart hurt from missing his cousin J so much, he was worried that new friends would leave him too and hurt his heart even more.
   Poor kiddo.
   I had to tell him, his heart hurt from missing J because he loved J. We always miss the ones we love when we have to say good-bye. He seemed to understand, but wow, talk about a really heavy moment for us.

If you see us on the playground, we're the weird ones...my kid's the one who wants to be chased by everyone and help push everyone on the swings!

* Nixon and I had a marvelous play date today, meeting a mom and her son for the first time. I'm usually extremely anxious and awkward when meeting someone for the first time, but today totally at ease.
   We spent a couple hours in the park and Nixon was cute. I got a couple compliments on his manners. Odd as he is, he walked up to a mom pushing her toddler daughter in the kiddie swings and said "Excuse me, may I help push your little baby?", and he did...very gently. The mom complimented him on his manners and his gentleness.
    She wasn't the only one who Nixon pushed on the swings. He asked me to sit on one so he could push me. And he did...for quite a few minutes, never once complaining about how heavy I was. He just wanted to make me as happy as I made him when I pushed him on the swing earlier.

* After the park, Nixon and I ran a couple errands. He was a total delight! Listened to me, stayed with me (as opposed to the usual behavior of hide-n-seek he's taken to enjoy lately), he was kind to other patrons in the store and he even picked out a "gift" for me. I loved being with him today!

Either he has no sense of humor or I'm not as funny to him as I used to be....It's gotta be the first option, right?!?!

* Evidently, Nixon is already getting tired of my humor. He will say to me, multiple times a day, "Hey Mom, guess what?" or "Mommy, I've got really good news!" which leaves him wide open for my response "You just saved me a ton of money on car insurance!"
   He has never once laughed at that.
   People around us, in stores or at coffee shops, now they always chuckle when they hear this exchange between us. But, c'mon kid, this is pure regurgitated commercial comedy gold I'm giving you!

* And then this happened today:
Nixon: I finished my breakfast, please can I have candy please?me: No. You are not getting candy this early in the day.
Nixon: But please I love candy.
me: I realize you love candy but you're not getting any.
Nixon: Please can I want candy please?
me: Sure, you can want candy all your little heart desires.
Nixon: *happy smile on his face* Aww...thanks Mom
me: But wanting and having are 2 different things. I can't stop you from wanting something, but I can stop you from having it.

* Finally, he's been really bad about cleaning up his toys. Tonight I started small: pick up all the toys on the floor and put them in the bins. From there it was: put all the clothes in the basket. After that, back to toys: put the bins on the table. Look your room is all cleaned!
   We went back to the living room and did the same thing. Small tasks, big results! I told him every night we're doing the same thing.