When I started Tater Tales nearly four years ago, the main reason was to keep some sort of record of our simple life. I figured that keeping a blog would hold me accountable in terms of actually writing things down, and being able to add pictures was icing on the cake.
I suppose I could've opted to keep scrapbooks, but the very thought of taking up that past time made me curl into the fetal position and rock back and forth. It's a known fact that I have the attention span of a gnat.
Since it's been nearly two months since I posted regularly, I'm going to fill up some space with pictures that I'm sure would otherwise end up (a) eventually lost in cyberspace, or (b) if printed, in an obscure drawer.
Easter Sunday. We went to church and then to my mother's for lunch. Try as we may, we cannot get Tater Tot to keep his shirt tucked in.
First Lost Tooth. After much pushing it back and forth with his teeth, Tater Tot finally lost his first tooth. The poor child was as sick as a dog with a fever virus, which explains the puffy eyes and why he looks a little out of it.
I am happy to report that the Tooth Fairy remembered to make a stop, but all she had was a five-dollar bill...which she had to sneak from someone's unsuspecting wallet. (Why doesn't David EVER have any ones?) Several weeks later, Tater Tot lost another tooth. And what with the Tooth Fairy moonlighting as a second grade teacher on the eve of giving the state standardized test, she collapsed into bed before making the drop. Fortunately Tater Tot was very forgiving, and the fairy made the deposit the next night.
A Day at the Museum. Memphis has a great museum system, and David and I decided to take the boys to the Pink Palace Museum/IMAX Theater one afternoon. Tater Tot begged to go see "Tornado Alley," which, in case you can't tell from the title, is about a bunch of flat-out-crazy storm chasers and an IMAX film maker who spent something like 142 years trying to get footage from inside a twister. Those who read the blog -- Diane and Kristi, I'm talking to you -- are probably sitting with gaping mouths over the fact that the biggest storm scaredy cat this side of the Mississippi sat through a movie about tornadoes. All I can say is yes, yes I did. A mother's love knows no depth. At times, it also knows no sense.
Anyway, after white-knuckling it through the movie, we had about an hour before the museum closed. David, who can spend hours in any museum gazing at any exhibit walked us through the early American exhibit. I managed to corral the fellows for a few seconds to take a picture in front of Buck the bison. At least that's what the boys named him. I have no idea if he answers to it.
David took his own sweet time, while the boys and I went through it at a dead run. Tater Tot wanted to get to the dinosaur exhibit, which has been there since I was a child. Fortunately it's been redone and expanded, so it really is pretty interesting even though most of the skeletons are models rather than the real thing.
Huh...I thought I had a picture to go with the above rambling description, but it turns out that I don't.
Okay then.
Pirate Day. Tater Tot's teachers decided it would be fun to have the boys dress as pirates the week they were studying the letter P.
This is a far cry from the days when Tater Tot would put a pull-up on his head and say, "Argh! I a piewat!" (I considered posting a picture of that and then decided that he really doesn't need his mama to do one more thing to embarrass the living daylights out of him later on.)
Small Fry Turns Three. Time has no regard for mothers whose children are getting older at an alarming rate, and Small Fry's third birthday was May 3. We celebrated at my mother's house with all the family. And a cross-eyed Mickey Mouse cake.
Apparently the bakery did not, in fact, have a Mickey Mouse cake kit, so the cake decorator winged it. We all got a good laugh out of it.
Mother's Day Tea. Tater Tot's school hosted a Mother's Day Tea, and it was a day I hope I never forget. When all the mamas got to the school, we were ushered to the hallway outside a beautifully decorated commons room, all set up with pretty tables. A man was playing a piano softly, and the teachers were at the doorway. As each mother got to the front of the line, her child's teacher would call her name, and our sons came from our assigned table to escort us to our seats. As the line moved forward, I could hear the mothers in front of me gasp, and when it was my turn I realized why.
Each little boy held an enormous corsage made from tissue paper, which in their tiny little hands looked like a bouquet. As Tater Tot walked toward me, with the biggest, sweetest smile, he held his arm out so that I could take it, just as a gentleman would do, and he slowly walked me to my chair.
Had I known this was going to happen I wouldn't have bothered with any eye makeup. I finally stopped weeping and wiping my nose long enough for a friend to take our picture.
After a nice cup of tea and a few goodies, we watched a video reading of Let Me Hold You Longer by Karen Kingsbury. Every mother in the room nearly came undone, and I'm surprised we weren't wiping our eyes and noses on the lovely linen tablecloths.
Well played, teachers. Well played.
Then we went to our son's classroom where we watched a video of pictures from the year and were presented with a goody bag that contained a craft from the boys and two CDs, one of which was strictly pictures of each child.
I checked Tater Tot out after the Tea and we hurried home, changed clothes, and spent the afternoon at the Memphis Zoo. We were there for five hours and walked every inch of it just as leisurely as we pleased. David picked up Small Fry from school, so we didn't leave until nearly 5:00. This is one of my favorites from the day.
Brothers. Finally, when the boys are fighting each other tooth and nail (while their mama pops Aleve like Tic-Tacs), we occasionally find them snuggled up together, playing with each other or watching TV. The Lion King was on TV one night several weeks ago, so we all sat down to watch it, and for the next week it was all either of them wanted to see. Small Fry sang "hatuna pottata" nonstop until we thought those really were the words to the song. Here they are, posing for a picture, each one embracing the spirit of the movie by clutching a stuffed lion.
So there we have 'em...scenes from the last couple of months.
Good times.
