Coffee Talk 10.29.10

Another week gone? Really? Where is the time going? It is C-O-L-D, COLD here this morning...so grab something warm and let's chat a minute. Tiger teen has promised to whip me up a cup of hot chocolate this morning after my really cold run but I can' t let myself drink it until I drink my first round of water, ugh!

I took almost a week off from running due to rainy weather and Tigerfan being out of town. I know it sounds ridiculous because he is always at work when I run anyway, but it was so dark this week and all I could think was IF a car didn't see me and IF the unthinkable happened, Tigerfan was out of town and the kids would be home alone...maybe I was just needing an excuse. Anyway, I went this morning which felt good...but it was cold! I mean cold! I find myself dreading the next run because I know how cold it is going to be. Runners, any advice for staying motivated when you just want to crawl back into bed and pull the nice, warm covers over your cold little body would be appreciated.

Anyway...last week, I shared, okay vented, about Tigerteen. When I first started blogging, mostly to keep my family up to date, I took a blog and told about each kiddo. Tigertot wasn't even in the world yet and so much has changed. So, I thought I would dedicate this post to Baseball Boy, who desperately needs a new nickname but I can't come up with one I like, so for now, it remains.

B.B. has always been my strong willed one. He is precious and loving and stubborn as a mule! When I first began blogging, he loved to watch television and would immediately memorize half of the lines in whatever he was watching (including the commercials) and pretty much every conversation with him went something like, "On ______(insert show name here)____, this happened." followed by a complete retelling of the entire show or commercial. It was both endearing and completely irritating. At ten, he doesn't care as much about television...now we get sports recaps. Over and over and over. They usually involve a lot of sound effects, a lot of jumping around in the retelling and a lot of spit. They are usually accompanied by speech that is so incredibly fast and slurred that, at least three times a day he hears, "B.B., I have absolutely no idea what you just said." And that is from his momma. I can only imagine what strangers think, I wonder if they ever question what language he is speaking.

When young, he had the most kissable cheeks. So plump and soft and begging to have lips just sink into them. At ten, he is still cuddly and loving...although he doesn't appreciate the kisses nearly as much as he used to. Now, I like to rub his little Velcro head (he has the coarsest, curliest head of hair I have ever seen) and hug him close...and he will let me. For a moment. Then he decides to wrestle. He thinks he will be able to take me down. And someday soon, he probably will...but for now, I can still take him!

He is full of joy and fun and laughter. He loves to joke, loves to play with his friends, loves to play practical jokes. He is also the most maddening child I have yet endured. He loves to aggravate and gets complete joy out of making his sister and little brother scream, cry, or tattle. I have yet to figure out why it is so much fun to know you have made everyone in the house mad at you...but that seems to be a daily goal. He then cries because everyone is getting on to him and hurting HIS feelings!

He still loves to eat. A lot. I dread the teenage years just a little because I am not sure how we will afford to feed him. However, he will totally be ready for his college years because he thinks Ramen noodles are a food group (and yes, I am totally aware that they have absolutely not one ounce of nutritional value but sometimes, friends, you just have to pick your battles).

I cannot believe that in just the blink of an eye, he will be a teenager...and I will have two in the house (shudder). I cannot believe how quickly the time has passed. In just a few moments, we will begin the school day cuddling...and in a few more, we will be fighting over the fact that he is once again distracted and not doing his school work. At lunch, we will have the daily discussion that he cannot eat until he has completed AT LEAST workbox six and then accompany it with the daily list of all the people whose fault it is that he is only on workbox 2. We will have the daily fight, um...discussion, over the fact that no, he cannot drink a soda at lunch, just like he couldn't yesterday, or the day before, or the day before. Before lunch is over...I will probably be discussing (okay screaming) the fact that he is aggravating someone else at the table. And by the time school is over...we will be laughing hysterically over the "treasures" he finds as he dissects owl pellets for his Science Fair project.

I think this "self portrait" of him this summer says it all. Isn't he cute! And can't you just see the mischief waiting to come out. That smile is just a preview of antics to come! Those eyes...trouble is lurking, friends, trouble is lurking!

Thanks for letting me capture this moment in time!

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