Snips and Snails: Starstruck

The Truth About Boys

My boys eat fish sticks or chicken nuggets at least four nights a week. They pick their noses and were born with the innate sense that farts are hilarious. The house is always cluttered, there are always crumbs in the seats of the car and sticky fingerprints on the windows. Sometimes they like to read books; most of the time books make good frisbees or weapons. Every toy in the house is missing at least one peice, making your brother cry is good entertainment and timeout is usually worth whatever you did to get there. Welcome to the Chretien house. Mothers have this constant voice in their head telling them that they could do better, their house could be cleaner, their waist smaller, and their kids more polite. I fall into this trap almost daily, and I am slowly learning that my success not measured by these standards. I may not be the perfect mom, but I know that my boys are happy. They know that they are loved, and they love each other. All day long they will fight over the same toy, the same book, the same spot on the couch. But, when evening comes, and they have sleepy eyes, jammied feet, and sweet smelling hair damp from bathtime, I know that we must be doing something right. This blog is dedicated to two sweet boys learning, playing, growing, and finding their place in the world, and to their mommy learning how to guide them.

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Starstruck

Every year, we get a season pass to the zoo and always get our money's worth. Even if you only go for an hour to ride the train or carousel a couple of times, it is totally worth it! Fall is definitely the best time to go, and I am looking forward to some fun zoo trips in the coming months. We haven't gone much this year because the last three to four months have been so unbearably hot. So, it worked out nicely that the first semi-cool day in months also happened to be Superhero Day at the zoo! We heard that Captain America was going to be there, and we happen to have a major Captain America fanatic living in our house. Aiden was Captain America for Halloween, and he still wears his costume on an almost daily basis. We didn't tell the boys who was going to be at the zoo until we got there, and when we did, Aiden's jaw dropped. We had to stand in line for about 20 minutes, which actually wasn't too bad because by the time we got in, the line had tripled. Aiden was super excited, but as we got closer to his hero, he became more and more quiet and serious. When it was our turn, Aiden seemed frozen. Cole ran up to Captain America excitedly and immediately slapped him a big high-five. Aiden, on the other hand, was so starstruck, he had to be nudged in order to get his feet moving to get near him! We got a great photo- Cole is giving his best superhero "hiyaah!" and Aiden is standing with his hands squeezed to his sides, too nervous to get too close to him or even say hi! I don't think he will soon forget the day he met Captain America.