James is banished from Sodor

There is a new recall on Various Thomas & Friends™ Wooden Railway Toys. Particularly James.
That arrogant little red engine who thinks he is better than everyone else Just cuz he is red.

Apparently this was the last naughty deed for James the Tender Locomotive.
Sir Toppum Hatt was cross with James and banished him from the Island of Sodor for his indiscretion and putting the children in harms way by having a very high lead content in his 'shiny red paint'
What a jerk he deserves it.
Here is the link to the recall information with forms http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07212.html

Now I am going to have the pleasure of wrestling this damn toy away from the train obsessed Raisin Boy....ugggggg...there is going to be some serious trouble in the apartment universe tonight.

Mommy's Birthday

What ever happened to that unspoken rule of be nice to your Mother on special days especially her birthday?
I don’t have a well defined recollection of it but I think I was usually less of a pain in the ass to my mother on her birthday.
This morning started well, with a very sweet little serenade from Raisin Boy of “Happy birthday Mommy” The morning song and cuddle session on the couch ended and what started was the usual toddler bullshit
The constant repetition of the morning mantra of
“Please eat your breakfast”
“Please brush your teeth”
“Please get dressed”
Then came the bribery
“If you eat your breakfast like a good boy, brush your teeth and get dressed by your self Mommy will give you a sticker”
Then came the threatening
“If you don’t go and sit down and finish your breakfast I am going to take your bowl away.”
“If you are not up on this stool brushing your teeth by the time I count to 3….”
“We can either do this the hard way or the easy way..It’s your choice”
Then came the frustration
“Ugggggggggggggggg get in your car seat”
“Ugggggggggggggggg get out of the car we are late for school and I am late for work”
“We do the same thing every morning, why do you have to give me such a hard time?”
Then came my own guilt
“Was I too hard on him?”
“Was I too demanding?”
“He is going to be with his dad for the next few days I am going to miss him, I didn’t want the last few minutes we spent together to be like that”

This 3 and a ½ year age is so challenging for me between the constant dawdling, the lack of communication skills and inability to understand the importance of time I am going insane. I have also come to the conclusion that the be-nice-to-your-mother-on-her-birthday rule doesn’t apply to 3 year olds. I wonder when it will apply….

What kind of animal are you today?

I never know what the day has in store for me when I wake up to Raisin Boy.

In this case it is more like what kind of animal Mommy am I going to get to be today.

Last night before bed I was a Frog Mommy

This morning I was a Duck Mommy...I got to teach Raisin Boy about "quack quack waddle waddle" (yes I know dating myself here)

After school and at the park I got to be a Kitty Mommy
Tonight before bed I was a Bear Mommy...Just like the book "I love my Mommy"

I wonder what kind of Animal I will get to be tomorrow

I hope it is something exotic like a PeaHen or a Parrot.

Who is Raisin Boy?

Name: Raisin Boy
Rank: Junior Super Hero
Age: 3.5

Aliases: Juju B, BooBoo, Germ

Likes: Long baths, swims in the pool, eating, anything on the Disney Chanel, construction sites. Raisins of course.
Dislikes: Monsters, hand washing, nap time, leaving the park

Raisin Boy is 3.5 years old and is the light of Mamma's life. He eats enough rasins to keep sunmaid in business and would eat nothing but raisins if I let him. But the creation of Raisin Boy happened about 6 months ago when the boy wouldn't get out of the tub. So i let him freeze his butt off for as long as he wanted to and by the time he "wanted out" I said his fingers looked like Raisins.
That night the superhero leaders of the world knighted the boy into their superhero world and bestowed upon him his superhero cape-towel. Feeling so proud of his elevated station in life he donned his cape with self-confidence and proceeded to fly naked through our tiny little apartment
"dun dun dun - Raisin Boy!!!!"
That fateful night Raisin Boy performed heroic duties through out the apartment universe .
He rescued at least 10 boats and "guys" from the perils of the freezing cold bath water.
He put him self in harms way to save the kitties from the trail of ants that found their way in through the patio door.
And He heroically agreed to sleep with the teddy-bears from closet town in a effort to prevent them from being consumed by the monsters that sometimes frequent the small dark town.

Talk about sacrifice...What a hero