Seriously.

I remember a conversation with a coworker long ago where we discussed the fact that I say the word "seriously" way too much. I try not to sound like an idiot, but like a lot of people, I have a couple of words that I just can't seem to cut out of my conversational vocabulary. At least I'm not too bad with "like" and "ya know." My bad habit has rubbed off on the boys, because every other sentence from both Thomas and Gordon has a "seriously" in it. In the last two minutes, I heard this:

Thomas: "Mom, I can't find my other glove! SERIOUSLY!"

Gordon: "I want another snack! Seer-less-lee. I'm really seer-less. Seer-lesslee."

Seriously, this has got to stop.

Here are some non-serious, random pictures from this week...

Chris and the boys having a "candy trading session" with the Halloween leftovers. Fortunately, those once-full buckets are almost empty.



My mom brought Neil this adorable little red romper, just perfect for indoctrinating him into the Utah Ute way of life. As you can see, his dad is quite pleased with his progress.




Finally, here's our little poser. Gordon is such a fun and rambunctious kid, and I've been busy reading a book called "How to Behave, So Your Preschooler Will Too!" We've been having a great time with our discipline challenges this week-- even my mom, who raised six children of her own, said, "I'm not sure what to tell you!"



I did have a funny Gord experience today that helped my perspective a bit. Gordon and I went to the store this morning and he brought along his Luigi hat from Halloween, Lightening McQueen sunglasses, his blanket tied around his shoulders, and a green plastic light saber adorned with two of my hair clips. I nagged him in the car on the way to the store-- "You have to leave your blanket and the light saber in the car"-- but he refused to leave any part of his outfit behind. Tired of arguing, I finally agreed to let him come in as is. He marched through the store, light saber in ready position and a serious glare on his face, and didn't pass a single person who wasn't smiling at his costume. In fact, his appearance also caused a toddler to stop crying and stare, and a grumpy-looking old man to chuckle. I realized how petty and nagging I tend to get with Gordon, and how I focus too much negative attention on things that don't really matter. In truth, it didn't hurt anyone to let him go to the store dressed as "batman", but actually probably put smiles on faces that wouldn't have had them otherwise. And it certainly doesn't hurt to let Gordon use his vibrant imagination! So, the moral of the story: I need to relax and just let Gord be Gord.