I haven't had much opportunity or motivation to blog recently. However, the past few days have provided copious amounts of material. Like most potholes in the road of life, the tooth fairy issue came up unexpectedly. Not even a mention of a wiggly tooth and as the 7th birthday approached I thought maybe the eldest's baby teeth would require extraction. Then Bam! He's standing before me wiggling a tooth. Then 10 minutes later he has wiggled it loose and he's holding it in his hand. I'm holding back tears because ohmygoshmybabyisn'tababyanymoredidItakeenoughpictures (yes, that's the first thing I thought). Then I am really trying not to cry because his dad isn't here and he's missing a milestone. The very first loose tooth! As I am trying desparately to wrangle 3 children in to bed and trying my best not to cry... Bam! He asks THE QUESTION. 
"Mom, is the tooth fairy real?"
My entire mental library of parental wisdom just froze. We emphasize honesty above almost every other virtue. Shouldn't I model honesty right this very minute? But it's the tooth fairy for cryin' out loud. Couldn't I fib just this once? If I tell him the truth I will ruin the wonder and the magic of a rite of passage. Won't he logically make the connection between the tooth fairy and the guy in the red suit? So this all flies through this head of mine in a matter of seconds and he's waiting for his answer.
I told the truth. I looked him in the eye and told him there was no such thing. I abolished the tooth fairy from our repetoire on the very first loose tooth. And he still wanted his money. Feeling like the lamest mother in the world, I tucked his money into the special pocket on his special pillowcase that we saved for the very first loose tooth. He was still awake. He watched the whole process. Then he went to sleep, a little older and a little less child-like.
Grandma came to visit this week and she was a tremendous help. It was so nice to have an extra set of hands and I didn't have to shuttle 3 people in and out of their car seats every time we needed to go out. Eli got to stay home where he was quite content to have undivided attention. Continuing with my theme of mishaps, I conveniently locked Grandma and Eli out of the house while I took the older boys to the park. Thank goodness for fantastic neighbors who adopted her until they could figure out how to track me down. Just as I delivered Grandma to her sister's house, Andy upchucked all over himself and his car seat. I am crossing my fingers that the flu doesn't spread through the family.
Luke had a basketball game today. The good news is he touched the basketball. Hurray! A little intimidated by the defender and didn't get a shot off but it was still fun to watch. He has some really talented teammates. Although we don't keep score, they declared themselves undefeated in the post-game chat. Luke also had a significant cheering section as Grandma, aunt Virginia, Wilson and Judy came to the game today. I was driving home, feeling a little proud that the day was going so smoothly, thinking I had this single mom thing all figured out, thankful to have extended family nearby...BAM! Totally locked out of the house. Second time this week. Standing in the driveway with 3 exhausted children and 3 happy meals, wondering what in the world I was going to do. Every single possible door was locked. I won't yammer on with the details but the extended family came to the rescue once again and thankfully the homeowner was nearby and had an extra key with him. That's what I get for being cocky and thinking I had everything under control.
And now I shall go and rest up in preparation for the time change which will surely result in much weeping and gnashing of teeth tomorrow.
In his quest to mimic all the larger people in his life, Eli has taken to hanging out with Grandma and Papa on the couch before bedtime. When the camera appeared, he knew just how to pose. He makes us laugh.
Eli also has a bit of a buckle fixation. Anything that buckles, he needs to check it out. He convinced Grandma to hold him on her lap while he examined his high chair from a new angle. I'm quite thankful he hasn't mastered the buckle yet. That will be a sad day for me when I can no longer contain him.
Luke participated in the Boosterthon Fun Run at school on Friday. It is a fantastic fundraising opportunity, totally beats selling wrapping paper, cookie dough and whatever else you may have been coerced into selling to support your child's school. Luke did awesome! He finished all 35 laps in the allotted time, we are so proud of him. Maybe cross country is in his future. 
Initially it seemed as though the water station might be Luke's favorite aspect of the fun run. But the Boosterthon team kept everybody moving and pumped up the crowd. A wonderful experience for our first year of fundraising.
We capped off the afternoon with a little BP in the backyard, in honor of the Mariners/Cubs game that Papa was watching on TV. We had nearly forgotten about our beloved Mariners. Andy, who only participated in t-ball because of the snacks, loves to go out and swing the bat. Oh, what a difference a year makes.
