no, that's not an ice cream truck, honey...

Balloons and Tunes at Beulah Park was a big hit with the little guy! He was totally mesmerized by the hot air balloons and kept asking me to turn the stroller around so he could see them. At one point he directed me to find a place where we could all sit down and watch the balloons going up and down, giving rides to the brave. (or at least the braver than me). My little guy never wants to sit in his stroller, let alone have that stroller stop moving, so I knew he was enjoying himself. As we pulled into the parking lot and he caught his first glimpse of the balloons being filled with air for takeoff he started shrieking with delight. It had been a long day, complete with shopping trip, visit to Grammy Trish, and a birthday party, all with no nap, punctuated by lots of "no" and crying, so seeing his excitement over the hot air balloons was refreshing.

Once out of the car Matthew immediately noticed the sand under the stroller wheels and asked what it was. Forgetting his sudden interest in all things sand I told him the truth. Which later got him in trouble as we were heading back to the car and he insisted on dragging his sandeled feet along the ground. About half way through the long walk to the car I broke down and retracted my earlier announcement that we were walking on sand. "It's not sand", I told my son. "It is dirt." He wasn't going for it. The exciting idea that he was rolling over sand, sand that he wanted to play in, right now, was too strong to ignore.

Yes, I lied to my son. I haven't read my all the way through my Parenting For Dummies handbook but I wouldn't be surprised if there isn't a whole chapter dedicated to the little white lies we all tell our children. (I doubt I will finish that book anytime soon. Maybe I can get through Grand Parenting For Dummies while I rock away my golden years.)

My Favorite Lies:

"It is the middle of the night. Go back to sleep." - this has been uttered in the middle of the night in our home, but I have also been known to utter these words at 6:30am.

"The music truck is here!" - my son completely believes that the ice cream truck that visits our neighborhood drives through simply to entertain us all with it's tinny music. So far, so good.

"Your fortune cookie says you have to listen to your mommy for the rest of the day." This same line of white lying also covers signs, such as when I explain to Matthew that the sign at the grocery store says "sit down in the cart."

"That policeman pulled that car over because the little boy in the backseat took his seat belt off." no explanation needed here.

"The play ground, play place, or Chuck E. Cheese is closed."

"Those are green french fries." They are really Peas of Mind veggie sticks. I love love love Peas of Mind products.

"Your monster truck shirt is dirty." Seriously. He went through a phase where he wanted to wear it every day. Every single day. And it's not even a cute shirt!


Currently I am working on convincing Matthew that there are certain toys that just live at the store and are there to be visited only. So far, he is not buying it.