Who is the eff I?

Hi. Remember me? I used to blog. Then came Facebook. Quick snippets replaced detailed stories. And no one wanted to follow a link to a blog post, so writing out the long stories just for myself started to feel tedious instead of enjoyable.

But I miss blogging!! I miss writing!! And tonight I was treated to a "Kid Funny" that was just too long for a Facebook snippet... so I figured I ought to dust off my blog address and do a bit of blogging. Crazier things have happened, right?

About 5 years ago when Nicki Minaj was starting to get some attention and radio play with what I think was her first big hit, "Super Bass", my innocent little 9 year old Brady would sing (rap?) along with all the (highly inappropriate) lyrics. One time, blissfully unaware, he sang "Somebody please tell him who the eff I is".

He paused.

Then he asked "Mommy, who is the F.I.?"

I remember laughing long and loud, and then promptly changing the subject. And the channel. And I've enjoyed telling the story from time to time over the years if the right moment (and audience) presented itself.

Fast forward to this afternoon. On our way to football practice, the radio station we were listening to treated us to a throwback tune... "Super Bass". I remembered that innocently clueless 9 year old boy of mine, and decided to give now (almost) 14 year old Brady a bit of teasing. I asked him "Hey Brady, who is the eff I?"

He paused.

Then, still blissfully unaware, he replied "I don't know. Who is the eff I?"

I know jokes supposedly lose all their humor if you have to explain them, but I can assure you that explaining the joke to Brady had me in near tears from laughter.

"Seriously Brady? Are you messing with me? 'who the EFF I is'?! It's bad English for 'who the eff I am.' Brady! Do you honestly still not get it?!"

The light bulb moment was intensely bright, and Brady laughed in embarrassment and begged that the story wouldn't become a Facebook post.

So I blogged about it instead!

Magical Molly Moment...

Molly lost her 2nd tooth yesterday. The day before, she'd tried to open a sports bottle top with her teeth (duh!) and it dramatically loosened a tooth that was already quite wiggly. She said she was going to pull it at the NYE party we attended but then she got a little hesitant and decided it/she wasn't ready. Yesterday she was just wiggling it and it popped right out into her palm. Apparently the tooth was more ready than she was willing to believe. She was delighted that the tooth came out with no pain, no blood, no drama. Just *pop* and there it was!

She zipped her tooth into a Ziploc snack baggie to put under her pillow at bedtime. She was excited about the idea of a little cash and ready to try once again to catch a "fairy in our house!!!" A few hours after she'd gone to bed I heard her wake up and wander around upstairs inexplicably for a couple minutes before she headed back to bed. I was grateful for her wanderings because they served as a reminder to the Tooth Fairy that she had work to do!!

I headed up to bed a few minutes later with a crisp dollar bill in my hand ready to do the ol' bait and switch, but I found Molly still tossing and turning a little, not quite asleep in bed. At first I felt a bit of dread, thinking I wouldn't be able to do Tooth Fairy duties for a while, but I tiptoed into her room and asked her why she was still awake. She just kind of gave me a sleepy smile so I climbed onto her bed and snuggled up beside her, sneakily slipping my hand under her pillow, depositing the dollar bill and palming the baggie with her tooth inside. She cuddled me for a minute and I asked her again why she was still awake. She said "I went to your room to tell you the Tooth Fairy didn't come yet. See?" and then she rolled over and sat up and grabbed her pillow and lifted it to show me that her tooth was still there. But of course what she found was the dollar bill instead. The look of absolute wonder and surprise on her face was one of those moments I wish I could freeze and capture. It was perfection! Her eyes got wide and she burst into hysterical giggles. "My tooth was still there!! Now there's a dollar! The Tooth Fairy came!" I said "She must have come in here while you were in my bedroom!" and she giggled louder and with even more thrill. It was adorable.

The first thing out of her mouth this morning was the story of the tricky Tooth Fairy, told enthusiastically to her brothers. 

And she just came over to me as I was typing to announce that she has yet another wiggly tooth. That's 2 gone and 3 currently wiggling. Pretty soon she'll be a toothless wonder! Such a fun time of life!

A Last First...

As the baby of our family, everything that Molly does for the first time marks a "last first time" for our little Campbell family. Tonight was a big milestone for her, and a last first moment for Daddy and I. These moments are always bittersweet and become strong memories for all of us. Molly was determined to have this personal first be recorded, and I was happy to oblige so that our last first  would be documented as well.

Molly lost her first tooth!!

During the summer of 2012, when she was just 4, she had an accident and got knocked hard on one of her upper front and center teeth. It was slightly wiggly as a result and we thought she'd lose her first tooth quite young as a result. Uncle Dentist said her tooth would likely either fall out or become discolored and just stay put for a while. It did the latter. Molly would periodically insist that her little gray tooth was wiggly and ready to come out, but she didn't realize what a wiggly tooth really felt like until about a week ago when one of her bottom center teeth suddenly became very ready to come out.

She's been playing with that wiggly tooth for a good week now and eventually she could wiggle it with her tongue and her other teeth. She's been obsessed with it... mostly because she's REALLY excited to have the Tooth Fairy come!! (A fairy!!! In our house!!!) Tonight the tooth was obviously just hanging on by a thread and so we coached and encouraged her.

"Pinch! Twist! Pull!"

And she tried. But she just couldn't quite make it happen.

She suggested that she could just punch it out. Or better yet! Daddy could punch it out. I warned her that Daddy punching her teeth may cause more than just her one wiggly tooth to come out. That didn't discourage her, as I'd suspected. It thrilled her! "More money!!!!!!!!!"

Then I mentioned that the camera battery was dying and if she wanted to get the milestone recorded she needed to do it quick! She tried one more time and then gave me the green light to give it a try.

Unlike my own daddy trying to pull our teeth when we were kids, I was brave enough to hold onto that tooth and ... pinch, twist, pull!

Out it popped! Molly was delighted. And then a little shocked. And then a little emotional. But then finally excited! The blood in her mouth freaked her out a little but after a swish and spit in the bathroom sink she squealed her way over to show Daddy what had just happened! Happy happy girl expecting a visit tonight. From a fairy!!! In our house!!! *squeeeeeeal*

Just kinda hanging out in there. Ready to be pulled!

So focused! But couldn't quite keep her grip on that tooth.

Showing me how it can lay totally flat when wiggled forward.

Success!! Tooth in hand and hole in her grin :)

Less freaked by it and more excited. Yay for a Molly milestone!

Kid Funnies - Toby Style

Tonight was Brady's turn to say family prayer. Our kids would fight so much every single night over whose turn it was to pick a song and say a prayer that we finally had to put a schedule into place to keep the drama to a minimum. Sunday is Willy's day. Monday is mine. Tuesday is Ben, Wednesday is a free-for-all (and drama always ensues...) because half the family is at scouts that night but I usually put the two Littles to bed before the "men" come home, Thursday is Brady, Friday is Toby and Molly gets to take Saturday. Whew. Problem solved.

Did I mention that when it's your night to pick the song and pray you also get to sit by Mom? Oh yes. Because the fight over who gets to sit by Mom is even more heated than the battle for Say-er of the Prayer.

Back to the story...

Tonight was Brady's night to say family prayer. He shoved Molly out of his way reminded Molly to scoot over so he could sit by me, being his night and all. He chose a children's hymn ("I Hope They Call Me on a Mission" if you happen to be curious). And then he prayed. And it was a lovely, simple prayer thanking Heavenly Father that Ben made it home from his JrROTC trip to Pensacola safely, that the storms we had today didn't do any damage, that we had a nice day in general. He asked that God bless us with a happy day tomorrow, a good day at work for Willy tomorrow, a good storm-free night's sleep, etc. He finished his prayer and a split second after our amens were said Toby announced

"New high score!! Only two 'umms'!!"

I'm not sure Brady appreciated the way I burst into hysterical laughter. I was just so completely caught off guard. We had no idea that Toby was keeping score. We are, however, impressed that he's paying enough attention to the prayers being said that he can actually do the score keeping.

In any case...way to go Brady! Two umms? Not bad at all!