from Facebook
A fashion tale from the #landofcute

Yesterday Marcus and I were at Whole Foods. There was a woman shopping who was dressed beautifully in traditional African clothing. She had a head scarf on and her dress was made of mud cloth. Marcus looked at her for a moment and asked me
“Why is she dressed like that?”
I, caught off guard said
“Well Marcus, when she picked out this outfit this morning, I bet she looked at herself in the mirror and said “I look fabulous today!”
“Oh”
Fast forward to the check out line and in front of us was a little girl about 7-8 years old. Marcus struck up a conversation with her and I shit you not, Marcus asked her…
“Did you pick out your outfit today?”
The girl looked at him for a moment and look confused and she said “Well my mom helped me get dressed this morning”
“Well, did you look in the mirror this morning and say “I look fabulous!”?

Love. This. Kid

from Facebook
A tale from the #landofcute

So, there we were in Home Depot waiting in line. The man behind behind us farted and of course all of us adults ignored it. Farts happen. Not Marcus. “Hey. You just farted! I heard you” we all started laughing and the woman behind the counter said “Out if the mouths if babes”
Marcus liked the attention, but I did explain what being embarrassed feels like. Too funny!

from Facebook
A wee tale of maturity from the #landofcute.
Mommy – Happy Birthday birthday boy! You are a whole year older than yesterday! How do you feel?
Marcus – Well, my clothes feel tighter on me. I really must have grown through the night!
Later that night as I am putting him to bed….
Marcus- Mommy, did you hear that?
Mommy- No
Marcus – Listen…..my voice has gotten deeper. I must really be growing up.

So friggin cute!

Btw. This is a picture of Marcus showing off the scrape on the bottom of his chin. Which is healing very well.

from Facebook
A really small tale from the #landofcute

“Mommy, I don’t want to wear my shoes today. They are dirty.”
“Really, let’s see. Maybe we can clean them. Marcus what are your shoes covered with?”
“They got dirty in art class. It’s paper Moshe!”

Omg so funny. For those of you who don’t know Moshe is the Hebrew name for Moses….who freed the Jews from slavery in the Passover story 🙂

from Facebook
A tale from the #landofcute Yesterday we were rushing to get to the subway and head downtown to the financial district to have lunch with Gary Marriott.
“Mommy, I am going to pick these flowers” as we were walking quickly…”And give them out to people that I meet today” With a handful of Dandelions Marcus brought pure joy to random strangers on the subway.

from Facebook
A short tale from the #landofcute a few weeks ago I hired from the library a bunch of cds to listen to in the car with Marcus. The one I was most curious about was Sweet Honey and the Rock. In between the songs are stories of slavery empowerment and segregation. We have listened a few times and Marcus tuned in today in a new way.
“Mommy, what are white people?”
“Well, you and I are white people”
Silence, then…
“We aren’t really white. We are kind pink. What are black people?”
“People who have black or dark colored skin”
“Oh. Mommy do we have a lawn mower? Can you show me how to cut grass this summer?”
“Sure”
“Ok, can you please turn the music up louder. I like this music”
“Ok. Marcus, you are being really cute right now. Can I take a picture of you?
” Sure”
Love this kid.

from Facebook
An existential tale from the #landofcute

Marcus was having trouble going to sleep last night.

Marcus:Mommy, my wish never comes true!
Mommy: Well, what do you wish for?
Marcus:I pray to god that I can be a super hero and have invisible stars shoot out of my hands. They are really gold coloured but only I can see them. They are invisible.
Mommy:Well you know what Marcus. My wishes and prayers always come true.
His eyes widen…..”Really? what do you wish for?
Mommy: Every night I wish that you will always be healthy, and look here you are!”
He rolls his eyes…..LIKE A TEENAGER (It is a special feeling that washes over me when my 5 year old does that)
“Marcus, stop and think about this for a moment. There are moms and dads all over the world who have to spend everyday in the hospital with their sick children. We are blessed Marcus!”
“Mommy. I really want stars to come shooting out of my hands”
“Good night sweet boy. I love you”
“Goodnight Mommy”

from Facebook
A tale from the #landofcute. So today was a pretty epic day. We woke up early and wished Gary good luck on his citizenship test and interview, which of course he aced. In two months he and I will proudly attend his citizenship ceremony! So, we went out for breakfast to celebrate. Banana pancakes for everyone! While Gary settled into his carb crash, Marcus and I headed down town for a much needed hair cut. Afterwards was probably the best part of the day. We parked the car and took the subway to the Bata Shoe Museum over the Bloor St. Viaduct. When we arried at St. George station we walked out onto the street and Marcus knew exactly where we were. He stopped dead in his tracks turned and looked at me and said
“Mommy, the subway is so magical!”
The BSM was almost empty and after we had a good look around we were able to take a break on the third floor….floor. We went for a cappacino and a cream puff at Mercurio l’express and then headed back on the subway. While walking back to the car we ran into Sam, and David Aubrey Berger and Robyn Hermolin. Which was so nice to run into old friends. It turns out there is not much a 5 year old likes in the take out section of the Big Carrot. May I recommend the Burger Stomper several doors east? After a great day out we were pooped. Time to go home and play with lego and tales of The Unwanted Adventure of Harold Greenhouse, which I highly recommend. We were sorry not to go skating tonight. Next year. Peter Diane Marriott. We missed you today. B

from Facebook
A story from the #landofcute.

So, Marcus and I are sitting at a table having dinner tonight at a family run Korean restaurant on Yonge St. Behind me on the wall is a painting of Jesus standing in a crowd of people. Marcus looks up at the painting and says “What is that man’s name?” I look behind me and say
“That man’s name is Jesus”
In a loud incredulous voice that moves across the table tops
“Cheeses! That name is so funny Mommy!” And then he said it out loud a few more times before I could get his attention.
“Marcus, it is important that we speak respectfully about Jesus, he is the leader of the Christian people. Hey Marcus! You know how people all over the world celebrate Christmas? When they do that they are celebrating the birth of that man Jesus”
Confused look.
“So, who is Santa Claus?” Omg. I am so confused…..So I start describing who Jesus was, when it occurred to me to tell him that Jesus was Jewish”
More confusion. “But Mommy, how can Jesus be Jewish, we don’t celebrate Christmas”
So I ask him if we should “look Jesus up” I can’t tell you how funny that sounds when you say it out loud.
Well, as many of these stories end, our food arrived. I have to brush up on these skills, Christmas is coming and he is going to have a lot of questions.

In other news tonight Marcus discovered and LOVES Jap Chae, and black bamboo fungus!

from Facebook
Well….I have a tale from the #landofcute. Although, it should be a tale from the land of super cute.

So, about a week ago my neighbour’s dog went missing for a while. Being 19 years old, and almost deaf and blind, when we heard coyotes late one night, we all thought that Jack was no longer with us. I decided I needed to tell Marcus and prepare him. I was just waiting for the T.O.D to be declared.

One night as we were driving by Helen van Veen’s we stopped to talk to Randy. Randy and I told Marcus that Jack was missing.

“I have an idea!”

“Well, you know what you can do? You can put Jack’s biscuits high up in the tallest tree and when Jack looks up he can see them, and then he will know how to find his way home!” Marcus made sure I called Ron Van Veen to tell him about the biscuits.

A few days later I was watching a story about a broad daylight store abduction of a 7 year old girl. She fought him off and he eventually dropped her and ran. I immediately decided to update my street safety conversation with Marcus that afternoon.

I confirmed our safety word, and I reminded him that he should fight like hell if anyone tries to grab him. He liked the part where he got to practice his “loudest scream ever” in the truck. I got a little misty eyed.
“What’s wrong Mommy?”
“Well Marcus, I just want to to always be safe and I want you to know how important this training is”
“I know, if anything ever happened to me you would cry every day forever. WAIT!! I have an idea!”
“What is your idea Marcus?”
“If something ever happens to me, I know what you can do. You can put pancakes in the tallest trees and when I look up, I will find them and then I can find my way back to you!”

Lost it, completely.