This Week

On Sunday, we had the following conversation...

W: Mommy, why does God want us to give him glory?

Me: It makes Him happy. Do you like it when someone says something nice about you? It's kind of like that.

W: Oh. Why can't we call Pop Pop in heaven? I want to ask him what heaven is like.

Me: That would be nice. I miss Pop Pop.

W: I want to talk to God on the phone too. Have you heard God talk to you before?

Me: Yes. He talks to us in the Bible, and sometimes we can hear His voice in our thoughts, but we know it isn't just us thinking something.

W: If I was on the phone with God and we both wanted to say something at the same time, I would let God go first, because I like Him.

Me: (laughing) That's good!

On Monday, he handed me a hand written note from his lunch box that read:

Mommy

I don't like gingersnaps. Please don't give them to me.

On Tuesday, he labeled a Christmas present that I had wrapped for his friend Jack:

To: Jack

From: Wesley

(in a different color pen) and mom but not your mom

A Night to Remember

Last week, I did something I rarely do. I kept my kids out past their bedtimes and took them to an "adult" event. A friend of a friend invited me to an art show with the caveat "offspring welcome" (nice). At the behest of my friend, I braved the room of wannabes and hipsters with two children in tow. It was a recipe for disaster, but instead it bordered on magical. Wesley entertained some people with his budding beat-boy style of dance, while Catelynn charmed anyone who looked her way. After we toured the modest graphic art display, I entertained Wesley with thumb wrestling and hot hands. There were also snacks, which are intricate to any successful evening. The show had a paper airplane theme, and there were a plethora of them scattered around the seating area. These held our interest for an extended period of time. By the end of the night, we were engaged in a full-on battle, flying them at each other across the empty buffet table. Perfect strangers joined in, including a guy in a fedora and a grandma-type woman. It was one of those moments. When we headed home at 9:30!, both kids were still joyful and energetic. We hurried through the bedtime routine without protest. Cate was tucked into her bed, and I lay down with Wesley for a brief cuddle before he drifted to sleep. He whispered, "Mommy, I smell something good." "Oh yeah?" I replied. Then he said "Yeah, I think it is coming from you." It was the perfect end to a special evening.

Seriously? Six!

DC Talk was right: Time is tickin' away. On the 9th, Wesley celebrated yet another birthday. Now that he is six years old, he is really going places. At the YMCA, he has graduated to "the YAC" (still not sure what that stands for), where he can play with older kids, learn more advanced games, and even use some weight machines (which he LOVES!). Perhaps the crowning achievement of being six (at least to date) was being able to drive his own go-cart at his birthday party. In lieu of our traditional house party with large guest lists, we celebrated this year at the Family Golf Center not far from our house. Wesley and 3 friends played a round of putt-putt golf and did a few laps around the go-cart track before devouring pizza and cupcakes.

It was a genuine boys' dream party (well, except for his little sister, his mom, and his grandma being there...but really, he loved it!). Eighteen holes of putt-putt golf have probably never been played so quickly. Isaac, who is eight, was the voice of maturity, reason and organization for the two five year olds and one newly six year old. (As a note, it is a very good idea to invite at least one older child. This made my job so much easier!) Despite their intense excitement and underdeveloped impulse control, they all waited very patiently in the long go-cart line. Wesley drove his white Trix car as slowly and cautiously as a Florida senior citizen. I was afraid he would be so discouraged that the other cars passed him as many times as they did, but he emerged from the track exhilarated and beaming with pride that he had only bumped the wall one time! (Will he still have such sensibility in 10 years?) With ravenous appetites stirred, all four man-cubs made short order of pizza and root beer, followed readily with strawberry cupcakes. Star Wars gifts aplenty were eagerly received, and the night was declared a huge success! A special night for a very special boy.

Gmail.com

When Wesley started to type on instant message with Marc, it occurred to us that he may be ready for an email address. With Marc being gone and his spelling/reading skills multiplying exponentially, it seemed like a great idea. I created a contact list for him, consisting mostly of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and a few family friends. After a short tutorial, he could compose and send messages and open and archive received mail! The first email he sent was to Marc with the subject "i lic mario." (I like Mario.) The body of the message read "tac you for teching me how to do manyl onmario kart will." (Thank you for teaching me how to do manual on Mario Kart Wii.) Though typing is challenging, he has enjoyed sending, receiving and replying to messages. In the process, he is learning about the keyboard and letter writing etiquette. I have the added enjoyment of reading about his world, reported in his own words from his perspective!

"Special Time"

Recently, Wesley suggested that we implement something he dubbed "special time." He wanted to have time set aside for playing games, watching movies, and doing other activities including only him and me. Since he started school, I have missed spending time with him, so I thought it was a brilliant idea (and was just on the cusp of thinking of it myself!). So each Friday, after Cate has retired to bed, we designate and hour or so for mother/son bonding. Our first date was spent watching Wesley's first Star Wars movie (the first four episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series). Obviously, it was a smashing success! Most recently, we spent the evening making rice crispy treats, yet another sticky, deliciously enjoyable event.

Are You Smarter Than A Five-Year Old?

Paraphrase of a conversation with Wesley on the way home from school yesterday:

Me: "When we get home, I want you to make sure you get all of your things out of the car. You are in charge of that."

Wes: "Mommy, in charge means the same thing as responsible."

Me: "Yes, that's true."

Wes: "We can just use the word responsible because I know what that means. Today we learned about empathy at school."

Me: "Really, what is empathy?"

Wes: "Empathy means, 'I know how you feel.'"

At Wesley's school, students can earn tickets by exhibiting behaviors that display any of these 12 (see above) encouraged attitudes. They are also learning the meanings of all of these words. I was only a little surprised to notice that responsibility was not on the list.

The Soundtrack of Our Lives

He is still working on pitch, but he has a good handle on instrumentation. :)

Lessons Learned

After more than a month in kindergarten, Wesley is thriving. Last week he brought home his first progress report with the following report from his teacher, Ms. Brandon, "Wesley is making great progress, and he has an excellent foundation on which to build. He is very bright, and it shows in every part of our day. He is engaged and actively participates in all that we do." I think his teacher is terrific, and I'm really proud of him! He loves going to school and actually bemoans weekends (with the exception of church on Sunday). I love to see him grow in so many other areas as well. Each morning, he wakes up, gets dressed, remembers to put on his glasses and comes downstairs for breakfast. He has learned to tie his shoes, tell time, pump his own swing, shower independently and even whistle! This morning, I asked him to help me get out the door for school by waking Catelynn. She came downstairs completely naked (with his "help") as he chased her with a wipe because her morning diaper was wet. Now that is above and beyond! Watching who he is becoming is such a joy, and I love being a part of it.

Wesley's first project in Art class...Nashville's famous "batman" building. He said all the windows had lights on because everyone came to work.

Sermon Notes

Recently, Wesley started attending the worship service with me at church. He goes to his Sunday school while I'm in Sunday school, then he comes to learn how to participate in "big church." We are about a month into this new experience. I was very nervous in the beginning. I knew it would be challenging for him, and I'm not a big fan of distracting children during church, especially not ones sitting directly next to me for which I'm responsible. We came prepared with paper, a clip board and colored pencils. During the first half of the service, Wesley joins in singing, praying, etc. When the sermon begins, he is allowed to draw. At first, there was a lot of this....

And also some of this....

In an attempt to engage him in the sermon, I helped him take some notes related to what Pastor Scott was preaching. These are from the first week's sermon on the book of Ruth...

I especially enjoyed his portrait of Pastor Scott with a Bible two-thirds the size of his body! Now we are working through the book of Ephesians, and Wesley seems to have the idea. Aside from an occasional loud-ish whisper, he has done great! I'm praying that he will grow in his love for God's word and the body of Christ, the church.

I Gotta Feelin'

Silence Is Golden

In the car today, I asked the kids to have some "quiet time" until we got home. Very often our trips to and fro (which are numerous these days) involve me being held hostage to constant questions, song requests, and bickering from the back seat. While I accept this as part of being a mother, sometimes a girl just needs some peace and quiet! Catelynn requested special permission to use her thumb as a method of silence (which I gladly granted), and Wesley also became pensive. When we were almost home (notice the almost!), Wesley asked for some help with a simple calculation: "Mommy, what's three times three?" With some curiosity, I solved his riddle, which launched him into a discourse on the game he had created during these last 5-10 minutes.

According to his telling, there would be 3 teams of 3, each team with a leader. He would need to invite 9 friends, strike that 8 friends, since he would be the ninth participant. I'm still unclear on the details and rules, but it involved his umbrella (which was conveniently located within eye sight). There was something about each team trying to get under said umbrella, while the other teams, I believe, were getting wet during some kind of unfortunate downpour. Once the game had been set up (well, sort of), Wesley commenced planning the guest list. By the time the eighth group member had been selected, we were home, and he ran inside to record the list for later invitation making. In the mean time, the teams had grown to four, which meant there would be 12 names (11 excluding himself), a recalculation he managed completely on his own. Carefully he wrote down each name as I dictated the correct spellings. They were neatly grouped in threes, with some kind of squiggly line drawn to delineate each group. Finally, he titled the project "Play Friends," then seamlessly moved on to his next activity.

I wonder what he would come up with if I didn't let him talk all the way to school tomorrow!

Kindergarten!

Today was Wesley's first day of kindergarten. We have been talking up this event for the entire summer, and he has shown varying degrees of excitement about the prospect of spending the day away from his mommy, his legos, and his Wii. But once Wesley met a few of his classmates at a "popsicle social" on Wednesday evening, he found a shared love for Star Wars with several other boys, and he knew everything would be just fine. We discussed the drop-off procedure for school, and he insisted that it would be fine for me to just drop him at the curb on the first day. When I said I would go ahead and walk him in for at least the first or second day, he agreed to the first day, but figured he could take it from there. Last night at bedtime, he said he wished kindergarten was starting right then.

Promptly at 6:15am, he came to my room completely dressed, including a belt and shoes (which he tied!). Since I wasn't sure how long the commute would take with traffic, we left early and arrived 25 minutes before the school doors even opened (perhaps I will adjust the departure time?).

When we went to Ms. Brandon's kindergarten room, he signed his name on the sign-in sheet (very cute), Ms. Brandon (sweet, young teacher) took our picture, and we found his locker to put away his empty backpack. He found a seat at the table and began reading one of the books that were laid out. After a few minutes, he looked up at me and said, "Mommy, shouldn't you go now?" He showed one brief moment of uncertainty as I was leaving, but no tears were shed by either party.

When I picked him up--which, I will say, was a traffic pattern that was nothing short of a three ring circus!--he got in the car and said that we needed to go home (25 min. away) before lunch (5 min. away) because he was SO thirsty! I asked him to describe his day in one word, and he said "AWESOME!" Though many details of the day escaped him (almost certainly due to the dehydration), he did remember that he made four friends, had something delicious to drink during snack time, and was quiet during "zero zone." However, his favorite part was the class trip to the restrooms! Before we headed home, we enjoyed a celebratory lunch at Nashville's semi-historic Pancake Pantry with our friend Sharon. After we had filled ourselves with pancakey goodness, we returned home for naps, legos, and Wii. As it turns out, kindergarten is pretty awesome after all!

Living the Dream

Wesley has a magnetic calendar in his room. When I was setting up the month of August, Wesley noticed the magnet to mark Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and asked who that was. I eagerly gave a short, five-year-old's lesson on MLK, racism and the civil rights movement. We talked about his cousin who has a black father and our president. Wesley wondered if he had some skin that was white and some skin that was black. In order to point out how skin color could vary, even within a certain race, I mentioned a friend of ours who has very dark black skin. To which Wesley replied, "Like a ninja?" Um, nope, not really. After I attempted to clarify my explanation, Wesley said, "Well, they probably could hide really well in the dark, though." Perhaps we will revisit this conversation in January when we use the MLK Day magnet!

May the Force Be With You

The obsession continues! It is perhaps the most intense and longest running fascination Wesley has had to date: Star Wars, especially as it relates to Legos! I have endured countless hours of playing the Wii (there is a Lego Star Wars game!) and being quizzed on every detail of movies that I watched 20 or so years ago. However, his mechanical mind has combined with his creative juices to produce some pretty amazing things!

Most of these ships are of his own imagining, and I must say I have been impressed. He also enjoys following the directions to produce masterpieces such as Darth Vader's ship pictured below...Live long and prosper....er, I mean, may the force be with you!

Four Eyes Are Better Than Two

Last month, Wesley got glasses! We have been seeing a pediatric ophthalmologist since he was just a few months old. It is not uncommon for babies' eyes to cross, but Wesley's strabismus (put that on your word calendar!) persisted past the age that pediatricians expect. We saw several different eye doctors during the course of living in Indiana, Alabama, and finally Tennessee. It wasn't until we met Dr. Donahue at Vanderbilt's Lions Eye Center that we finally received treatment. After a few visits at his office, he told us that Wesley would need corrective eye muscle surgery. So in January or February of 2007, while I was very pregnant with Catelynn, we went to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital for the outpatient surgery. Wesley did splendidly (he rode a cozy car right into the OR with no tears or trepidation), and the surgery was considered a success. We have been following up for the last two years. For the last several months, I have noticed Wesley turning his head ever so slightly when he was reading or looking at something close to him. The ophthalmologists exam found that his strabismus (ding!) had returned, but for now is limited to his near sight. The glasses were prescribed to correct the problem before it can progress to his far sight and require additional surgery. Hopefully, they will accomplish their purpose and he will no longer need them. But for now, he is the cutest boy in glasses I have ever seen...glasses with guitars on the sides, no less!

Play Me a Song

Today, Wesley followed in the grand tradition of Acton children (and one Robertson one) and had his first official piano lesson. While we were in Florida, he had the sweet opportunity to enjoy a brief impromptu lesson with Marc's grandmother (who taught all 4 Actons). He is beginning weekly 30 minute lessons with our friend Kirsten from church, using the same piano books I started with over 20 years ago. Quite nostalgic. Kirsten said he did great for his first lesson, but I'm sure she says that to all the parents. :)

Barber Shop Duet

Marc has been cutting Wesley's hair for years. Usually, he keeps it pretty short and even all the way around, but occasionally he experiments with some styling. Recently, Wesley was sporting a mohawk/faux-hawk of sorts. About six months ago, Wesley started returning the favor. Every few months, they would have a father/son haircut night. Marc bravely handed over the clippers to Wesley, and he has done a great job, really. My only role is quality assurance, making sure he doesn't miss a spot, which he seldom does!

School Days, School Days

I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that Wesley will be starting school in the fall. The question of where he will be spending his kindergarten year (and several more after that) is one that I have been toiling over for a few years now. Last January, we enlisted in the Metro Nashville Public Schools lottery for magnet/option schools. On Thursday, we got a letter in the mail notifying us that Wesley would be able to attend Eakin Elementary. A few months ago, we visited the school and loved it. When I told Wesley that he would be going there, he said, "Oh Mommy, I love that Eakin school. They have a great library!" No, really, they do!

Multitasker

Wesley: "Mommy, why are you so good at doing two things at once?"
Me: "I guess it is something I have had a lot of practice doing, and God has given me a talent."
Wesley: "Do you think that you could watch TV and ride a unicycle on a tight rope?"
Me: laughter, for so many reasons...

Loose, tooth loose

Wesley lost his first tooth! When we went to the dentist a few months ago, she told us he had two loose ones, which was quite a surprise. Since then, he has been gradually working on wiggling them, and Marc helped him pull the first one out before bed. Marc was glad to participate in that milestone, and I was happy for a daddy who is not squeamish about dental extractions (sure, I can handle open heart surgery without a problem, but teeth give me the willies!). The tooth fairy (who Wesley told Marc with a sly smile that he knew was us), left a dollar (inflation!) under his pillow, but failed to remove the tooth. I told him that maybe she thought he might want to save it. On the contrary, he has no desire to keep the tooth for posterity, but suggested that maybe the tooth fairy could plant it in the ground and grow something (perhaps she has a hobby in stem cell research?). Wesley lost his second tooth on Monday, which prompted his concern that he may loose all of his teeth at once. I'm thinking this could get expensive, and I had better start keeping cash around the house in addition to soft foods!

Dream a Little Dream

"Mommy, when are we going to get a go-cart?"

"I'm not sure, Wesley. Those are very expensive."

"Well, last night I had a dream that I had a go-cart, and I drove to Publix with your permission and asked for a cookie."

Don't stop believing....

Lego My Lego

Creativity is in full bloom in the world of Wesley, this time in the form of Legos. They are the perfect building blocks to fashion cars, bringing the obsession full circle. What a great product to have survived all these years and make it into the toy boxes of the next generation!

"Growing Up Is Hard"

If one were a fly on the window (or perhaps a crushed goldfish on the carpet) of my Jeep Liberty, one would be privy to an interesting assortment of conversation topics. On Friday, the pressing issue on Wesley's mind was the small matter of purchasing his own car. He was certain that he would have enough money in his piggy bank to close the deal, but I assured him that was not possible. After a discussion on savings planning and bank loans, Wesley sighed, "Growing up is hard!" Fer real!
Two seconds of silence. Next question: "Mommy, can you marry someone who is your sister?" Um, nope. In answer to the inevitable follow-up question of why, I shared the legal and genetic consequences of such a union. If Catelynn was not an option, Wesley wondered who would be an acceptable choice for a future bride. As an example, I mentioned a few girls from his Sunday school class, but Wesley said, "Nah, I don't want to marry them. Who else?" When I suggested his friend Lainey, he replied, "Yeah, put her on the list." After a few more names, he had complied three lists: yes, no, and maybe. I wonder if I will be telling this story at his wedding in 20 years or so. I just hope that I don't have to explain to my future daughter-in-law why she was initially on the "no" list!

Chalk on Asphalt

Wesley's latest foray into the art world involved every child's favorite medium: sidewalk chalk. Pictured here is his sprawling masterpiece that stretched across the entire road when it was complete. The text reads, "Mario and Luigi and Toad and Princess and Larryboy." (Speed Racer is out! Mario is in, with Larryboy from Veggie Tales nipping at its heels.) To the left is a creatively modified hopscotch, something new introduced to him in Sunday school by his friend Kate.
This piece is a temporary exhibit.

Watch Your Back, Mr. Chapman

Yesterday, Wesley became passionate about his desire to give one of his friends a lollipop. He was highly concerned with seeing them before they left town, so he could hand over the said treat. When I asked him why he wanted to give his friend a lollipop, he said "Because I love him. Giving him a gift is a nice way to show that I love him." Very true. I asked Wesley what some other ways of showing love were. His list included giving hugs, doing the dishes for someone (if you were a grown-up), and telling them with words. Yep. That covers four out of Gary Chapman's five love languages. I would not have been at all surprised if he had busted out "spending quality time" as one of his answers. :) Maybe Wesley has a future in motivational speaking!

Southern Style

I worked as a nurse in Alabama for a year. In all my years of nursing, working with an abundance of doctors who's first language was not English, I had the most difficult time understanding the one's with a thick Southern drawl. Wesley feels my pain. Our neighbor is from Arkansas, and there have been many times when I have needed to "interpret" for him. But my favorite story happened at breakfast the other day. We were dining at IHOP, the premier pancake destination, and the waitress asked Wesley what he wanted to drink. He asked what his options were, and she listed the following: juice--apple juice or orange juice, Sprite, "mealk." Wesley immediately piped up and innocently asked, "What's mealk?" I told him that she was saying milk, and he settled on some OJ. I guess he is still learning to speak Southern.

Old School

First there was Speed Racer. Wesley watched the old cartoons with a fervor and wondered why they just looked like drawings (a child of the age of digital animation). Next there was Super Mario Brothers. Marc downloaded the original NES version, and Wesley has been playing on the computer. But instead of completely replacing Speed Racer for the top spot, Wesley found a way to meld the two together...Mario and Luigi as race car drivers! Now he has discovered Psalty and the Kid Praise Kids. Does anyone else remember them? I saved the cassette tapes from my childhood, and he recently started listening to them during his quiet times. It is so fun to hear him in there by himself, singing all those old praise and worship songs I learned as a child. I guess this is the 2000's version of being retro!

A Real American Hero

Marc found out yesterday that he will be deploying to Iraq in May. One of the first orders of business was talking to Wesley. When Marc told him that he would be going away for a while, Wesley was initially disappointed and asked why. Marc explained that there is a place where there are some bad guys, and he and his friends from the Army need to go and help the good guys. Wesley's obvious response: "Do the bad guys have helmets?" (As random as it seems, this question is inspired by his keen observation that all of the racers in Speed Racer have different helmets.) Marc explained that some of the bad guys wore funny hats called turbans. Wesley requested that when he shoots the bad guys (oh dear!), that he land his helicopter, get the turban, and bring it back for a souvenir. Marc suggested that perhaps this would not be allowed. As a revised request, Wesley asked that he land the helicopter and just take a picture of the turban. Perfectly reasonable. Wesley's next pressing question: "Do the bad guys have bombs?" Due to his recent exposure to Super Mario Brothers (the original Nintendo 64 version!), bombs have become quite fascinating. Marc did not find it necessary to share that the Iraqis do not use the bombs to kill flying turtles!

Reading Rainbow

Although he is not "reading" this book, Wesley has started reading. Clearly, this is one we have read once or twice before. :)

Anchors Away

At lunch the other day, Wesley asked me for a toothpick

because he wanted to make a sailboat with his food.

Want Ads

Almost every night before bed, Wesley asks me if I have to work the next day. Often the answer is yes, which he finds disappointing (which I find heartbreaking). We have talked about the necessary evil of gainful employment, and he seems to have five year old's grasp on the issue. Not long ago, he said, "Mommy, I wish I was old enough to work. Then I could get money for us. That would be my favorite part of a job." When I asked what his chosen profession might be, he had a few ideas: a race car driver (well, of course), an ice cream scooper (sounds delicious), or a greeter (at Wal-mart, perhaps?). Something tells me he would be great at any of those things, but God might have something else in store.

Car-talk

on our way home from church today...
Wesley: "Mommy, what is that delicious smell I smell?"
Me: "Hey look, there are a bunch of cows over there." (admittedly, off subject)
W: "No, that isn't it. I don't smell any milk."
a few minutes later...
W: "Sid the Science Kid is a good show to learn things."
Me: "Yeah, I like to learn things."
W: "Do you know why a banana turns brown and decays" (yes, he used the word decay!)
Me: "Yes, I guess I do."
W: "How do you know? Did Daddy tell you?"
Me: "No, I guess I learned it in school some time."
W: "Oh yeah, school would be a good place to learn about stuff decaying and stuff."

Minor Misunderstanding

Some friends of ours recently gave us the exciting news that they were pregnant with their third child! Their oldest boy, Paul, told Wesley they were going to have a new baby. Wesley replied, "Instead of Marie?" He was under the impression that they were trading in their one year old daughter for a newer model. :)

Just Google It

Recently, Wesley had his first google experience. His query? Why, Speed Racer, of course. He has been playing Speed Racer games online with Marc. The other day he came down stairs and told Marc he had figured out a way to get to the computer games on his own. When Marc asked for further details, he told him he just got something that had Speed Racer written on it and typed in all the letters, then spelled games himself, since he knew how to spell that! Just typed it in on the google tool bar and followed the link to the game. What a problem solver. The boy is nothing if not resourceful!

A few of his favorite things

Wesley drew this during rest time yesterday. When I asked him what it was he told me it was pictures of his favorite things..."1. Smiley faces, 2. Race cars, 3. Flowers, 4. Being outside,

5. Being around people, 6. Watching TV"

Yep, that's my boy!

Go Speed Racer, Go!

It is official: Wesley is OBSESSED with Speed Racer. Yes, I am talking about the cartoon from 1967, originally adapted from the Japanese anime Mach GoGoGo (hey, I did a little research...it's called Wikipedia, anyone heard of it?). It started innocently enough with a mild (ok, moderate) fascination with Disney's Cars. Then, he became increasingly interested in matchbox cars--very age-appropriate for a boy of five years. Then, right before Christmas, while watching a Christmas episode of My Friends Tigger and Pooh, Darby asked the audience what they wanted most for Christmas, and Wesley responded (out loud), "Speed Racer cars are what I would like most for Christmas." Upon hearing this, Catelynn insisted that she must get him those cars as her gift. And on Christmas day, the mania began. When family requested Wesley's Christmas list, I really don't recall mentioning Speed Racer, per se, just cars in general. Yet under the tree on Christmas morning, Wesley found four or five items to begin his Speed Racer collection. After watching the 2008 DVD version, he assumed the role of Speed Racer, insisting that we all call him Speed (or Speed Racer, also acceptable). Furthermore, Marc was dubbed Pops Racer, I became Trixie (wait, isn't she the girlfriend?), and Catelynn was affectionately assigned the role of Chim-Chim, the monkey. When Mimi, my mom, came to visit last week, she filled the spot of Mom Racer. Today, in Mimi's absence, Sharon became the new Mom Racer. It's like a TV show when they change the actor and never really explain or acknowledge why. Below is something I would like to call exhibit A...
This is just one in a series of nearly 20 (and counting) versions of the Mach 5/6. When we are not role-playing (which almost never happens), Wesley spends the rest of the day talking about Speed Racer, watching the 1967 cartoon that we downloaded, and racing his cars around the house, complete with engine noises, squealing tires and me singing the theme song, of course! Go Speed Racer, Go Speed Racer, Go Speed Racer, Go!