Nooooo....I'm not Reid

These capes I made the crazies for Christmas have turned out to be the best present ever. They are the most used...least forgotten...toy in our house. You can always find them at the top of our toy box if they're not around the kids necks.


Does anyone remember this? Well Alter Ego Parker has a brother following in his footsteps. I can't remember the last time Reid was just Reid. It's like he has seriously forgotten that was ever his name. I can ask him repeatedly to do something and he doesn't even acknowledge me....he doesn't flinch. He doesn't look up. He doesn't respond in any way. But when I call him by his superhero name, he'll do what I ask...whether it be to brush his teeth, stop hitting his brother, eat his lunch, or clean up his toys. It's tough. I don't always know who he is. Finally he'll say NOOOOOO. I'm not Reid. I'm ________. Fill in the blank with whatever random superhero he's personifying.

I can't even comprehend how he does that. We play superheroes regularly at our house. I'm usually Storm or Wonder Woman or Elastagirl. The world of superheroes is seriously lacking females. I can't, for the life of me, remember to answer to my superhero name. I forget to respond until they call me Mom.

Watching Parker and Reid play superheroes together is a real trip. They never forget to call each other by their superhero names. They're hilarious. And they are both WAY into Marvel comics characters. So they become the most abstract superheroes (and sometimes bad guys) ever. Under our roof, you can frequently find people (or mutants) like Magneto, Ironman, Spiderman, Titanium Man, Crimson Dynamo, Wolverine, Xavier, Iceman, Green Goblin, Superman, Captain America, Mr. Fantastic, Pyro, Wolverine, Cyclops, Batman, Robin, Incredible Hulk and the list goes on. And when they're not being superheros, they are usual some one like Peter Parker, Bruce Wayne or Clark Kent. In fact, Parker had a sub in his Sunbeam class one Sunday. He told the teacher his name was Peter Parker. My boys are nuts.

Last night they came running down the stairs shirtless while our home teachers were over. They were screaming like banshees that were both Incredible Hulk. (Then one of them called Reid a "little man" and I found him crying on the kitchen floor a few minutes later. He has a major complex about being called "little." He's BIG.)

Reid has a hard time starting a word with the letter 'S'. He'll tell me he's Uperman. (Pronounced OO-perman.) I'll repeat him with "OK Uperman." Then he responds, "No, not Uperman...Uperman." He can hear the difference, but can't say it and I think it's hilarious.

With all the alter egos my boys take on, nothing has ever topped the time Parker was Al Roker.