Little Girls

My son has turned 5. We held him back from going to kindergarten this year as we didn't want him to always be the littlest, the youngest, the kid who's always trying to catch up with the big boys. We wanted him to be one of the big boys. So, consequently, he is now the big boy in my class. Not the awkward kid, just the oldest in the class. I assume that when he gets to kindergarten he will not be the only older boy in class. I'm counting on it.

Anyway, my kid is sweet and cute and everyone loves him. He takes after his Daddy that way. And in my class I have 11 girls and 6 boys. (The drama from that alone is a completely different blog post.) The girls absolutely LOVE my son. While I think it's cute, I am also starting to see a glimpse of the future and my heart breaks for him as I know these girls will become women and they will break his heart, over and over again. But also, mamma bear wants to growl, "Hey! He's mine and you keep your grubby little hands off! He can date when he's 30!" Colin just thinks they're all great and wants to have a good day and keep everyone happy and enjoy his friends - again, he's a lot like his Daddy that way. What Colin hasn't learned yet is that you cannot please everyone and you sure as hell can't please a bunch of women.

Regardless, there are now five little girls who battle for his attention and his affection. Watching Colin juggle them is really something. Someone is always upset with him because Colin isn't playing with them. They are fighting amongst themselves about who is going to marry him (not kidding) and they are pouting and pulling stunts to try to make Colin feel bad or guilty and give one person complete attention. I often feel sorry for him and want to jump in and tell them to leave him alone but so far, he's oblivious to their shenanigans and if one won't play with him, he doesn't care, he'll play with someone who will, including the boys in my class. Whew!

So yesterday morning on the playground, the girls arrive one by one. I try to greet every child and comment on their hair or their dress or ask about their lives in some way. Well one of the girls came dressed in a really cute outfit and I made a comment. Colin happened to be standing with me. He hears me. Then one of the other girls wanted to know if I like her outfit. While I did, it wasn't necessarily worth commenting on. It was just a dress. Colin had the same opinion cuz he started to say "not as much." I interrupted him with a loud, "Of course. Your dress is beautiful too." The first little girl turned and gave me the stink eye." You can't win. Case in point.

But I whispered to my son, "You tell all the girls they look beautiful. Because if you just tell one and not the others, then they're going to be upset with you and your life will be so much easier if you just tell them they all look pretty." He just let that sink in. He didn't really respond. Colin is like me in that he says what he's thinking. He's like his Daddy in that he doesn't ever want to hurt anyone's feelings (tough mental exercise involved right there and this instruction just made it harder.) I know what he was thinking. He's thinking, "I'm supposed to lie?! This will make girls happy?!"

Yep and nope. Welcome to the world of little girls. Beautiful, sweet, manipulative, pouting, crying, dramatic, delightful, angry, yummy little girls. .....Thank God I have a boy.

TV's Weight Problem

This is a short history of the televisions in our family... suffer through because there's a gem at the end worth waiting for.

When I met JD about 10 years ago, I had a 13" tv with built in VCR that I watched occasionally.

JD had this really heavy 32" Sony that he brought with him to Albuquerque from Nashville.

Then as a single guy he purchased a really cool old Ford Bronco, a Harley, a great stereo system and speakers, and a 60" BIG screen TV, not necessarily in that order. I believe the TV was first. He then put the 32" in his bedroom.

Then we moved to Vegas, got married and we now had three TV's. We kept the little 13" and put it in our bedroom, put the 32" downstairs in the family room and put the 60" upstairs in the bonus room that turned out to be a very cool hang to watch TV. Then we purchased a 26" DVD/VCR combo for the "workout" room.

Then we moved to Dallas. Well once you've taken a 60" rear projection up some stairs as we did in Vegas, you're content to sell it with the house instead of moving it. (another blog that I'll post. Very funny story). So we left it and sold the the 13" and the 32" in a garage sale, we moved with the 26" with the intention to buy a screen and projector.

In Dallas we have more than enough room in our huge house for our little 26" and more. The people we bought the house from had a 60" big screen up stairs that they weren't going to move either so they threw it in with the house too. JD purchases the ever wanted 106" screen with the HD projector to go in the media room - "the cave" we called it. Now peeps, this was the coolest setup theater room I've ever seen. We moved their old 60" into our new workout room, put the 26" downstairs in the family room so you could watch something downstairs without having to go upstairs and fire up the projector and by then we had Colin so he was watching Little Einstein videos and the Wiggles downstairs all the time.

Then we moved to CA. We downsized EVERYTHING! No more projector, no more workout room, so we sold the projector and screen and moved only with the 26" TV. My husband had full intention of buying a plasma TV upon arrival. Well the little house God provided us to live in would only allow room enough for a 52" and JD had to settle. A year later we move to the house we're in now. The first thing JD says when we get here is that our TV is too small. I put my foot down and said, "Suck it up. We're not buying another one." And the way our room is configured, the TV is a little small for the room, but he's dealing with it.

So, yesterday, Colin is watching movies on the "big" TV instead of his tv (the 26" in his playroom). And if you're going to watch a movie you should watch it on the plasma with the very cool speakers. He happens to be lying on the floor in front of the TV, playing with cars at the same time. Eventually, he moves back to the couch with his blanket to snuggle in for the rest of the movie.

He tells me, "Mommy, the TV's lost weight."

"What?"

"The TV's lost weight. Up there it was big, but here it's smaller."

Great! Just what JD needs; our son to validate his need to buy a bigger TV.

And I wonder if there's a direct correlation to the size of your TV and the size of your butt.....hmmmm. If so, mine used to be a tight little 13". ...Key phrase: used to.

Admiration

This is Dayne. Dayne is almost 14. He babysat Colin, with the help from his parents, as I ran an errand. I couldn't get Colin to get in the car, he had so much fun. Dayne is one of the greatest kids I've ever met. Colin is in good company and has a good example. I'm so very grateful that he has such a person to learn from. 

Cozy

Tumbleweed, my big, fluffy, 14-year-old cat, is no longer spry and tumbley. Instead he's calm, lazy, and low-key. Yesterday we woke up to a wonderful, rare rain storm. Tweeders just wanted a warm, quiet place to sleep. He was a little irritated with me that I disrupted him to get his picture. 

I'm Dizzy!

May 10, 2007

June 3, 2009

When did this happen!? Did someone push the fast as you can go button cuz I don't remember my little boy growing up so fast. 

A Punish

Colin and I were driving home from a little shopping excursion after church on Sunday. While on this excursion, he ate an entire apple, many many gold fish, and some gum I think. By the time we were almost home, I was really hungry and I figured Colin was a little hungry but not starved due to the snackage he had consumed. 

As I've mentioned, there's a McDonald's on the way home. We pass by. I had no intention of stopping. We're past the entrance. We turn onto the next street and the following conversation takes place: 

Colin: Mom, can we go to McDonald's? 

Me: No. We've already passed it. I want to go home. 

Colin: You could turn around. 

Me: Not today Buddy. 

pause pause

Colin: How about this for a punish? If you don't turn around and go back to McDonald's you can't have lunch ever again!

We did not turn around. I did have lunch. Colin ate at home. How about this for a punish, indeed.

A Husband Day

Yesterday I had the rare privilege to spend an entire day with my husband without our child. Don't get me wrong, you know I love me some Colin BUT I do so love my husband with all my heart and rarely get him all to myself. 

Ms Tina, my teacher's assistant, has taken the summer off to go home and live with her parents, save some money, come back in the fall for school and work with me. But she came back Thursday for our Pre-K Completion Celebration. She agreed to stay over until Saturday and keep Colin for us (free of charge) all day and night yesterday, subbed for me at work so I could have a day and night with JD. Bless you Tina. 

We had such a good time. I introduced JD to a pedicure - of which he needed desperately and he introduced me to Happy Feet (a foot reflexology place), we grocery shopped, we washed the car, we went to lunch, we went to a movie, we shopped The Grove, we sat in a friends' hot tub that were out of town, we made dinner, etc. etc. etc. :) and we had a fantastic wonderful day. 

So all you wives, I highly recommend it, go have a Husband Day. 

Thank you Husband - it was the best!

From the Jungle to the Ocean

Turned the Jungle into the Ocean. See the bottom of the boat? It's on the ceiling. See my fishing basket? Yea, it worked. Let the commotion in the ocean begin. I'll let you know how the kids like it. 

It Etwa

For my birthday I went to get a pedicure. I  was in dire need of my pedis being cured. BAD shape. The last one had been November. So, I believe that at least once a year, every woman and man should get a pedicure. But in CA where flip flops are worn year-round, you need at least two, if not one a month. 

So I go with my dear friend Andi who is treating me to a Celestina Day. She needs a pedi too. We sit. She gets her girl and I get Nicole. I type the following story with much endearment, for she won me over. Typing her accent will be a bit of a challenge but you'll get the idea if you'll just read it aloud with perfect phonetics. 

Now, you know how it is, they begin with mostly hand motions. They being the Vietnamese ladies and men who tend to be in a nail salon. They motion you to sit in a chair. They motion you to put your feet in. They motion or touch a foot to come out and be placed in a certain spot. They motion you to change feet. They make a little noise for you to choose if you want your nail clipped or filed. Sometimes you can go an entire pedi without ever having a conversation with your technician. This was not one of those days. 

I had decided that I was going to go with a French Pedicure so that it would last a long time. My time for nails is slim to none. I have desire. I don't have time. Hence the six month stent. Anyway, I try to explain as she's making me choose between clipping and filing that one of my nails is really short because I had broken it recently. 

Her: It okay, I make. 

Me: Okay. But don't clip it anymore. 

Her: It okay, I make. 

Me: resigning Okay. 

She gets my nails all cleaned up and she's very happy. She smiles at me a lot. I know this not because I see her smile, due to the mask, but her eyes crinkle and she tilts her head. Finally she asks me my name. 

Her: Wha yoo nam?

Me: Celeste. What's yours? 

Her: said at lightning speed: Nico...Li Nico Kima, you no har? Hee Hee Hee

Me: I'm sorry again. (I'm thinking she said her last name but by her tone I'm aware she's asked me a question but I haven't a clue what she asked. And that whatever she said was extremely funny to her)

Her: Nico....lik Nico Kima, you no har? Hee Hee Hee

I desperately look at Andi. She smiles and says, "Nicole Kidman. You know her?" Aa Ha. 

Me: Nicole Kidman. Yes, I'm aware of who she is. I've never met her however. 

At this point in my pedi, Nicole looks up and asks

Nicole: Yoo wan kalla remov?

Me: Do I need it? 

Nicole: O Ya, yoo nee!

Me: Okay. 

Nicole: big smile It etwa.

Me: What? 

Nicole: bigger smile It etwa. 

Again I look to Andi for translation. She smiles and says, "It's extra." At which Nicole rapidly shakes her head up and down. 

Me: Oh. It's okay. 

Nicole goes and gets the necessary tool to remove the calluses from my heels. I know I'm desperate. I've never done this. Then she brings back what looks like a grinder. Really?! 

Nicole works for a long time on my feet. She is no longer smiling under the mask. I'm pretty sure she cussing me out but I can't tell. Finally she's done. 

She begins painting my toes. She makes me a nail. Then at the right moment she asks: 

Nicole: Yoo wan flawa?

Me: Flower? 

Nicole: Ya, yoo wan flawa? I pan yoo flawa. 

Me: Okay.  

Nicole: It etwa. 

Me: Of course it is. It's okay. 

Nicole: I pan yoo 2 flawa. 

Me: Okay. 

She works a long time more. I was glad I wasn't in a hurry. At this point Andi was done. She was just letting her nails dry. 

Finally she's all done. She slides on my flip flops. Then she says this: 

Nicole: Yoo ah prewee now. Yoo no way six mon moor to cum baa. Twee wee, yoo baa. Oka?

Me: Okay. 

It's been almost five weeks. But you know, she did a great job and her paint has lasted. Even if it was etwa. 

You Can't Just....

The art in being a teacher is turning anything that might be trash into something creative while teaching the children at the same time. Giving new definition to: reuse, reduce and recycle. You remember my allotastuff post, well I've caught a full blown stage 5 since becoming a teacher. I can find a use for just about anything given long enough to think about it and having just the right opportunity present itself. Sometimes, I scare myself. I'll write about the garage sale sickness later. Anyway back to current story. So here are a couple of examples of how my new sickness is serving me: 

Example One: We were going to do jungle week. It was about three weeks away. I knew it was coming. I wasn't sure what my plans were but I had it in my head to create something fun and new for the kids in the classroom. Then as if the Divine was with me, the day before trash day a few weeks ago I drove home and there were two old silk potted plants sitting by someone's trash. They had elephant plant leaves. PERFECT I thought. I snagged them thinking, "I'm not sure how these are going to work, but I'm going to use them during Jungle Week." Flash forward to this week (jungle week) I haul them to my classroom, tear them apart and create a jungle in the reading area for my kids to explore and enjoy. It was a HIT!!! It had jungle sounds that they could listen to, stuffed and plastic animals endogenous to the jungle, some brown paper, a big plant from the auditorium, four yards of blue material and two yards of green (recycled from the Children's Choir props), and the silk leaves from my side of the road plants as foliage. Even found a place to put Sally, our pink Boa Constrictor. The kids fought over it the first day and argued who had been in the jungle too long and who's turn it was next. They eventually learned how to share and it turned out to be one of my best ideas so far. 

Example Two: Always thinking ahead. Next week is Ocean Week. Capitalizing on what I had already started, I was going to create the bottom of the Ocean for next week. I've already got the blue and green material exactly where it will need to go. Just need to build the bottom of the ocean. Again, Wednesday, the day before trash day, Colin and I are driving home. By someone's trash is a great metal basket. Kinda like what you might find balls in at a golf course. I immediately see a fishing basket with a catch inside, hanging from my ceiling as if off the bow of someone's boat that you could see if you were swimming around underwater, in the ocean. 

I pull to a stop, back up, and put the car in park. Colin wonders what in the world I'm doing. I explain that I want this basket for our ocean week. I snag the basket, hand it to Colin and drive on home. Colin likes the basket and wants to know if he can keep it after ocean week. Sure. Why not? 

Then he says, "But Mom, you can't just go around stealing stuff." 

I presented the, "if it's trash, then it's not stealing. They were throwing it away. I saved it. I recycled it. I'll reuse it and reduce the landfill by one little basket. I deserve a medal. 

After he thought about that and decided my argument was solid, he asked if we could go back and get the chair that the basket was sitting on. I declined because, you know, you just can't go around stealing stuff.