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The Repeat Knockers

25 Aug

Just get in the door after a long day? They knock.

Start cooking dinner? They knock.

Have a mouth full of food? Must almost choke as everyone feels the need to run from the table like it’s going to explode and surround the door.

Ready to start homework with the kids? Dog starts barking like someone’s breaking in because the doorbell rang.

Getting ready to enjoy that first sip of wine? Knock, knock.

By the sound of it, I want it the small visitors to our door ( often two or three times a night) to hit an invisible force-field whenever they attempt to step onto the front stairs. I really don’t. I’m actually glad that the kids are being included and making new friends in the neighborhood. They should. I have many fond memories of acting like we owned our ‘hood growing up. It’s just…I need about 75% less of the repeat knocking. I also feel bad when I send the hopeful children away because some dinner/homework/just-got-home time is in progress (I never mention my wine that’s being held behind the door where they can’t see).

I tell them to return at 7 and then the kids can play until 7:30. It seems though – small oversight on my part – they do not know how to tell time. Short of hanging a sign:

“Nia and Nate are not ready to play outside yet so please don’t knock and give our dog five heart attacks a night. And no, you can not take our cups – or Nia’s scooter – home with you. Also, there is a two limit ration on bandages unless it’s a true emergency. And, there is now a lock on the garage refrigerator. Sorry to diminish your hopes of an endless supply of soda.”

I think I’m just going to tell them to wait until they see Nia and Nate outside. Not outside? Not ready to play. Knock? They will NEVER be ready to play. NEVER.

Kidding. That’s for the back side of the sign.

The Repeat Knockers Having a Blast

Today, I learned …

22 Aug

It’s something we are trying with the kids. Tired of getting “I don’t remember” from Nate, Andrew and I now ask the kids to tell us three things they learned at school each day. If they can/do, they get 30 minutes of extra time enjoying whatever entertainment they want from the Wii to TV (after homework, of course). The lists below pretty much capture what each nightly review is like.

I asked Nate the three things he learned at school today:

  1. M is for Mater, McQueen and Mac. Oh yeah, and monkey.
  2. The precise way to hold a “parachute” for gym class, complete with showing me the way his fingers should look while holding this parachute. Also, that his gym teacher pretended to fall over when hit with a ball.
  3. To put your head down on the table when it’s time to be quiet.

I asked Nia:

  1.  Math taught them about different forms like standard, expanded and word.
  2. Science talked about sedimentary rocks, igneous rocks and volcanic rocks. (And she went on to explain a little about each one.)
  3. Reading was about a little boy who met an author and – according to Nia – it taught her to save a question about books just in case she ever meets the book’s author.

I learned:

  1. Nate doesn’t like to remember what he learned. I know this because of the frustration he gave me when I asked him if learned about a certain letter, word, number or color.
  2. Nia’s homework is getting really hard. Like, map/distance hard. Whoa.
  3. My brain hurt after my 45 minutes of homework and shared learnings – I can’t even imagine what it’s like for them. Did I tell you that the word ordinal was one of Nia’s spelling/vocabulary words. Glad she knew what it meant because I sure didn’t.

Then My Heart Sank Into My Stomach

18 Aug

“Can Nia come out and play?”

The group of three kids waited at our front door for the response. “Of course! Just a minute, she needs to get her shoes.”

Closed door. Scramble to get shoes. Flurry of excitement as Nia and Nate rush to the door to play outside by themselves with neighborhood kids for the first time ever.

I was excited. Was. As Nate’s yellow shirt got smaller and smaller walking toward the top of our street, I panicked.

“He’s just too little,” I cried to Andrew. “He’s too little to leave our street by himself with only other kids.”

“I think I agree,” Andrew soothed me. “Do you want me to go get him?”

I collapse in a teary mess on the steps, still in my work clothes. Still emotionally drained from the drive home. I nod. Still uncertain because I know he just wants to play with his sister and the kids. He just wants to be a big kid. But I just can’t let him yet. He’s too little.

My heart was in my stomach until I saw Andrew rounding the corner with Nate walking beside him.

Lighter heart. Nate didn’t seem to mind. After all, Andrew told him the kids could play in the backyard and he’d play baseball with him. Bribery to keep him closer to home. I’ll use it for as long as I can…

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Peeping Mom

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Tiny Yellow Shirt

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The Light Under the Door

15 Aug

“How did you know?” He asked me as I ushered him back in bed – a place where he should’ve been sound asleep some 30 minutes ago.

“I wasn’t making any noise. I was so quiet.” He adds, still confused about how I caught him with a baseball hat on his head, frozen mid-bend at his shelf – instead of sleeping. He was, “cleaning his room.” A room that was not a mess by any means.

I smile while tucking him in again, “Mommy will keep that a secret.”

I can’t let him know that it was because of the light glowing from under his door. How will I bust him next time?

His room was pretty clean though. He even had all his baseball hats sorted according to team. He made sure the one I removed from his head was placed in the appropriate stack.

Night-night, Delay Nate. Sweet dreams of a cleaner room and tidy baseball shelf.

The Tidy Shelf (My Cleaning)

School Art, His Art

12 Aug

It seems Nate is loving his art time in Kindergarten so much that he doesn’t just stop at the school-assigned picture. Drawn on the backs of his beautifully colored raccoon and dragons are adorable baseball players. I told him to just always make sure he does what the teacher wants first, then if he has time, he can draw as many Nate originals as he wants.

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Nate's Beautiful Coloring

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All-Star Artist

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Dragon Picture 1

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Half-a-Player

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Colorful Dragons

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Player on the Field

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A Closer Look at Bean

12 Aug

I think I know Nia pretty well. I have her favorite music, tv shows, foods, colors and movies down. I know she loves to play school and uses her stuffed animals as students, takes forever in the restroom, must hug mommy and daddy twice before night-night and then plays with her Barbies in her bed before finally falling asleep. She has such a caring and sweet heart and is so smart. I do know her well but I was able to learn even more special things about her all thanks to a simple homework assignment called, “ABC’s of Me!” I copied the answers she wrote to the prompted sentences below. My favorites are A through Z.

A – An adventure I would like to have would be to meet some famous celebrities.

B – One of my favorite books is I don’t know because I like a lot of books. I read all of the Diary of a Wimpy Kids books.

C – The craziest thing I have ever done is run and throw a little ball at my brother.

D – The most difficult thing I have ever done is to swim from three feet to six feet.

Swimming from 3 feet to 6

E – The easiest subject in school is reading because I usually get good grades on reading tests.

F – One quality I look for in a friend is kindliness because I only should be with a nice friend.

G – I think greasy hair is really gross because I don’t like the way it feels.

H – My hope for this year is nobody makes fun of me.

I – A topic that interests me is animals because most animals are friendly.

J – Something that brings me joy is seeing people I haven’t seen in a long time because I’m happy to see them again.

K – If I were king of the world I would donate money to others that needed it.

L – I love to eat my dad’s grilled pizza because I like to eat Italian food.

M – If I had a million dollars I would share it with my family.

If I had a $1,000,000

N – I will never talk to a stranger because I don’t know them.

O – When I play outside, I like to enjoy the weather because I think it’s fun.

P – I am proud of myself for not getting in trouble because I shouldn’t get in trouble on the first week.

Q – A question I have wondered about is to ask my dad what his favorite subject was in school.

R – I respect people who respect me because the golden rule is treat others the way you want to be treated.

S – A sport I enjoy is bowling because I like wearing the shoes to play.

T – I would like to travel to the beach because I like playing in the ocean and finding sea shells.

U – Something unique about me is I was born on my due date.

V – My favorite vacation spot is West Virginia because I get to see my family.

W – I wish nobody would be very mean.

X – I get really eXcited when I know someone’s coming to visit.

Y – I always say “Yes!” when someone asks me to do my work because I have to.

Z – If I were a zoo animal, I would be a zebra because I like their patterns.

Alphabet Bean, I love the way you think.

Lessons Learned

8 Aug

The first day of Kindergarten is now logged in Nate’s red “Homework Folder” with a smiley face in the no sticks pulled column. He said his teacher told him he would have to pull a stick if he didn’t stay seated on his purple square at one point in the day. I’m so proud of him for choosing that square over the stick. Some other lessons learned:

  • He learned what it was like to walk to the bus stop and ride the big yellow school bus like he’s watched his sister do for the past three years. He loved it.
  • He learned about coloring and painting. That was the first thing he told me when I asked him about his day. He apparently colored a skunk – he didn’t elaborate. (Turns out, it was actually a raccoon.)
  • He learned that next year is 2012. Andrew asked him who taught him that and he told us his teacher did. Andrew reacted to that with a supportive “your teacher is pretty smart.” Nate took it further. “Yep! She’s smarter than momma and Nia and me and daddy!” Well, there it is.
  • He learned that some people just don’t know how to play a game called Sharks and Minnows at after school. “I kept tagging them out but they wouldn’t sit out. I told them, ‘I tagged you. I tagged you. I tagged you.'” We assured him it will be ok. Don’t worry about it.
  • I learned that Nia is a loving caregiver even when mommy and daddy aren’t looking. She told me she had Nate sit by the window of the school bus and in between her and her friend on the after school bus so that he wouldn’t fall out in the aisle. I also caught her holding his hand as they walked to the bus stop. Sweetie.
  • We learned that Nate really enjoys his homework. He wanted to read his book over and over and he was so proud of himself when he got the words right. I cherish that I was able to capture his joy in this picture:

Happy Reader

I’m so happy our little buddy had a great first day. I hope to see those smiles and the excitement continue through the school year. And I certainly won’t object to more smiley faces in that no sticks pulled column…

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New School Year Odds and Ends

7 Aug

Some things I want to remember about the new school year that starts tomorrow-

Odds:

Nia is one of only six girls in her class. There are 17 boys. Seems odd to me but we’ll see.

I had to google what the school breakfast is for the first day. I have never heard of a “frudel” before. I suppose it’s good the kids are introduced to new foods.

Speaking of breakfast, we will be paying for Nate to have a daily “second breakfast” because he will eat at home and then may want to eat again when the rest of his class does. Second breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

This is not so much odd but more special to me – Andrew told me to sign him up for the PTO when I sign myself up. Just thought it was cool that he wants to help/be involved like that.

Ends:

I’ve completed the same paperwork information for each child three times. If you count the same info that I filled out in the previous years, you need to multiply that amount by four. (I need to go back to school to solve that math problem and know how to answer some of the questions on the form.)

Both Nia and Nate had three shopping bags each of school supplies to take to their classrooms. We brought it to open house because it was too heavy for any one adult to carry let alone Nia or Nate.

Andrew informed Nate that we want him to wear nice pants for three days of the week and his fast pants for the two gym days. Nate is not a fan of this mommy/daddy dress code rule…

I know I’m forgetting something.

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2021 and 2024

4 Aug

Class of 2021

It was just three years ago that Nia got hers. It really shouldn’t have been a surprise. A quick math problem in my head would’ve given me the four numbers. But it just didn’t hit me until her Kindergarten Open House when the child small t-shirt was handed to us. Class of 2021.

Fast forward three years. Another Kindergarten Open House. Another shirt. Another shocker and heart squeezer to see a similar set of four numbers for Nate.

Class of 2024.

Our baby boy is about to begin his journey in big kid school and I’m going through all of those emotions so many parents do. The same emotions I felt with Nia during those first few weeks (months) of her boarding the school bus. I tell myself, we already did this. 2021, remember? Now look at Bean. She’s not even phased about starting Third Grade and neither am I.

Ready to Learn!

You got this. Nate’s got it. He’s going to be fine. We’ll take it day by day. There will be challenges and there will be great days. He has Nia there now at school and after school with him. She watches out for him. He’ll be fine. He’s excited about starting big kid school, although he keeps reminding us, “I’m still 5 years old.” He’s a smartie. He’ll be fine. His teachers seem wonderful. He’ll be fine. He already practiced how he’s going to sit and be a good listener. (He wasn’t even blinking. So intense.) Again, fine.

And then, just when I think I’m going to out-argue my “fines,” I remember the little school mascot dragon footprints that are leading the way from the school bus drop off to the Pre-K and Kindergarten hall. He has fun feet to guide him. Fine.

Follow the Dragon Feet

Sweet boy. I’m so in love with your personality and passion for wanting to succeed. You will follow those footprints like no one else. And I believe, when you feel ready enough, you will make some of your own for others to follow. As long as you don’t lead them to the timeout chair, we’ll be – yes – fine.

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Found: Sweet Memories

1 Aug

Colorful Clues

Tiny, colorful pieces of paper tucked in secret places around the house and extremely giddy children and their Lola have welcomed Andrew and me home over the past week of work. It has been a hilarious way to separate our job and commuting from family time and leave it all behind. For while Andrew and I were in our cubes at the office, the kids and Lola were giggling while writing out scavenger hunt directions (“Go to the beer closet.” “Go to the Lola’s toilit.”) on paper they would soon slip into the porch swing, picture frames, dog cage, shower…

Lola got the wonderful idea from her friend, Sandy, and she loved every minute of it. She especially loved hearing the laughs of the children and our reaction as we all hunted.

They hid the clues so well around the house that I would walk right by them before starting the game and not even notice them. They were everywhere. Upstairs, downstairs, outside. The kids had us going up, down, left, right over and over again and they screamed and laughed and ran around the whole time. During one hunt, Andrew and I raced each other. He searched for his dad clues and I looked for the ones labeled mom. I was still in my fancy polka-dotted dress from work. The dog followed us, barking at the frenzy. Andrew and Nate may have won (due to dog interference, I must add) but really we all won. The memories are a treasure – plus – each scavenger hunt ended with a special sweet direction to us like, “Let’s get ice cream” or “Let’s bake something sweet.” Smartest and sweetest scavenger hunts ever!

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Treasure Found

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Sweet Scavenger Hunt

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