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Valentine Views

15 Feb
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Nia's Pile of Sweet Sayings

I can’t believe I’m just now realizing how Valentine’s Day brings out some interesting opinions and reactions in people – even at a young age. There are those who are anti-“Hallmark” holiday. Those who do just enough to swoon their significant other. Those who may go overboard. And those who are encouraged to participate. I suppose that last category can apply to adults too but I’m thinking about it more related to kids.

Like many young kids, both Nia and Nate had valentine exchanges at school. They were given a list of all the children in their class to make sure no one was left out. I always enjoyed doing these exchanges as a kid and remember all the fun and creativity that went into the boxes for collecting the treasures. I remember how extravagant some of the boxes were. I have a memory of one child’s being not a box at all but a mini-Love Boat. (Mine was always a shoe box covered in construction paper with hand-drawn crooked hearts and predictable love messages on it.)

They don’t ask us to create boxes like that now – just have the kids write out their card of choice to all the other children. Some people add to that with candy, scrapbook-type elegance or even individual goody bags. Others don’t give any valentine at all. It made me wonder if their parents just didn’t take the time to do it with them or maybe they can’t afford such a treat-type thing or maybe the child/parent just didn’t want to buy into the “Hallmark” holiday. Whatever the reason, for future V-Days, I plan to donate a few boxes of blank cards to the classroom so that all kids can participate if they’d like. After all, soon enough the exchange won’t be mandated so that even the little mean Johnny/Suzy gets a Be Mine card. It will be more strategic. Where only a someone special is wished Be Mine. Picking and choosing a Valentine. What age does that start?

It seems Nia is already creeping toward that. While writing hers out, she was so concerned about running out of the standard “Happy Valentine’s Day” cards and having to give a non-BFF a BFF card. Nate wanted to make sure all of his friends would like the card they got. He was worried about giving the girls a Buzz or Woody character card because, “they’re girls.” When I told him that they will love to get any card he gives them, he relaxed a bit but still made every effort to give them either the cowgirl, Jessie, or the horse, Bullseye.

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Nate's Love Wishes

I suppose I remember reading into my mandatory valentines some when I was a kid. Is so-and-so really “head over heels” for me?! He must be! I mean, he picked this card just to give to me, right?!

Glad I kept that all to myself. That would have been embarrassing to admit out loud.

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Homework, Honesty and Hush!

9 Feb

The case of Nia’s misplaced homework has been solved. Turns out, her BFF thought it was hers. When she realized she had Nia’s, the sweetie asked her teacher if she could bring it to Nia in the other classroom. I so love that! Also, Nia’s teacher told us having Nia create the homework herself was “good improvising.” Love that too!

As her school day went on, Nia was tested on a few other responsibility areas and I actually like their outcomes and her reaction. One involved her running in the hall to catch up to the class line. Her teacher heard someone running but didn’t know who it was. When she asked Nia if she was the one running, Nia told her it was. She was punished for breaking the running rule but her teacher wrote to us that she appreciated Nia’s honesty. I know she shouldn’t have been running but I’m proud of her for telling the truth.

The second issue involved lunch and a “mean” (according to Nia) teacher (Nia says, “She’s only nice to the adults.”) who made Nia have what’s called “silent lunch” for talking too loudly.  I don’t have a problem about the punishment, nor do I believe this teacher is only nice to adults. I just found her interpretation and commentary of what happened kind of precious. I mean, “She’s only nice to the adults.”

Oh, Bean. You make me proud, laugh and shake my head all at the same time. Now, stop breaking those rules!

A Worrier’s Daughter

7 Feb

I saw Nia have a minor stress freak out tonight and I felt it. In fact, I’m pretty sure I’ve lived it before. I know exactly what she was going through and I hate it. She’s too young to know that kind of worry yet. Too sweet. Too child.

While I’m glad that she cares, I’m concerned about the amount of worry she showed for such a thing. Misplacing her finished homework sent her on a stress spiral. She actually held the sides of her head in worry that she was going to get in trouble.

Did I do this to my child with all the worry I carry? She’s told me before that I worry too much. She even wrote me reminders that I shouldn’t worry. She knows it’s not a good thing yet it came so naturally and quickly for her. It makes me wonder about people who don’t worry as much. Were they raised by easy-going people? Did they train themselves to say, “Oh well. What can I do?”

I wish I had more of that in me. For me, I have to come up with positive thoughts or a solution to ease my stress. Luckily, it helped Nia. We decided that she would re-do the work, since she remembered it and it would give her something to give to her teacher. I was amazed by how much detail she put into it. She was so relieved to recreate the lost work that when Andrew told her she could go watch Nate play Wii she said, “I’m doing homework first.” Her stress was gone. I hope it stays away. After I finish worrying about her worry, I vow to ease mine to help heal hers.

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A Day for Him

6 Feb

It’s all because of her Second Grade ears. Her Second Grade mind. Her Second Grade sweetness. When her teacher made the announcement about the baseball youth camp, Nia thought about Nate. She got the paper, put it in one of the pockets of her Kitten folder and packed it away in her backpack to make sure we got it. To make sure her little brother could go to the baseball camp.

Nate loved it. He got to play ball with the high school baseball players. He got to soak up the older kids saying, “look at that little guy run/hit/field!” He got to learn from the boys wearing the high school uniform shirts. He was in his element and it showed. Andrew said the head coach even came up to him at end of the camp inquiring, “Is that your son? How old is he?” Apparently, he’d been watching Nate during all the drills and couldn’t believe how good his technique was at such a young age.

What I love most about it all is that Nate doesn’t know how cool that is. He doesn’t know a head coach from another dad. He just knows he loves to play. For him, that camp was about him and baseball. And his sister made it happen.

Warming Up

Blurry Baseball Boy

Couldn't Wait to Bat

 

Batting Practice

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Beauty Marked?

5 Feb

I don’t remember being self-conscious about all the moles and freckles that graced my skin growing up. Looking back, I’m sure I was but I think my feelings about them changed because my grandma would always comfort me and boost my esteem by telling me they were beauty marks. Marks that God wanted me to have. I shouldn’t be ashamed of them, my beauty marks.

Through the years, many of them have changed. Cautious that those marks could be a sign of cancer or for appearance’s sake (I was very aware of a few), some were removed. Now, more need to meet that fate.

This is where it becomes difficult because Nia has a very special beauty mark on her forehead. Yet, she hides it beneath her hair because she doesn’t like it. She says she doesn’t want people to make fun of her if they see it. I tell her over and over again that it is special. It’s a sign of beauty. Don’t hide it. It’s part of who you are. But as I say that, I know I’m soon going to hide a few more of mine forever. What is that teaching? They’re beauty marks until you don’t want/need them to be anymore? I suppose beauty really is in the eye of the beholder. I just hope the one on my lip stays the same. I especially love that one…

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Baseball Weather!

30 Jan

The months of cold, rainy and snowy weather may have kept Nate from playing baseball outside but he never really did put away all the baseball gear. He would still bring the hats, gloves and cushioned baseballs out of his room to convince Andrew to throw with him in the living room. That really wasn’t cutting it though. This weekend’s beautiful weather was just what he needed. Spring Ball can’t get here soon enough!

Swing Away!

He "Crushed" It

 

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Keeping his enemy closer?

22 Jan

Nate’s relationship with his glow-in-the-dark Hulk has taken an unusual turn. He used to have a fear of his glowing green guy. I wrote about it almost a year ago when we caught him on hidden camera escorting Hulk from his room.

Now, he requires us to “charge” Hulk each night so that he can have him nice and bright. It is such a necessity to have Hulk bright that he will often tell us that there is still “green” on him. That means Hulk is not glowing to Nate’s satisfaction.

I can’t figure this new night-night obsession out. I really believe it is a “keeping his enemy closer” thing. Why else would Hulk often be found buried way under the covers (like foot-of-the-bed-buried) in the morning?

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“I’m a Girly Tomboy”

21 Jan

Just be you. That’s what I told Nia tonight when she told me she’s a “girly tomboy.” She insisted, that is what she is doing. She is a girly tomboy. Here’s her 7-year-old reasoning:

Because I like dresses but I like pants. And I like to play with my Barbies but I like peace signs.

When I asked her why she considers peace signs a tomboy thing, she said it’s because boys are usually saying things like peace out. I told her that girly girls can say that too and that she doesn’t have to call herself girly or tomboy. She just needs to be Nia. Pink peace sign and all.

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Our Alarm Clock(s)

16 Jan

The following is a rough account of waking up each morning. Since I am mostly still asleep, my accuracy may be off by an alarm or four.

The digital clock lights up 5:20 am and the alarm sounds. It’s mine. The radio talks to us or plays us the latest pop tune. We sleep. I finally hear it at about 5:27 after Andrew nudges me with his leg. Snooze.

The next alarm sounds from Andrew’s side of the bed at 5:35. It is an awful beeping alert that we somehow continue to sleep through until another alarm blares – his cellphone screams some military trumpet call to us. It doesn’t go off until he solves some math problem that unlocks the snooze. I now am awake, but I am cranky. It is 5:50. Ish.

This is the typical week alarm ritual. On weekends, our alarm is much more charming and the snooze button is a little trickier to figure out.

Nate’s little head greets us usually starting at 6:30. He tells us he had a “good sleep” and requests a large breakfast. (Eggs and sausage or ham are his usual menu items.) Today though, it was different. He asked us if the Falcons won the football game last night. Andrew sweetly told him no and Nate gave an “oh man” whine. Then he inquired, “How much did they have? And the other team?”  We assured him it was ok because he’ll still get to see the Steelers play. To that, he left the room and, knowing he was content and going to play cars, mommy and daddy dozed a tad more. It is the weekend, after all. Snooze.

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Surviving the Southern Snow

12 Jan

If you want to make days stuck in the house surrounded by unmelting, unsalted and unplowed snow really awesome, have your birthday during it.

I swear, I never wished for such a thing. Maybe it had something to do with me wishing for more time with the family. Snow made that happen. In fact, I’m so content on my family quality time that I’m pretty sure my next wish will involve a pedicure or massage.

It’s not that it wasn’t nice to be together. It’s just it was really together. For three days. Stuck in the house. For three days.

The first day was my birthday and they surprised me with the cute Jessica Simpson purse I wanted. I woke up last and Nia asked me for something out of my purse. When I went to get it, I saw the new one in the old one’s place. Fun! The rest of the day featured an attempt to explore the snow (it was sleeting so we made a quick exit), Wii hilarity with Nate and Andrew, a 500 piece puzzle completed by all of us (Nate rocked it), some Yahtzee playing and tiny burgers (that Andrew grilled out in the snow) that served as my cake.

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The second and third days can be summed up like this: board games, video games, Barbie school day, iCarly watching, fort building, car playing, help me in the kitchen training (Nia peeled half a potato) and we actually got to get out for a bit and enjoy (risk our bones on) the slippery ice-covered snow:

If I had one regret about the snowed-in time together, I wish I would’ve stopped for longer to see it all through the kids’ eyes. For me (and probably other grown-ups), it was a little bit of wow mixed with stir-craziness, inconvenience and stress. For them, it was five days off from school and carefree spirits. They weren’t “stuck in the snow” or “surviving it”, they were happily “snowed-in!”

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