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Worth the Price of Admission

3 Oct

I never thought I would remark that a place had so many fun things to do that it was almost too many. We recently took a short ride down to Loganville, Georgia to check out some farmland now home to fantastic games and activities called Corn Dawgs.

I believe the main attraction is the gigantic corn maze shaped like a Coca-Cola bottle but then there are also the random mazes on the ground to walk through, a unique ring toss game every so often to challenge each other at, horse-shaped swings, ziplines that Nate almost zipped off of, giant slides to scream down, a corn cannon that was bigger than the kids, a petting zoo (we avoided it though – one of the things we put aside over other activities), “whee-fun” jumping pillows and cool gem mining where every rock was cherished by Nia. There were just so many things for both parents and kids to enjoy.

If you live within a 30 minute or so drive, it is definitely worth checking out. They have areas divided for kids 6 and under and those above. Andrew and I got general admission armbands for $12 each (for the things labeled all ages) and we bought the kids the all-inclusive bands for $25 each. We spent a blast-filled four hours there. One hour was due to the awesome maze. One note of caution: don’t go in there hungry! We each took turns leading our family through the maze. That made it fun for everyone and gave us each a chance to praise – and heckle – the leader. If the leader lead us back to where we already were, the turn was over. Nate lead the longest but our Nia got us back to where we needed to be. Go, Bean!

Now that I think about it, I only got to lead once…

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Conflicted Over a Crime

1 Oct

Nia recently witnessed a crime. She told me about it very casually as I tucked her in for bedtime. In between her prayers and happy thoughts we talk about so she has sweet dreams, she said:

“I saw someone steal a toothbrush today at the grocery store. A dad took it out of the wrapper and gave the wrapper to his little girl to throw away and then he put the toothbrush in his pants.”

She told me she heard the rip of the wrapper and that’s what got her attention to look that way. I was right there with her but I didn’t notice it. I probably was deep in thought comparing bread ingredients or some such grocery store necessity. She said she’s not sure why she didn’t point it out to me or tell me then.

I’m really surprised about that too. She always tells me all sorts of things. Things I don’t necessarily want to know about what her friends say and do and everything her little brother does to annoy her. The time she should speak up to me, for whatever reason, she doesn’t. I’m actually not even sure what I would’ve done had she told me at the time.

Would I confront him? Unlikely. I’m not the confronting strangers type. Would I tell the grocery store employees? I should, right? They are stealing. But then I think of the little girl. Do I want to cause her any more trouble or hardship than she already may be experiencing? Also, it’s just a toothbrush. Maybe the dad’s mad at the high prices and is making a point? Still doesn’t make it right though… What would you do? Would you confront or report?

I talked to Nia about it, in case it ever happens again. She knows that taking something that isn’t yours – or that you haven’t paid for – is wrong. We also talked about some things that may cause people to steal and how I can sometimes understand why someone in a desperate circumstance would feel they have no other choice. That starts getting confusing for an 8-year-old. Especially one who just watched a little girl about her age have to do as her daddy said and help him steal.

My little girl witnessed a crime but what’s more sad to me is that another little girl was involved in one.

 

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Imagination Snapshot

25 Sep

She wakes up but keeps her door closed to the rest of the family. It’s her time. Her time to make-believe.

I wonder what Nia dreams about to make her want to stay in her room as soon as her eyes open and start building lives for her Barbies. I loved to play pretend with my Barbies too. I became lost in their made up lives. I wish I could remember the stories I thought up then. I’m sure they would be good enough for a dollar store book rack.

I asked Nia if I could capture some of her imagination and keep it forever in one of my blogs. She told me sure and then even invited me in to her Barbie world tell me more about what her dolls had been doing at the time she was called to breakfast. Her imagination took a much different turn than mine. I’ll share what I thought they’d been up to and then reveal Nia’s plans for them.

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These dolls are enjoying a healthy brunch and then will follow-up with some serious hair makeovers. They must be having a girls get together during an emotional time in their lives – based on the food choices, the messy hair and the proximity of the toilet. (Upset stomach often calls during a roller coaster of emotions.)

Nia’s thoughts: “They are eating breakfast, lunch and dinner all at once. And I made their house out of the special Liv Doll room I had.”

She sets up a nice spread.

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Clearly, these two just got hitched.

Not so, says Nia. “I just wanted her to sit in his lap.”

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These are girls visiting the pediatrician for their newborns’ check ups. (There’s a baby in that pink stork thing.) The pediatrician is wearing the vinyl hot pants. She has a stethoscope so she must be legit, yo.

Nia sets me straight, “They just visited their neighbors – the girls eating all the food.”

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This poor miss just injured her hand in a fire and now must wear a doll-shaped bandage for it to heal. The fire also frayed her hair.

Nia straightens my mind out, “She’s a teacher who just got fired because she wasn’t reading to the students enough. She was telling them a story with a puppet on her hand when she was fired.”

I like Nia’s version of that one much better. I am concerned about the firing though. Seems like a pretty cool teacher to be using a puppet to act out a story.

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Me: Hot date to the drive-in movie theater.

Nia: They’re just driving home.

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Oh, this one is good. It’s a witch trying to remove the mermaid spell cast upon this Barbie in need of a comb. (The spell will also fix that.) The witch must perform the incantation in a hot tub in order for the mermaid to be the right temperature to shed her scales and form legs. Plus, an adult fruity beverage will also magically appear in celebration after her tail transforms.

Nia had no thought of witches. “The mermaid has to stay in the tub and the girl standing just wanted to warm her feet because she just got back from Kansas City visiting daddy.”

I’m not jealous at all but I like my witch story way better.

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All of the children under age 8 must sit on the only child seat in the house. As soon as one gets down they all must stop watching tv. The dogs, cat, rabbit and Cinderella mouse are attached to the children with an invisible leash. They must go wherever the children go.

Nia explains, “They are brothers and sisters watching tv. See the crown on the bike helmet?” (I love the close up picture below. Really shows the placement of each child – and that crown.)

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I can’t wait to hear what the next morning of Barbie world holds for me. I wonder if that teacher will get her job back?

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My Dolphin Tale

24 Sep

Sniff. Sniff. Shaking, chin wrinkle sob. Rub on the back and arm hug from sweet Nia. Yes, I loved Dolphin Tale and I’m so proud of myself for not letting my anxiety with crowded theaters get the best of me.

First, the movie. Nia and I loved it. I can’t reveal her favorite part because it would then reveal some key moments (but it involves something that happens near the end). I’m pretty sure Nate’s favorite part was popcorn and the end. It just wasn’t his cup. He got a bit antsy during the adult conversation and plot development scenes. Maybe too deep for theater viewing for some children ages 5 and under. Of course, his 35-year-old father thought it went a bit long too so again, it depends on your cup. Nia and I were in movie watching heaven.

That is, except for the fact that I don’t do well in crowded theaters. I start feeling dizzy and have trouble breathing as the people pile in and chose seats around me. This was especially difficult because we got there early and it’s opening weekend so there wasn’t an empty seat. When the people sat next to me, I nervously smiled and then felt better when she smiled back and made small talk about how lucky they were to get those seats.

No kidding.

They weren’t the groups who came in late and made others move and miss movie moments. Those same people then got up halfway through to get a snack. Another movie moment missed. On the flip of that though, I really loved the woman in front of us who shouted out in reaction to a scene from the movie and then was the first to applaud at the end. Joyous. Love that.

A tale around a tale. Based on a true story.

 

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No Break for Behavior

22 Sep

I support cause and effect punishment. If you do something you know is wrong, especially after being warned and told not to do it again, there should be a punishment. Whether it’s being mean/hurtful to someone else, refusing to listen/respect adults or tearing the paint off of walls, there needs to be some corrective action taken and guidance provided about what is proper behavior and what is not.

What that punishment is has varied for us over the years. There were a lot of time-outs. There were a few spankings. Too many scoldings to count. Privileges and toys (once an entire doll house) taken away. Even soap (with immediate rinsing). The severity of the punishment depended on the no-no. We rarely had to punish twice for the same no-no. A lot of it was us figuring it out as we went. If it seemed like one thing wasn’t working after a while, we tried another. If it seemed the punishment really didn’t fit the behavior, we altered it.

This is why I’m so confused/surprised that I’m feeling that kids need a break now and then. We give plenty of warnings to allow them to settle down and make a better choice so our need for punishment has dropped significantly because they’ve learned they don’t want to be in trouble and that they want to do what’s right. I believe school does this too. I can count on one hand the number of times Nia had to “pull a stick” during her years in school. Nate is (knock on wood) actually doing great in school as well. He had to pull a stick once for keeping his feet on someone else’s square on the rug, which I’m sure boils down to a listening issue. He’s been doing so well at following all the school rules but then there are even more rules at after-school and I guess – well – he’s just a little tired at that point.

We got a note home from the after-school counselors saying Nate’s behavior is becoming a problem because he’s not listening. They were surprised because he is one of “their best kids.” I called because I wanted specifics so I would know how to help correct the concern. Basically, he’s not listening is what I was told.

  • He bounces in his seat on the bus. I told him not to bounce. Keep his bottom in the seat. It’s for his safety and all the kids because the bus driver doesn’t need distractions. He understood.
  • In the after-school room, he’s to listen to his counselors like he listens to his teacher. Be a helper, not a hurter.
  • If he brings another note home then we will take away privileges. No video games. No tv time.

Fine. But then I thought about it. So many rules. All day long. When I went to my grandparents after elementary school they never had a report for my mom. “Nikki wouldn’t listen. She sassed her grandpa.” I did that. Yes. But it was never relayed to my parents. After a day of rule-following so well at school, I was allowed a rest from the regime. To not listen here and there, without it being written up.

I guess it comes down to – I just don’t want to be nagging him all the time. Not good for any of us. A break is needed. I feel like it will be ok if I ease up on him for minor after-school issues. I think my working mommy with no family around guilt is blurring my behavior patrol glasses. I may need a time-out.

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School Picture Style Hopes

19 Sep

The worn sticker on his shirt read, “Smile! It’s picture day” but Nate had more in mind than just smiling. “Can I have spiky hair for pictures?” he asked on the way home from after school. “And a tie?”

With both of these hopes, I made him happy with an immediate “we’ll see what we can do” and told him we’d need to test out the spiky do after dinner because I was worried that it was going to be too short.

Sadly for the little man, I was right. He went running for his daddy’s hair “glue” (what we lovingly call the pomade) after dinner and we tried to get his little locks to stand up. His face in the pictures shows how he want from hope to hurt, saddened that his hair just wouldn’t spike.


I reassured him that he looks so handsome and cute without the spikes and that we’ll still put some glue on his hair tomorrow if he wants. That made him feel better. He was also cool that the clip-on tie wouldn’t fly with the color of his shirt. I’m still surprised he didn’t ask to wear a Braves shirt – although he may try to sneak on his Braves armband. As long as he’s happy with his style and smile when the camera clicks. Can’t wait to see his first elementary school picture!

Book Fair Treasures

9 Sep

I love book fair time at the kids’ school. I am always so giddy when I know they are going to have fun treasures and beloved books to pull from their backpacks at the end of the day. Nia loves getting the cutsie erasers, bookmarkers and pretty pens as much as she loves choosing a new diary. (Her yearly book of choice.) This was Nate’s first year to shop for himself and I can’t say I’m surprised at his selection. I hope there is another in the spring – and that I can go too!

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Nia's Picks

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Nia's Fun Erasers

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Nate's Sweet Selection

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Beach Baseball Attraction

5 Sep

Sure, there was boogie boarding, sand digging, wave jumping, Spiderman action figure surfing, creature exploring and bunk-bed sleeping but what Nate loved most about his ocean vacation was – of course – throwing baseball on the beach.

Quite a few other people enjoyed it too. We had one man tell us that Nate had great fundamentals, a lady couldn’t believe he was only 5 years old and another person asked for his autograph. That request has already gone to his head. After that, he kept wanting to write his name in the sand and on the baseballs he had with him.

I’m just happy he made many beach memories – even if all the main ones always come back to baseball.

Watching Nate

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Posing at his name in the sand

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Signing his autograph

Bed Check

31 Aug

At what age are parents supposed to stop checking on their kids in the middle of the night? I know there’s an expiration date on this parent habit but I’m not sure when it is. Whenever it is, I hope it’s not too soon.

I cherish the cracked door peek to make sure toes are tucked in under blankets and that a child isn’t lying sideways across the bed and completely uncovered (like I just rescued Nate from). I love smoothing Nia’s hair from her face and kissing each of the forehead. I look at their peaceful and comfortable faces and pause to reflect on how grateful I am for them. Children at rest. Beautiful.

As I shut the door, I think about when I should stop the nightly check. When Nia is 10? 12? I’m thinking 14…

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Insert Baseball Player Here

27 Aug

It’s his go-to when drawing a picture. The baseball player. An Atlanta Braves baseball player, that is. He appears each time Nate has a crayon or marker and a blank sheet of paper. He even makes sure to find a way to work the player into his school assignments.

This past week’s lesson was about the five senses. You can see how he depicted them here:

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He’s also been adding some hearts in his work. Our little lover adds them to all his cards he gives to people – even if he hasn’t met the person/child yet.

I love his sweet and passionate heart with all my senses.

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