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Stress Case

15 Jun

Want to load the dishwasher? He’ll be there, blocking your way like a bouncer checking IDs at a bar.

Need to use the bathroom? You are going to have an audience as he will succeed in sneaking his 90 pounds of fur in the room with you.

Playing a board game on the floor? He’ll quickly end that as he turns circles and then plops down on top of half the game.

Trying to say goodnight to your kiddos? He wants to also. In fact, he doesn’t want to leave their rooms, ducking out in Nia’s over-flowing closet and not listening to you as you try to call him out of her room. (Because he will want out, likely waking up Nia/Nate to set him free.)

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Joey is a major stress case when it storms. That’s just a few obstacles we encounter when it rains. I’ve heard some people will give their dogs anti-anxiety meds to help ease their nerves. I worry about that because of side effects but I think it’s time we ask our vet about it. For everyone’s sake.

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Second Recital Reflections

15 Jun

Three sparkly costumes, a gazillion hair/bobby pins hidden in strands of hair, several applications of impossible to apply red lipstick and eight stage visits later, our Dancing Bean has her second recital all wrapped up in our memories.

I’m so proud of her for remembering all those moves! I am amazed by how much they have to learn. And – don’t forget to smile! She just had three dances to know too – some girls her age had four or more. Wowza. I think that’s so impressive and shows such discipline. These girls all love it too. The costume changes, the makeup, the dressing room fun and, of course, the performing. They even know some of the other dancers’ routines. Dancing backstage as they wait for their chance to shine. I especially love how they all quietly sang along to the songs before theirs.

It was a night to cherish and now it’s time to rest up because she’ll soon begin preparing for next year’s show.

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Ready for the Show!

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Passing Time Between Performances

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Bean and Honey

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Bean and Her Special Guests (Yay for Paul and Honey!)

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Proud of Our Dancing Bean

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Dancing Rainbows

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Our Sleepy Star

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Out of My Shell

14 Jun

Hi there.

I like to think of myself as a friendly person. I think I’m pretty nice to people and seem to be able to carry on conversations fairly easy with acquaintances. What I often have a difficult time with is follow-up. Continuing the connection. Letting new people in.

For example, I will often exchange phone numbers with other moms I meet. Moms who seem like nice, fun ladies but I’ll never know for sure because I never dial their digits. It’s often awkward to run into them down the road – both of us knowing I basically stood them up but never speaking of it. There is usually a repeat mention of trying again to get together. That doesn’t happen.

It’s not because I don’t want it to, because I do. I’ve had maybe two super close girl friends since we moved here. Sadly, one moved away with her fun family (thank goodness for facebook) and the other is still, thankfully, living next door to us with her wonderful family. I just miss having a few good friends to hang out with, rely on and share stories not suitable for PG-rated blogs or Facebook. I just don’t go there either because I’m not very trusting or something is just off…until now.

I’ve met some ladies who make it impossible for me to stay in my shell. They are so welcoming and we have so much in common that it’s impossible for me to be a lazy mommy loner. Our families have bonded over tee-ball, baseball camp, the Gwinnett Braves, swimming, ice cream, some church and many email/facebook chats.

I’m so thankful for them and the comfort and fun they’ve brought to our lives. I say all of our lives because what’s even more great about these mom friendships is that our husbands and children like each other too. When that happens, you put their phone numbers on speed dial and buy extra snacks/adult beverages to have in the house – just in case of spontaneous play-dates.

Dear Super 8,

12 Jun

One Arm Paparazzi

You made me laugh, you made me cry, you made me gasp, stop eating my nachos, point at the screen and whisper to my mom who was sitting next to me in the theater. But it wasn’t all just due to the writing, performing and action. It was because of the city you named Lillian, Ohio. The city where I grew up.

I wrote about my excitement for your creation before but now that I’ve seen it all completed on the big screen – you made me remember and appreciate so many parts of my history – places I don’t get to see anymore. Where I used to play softball, where I used to take walks, where I used to sit and wait for friends, where I would drive by on any given day, where family is laid to rest, and where I lived and still call “home.”

Our house gets a few minutes of your time. It doesn’t do much – just exists in the background – but it’s there. Holding its own in your summer blockbuster. My second story bedroom window hovers above the scene. A window I would’ve been peeking out to watch it all happen. I used to sit and look out over Weirton Heights, watching the cars drive by on Pennsylvania Avenue while the smell from the metal screen filled my senses. Now, that window is a super star.

Hearing the stories from my mom/neighbors/friends, it was quite a spectacle to see your production in our town. (Pictures that my mom took are in the slideshow below.) It was a town that used to thrive around the steel mill and have an energy about it that I’m sure I romanticize now but you made me feel it again. You ignited a renewed spirit around the city – with your movie magic and interest in a place that so many don’t even know about. (Although we were a Jeopardy question once.)

Thank you for your attention and for thinking that Weirton, West Virginia had something special to offer in your Hollywood cinematic masterpiece. Also, thank you for allowing me to leave the theater and excitedly (and obnoxiously) tell a stranger, “That was my hometown! Our house was in the movie!” I think you would agree, it’s a worthy brag.

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Summer Camp – Week Three

11 Jun

Week three of summer camp featured all the usual fun like swimming, new songs and games, but it also offered lessons on staying safe (Safety was this week’s theme) and baseball-packed mornings for Nate.

Nate loved crashing the ages 6 and up baseball camp. From what he tells us, he held his own with the older boys and by the look of his uniform at the end of each day, it seemed that way. Sweaty, dirty and STINK-y. He learned how to bunt and met new friends who taught him how to not “respect the pouch.” He still giggles about it.

During summer camp, the kids met with police officers, firefighters, a member of SWAT and the American Red Cross. They told me they learned about everything from tornadoes to fires and “not to pick up guns if you find some.” The fire lesson really bothered Nate. He told me before bed one night that he wished our house was smaller and that our roof was “down there,” pointing to the second story’s floor. He said that way he wouldn’t have to worry about jumping out of a window, he just could.

I suppose with knowledge often comes fear – and a mommy and daddy to comfort them.

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Police Swag

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Pretty cool caption, Nia.

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Escape Plan!

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Nate's Baseball Camp Certificate

 

 

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Dancing Bean 2011

10 Jun

Bean, having a blast during her dance recital dress rehearsal. Good luck on the big night!

Second year for ballet:

Second year for tap:

First year for jazz:

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What’s this say? And this?

7 Jun

We’ve been treating Nate like he’s doing incredible tricks each time he reads something that surprises us. He’ll read the tv’s channel guide, amazing us with the reaction of, “Nate! How did you know that, buddy?! What’s this one say?” He won’t always know the others we are asking about but he will try to figure out the words, learning them in the process.

He even started to read a book he was just browsing through at a store recently. He opened it and read the first sentence, “I want to go.” Our reaction, of course, “Nate! That’s so great buddy!”

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Nia is proud of his reading too. She is always updating us when Nate reads something we may miss. While we were at a baseball game, she kept praising him for reading things off the scoreboard monitor. She’s been so excited about his reading that she even made him flashcards. She brought them to me and said, “He can make sentences with them!”

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It’s really fitting that she is such a big cheerleader of his reading. After all, she used to read to him.

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Summer Camp – Week Two

6 Jun

The second week of summer camp was a shortened one with Memorial Day off, Nate at baseball camp for part of one day and a Daddy’s Day Off on Friday – but the kids still brought home some art for us to admire. The theme for the week was “Things Outside.” When I asked Nia what she learned about, her response was, “I don’t know.” How fascinating. I did get a few nuggets of wisdom from her involving her art:

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"Stick bugs look weird but I already knew that."

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"These are sail-man hats." She made hers at camp but then came home and made me a special one. Extra awesome.

Nate brought home one of his drawings and he asked me to, “Find the wasp, Mommy.” I felt so bad as I pointed at just about everything on the paper, never once hitting the wasp. He laughed at my silliness because he just couldn’t understand why I couldn’t see that wasp.

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Betcha can't find the wasp in Nate's drawing. Nope. That's not it.

They may not be retaining everything they learn while at summer camp but it seems this fish’s face sums up the time they are having there.

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Love Nia's Happy Face Hand Fish

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A Man and His Bible

4 Jun

He’s there the same time each day – standing near a busy intersection in our small town. I don’t know his name. I don’t know his history. I only know what I see. A man with many years behind him, a life lived, reading aloud from the Bible.

Reading is actually an understatement though. He is more, announcing it to us. To make sure we hear it. We may not always understand it, but we hear it.

I rolled down our windows as we kept going on our way. Listening to him for the length of the red light. Nia noted how he was reading without looking at the words. She told me, “He must go to church a lot, huh?” I replied, “Or he just reads from the Bible a lot.” “But he’s not reading it, mommy. He knows it.”

And he wants us to know it too.

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Sharing the Word

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Commutertainment

3 Jun

I’m learning to make the most of my often 90 minute (one-way) commute to and from work. Some of my entertainment includes:

  • Challenging myself to drive with my left foot instead of my right one. I made it half-way and then forgot and resorted back. It’s harder than it sounds.
  • Double-daring myself to drive without AC when the thermometer said 100. I did it but was sweat-y.
  • Successfully retrieving my water cup from the passenger floor after it fell. I’m proud of my wheel action to convince my cup to come closer…closer…
  • Singing, torso dancing and pointing at other cars. I really love people’s reactions.
  • Actually trying to win radio station contests. I got through a few times but was never the winning caller. Still felt victory though – I’ve experienced a ton of “try your call again” messages.
  • Creating stories in my head about the people I see in other cars. I’ve married some, beat up others and felt really bad for many more.
  • Taking off my pantyhose. It. Was. Necessary. They were control top.

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