It’s none of my business but…

21 Aug

Every morning, he emerges from his house with one thing on his mind. The older man, who always wears a smile on his face and offers a wave to neighbors, walks to his backyard and begins inspecting his beautiful flowering plants that line his property. He cares for each one patiently and thoroughly, making sure they are pruned and watered. He loves them and it shows.

Now, his precious plants are being crowded and possibly threatened. The new neighbor behind him is building a fence. Practically right on top of them.

Does he have the right? Sure, if he obtained the proper permit and permission from the homeowners’ association. Does that mean it is right? I say no.

I’m heartbroken for him. It just seems so inconsiderate and in your face. I would have at least talked to the man about it before putting up the posts. I asked him if he was told about it. He gave me a very disappointed no.

Funny thing is, I think the fence will be nice for our block, providing some more privacy. I still can’t help think that it is not worth it though. A man’s feelings should mean more than another man’s privacy fence.

image
image

Posted from WordPress for Android

Tags: , , , ,

Nia and “Selena”

21 Aug

Selena Gomez (an actress on Disney Channel’s “Wizards of Waverly Place“) has cast a cute spell on our little girl. Nia loves her show and her music and is now even calling one of her other dolls, Selena. I just wanted to capture all that has been Nia and Selena over the past week.

Selena comes with us on errands or entertainment outings. She came with us to the movies and sat next to Nia on the arm of the chair – enjoying “Ramona and Beezus.”

Selena is the music artist of choice anytime we are in the car.

Selena joins us for breakfast. (Finally, someone is eating slower than Nia!) She was served a pancake and a smoothie. Mysteriously, she made a happy plate and cup.

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Just Say No to Silly Bandz but Enjoy a Coke

17 Aug

I’m not in school anymore yet I feel like I’m being tested. I’m sure my answers will be wrong – especially from an educator’s point of view – but as the always-being-educated I have to try to comprehend the logic.

I understand and sympathize with the need for teachers to maintain acceptable behavior and keep their classrooms free of distraction to provide an optimal learning environment for children. However, I’m concerned what some tactics may be teaching students.

Schools ban things all the time because of the hoopla the outlawed items cause. I never questioned it until getting a letter about what the teachers call “overpriced, colorful, plastic rubber band bracelets” or Silly Bandz. Apparently, the bracelets cause quite a raucous. The teachers say kids with them trade and fight over them. The kids without them covet them. To settle the situation, the Silly Bandz have been banned. (Other schools have also banned them.)

I understand this may be the most efficient way to solve the issue, but what about the teachable moments? I don’t believe that teachers should parent the children but I do believe children learn how to behave appropriately in society while they are in school – learning how to work through differences, jealousy and maybe even a criminal act (a student swiping another Bandz). Instead, the teachable moment is removed. Don’t like something? Ban it.

One thing that’s not being banned – despite the feelings of envy other students may feel – is the weekly reward of a bottle of Coke.

Nia’s teacher uses the refreshing beverage as a reward for the students with the most green strips at the end of the week. Now, I’m not a super health nut or anything. We let our kids eat junk. It just had my mind going because it’s not a secret about the health concern of sodas in schools. Also, this now means my child, who rarely gets caffeine (and when she does it’s like 5 ounces) now consumes 12 ounces of sugary, caffeinated yum in the middle of the day. Because I’m thinking the sodas are an inexpensive and desirable treat for the teacher and students, I’m not bothered enough to express my questions to the teacher. But I suppose I could always request Nia get a non-caffeinated beverage instead. After all, she’ll be getting one every week.  (Said like a super snobby mommy.)

The funny thing? Nia gets the Cokes but she never did wear her Silly Bandz to school when she was allowed. Maybe those teachers are on to something – no Bandz must mean better behavior. Lesson learned.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Sweet-n-Sour Siblings

14 Aug

I will always be amazed at the way siblings interact with each other. I’m a sibling. I have many friends/relatives who have siblings. I even birthed a pair.

How can we go from hot to cold in a matter of seconds? Fighting with each other one minute and then holding each other tight the next. I know some siblings don’t work that way – some don’t speak to each other at all – so I guess I should be thankful that, so far, Nia and Nate seem to have the sweet and sour part perfected.

Some of the sour includes:

  • Instant tattling – no matter what the offense. Look at each other mean? Tattle. Didn’t brush teeth long enough? Tattle. Elbows on the table while we are sitting right next to the offender? Tattle.
  • Intensely competitive – even if it’s just who gets to the sink first to wash hands. One of them has to beat the other. When that other loses, he/she immediately accuses the winner of not being fair or cheating. The Wii really gets them firing fighting words at each other.
  • Speaking of fighting, remember Nate’s punch that knocked out Nia’s tooth? There was also a time when Nate ripped a handful of hair out of Nia’s head. And once when Nia shoved Nate’s noggin into the wall. I think that’s it for now. I’m sure there will be more though.
  • Remote control hogs – they hardly ever agree on what to watch.
  • They live to annoy each other. Whether it’s Nia touching Nate’s head, putting her foot on him or Nate standing in the way of the tv, they don’t stop the annoying behavior until an adult steps in and even then it lingers.

I like to believe all of this sweet outweighs the sour:

  • They usually “take one for the team” – Nia swiped some cauliflower off of Nate’s plate to help him eat it because she knows he’s not a big fan. She even took food right out of her mouth for him (yes, gross) – a half-eaten lollipop. He didn’t hesitate to crunch into it.
  • Nate can be chivalrous at times – letting Nia use his special blankey if she’s cold and telling her she looks pretty when she’s dressed fancy.
  • Nia can be Nate’s biggest cheerleader (when they aren’t competing against each other) and Nate loved to watch his big sister shine on stage at her dance recital. I’ve even heard them exchange a “good job” from time to time.
  • They can be great sharers when they want to be – Nia offers Nate her toys and Nate will offer his Memory game match as a trade if he knows it’s a pair Nia would like. (She always wants to trade for the “girl” cards.)
  • They giggle and crack each other up when no one else knows why they’re laughing – speaking a special language only they understand.
  • They take care of each other – holding hands when crossing the street or parking lot and Nia helping Nate to tie his shoes.
  • I’m pretty sure I’ve witnessed more hugs then hits. (Makes my heart so happy!)

I hope this mix of the sweet and sour doesn’t lean too much any one way. Balance is important and besides, the challenges keeps things interesting and teaches them to deal with different situations/personalities.

Then again, more of the sweet would be nice.

image

Tags: , , , , , , ,

The Happy Faces, Boos and Memorables of the First Week

9 Aug

As I type this, the kids are sleeping like a bag of snakes (how their Papa Dave describes their extreme tossing and turning), ready to start their second week of Second Grade and Pre-K. The first week was great but there were a few speed bumps.

Ready for School!

First the happy faces:

  • Nia loves her teacher and is happy to have friends she knows from last year in her class.
  • Nate had a wonderful first week, scoring four blue days and one green. (Blue is the best and green is good. Yellow and red days mean sad face.)
  • Nia is excited to be back with her buddies at after-school.
  • Nate made it through the week without his blankey. He’s been pretty much carrying it around with him since birth. This is a milestone.
  • Nia aced her first spelling test and we received the results that she got incredible “exceeding” scores on her CRCT from last year.

Now, for the boos:

  • A little boy made Nia feel bad when he said she was “too little” to be in their classroom. Andrew says there will be a time when that kid will be begging for tiny girl to like him. So there, dude.
  • The Georgia Pre-K program revoked the funding for Nate’s school due to complications I can’t comprehend which means hardships for his school, our weekly fee goes up and others who weren’t supposed to pay will either scramble to find somewhere else, remove their child from Pre-K or struggle to pay. We are worried and praying for all involved.
  • Another child threw a rock and left a lump on Nate’s noggin.

And finally, some of the memorable:

  • One of the t-shirts I matched with a cute skirt was actually a pj top. I didn’t realize this until Nia told me she bragged to one of her friends, “I’m wearing my pj’s to school!” Great. It totally did not look like a pj shirt!
  • Nate insisted on wearing his “fast pants” every day because his the little girl he has a crush on would like them.
  • Nia says this year’s homework is going to be tough – not “easy” like it was in First Grade.
  • There’s a little boy who just stares at Nia. He doesn’t talk to her. Just stares. She says, “He’s just shy.” We’ll see.

Fingers crossed that the pros and memorables will outweigh the boos in the coming weeks!

Tags: , , ,

Threw Away the Receipt

8 Aug

In a little less than a month, Andrew and I will celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. I couldn’t ask for a better partner/roomie to grow old and put up with. When things get challenging, nerves are tried and the quirks add up, I will remind him that the receipt is thrown away and he can’t return/exchange me.

Here are just a few of my favorite “you married me” moments:

  • You pile your dirty socks near the side of the bed. I never put clean clothes away.
  • I am a moody girl. You check my birth control pills to see if there’s a valid reason for it.
  • You snore. I don’t hear it when I’m sleeping. When I’m watching tv though, watch for a pillow to be thrown.
  • I worry about everything like soap getting in Nate’s eyes. You rarely worry and respond to me with statements like, “The ceiling could also fall down on his head.”
  • You leave crumbs on the counter. I park too close to your work bench.
  • I ask flighty questions and have many brain fart moments. (For example, not getting simple jokes or taking a few seconds longer than I should to figure out what word was just spelled to me.) After you look at me in shock for a minute, you don’t make me feel dumb, you make me feel endearing.
  • You bring me home flowers when you go to the store each week. I bring you home my car that needs filled with gas.
  • I let cups collect on my bathroom sink. You build cup towers with them.
  • You love me. I love you back. Swoon.

Tags: , , , , , ,

A fart fan that clears the air and scares the crap out of you.

7 Aug

It’s a big title for a blog but it’s so accurate I couldn’t help it. Here’s why: we recently discovered that one of the bathroom fart fans in our home had become the home of many wasps.

I only realized this after several times of cleaning up small black specs from the toilet lid.

I thought, what is this? It’s not poop. Where is it coming from?

Look up.

Fart fan.

Insect legs peeking through the vent.

Gasp.

Yell for Andrew who just thinks I’m just freaking out over bugs as usual.

He takes a closer look and then squints his eyes and shockingly states, “Those are wasps.”

He taps the vent and then jerks back when a “buzz, buzz” sounds from inside the fan.

The discovery and his seriousness immediately prompts my-oh-my-gosh-it’s-so-gross bug dance.

He instructs me to turn on the fan and shut the door.

He then climbs 20 feet up, armed with a flashlight in his mouth and a can a wasp killer in his hand. (It was 9:30 pm.) The rest is picture history.

Here is the aftermath from inside our house:

Here is the view from the scene of eviction and aftermath from the outside:

I still can’t help but feel bad about the ones we killed. Then again, they could have hurt the kids and they weren’t paying rent.

Tags: , , , , , ,

No Crayola? Not Cool.

27 Jul

The season of school supply shopping is here. The kids start back to school in less than a week so we were forced to deal with side-by-side shoppers sifting through the special displays, slim pickings and deciphering the supply lists from the teachers. (I usually end up with one or two things that I can never match to their lists.)

This year, I had more on my mind than just successfully checking off the list in one trip. I started to think about whether Nia will be judged by other kids based off what folder, notebook or brand name crayon she had in her desk. Yes. I worry about a lot of stuff, a lot.

She wanted (and got) a Barbie folder. I couldn’t help but wonder, is that ok for a second grader to sport? I don’t know what’s cool and even if I did, should it matter? I know it shouldn’t but I also want to eliminate as many obstacles as possible from her new school year. I remember things like brand name clothes and sneakers being status symbols when I was in school. Even if you’re decked out in some GAP, Hollister or whatever’s cool these days, I tend to believe the in-crowd kids will still find something to pick on others about. I guess that’s more of a reason not to care. Andrew actually had the opposite concern, he was worried her Barbie/fancy school loot would make other children feel bad because they want horses and cats to hold their homework as well.

Just to be safe, I grabbed some plain purple folders too.

Cool Enough/Too Cool for School?

Tags: , , , ,

All for Her

26 Jul

He picks out his clothes for school based off what she’d like. (“I want to wear my Braves shirt because she likes the Braves.”)

He also dresses to impress her.  (“I’m gonna wear my fast pants to show her how fast I run in them.”)

He draws pictures for her and no one else.  (I asked for one and he said no.)

It seems our baby boy is smitten with a little girl at his school. While I think it’s adorable and I approve of the young lady (Nia says she is her best friend at Nate’s school), I just worry about this part – he told us they have “sneaked” a smooch.

Now, Andrew and I told him all that we are supposed to tell him as parents about this. He’s too young to be smooching anyone, it’s not proper to do such things at his age or in school and he’ll get germs.  (No, not cooties! Germs! Well, I guess there’s really not a difference, huh?) I even said that I didn’t think her parents would like that and that he could get in trouble at school. Nia then added, “I don’t even do that and I’m older!”

Maybe we’re over-reacting, I don’t know. I just want him to be respectful and not feel like it’s ok to plant one on others whenever he wants. I suppose I also want him to stay little and unknowing of such things for as long as possible.

As a compromise, I told him no more sneaking and no more smooching but that he could give her a hug. I actually think I like Nia’s idea better though. She suggested he just blow her a kiss.

Tags: , , ,

Free HBO, a Continental Breakfast and WiFi

24 Jul

What’s not to love? Those are great selling points. HBO has groundbreaking programs, a love me some one serving cereal packages and the internet is like blood to me. But none of that softens the spike I feel in my anxiety level upon entering a hotel.

I’m not sure exactly what made me so hotel-phobic. I used to love staying in them. When I was a middle schooler, my dad, stepmom and stepsister stayed in a new room almost every night for two summers during our road trips across the country. It was an adventure. We visited the most awe-inspiring places and I would often send home/collect postcards of the hotel we stayed at along with the beautiful likes of Yosemite, Yellowstone and Redwood National Parks. I was intrigued by the different places we stayed, not disgusted like I am now.

Now, I can’t relax in them at all. I loathe using the towels, sleeping in the beds, using any part of the bathroom and, of course, walking on the carpet. I even cringe at putting my face directly on the pillowcase.  (How many dirty heads have been on that thing?!)

This latest hotel we stayed at wasn’t even so bad but I still struggled. I just don’t want my freaky fears to rub off on the kids.  (I already ruined them when it comes to bugs.) So far, I think I’ve hidden my revulsion fairly well around them. Nate seemed to love his hotel stay.

He jumped from bed to bed, was pleasantly surprised when he learned they let us use their towels, wanted to cook popcorn in the mini-microwave, felt like king of the world standing on furniture to reach the sink and thoroughly enjoyed his breakfast of bagel, an apple and some waffle.

I wish some of his carefree and happy hotel handling would change my attitude. I’m pretty sure the free HBO won’t do it because I still have to touch the remote to watch it.  (Shiver.)

Tags: , , , ,

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →