Never a Dull Moment

I'm just going to come right out and say it... "My kids are weird!" It's hard to say who is the weirder of the two; I think it depends on the day. But it's probably fair to say that my daughter is outwardly odder, due to the fact that she likes to wear her creativity. This is a photo that was taken before bed. My daughter generally likes to dress like a princess while she sleeps, so she will often put on her pajamas with a skirt or dress on top. This way, she can be "fancy" during bedtime. As you can see, she also has a dome on her head. This is her "space helmet", which happens to be part of a crayola coloring contraption that my sister bought her for Christmas. She always enjoys her gifts, especially when she can find unorthodox ways of playing with them. I think the way her nose smooshes against the plastic really adds a little something special to the look!

I make it a point to support her artistic expression, because it's so clearly a huge part of who she is. It's fascinating to watch her gather bits and pieces of nonsense and turn them into these elaborate creations! Currently, I'm looking at my lamp, which has been beautified by various necklaces and baubles. I am confident that this masterpiece has an intricate story behind it, since she usually narrates during her play. At one point, this lamp was a horse that had been adorned for one reason or another. It's hard to keep up with her complex plot lines.

So whether she's putting on a concert for her stuffed animals, or painting her dolls face, or surreptitiously gathering items from my jewelry box; I will always be intrigued by what she comes up with. Every day with this messy little monster is an adventure, and I’m thoroughly enjoying (almost) every minute of it!

Father of the Year

Some days you just need to find new things for your kids to do. A few months ago, I started printing coloring pages off the computer. Basically, you type in whatever character you're looking for and you can usually find free printables. My kids love this, especially my son. Currently, he's really into Pokemon. I can't believe Pokemon is still around, but apparently these critters are alive and well.

Anyway, my son is quite excited by my new discovery and anxious to dive into his Pokemon project. His enthusiasm, however, is quickly dampened when he realizes that he doesn't know the exact color pallet of this particular Pokemon, named Poliwag. You see, my daughter has a very expressive use of color; she paints cows purple, skies pink, and hair green with reckless abandon! My son, on the other hand, must have every detail realistically perfected.

Needless to say, he is utterly distressed that this particular Pokemon is not in his book. Oh, I should mention, that he always keeps reference materials on hand for these such occasions. Obviously, he needs to refer to his guide books for accuracy sake. Anyway, this guy, not in the book, so chaos ensues! Being the brilliant woman that I am, I hop online to find a color image for him to study. Unfortunately, I can't find a color Poliwag image that matches the black & white image, so the creature's tail becomes difficult to recreate. Complicated stuff, right?

By this time, I've officially given up. This project began in the morning, but has taken so many twists and turns that it is now late afternoon. I throw my hands up and say, "Maybe Daddy can figure something out when he gets home." That's usually my fall back when I'm about to go off the deep end. So, when my husband enters the scene he begins to search for a suitable image, but fails miserably.

We've now joined forces and are making suggestions... "Well, if the tail is a problem, let's just cut it off! Who needs it?!"

This idea is no good, because then the paper would no longer be intact. Our son suggests that we cut off the tail, and then reattach another piece of paper, so it is the correct size. I say, "That's nuts!"

I then suggest that we cut the entire image out, because the rest of the blank page is really superfluous anyway. Let's just say, this opinion is not shared. At this point, I am now expecting my husband to throw up his hands in exasperation too. But no… he has to go and have a stroke of genius!

He takes off to the kitchen and cuts out the figure (my idea, remember?). But then, he takes that image and tapes it to a blank piece of paper, creating the perfect sized background. Clearly, I have been outdone! But wait, he takes this madness another step further... He scans the creation through the printer and gets a flawless coloring page! It looks exactly like my printable page, but without that pesky little tail!

My son beams with joy, my husband beams with pride, and I just shake my head. All I can think is, "Are you kidding me?" Along with a little, "That's my man!"

Look at Me!

It's a defining moment as a parent when you look at your child and realize that they're not you. Some parents realize this fact immediately; they'll hold their tiny infant and swear that he came from another planet. Others are faced with this reality as their child starts to develop her unique personality. And some spend years seeing their kid as a, "chip off the old block", until one day, often during the teen years, they no longer recognize their so-called "mini me".    

Whenever this moment happens in your life, stop and pay attention. Really look at your child and recognize him for who he is. This may be the single most important thing you ever do as a parent. How much better would the world be if every parent really "saw" their child and then recognized, accepted, and loved that person?   

Many parents hope that their offspring will turn out to be just like them, or better yet, an upgraded version that they can live vicariously through. They expect this child to fulfill all the dreams that they failed to achieve. This is a sure-fire way to destroy your child. My advice... don't do it! If you have dreams, get off your butt and make them happen! Let your kid find his own dream and then do everything in your power to support it.   

What a waste of time it is to wish for a football star when you have a ballet dancer! Why force your bookworm to be the "life of the party"? And who really wants to go to a doctor who harbors dreams of being an artist?  

So stop pining over your "dream" child and start embracing your real child. We don't always have to understand our kids, we don't even have to agree with their choices, but we do need to accept their individuality. If we, as parents, can't love them for who they are, then how can we expect them to love themselves. We can't, so save your kids some therapy and a lot of heartache, and just look at them!

When in Doubt, Build a Fort

One of my fondest childhood pastimes involved making forts with my siblings. In an instant, we could be transported to any time, any place, and be ready for any adventure. My sister's bed could be easily transformed into the perfect fort. My Dad and grandfather had built her bed into the wall, so it basically looked like a big picture window. We would hide inside and tuck blankets into the frame of the bed. We would always be accompanied by various stuffed animals, and possibly one or two of our cats if we could snag them. For hours, our imaginations would run wild in our special little cave.

This weekend, my kids got to have their own fort experience. They are lucky enough to have bunk beds at my Mom's house, so the fort-making possibilities are endless! I closed off the bottom bunk with blankets, figuring that they would cozy up together. Of course, this did not suffice. They wanted a fort in the top bunk as well, so I had to get a little more creative.

An engineer, I am not, so the end result was not exactly pretty. But it's amazing what you can do with an extra blanket and a staple gun! Watching my kids play brought me right back to my childhood. Immediately their imaginations kicked in, while they enjoyed their bunk-bed picnic.

Sometimes we forget that the simplest experiences are often the most memorable. So when your kids get antsy, just throw a few pillows and blankets their way. The act of creating a sacred space is an experience that will last a lifetime!

Don't Fold my Undies!

As a teenager, my brother used to tease me about my culinary ineptitude. He figured that once I left home, my survival would depend greatly on my access to cereal and milk. But fast forward a decade later, and it turns out that I'm quite the domestic goddess! I cook, bake, wash dishes, clean floors, scrub toilets, make beds... And surprisingly, I genuinely enjoy these tasks. Well, perhaps the toilet scrubbing leaves a bit to be desired, but you get my point.

There is one domestic skill, however, that continues to elude me... folding laundry. My husband has a passionate distaste for the way I handle his "unmentionables". To be honest, his disdain for my folding technique, or lack thereof, extends to each and every article of clothing.

But in my defense, my husband folds laundry like an old Filipino woman! Literally, he was taught this skill by his stepmother's mother, Lola. To make matters even worse, he hangs laundry like an old Greek woman! Once again, literally, he was taught the art of hanging laundry by his Greek grandmother, Yia Yia.

Now, I have to imagine that his technique is a slightly watered down version of what these women are capable of. But based on his aptitude, I can only guess that these two women are laundry masters! If doing laundry was an Olympic sport, they would be fighting head to head for the gold. They’re like silk samurai, or nylon ninjas, maybe even, textile Titans!

The truth is… I never stood a chance.

I have to sigh as I watch my husband, so carefully and mindfully, folding our kids cartoon underoos into little origami masterpieces. He goes to great lengths to get the perfect crease down our stained and threadbare pajama pants. He even hangs our laundry inside-out with the precision of a great artist.

I have a hard time admitting when I’m not the best at something. Even when I’m clearly outmatched, my Aries fire will blaze with confidence. But in this particular circumstance, I will humbly admit defeat.

I will hand over our detergent, fabric softener, clothespins, and plastic basket. My husband has truly earned the honor of laundry master. But as we all know, with great power comes great responsibility,

"So Honey, please don't forget to handwash my unmentionables!"

Purple Dress

My son can be whiny, ornery, demanding, and inflexible, but his depth of emotion never ceases to amaze me. At the tender age of six, he has proven to be a hopeless romantic! He had a short but sweet love affair with a girl in his class. Despite his myriad of complaints regarding his Kindergarten experience, he found this one little girl to be quite the silver lining. But as luck would have it, the love of his life had to move to Texas!

On her last day of school, my son decided to bring her a parting gift from his toy collection. After much deliberation, he settled on a wind-up lady bug that did flips. He figured that she would like this, since she had been a bumble bee for Halloween, obviously, she was cool with insects. He was clearly bummed about her leaving, but also very excited to give her something to remember him by.

When I picked him up from school, I was anxious to see how she liked her gift. I immediately asked him, "How did it go? Did she like it?".

And he said, "I couldn't give it to her, because she wasn't there. I guess yesterday was her last day!"

What a heartbreak! This was his moment and he missed out by one stinking day!

It's been about 2 months since he's seen his sweet baboo, but he hasn't forgotten her yet. He'll drop her name into conversations, and periodically say, "Do you know who I still miss?" Every time he makes mention of her, I feel warm and fuzzy. Two months is a long time for a kid, so the fact that he's still thinking of her speaks volumes!

But today, his sweetness reached new heights! He spent the morning drawing with his sister; I assumed he was drawing the usual... monsters (of every possible variety) or star wars characters. Instead he ran into the room to show my Mom and I this...

Here they are holding hands! His sweetheart is even wearing her signature purple dress that she wore on picture day, and he is rockin' his "creature from the black lagoon" t-shirt. He also carefully colored in her crystal bindi and a smiley-faced sun. I assume the snow is simply an appreciation of today's snow day.

I should also mention that there is another version of this picture, but he refused to show it to me. I'll admit, however, that I got a very quick peek of the "secret version" and I noticed that he had drawn several hearts over each of their heads! He may have been too embarrassed to show me, but he wasn't too embarrassed to draw them, which is adorable on so many levels!

So there you have it, my son is a more romantic and committed partner, at the age of six, than many of the so-called "men" in the world. I would say he gets this all from me, but I must give credit where credit is due. His Daddy has shown him that it's okay to shed a "manly" tear from time to time, and that real men aren't afraid to give their heart to the right woman. The world needs more of these men; I am eternally grateful to be adding one to the population. 

Hot Lunch

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the first month or so of Kindergarten was pretty rough for my son. But by November, I felt like we had turned a corner. He was no longer clinging for dear life when I dropped him off in the morning and he managed to keep the afternoon meltdowns to a minimum. So when his principal walked up to me after school and gently pulled me aside, I felt my stomach sink. Here we go again!

In his concerned voice he said, "I just thought you should know, that your son has been eating lunch alone."

So I think to myself, "Crap!" But I say, "Well, he's kind of introverted, maybe he just needs a little time to himself during the middle of the day." These words are true, but I still feel myself internally freaking at the thought of my son being socially ostracized at the age of six. The principal suggests that I start a dialogue with him and offers me parenting pointers, blah, blah, blah. It's not that I can't appreciate advice, but I get a little defensive when somebody acts like they know more about my kid than I do.

Anyway, I don't bring it up right away, because I know my son needs major decompression time after a day in the trenches. I mention the issue to my husband and his response pretty much mirrors mine, "Crap!". So at dinner I finally ask, "What's the deal with you eating lunch alone?"

His response goes something like this, "Well, I usually sit with these two kids, but they had hot lunch today and there were all these other hot lunch kids..."

I quickly interrupt him and say, "Wait, are you sitting by yourself, because you don't like the smell of the hot lunch?!"

And he says, "Yeah, I don't want to sit by that, it's DISGUSTING! I'll sit with somebody if they have cold lunch, but if they have hot lunch, I'll sit by myself!"

Ahhh, now it all makes sense! The poor kid can barely eat at our dinner table, because his sister's eating habits regularly set off his gag reflex. Why didn't I realize this sooner?

So the next morning, I proudly march up to the principal and explain that my son is not a social reject, he's simply repulsed by the cafeteria offerings.

So yes, my son may be freakishly sensitive, but at least he's confident enough to pull up a chair at his very own table. I'll take that any day of the week!