Life in our Shoes

Archive for the ‘Thing 1’ Category

It was a big week for Thing 1. We had her first real parent teacher conference this week. Her Kindergarten one didn’t count in my brain. The teacher saw me in the hall and said “We don’t really need a conference. She’s doing great. There’s your conference.” I’m glad she is out of that school.

I was met in the hall by Mr B. I had no idea who he was. Mrs. L (the teacher) informed me that he would like to “sit in on Thing 1′s conference”. My brain immediately went to the bad. I assumed it was the principal and he wanted to talk about her behavior, or her school bus probation, or something of the sort. I was zipped back to my school days and the whole “what did I do?” mentality. My fears were quickly dissolved when he introduced himself as the music teacher. He informed me he likes to sit in on conferences of the students that seem to really enjoy music and show a great potential for it. Whew. We talked about the guitar she is getting for Christmas, and that she will be starting School of Rock in January. He said if she learned a song, and wanted to, he would have the school hold a special assembly for her to play on stage. Wow! She would eat that up. Such a Diva.

Then we moved onto the educational stuff. Mrs L went on and on about how she talks about Thing 1 all the time. She told me she has a wonderful foundation for learning. She always knows every new book, new song, and new country they talk about. Before they even learn about it in class. This girl retains everything she ever hears. Even if she only hears it once. I know I had to be beaming with pride the whole time.

The class is split into five different reading levels. She is in the highest, with only two other kids. That’s a third grade level, folks. She is in first grade. The beginning of first grade! You have no idea how happy that makes me. Providing the kids with their own libraries (thank you Scholastic!) has certainly paid off. Her stories are incredible, full of detail, and always make sense. She is learning to expand on the sentences she writes, and I can already see a huge difference in the stories she wrote in the beginning of the year, as opposed to now.

Moving on from school stuff (even though there was a ton more said at the conference). We loaded the bikes up into the car and went to the park today. It was freezing but Thing 1 and Thing 2 needed to get out. Up until now, Thing 1 has been terrified of trying her bike on her own. Today, we got out there, and when I let go, instead of freaking out, she laughed. Hysterically laughed. As she zoomed around. And around. And around. Naturally, the laughter ended when she fell, but that led us into our next lesson of using the brakes. She picked that up and was skidding around in no time. The final lesson of the day was for her to launch herself instead of myself or The Squatch running with her and letting go. I thought that one would take more time, but boy was I wrong!

OK, so this post totally sounds like I am bragging about my daughter, but I’m really not. I’m just so stinkin’ proud! And maybe I’m bragging a wee bit. What can I say? She’s awesome!

Let me preface this complaint post by saying I know extra curricular activities cost money. Often a lot of money. Some more than others. Particularly dance lessons. I am, for the most part, OK with that.

Here’s the part I am not OK with. I am not OK with the owner of the dance studio making money off of something she shouldn’t be making money off of. Let me explain. The kids were scheduled to dance at Dutch Wonderland this past weekend. I thought it would be a great opportunity for Thing 1 to get up on a stage and perform in front of people, as she loves to do. And, hey, bonus family getaway weekend!

Papers were sent home stating that tickets were $36 a piece and $21 for dancers tickets. In my stupidity, I didn’t look it up online. I just assumed this information was correct. I paid the money and all but forgot about it. Then I spoke to one of the other parents. She informed me that her daughter wouldn’t be performing because she can get cheap Dutch Wonderland tickets through her work, but the owner “wouldn’t let her”. She said flat out, “if you don’t buy the tickets through me, I won’t let your daughter perform”. Go ahead, pick your jaw up off the floor…I’ll wait. I can not believe she had the audacity to say that.

Thing 1 is in two dance classes, Irish and Acro hip hop. Irish is her favorite. So, before we left, I made sure she had everything she could possibly need for both outfits. Since, ya know, I had to buy two outfits (then pay to have them altered to fit her…grrr). I promise this is important. You’ll see why.

As we were standing outside the gates forever, since we were told to be there promptly at 9:00 and the park doesn’t even open until 10:00, I couldn’t help but look at the admission prices sign. A regular ticket is…wait for it….$31.95. Where on Earth did she come up with $36. It gets better. I then had to check the group rates, since we had to “But your tickets early! Then we can get the group rate!” Those tickets? $24.95. Say what? And, AND, for every 10 tickets purchased, you get a free one. Oh, hell no. I was just ripped off ten ways to Sunday.

So, we were there, and there was really nothing I could do about it except enjoy the day my family. When it came time for the performance, the teacher came out of the dressing tent and said “Thing 1 is only going to perform Men In Black (that’s acro hip hop), because you won’t have time to change her between performances”. There was two entire songs between her two performances, and I have done it before at the charity show they did, so I told her I would be able to do it and Thing 1 would be performing. Simply put, I was told no. And I? Was pissed. Not only was I overcharged, but I lugged both these damn costumes out there. To top it off, Thing 1 was disappointed that she had to watch her friends perform the Irish dance without her.

I am so not OK with her pocketing that money. Not only were we overcharged for tickets, but Dutch Wonderland is close to a 2 hour drive from here. So we had to pay gas money. And since it is so far and we had to be there so early, we had to pay for a hotel, too.

Am I wrong about this? Should I mention something about the tickets being way overpriced. Or should I just chalk it up to my stupidity for not looking into it first?

As a parent that loves to read, I am constantly on the lookout for books that my kids will enjoy, and that they can relate to. Whether it be moving, losing a tooth, starting a new school. *insert any life event here*.

I have had fantastic luck finding things for Thing 2 through the Scholastic Book Club that his school offers. In fact, I challenge myself each month to spend less than $50 per order. That buys a lot of Scholastic books. There isn’t much for Thing 1 in them, simply because she is older and most of the books are beneath her level. I have scored a few, but not many. I really wish her teacher would get on the ball and offer Scholastic in her class. But, that might just be asking way too much. Add one more thing to her plate and she just may forget all the kids names. Heck, she already spells Thing 1 wrong.

OK, so I got off track. I’m good at that.

I would say “the other day as I was walking through Target”, but that would be a complete lie since it was more like the other month (I’m a slacker, so I’m just posting now). So, the other month when I was walking through Target, my eyes fell on the cover a book called “Amy Hodgepodge, All Mixed Up”. The little girl on the front had brown skin and curly hair, so I grabbed it to read the back. Turns out, Amy is part Japanese, part Korean, part African-American, and part Caucasian. This? Was something Thing 1 could totally relate to (minus the Japanese and Korean, of course). One of Amy’s friends is African American and Caucasian, and my memory is failing me right now as to what her other friends are. There was no way I couldn’t buy this book. And it’s part of a series of chapter books. I love series and Thing 1 is just getting into Chapter books. Perfect.

We finished the first book which tackled some hard issues, such as bullying, disappointing friends, and being made fun of for being different. Just the back cover alone sparked a huge discussion with Thing 1. As I had hoped, she loved the book, so we bought #2 in the series. It’s titled “Amy Hodgepodge, Happy Birthday to Me”. We are only three chapters in, but so far, it is just as good as the first one. Score!

We have had a whirlwind of a week. Stress hit me like a ton of bricks. From fertility doctors to making offers on houses to karate tournaments. I’m sure the first two things will be worth the stress in the end, whenever that may come, but for now I *know* the stress of tournaments was worth it.

I took a chance and entered Thing 1 and Thing 2 in the Amerikick Internationals at the Convention Center. I knew it was huge for a first tournament, but they had missed the local ones and begged to do it. I was assured they would only compete against their belt level, and that everyone gets a medal no matter what.

Color me surprised when Thing 2 ( a white belt) competed against a yellow belt. Obviously, the yellow belt won, but since there was only two of them, he got second place. Second place winners take home a sweet trophy (pictured below). He did very well, considering this was his first time in front of an audience and he was up first. He started to cry in the beginning, but miracle of all miracles, he took a few deep breaths, pulled himself together, looked the judges right in the eyes and completed his kata.

Thing 1 was in the next age bracket, so (thankfully) they didn’t compete against each other. She also had to compete against a yellow belt and three orange belts. That was just not even fair. Of course their katas were more intricate, they have been doing karate much longer. But I digress. She did amazing anyhow. She won 4th place, which brought immediate tears to her eyes. We had a little talk about good sportsmanship and the fact that she had to compete against kids that were at a much higher level. In the end, she was proud that she beat one of the orange belts and earned herself a “trophy that can be worn like an accessory” aka-a medal.

Day two of the competition we had to be up at 6AM to make it there on time. Thing 1 instructed us to come in her room and wake her up by saying “Cock a Doodle Doo” We did. She’s like the puppetmaster. Knowing what to expect, I was slightly less stressed than the previous day. I’m sure I was more nervous than the kids were. Turns out it was much more organized than the previous day. White belts only competed against white belts. Well, except for the 4 year olds. Thing 2 competed against a white/yellow belt and a white/blue belt. He came in third and scored himself yet another trophy. But, Thing 1? She rocked it! She won first place. All the tears of the day before were long forgotten when they announced her name. And, the look in her eyes when she saw the size of her trophy? Priceless.

It’s that time of year again. Colds, coughs, runny noses, and tons of tissues. Both kids have been hit with it and it’s starting in on me.

I generally do everything I can to avoid giving medicine. Especially during the day. We fend off the evil coughs with warm tea and other such things. But, at night when the hacking keeps up the whole house, I’m all for medicine.

Unfortunately, Thing 1 is not a huge fan. She will take it, but not without a huge production. First and foremost, it MUST be bubble gum flavor. Anything else and she will gag to the point of nearly vomiting. So, we indulge in buying the bubble gum flavor. Easy enough, right? Not really. Read on.

In order for the medicine to even reach her lips, we need to count backwards from seven, then pour it in superduperquick. She then washes it down with milk and cracker, more specifically a saltine. That gets the flavor out of her mouth. But, wait…there’s more! She can still taste it on her lips. So, we need to wash her face and apply lip balm.

Why do I indulge in this? To save my sanity. Otherwise we get tons of tears and gagging. Mary Poppins knew what she was doing. The sugar sounds way easier.

So, what ridiculous rituals do you find yourself doing for the sake of your sanity?

Two words come to mind when I think of Thing 1. Well more than two, really. But the two that really stand out are high maintenance. This child is destined to be a Diva.

First of all, her calendar is busier than mine. I’m really just her chauffeur doubling as her Mom. It’s all really just a way of protecting her super secret identity for when she is famous. Let me give you a glimpse into our weekly schedule.  Obviously, there is school every day, though I don’t doubt she will someday want a private tutor just so she can add some more extra curricular activities into her already busy week.  Monday we have karate, Tuesday we have Girl Scouts, Wednesday we have Acro HipHop, Thursday we have karate again (now that she is entered into a tournament we have a private lesson on Thursday on top of her class), Friday we have Irish dance. Those are just her regularly scheduled classes. On the weekends we toss in the occasional tournament, dance show, charity show, parade, or Girl Scout event. To me, that is utter chaos. To her, it isn’t enough. She wants to take figure skating as well. If only there were more days in the week and more money in my bank, I would let her.

Second, she has two very distinct looks each day. She either wants to look like a princess or a rockstar. Both looks require her hair to be down! and curly! Now, she has the most beautiful curls you could ever imagine. But, her hair is long. Down to her butt long (when it’s wet). And there’s a lot of it. So, in order to achieve that perfect down and curly look each day, we need to set aside 40 minutes to do her hair. 40 minutes!!  What am I going to do next year when she needs to be in school before 12:15? She is not an early riser. Of course she isn’t. Divas don’t get up before 10AM.  If they do, they say silly things like “my eyes just aren’t ready” or “come back in 15 minutes”.

Third, in true Diva form, she must always be right. At all costs.  If she is ever wrong, she will tell you that she knew that, but just wanted to do it her own way.  That’s how Diva’s roll.

And last but not least, she is a master manipulator. Especially in regards to Thing 2. For example, if she is playing her computer (yes, she has her own pink laptop, so I may be the one feeding into her Divaness a bit) she will ask Thing 2 if he wants to play the game she is playing. Naturally he says yes. But then, of all silly things, he expects her to let him play. But, no. She follows up with “Good. Go ask Mommy for her computer”  Thing 2 then comes to me and mission accomplished. She no longer has him hanging around her.

Need some visual evidence? Of course you do. Click to see bigger images.

Rockstar image #1. Those glasses? She doesn’t need them. They are “for fashion”

Rockstar image #2.

And, finally, a close up of the curls. Her hair is way longer in the back.

I don’t have any pictures of the princess look. I cleaned out my computer recently, and she has been all about the rockstar look lately.

So, there you have it. High maintenance much?

I just walked Thing 1 to the bus stop.  It is freezing out there. Beyond freezing in fact. As in, so cold your skin actually hurts.

The bus is scheduled to arrive at 12:19, but it never does. It’s always early. And, if your kid isn’t on the bus, tough cookies. It leaves without them.  Same after school, if it comes early and the parents aren’t there, tough cookies again. Your Kindergartner is standing on the corner waiting. The bus and I? We have issues.

So, we left the house in time (well, early) and Thing 1 decided to race to the bus stop. Thus, getting us there at 12:10. I figured the bus was coming soon, I can handle 5 minutes, right? 12:15 came and went, which was OK since the bus isn’t due until 12:19.  But, see, then 12:19 came and went. And went, and went, and went. The bus finally made it’s appearance at 12:25.  That’s a lot of minutes in 32 degree weather with a wind chill of 23.  See, that’s not what bothered me, though.

What really bothered me is, none of the other kids stood on the bus stop today. They all waited in their cars (and they all live within a half block radius). And do you know, not a single one of the stupid vest wearing, soccer Mom, Stepford Wives meets Desperate Housewives Mothers even so much as offered for Thing 1 and I to come stay warm in their car.

Witches.

The creativity of kids always amazes me.  We all sat down to play Legos, and while the kids dived right in to the huge box of rainbow colored bricks, I sat there and stared at them.  They made no sense to me.  Just a jumble of colors and shapes.  I had no idea where to even begin.  So I did what any other super creative Mommy would have done.  I grabbed the instruction booklet.  I’ll show them!  I’ll have the coolest speedboat rocket ever, because I have a book to follow!

Not only was my speedboat rocket the least creative, but it took the longest to build because I had to search for the exact piece I needed.

Check out our finished products

This is Thing 2′s creation.  It’s a “cool machine” that drives through town and sucks up all the trash. There’s actually a Lego with an arrow on it on the back that shows where the trash gets sucked in.  Then it all stays trapped up inside that yellow piece on the top.  There’s rockets on the bottom, so it can fly if it needs to.

This one was a joint effort.  Made by Thing 1 and The Squatch.  It is some kind of magical mystery cookie machine.  That’s what Thing 1 always makes.  They always look very different, but they always make cookies.

Hold on to your seats..you are about to see the product of my hard work.

Someday, I will make an amazing Lego creation using only my imagination.  Today is not that day.