Religion is a tricky thing. Chris and I are not super religious people, but we willingly send our boys to a Catholic school, even in a district with a pretty amazing public school system. We love the little Catholic school. It's small. The children are sweet. It feels like one big family. I also like that my children are getting some exposure to religion that they would not otherwise get at home. It starts a dialogue about things that I want my children to think about and question.
Brennan came home last week and talked about how God created him and he thinks Brennan is special.
"You are special B." I said.
"Well, why doesn't God talk to me?" He asked.
"He does. He just doesn't talk out loud. He talks to your heart." I replied.
Brennan got very quiet, closed his eyes and put his hand over his heart. After a minute, he smiled and whispered, "I hear him!"
"You do? What did he say?" I asked.
"He told me he is in here." Brennan gave me a knowing smile and ran off to play.
I hope this sweet moment of religion in our daily lives almost makes up for me forgetting it was Lent, then forgetting it was a Friday in Lent and sending two of my children to Catholic school with ham sandwiches for lunch on Friday. I am an ace Catholic parent.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Tuesday, March 08, 2011
Boxes and String
We have too many toys. My boys have toys they received as gifts at Christmas that have not yet been opened. We have games that have yet to be played, lego sets waiting to be built, and crafts sets growing dusty on shelves.
It is insane. We are not toy buyers. I do not buy the boys toys as prizes when we are at stores. Instead, the boys really only receive presents from us on their birthdays and holidays. But we have two very kind and generous sets of grandmas, many a sweet aunt and uncle and even a set of doting great-grandparents. It can lead to a whole lot of overflowing toy bins and closets.
It fascinates me that in the midst of this toy nirvana, my boys can still utter the words, "I have nothing to do." I point out all the shelves of toys just dying to be played with and they shrug their shoulders with disinterest.
It can drive a mom batty.
Last week, Griffin and I were at Wegmans and he asked me if I would buy him a ball of string. I threw it in the cart on a whim. When we got home, the boys were obsessed with the string. They have built forts with it, played airplane with it, tied up stuffed animals with it, and used it to catapault anything and everything they can think of from the second story foyer. The string is a hit. We are on week two and the string has not gotten old. The string is played with every single day. The string has staying power.
Add the string to the legions of recycled packing boxes and discarded shoe boxes the boys hoard for many a made up game of build, war or fort and well, I have realized something.
The best toys aren't the ones we buy at Toys r Us or Target. The best toys are the ones my children create all on their own. String and boxes. That is all it takes to keep my children occupied for hours at a time.
And it cost me all of $2.00.
It is insane. We are not toy buyers. I do not buy the boys toys as prizes when we are at stores. Instead, the boys really only receive presents from us on their birthdays and holidays. But we have two very kind and generous sets of grandmas, many a sweet aunt and uncle and even a set of doting great-grandparents. It can lead to a whole lot of overflowing toy bins and closets.
It fascinates me that in the midst of this toy nirvana, my boys can still utter the words, "I have nothing to do." I point out all the shelves of toys just dying to be played with and they shrug their shoulders with disinterest.
It can drive a mom batty.
Last week, Griffin and I were at Wegmans and he asked me if I would buy him a ball of string. I threw it in the cart on a whim. When we got home, the boys were obsessed with the string. They have built forts with it, played airplane with it, tied up stuffed animals with it, and used it to catapault anything and everything they can think of from the second story foyer. The string is a hit. We are on week two and the string has not gotten old. The string is played with every single day. The string has staying power.
Add the string to the legions of recycled packing boxes and discarded shoe boxes the boys hoard for many a made up game of build, war or fort and well, I have realized something.
The best toys aren't the ones we buy at Toys r Us or Target. The best toys are the ones my children create all on their own. String and boxes. That is all it takes to keep my children occupied for hours at a time.
And it cost me all of $2.00.
Saturday, March 05, 2011
Gaga!
I know who Lady Gaga is. I mean, I would have to be living in cave not to know who she is. (Although often, parenthood can seem like a cave when it comes to knowledge of timely popular culture.) But I am not all that familiar with her music. I know it is popular and dance like, but beyond my affection for Glee's rendition of Poker Face (love!), I couldn't name one of her songs.
My very good, dear friend from high school, Tracey, happens to tour with Lady Gaga. She is a photographer and takes pictures for Gaga of all her "little monsters." The last time I saw Tracey, she mentioned that she was so excited for their upcoming Buffalo tour date, but bummed that she only got two tickets per show because she would pass those on to her parents. I told her not to worry, because while I would love the chance to see Tracey work, I am not a Gaga person.
Fast forward to this week. Tracey texts me on Tuesday that there is a chance she may be able to get me into the show, but first she wants to make sure I can go. I tell her I can go and while I would love to see her and catch her in her work environment working her magic, I didn't want her to go to any great lengths on my behalf since I could not pick Gaga out of a line up. Tracey tells me she will be in touch. One day before the sold out show, Tracey texts me that I have floor passes for me and a friend.
Floor passes! I wasn't sure I was even cool enough for any of this. But I adore my friend Tracey and really wanted to cheer her on in something that had become very important to her. So I gussied myself up, picked up my friend Christine, and off we went to Gaga. (In contrast to me, Christine is in love with Gaga. I figured that at least half of our contingent should have some Gaga knowledge! And well, Chris absolutely refused to go. That is not a shocker.)
We got to the arena early, in order to spend time watching Tracey at her make-shift rock star photography studio for the Little Monsters. It was unbelievable to see the costumes, the fans and the talents of my dear friend from high school as she caught the unique beauty in each and every fan. Tracey also looked like a rock star. (This is the same friend that had me camp out at her house for a weekend in high school so we could make a video to send to Kirk Cameron asking him to take her to the prom. ) Tracey had also had a lot of local press on her gig, so she was generating quite a lot of excitement among the fans. There is nothing that we like in Buffalo more than a hometown gal doing good.
After the photography studio shut down for the night, we hung out with Tracey during the opening act. She introduced us to much of the crew also on tour with Gaga, including the woman who runs the social network side of the business for Gaga. I found it all incredibly interesting. But when we heard the first opening chords, Tracey yelled, "Let's go!" and pulled us out to the entrance leading to the floor of the arena.
It was unbelievable. Incredible. Amazing. Any and every adjective that I could think of to describe that moment would not do it justice. To look up and around you and see 18,000 dancing fans, to be amongst such passion, to be so close to a fantastic performance - it was all awe-inspiring. I loved the show. I loved her message of acceptance, of tolerance, of beauty being found in everyone, no matter who you are or what you look like. Yes, she's a little crazy and a whole lot of out there, but well, I think I like her. And above all, I was truly impressed with her voice and musical talent. She sings every note. There is no lip synching, no posturing. She gives it all, from singing to dancing to playing a bunch of instruments - all amazing.
At the end of the night, Christine turned to me and said, "I don't think I am every going to be able to describe how amazing this was. No one will every really understand."
She's right.
I probably can't do it justice. But I do know that I am going to be adding some Gaga songs to my ipod mix today and probably dancing around my living room.
My very good, dear friend from high school, Tracey, happens to tour with Lady Gaga. She is a photographer and takes pictures for Gaga of all her "little monsters." The last time I saw Tracey, she mentioned that she was so excited for their upcoming Buffalo tour date, but bummed that she only got two tickets per show because she would pass those on to her parents. I told her not to worry, because while I would love the chance to see Tracey work, I am not a Gaga person.
Fast forward to this week. Tracey texts me on Tuesday that there is a chance she may be able to get me into the show, but first she wants to make sure I can go. I tell her I can go and while I would love to see her and catch her in her work environment working her magic, I didn't want her to go to any great lengths on my behalf since I could not pick Gaga out of a line up. Tracey tells me she will be in touch. One day before the sold out show, Tracey texts me that I have floor passes for me and a friend.
Floor passes! I wasn't sure I was even cool enough for any of this. But I adore my friend Tracey and really wanted to cheer her on in something that had become very important to her. So I gussied myself up, picked up my friend Christine, and off we went to Gaga. (In contrast to me, Christine is in love with Gaga. I figured that at least half of our contingent should have some Gaga knowledge! And well, Chris absolutely refused to go. That is not a shocker.)
We got to the arena early, in order to spend time watching Tracey at her make-shift rock star photography studio for the Little Monsters. It was unbelievable to see the costumes, the fans and the talents of my dear friend from high school as she caught the unique beauty in each and every fan. Tracey also looked like a rock star. (This is the same friend that had me camp out at her house for a weekend in high school so we could make a video to send to Kirk Cameron asking him to take her to the prom. ) Tracey had also had a lot of local press on her gig, so she was generating quite a lot of excitement among the fans. There is nothing that we like in Buffalo more than a hometown gal doing good.
After the photography studio shut down for the night, we hung out with Tracey during the opening act. She introduced us to much of the crew also on tour with Gaga, including the woman who runs the social network side of the business for Gaga. I found it all incredibly interesting. But when we heard the first opening chords, Tracey yelled, "Let's go!" and pulled us out to the entrance leading to the floor of the arena.
It was unbelievable. Incredible. Amazing. Any and every adjective that I could think of to describe that moment would not do it justice. To look up and around you and see 18,000 dancing fans, to be amongst such passion, to be so close to a fantastic performance - it was all awe-inspiring. I loved the show. I loved her message of acceptance, of tolerance, of beauty being found in everyone, no matter who you are or what you look like. Yes, she's a little crazy and a whole lot of out there, but well, I think I like her. And above all, I was truly impressed with her voice and musical talent. She sings every note. There is no lip synching, no posturing. She gives it all, from singing to dancing to playing a bunch of instruments - all amazing.
At the end of the night, Christine turned to me and said, "I don't think I am every going to be able to describe how amazing this was. No one will every really understand."
She's right.
I probably can't do it justice. But I do know that I am going to be adding some Gaga songs to my ipod mix today and probably dancing around my living room.
Thursday, March 03, 2011
Gleeful
My kids get a whole load of Glee music around the house. I can't help it. I love a good song changed up to be a show tune. It's a quirky weakness of mine. I often like the re-done, Glee-ed up, versions of the songs, better than the original. It speaks to the music geek in me.
Griffin, in particular, has a fondness for Glee. Through Glee, he has learned (too) many Journey songs and can bust quite a move to Teenage Dream. A few weeks ago, I caught him singing along with the song Only Exception when it came on in Wegmans. (The cashier got quite a kick out of his knowing the words.) But my personal favorite is Defying Gravity.
Defying Gravity is a tremendous song. I love the original version from Wicked and I adore the Glee-ed up version too. I sing it alot around the house and I can rock it on Glee Karaoke. (Don't judge me.) I didn't know that Griffin cared for it as much as I did until I heard him singing up in his room.
"La La la Debuying Gabitty. Fly so high. Debuying Gabitty. You won't bring me down! Debuying Gabitty..."
"Griffin!" I call to him.
"What?" He yells back.
"What are you singing?"
"I am singing Debuying Gabitty Mom!" He says in a slightly annoyed, of course you should know the answer, voice.
Debuying Gabity! He makes me so proud.
Griffin, in particular, has a fondness for Glee. Through Glee, he has learned (too) many Journey songs and can bust quite a move to Teenage Dream. A few weeks ago, I caught him singing along with the song Only Exception when it came on in Wegmans. (The cashier got quite a kick out of his knowing the words.) But my personal favorite is Defying Gravity.
Defying Gravity is a tremendous song. I love the original version from Wicked and I adore the Glee-ed up version too. I sing it alot around the house and I can rock it on Glee Karaoke. (Don't judge me.) I didn't know that Griffin cared for it as much as I did until I heard him singing up in his room.
"La La la Debuying Gabitty. Fly so high. Debuying Gabitty. You won't bring me down! Debuying Gabitty..."
"Griffin!" I call to him.
"What?" He yells back.
"What are you singing?"
"I am singing Debuying Gabitty Mom!" He says in a slightly annoyed, of course you should know the answer, voice.
Debuying Gabity! He makes me so proud.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Winter Break 2011: Good Riddance
I have to be honest. I sort of hate winter break. It feels like the kids are just getting settled back into their school routine, when bam!, suddenly they are off from school for a week in the middle of winter.
And who doesn't want their children home with them for a week in subzero temps after a nice long winter? Blah. It's almost like a punishment to the parents.
As is our ritual, I work with two friends to cover each other's working days. It is our version of a child care co-op and it has worked fabulously for us over the last few years.
On Monday, I had my boys and two other children, our friends Ellie and Casey. After a morning of play around the house, we went to a very packed movie theatre to see Gnomeo and Juliet where we tested the free refill policy of the giant popcorn bucket. Free refills, hurray!
On Tuesday, my boys went to my friend Angela's house to play with her son David. They played a whole lot of Wii and went out to lunch at a local restaurant that features indoor games and hockey.
On Wednesday, my boys went to my friend Christine's house to play with their friends Ellie and Casey. They made homemade cotton candy, went out to lunch and built snow forts in their backyard.
On Thursday, the boys were home with Chris's parents, where they soaked up a day of playing in their pjs.
On Friday, I had my friend Angela's son David, with my boys. After a morning of Wii and air hockey, we went out to lunch and ice cream and spent the afternoon sledding in our backyard.
And now break is over. I think the boys are more tired after break started. I know I am, but we survived. I have a feeling that I am going to like Spring Break a whole lot better than winter break. The beach, the waves and giant margaritas - now that is a break I can get behind.
And who doesn't want their children home with them for a week in subzero temps after a nice long winter? Blah. It's almost like a punishment to the parents.
As is our ritual, I work with two friends to cover each other's working days. It is our version of a child care co-op and it has worked fabulously for us over the last few years.
On Monday, I had my boys and two other children, our friends Ellie and Casey. After a morning of play around the house, we went to a very packed movie theatre to see Gnomeo and Juliet where we tested the free refill policy of the giant popcorn bucket. Free refills, hurray!
On Tuesday, my boys went to my friend Angela's house to play with her son David. They played a whole lot of Wii and went out to lunch at a local restaurant that features indoor games and hockey.
On Wednesday, my boys went to my friend Christine's house to play with their friends Ellie and Casey. They made homemade cotton candy, went out to lunch and built snow forts in their backyard.
On Thursday, the boys were home with Chris's parents, where they soaked up a day of playing in their pjs.
On Friday, I had my friend Angela's son David, with my boys. After a morning of Wii and air hockey, we went out to lunch and ice cream and spent the afternoon sledding in our backyard.
And now break is over. I think the boys are more tired after break started. I know I am, but we survived. I have a feeling that I am going to like Spring Break a whole lot better than winter break. The beach, the waves and giant margaritas - now that is a break I can get behind.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Cake Boss
The boys are in love with the show Cake Boss on TLC. I love that it is a show that we can watch together and actually, have all of us find it interesting. On a recent Cake Boss airing, the boys saw that the next show was a cooking show hosted by Buddy of Cake Boss. They begged to watch it and I agreed.
Cake Boss ended and Kitchen Boss started up. After a few minutes of watching the cooking show, Aidan turned to me and said, "I'm confused. How did Buddy get from his bakery to the kitchen in his house so fast? We just saw him there!"
Ah, the wonders of television.
Cake Boss ended and Kitchen Boss started up. After a few minutes of watching the cooking show, Aidan turned to me and said, "I'm confused. How did Buddy get from his bakery to the kitchen in his house so fast? We just saw him there!"
Ah, the wonders of television.
Monday, February 21, 2011
A Family Kind of Weekend
We soaked up some family time this weekend. The boys did not have their normal Saturday basketball game because it was school break, so we took the opportunity to cheer on my cousin Nicole's basketball game for Nardin High School. We chatted with my aunts, my brother Travis and my sister in law Lynda, while we hooted and hollered for Nikki's starting basketball prowess. (She is fairly amazing.)
After basketball, we went out to lunch with Travis and Lynda. And then after eating more pizza than we should have, we decided to try the cupcake bar at the bakery down the street. The boys were entranced with the cake creations at this bakery. They oohed and ahhed so much that the owner stopped her cake project and came up front to talk to the boys about how she makes cakes. After impressing them with her gigantic gorilla cake topper (made out of rice krispies!), she then asked them if they had ever seen Star Wars.
Star Wars? It turns out the bakery owner was selected to compete on Food Network's cake battles to turn out a Star Wars themed cake. The boys were in love. The love only grew when they slid up to the cupcake bar to pick out their flavor cupcake, their type of frosting and their toppings. Even I admit to being a bit giddy as I watched the attendant frost my red velvet cupcake with from scratch cream cheese frosting. Yum.
On Sunday, we continued our family theme of a weekend and had my brothers, sisters in law and my mom over for a lasagna dinner. Travis hooked up his XBox Kinext and battles were fought over sports, bowling and well, maybe even a little bit of dancing. I am just sad we didn't have a chance to break out my Glee Karaoke. Next time.
It was a wonderful weekend enjoying quality time with the people who matter most. It's all about family. It always should be.
After basketball, we went out to lunch with Travis and Lynda. And then after eating more pizza than we should have, we decided to try the cupcake bar at the bakery down the street. The boys were entranced with the cake creations at this bakery. They oohed and ahhed so much that the owner stopped her cake project and came up front to talk to the boys about how she makes cakes. After impressing them with her gigantic gorilla cake topper (made out of rice krispies!), she then asked them if they had ever seen Star Wars.
Star Wars? It turns out the bakery owner was selected to compete on Food Network's cake battles to turn out a Star Wars themed cake. The boys were in love. The love only grew when they slid up to the cupcake bar to pick out their flavor cupcake, their type of frosting and their toppings. Even I admit to being a bit giddy as I watched the attendant frost my red velvet cupcake with from scratch cream cheese frosting. Yum.
On Sunday, we continued our family theme of a weekend and had my brothers, sisters in law and my mom over for a lasagna dinner. Travis hooked up his XBox Kinext and battles were fought over sports, bowling and well, maybe even a little bit of dancing. I am just sad we didn't have a chance to break out my Glee Karaoke. Next time.
It was a wonderful weekend enjoying quality time with the people who matter most. It's all about family. It always should be.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Griffin's Imaginary Monster
"Mom, you know what?" Griffin asks me before bed as I tuck him under the covers.
"What?" I ask, giving him a kiss on his forehead.
"I have a monster."
"You do?"
"Yes. He is really big and blue and he has antlers that come out of his head like this!" Griffin gestures to the top of his forehead while he simultaneously makes a scary face.
"Wow. Is he a good monster?"
"Yes. He is a nice monster. He is my friend!"
"That's good, then."
"Yes. But he does like to eat moose."
"Moose?"
"Yes. Moose. He eats them right up!" Griffin pauses, then cocks his head to the side and asks, "Are moose good or bad?"
"Um. well, I guess moose can be either good or bad."
"Oh. Well, my monster eats them good and bad. Just moose though."
"Good to know."
A furry blue moose eating monster. I have not one clue where this one came from. Not a clue.
"What?" I ask, giving him a kiss on his forehead.
"I have a monster."
"You do?"
"Yes. He is really big and blue and he has antlers that come out of his head like this!" Griffin gestures to the top of his forehead while he simultaneously makes a scary face.
"Wow. Is he a good monster?"
"Yes. He is a nice monster. He is my friend!"
"That's good, then."
"Yes. But he does like to eat moose."
"Moose?"
"Yes. Moose. He eats them right up!" Griffin pauses, then cocks his head to the side and asks, "Are moose good or bad?"
"Um. well, I guess moose can be either good or bad."
"Oh. Well, my monster eats them good and bad. Just moose though."
"Good to know."
A furry blue moose eating monster. I have not one clue where this one came from. Not a clue.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Ski Bums
While Chris was in Jackson Hole snow boarding his head off and hiking to peaks of mountains, the boys were learning to ski and snowboard in our little ski hill at KB. Given that I do not ski, (well, I can, but I sort of hate it) I was very proud of myself for getting all three kiddies and their ski/snowboard gear out of the house on time to make all three of their lessons.
I felt like Super Mom. And I only yelled once. Really!
The boys have grown tremendously this season. Aidan is now in the "mountain" group and spends his two hour lesson snowboarding runs with his instructor all over the place. Brennan is snowboarding his way through the bunny hill (only one lesson away from joining Aidan on the mountain.) And Griffin is learning to snowplow and turn.
Griffin is still unsure of the whole skiing thing. He does it because his brothers do it and his best buddy Ryan is there in the lesson with him, but he still gripes a bit about going each time. Aidan and Brennan seem to love it. Brennan tells me it is "exhausting," but he always seems happy to be on the hill. Aidan never wants to leave. He loves that he is now chair lifting and snowboarding all by himself. It is quite a sight to see.
As a mom, I love how worn out they all are by the time their lessons are complete. Anything that can get all three of them to agree that they are wiped out is a good investment.My mini ski bums and I survived Chris's guy snowboard trip without incident. As I mentioned last year, every year it gets easier. And for that, I have to thank my three sweet little guys who behaved admirably well in their father's absence and even shut my bedroom door on Saturday morning to let me sleep in as they built giant forts outside their bedrooms.
I think I will keep them.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Stealing a Day
I stole Saturday. I didn't plan it. We were all set to head out into the blustery, snowy winter day to go to the boys' basketball game and then maybe a stop off at the library to stock up on books. But as we got closer to the time we had to leave, the boys begged me to let them stay home and skip basketball just this once. I knew we probably should go, but sometimes the things you should do aren't necessarily the things you need to do.
We needed a pj day. A day at home to hibernate, to play games, watch movies, read books and make a giant cupcake. I loved our stolen day. I loved having the time with the boys, watching them build giant forts that covered the upstairs, staging gigantic lego battles and cracking eggs on the side of my mixing bowl to bake up some cake.
We are happiest when we take a break now and then from the rushing around, all the doing of the things we feel like we should do. Sometimes, we need to just be. A stolen day to just be, my boys and me in our pjs soaking up a day of nothing. There is nothing like ending a day changing out of one pair of pjs right into another. That is a day well spent.
We needed a pj day. A day at home to hibernate, to play games, watch movies, read books and make a giant cupcake. I loved our stolen day. I loved having the time with the boys, watching them build giant forts that covered the upstairs, staging gigantic lego battles and cracking eggs on the side of my mixing bowl to bake up some cake.
We are happiest when we take a break now and then from the rushing around, all the doing of the things we feel like we should do. Sometimes, we need to just be. A stolen day to just be, my boys and me in our pjs soaking up a day of nothing. There is nothing like ending a day changing out of one pair of pjs right into another. That is a day well spent.
Wednesday, February 09, 2011
Reading Reader
I was over the moon ecstatic when Aidan fell in love with books. He loves to read. He brings a book with him everywhere, from the car, the school bus, the kitchen table to his bedroom. Aidan devours books faster than we can keep them in stock. And there is nothing that makes a reading mom prouder than having a reader child.
Books are good. Reading is fantastic. How could it ever be a bad thing?
It started a few weeks ago with a few test grades that were below Aidan's normal grades. Aidan does well in school. He enjoys it and works hard and his grades reflect that fact. But the weekly test folder started to show a few Bs mixed in with his normal As, until finally last week he brought home his first C. The mistakes on the tests were not from a lack of comprehension, but rather it just seemed like Aidan was rushing through his work to get it done as quickly as possible. He even skipped a full page on one of his tests.
We set up a meeting with his teacher. His teacher confirmed that he did seem to be rushing through his work, trying to be one of the first students done in the class.
"Well, what does he get as a reward if he does finish his work quickly? What does he get to do with his free time?" I asked the teacher.
I think you know the answer. He gets to read.
It may have been the first parent/teacher conference that ended with the teacher agreeing to ban a child from reading during free time in class. I almost can't believe it myself. But then I remember, back in the day, how I used to sneak books into my textbooks to read during class in grade school. And well, it all made sense then.
Sunday, February 06, 2011
Winter Ice Cream
Ice cream still rocks in the winter. Especially when you are the only ones crazy enough to visit a Cold Stone on a day straight out of Antartica.
Wednesday, February 02, 2011
Save Me From Snow Days
We have had quite a few snow days this year. And while, of course, we are used to having a snow day here or there over the winter (we do live in Buffalo after all), it seems like we have had a few more than is normal. (And by normal, I mean normal to a Buffalo winter.)
I always start out the first snow day of the season embracing the free day at home with the kids. It will by idyllic! There will be hot cocoa with marshmallows, sledding and board games in our pjs! We will bake cookies and do crafts! I conveniently forget that nine times out of ten the snow day falls on a working day which means that I must juggle my lawyer persona with my mom persona. (It is a very rare day indeed that the dad must juggle his working persona with his dad persona. In my case, Chris usually greets the snow day with a cautious "So, what's your plan for the day?")
The meeting of the mom persona with the lawyer persona causes nothing but stress. Instead of basking in sledding runs while hot chocolate bubbles on the stove, I screech at my kids when they demand a snack and I am trying to get this one last important email sent to a client. Instead of board games in our pjs, I barter a movie with unlimited sugared candied snacks for the kiddies while I take a conference call in my pjs holed up in the laundry room. (Here's the thing about the laundry room. No one seems to ever look in there. It may mean they would have to, I don't know, do some laundry?)
My stress level rockets when I try to balance two almost impossible tasks: working and motherhood. I can't do either of them well when I try to do them in tandem. I short them both and end the day feeling like no one get the best parts of me.
Save me from the impossibility of juggling snow days. Or at least freedom from believing a woman really can do it all. Because if there is one thing you learn as a mother is that you can't do it all. You just can't. Something has to give. I guess that is why I made the emails wait this morning while I played Operation and Bop It. But, I have a conference call this afternoon that is bound to find the kids watching bad tv with a bag of marshmallows to split between them while I am hiding behind baskets of dirty laundry talking to a client. We do what we have to do. We do the best we can. Snow days and all.
I always start out the first snow day of the season embracing the free day at home with the kids. It will by idyllic! There will be hot cocoa with marshmallows, sledding and board games in our pjs! We will bake cookies and do crafts! I conveniently forget that nine times out of ten the snow day falls on a working day which means that I must juggle my lawyer persona with my mom persona. (It is a very rare day indeed that the dad must juggle his working persona with his dad persona. In my case, Chris usually greets the snow day with a cautious "So, what's your plan for the day?")
The meeting of the mom persona with the lawyer persona causes nothing but stress. Instead of basking in sledding runs while hot chocolate bubbles on the stove, I screech at my kids when they demand a snack and I am trying to get this one last important email sent to a client. Instead of board games in our pjs, I barter a movie with unlimited sugared candied snacks for the kiddies while I take a conference call in my pjs holed up in the laundry room. (Here's the thing about the laundry room. No one seems to ever look in there. It may mean they would have to, I don't know, do some laundry?)
My stress level rockets when I try to balance two almost impossible tasks: working and motherhood. I can't do either of them well when I try to do them in tandem. I short them both and end the day feeling like no one get the best parts of me.
Save me from the impossibility of juggling snow days. Or at least freedom from believing a woman really can do it all. Because if there is one thing you learn as a mother is that you can't do it all. You just can't. Something has to give. I guess that is why I made the emails wait this morning while I played Operation and Bop It. But, I have a conference call this afternoon that is bound to find the kids watching bad tv with a bag of marshmallows to split between them while I am hiding behind baskets of dirty laundry talking to a client. We do what we have to do. We do the best we can. Snow days and all.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Naptime
One of the things I miss most about my boys as babies is snuggling up with them at naptime. I loved gathering them close, cuddling up under a warm blanket and taking a nice mid-afternoon snooze. I am not a good sleeper, and even a worse napper, but somehow smelling my babies and holding them close, always made me relax enough that I could drift off to sleep.
I will often lay down in the couch in the afternoon to take a breather. Immediately upon my laying down, the boys will run to jump on me, to lay on top of me and to give me hugs. Chris will yell at them to leave me alone, to give me a break. But for some reason, I can't seem to drift off to naptime all alone in my bed in the quiet. I need those sweet boys of mine, cuddling, jumping and hugging, in order to grab a few minutes of naptime slumber.
I will often lay down in the couch in the afternoon to take a breather. Immediately upon my laying down, the boys will run to jump on me, to lay on top of me and to give me hugs. Chris will yell at them to leave me alone, to give me a break. But for some reason, I can't seem to drift off to naptime all alone in my bed in the quiet. I need those sweet boys of mine, cuddling, jumping and hugging, in order to grab a few minutes of naptime slumber.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Damage Control
You do your best to teach your children to be good people, but then you have to send them out into the world where other children get to have their say. And let's just say that some parents can impart some very interesting tidbits upon their kids. Tidbits that they then pass on to your kids.
And then you are left perfecting your best parental damage control.
There is a boy in Brennan's class that I am not too fond of. He is a bit on the wild side, tends to get into a lot of trouble and he makes alot of comments to Brennan that make me want to hit him upside the head.
Last week, he teased Brennan because Brennan admitted that he still had a blankey at home. (Given that I have a blankey at the ripe ol' age of 38, Brennan did not know he was stepping into a kindergarten minefield by admitting he had one.) Brennan came home upset and tearfully asked me if he had to get rid of his blanky soon because they were just for babies. When I assured him he did not, he clutched his blanket and smiled. I told Brennan just to ignore this little boy and if anything to feel sorry for him that he doesn't have a nice soft blanket to make him happy.
This week, the same little boy told Brennan that he hates "fat people." Brennan recounted the conversation for me at bedtime. My stomach clenched with anger, but I managed to keep a straight face when Brennan told me this boy told him that "all fat people are weird".
"And what did you say back Brennan?" I asked, trying hard to let him have his say without my jumping headfirst into my afterschool special lecture of accepting people of all sizes, colors and creeds.
"I told him he was wrong. I said fat people aren't weird. They are just like us. Just with bigger bellies!"
I breathed a big sense of relief. Sometimes, your kids can handle the damage control all on their own.
And then you are left perfecting your best parental damage control.
There is a boy in Brennan's class that I am not too fond of. He is a bit on the wild side, tends to get into a lot of trouble and he makes alot of comments to Brennan that make me want to hit him upside the head.
Last week, he teased Brennan because Brennan admitted that he still had a blankey at home. (Given that I have a blankey at the ripe ol' age of 38, Brennan did not know he was stepping into a kindergarten minefield by admitting he had one.) Brennan came home upset and tearfully asked me if he had to get rid of his blanky soon because they were just for babies. When I assured him he did not, he clutched his blanket and smiled. I told Brennan just to ignore this little boy and if anything to feel sorry for him that he doesn't have a nice soft blanket to make him happy.
This week, the same little boy told Brennan that he hates "fat people." Brennan recounted the conversation for me at bedtime. My stomach clenched with anger, but I managed to keep a straight face when Brennan told me this boy told him that "all fat people are weird".
"And what did you say back Brennan?" I asked, trying hard to let him have his say without my jumping headfirst into my afterschool special lecture of accepting people of all sizes, colors and creeds.
"I told him he was wrong. I said fat people aren't weird. They are just like us. Just with bigger bellies!"
I breathed a big sense of relief. Sometimes, your kids can handle the damage control all on their own.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Early On Set Memory Loss
It's been a busy week or so in our home. Chris had a crazy week at work and was often home well after the boys and I were asleep. We spent most of the week trying to catch up while we stuffed backpacks and made lunches in the morning rush. (In other words, we managed two to three sentences in between running here, there and everywhere.)
After barely seeing each other all week, it was almost surreal that I had to meet Chris in the driveway Friday night. He was on his way home from work and I was waiting for him to arrive home so I could rush off to my tennis league. I swear we should have slapped high five as we passed each other to designate our change of the parental guard.
We were all up way too early Saturday morning to take Aidan and Brennan to a swim meet. As I have mentioned swim meets are crazy, chaotic places. A pool, a gym, a cafeteria filled with kids, parents and coaches rushing to swim, rushing to line up to swim, and rushing to find a warm towel. On top of our trying to navigate each of the boys' swim events (six for Aidan and four for Brennan), we also were responsible for the morning shift at the concession stand. And we had our four year old in tow. (Griffin helped me at the concession stand by taste testing the pizza, the juice, the donuts and the push up lollipops. He's a giver that kid.)
Yes, it was a nice relaxing Saturday morning. Thanks for asking.
The boys did great at the meet. Brennan handled his first 50 yard events (freestyle, breast and backstroke) without a care or a worry. (Although when I told him how proud I was of his bravery, he did whisper to me that he had been a little bit nervous. Oh, I could eat him up with his cuteness.) Aidan was a rockstar swimmer. He won his heat for both breast stroke and freestyle, and took the top time out of all boys 8 and under for freestyle, besting his fastest time by over two seconds. He also did a few 50s and his first ever 100 free.
(Watching those poor young kids do the 100 free is tough. By the third lap, you want to take bets on which one is going to break first and hold onto the rope while screaming for someone to come fish them the hell out of the pool already.)
After our five hour stint at the swim meet, we headed home with our hostages Travis and Lynda, who the boys never wanted to go home. Ever. (While they were trying to leave our house, Brennan asked Travis for one last hug. When Travis went to give him a hug, Griffin and Brennan staged an ambush and grabbed onto each of his legs, refusing to let him leave. Oh, the love of a nephew. It's crazy love.)
On Sunday, the boys had their ski and snowboard lessons. And while many of our friends opted to skip the lesson this week due to the minus 12 below windchill, Chris just laughed at the weather and told the boys to suit up. In layers. Lots and lots of layers. (Frost bite? What frost bite?)
They returned home early Sunday afternoon exhausted. And so we all collapsed on the couch together as a family to watch a movie in comfy (and warm!) pjs under many a blanket.
It wasn't until the movie was over that I realized I had forgotten Brennan had been invited to a birthday party. A birthday party that we had RSVPed yes to attend. A birthday party that had ended all of an hour ago.
The same birthday party that was marked on my calendar and our home dry erase calendar. The same birthday party invitation that was up on the bulletin board in our kitchen.
Yep. That party.
It was fun to call the parents of the birthday girl and explain that I had, well, forgotten all about their party.
Early on set memory loss brought on by insane levels of busyness. It was bound to happen sooner or later.
After barely seeing each other all week, it was almost surreal that I had to meet Chris in the driveway Friday night. He was on his way home from work and I was waiting for him to arrive home so I could rush off to my tennis league. I swear we should have slapped high five as we passed each other to designate our change of the parental guard.
We were all up way too early Saturday morning to take Aidan and Brennan to a swim meet. As I have mentioned swim meets are crazy, chaotic places. A pool, a gym, a cafeteria filled with kids, parents and coaches rushing to swim, rushing to line up to swim, and rushing to find a warm towel. On top of our trying to navigate each of the boys' swim events (six for Aidan and four for Brennan), we also were responsible for the morning shift at the concession stand. And we had our four year old in tow. (Griffin helped me at the concession stand by taste testing the pizza, the juice, the donuts and the push up lollipops. He's a giver that kid.)
Yes, it was a nice relaxing Saturday morning. Thanks for asking.
The boys did great at the meet. Brennan handled his first 50 yard events (freestyle, breast and backstroke) without a care or a worry. (Although when I told him how proud I was of his bravery, he did whisper to me that he had been a little bit nervous. Oh, I could eat him up with his cuteness.) Aidan was a rockstar swimmer. He won his heat for both breast stroke and freestyle, and took the top time out of all boys 8 and under for freestyle, besting his fastest time by over two seconds. He also did a few 50s and his first ever 100 free.
(Watching those poor young kids do the 100 free is tough. By the third lap, you want to take bets on which one is going to break first and hold onto the rope while screaming for someone to come fish them the hell out of the pool already.)
After our five hour stint at the swim meet, we headed home with our hostages Travis and Lynda, who the boys never wanted to go home. Ever. (While they were trying to leave our house, Brennan asked Travis for one last hug. When Travis went to give him a hug, Griffin and Brennan staged an ambush and grabbed onto each of his legs, refusing to let him leave. Oh, the love of a nephew. It's crazy love.)
On Sunday, the boys had their ski and snowboard lessons. And while many of our friends opted to skip the lesson this week due to the minus 12 below windchill, Chris just laughed at the weather and told the boys to suit up. In layers. Lots and lots of layers. (Frost bite? What frost bite?)
They returned home early Sunday afternoon exhausted. And so we all collapsed on the couch together as a family to watch a movie in comfy (and warm!) pjs under many a blanket.
It wasn't until the movie was over that I realized I had forgotten Brennan had been invited to a birthday party. A birthday party that we had RSVPed yes to attend. A birthday party that had ended all of an hour ago.
The same birthday party that was marked on my calendar and our home dry erase calendar. The same birthday party invitation that was up on the bulletin board in our kitchen.
Yep. That party.
It was fun to call the parents of the birthday girl and explain that I had, well, forgotten all about their party.
Early on set memory loss brought on by insane levels of busyness. It was bound to happen sooner or later.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
January Schmanuary
January is one of my least favorite months. It is such a let down after the wonder of the Christmas season to wake up to a month of cold, snow and well, winter. Don't get me wrong, I do love the snow (otherwise why would I live in Buffalo of all places?), but when you look at a calendar of months promising nothing but hibernation (with three very energetic children!), it begins to wear on you.
January, you wear me down.
January is also a month of reflection, of where you are and where you want to go. There is no wrapping or cookie baking or holiday decorating to hide behind. In the starkness of winter, there is nothing but reality to contemplate. And so reality it is.
I hope for some exciting changes in my life this new year. I am working to make it happen. I am also working hard to continue to inspire myself to make it happen. But while most people seem to feel energized to work for change in the new year of January, I just want to curl up in a ball, hide under a soft blanket and read a good romance novel.
Damn you January. I think February will be better.
January, you wear me down.
January is also a month of reflection, of where you are and where you want to go. There is no wrapping or cookie baking or holiday decorating to hide behind. In the starkness of winter, there is nothing but reality to contemplate. And so reality it is.
I hope for some exciting changes in my life this new year. I am working to make it happen. I am also working hard to continue to inspire myself to make it happen. But while most people seem to feel energized to work for change in the new year of January, I just want to curl up in a ball, hide under a soft blanket and read a good romance novel.
Damn you January. I think February will be better.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Marching to His Own Drummer
Brennan tends to live in his own world. From his constant joyful demeanor and endless stream of giggling, it looks like a fairly nice world.
But sometimes, you have to shake your head. Last night I am getting the boys to bed. (Which, now that they can dress themselves, basically involves me yelling out "brush your teeth!" "wash your face!" "get dressed" about a million and one times while they run around the upstairs buck naked trying to hit each other on the butt. I always imagine our neighbors watching us in our giant front window, shaking their heads and just wondering about what goes on in our house behind closed doors. Hell, I'd be wondering if I saw our antics on a replay.)
Brennan starts to get undressed into his pjs, when he stops and starts laughing hysterically.
"Look at me! I have three pairs of underwear on!" He hollers.
We all look. And yes indeed, Brennan somehow got dressed for school in the morning and layered himself into three pairs of underwear.
Brennan isn't quite sure how he did it, but it was definitely an excuse for a nice long dance jumping around in his three pairs of underwear. And then yet another dance in his birthday suit. 'Cause that is just the way Brennan rolls.
And we wouldn't have it any other way.
But sometimes, you have to shake your head. Last night I am getting the boys to bed. (Which, now that they can dress themselves, basically involves me yelling out "brush your teeth!" "wash your face!" "get dressed" about a million and one times while they run around the upstairs buck naked trying to hit each other on the butt. I always imagine our neighbors watching us in our giant front window, shaking their heads and just wondering about what goes on in our house behind closed doors. Hell, I'd be wondering if I saw our antics on a replay.)
Brennan starts to get undressed into his pjs, when he stops and starts laughing hysterically.
"Look at me! I have three pairs of underwear on!" He hollers.
We all look. And yes indeed, Brennan somehow got dressed for school in the morning and layered himself into three pairs of underwear.
Brennan isn't quite sure how he did it, but it was definitely an excuse for a nice long dance jumping around in his three pairs of underwear. And then yet another dance in his birthday suit. 'Cause that is just the way Brennan rolls.
And we wouldn't have it any other way.
Wednesday, January 05, 2011
School Break!
I think one of the things I miss most about being a student is vacation. School holiday breaks are amazing things, aren't they?
The boys loved break. What's not to love? Endless days of playing, relaxing, watching movies? It's all good.
Over the holiday break, I took the boys to my Firm's box at HSBC Arena for the International Junior Hockey Championships. (I have to keep explaining to them that the whole attending a hockey game in a box is not true reality. I think they barely heard me over the unlimited popcorn, chips, drinks and french fries.)
We played a whole lot of Wii. And while I was partial to Just Dance and Glee Karaoke (love!), even the boys took a break from conquering the world in Nerf Gun Elite to Just Dance their sweet little heads off. (They are dancing to Just Like an Egyptian in the pic below. I had tears in my eyes from laughing so hard at their antics. I should have taken video.)
He busted out the castle and after four hours (FOUR HOURS!) of building and painstakingly following each and every direction, he built that castle. All. By. Himself. It was quite a feat.
The boys loved break. What's not to love? Endless days of playing, relaxing, watching movies? It's all good.
Over the holiday break, I took the boys to my Firm's box at HSBC Arena for the International Junior Hockey Championships. (I have to keep explaining to them that the whole attending a hockey game in a box is not true reality. I think they barely heard me over the unlimited popcorn, chips, drinks and french fries.)
We played a whole lot of Wii. And while I was partial to Just Dance and Glee Karaoke (love!), even the boys took a break from conquering the world in Nerf Gun Elite to Just Dance their sweet little heads off. (They are dancing to Just Like an Egyptian in the pic below. I had tears in my eyes from laughing so hard at their antics. I should have taken video.)
We went sledding on "our" sledding hill in Whoville. It is the perfect hill, steep enough for a good ride, but little enough that the boys can hoof it back up, again, again, and well, again. Our toes and noses were frozen, but after they had all the sledding they can handle, we escaped home for hot chocolate with a whole lot of marshmallows. (And maybe just a bit of Mint Bailey's for Mommy.)
And, of course, the boys played a whole lot of legos. Santa brought much legos to our house this year, and the boys got to a-building. Aidan was thrilled with his haul of both the Harry Potter Hogwart's castle and the Harry Potter train.
He busted out the castle and after four hours (FOUR HOURS!) of building and painstakingly following each and every direction, he built that castle. All. By. Himself. It was quite a feat.
At the end of the break, I think we spent most of our time lounging at home, playing games, watching movies and living in our pajamas. There were many days of us basically changing from one set of pjs to another at bedtime. I couldn't have asked for anything more.
Even Chewy loved break. Three little boys, at home, loving him up all the live long day. It's good to be the pup!
Sunday, January 02, 2011
Hello 2011
We celebrated New Years Eve at a friends' house at a kid friendly party. (A kid friendly party with cosmos and chicken wing dip. Game on.)
We had been at the party for all of ten minutes before my crazy ruffian of children started to wrestle. And during said wrestling match, Griffin ran into the fray with a plastic horn in his mouth. The plastic horn got shoved into the top of his mouth and made a nice giant sized hole.
Oh the blood. There was a whole lot of blood.
Unfortunately, Chris had just left with our host Tony to grab our pizza. That left me with our other host, our sweet friend Justine, to deal with all the blood and all the screaming.
My screaming. Not Griffin's.
Yes. I did not deal with the giant hole, oh so much blood, situation too well. Instead of dealing with the blood or comforting Griffin, I clutched Griffin to me and started to scream at my other two children for roughhousing. As this was a side of me that had never been exposed to our host, let's just hope we get invited back to their house. Odds may not be good.
We got the blood cleaned up and thankfully, shortly thereafter, our dear friends PJ and Danielle arrived. Dr. PJ checked out Griffin's mouth, conferred with a fellow medical friend via phone, and told me Griffin would, indeed, live to see another day. (And eat solid food.) Our hosts promptly made me a very big cosmo and kept it very full for the rest of the evening.
Happy New Year to me.
Griffin has loved having a giant hole in his mouth and has regaled anyone and everyone with the story. Good times.
Otherwise, the evening was lovely. We told the kiddies that ten pm was actually midnight. (Liar, liar, pants on fire.) And after a throwdown of a pillow fight, did a huge ball drop to celebrate.
After my hoarder kids had shoved half the balloons into the car for home, we were home and in bed by 10:45. That's my kind of night out. (Yes, I am not as much fun as I like to think I am.)
We spent New Year's Day in our pjs. It was a day of reading, watching movies, playing games and well, nothing. A whole lot of nothing. It was a perfect beginning to the new year.
We had been at the party for all of ten minutes before my crazy ruffian of children started to wrestle. And during said wrestling match, Griffin ran into the fray with a plastic horn in his mouth. The plastic horn got shoved into the top of his mouth and made a nice giant sized hole.
Oh the blood. There was a whole lot of blood.
Unfortunately, Chris had just left with our host Tony to grab our pizza. That left me with our other host, our sweet friend Justine, to deal with all the blood and all the screaming.
My screaming. Not Griffin's.
Yes. I did not deal with the giant hole, oh so much blood, situation too well. Instead of dealing with the blood or comforting Griffin, I clutched Griffin to me and started to scream at my other two children for roughhousing. As this was a side of me that had never been exposed to our host, let's just hope we get invited back to their house. Odds may not be good.
We got the blood cleaned up and thankfully, shortly thereafter, our dear friends PJ and Danielle arrived. Dr. PJ checked out Griffin's mouth, conferred with a fellow medical friend via phone, and told me Griffin would, indeed, live to see another day. (And eat solid food.) Our hosts promptly made me a very big cosmo and kept it very full for the rest of the evening.
Happy New Year to me.
Griffin has loved having a giant hole in his mouth and has regaled anyone and everyone with the story. Good times.
Otherwise, the evening was lovely. We told the kiddies that ten pm was actually midnight. (Liar, liar, pants on fire.) And after a throwdown of a pillow fight, did a huge ball drop to celebrate.
After my hoarder kids had shoved half the balloons into the car for home, we were home and in bed by 10:45. That's my kind of night out. (Yes, I am not as much fun as I like to think I am.)
We spent New Year's Day in our pjs. It was a day of reading, watching movies, playing games and well, nothing. A whole lot of nothing. It was a perfect beginning to the new year.
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