Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Two. Oh Boy!!

I don't know how its possible that you are two already. As your birthday approached I kept having to remind myself that you are actually turning two and not one. It seems that you stayed a baby for a much shorter time than your sister. When she was born, I was concerned with every detail. hoping I was doing it all "right." When you came along I wished I could have been a second time mom, first time round. With you I was at ease. Even in the most hectic moments, I already knew I could do something that resembled a good job, and you would come out okay.

The day you were born two years ago was a Saturday and it wasn't easy getting you out. It was long and exhausting. When your sister was born I was fascinated that an experience so painful could be followed immediately with such joy. It was the best day of my life and I was excited to have that same experience with you. But you weren't quite as ready and so by the time I held you, we were both so tired. I knew I loved you right away, but to be honest with you, I just wasn't sure who you were then and so it took time for my feelings to grow deeper. I hadn't been away from your sister that much until then and I was overwhelmed wondering how I would have enough love for both of you. 

My boy, it didn't take long for me to fall hard for you. My heart just expanded and seemed to open a reservoir I didn't know I had. Things were hectic at times and I certainly didn't get to sit and stare at you the way I did first time around, but you didn't mind.  You had your sister to follow around and she made you shriek happy screams. You made such a wonderful addition to our family. Seeing your daddy play with you warms me every time. I am sentimental about this milestone and tears have come to my eyes a few times today already. 

Mother's often get sad on the happiest days for their children. I know the reason is because we feel our babies are getting further and further from being our babies. Change isn't easy for everyone and just as one thing settles another seems to shift. I am making an active decision to celebrate today. First off, I am so much more comfortable now than on the day you were born, so that's cause for a party right there.

Mainly I just want to celebrate you though. You amaze me, as I watch you speak new words everyday. I love how everything is an adventure for you since it's all so new. We could take a walk up a path and you will stop and notice bugs, lizard, rocks, and sticks and that small path makes you so happy. When you get in the car I need to leave a few extra minutes so that you can go "beep beep" which really means just sitting in behind the wheel and pretending to drive. You love cars, trains, trucks, anything with wheels. Your laugh is grand and infectious. I absolutely love the time I have to spend with you and am so grateful to be able to treasure it.

So on this day, as the sound of your feet grow louder and your steps faster, I want to celebrate what is ahead. It's only getting better and better. Sure, I lose my little baby but I gain a little boy.  A small person who, when you hold my hand, makes me melt a little each time. So as your journey continues, please know that I will forever be yours. I love you. Here we go, "Beep, beep!"








Friday, May 9, 2014

Teacher Appreciation Week



This school year is so quickly coming to an end that somehow I lost track of time and a week slipped by. I had signed up to do yard duty, a responsibility that includes wearing an orange vest and standing in the Kinder yard making sure the wee ones don't escape before school. I had it written in my calendar but somehow thought it was the following week. There were no five year old escapees reported so I think it's ok, but it made me stop and take a closer look at my calendar. 

Sure enough I was one week behind schedule for a few things. I thought teacher appreciation week ways a week later but it was rapidly approaching. What is teacher appreciation week, you might be asking. Well so was I. I am a room parent in my daughter's Kindergarden class. We are only rookie moms in this room, so we've all spent this year learning the system. It's May and I am just now starting to get it. The classroom next to us has room parents that have older kids in the school and so they make being a room parent look like a piece of cake. 

Teacher appreciation week is when you go above and beyond to thank your child's teacher for what they've done throughout the year. I saw the email that went out for the other room, and the plans they had for gifts. I quickly had to channel my inner Martha Stewart. We were "supposed" to (which really means you better or you will look really lame compared to other rooms) give the teacher a gift each day of the week. When I saw the corny play on words and expensive gift cards tucked in sweet little envelopes, I had to conjure up a unique plan.

I went on pintrist and nearly puked at the elaborate projects that moms somewhere in this country seem to have enough time to think up. I'll spare the details as you can simply check it out if you are so inclined. I did steal a few nice, simple ideas though. Each child will pick flowers from their garden and we will present their teacher with a very large vase. I love to bake so I will put something sweet together and throw it into a Mason jar and voila: crafty. I will also orchestrate the grand finale of the week and present her with a bowl of apples with a contruction paper leaf attached to each one. The kids are working on writing sentences about how special their teacher has been to them this year. We gave her a gift card too, so if she doesn't want sweets or apples with toothpicks stuck inside, she can at least go shopping at Bloomingdales.



Don't get me wrong, I am thrilled with how this year has gone. My daughter couldn't be happier at school and we all love her teacher very much. I am grateful for how well she led the children to love reading, writing and math and introduced learning in such a positive light. The daily activities and creative projects put my apple bowl to shame. Teachers work hard!  But teachers get paid and have a set amount of hours they have to be with our kids. After that it's all me. So how come Mother's day is only one day, once a year? Just saying!



Friday, May 2, 2014

Loose Tooth

Back in November, I wrote about taking Twig to the dentist, seeing her permanent teeth in the X-ray and wondering what her face will look like when they grow in. The dentist told her, based on how far up they were, that she would probably have to wait a year or two before her baby teeth started to fall out. She was disappointed to hear this news since many of the children in her class have already begun to lose their baby teeth. At school they have a song, a sticker and even a cool necklace that they get when a pearly white falls out during the school day.

Since that day, the subject of whether or not the tooth fairy is real keeps coming up. We carefully ask her what she thinks... sadly she says she thinks the tooth fairy is us, her parents.  I don't say yay or nay on that one. From time to time she shows me that she has a unwiggly tooth and I'll entertain the idea and say "maybe", but it was never really wiggly...  until this week. She was sitting on the rug and again wanted to show me her tooth. My husband went to check thinking it would be pretty firmly in it's spot and found it to actually be lose! The dentist was wrong!  I couldn't believe it, since I wasn't ready for this milestone to be anywhere near 5 years old.

Recently at a birthday party, a mother who helps out in the classroom came up to me to tell me about Twig. She said she was sitting next to her one day and said she wanted to know the truth about the tooth fairy. She asked if she was real or just your parents. This mom didn't reply with my standard "well, what do you think?" Instead she told her that the tooth fairy was in fact very real. She went for the magic all the way. In wanting to be genuine and honest with my daughter I felt like it would have been a lie if I said it, yet I so appreciated this mom for her answer.  She gave Twig hope that there was a chance it could be real, when she apparently had some serious doubts. 

I don't think there's any serious iharm in some healthy confusion over the matter. A doubting Thomas is a very key part of religion. I think defining your own opinion is a skill every person needs to hone. So here our fantasy tooth fairy journey begins. I will have her write a note to leave under her pillow with her tooth. In the meantime I׳m trying to get the tooth fairy to tell me what her going rate it is. While we׳re all waiting, I'm fielding questions like "Will I wake up when she is here"?  I reply with assurance that the tooth fairy will only come when she is fast asleep. Let's hope for all our sakes that at least that part rings true.