Thanks I Needed That

I had a very sad week. And I didn’t see it coming either.

At one particularly sad moment Trent appears with a pair of those kiddie sunglasses. You know the ones, made of bright dayglo plastic. The frames of these were made to look like flower petals. They must have been an old pair of Allison’s dug out of our bottomless dress up box.

He comes up and says, “Mom, don’t be sad. Look! I have sunglasses!”

I love how such simple things are the answer to the worries of little ones sometimes.

“Here Mom, try them on.” He puts them on my face over my eyes, but they are clearly way too small, and sit precariously on my nose and barely reach my ears.

“Mom! Look! You look beautiful!” he says with excitement. I nod and take them off.

“You try,” I say and place them on his little face. He turns and looks at me with the biggest grin.

“Mom! Look! I look beautiful, too!” he says. “Yes, you do,” I say.

As he turns to leave, he looks back and says, “Actually Mom, you look beautiful, but I look COOL!” and runs away.

How did he know I needed that?

Double Whammy

Today is Father’s Day. And as if that were not reason enough to celebrate, it is also Brett’s birthday. AND he is 40!

He has done a little moaning about the fact that he is getting “cheated” and I am getting off easy since they both fall on the same day, but I know him and he really is just teasing me. While Brett does not agree with me, I think it is extremely fortunate that we are celebrating both on the same day.

There are lots of great guys out there, I know. I just feel so lucky to have him. I mean really, really lucky. So celebrating the fact that God graced the Earth with this wonderful man 40 years ago today, and the fact that he is an awesome Dad all at the same time makes this a super special day.

So in honor of all that he is to us, Allison, Trent and I came up with a list of 40 things that make him special to us. (See if you can figure out which are from the kids and which are from me.)

We have a fun day of treats planned for him and he deserves it!

1. He makes yummy food.

2. We like to play fight with him.

3. He is patient.

4. He is good at reading stories.

5. He makes us laugh.

6. He can fix almost anything.

7. He is the best cleaner in the house.

8. He is really smart.

9. He is extremely passionate about animals.

10. He takes out the trash.

11. He has the most wonderful little flecks of gray coming into his hair.

12. He can be amazingly calm on the outside in the most stressful situation even if he is not feeling that way on the inside.

13. He gives good hugs.

14. He is fun when he tucks us in.

15. He calls us on the phone when he is not here.

16. He pets the kitty.

17. He puts on music and dances with us.

18. He is always interested to see what I bought when I go shopping and never complains about how much I spent.

19. He brings us lunch at school.

20. He does laundry when he is working at home.

21. He always has dinner ready when we get home from school.

22. He is handsome.

23. He doesn’t get too mad when we tickle him.

24. He likes to be silly with us.

25. He washes and cleans out the car for date night.

26. He brings home People Magazine for me to read when we go on trips.

27. He fills the tank up with gas because he knows how much I hate to do it.

28. He is extremely honest.

29. He dresses nice when we go out to dinner.

30. He takes us to cool places.

31. He’s a good golfer.

32. He appreciates fine dining.

33. He plays fun games with us.

34. He helps with math homework.

35. He makes the best parmesan chicken.

36. He is a good listener.

37. He makes funny drawings.

38. He smells good.

39. He works hard.

40. We love the way he loves us.

Gotta Love the Hugs

Trent had me up at four again this morning. For hugs. How can you argue with that? Not sure what’s going on there. Is he feeling insecure? Nightmares? I need sleep!

Then this afternoon he comes out of nowhere and throws his arms around my neck with the biggest hug. I say, “That was nice. Thank you!” I love his hugs. They are so sweet.

He says, “I had to hug you, Mom. So you wouldn’t be a loser.”

Okaaaaayyy.

Apparently he thinks I need the hugs more than he does? Thank goodness I have him, because I didn’t realize I was in danger of being a LOSER. ;0)

Speechless

I can’t believe I have been chosen as a finalist in the B4B contest! I don’t know what to say…..except YAY!

Hi, my name is Kim. I am a blogoholic.

Okay. Trent has been up a lot in the middle of the night this week. I don’t know if it is the change in the schedule from school to summer or what. But last night he came to get me at 4 a.m. so I could… Fix. His. Covers. Hello? You need me for what? Of course the light bulb in the night light had burned out, which did not help matters. So by the time I fished out a new bulb I was wide awake. Not a happy place to be at 4 a.m.

Now this would not have been that big of a deal if I had gone to bed at my normal 10:30 or 11:00 time, EXCEPT that I had been up on the computer until almost one, so I had not been asleep that long. The reason that I was up so late you might ask? Um…..well….blogging. *wince*

Not just writing a post, mind you, because I haven’t done a lot of that lately. But reading. Reading a LOT of other blogs.

And here’s the scary part. When I was up at 4 a.m. and I immediately started to think how this would make a good post, I realized this: Maybe I have a problem.

Now let me preface the rest of this post with this: My husband loves me. I really believe he does. He is an amazing man. He cooks. He cleans. He is a super dad. But he really thinks I have LOST MY MIND. And this is okay, I guess, since I think I may have also.

But he commented last night, “Honey, I can’t believe how much time you have spent on the computer tonight. And last night.”

“Hmmm? It hasn’t been that long! Where are the kids? Wait, just let me finish reading this…….” THAT was my reaction.

I have a problem.

It all started this week with this. Which led me to this really neat blogging contest. Which is what the post before this one, called Magic, was all about. Which led me here, which led me here and then here. Yikes! Before I knew it I had found what seemed like some really cool people who think a lot like I do. I mean sometimes it seems like they could be writing MY words. And so I HAVE to comment on them. Or they don’t think like me at all and I have gained a new perspective from them. Either way, I think I love it.

I am actually SAD when I go to a site and there is no new post!

It is addictive, this blogging thing. I started it as an attempt at trying something new that looked like fun. But I guess people get hooked on drugs the same way. I have always heard about people who are hooked on the internet. I NEVER thought I would be one. So I guess the good news is I have admitted the problem…so I am on the road to recovery.

Maybe I should start setting a timer?

Maybe. Right after I check out this!

Magic

Someone once said that a teacher’s favorite months are June, July and August. I won’t lie, they are certainly a welcome respite for a first grade teacher after a school year filled with all the hard work that goes into trying to make learning fun and meaningful for six year olds.

As much as I love what I do, I was relishing the thought of having time just for myself and for my family within reach, which is a very rare occurrence between the months of September and May. Like the duties of a mother, a teacher’s job is never done, even once June rolls around. And as I tried to clean up the classroom I know as my second home, I wondered how I would ever finish all the items on the checklist buried somewhere beneath the plan book, number two pencils, and faculty meeting minutes littering my desk.

As if the mere list were not enough, I also had the added obstacle of two young children bright with the excitement of a summer full of possibilities who had absolutely no interest or desire to spend any more time at school when the sun’s warm rays beckoned them to be outdoors. Unfortunately they have been born to a workaholic teacher for a mom who lives by the “work before play” philosophy. A veritable curse to say the least.

Being four and ten, they are too young to stay home alone and had come to school with me to “help.” Although I can usually count on my ten year old to lend a truly helpful hand, I know from experience that “help” from the four year old is sometimes actually exactly the opposite of that. I was already making a little mental list of things for him to “help” me with.

However, as quickly as I was packing away the pattern blocks and construction paper, they were equally as quickly being unpacked by the four year old as entertainment for the only children left in this room. I sighed as I realized this was a losing battle and set about accomplishing what I could. Pattern blocks and paper alone don’t hold a summertime child’s attention very long though and soon the sound of a normal brother and sister’s bickering began.

Allison being ten and Trent, four, there are the usual complaints. Allison complains that Trent is into her stuff. Trent complains that Allison won’t share. Then they both complain that they are bored. It is not often that they play together, usually if forced, or if a third party is involved, though I ply them with requests to enjoy each other almost daily. I decided that I was not the entertainment director for the day and they would have to figure it out for themselves.

A little while passed and suddenly it was quiet. Eerily quiet. I looked up from the student files I was sorting to see the two of them huddled on the floor. Together. Between them was the rather large box of Legos that I keep for rainy day free time. Bright pieces of colorful plastic squares and rectangles were strewn on the floor around them as tiny masterpieces were forming before my eyes. Little fingers joined with bigger ones to create, imagine, cooperate….it was magical.

I have never been able to appreciate Legos the way that my students do. For children who learn best by using manipulatives they are a charm. But that day as I watched a box of little bricks build a relationship between the world of my big kid and the world of my little kid, I knew I would never see those blocks the same way again.

The magic of the Legos had afforded me the luxury of a little peace, but the joy of seeing my children doing something together….that was the best trick I had ever seen.