It was nearing bedtime a couple of nights ago when Babe and I were sitting together on the couch watching...probably "House Hunters" by that time, when our son's laugh kicked into high gear. If you've ever been lucky enough to get Nas to really laugh, or just been close enough to hear it, you know that that little boy's laughter is truly contagious.
Even as a baby he would sit in his high chair while Jay fed him and she could get that chubby little toddler laughing so much he'd have to catch his breath. When you have two kids, a husband, laundry, dishes, meals to plan and then prepare, bills that just don't stop coming, and a gas tank that demands filling more often than you like, you know that hearing your kids laugh - especially when it's just them - makes it all so very worth it.
That's how I felt that night. Some days are longer than others and that had been one of them, but Nas' laugh out loud moments really do make me smile, then laugh, and suddenly I notice a warm fuzzy feeling has hugged my heart in a way that makes me forget how crazy life can be.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Monday, June 6, 2011
Preschool Matters
Recently a parent asked Babe how he, as a father, could help ensure his son's success in school. The little boy is all of two years old, but because he knows our kids, Jay and Nas, are doing well in school so far (praise God) he probably figured
we might have a tip or two. When Babe presented the question to me my mind went into overdrive, because even when the kids were very young I took suggestions from magazines and parents of older kids to heart. So I had plenty of thoughts on the issue.
For our kids, preschool was the biggest piece of the puzzle in ensuring academic success. Jay went to daycare/preschool when both Babe and I worked full-time and she loved it! She was such a social butterfly, keeping her home with me all of her preschool years would have been hard on her. Preschool was an early lesson in how to behave in such a setting while she was able to play with other kids and interact with adults besides her family. It was especially important in her development because she truly was a sponge and soaked up everything her teachers offered her.
Nas was not my social child. He would've been content to be home with Mommy all of his preschool days. Registering him for preschool was about the social aspect in reverse: getting him outside of his comfort zone. I consider myself "socially retarded" in many ways, and being so much like me, Nas struggled with the same issue early on. In preschool Nas was able to push through his shyness so that he could 'make room' for academia. His naturally shy personality was kind of a roadblock to learning for him and I needed him to eliminate that before kindergarten or school would be very difficult for him.
Clearly, for my family, the social benefit of preschool was evident. But by the time kindergarten started they knew at least the first semester of the curriculum because of preschool. They had a leg up academically, and that is just what I hoped preschool would give them. I also knew that school would've been harder for Nas had he not gone to preschool because of the social roadblock. If you're too nervous or uncomfortable in school to learn, you'll miss learning opportunities until you do feel comfortable. Who knows when that would've happened for Nas, but because he had a leg up, he had time to get to know his teacher and a kid or two without missing out on the learning.
Other benefits of quality preschool include reducing separation anxiety when entering kindergarten and increased self-confidence and self-management - all learned during the time spent in preschool.
Babe and I take our children's education very seriously, so preschool just seemed the natural way to help them build a strong foundation for the years to come. Whenever I am asked about the importance of preschool I become a spokesperson of sorts - every child deserves the best possible chance at academic success, whatever that may mean for each individual child. For us, preschool was just the vehicle we hoped it would be.
we might have a tip or two. When Babe presented the question to me my mind went into overdrive, because even when the kids were very young I took suggestions from magazines and parents of older kids to heart. So I had plenty of thoughts on the issue.
For our kids, preschool was the biggest piece of the puzzle in ensuring academic success. Jay went to daycare/preschool when both Babe and I worked full-time and she loved it! She was such a social butterfly, keeping her home with me all of her preschool years would have been hard on her. Preschool was an early lesson in how to behave in such a setting while she was able to play with other kids and interact with adults besides her family. It was especially important in her development because she truly was a sponge and soaked up everything her teachers offered her.
Nas was not my social child. He would've been content to be home with Mommy all of his preschool days. Registering him for preschool was about the social aspect in reverse: getting him outside of his comfort zone. I consider myself "socially retarded" in many ways, and being so much like me, Nas struggled with the same issue early on. In preschool Nas was able to push through his shyness so that he could 'make room' for academia. His naturally shy personality was kind of a roadblock to learning for him and I needed him to eliminate that before kindergarten or school would be very difficult for him.
Clearly, for my family, the social benefit of preschool was evident. But by the time kindergarten started they knew at least the first semester of the curriculum because of preschool. They had a leg up academically, and that is just what I hoped preschool would give them. I also knew that school would've been harder for Nas had he not gone to preschool because of the social roadblock. If you're too nervous or uncomfortable in school to learn, you'll miss learning opportunities until you do feel comfortable. Who knows when that would've happened for Nas, but because he had a leg up, he had time to get to know his teacher and a kid or two without missing out on the learning.
Other benefits of quality preschool include reducing separation anxiety when entering kindergarten and increased self-confidence and self-management - all learned during the time spent in preschool.
Babe and I take our children's education very seriously, so preschool just seemed the natural way to help them build a strong foundation for the years to come. Whenever I am asked about the importance of preschool I become a spokesperson of sorts - every child deserves the best possible chance at academic success, whatever that may mean for each individual child. For us, preschool was just the vehicle we hoped it would be.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Wet sheets
Last night, the night before, and the night before that Nas woke up in a huge wet spot of pee. A lot of times I get a bit irritated with the pee situation, but say nothing. Yesterday's episode put me over the edge, not because I was angry at Nas, but because I'm so tired of buying disposable underpants for nightly use only to wash his sheets the next day because he LEAKED through the underpants! If I'm going to wash the sheets anyway, why bother with the underpants?!
Much like spilled milk, there's no good reason to get all up in arms about peed on sheets, but this really has gotten out of hand. Today, when I found myself having to wash BOTH sets of his soiled sheets, otherwise he'll sleep on a bare mattress tonight (not really), I just wanted to say to heck with it all, no more drinking for my son! Because, you know, that's logical and safe. To top it all off, Nas has always been a thirsty child. So to stop him from drinking at, say, 6 o'clock as his father has suggested, seems a bit cruel but a lot less irritating for us all. Needless to say, we're going to give it a shot starting tonight. No drinking after dinner.
Jay never had this problem. Never. She was potty trained at age 2 and never looked back, not even at nighttime did she have an accident! But we're all different, and I get that, but I think her ability to get through the night dry at such an early age leaves me even more baffled when it comes to my 6 1/2 year old son who struggles most nights to keep from LEAKING out of his 'pull-up'!!
If this doesn't work I'm headed to the health food store to see if there may be a supplement that could help, then I'm calling our family doctor. I know he'll grow out of this phase, but if we can get a little help along the way, I'm ALL for it.
Much like spilled milk, there's no good reason to get all up in arms about peed on sheets, but this really has gotten out of hand. Today, when I found myself having to wash BOTH sets of his soiled sheets, otherwise he'll sleep on a bare mattress tonight (not really), I just wanted to say to heck with it all, no more drinking for my son! Because, you know, that's logical and safe. To top it all off, Nas has always been a thirsty child. So to stop him from drinking at, say, 6 o'clock as his father has suggested, seems a bit cruel but a lot less irritating for us all. Needless to say, we're going to give it a shot starting tonight. No drinking after dinner.
Jay never had this problem. Never. She was potty trained at age 2 and never looked back, not even at nighttime did she have an accident! But we're all different, and I get that, but I think her ability to get through the night dry at such an early age leaves me even more baffled when it comes to my 6 1/2 year old son who struggles most nights to keep from LEAKING out of his 'pull-up'!!
If this doesn't work I'm headed to the health food store to see if there may be a supplement that could help, then I'm calling our family doctor. I know he'll grow out of this phase, but if we can get a little help along the way, I'm ALL for it.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Dear Diary
Did you write in a journal or diary when you were growing up? Maybe you still journal? I wasn't a big talker as a child, so writing became my best friend. Back then I wrote poetry and short stories. Later I learned I could keep my thoughts in one safe place, also known as a diary. From that point forward I have always kept a diary or journal and when I flip through the pages of the one I kept in college or the one from my early married days - I'm really glad I saw the value, for me, in "journaling".
Recently I came across Jay's diary in one of her clothing drawers. My first instinct was to flip that baby open and find a comfy spot to read all-things-Jay. Then I remembered how I felt when I found out my mom read MY diary - betrayed by my own thoughts but more so, a real invasion on my mom's part! Especially because she knew I was a good kid, it wasn't as though she was going to find out some revealing secret about me! The same held true, in my mind, as I eyed Jay's diary: Jay's a great kid, her diary really wasn't going to tell me much more than she already has. So I promptly pushed the drawer closed and finished purging the outgrown clothing.
I can't say I'll be so kind later in Jay's life. As we get older we become more aware of the world we live in and how we fit into it. If she ever becomes secretive with me or I feel suspicious of what she's up to, Jay can BANK on having her diary read by her dear old mom. It's not cool, it's not respectable, but desperate times definitely call for desperate measures and I, my friends, am the kinda mom who will go the distance to find out what needs to be found out!
Fortunately for Jay, breaking into her diary would require more skill than I have. There is a voice recognition code, she can write in invisible ink (only she can read what she writes!), and, unlike me, she is smart enough to know people are nosy - so she makes full use of all of her safety gadgets. Maybe as she gets older I'll tell her what my mom told me, Writing it is proof - don't write it if you don't want to own up to it. Very true, but can take some of the fun out of keeping a diary - or, for that matter - breaking in and READING it!
Recently I came across Jay's diary in one of her clothing drawers. My first instinct was to flip that baby open and find a comfy spot to read all-things-Jay. Then I remembered how I felt when I found out my mom read MY diary - betrayed by my own thoughts but more so, a real invasion on my mom's part! Especially because she knew I was a good kid, it wasn't as though she was going to find out some revealing secret about me! The same held true, in my mind, as I eyed Jay's diary: Jay's a great kid, her diary really wasn't going to tell me much more than she already has. So I promptly pushed the drawer closed and finished purging the outgrown clothing.
I can't say I'll be so kind later in Jay's life. As we get older we become more aware of the world we live in and how we fit into it. If she ever becomes secretive with me or I feel suspicious of what she's up to, Jay can BANK on having her diary read by her dear old mom. It's not cool, it's not respectable, but desperate times definitely call for desperate measures and I, my friends, am the kinda mom who will go the distance to find out what needs to be found out!
Fortunately for Jay, breaking into her diary would require more skill than I have. There is a voice recognition code, she can write in invisible ink (only she can read what she writes!), and, unlike me, she is smart enough to know people are nosy - so she makes full use of all of her safety gadgets. Maybe as she gets older I'll tell her what my mom told me, Writing it is proof - don't write it if you don't want to own up to it. Very true, but can take some of the fun out of keeping a diary - or, for that matter - breaking in and READING it!
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