I tell ya, this kid is totally cracking me up these days, and while YOU may be sick of the Baboo anectodes, I’m writing them down so I don’t forget them. (and it’s my blog, so nah,nah,nah,nah,nahhhh)
Yesterday, while waiting for the tire to be fixed on the car, we, Hubster, the girls and I were wandering around a local enormous sporting goods store, looking for soccer gear for Mouse. As Mouse was trying on some cleats (and she looks so freaking adorable in her shorts and cleats) Baboo kept trying to get Hubster’s attention.
Baboo: Daddy! DADDY! Look!
Hubster: (looking through mountains of boxes of cleats trying to find some small enough for Mouse, distractedly)… Yes, Baboo.
Baboo: DADDY! LOOK AT THE ALLIGATOR!
Hubster: (still distractedly) Um, I don’t think there are any alligators here.
Baboo: YES THERE IS! RIGHT THERE! (pointing dramatically and vaguely)
Hubster: (finally paying attention, looking around) Well, I don’t see any alligators, Baboo. Do you see a picture somewhere of an alligator?
Baboo: (sighing dramatically) DA-DDY. It’s RIGHT there? See? You go up? Can we go and ride on the alligator?
Hubster: (blinking in shock and confusion – then the light goes on): OOOOH! You mean the ESCALATOR!
Baboo: That’s what I said! The alligator. The big stairs! Can we ride on them?
Hubster: (trying not to laugh) Once we’re done with the shoes, we’ll go over there.
Baboo: (jumping up and down like she’s won the lottery) YAY! I can finally ride on an ALLIGATOR!!
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Saturday, February 27, 2010
18.
Today, you would have turned 18. I can’t even fathom you at that age.
Tall? Likely. Elegant? Maybe. Same smart witty personality? God, I hope so.
I can’t imagine talking about university, dating and career paths, but that’s likely what we’d be doing. In my mind, you grow up beautifully, with few bumps in the road, happy and successful. In my heart, you’re always 11, a little girl on the verge of growing up, with the soul of a saint and huge brown eyes filled with wisdom beyond your years.
Regardless of the past or future, you’re missed. And still loved so very much.
Happy 18th birthday, M.
A Birthday.
Turning a Blind Eye.
Tall? Likely. Elegant? Maybe. Same smart witty personality? God, I hope so.
I can’t imagine talking about university, dating and career paths, but that’s likely what we’d be doing. In my mind, you grow up beautifully, with few bumps in the road, happy and successful. In my heart, you’re always 11, a little girl on the verge of growing up, with the soul of a saint and huge brown eyes filled with wisdom beyond your years.
Regardless of the past or future, you’re missed. And still loved so very much.
Happy 18th birthday, M.
A Birthday.
Turning a Blind Eye.
Friday, February 26, 2010
TGIF...(Today we Got an Idiotic Flat)
Oh, it’s been a long couple of days. Mouse is better, thankfully, and even more thankfully, no one else got sick. Hor-ray.
We’re all still a little worn out though, frazzled around the edges, droopy and ready for a rest. Today is Friday and we’ve all been looking forward to the weekend. Mouse had piano a lesson right after school (it went pretty well despite practicing only twice this week) and though we did think about going to the library, we all elected to just go home and chill out. I was looking forward to a sitting and reading my book and having a nice hot cup of coffee when, BAM! We rounded a corner, hit one of those massive winter potholes and totally blew a tire. *insert expletive here*.
FORTUNATELY, we have AAA because I’m all girly ‘n stuff and though I probably could change the tire, I didn’t want to. The whole service experience rocked and we were outta the parking lot we were waiting in in there in less than half an hour. Worth every penny!
As we were waiting for the service guy to come, I unbuckled the girls and they climbed into the front seat and we goofed around and ate crackers and looked at library books. At one point, Baboo was trying to wink. She kept trying to close just one eye, but just couldn’t get it figured out. Mouse said “Baboo! You need to close just ONE eye. Why can’t you do that?” and Baboo replied, emphatically “I don’t KNOW! I think it’s out of batteries!”
It was the right note to keep the day light hearted, and we laughed about as we drove home on our banana yellow spare tire.
We’re all still a little worn out though, frazzled around the edges, droopy and ready for a rest. Today is Friday and we’ve all been looking forward to the weekend. Mouse had piano a lesson right after school (it went pretty well despite practicing only twice this week) and though we did think about going to the library, we all elected to just go home and chill out. I was looking forward to a sitting and reading my book and having a nice hot cup of coffee when, BAM! We rounded a corner, hit one of those massive winter potholes and totally blew a tire. *insert expletive here*.
FORTUNATELY, we have AAA because I’m all girly ‘n stuff and though I probably could change the tire, I didn’t want to. The whole service experience rocked and we were outta the parking lot we were waiting in in there in less than half an hour. Worth every penny!
As we were waiting for the service guy to come, I unbuckled the girls and they climbed into the front seat and we goofed around and ate crackers and looked at library books. At one point, Baboo was trying to wink. She kept trying to close just one eye, but just couldn’t get it figured out. Mouse said “Baboo! You need to close just ONE eye. Why can’t you do that?” and Baboo replied, emphatically “I don’t KNOW! I think it’s out of batteries!”
It was the right note to keep the day light hearted, and we laughed about as we drove home on our banana yellow spare tire.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Pedaling in Flippers
Ever get the feeling that you’re pedaling in flippers? Well, maybe that’s because you are.
It’s been that kind of day here. Mouse had stomach bug last night and so it was a long night as I was up with her every hour until this morning. I guess that 2 other girls from her class were also sick last night. And of course, I was in Mouse’s class yesterday as a participating parent.
Things settled down for Mouse by this morning, but she was definitely wrung out for the rest of the day as were the rest of us who got little sleep. So we all spent most of the day lounging around and taking it easy. So far, I’m doing ok other than feeling a bit queasy, but that could just be from lack of sleep.
Baboo is fine, and I wonder if she’s more resistant to the stomach bugs as she got the rota virus vaccine. Regardless, she slept just fine last night and as much fun as it was to have a popsicle at breakfast and watch hours of tv like poor Mouse, she eventually got bored.
I had an errand to run, so I took her out to the grocery store while Hubster and Mouse rested. That killed about an hour. When we got back she was antsy and the rest of us were fried. She generally plays well by herself and today she was a trooper. While the 3 of us barely stayed awake on the couch, she played and chatted by herself for quite a long time. When she came around the corner into the kitchen riding her tricycle in swim flippers, I just had to summon the energy to get off my butt and find the camera.
It’s been that kind of day here. Mouse had stomach bug last night and so it was a long night as I was up with her every hour until this morning. I guess that 2 other girls from her class were also sick last night. And of course, I was in Mouse’s class yesterday as a participating parent.
Things settled down for Mouse by this morning, but she was definitely wrung out for the rest of the day as were the rest of us who got little sleep. So we all spent most of the day lounging around and taking it easy. So far, I’m doing ok other than feeling a bit queasy, but that could just be from lack of sleep.
Baboo is fine, and I wonder if she’s more resistant to the stomach bugs as she got the rota virus vaccine. Regardless, she slept just fine last night and as much fun as it was to have a popsicle at breakfast and watch hours of tv like poor Mouse, she eventually got bored.
I had an errand to run, so I took her out to the grocery store while Hubster and Mouse rested. That killed about an hour. When we got back she was antsy and the rest of us were fried. She generally plays well by herself and today she was a trooper. While the 3 of us barely stayed awake on the couch, she played and chatted by herself for quite a long time. When she came around the corner into the kitchen riding her tricycle in swim flippers, I just had to summon the energy to get off my butt and find the camera.
Today felt exactly like we were all pedaling in flippers.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Piano Torture
(*Warning! Vent ahead!)
Mouse has been taking piano lessons once a week with a wonderful teacher since September. Initially she started out fine. Willing to learn, bursting with confidence, loving every class and being excited to practice. She was learning quickly and I knew she would.
However, since around Christmas time, things have changed. Yes, the music has gotten a bit harder, but not extremely so. Mouse now second guesses every single note, even the ones she KNOWS. She plays the “dumb girl” (which I hate saying – but it’s true). She’s tilts her head to the side, raises her shoulders and says with her best Valley Girl voice “Oh. Um, I um, think that um, that it’s, um… an um… D??” She wants me to say “yes, that’s right” to every single note she plays. However, she WILL NOT allow me to use my finger to help her follow the music on the page. She screams at me in that 5-going-on-13 voice that she can do it herself! Practice has become a form of torture for both of us. I end up beyond frustrated and nearly furious. She ends up miserable. It’s not a good place to be.
We talked over Christmas break and I asked her if she really LIKED piano lessons or if she was just taking lessons because she thought that’s what I wanted her to do and she adamantly said she loved them. When I suggested that we take a break from classes and start them again next year when she was a bit older, I was met with an enormous tantrum and a storm of tears. I explained that learning to read music and play the piano wasn’t something she could just go to class once a week and learn. She needed to practice in between lessons, daily in fact, even if just a little bit. I try to get her to practice for just 5 minutes a day and we both end up nearly in tears.
We’ve tried practicing at different times of the day, but to be honest, we both dread the 5-15 minutes and I think we avoid it, even unintentionally at times and so some weeks she only practices once or twice. But it embarrasses me when we go to her lessons and she’s barely practiced. I feel like a bad Mom for not encouraging her better. But Mouse doesn’t care and generally does fine at her lesson.
She’s 5, almost 6 and I know she’s young. But she’s smart. And I’m torn. I hate seeing a self-depreciating behavior in her already. When I see her doing the “dumb girl” act it’s all I can do not to yell “You are SMART and you can DO this!”, but I know that won’t help to build her confidence.
I see myself in her right now and it makes me sad and mad. I want her to feel confident enough to take a risk and learn something new, to practice and try at ANYTHING even if she doesn’t get it perfect. I want her to be more than I was; to be brave enough to ALLOW herself to have more opportunities and take chances. I don’t want her to miss out because she’s too self conscious to try, too embarrassed to make mistakes, like I was and to a much lesser degree still am.
It’s very important to me that the girls learn how to read music. I don’t care what instrument they play, but I think learning to read music is a very important skill. I’m worried that I’m trying to start her too early and am squashing any genuine desire she might have to do this. We chose piano because we had one and we could find a teacher that she really liked, and well, she seemed interested in learning.
I’ve spoken with her teacher quite a bit about this and she feels like Mouse is doing well and to not be worried. She can tell that she’s bright and is catching on, and that Mouse adores her. Mrs. H is awesome apparently.
But I hate feeling mean and walking away from her practices feeling like I need a drink because I’m so worked up. I hate feeling like I’m just making matters worse. I hate that she looks so sad when we’re done because it’s like she’s failed to “please me”. I want her to have fun and to enjoy learning but I know it’s not something I can force.
I guess I need to think some more about this and decide what to do. Sigh.
Mouse has been taking piano lessons once a week with a wonderful teacher since September. Initially she started out fine. Willing to learn, bursting with confidence, loving every class and being excited to practice. She was learning quickly and I knew she would.
However, since around Christmas time, things have changed. Yes, the music has gotten a bit harder, but not extremely so. Mouse now second guesses every single note, even the ones she KNOWS. She plays the “dumb girl” (which I hate saying – but it’s true). She’s tilts her head to the side, raises her shoulders and says with her best Valley Girl voice “Oh. Um, I um, think that um, that it’s, um… an um… D??” She wants me to say “yes, that’s right” to every single note she plays. However, she WILL NOT allow me to use my finger to help her follow the music on the page. She screams at me in that 5-going-on-13 voice that she can do it herself! Practice has become a form of torture for both of us. I end up beyond frustrated and nearly furious. She ends up miserable. It’s not a good place to be.
We talked over Christmas break and I asked her if she really LIKED piano lessons or if she was just taking lessons because she thought that’s what I wanted her to do and she adamantly said she loved them. When I suggested that we take a break from classes and start them again next year when she was a bit older, I was met with an enormous tantrum and a storm of tears. I explained that learning to read music and play the piano wasn’t something she could just go to class once a week and learn. She needed to practice in between lessons, daily in fact, even if just a little bit. I try to get her to practice for just 5 minutes a day and we both end up nearly in tears.
We’ve tried practicing at different times of the day, but to be honest, we both dread the 5-15 minutes and I think we avoid it, even unintentionally at times and so some weeks she only practices once or twice. But it embarrasses me when we go to her lessons and she’s barely practiced. I feel like a bad Mom for not encouraging her better. But Mouse doesn’t care and generally does fine at her lesson.
She’s 5, almost 6 and I know she’s young. But she’s smart. And I’m torn. I hate seeing a self-depreciating behavior in her already. When I see her doing the “dumb girl” act it’s all I can do not to yell “You are SMART and you can DO this!”, but I know that won’t help to build her confidence.
I see myself in her right now and it makes me sad and mad. I want her to feel confident enough to take a risk and learn something new, to practice and try at ANYTHING even if she doesn’t get it perfect. I want her to be more than I was; to be brave enough to ALLOW herself to have more opportunities and take chances. I don’t want her to miss out because she’s too self conscious to try, too embarrassed to make mistakes, like I was and to a much lesser degree still am.
It’s very important to me that the girls learn how to read music. I don’t care what instrument they play, but I think learning to read music is a very important skill. I’m worried that I’m trying to start her too early and am squashing any genuine desire she might have to do this. We chose piano because we had one and we could find a teacher that she really liked, and well, she seemed interested in learning.
I’ve spoken with her teacher quite a bit about this and she feels like Mouse is doing well and to not be worried. She can tell that she’s bright and is catching on, and that Mouse adores her. Mrs. H is awesome apparently.
But I hate feeling mean and walking away from her practices feeling like I need a drink because I’m so worked up. I hate feeling like I’m just making matters worse. I hate that she looks so sad when we’re done because it’s like she’s failed to “please me”. I want her to have fun and to enjoy learning but I know it’s not something I can force.
I guess I need to think some more about this and decide what to do. Sigh.
Friday, February 12, 2010
From the Mouth of Baboo...
I’m swamped and treading water like crazy trying to keep up with life these days. Too busy livin’ and runnin’ to write. Sorry. However, while Mouse has been going through some weird 5.5 year old tantrum transitions (good grief), Baboo who will be 3next month is cracking me up with the things she’s saying.
Baboo is fascinated with trying to write her letters right now. She recognizes them all, which surprises me as she learned them without me really doing anything. And I remember at this age, Mouse being driven to figure out the mechanics of writing as well, so we’re going with it. The other day, Baboo brought out a little notepad and some crayons and said it was time to work on her “letter-bet”.
This morning as I was brushing Baboo’s hair, she looked down at her hands and noticed some silver craft sparkles on them.
Baboo: Mom! Look at my hands. Theres’ some SPARKLES on dem!
Me: Wow. Look at that. Pretty!
Baboo: I don’t want to wash my hands. They’re soooo “blinky”.
Today, after school, piano, traffic, Valentine’s day parties, elementary school shopping, Literacy night planning, Pilates classes, yada-yada, the girls and I were feeling kind of run down and decided to have an afternoon on the couch. Mouse was very cuddly and seems to need that kind of thing right now, and Baboo wasn’t going to be left out, so we just cuddled and watched some tv and read a mountain of books. It was very nice. After a while, the wigglies moved in and the girls started to get silly. They started smooshing my face around (and I remember doing the same to my mother) with their hands to make me make silly faces. At one point, I took my glasses off so they wouldn’t get broken and was holding them in my hands. Baboo, tried to grab them and yelled, “HEY! It’s MY TURN with the glasses! I want to look weird too!” I’m still not sure how to take that.
To my in Eastcoastville… stay warm! Doubley yikes on all the snow you guys have gotten!
Baboo is fascinated with trying to write her letters right now. She recognizes them all, which surprises me as she learned them without me really doing anything. And I remember at this age, Mouse being driven to figure out the mechanics of writing as well, so we’re going with it. The other day, Baboo brought out a little notepad and some crayons and said it was time to work on her “letter-bet”.
This morning as I was brushing Baboo’s hair, she looked down at her hands and noticed some silver craft sparkles on them.
Baboo: Mom! Look at my hands. Theres’ some SPARKLES on dem!
Me: Wow. Look at that. Pretty!
Baboo: I don’t want to wash my hands. They’re soooo “blinky”.
Today, after school, piano, traffic, Valentine’s day parties, elementary school shopping, Literacy night planning, Pilates classes, yada-yada, the girls and I were feeling kind of run down and decided to have an afternoon on the couch. Mouse was very cuddly and seems to need that kind of thing right now, and Baboo wasn’t going to be left out, so we just cuddled and watched some tv and read a mountain of books. It was very nice. After a while, the wigglies moved in and the girls started to get silly. They started smooshing my face around (and I remember doing the same to my mother) with their hands to make me make silly faces. At one point, I took my glasses off so they wouldn’t get broken and was holding them in my hands. Baboo, tried to grab them and yelled, “HEY! It’s MY TURN with the glasses! I want to look weird too!” I’m still not sure how to take that.
To my in Eastcoastville… stay warm! Doubley yikes on all the snow you guys have gotten!
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