2010 October | the mommy grind

Archive for October, 2010

homework | things are looking up

Thursday, October 28th, 2010

When we started the school year, the homework was nice and light. Once the kids were in their routine, Isabella’s teacher started gradually adding to the weekly homework assignments. First we had math facts – a great way to get the kids up to speed on their addition. Isabella really resisted at first, but as time passes, she is beginning to almost look forward to it when she gets home from school.

This of course is a huge departure from the first few math fact assignments. We just could not get her to take her homework seriously – or even focus on the assignment. Keith has been extremely patient with her and has managed to chip away, slowly but surely at her resistance. She even exceeds her daily goals from time to time.

Her spelling homework is actually enjoyable, it is so much fun to see her learning and using the words in her own sentences. I don’t run the other way when it’s time for spelling. I feel the same way about reading.

However, I really do not enjoy her Study Island homework. I can’t tell her that of course. But we had a bit of a struggle with Study Island at first, but I think it is getting easier (on us) and her as time marches forward. I find it a bit confusing as to what they are really asking her to answer – and since we do not know what she is learning on a daily basis in her classroom, we have no idea if the questions in Study Island relate to her studies. I guess I will learn all of this at our first parent/teacher conference next week.

The one thing that Isabella was struggling with was her random guessing. Study Island asks a question and there are three answers. Unfortunately, she just reacts sometimes and picks without giving it any thought. The bad part is that there are no second chances, once you click and answer and it’s wrong, it stays wrong.

The concept of taking your time, thinking things through and making the best possible choice has been a common thread each and every time it is time to do Study Island. The good news is that I believe she is grasping the concept.

Isabella has really done a 180 with the homework. All I can think of is that if she gets off on the right track with good habits – they will stay with her forever.

Coming from someone that has the worst study habits in the world, good habits can only make her life easier as her studies move on. I’m just so glad that Keith has the patience of a saint – her new and improved study habits are a direct result of his patience – definitely not mine!

Patience is a virtue – that’s what I tell my kids daily – sometimes I need to follow my own advice!

Tags: Education, homework, Learning, Mathematics, study island
Posted in day to day, kids, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

would I forget you on halloween | halloween stuff

Wednesday, October 27th, 2010

If you are Nana with the White Hair, then the answer is no!

My grandmother, Nana (the girls call her Nana with the White Hair – because her hair is white) is still the most thoughtful person in the world. The years may be passing by way too quickly, but she has never missed a holiday.

Since I was a little kid, she would send my sister and I a card with money in it for every occasion. Since our children were born, she has carried on the same tradition. She has 5 great grandchildren and I know she does the same for all of them.

My girls really look forward to seeing her envelopes show up in the mail, just like I did as a kid. In this day of emails, texting and using the computer for just about everything – a handwritten envelope with a lovely card inside (plus a few dollars) is certainly a reason to put a smile on anyone’s face!

It is hard to believe that Nana is turning 90 next month.

She maybe turning 90, but she doesn’t miss a trick!

Tags: Grandparent, Halloween, Halloween costume, nana
Posted in day to day, family, personal stuff, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

election day is around the corner | vote, vote, vote!

Tuesday, October 26th, 2010

Well I probably didn’t do a great job of hiding who I voted for. I’m one of those people that vote party line all the way.

I don’t mean that light-heartedly, I take politics seriously and try my best to stay up on all issues, daily. But I always seem to come around to the same side!

It’s crazy, but I have been voting now for 23 years. Stop, did I just write 23 years? Oh come on – my voting record could almost qualify as an antique! I remember like it was yesterday – pulling that lever for Mike Dukakis, my first vote, my first presidential election. I was proud that day and I have been proud every election day since. My grandmother is turning 90 this year and she has made her best effort to vote in every single Massachusetts or Federal election. In my opinion, a hero. I admire her for her tenacity and dedication to a right that women have held for less than 100 years. Imagine that, women were granted the right to vote the year that my grandmother was born!

I certainly don’t meant to be lectury, but your vote is the one thing that is uniquely yours, en masse it is super powerful. The only way we can affect change is to vote!

Please, please, please, no matter what your party affiliation, vote, vote vote!

Tags: Democratic Party, Massachusetts, Michael Dukakis, President, Voting, Voting system
Posted in big stuff, day to day | 1 Comment »

training wheels | learning how to ride a bike

Monday, October 25th, 2010

If Isabella was a super hero – her name would be Safety Girl. Wow is she conservative when it comes to speed and how it relates to her bike or her razor scooter. I know that this is a direct result of her being our first born and me being overly cautious with every move she made for the first few years. I guess it rubbed off on her. Or maybe it is that horrible screechy sound that I make whenever she or any child (or even NFL players) fall or have any perception of being hurt. My screech is loud and usually makes the situation worse. If a child wasn’t crying when they fell, they will certainly cry after I make that obnoxious sound like I’m afraid they were decapitated when all that really happened was a fall with a scraped knee. It drives Keith crazy.

But back to Isabella. When she is motoring on her bike, she moves at such a snail’s pace. This afternoon (after the stress of watching the Patriots almost give up a huge lead and lose) she was out on her new bike and Gabby was on her scooter. Well Gabby was on the scooter for a minute or two, then decided that running was her preferred method of transport. Gabby was outrunning her. We actually made it home a full 3 minutes before Isabella and Keith. She insists on pedaling slowly – she is convinced that she will be safer. Keith has winded himself trying to explain to Isabella the laws of physics that actually make her safer if she pedals faster.

You just can’t convince her. We may have training wheels in our lives for a quite awhile!

But at least she’ll be safe.

Tags: bike, learning to ride a bike, Scooter, Training wheels
Posted in day to day, kids | No Comments »

the bedtime ritual | and how much we love our girls!

Sunday, October 24th, 2010

Cousin Ava Sleeping! Wish my kids were such good sleepers!

OK – so poor Grammy has to see me come into the house just not ready for our usual bedtime ritual – that being the kids running us around – making demands for the better part of an hour till they fall asleep. When you come home from work at 9:20 and the kids are still wired – and their adorable little cousin Ava is sleeping over – and it seems like order and sleep are a distant dream – my patience runs thin.

{Two out of the last three nights, Keith and I have had jobs at night that require us to work together. This is a busy time of the year for most photographers – and fortunately enough for us, we have been busy, busy, busy. I don’t work with Keith on all jobs – simply because I do not have one skill related to photography that could really help him so that precludes me working with him with one exception: our Live Photo Booth.}

Call me a bad mother, call me impatient, but I need a few minutes to go from working mom personality to putting kids to bed personality. I just need a minute or two of downtime before I am barraged by their requests. I might be tired, I might be irritable, and I might really show it. I have been in the house for a whole 30 seconds when I get asked to go the bathroom with Gabs to poop, lay down with Isabella, oh no can you massage my back?

Yikes, can I breathe for a second? Can I say hi to Grammy? Can we get the equipment out of the car? Can I kick my shoes off? Can I eat a scrap of food, since we are starving? Can I get myself a glass of wine?

And then the dust settles – Gabby wants a hug, Isabella wants a back rub. Such simple little requests from two amazing little girls. I want to do it all and I’m sorry I was short tempered for even a second. I can’t even begin to tell you how happy it makes me to lay down with Isabella and listen to the little stories she wants to tell me. Or to hug Gabs and help her arrange the myriad of animals that adorn her bed.

This is what it’s all about – and for a second or two tonight I forgot that.

Then I relaxed and enjoyed them – and my heart melts – I love them so much!

Tags: Bedtime, Family, Parenting, Sleep
Posted in day to day, kids, Uncategorized | No Comments »

guess who turns one next week?

Friday, October 22nd, 2010

It is hard to imagine but Bloopie turns one next week.

In case you have no idea who Bloopie is – he/she is our pet goldfish that Isabella won last year at her school’s Halloween carnival! I think she was playing a ring toss or something like that – but there were no losers, everyone won a goldfish. How special.

I wonder how many other parents at the school are about the celebrate this milestone. We are still scratching our heads as to what the chances were that our goldfish would survive longer than a few days. We certainly do not wish any bad luck on these little guys, but usually goldfish have such a short life span. At least we thought they did!

After Bloopie survived the first few weeks, the kids decided that he needed a friend. So we added Polkadot about 11 months ago. The two graduated into a 10-gallon tank and haven’t looked back. They keep getting bigger and bigger. Under the right conditions, a goldfish can live a very long time – like decades. And they can grow huge. Who knew?

These guys will be around for awhile. Keith is very diligent about their care – they have white glove service from Mr. Pitts. Their tank is always clean, they are well fed and he even chats with them daily. What more could a couple of goldfish want?

The funny thing is that Isabella takes all the credit.

Tags: Aquarium, Fish, Goldfish, Halloween, Pets
Posted in day to day, pets | 1 Comment »

it’s time for a challenge | 30 days to slightly smaller me

Thursday, October 21st, 2010

I had Gabby nearly 3 1/2 years ago and I still get asked from time to time when I’m due. I remember last year I was in Old Navy and a girl, maybe 16 or 17 came up to me and asked “When is your baby coming?” and my comeback was “She came, about 2 1/2 years ago!”. The poor girl was horrified. But I guess she learned the lesson that most of us learn at some point or another – never ask a woman when she is due or if she is pregnant unless you know with 100% certainty that she is about to drop a kid at any moment.

But in fairness to the poor girl, she had probable cause to ask me – I could pass for pregnant.

For years now I have debated working harder at the gym or eating less or even drinking less wine (perish the thought!) but I really haven’t been motivated. But for some reason, once 40 hit last year, things really started hitting the wall. It’s now or never. I really don’t want to sacrifice a lot but I have to kick start myself to get back my old pre-pregnancy fighting weight. Yikes, I think I weigh about the same as I did the minute both my kids popped out, which puts me about 35 pounds heavier than the day I said I do to the greatest man in the whole world.

Here’s the challenge – to actually put a little effort into losing this baby weight. Yes we are talking about 7 years – hard to believe. I’m not trying to become a size 2, not trying to lose a million pounds, not going to diet (never have, never will) but simply going to dedicate myself for 30 straight days and see what the results are.

When it comes to exercise I am absolutely not self motivated. I don’t even like to break a sweat at the gym. In fact when I used to smoke, I would light a cigarette the minute I stepped out of the gym – I felt like it was my reward or something. I don’t enjoy cardio – in fact I despise it, which is probably why I put so little effort into it. Since a personal trainer is not a budget priority at the moment, I have decided I will purchase a one month pass to Krave (a non-cardio but really challenging style of exercise – for me) - and commit myself to 4 days per week for the 30 days.

This will kick start me – or at least I hope it will.

$100 paid. One class under my belt. 29 days left to go! I will not bore you to tears with daily details, but I’ll report in once a week and let you know how it’s going.

I’m sore already!

Tags: Health, krave, my challenge, Weight loss
Posted in day to day, healthy living, personal stuff, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

Gabby’s great dinosaur rescue | her favorite pastime at the apple store

Wednesday, October 20th, 2010

I think the guys at the Apple store see us coming and they want to hide the little table with the kid’s computer and black pouf that Gabby plants herself on every time we are in the store. And that is pretty often! She has mastered this game – and the only time she has the opportunity to play it is when we drop in for a quick fix or a quick buy.

In case anyone has Gabby on their Christmas list, the game is called: Go Diego Go Great Dinosaur Rescue. She loves this game and she is really good at it! The only caveat is that the Apple Store does not carry it anymore or believe me we would have owned it by now. Gabby is in tears every time we leave the store. Of course, I forget about the game the minute we leave so we have not gotten around to ordering it yet!

Hopefully Santa is listening!

Tags: Apple Store, Christmas list, Dinosaur, Games
Posted in cool places, day to day, kids | 2 Comments »

the bribery bag | things I said I would never do but now find dear

Tuesday, October 19th, 2010

Well I guess prior to having kids I used to look at other moms begging, pleading, promising crazy things to their kids and think “that’s not going to be me! I’m not going to bribe my kids to do something, I’ll just get them to do it”. I’m not sure I’ve ever been more wrong about something in my life! I use bribery all the time – and it really works!

When I picked Gabby up from school, I reminded her that Mondays are swimming lesson day.

Instant tears. “I don’t like to swim. I want my life preserver. I don’t like going underwater.” The tears turned to a tantrum. As I’m putting on her bathing suit, I’m gently trying to explain the virtues of knowing how to swim. I now know where the expression “falling on deaf ears” came from. Gabriella’s trepidation was making my silly little subconscious consider bringing her life preserver. What are you crazy Melissa? I reconsidered. And brought out the big guns – bribing her!

I had used the bribery bag last week. It worked well. I filled a bag with some small treats – candy, halloween items like black bats, spiders, glow in the dark bats, lip gloss, eye shadow, pet shops toys, an elephant, a small dinosaur, you get the idea. All of Gabby’s favorites.

I presented it to her like this: “After you finish your swimming lesson, you will get to pick something from this bag!” She was immediately excited, wanted to see all the options. She happily walked into swimming. Then, right at the door to the pool, she had a momentary relapse – I walked her to her swim instructor. She had one bout with tears the first time she went under water. Then she did great. I mean fabulous. She was underwater non stop – a huge step forward.

I really feel like today was the turning point for Gabs! I remember with Isabella – Grandma Caroline would take her to swimming lessons around the same age. She hated it! She even reminisced about it tonight – how much she disliked it. But you know what, after a few tries, she eased into it and now LOVES swimming and swimming lessons. (that’s Gabby and her instructor, notice Isabella at the top of the picture with her yellow bathing suit on – she gets to encourage her sister from the next lane! She does a great job!)

Gabby was so proud of herself getting out of the pool. She was so excited that she enjoyed the lesson. (By the way, her teacher has the patience of a saint, she is unbelievable!) As I wrapped the towel around her she told me how much she LOVED swimming lessons. Wow, what an about face from just 30 minutes earlier!

And then she said she wanted to pick the glow in the dark bats as her prize.

I think I’ll keep the bribery bag in the car for a few more weeks of swimming lessons or for whatever other obstacle comes our way! You never know when you might need it!

Tags: Swimming lessons, the bribery bag
Posted in day to day, kids, the preschool days, Uncategorized | 4 Comments »

back to the grind | end of fall break

Monday, October 18th, 2010

We had a very uneventful ride back from California – that is always a good thing – especially with the ever present traffic of I10! The girls were amazing – god bless the double dvd player! Thanks Trisha.

So we came home to an empty fridge. Keith has been gone for 5 days, we’ve been gone for 4 – so I really didn’t leave much fresh stuff laying around. Of course Gabby wanted her milk right away – I told her she would have to wait till he hit the grocery store. She is never one to be put off. She can not grasp this waiting thing – she is all about instant gratification.

Off we go to Whole Foods. Not really what I feel like doing. I would prefer to be lounging on the couch watching NFL games all Sunday – but considering it is 2 kids to one adult, I am outnumbered and they are not interested in what I would like to be doing this fine Sunday. In fact they simply don’t care. They want their fridge full of good stuff and they want is yesterday.

As we are meandering up and down the produce section – Isabella comes across the tiniest little pineapple I have ever seen! I guess it is a dwarf pineapple. She just loved the cute little thing. We’ll have to give it a try and see how it tastes.

Grocery shopping done. Check.

3 Loads of laundry done. Check.

Dinner made. Check.

School lunches made. Check.

Homework finished. Check.

NFL highlights watched. Soon, very soon. Just after I put the sleeping kids in the car to pick Keith up from the airport.

Aahh you may get away for a few days, but the minute you step a foot back in your home the day to day stuff returns immediately – back to the same old grind!