June 27, 2010
June 26, 2010
A Date
For Father’s Day, I bought Real Man tickets to a Mets game.
The game was today.
He took me.
The George Washington Bridge was at an absolute standstill…
…meaning we missed Prince Harry, yes, Prince Harry (to whom my mother says I am related from way, way back) throw the first pitch.
I was really looking forward to hobnobbing with the royals.
The traffic also meant that by the time we got to the stadium, the Twins were winning 2-0.
By the time we actually got to our seats (which were excellent!) the Twins were winning 4-0.
It was still the first inning.
The final score was 6-0, Twins.
All I wanted in life was Popcorn.
Apparently, Citifield was out of Popcorn.
None of that mattered.
It was a great date.
June 25, 2010
Uno
Methinks perhaps Monkey in the Middle isn’t as great of a shuffler as he believes himself to be.
June 24, 2010
Be Present
Just a little something to think about.
June 23, 2010
Talent
Sometimes, it’s very easy to make a child happy.
And sometimes, it takes a lot of talent.
People who can make balloon animals definitely fall into the second category and have my utmost respect and my undying gratitude.
A balloon SpiderMan?
A total cure for the grumps.
A sweet flower garden for a sweet girl.
Priceless.
I’d share the picture of Monkey in the Middle with his shark, which was completely awesome, but he couldn’t stop playing with it long enough to get a still shot.
Not a bad thing.
So, even though I cringe every time I watch someone twist, bend and manipulate the balloons, I am beyond impressed with their talent.
So cool.
June 22, 2010
Why I Love Teaching – A Must See Video
I went into education because I love kids.
All kids.
The brightest of the brightest and the kids who struggle daily and the kids who fall right, smack in the middle.
The kids of the millionaires and the kids who come to us from the homeless shelter and the kids who define the middle class.
The “jocks”, the “nerds”, the “proud crowd,” the “burnouts.”
Why do I love them all?
Because, the truth is, you can’t categorize a kid.
No child fits into any one category.
You can’t look at a kid and automatically make a decision about how he or she will behave or achieve.
It’s the beauty of youth.
Last night, the seniors in the high school in the district where I teach graduated.
I knew them all four years ago when they were middle schoolers, and taught most of them. Those who I didn’t teach, I knew in another capacity, from the play, Student Council, or from the DC trip.
I loved them all.
I think last night’s valedictorian speech is the absolute best demostration I’ve seen in a long time about how you cannot classify a kid based on one criteria.
Think you know how a valedictorian is going to give a graduation speech?
Think again.
Watch this video and I think you’ll understand why I love kids.
Waking Up
Baby Monkey wound up in our bed around 3 a.m. this morning.
He had been having a sleepover with his brother and sister in Monkey Girl’s room, but seemed to be having a bad dream.
So, I went and got him and brought him downstairs so he wouldn’t wake them up.
He never really completely woke up, but instead snuggled up in between Real Man and I.
Yes, when the monkeys show up in our bed, it means that my REM sleep is done for the night.
The best I can hope for is fitful dozing.
However, there are two reasons why I don’t really mind.
1. Someday, sooner than I like to imagine, I’m sure, they won’t be interested in snuggling.
2. If they are sleeping in my bed, I get to watch them wake up.
Have you ever watched a child wake up in the morning?
The sleepy face.
The stretches accompanied by the adorable stretching noises.
The slow smile.
The first “I love you, Mama” of the day.
It truly is my favorite time of the day.
So, I’ll take the lack of sleep every day of the week and twice on Sunday if it means I can be there for the waking up of any of monkeys.
June 21, 2010
What are They Doing???
So, on Friday, we went out to dinner at Friendly’s.
Monkey in the Middle came home with a fantastic report card on his last day of school, and so we decided to take him out to dinner to celebrate.
It was absolutely, 100%, completely not because I didn’t want to cook.
Really.
It wasn’t.
Anyway…
…when we go out to eat, we usually play telephone around the table.
You know the game.
Someone whispers something in one person’s ear, then they pass it on until you get to the last person and see if they get the same message as the one that was started.
So, on Friday night, we played.
Well, four of us played.
Monkey Girl had spent her afternoon creating a notebook of schoolwork to do over the summer.
Yes, you read that right.
Friday was her second to last day of school, and she spent the afternoon creating a notebook of schoolwork to do.
Don’t get me wrong…
…She’ll spend her summer at the pool, at the beach, at the park, collecting fireflies, playing in the stream…
…but, she’ll also do that workbook.
Why?
I have no idea why, but somehow, she really loves schoolwork.
Fine by me, as long as she realizes that no one expects her to do it.
Anyway, so, we’re playing telephone, as always, and I start wondering what people must think as they are watching us.
Because, people are always watching us.
First of all, there are 5 of us.
Secondly, we’re not quiet.
I tried to be a quiet family for awhile, and then I realized that it just wasn’t who we are.
We live large. We live loud.
I’m a huge people watcher and am always trying to figure out the dynamic between people.
So, what do people think we’re doing?
Telling secrets?
Quietly chastising the children?
Trying to quietly figure out the tip?
Who knows?
Maybe one day I’ll ask one of the starers “Whatcha lookin’ at?”
For now, I’ll just whisper sweet nothing in Baby Monkey’s ear and listen to him repeat it out loud.
Completely wrong.
