8 posts tagged “kids”

I've been wanting to get one of these for the girls because they're so interested in music. One day, I walked into their bedroom and they had found the ukelele I had hidden (because I hate the sound!) and had set up a bunch of buckets and a little stool. A had even taken the base to her music stand and stuck a metal can on it as a cymbal and they were using chopsticks to play their improvised drumset. It was so cute! But I got this little number from Walmart (which, I don't usually shop at on principle, but I had been to three other stores looking for something else and so was at Walmart to see if I can find it there.) Both A and S take violin, although A is begging to take piano and guitar and now, drums too. But I'm limiting her to one music lesson at a time because she's only 6 and I prefer not to overschedule my kids. As it is, she's going with violin, tae kwon do, and starting swimming next week. Violin is three days a week, tae kwon do is two days and swimming thankfully is only one, but it's an awful lot when you're homeschooling another one. Yes. I said it. Homeschooling. For now. Thankfully S starts preschool next week too, but since it's only at the park district, I don't hold out much hope for the academic aspects. But I feel it's important she learn some structure and socialize and play with other kids her age. So I will continue to homeschool her until she begins kindergarten, which won't be till the fall of 2008. She also takes violin, but a private lesson so only once a week and she, too, will begin swimming classes next week.

She's very interested in learning and asks for "homework" all the time. So I've enrolled her in a great reading program called Headsprout.  She does this program (while I sit at the computer and help her) and I also try to incorporate numbers, small motor skills and some science into her curriculum. As for art? Well, we do crafts all the time and I think that's more of a lifestyle anyway, for us. Hubby is an architect and so we are always talking about art and design to the kids. (never mind the horrible flooring in the pic, we're in a rental right now)  Anyway, I had very mixed feelings about this because she is only 3 and won't be 4 until mid-Summer, but she knows all her letters and is starting to work on sounds. Headsprout has three free episodes you can play and she played them and begged to be allowed to play the rest every day for several months. I finally caved and bought the rest of the program. I do not advocate early reading, nor do I believe that children should be pushed to learn. But if the child is begging you every day for academic stimulation and is picking things up at an alarming rate, one must go with the flow and not stop them, KWIM? My other daughter tried the same program, but NOT being academically minded at all, and of more the creative, artistic type (definite right-brain, if you go for that sort of thing), she did not enjoy the program and indeed, S has already passed her up in episodes. Of course, A can read now, but it was a real struggle. She's more the type that resists learning because she's a perfectionist and doesn't like to engage in activities unless she can excel. (Hmmmm, wonder where she gets that from?)

Over at Brocante Home, I found reference to a letter written to the UK Guardian. This letter is from a woman to the child she's chosen not to have. I found it compelling for many reasons.

blissfully child-free and with short, short hair! circa 1998

Arguments on the kids vs. no kids debate can often make both sides think the other selfish and/or slightly insane. I have friends that have decided to not have children. I have to admit, there was a time when I fell into this camp. Being around children most all my life and having to take care of them often, I was a bit sick of them and certainly did not want any of my own. But I did. And I absolutely don't regret it. Because although much of the time, I'm raising my voice or wading calf-deep in kidlet paraphernalia, I love the complexity and sincerity that children bring to life. I love that they are their own person and no matter how much I try to control them (or break them as some folks might say!), they are going to do things their own way and learn things in their own manner.

But there are times I wish I didn't have children. Not because of the insanity and chaos, lack of privacy and private time they have brought to my life, but for other, more psychological reasons. I am slightly paranoid. I have some anxiety issues that I need to work through. I live in constant fear that someone will either kidnap my children or the possibility that they will become the victim of a sexual predator. I hate seeing my beautiful daughters' feelings be hurt by peers or their incomprehension when people are not always nice. It often causes my insomnia. And I'm not so naive or optimistic to think that these things won't happen or that to try to protect them from getting their feelings hurt is unrealistic. Still...

There's a portion of the letter which makes me pause:

"My office will remain an office, a tidy space just for me. I won't need to fret over lack of storage for endless baby kit or worry about where we might put your baby brother, if we made him.

My days will stay unstructured and full of selfish possibility. I won't be forced to chat with mothers at the school gates.

Your dad and I will be free to continue to share undiluted affection. We'll do exactly what we want to do, when we want to do it. We'll never have the worry that we're not talking properly to each other because you demand so much of us.

So we've made our choice. You see, the heart of the matter is, I couldn't bear to have you and then discover that my fears were spot-on. I don't want to resent you for the disruption that you would inevitably bring. You would only be doing (as I knew you would) exactly what it says on your tin."

Yes. I can see exactly what she's saying. People on the have kids side of the fence often claim that those who do not want kids are selfish and besides, who will take care of them in their old age. Well, sheesh, is it so selfish to want to have a peaceful existence? To have a good relationship with your husband? I don't think so. After all, what could be more narcissistic than to bring more "mini-me's" into the world?

Gah! I have a feeling I'm trying to explain myself all wrong. So let the arguments begin. I want to hear them all!

Were you one of those kids that always seemed to be accidentally hurting themselves? I was. I hated it. In elementary school, I'd always be the kid who'd fall and skin their knee, or fall off their bike during the bike-a-thon or the worst was when I totally got hurt in one of those moonwalk things. You know, those inflatable, padded rubber rooms? Only I could get hurt in one of those.

Probably the most memorable of late, was a few years back. I used to carpool with friends to work. One day, I was at their apartment after work (they lived on the third floor of a three-flat) waiting for the Iceman to pick me up. He rang the bell and I was so happy and excited to see him, that I flew down the three flights of stairs, and rushed to the door to open it for him. And rushed right into a little door that covered a little peephole window of the front door. The little door was standing open perpendicular to the front door and so I didn't see it because it was evening and a bit dark in the entry vestibule. Bang! Iceman was freaking out because he didn't know what happened, only that he heard a huge noise. I saw stars and knew that I was in big trouble even though it didn't really hurt after the fact. My friends came  out and wondered what happened. They had heard it all the way up on the third floor. We all tromped back upstairs to get some ice and contemplate what a HUGE shiner I was going to have the next day. Sure enough, I had the hugest black eye you ever saw. Thank goodness my friends were present when it happened because my Japanese employer pulled me aside at work the next day and while hemming and hawing, hesitatingly asked in his broken English if I was okay. I could tell that he worriedly thought that maybe Iceman had done it. I reassured him and my friends were able to back me up. It was awful. I had to wear ginormous sunglasses, although they didn't really cover it up and they hurt because they were resting on some of the bruised skin. Those who know Iceman and I know that he would never do such a thing, but heck, when you try to explain to someone that you ran into a door, well, that has been used too often to explain something else. I still laugh when I think about it!

Anyway, A seemingly has inherited my tendency toward accident. While on the playground at school, she's gotten accidentally head-butted too often. This time, they were playing tag when the girl standing in front of her dodged out of "its" way and "it" ran into her and she smacked her face into the slide. Sheesh! Luckily she didn't get a black-eye, but she did get some swelling and a little abrasion. That's why her left eye looks a little funny. We took these pictures while on our last visit to the Chicago Children's Museum.

A had an assembly at school last week which also contributed to the lack of posts around here. The first grade class' portion of the performance was based on the Southwest. They sang "California, Here I Come" and danced the Achy Breaky. It was so dang cute, 31 little first graders attempting to line-dance and bunching up into the curtains on the sides of the stage. So imagine, trying to find cowboy boots for a little girl that look like they just might be able to stand up to some rough play cause if I'm going to buy them, they better be good. I bought a crappy pair for S (make that two because the zipper broke on the first pair) from Target. They were cute, but hot pink is so not Miss A's thang.

Enter, Alcala's, the Western wear wonderland! I felt like I had died and gone to boot heaven. Although I'm not normally a cowboy boot type of gal, the sh*tkickers they had lining the walls from floor to ceiling were just awe-inspiring. There were tons of kids and mens stuff too, but we're talking walls, not just one, plural of the most colorful, pointiest, stitchin'est, bitchin'est boots around. I couldn't really shop for me, at the time because we were in a hurry, but the boots I really wanted for A were $149 and well, that's a bit more than I wanted to pay. We ended up with these little cuties, still not cheap, but good quality and heck, I have another daughter to pass them down to when the time comes so I will definitely get my money's worth out of them. I myself was drooling over a really sweet pair of hot, black, pointy-toed, sh*t-kickingest numbers that another gal was trying on, but at $350, not quite in the realm of conceivable at this time. But dangit, I so coulda rocked those babies. They looked a bit like this, but were much cooler and had more stitchery on the top and sides of the foot. These are sweet too, but I think these look kinda fun.

Anyway, I've completely gotten off topic. Here are my cute little Jessies. I know, I should've bought real bandanas instead of the one from the costume box, but dagnabbit, I was in a hurry and still smarting from the price of those boots. Please note, S was not in the production and therefore, her "Caution: Shopper" t-shirt should be excused!

Feb 26 07 006

2 comments

Oh, I am so conflicted! Colts vs. Bears. The only way it could be worse if it were the Redskins vs. da Bears. But still, my girls just love their hometown sports teams. So for them, I guess it's gonna have to be the Bears. Just don't tell any of my family or I might have to renounce my claim to be a Hoosier.

Inspired by this beautiful falling garden by Gerda Steiner and Joer Lenzlinger via the Free People Clothing Boutique Blog

Falling garden

3 comments

 and Sally Shim's cute Valentine's Day decorations,

Vday5

we were able to come up with these fun little mobiles. I used wire coat hangers to make the base and since I'm not the strongest person in the world, this was the closest I could come to making a spiral with getting hurt. I wanted to make one too, but since, like Joan Crawford, our house has "no more wire hangers!", there was only enough for two. They had fun, but once they found the ready made tags with strings attached, they became quite enamored of using those instead of coming up with other things. I helped the 3 year old (okay, I mostly made hers), but it was fun anyway!

Lesson learned for the day. Hot glue dripped from the hot glue gun directly onto fingertip hurts like the dickens and leaves small blisters. Pooh! Luckily since I was the one with the glue gun, it's my finger with the blisters and not the little ones. Whew!

Originally posted on myspace on June 5, 2006:

Yes, we regularly refer to S. as "The Pestilence." Other  adjectives commonly used to describe her are "terrorist" and "mugger". Now before you get all up and mad at me, just know that these names are completely justified. As a matter of fact, once, in preschool, A.'s teacher asked the kids to describe their brothers/sisters. A. piped up and said "My sister is a pestilence." Needless to say, her teachers were speechless.

So the conversation I had this morning with S. should have come as no surprise.

S.: "Mommy, I meeg crum urglemudurphs forf dorpture."
Me: "I'm sorry? What did you want? I can't understand you. Take that pacifer out of your mouth!"
(S. removes pacifier from mouth)
S.: "Mommy, I need some instruments of torture."
Me: (silence)

Why me? Seriously.

originally posted on myspace June 9, 2006: