Superhuman Mom Tricks!

Justin's Top Right First Molar

(Orthodontia Included)

I was sitting at my desk, happily working away, when I heard Justin fall up the stairs.  Yes, up. It's a common issue for him these days since his feet are about 4 sizes bigger than his brain realizes.  I heard him say, "Oh Shoot!" Again, this is nothing out of the ordinary so I kept working and didn't acknowledge him.   

"Mom?"

sigh..."Ugh"..."What is it now?"..."I am WORKING..."

"I lost a tooth!"

I guess I'm going to have to deal with this one.

No big deal.  He's 10 and it's a molar so we're right on track.  The issue is that he has braces, the tooth has a bracket on it, we're "new" in town (translated: I have not gotten around to finding an orthodontist yet), and it's a Holiday Week.  My question is, "Exactly WHO is going to get the tooth out of his mouth that is currently hanging from his wire?"

Google to the rescue!

I called the first place on my trusty Google List, but nobody answered.  At the next place, I got a message saying they're at lunch.  On the third call, the message says they're on vacation but I can dial 9 for "true dental emergencies only!"  I'm not a patient, I wonder how much they will appreciate my particular emergency?  I dialed a fourth office and happened to get a very kind Floridian working in the lab who tells me that the doctor is on vacation. The answer is becoming very clear to me. 

I broke the news to Justin.  I was doing the surgery.  He laughed! I laughed!  Here we go!

We put Justin on the couch, he bit down so that the tooth would stop dangling from the wire and grossing me out, and I went to work with the big guns!  Who needs dental tools?  We accomplished the job with a set of tweezers, a paper clip, and a pair of cuticle scissors.  To his credit, Justin was extremely brave as I came at him with my implements while squirming childishly at the disgusting tooth.  He laughed, made a joke about being in a psychologist's office, and smiled big as I started the work!  A few minutes later, after much coaching and encouragement from my son, out came the tooth and he was rinsing the "affected area" with salt water.  The excitement has died down and he's now back upstairs playing basketball with his sister.

Another successful day at the Dolby House!!!!

Twas the night before Christmas...

 

Twas the night before Christmas...

One of my biggest worries whenever we move is how the kids will adjust to their new schools.  I feel bad for them when they say good-bye at the old school, I feel excited with them when they see their new house, and I feel the fear they feel on the first day at the new school.  

Both kids were scared this time around, even though they won't admit it.  Justin told me, "Mom, the worst thing about the first day is that you don't even have someone to ask where things are."  Annalise would say in her prayers at night, "...and I know I'll always be OK as long as I keep my friends in my heart to guide me..."  

My heart was especially sad for Annalise this time around because she left a community that she had grown up with.  Her kindergarten friends stuck with her through the years and she was leaving some girls that she really loves.  On her first day of school, I worried and waited for her to come home and tell me how it went.  I'm pleased to say that she did great!  She made a friend and she said she loved her teachers. As long as we're admitting things here, the truth is that I miss Salt Creek and my friends so I understand what they're feeling because I was nervous to start over too.

I got my first chance to come to school this week and see Annalise's class.  Justin asked me to give him some space now that he's in 5th Grade, which I happily respected, and I did not go to his Holiday Party.  Annalise, on the other hand, is still young enough to want to show me her school life.  

As you can see, Annalise has adjusted as we would expect - just fine!  She's brought her love of reading with her to Valrico and she's in love with school just the way she always has been.  She was sick this week so we all hoped that she would be able to do her Narrator part.  Her voice came back just in time and she did great!  Her classroom here is a team setting where they have two classrooms and two teachers to take advantage of.  It's amazing!  The room they are in is set up as their reading area and it stays this way all year long.  Their desks are in the other room where they do their desk work and they move between the rooms all day long.  Her teachers work together and make all of the kids work just a little harder because, as both of my kids have mentioned, they can't get away with anything since there's always a teacher walking around.

We're still wearing Salt Creek shirts to school but I think we all feel comfortable now as Valrico Explorers!

The $2 Poinsettia

Teaching kids about money is a challenge.  I am not very good at it, believe it or not, and I'm afraid that I'm not teaching my kids the right way to budget or the importance of saving early.  I am not a very disciplined person and I'm not the mom who gets the allowance out every Sunday (even though I mean to every single Sunday) and I don't do a good job of making them budget for the big things.  I mean to, but I never get around to it.

My frustration with my own shortcoming was unfortunately taken out on my son last night and he fired back with a lesson that hit me square in the heart.

Justin and Annalise both participated in a military kid study several months ago and they each got $15 for it in the mail yesterday.  I gave them their cash and told them they could do what they wanted with it.  I was certainly not a deprived child and I never went without anything I wanted, so I'm not sure how I wound up this way, but I am a neurotic saver.  I hate spending money and I feel so much better when I make a deposit into the savings account than when I buy that gorgeous pair of shoes.  When I handed their cash to them, I assumed that they would proudly deposit the money in their piggy banks and leave it there to count later as I would have done as a child. 

I am not my child and my child is not me.  Repeat.

We went to buy a Christmas Tree last night and Justin had his $15 in his pocket.  I was wandering through the pine tree aisles when he came over to me, wearing a proud smile on his face, and handed me a little poinsettia plant with a gold wrapper. The words flew out before I even thought through them and I said something along the lines of, "Seriously?  What did you spend your money on now?" 

Mouth in gear, brain in neutral. That never ends well.

The smile flickers for a moment and he says, "I bought it for you, Mom.  It was only two bucks..."

Oh, it gets worse.

I groveled all night and tried to save myself by justifying my response to him.  I was a hopeless mess babbling mindless stories about why it's important to save and how we will buy him the things he needs.  He listened politely and didn't say much so I filled the silence with more mindless babble about things he really didn't care about.  I ended by reminding him that the greatest gifts I ever get are things he makes me.  I asked him to make me a card for the flowers. "To Mom, From Justin" or something like that.

When we got home, he asked me for a notecard and pen so that he could write a label for my flowers. He disappeared for much longer than usual so I thought that maybe he was drawing me a battle scene or something like that.  Nope.  Way wrong.  This is what I got:

Trust me, I know that there are many battles and life lessons to come.  I know I have lots to improve on when it comes to being a good Mom.  I know, I know...don't waste time patting myself on the back.  I know all of that, but right now, I know I have done something RIGHT. 

Goalie

Playing for the Aztecs - Spring Season

Another Aztec shot - he got his hands on this one!

He's been working hard on strategy 

and getting the ball where it needs to go.

Action Shot - Winter Season with the Tigers

One of my favorites!  This was a save made playing with the Tigers.

After several years of dedication to his love of American Football, Justin decided to take a break and try his hand at the "Real Futbol".  Hats off to my soccer stud!  He has found a talent that I never dreamed he had!  John was a goalie growing up and it looks as though Justin may follow very successfully in his footsteps. 

I must admit that I love being a soccer mom.  It's so much fun to go to the games and watch your kid play his heart out!  Since Justin has taken on the job of goalie though, I think I've had no less than 47 heart attacks and I may have aged a few years while holding my breath as the other team comes tearing down the field ready to score.  San Diego seems to be a place full of talented young athletes and youth sports are generally places where I find myself blown away by the competition. Soccer around here is generally pretty amazing to watch!

The first team Justin played on this year, the Tigers, was coached by a prior competitive player and all of the kids on the team had played before.  They were tough to beat and Justin had to work hard to keep his spot as goalie!  He's been a part of a very competitive (undefeated is the truth) football team for the past year, and while he had enjoyed the taste of victory, he had not experienced being in the hot seat.  He didn't play quarterback, he didn't play receiver, and he didn't experience the pressure of being the kicker trying to get an extra point to win the game.  Playing goalie brought some new experiences for him!  He stopped plenty of shots, but he got scored on once or twice and had to learn how to pick his head up and get ready for the next one. 

He had so much fun playing winter soccer that he went back for more in the spring season.  This time, his team was a little more green (to put it mildly).  They were rookies and they were just trying to figure out which way they were going for the first couple of games!  Justin took plenty of shots on goal and he came out bloody once or twice!  They lost every game and at about mid-season, his team started taking it out on him.  He came home from practice one day feeling defeated because one of the other kids had said, "Maybe you could start making some saves!" I was sad to see my kid feeling down and out but happy to see him come back quickly when we talked about how many saves he did have and how his odds of success might improve a bit if maybe his defense would help him out.  

His team must have worked it out because they came out for blood the next week!  They played a team that I thought would beat them 25 - 0 (no kidding) and they wound up scoring two goals and losing by only three.  By most counts, a butt whooping, but for this team, it was a major accomplishment! Justin was diving all over the place, he made some amazing saves, and he managed to learn how to get his team to work together.  There were high fives being shared all around and after the game, I had two parents from the other team ask if I was his Mom.  With a puffed up pride I said, "I sure am!" and they let me know that they thought he was a really good goalie.  The only moment that topped that was when I heard the coach of the other team say to himself, "Dang.  That kid's good!" It was such an amazing performance that I couldn't stop myself and I rushed the field at the end to tell him just how awesome he had played! The victory was made sweeter because it was his Tenth Birthday so it's a game we'll always remember.

Justin has won some games and he's now certainly lost some games.  He's been down in the dirt with kids kicking hard at him and he's gotten back up to try again.  He's had kids tell him it's his fault when it goes bad and he's also had them tell him that he's a superstar when it goes right.  He's also endured playing in the hot seat with his whole team counting on him and his family yelling for him.  He's learned under fire and he's certainly earned his goalie jersey! 

Signing off,

The always proud Soccer Mom!

P.S.  I might just love soccer because I have experienced my most memorable moment in a long time during one of the games.   As I mentioned, it was chaotic and there were lots of shots being taken on him, lots of yelling going on, and lots of pressure.  At one point during the season, we switched sides at halftime and he asked me to walk down to the other end of the field with him.  (I had done that the week before because it's a little lonely in enemy territory with all of the heckling that goes on).  I asked if he was sure he didn't want Dad/Grandad to go down with him because they know how to coach and he said, "Nope.  Just you please."  I know that's not going to be their favorite story...but it's mine...and it will be for a long time. 

Family Adventure

Where in the world are we these days? 

Well, with the launch of Petit Bistro Photography, we're commonly found behind the lens.  Justin and Annalise have been very patient about heading out to photo shoots on all (and I mean ALL) of their free time recently.  Here's Justin, muddy knees and all, working on his homework at the baseball field this past week while I did a Team Shoot for the little league.  Annalise found a new friend this particular day (there have been many, I think she was playing with Bella this time) and they were digging up cups of dirt and serving some kind of dust soup to the parents. 

It's not just sports events for us!  They spent John's birthday this year playing in the waves on Coronado Beach while we did our first Family Portrait shoot.  For a minute that night I thought I had lost them and a bit of panic set in for this usually relatively calm mother.  I started the frantic search and thankfully after about a minute, I found Justin's feet kicking up above the sea wall.  I'm not sure what he was doing because I couldn't see his body (just kicking legs - straight out of a cartoon) but I knew the feet were his!  A second later, Annalise's head bobbed up and I saw that she was supervising whatever activity was going on.  I figured they were safe as long as she was in charge. 

Although they usually complain when we head out the door, they always manage to have a good time once we get there.  If our business becomes successful, it will be based on the efforts of all four members of our family and our kids are so much a part it all.  I hope they're making good memories along the way because in this world of digital and electronic everything, at the very least, they are forced outdoors on a regular basis.  With their Mom and Dad.  I love it!

The Bike Ramp

 Gathering the Materials - Two plastic ramps made the journey from Bryson's garage across the street.  Bryson was also kind enough to contribute most of the bike and helmet gear.

Here they are working on the solution for the backside of the ramp. The question is, "How do we make it tall enough?"

OK, Down Ramp...ready to go!  The table can hold the bike's weight but the board fell down while they were pushing it up.  No problem - all you have to do is set it up again before the next person goes.

After the reset, the front is back in business. 

Let's test the back end of the ramp.

Tabletop is OBVIOUSLY not going to work.

...and the testing starts again...

 

Tomorrow's Engineers!

Justin had his buddies (Jordan and Bryson) over yesterday for the normal after school antics.  I was in the back yard doing homework with Annalise when I heard some loud scraping noises that made my ears perk up.  It eventually stopped so I went back to fractions with Annalise.  I got a little worried when it started again a minute later, so I went out front to investigate and, sure enough, my kids were responsible for the noise.  Bryson has two plastic bike ramps that they were dragging over to our house to use in their bike ramp.  The contents of our garage were also being unloaded and considered for the final product.  There were 2x4s and boards from John's last project, saw horses, and every other random thing we might own. 

I knew this would most likely be entertaining, so I got out the camera and found a spot across the street to watch their progress.  Their negotiations were quite spirited and they all found themselves to be fantastic engineers.  They were eventually ready to test the contraption and Justin hopped on his bike to be the first brave soul.  I tried to stay out of their way but when I saw that happening, I had to jump in and ask they they test with a non human object first.

Thank God.

They have set a date for next Wednesday to construct and test the newest version.

The Day She Arrived

There are lots of new babies around these days, which makes me feel very nostalgic, and it reminds me again how fast the time goes.  I was in the grocery store tonight with Annalise and she was clowning around with the lady at check out.  I was giggling and having fun watching her, but there's always a fair dose of peer pressure to "get a move on" when you know there's a line of people behind you, waiting to check out, who do not think your kid is as cute as you do!

Believe it or not, the guy behind me said, "With that kind of personality, be sure to record every moment because you'll forget them as she gets older."  I guess he was having fun too.

He's right!  I forget the baby moments from time to time so here's the story of Annalise's Arrival into this world.  I wrote it a few days after I came home from the hospital so it's genuine but written by a groggy new mom. 

October 6, 2005

I went to the doctor's office for a check-up a couple of weeks out (probably around September 27th) and our doctor said I was looking healthy and was making some progress toward labor.  I had been going through some false labor since about the middle of September.  Rachael came out to stay with me "just in case" while John was in Monterey starting his MBA Program.  I went back to the doctor around October 2nd and I was still at the exact same place I had been, "making some progress toward labor." Not much though.  We scheduled an induction for 6:00am on October 6th which was her due date.  I went back home to wait.  Each night I would take a shower before bed, "just in case" I needed to go anywhere.  Mom was here to stay with Justin whenever the time finally did come.

On the night of October 6th, we went to bed with the alarm set to go bright and early for our appointment in the morning.  Our bags were packed and we were excited!  At about 1:00am, a contraction woke me up and I KNEW this was it.  Even though I think I knew this was the real thing, I took a shower like they suggest to make sure it wasn't just another false alarm.

We timed the contractions and they were about 4 minutes apart right away.  I tried to stay calm and I assumed I was just doing something wrong because it's not supposed to happen that fast.  I stopped very calmly to talk to Mom on my way out the door but John was trying to get me out of the house because he knew it was going to happen quickly.  Boy was he right!

We finally hit the road (from our house in Chula Vista) at 2:30am.  As soon as we got in the car, I knew we were in some big trouble.  At about the end of our street, my water broke and I was so happy that John had stocked my seat with an armload of towels!  Contractions started coming at about 2 minutes apart and I tried to hide that fact from John because I was scared - it was a long drive to La Jolla!

About halfway to the hospital, we were close to Balboa hospital and I thought about begging him to stop.  I didn't because I wanted to be at La Jolla so bad (since that was the plan) but I think he read my mind.  He drove FAST up the highway and he called the hospital on the way to let them know we were coming and that we'd need a wheelchair at the curb.  They told us later that lots of peole say that but they knew by John's voice that he was quite serious! I remember smelling burning brakes when we got out of the car and the nurses tricked me into the wheelchair by promising drugs if I could get myself upstairs.  Those jokesters were lying!!!! No drugs for me!  Annalise was on her way whether I liked it or not!

They told me "not to do anything" until they could get a doctor there (like I had any control over the situation) and I'm not sure how anything happened from there.  All I could manage was to listen to John's voice who talked me calmly through each step.  Eleven minutes after we arrived at the curb, we had a baby girl crying in our arms!  We were famous up and down the hall.

My clearest memory right after she was born was when the nurse asked if I wanted to hold her, and I said, "I can't...".  She took Annalise away from me and tried her best to comfort me by saying, "Don't worry...it will be OK."  I recognized that she thought I didn't WANT to hold her but that could not be farther from the truth.  My body was so tired, I was on pitocin, and my hands were so weak from squeezing my fists the whole car ride up that I knew I couldn't safely hold her.  I heard her crying and I knew that I'd hold her soon.  

 Hello Sweet Girl!!!

Mom came to the hospital right away to see us and John and Ginnie brought Justin a little later.  Kelly came with snacks, Dave and Susan came by and Jen (Auntie Jenny) came to see me the first day.

The first thing Justin did when he got in our hospital room was to kiss his baby sister on the forehead.  He didn't like all of the hospital garb on me and he stayed away for a minute.  Finally he got in bed with me and snuggled.  I was so very happy to see him!

 Big Brother and his Baby Sister

 Hello Little Man!!!

Annalise was a sweet and snuggly baby from the first second.  When Justin was born, he cried when they had him in the heater but Annalise just watched.  He was loud from the start, Annalise waited a little longer, but when she finally did cry - it was LOUD!  I remember thinking that we needed to keep her quiet in the hospital room because she was likely to wake EVERYONE else up!

We came home on October 7th after the doctors gave us a clean bill of health.

 Her first outfit - Sporty and Pink!

Let the loving begin!

How I spent most of my first week home

Here are some comments I wrote about Justin and his "Big Brother" revelations dated 11/18/2005:

"Mommy...Annalise will be the Princess when she grows up and I will be the Prince Charming when I grow up."

Another cute one...

Often when she's crying, he will say softly to her, "It's OK Annalise, your Big Brother is here."

Broncos

NFL Playoffs are here and the ugliness comes out!!!

I treasure the memory of my first Bronco Game and I've loved those boys for a lot of years! I remember "The Drive" and getting a phone call from my cousin in Cleveland 2 minutes before the game ended when we were on the 2 yard line.  Those years that we went to the Superbowl (and lost...twice) as a child were amazing because the whole city was enjoying Bronco Fever!    There were orange and blue painted houses and Bronco songs on the radio.  I remember Thunder running around the field, the official naming of "Bronco Boulevard"and generally feeling like I was a part of something bigger.  That's a powerful feeling as a young girl and I think I needed it at the time.

In college, the excitement started again as Elway and The Broncos were enjoying the long awaited return of excellent, winning seasons.  My Bronco Pride heightened during my 4 year tenure in New England.  How many times did I come home to find my door covered in Patriot Paper or find a photo of Thunder being stabbed by a Patriot Bayonet?  Too many times to count.  Broncos are my childhood and, try as I might, I have not found a bond with any other team that rivals this one.

It's an interesting battle that I face (in all of my parenting challenges) to separate my own desires from what my kids want.  When they were babies, I decked them out in Bronco Gear any chance I got! 

As they got older, I wanted them to have a chance to build their own memories and find their own team.  Football was still (and always will be) a family sport but we started to foster a healthy rivalry in our house.

I still kept the faith...but I encouraged the kids to find teams of their own.  As I look through pictures for this entry, I find MANY pictures of Justin or Annalise in Charger shirt being snuggled by me in a Bronco shirt.  

After an incredible (and unexpected) win against the Steelers last week in a wildcard game, Denver is preparing for a playoff game in New England against those Patriots that I love to hate.  I woke up this morning and posted a few comments on Facebook before putting on my Bronco hat to take the kids to school.  Annalise is at an age that makes my heart melt (wanting to be like Mom) and she asked me for a Bronco shirt.  She's been asking for a while and I keep avoiding it because I want her to have her own experience.

Imagine my rage when in line for school to start, three boys from her class (wearing Charger shirts for spirit day at school) came up and told me, "Broncos Suck!"  I listened to it for a while, somewhat in shock that first graders were so comfortable talking like that, but I was done when I saw the tears balancing precariously close to the edge of Annalise's little eyes.  She was offended that someone would hurt her Mom and she started to trash talk, unsuccessfully, right back.  The real me wanted to take the bait and laugh that the Chargers were done for the season (Ha Ha!!!) but the more mature me explained that saying that is not nice and that everyone can have their own team.  They asked lots of questions and I explained that when I was in first grade, I lived in Denver.  One kid is moving soon and he was pleased to find out that he could stay a Charger fan even if he leaves San Diego.

The morning ended peacefully with my girl on her way to class but you can bet your Bronco Behind that if Denver manages to pull out a miracle this weekend, that girl of mine will have her very own Bronco shirt to wear on Monday and she'll be well prepared to handle any trash talking that might come her way!!!! If we lose, well, she's got her Charger shirt as a back up.