Monday, February 21, 2011
Prove it!
Like many parents, I tell Nick that I will check on him before I go to bed and kiss him one last time. Shawn takes him up, reads him a story and tucks him in. Nick has begun a new habit in the last couple of weeks that I just have to share. Before giving in and going to sleep, Nick gives me a stuffed animal off his bed. Each night it is a different stuffed animal. Each night the instructions are the same. When I go into his room at night to check on him, I am to return the stuffed animal to it's rightful place in his bed. This is to prove that I really did go into his room to check on him. The last couple nights he's even gone as far as telling me exactly where in his bed the animal should be placed. I am fascinated by this. I don't know what is more amusing to me, the fact that Nick doesn't trust that I really go in to check on him and he needs proof, or the fact that he came up with such a clever way for me to prove it to him. Either way, I think I'm in for it when he starts questioning the existence of Santa Clause, the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny. I wonder what we're going to have to do to prove how real they are.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
annunciation can be very, very important
So, I go to drop the kids off at school the other day. Nick's preschool teacher calls me into a separate classroom to discuss an issue with me. Uh oh, I'm worried, we can't even talk out in the open, what the hell happened? She proceeds to tell me that they were having a classroom discussion the day prior about getting dressed up. Reasons why people get dressed up, where they would go, etc. Someone mentioned getting dressed up and wearing a wig. The teacher then asks if anyone knows who would wear a wig when they get dressed up. According to the teacher, my Nicholas proudly announces to the whole class that "the blacks do". This baffles the teacher because none of the children, let alone my Nicholas, have ever referred to black people as "the blacks" in the classroom. I'm baffled because first, Shawn and I do not use that phrase, and second, Nicholas is still young enough that, to him, black people are brown. She continues. She asked Nicholas why he would say that and he responds, "because they do. All of them do." When asked how he knows this he tells her that he saw it on TV. I have no idea how to respond to this. I do tell her that, if this is what he said, he couldn't have meant anything derogatory by it. She knows this, but has to bring it to my attention because apparently, one of the other children repeated the conversation to his/her parents who were concerned and questioned the school. Great.
I apologize and tell her that I will speak to Nicholas. At this point the children are cleaning up the toddler room where they're all dropped off in the morning and filtering into their age appropriate classrooms. Nick is playing with/putting away mega bloks. I pull Nick aside, into the bathroom as this is the only place where we can be alone, and I explain that he is not in any trouble, but that I need to ask him about something. The conversation goes as follows:
me: "Your teacher tells me that you told her 'the blacks' wear wigs. Why would you say this?"
Nick: rolls his eyes and slaps a hand against his thigh as if he's had this conversation 400 times. He responds, "no, I told them, the BLOCKS wear wigs!"
me: "Nicholas, do not fib to me, blocks do not wear wigs."
Nick: "They do in that commercial where the daddy and little boy are in a car driving and their hair falls off and they swap hair. And in that movie where they're under water searching for treasure. All the little block people that I have wear wigs. And you can swap their wigs between them."
me: hysterical laughter
Apparently Nick was thinking about the plastic hair that the little Lego people have and he was describing a commercial that currently runs on TV and the cartoon about Lego Atlantis. I'm utterly relieved that my child is not referring to an entire race of people as "the blacks" and cannot wait to share with his teacher (who happens to be black) how misunderstood he was in this instance.
I'm not sure who found the explanation more entertaining, but I'm sure that we all owe Nicholas an apology!
I apologize and tell her that I will speak to Nicholas. At this point the children are cleaning up the toddler room where they're all dropped off in the morning and filtering into their age appropriate classrooms. Nick is playing with/putting away mega bloks. I pull Nick aside, into the bathroom as this is the only place where we can be alone, and I explain that he is not in any trouble, but that I need to ask him about something. The conversation goes as follows:
me: "Your teacher tells me that you told her 'the blacks' wear wigs. Why would you say this?"
Nick: rolls his eyes and slaps a hand against his thigh as if he's had this conversation 400 times. He responds, "no, I told them, the BLOCKS wear wigs!"
me: "Nicholas, do not fib to me, blocks do not wear wigs."
Nick: "They do in that commercial where the daddy and little boy are in a car driving and their hair falls off and they swap hair. And in that movie where they're under water searching for treasure. All the little block people that I have wear wigs. And you can swap their wigs between them."
me: hysterical laughter
Apparently Nick was thinking about the plastic hair that the little Lego people have and he was describing a commercial that currently runs on TV and the cartoon about Lego Atlantis. I'm utterly relieved that my child is not referring to an entire race of people as "the blacks" and cannot wait to share with his teacher (who happens to be black) how misunderstood he was in this instance.
I'm not sure who found the explanation more entertaining, but I'm sure that we all owe Nicholas an apology!
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Happy Birthday to Nick (and Shawn)
Groundhogs' day is a very special day in my family. Not only is it the day that Panxsutawney Phil lets us know how much longer we have to wait until spring, it is the day that 2 out of the 3 men in my house were born. Granted their actual days of birth were 35 years apart, but Shawn and Nicholas do share a birthday. This particular year was a biggie because Shawn hit the big 4-0 and Nicholas turned 5. I cannot believe that my little man is already 5-years-old, never mind that I'm married to a 40-year-old. Neither of them act their age - Shawn acts years younger and, at times, Nicholas seems much more mature to me.
For their actual day we didn't do too much. Nicholas brought Ben 10 cupcakes to school for him and his friends to enjoy. Shawn went off to work like any other day. We let Nick pick what we were to have for dinner - pizza - and had a couple people over for a small celebration. Mom-mom, Pop-pop, Uncle Jim, Aunt Diane, Uncle Jose and Anthony all joined us for pizza and cake. It has become tradition that I get a canoli cake for Shawn every year. Since his birthday has been overshadowed by Nick's, I think it's only fair that he gets his favorite cake. Both boys made out well with their gifts this year. Nicholas got the Tangler, Chopper and Fangor Battle Force 5 vehicles from Mommy, Daddy and Evan; the Zelix vehicle from Mom-mom and Pop-pop; the movie Alpha and Omega from Uncle Jim and a Nerf sword and shield set from Diane, Jose, Olivia and Anthony. It was a nice night - the kids had fun playing and the adults got to chit chat for a while before calling it a night. The actual party was scheduled for the following Sunday (super bowl Sunday).
We had a very busy weekend planned. On Saturday, we were expecting cousins from out of town to drive in, in the morning. Then, those cousins, Nick and I were going to head out to Manhattan for another cousin's first birthday party while Shawn went to a tattoo convention with a good friend of ours. I don't know what was more exciting to Nick, going to NYC, riding the train to get there or being able to go with one of his favorite cousins. Then, Sunday morning was Nick's birthday party at Pump it Up. Before the weekend ever began I was exhausted.
Friday night, the boys and I headed out to go shopping for a birthday gift to take to the city. We were nearly to the front door of the store we were heading to when Nick started acting funny. He told me that he was going to be sick and, before he could even finish what he was saying, he threw up right there in the parking lot. I sent Shawn and Evan into the store to get some water and I stayed with Nick to make sure he was done and OK. A couple minutes later he told me that he was fine and we could go inside. I cleaned him up and went inside to find the other half of my family. We were able to shop without incident and Nick seemed to be feeling perfectly fine. Of course, I was still terrified thinking about the weekend we had planned and what this new development meant for those plans.
We finished at that store, but I still needed to run into the book store really quickly. I told Shawn to wait in the car with the boys while I ran inside. I couldn't have been more than 15 minutes, but Nick was passed out in the car by the time I came back out. Obviously he wasn't feeling well, it was 2 hours before bedtime and he was out cold.
We got home and, aside from being tired, Nick seemed OK. I still contacted the out of town cousins to let them know that it was possible Nick was really sick. In the morning Nick seemed better, but still tired. I was not willing to over do it by going to the city and having him too sick to go to his own birthday party, so I contact the cousins and let them know that we weren't going to the city, but that they were still more than welcome to come to our place for the night if they wanted. If not, we totally understood and wouldn't be upset at all. They decided, partly due to a cold on their side as well, to cancel the trip and stay home. We decided we would plan another weekend trip to the city to make it up to the kids.
Shawn still went to the convention as planned and I stayed home with the boys. Nick has been sick before, but he has never acted the way he did on Saturday. He showed no symptoms of being sick other than being a couch potato all day. Nick literally sat on the couch and watched TV all day. He did not get sick, he had no fever, he claimed he felt fine, but him system apparently needed some rest. I did notice that he was not eating very much at all though.
Thankfully, around mid-afternoon, Nick jumped off the couch and started acting like himself. He and Evan ran around and played the rest of the afternoon. I was so relieved that it looked like he would be fine for his party after all. I was beginning to think I was going to have to go and host his birthday party without him.
Sunday morning I was the first one out of bed in the house. I was downstairs getting our things together for the party when Nick came downstairs. He had a big grin on his face and told me that he felt all better and would be able to go to his party! He seemed so happy that his belly did not betray him. The rest of the family woke up in turn and we were off to Pump it Up for Nick's party. I must admit that the thought of Nick bouncing around on giant inflatables was terrifying to me after how he had been acting, but what were we to do?
Thankfully, Nick was able to play to his heart's content without vomiting on any of his guests! I'm not sure which of my kids had more fun, but they both ran around like lunatics. Now, I'm sure hosting a birthday party with a guest list of 25 children is not how Shawn envisioned his 40th birthday to be, but he was a trooper and even seemed to have some fun of his own. After an hour and a half of bouncing, the kids sat down to eat their pizza and cake.
Back at home we unloaded all Nick's loot. He had so many bags and boxes filled with presents I thought we would need an addition on the house to fit it all. Luckily he's a pretty generous kid and packed up a box full of toys to donate just before his birthday to make room for new toys. I think his favorite toys this year were his Nerf swords, his Ben 10 car (from his girlfriend Brielle!) and his Imaginext Batcave.
Once all the presents were opened, all the garbage thrown away and Nick could finally just play with his new toys we all crashed as if we hadn't slept in years. I s'pose the toys will have to wait until after nap.
For their actual day we didn't do too much. Nicholas brought Ben 10 cupcakes to school for him and his friends to enjoy. Shawn went off to work like any other day. We let Nick pick what we were to have for dinner - pizza - and had a couple people over for a small celebration. Mom-mom, Pop-pop, Uncle Jim, Aunt Diane, Uncle Jose and Anthony all joined us for pizza and cake. It has become tradition that I get a canoli cake for Shawn every year. Since his birthday has been overshadowed by Nick's, I think it's only fair that he gets his favorite cake. Both boys made out well with their gifts this year. Nicholas got the Tangler, Chopper and Fangor Battle Force 5 vehicles from Mommy, Daddy and Evan; the Zelix vehicle from Mom-mom and Pop-pop; the movie Alpha and Omega from Uncle Jim and a Nerf sword and shield set from Diane, Jose, Olivia and Anthony. It was a nice night - the kids had fun playing and the adults got to chit chat for a while before calling it a night. The actual party was scheduled for the following Sunday (super bowl Sunday).
We had a very busy weekend planned. On Saturday, we were expecting cousins from out of town to drive in, in the morning. Then, those cousins, Nick and I were going to head out to Manhattan for another cousin's first birthday party while Shawn went to a tattoo convention with a good friend of ours. I don't know what was more exciting to Nick, going to NYC, riding the train to get there or being able to go with one of his favorite cousins. Then, Sunday morning was Nick's birthday party at Pump it Up. Before the weekend ever began I was exhausted.
Friday night, the boys and I headed out to go shopping for a birthday gift to take to the city. We were nearly to the front door of the store we were heading to when Nick started acting funny. He told me that he was going to be sick and, before he could even finish what he was saying, he threw up right there in the parking lot. I sent Shawn and Evan into the store to get some water and I stayed with Nick to make sure he was done and OK. A couple minutes later he told me that he was fine and we could go inside. I cleaned him up and went inside to find the other half of my family. We were able to shop without incident and Nick seemed to be feeling perfectly fine. Of course, I was still terrified thinking about the weekend we had planned and what this new development meant for those plans.
We finished at that store, but I still needed to run into the book store really quickly. I told Shawn to wait in the car with the boys while I ran inside. I couldn't have been more than 15 minutes, but Nick was passed out in the car by the time I came back out. Obviously he wasn't feeling well, it was 2 hours before bedtime and he was out cold.
We got home and, aside from being tired, Nick seemed OK. I still contacted the out of town cousins to let them know that it was possible Nick was really sick. In the morning Nick seemed better, but still tired. I was not willing to over do it by going to the city and having him too sick to go to his own birthday party, so I contact the cousins and let them know that we weren't going to the city, but that they were still more than welcome to come to our place for the night if they wanted. If not, we totally understood and wouldn't be upset at all. They decided, partly due to a cold on their side as well, to cancel the trip and stay home. We decided we would plan another weekend trip to the city to make it up to the kids.
Shawn still went to the convention as planned and I stayed home with the boys. Nick has been sick before, but he has never acted the way he did on Saturday. He showed no symptoms of being sick other than being a couch potato all day. Nick literally sat on the couch and watched TV all day. He did not get sick, he had no fever, he claimed he felt fine, but him system apparently needed some rest. I did notice that he was not eating very much at all though.
Thankfully, around mid-afternoon, Nick jumped off the couch and started acting like himself. He and Evan ran around and played the rest of the afternoon. I was so relieved that it looked like he would be fine for his party after all. I was beginning to think I was going to have to go and host his birthday party without him.
Sunday morning I was the first one out of bed in the house. I was downstairs getting our things together for the party when Nick came downstairs. He had a big grin on his face and told me that he felt all better and would be able to go to his party! He seemed so happy that his belly did not betray him. The rest of the family woke up in turn and we were off to Pump it Up for Nick's party. I must admit that the thought of Nick bouncing around on giant inflatables was terrifying to me after how he had been acting, but what were we to do?
Thankfully, Nick was able to play to his heart's content without vomiting on any of his guests! I'm not sure which of my kids had more fun, but they both ran around like lunatics. Now, I'm sure hosting a birthday party with a guest list of 25 children is not how Shawn envisioned his 40th birthday to be, but he was a trooper and even seemed to have some fun of his own. After an hour and a half of bouncing, the kids sat down to eat their pizza and cake.
Back at home we unloaded all Nick's loot. He had so many bags and boxes filled with presents I thought we would need an addition on the house to fit it all. Luckily he's a pretty generous kid and packed up a box full of toys to donate just before his birthday to make room for new toys. I think his favorite toys this year were his Nerf swords, his Ben 10 car (from his girlfriend Brielle!) and his Imaginext Batcave.
Once all the presents were opened, all the garbage thrown away and Nick could finally just play with his new toys we all crashed as if we hadn't slept in years. I s'pose the toys will have to wait until after nap.
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