Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Today was a good day

Finally, finally, FINALLY Adam had a good park day. He typically hates going and whines the whole time. It drives me nuts.

Anyways, today was different! He was a happy boy! The whole time! Natalie too was delightful!

The secret was the scooter.

I let them bring their razor scooters and that made all the difference! Finally park day became like an amusement park and I loved seeing the kids actually happily playing at the park the way they're supposed
to! sheesh this shouldn't have taken so long

Today was also a good day because I hiked up Claremont Wilderness Trail with Lorelei and Sonja. It makes me happy that I've been able to get in a bit of regular exercise and of course doing that with friends makes it that much better!

Two things I wanted to write down

(I wrote this one awhile ago too. These last four posts are all out of order.)

I got a pedicure for the very first time today. (Jason got me a gift certificate for Mother's Day.) Part of why I haven't gotten one before is because I had a sense that I would like it and I didn't want to be always tempted to spend $20 on my toes. The other reason is because I always cut my toenails suuuper short and I thought the ladies would laugh at my feet like "What is there to manicure! You've already cut the whole nail!"

So I've gone 34 years with regular feet, barefoot, and barely lotioned.

My lady noticed...

and she convinced me to spend 5 extra dollars so she could scrub off my callouses. And damn that lady darn near scraped off my natural leather shoe it was so painful. And yes I did scream out and yes others heard me!

But here's the thing: I really do get it. I get why everyone loves the pedicure so much. even more than the manicure. It's that with the soaking, and oily stuff, and exfoliation, and lotion massage and the chair that mechanically kneads your back, and this and that, my footsies felt light as air and super fresh for at least 2 hours.

Now they feel like regular feet again, but the polish is a reminder of my nice experience. I think that's why they like to make sure you leave with some polish!
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Ok, on to the other thing which is completely unrelated. It's just a thought I've had from time to time and I wanted to write it down.

I know that when I first became a mother, people, older people, older WOMEN especially, would often stop me and tell me how much to enjoy my children because they grow up so fast. I remember one time in particular when Frannie was only a few weeks old, an older woman told me this and I wanted to say to her "but there is nothing to enjoy".

Later on I of course found many things to enjoy and yes, I do enjoy the kids and enjoy being their mom very much.

But I often read on blogs from other women how much they don't like older women telling them this. When they get advice to "enjoy every moment" they just find it irritating because it certainly isn't always enjoyable. It seems like just one more demand they cannot fulfill.

But I see it differently now. I believe what people are REALLY saying when they say to enjoy it, is they are saying "don't forget that this is your youth too." Because once you can't have kids anymore, you yourself are not young anymore. The message is twofold. Enjoy your kids. But also in enjoying your kids, you are enjoying your own adult youth.





Important Milestones for Adam

(Obviously I wrote this awhile ago and never published it. I kept it in my draft folder because I keep meaning to add pictures.)

Adam turned 6 years old a few weeks ago and he is having some exciting moments!

1. He finished his first year of kindergarten and did really well.

2. He learned to tie his shoes.

3. He lost his first tooth!

4. He started piano lessons, and even though he didn't want to do it, he's actually really enjoying it. I think he was getting intimidated by seeing what Frannie can do, but now that he knows a few notes I think he finds it quite exciting that he can read the music a little bit.

5. He started tennis lessons and he's enjoying that too.

Above all else, Adam is a really GOOD boy. The other day we were at Wal-Mart (I know, I know) and Natalie spotted a random little ball on the ground. She asked if she could pick it up and I said ok, but then Adam said "Mom what if the kid who lost that ball comes back to look for it? Then he'll be sad that he can't find it." I said, "You're right Adam. Natalie, Adam is right, go put the ball back." The ball didn't look like much to me, but I wanted to honor his thoughtfulness and I was impressed by that.


zumba shoes

Adam needed new shoes, but Jason ended up getting all of the kids new shoes. Natalie chose these little beauties and she said excitedly "They're ZUMBA SHOES so we can Zumba TO-GETH-ERRR!"

Summer swimming

Today the kids have swim lessons. Natalie is a beast in the pool. She had no trouble learning and fearlessly throws herself in and swims all over the place. Adam is timid sometimes but has really started improving his strokes. He's a kid who is often reluctant to try things but is actually good at them once he gets going. Francesca is a very lithe swimmer. She's fun to watch. She concentrates and she executes just as they ask.