Cereal Gifter

Last Wednesday night our sweet friend Natalie who teaches Alex's Bible class, had the kids make Mother's Day gifts. Not known for his patience, the moment class was over Alex runs up to Mandy begging her to open his gift. After a few minutes of trying to calm him down and get him to wait until the actual holiday, Mandy goes over to a side room and opens the gift which her little boy made with such excitement. What she pulls out of the bag is something similar to the Olympic rings in design except of course covered with cheerios.

"Wow Alex! This is pretty! Thank you!!"
"It's a bracelet Mommy!!"

With that, Mandy puts her wrist through the first loop and can't help but notice the 3 other cheerio filled rings dangling down her arm....

"I made it kinda big. I think it's a necklace."

Always the good sport, Mandy takes it off her wrist and begins to put the first loop over her head...and manages to get it about down to her ears before it refuses to go further. Sitting there in front of Alex (eyes wide and in full appreciation of his awesome Mother's Day gift), Mandy does the only thing she can do which is shake her head about flinging the dangling rings back & forth and says

"Hey look it's a headband! This is so great. And look if I get hungry I can just fling a loop in front of my face and get a cheerios snack!"

Seeing how pleased his Mommy is of his expert craftsmanship, Alex takes off to play leaving Mandy to enjoy her bracelet/necklace/headband/snack dispenser. Afterward while joining up with the rest of the church, somebody catches up to Mandy and says

"Did you like your Mother's Day gift Alex made?"
"Of course, but it's a little small. I can't quite figure out how to get it around my neck."

And that's when things fall into place....."Around your neck? You know it's a bird feeder right?"

Classic Alex! Forget listening or reading instructions, let's just put this stuff together and see what we come up with. To add to it Natalie told us later that right away he asked if he could eat some of the cheerios he was putting on. When she agreed, it was one cheerio on the loop and one handful in his mouth. Apparently Natalie lost count as to how many times she had to fill up his bowl so he would have enough to finish!!

A Whopper of a lesson

Before Adam was born I read a bunch of books about how to be an awesome dad. I learned about how the baby will look slimey and covered with cheese moments after it's born. How to wrap them up in a tiny burrito so they feel snug and sleep easier. I read book after book about exercising with your baby, reading to your baby, singing with your baby...I was a baby book expert! Of course all that reading didn't help nearly as much as I'd hoped simply because babies don't follow the rules and always do things on their own time table. After page upon page of instruction, somewhere along the way I learned the secret to being a parent is just being there every day involved in every aspect of your child's life. This continues on through their single digit years and just based on how many questions my mother asks me at 41, never really stops. One important thing the books never covered though is that in the eyes of your child, you are always an example of how to act and react to a situation.

You stub your toe and let out a curse word, the kid sees it. You eat a handful of grapes at the grocery without paying for them, the kid sees it. You flip someone the bird during traffic or run a red light or fly off the handle because Burger King put ketchup on your Whopper even though you specifically told them five times you hate it and they never ever get it right! I mean just one time could you please listen to me and leave the tomato off!! Would it kill them to....you get the point, the kid sees it. There aren't any days off or vacation days when it comes to being a role model for your children. As exhausting as that sounds, it's just a part of the job that Mommy & Daddy have to learn to come to grips with. You might be able to hide your flaws from your boss or neighbor or the preacher at church, but you child is always there watching and listening and recording everything for a time when they may also be in a similar situation.

Recently there have a been some challenges that Mandy & I have faced that left us wondering afterward how closely the boys were paying attention. Looking back at my own childhood I'm positive there were circumstances and events my own mother would probably wish I couldn't recall. While the example we set during tough times is definitely something we should keep in mind, how we pick ourselves up, admit our mistakes, and move forward is also a valuable lesson to be shown to our children. They need to understand that just like them, we make mistakes (some larger some smaller) and that often it's the way we recover from them that provides the greatest lesson on how to be an adult.

Fidget Spinner Mania!!

Said many times and never more true than with the Fidget Spinner; it's often the simplest ideas that make the sense (and cents). Take 3 nickel sized sets of ball bearings, pop them into a plastic triangle shaped mold, and make them only available online and what you end up with is a million dollar frenzy that is spinning out of control all over the country. People are quite literally setting up tents, selling them off the truck, and watching the lines get longer and longer as desperate parents try to help their children avoid being the only tyke without one.

Local news is reporting about them, the Today show is spending countless segments covering the craze, and schools have already started banning the fidget spinner because of the distractions they cause. Which is kinda sad once you understand that their original purpose was to help those with anxiety, ADHD, ADD, autism, or those that just can't seem to block out the urge to constantly swing a leg, tap a foot, or hum a song. I've been a nail biter for 41 yrs and thanks to my fidget spinner I'm able to leave my hands alone,avoid nodding off at inappropriate times, and really zone in on what I'm doing while flipping the stew out one of my two spinners.

I get these things are toys to most, but I can't help but think about how useful one would have been to me when I was struggling to pay attention in class and about all those that are struggling today and can't find a solution. Fad yes. Distraction certainly, but like Mandy said to somebody this past week "They are toys for my boys and a necessity for my husband!!"  

The Sporting Life

Baseball season is about to come and go. Some seasons are better than others. For every no winner there's an undefeated or allstar year right behind it and vice versa. I think Adam enjoys the never ending cycle of baseball, soccer, and basketball, but lately something feels different. It's entirely possible he's bored with it; after having taken only one year of basketball off since he first started playing around age 6, it's easy to assume he may just want a break. It could be he's just feeling restless and looking for something new. He keeps mentioning flag football.