Building Up

I just don't want to get in the way of who my kids are supposed to be. 


An older mom in my bookclub summed up her parenting philosophy in this one sentence. She, who has 2 daughters married, 4 grandchildren, and her youngest a mere 8 years old, is always someone I keep tabs on. I listen extra hard when she speaks. I like her family, love her kids, and want to know more, always more. But she is reluctant. She doesn't have all the answers...


Not a single one of us does.


I look back at the early years with my most erm... challenging.... child. That would be Little Boo.

She entered the world innocently enough.


Then, as she grew older, and her personality emerged, she totally rocked it.

She became THAT child.

The child who needed to push the buttons on the microwave to warm her bottle.
The child who would put her own shirt on, backwards if need be thankyouverymuch.

The child who could feed herself, climb up and down from the table by herself, and wash her hands... all by herself.

The child who insisted on buckling herself in her car seat. Even though she had tried 24 times to do it and failed. Even though her siblings were ready to scream in frustration. Even though her mom wanted to leave, no one was allowed to MOVE (esp the car... don't even THINK about inching down the driveway while she's attempting time #25...) until she is securely buckled. (damn those 3-point harnesses)

THAT was my Little Boo.

And now....

Now, my Little Boo is a true joy, genuinely funny, and a real help. She comes out with the best comments. She has a hilarious outlook on life. She was a huge help with Little Dude during his fussiest moments. And lately, she has been known to come home from school, dump her stuff in the home school room, and scrub the entire kitchen top to bottom. Just because she wanted to.

How did this metamorphosis occur?

I wish I had an answer. I wish I could say I followed thus and such philosophy of parenting. I wish I could point you to THAT book that was the key to our seeming (read: insert huge disclaimer here) success.

It was nothing I did. I think it was more what I didn't do.

I went with it. Whatever she thought she could do, as long as it wasn't dangerous, I let her do it.
Case in point...  At the age of 2, she was climbing in and out of her crib at 3 in the morning, turning all the lights on in the house and playing. To me, that was dangerous. She could have probably opened the front door and walked down the street. So, we bought a crib tent and zipped her in it every night.
But by the age of 3 and a half? She slept on the top bunk of the bunk beds she shared with Little Dear. I knew she could climb steadily and would not fall. She was definitely the more sure-footed one of the two. And? She stayed in bed... no night time wanderings.

The car seat fiascos? Sigh. Yes.... every time we had to go somewhere, we got in the car 15 minutes before we had to leave just so she could buckle herself. I know some of you are shaking your heads... sucker, you are saying. Well, Little Boo would scream for HOURS if I buckled her in. Trust me, we tried quite a few times... and I do NOT exaggerate. It would be HOURS of shrill screaming. An extra 15 minutes was worth hours of peace and happiness, as far as I was concerned.

I guess my philosophy was a lot like the mom I admire. I didn't want to break Little Boo's spirit. I didn't want to mess it up. I wanted to form her and mold her as best as my fumbling hands could. 

I'm not perfect. I know there were things I could have done better. But God has abundantly blessed my meager efforts. Little Boo is a very driven little girl. She is super organized, and very diligent with her school work. So much so that putting her in school was a necessity. The fluidity of homeschooling would have killed her. It was, in fact, frustrating her to no end.

Her competitiveness is apparent on the soccer field. She plays on 2 teams, still. She loves it. And while she is competitive, she is also a fiercely loyal friend. If people are not kind, or the other team is too rough, she goes into defensive mode like nobody's business. She sticks up for her friends and gives back what the other team dishes out. She is not afraid to make a stand.

Her gentleness reveals itself in her ability to identify with others and their feelings. She is very sensitive, and sometimes with her hilarious comments and toughie exterior, I forget that. But she senses when others have been wronged, and comes to me... concerned. She doesn't always get it right. Sometimes she makes assumptions about intentions that aren't there... we are working on that. But at least her intuition is being honed. And I love that she feels comfortable enough to chat with me about it all.


They are all so delightfully unique. And there are no pat answers.
If you have your own Little Boo, and are in the thick of it... hang in there!
I know it can be daunting....

And yet... the peace of knowing that no matter what, God blesses our efforts, He knows our hearts...

When we get a glimpse of the fruits? It's such an awesome thing.

:)

Dilemma

 Little Boo, on "What she wants to be when she grows up"

It's so hard to decide, mom.
And I only  have two choices! 

When I'm at school, I think I want to be a nun.

But when I'm playing soccer? 
I'm pretty sure I want to be a rock star.


:)

Little Boo Goes to School

Sparing everyone all the details, (you're welcome...)

(To my local friends? sorry. I've put y'all through a LOT)


:P


Little Boo is now attending a private school.

Batten down the hatches.

We made our decision to send her with the boys 3 days before school started. It was the kind of thing that had been in the back of our brains all summer, and just fell neatly into place all at once.

God likes to keep us on our toes.

The night God whispered in my ear about this, was the night I met Little Boo's teacher.
She is a young college grad, married, working towards her masters.  She was very polite and professional when talking with me, but I saw it, just for a millisecond...  that mischievous glint in her eye.  And my shoulders relaxed and I knew it. Just knew.

She was perfect for my Little Boo.


And so the stories... how they come tumbling out when Little Boo bounces into the car at the end of the day.
The boys drag their tired bodies and humongous backpacks out to us, but Little Boo bounces.  Right next to Little Dude, she alternates between talking to him in the strangest "babytalk" voice ever... (a cross between Wallace and King Julian) ... and regaling me with the more um.... interesting parts of her day.


Day #1. After morning prayer in the cafeteria, Little Boo, eager to get to her classroom, grabbed her backpack and ran upstairs... to an empty classroom.  After waiting like... 20 minutes (so she tells me) she started back downstairs and ran smack into... her teacher, with her classmates lined up neatly behind her.  

Well, hey you, she says. Where ya been?

And that's how Little Boo met her teacher.





Day #2.  She purchased some starbursts from the snack machine. (Oy, that snack machine... how I wish it would go. away.)  Lunchtime ended all too soon, and Little Boo still had 3 starbursts left. Being mindful of the rule "absolutely NO food in the classroom," she quickly shoved the starbursts in her mouth.


Wrappers and all.


I looked at her, horrified.  You ate the wrappers?
Yup! she said brightly, patting her stomach. Not too bad, either!


Day #3. Little Boo finishes with her math facts worksheet.  And she's the first one! All excited, she hands it in, only to get it back with a bunch of red marks on it.

It's my eyes, mom. They are ALL wonky. I thought they were crosses when it was X's!


Day #4. After the cross and X fiasco, Little Boo is none too keen about Math. She places her head in the crook of her arm on the desk and sighs.  Her teacher comes and bends over in front of her. Whatcha thinkin' about?
Little Boo sighs. I dunno.
Well, can you concentrate for a little bit longer?
Little Boo snaps to attention.


Day #5. Apparently the kid with the sticky up hair who (according to the P.E. teacher) canNOT shut up, forgot his P.E. uniform today. That was enough to send Little Boo over the edge with glee... eliciting a round of applause from her older brothers who agree that this kid is beYOND annoying.
Sigh.  Charity and all....


And that's it.  A week in the life of Little Boo: The school edition. I love hearing her stories. I know there will be more, much more. I can't wait to have a sit down with her teacher, to get her perspective.

And I have something very important to tell her, to tell this young woman who has my spitfire 5 days a week.

I'm jealous.  Jealous that she gets to witness these Boo-isms first hand.

She is one lucky gal.


:)

With Love, From Little Boo

My non-Facebook friends have completely missed out on recent Little Boo-isms of late.

And for that, I apologize.

Here, for your viewing pleasure, are the Mother's Day and Father's Day cards she crafted for Andrew and I:

Mother's Day:

(click to enlarge)


And Father's Day:

(The resemblance is striking, no?)



:)

MIA

That's me.  The completely uncommitted blogger.  Not that anyone's noticed, of course.  Oh, wait.  Lil Sis said something to me the other day about getting tired of opening my blog and seeing "Gemma These Days" all the time...  and I did get a lovely Facebook note from this wonderful gal.  (We met through blogging and she knows my younger sisters...hence the FB friendship)  So nice to know that someone misses me!

LOL

It's been a whirlwind of a time over here, folks.  I don't blame anyone for not noticing... in fact, I hardly have time to notice myself.  And judging by the way I look these days, it's high time someone took notice.  Good heavens.

;P

Ok, so on to updates.

My biggest excuse for my lack of communication these days I can blame completely on the smallest member of the Nut House... Little Dude.  Just as he was starting to pull out of his unsleepy-neediness, he went and contracted RSV.  And then, just for kicks, decided to wake up Valentine's Day morning unable to breathe very well.  Nothing says I love you like a frantic trip to the ER with the man you pledged to spend the rest of your life with and sohelpmeifwegetintoanaccidentIwillkillyou... love and cherish forever.
Yes, it was scary.  No, Little Dude did not require any interventions once we got there, thank goodness.  By the time we saw the ER doc, he was smiling and cooing up a storm.  But DH and I?  We acquired a ton of gray hair.  And I don't think my complexion has returned to normal yet.

So, Little Dude and I have been getting to know the wonders of nasal spray, aspirators, and nebulizers.  3 months old seems a little young for this knowledge in my humble opinion, but with this blasted weather and the pollen count skyrocketing, it's necessary... Besides, I'm not up for any more romantic ER trips any time soon.

:P

On a completely different note... I've been gainfully re-employed to spin my tiny tales of fiction for a state testing website.  It's so much fun, but also pretty stressful, to try to make happy tales at the 11th grade level under 525 words and ask questions regarding hyperbole and theme.  No sarcasm allowed, no religion either.  So I'll have to use the blog as therapy.  (Who doesn't, I'd like to know?)


Little Boo started her insane soccer schedule this week.  3 evenings of practice, games on Sundays, soon to be Saturday's too.  I'm happy to report that she is like a brick wall on defense and totally made her mark at her very first game.  Since playing club soccer is much more competitive, I fully expected her to sit out at least part of the game, but no... her new coaches are just as appreciative of her skill at this level.  And I am hopelessly proud.  I couldn't go to her first game, so I shared my feeling of being tortured by texting DH every other second asking how she was doing.

ACTUAL TEXT:
Me: Is she still on?  And playing well?
DH: Yes and yes
Me: You are a plethora of information. Maybe you could do a play by play for me?
DH: Be still woman.  It's so sunny I can barely see my phone.

Aren't you glad you're not married to me?

So, we are plugging away over here.  Little Dude is on the mend.  My foray into the world of fiction has been a nice distraction, and I am unabashedly living vicariously through my 8 year old.  :)

What have y'all been up to?
:)

Beth These Days

Beth (Elizabeth) is our Little Boo. And what a Little Boo she is.

She is the source of most of the hilarity around here, both good and bad.  She will mercilessly tease all of her siblings... yes, even the 13 year old, and then turn around and do something totally precious like, make Little Love some lunch, or change the baby's diaper.  She is so fickle that way.

Not to mention the gems that issue forth from her mouth.  When she learned of my Grandma's passing, she turned to mom and asked; "Is she the lady who lost her marbles?"
My Grandmother had alzheimers.
Nothing like a little humor to lighten the moment. 

:P

At the tender age of 8, Beth really is an old soul.  She has decided, all on her own, to keep her room neat.  So, when visiting my parents, she took it upon herself to clean the kids' room every morning.  She picked up the clothes and toys and made all the beds.  My mother was thrilled that at least one grandchild had inherited her gene of cleanliness and order!

Beth also has undertaken the task of acquiring a love of reading.  She sees her siblings with a book going every day.  She is determined to do the same.  And so there is a stack by her bedside, from which she reads incessantly, and keeps me apprised of her accomplishments. 

My Bethie Boo is becoming quite the soccer player.  She has been asked to play select in the spring. My little spitfire, the captain of her team, is now in the big leagues.  Well, sort of.  When bringing her to her first practice, she asked me if this was a "Spanish" team.  Indeed, she is the only caucasian on the team!  This only bothers her, she told me, when the girls speak Spanish to each other.  So, she says, she just needs to learn Spanish.  Simple, huh?

This girl has taught me so much about the overwhelming ferocity of love and determination.  She works with such concentration and will.  Her spirit is alive and infectious.  I am so happy to report that despite my lack of parenting skills, she thrives.  And how she thrives!

What a privilege it is to be her mom.

And how I look forward to witnessing all God has in store for this little girl.

:)

With Great Honor....

... comes great responsibility.

(Or something like that)

Little Boo (after soccer practice last night):  Coach said I am the captain of the team!

Me:  Really?  All-time captain?

Little Boo: Yup!

(recalling Little Boo's tendencies to be a bit...erm... vocal to her teammates on the field) 
Sports Fan:  Yeah, but it doesn't mean you can boss people around!

Little Boo:  I won't.  I'll just tell them what to do.


Lovely.

Dictatorship at the hands of an 8 year old.  Should be an interesting season...

:P

Exchange

As Little Boo and Little Dear were vociferously getting ready for our garage sale next week....


Little Boo (indignantly plunking down three pairs of shoes):  We're selling these, these, these...  and Little Dear!



:P

Guess Whose First Communion We Celebrated Today?

Oh, wait... here's a more proper one...

And, since we must include other members of the family....

And, of course, the sisters....

Some of whom clearly cannot wait until it is their turn....

It was a lovely, grace-filled day!!

:)

Little-Soccer-Boo

Because I didn't have enough craziness in my life, I let myself be talked into going to an ALL DAY tournament two days after our massive road trip home from California.


Here's how it all went down:

Little Boo has started playing soccer on a great team in a local all-girls' league.  Her coach was a bit of a stickler at first, causing DH and I to wonder what exactly we had gotten ourselves into. They practiced twice a week for an hour and a half... they had to arrive at games 30min before... we had to pay fees exactly on this date at this time.... the uniform cost a pretty penny...  All this for an under 7 team!

I was a bit apprehensive.  This guy and this team seemed a bit... intense... for our family.

Then came the first game.

Little Boo, in her super-cute and sassy pink uniform, headed out to the field to play defense.  I was highly skeptical, but bit my tongue.  And I was in for quite a surprise.

Of all of my soccer-playing children, Little Boo was good.

Not only could she steal the ball from the fast moving forwards and kick it back down the field, but she also seemed to intuitively know and understand where she needed to be at all times. I was so used to eating my own fist when it came to watching the kids play, (what with me feeling helpless as my soccer-clueless children gallivanted all over the field, always in the wrong position, always misjudging the play... I had a heart-attack at every game....I was quite the sideshow for my friends :P ) that I didn't quite know what to do with myself when it came to Little Boo's games. 

I could... sit back?  Enjoy? Simply cheer her on?

What a concept!
:)

During our vacation on the west coast, Little Boo kept bringing up this tournament.  It was an all day affair, the Saturday after we returned. It was over an hour away, and the girls would be expected to play 4 games total.  DH and I said NO. WAY.  But Little Boo was determined.  We'd be enjoying our hamburgers at In-n-Out, and she would ask about the tournament.  We'd be playing in the sand at the beach, and the tournament would be on her mind.  We'd be waiting in line at Disneyland, for heaven's sakes, and she would ask if she could play in the tournament with her team.

And so, at our hotel in Gallup, NM I got an e-mail from her coach.  He had a few last-minute cancellations for the tournament, and could really use Little Boo, he said.  After discussing it with DH the next day, somewhere between Albuquerque, NM and Amarillo, TX, I texted the coach  and said that she could play.  A few phone calls back and forth... and we were set.

Little Boo was ecstatic.

And the rest?

Is a picture-post...

She took most of the goal kicks...

She did a great job of shielding the ball from the other team....

She had awesome positioning on corner-kicks...

She had a great time with her teammates....

And she came out a winner...

Of course.

:)

The Definition of "Appropriate"

And yes.  The name of her team really is SPICE.


:P

Self Criticism

Little Boo while writing in her Nature Journal today:  My handwriting is soooo stupid!  My " t " hangs below the line, my " h " hangs below the line, and my " e's " butt sticks out!


All these years of homeschooling, and I was never made aware of the anatomy of an "e". 

Fascinating.

:P

Math, Little Boo Style

While doing her Math U See this morning...

Little Boo:  Mo-o-o-m!  This is so hard!  I'm counting on my fingers and my toes...

And I can only get up to 14!!


:P

Little Boo-ism

Little Boo: "You Shall Not Commit Adultery" What does that mean, Mama?

Me: Well, it's when you don't keep your heart and mind pure. Like when you watch a TV commercial you know you shouldn't watch.

Little Boo: Oh. Well. I committed adultery once.


:P

Advice From the Peanut Gallery

Little Boo (watching Sports Fan's basketball team get cremated this morning):

Hey, Sports Fan.... HULK- SMASH!!

No, I have no idea where she gets it from.

:P

My Little Boo

Things here in the Nut House are steaming along at a more-rapid-than-usual pace these days. And my Little Boo is the kind that is resistant to her Mama's exhortations, especially when there is a time constraint attached to it. In fact, the more frantic Mama is, the slower she obliges.

Last night, as I was urging her to finish her chore of putting away the toys she and Little Love had been playing with, she parked herself in the kitchen and would. not. budge.

Frustrated, I burst out: Little Love is doing exactly what I told her to do! Look, she is putting the chairs away all by herself! Now, who is being a big responsible girl?

Rolling her eyes, Little Boo retorted: Not me.



















And, for no apparent reason, both DH and I had simultaneous coughing fits.

:P

You Can See This One Coming A Mile Away...

We are big Tom Sawyer fans. Action Man and Sports Fan both started out with the Illustrated Classics version, and then graduated on to the real deal. I love the utter boyishness of these books, and even found delightfully old copies of Tom Sawyer Abroad and Tom Sawyer Detective. Action Man enjoyed both of these immensely.

As a result, there have been many Tom Sawyer-ish shennanigans with my boys, although luckily none as hair-raising as those poor Aunt Polly had to deal with.

Imagine my embarrassed cringing, however, when our beloved pediatrician asked Little Love this question at her 4 (almost 5) year check up:

Dr: Now, I know you don't smoke, right?

Little Love: Nope!

Dr: Does anyone in your house smoke?

Little Love: Yes! Action Man does!

Dr: (confused.. looking at me) Really?

Me: No, no...

Little Boo: Yes he does, Mama! In the backyard! He lights his cigars...

Me: (wanting to muzzle Little Boo) Well... it's a homemade one... and he just pretends.... Tom Sawyer, you know?


And luckily, she does know, and understands, and CPS is not out to get me.

*sigh*


:)

The Nuttier Moments...

It's my Little Boo's birthday on Sunday. She will be 7. If you've been glancing at our sidebar, you will notice that we are in the midst of our Birthday Madness. 4 birthdays in 4 weeks. Little Dear and Sports Fan are the same age right now (why yes, we are masters of NFP, why do you ask?) ...and our budget? -is shot.

Buying presents for my kids is so much fun, but can be frustrating. Little Dear made out well with some much-needed shorts and cute tops, a super cute dress from Auntie, and books, a drawing pad and flowy shirts from Grandma. We also got her a Barbie Rapunzel. 9 is a hard age to buy for, but this mix of things suited her just fine.

Last year, Little Boo had this request.

And while nobody has developed the prototype for such an amazing toy, we've managed to secure a few goodies for her this year. Along with an outing which suits her personality to a T.

She, and her bosom buddy... a little lass who has just as much spirit and spunk, and therefore has knocked heads with her on more than one occasion (figuratively, and also quite literally...) will go with our entire family to Dyno Rock, an indoor climbing gym.

And when I told the mother of Little Boo's friend.. she sighed in wonderment, declaring that it would surely be heaven for her little spitfire.

Thinking of my own Little Boo, I couldn't agree more.

:)

Remember?

This has been a family joke ever since.

And so, for Christmas last year, I sent my FIL a Little Boo t-shirt:











(click to enlarge)

You know you want one.

:)

Because We Need a Few Laughs...

Last night, after a day of absolutely horrific behavior, I announced to my darling peanuts that dessert would no longer be an automatic right, it would have to earned. Furthermore, I bellowed, since their attitudes towards each other and their parents had been so atrocious, there would be no dessert tonight.

{pause for moaning and gnashing of teeth}

Little Boo: I know! To celebrate this new rule, let's have dessert!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At the end of mass today, the acolytes placed two purple velvet pillows on the steps of the altar so the priests could kneel during adoration...

Little Boo: Is there gonna be a pillow fight?


:)