Swim Meet Novices

It has been a while since I have blogged. But felt compelled after attending my first swim meet ever. The whole fun event started with me sending Natalie and her new sitter (Thanks Jackie!) to the wrong location for the meet. Who knew there were two Woodhaven Swim clubs in Dayton? Apparently everyone but us. They arrived at the correct club and joined the chaos that is a summer swim club. I didn't arrive until after warm ups had started. I was convinced that Michael Phelps was announcing since I had to park 4 miles away from the actual club. As I trudged up the lane to actual entrance, attendance questions filled my mind. Who besides parents attend these meets? Are there 400 kids swimming? Was I supposed to invite our friends?

Finally arrived and found Jackie with Natalie's swim stuff. Jackie told me that Natalie was warming up. I didn't see warm ups because my brain was trying to take in the bedlam. Kids running, parents chasing, mini-tents, camp chairs, official looking people with timers, people unpacking food, towels being tossed. I must say that I was overwhelmed from that point on. It was a whole other culture that existed and I didn't even know it!

Natalie was super nervous. She had no idea what she was supposed to swim and her inability to the starting dive if required was stressing her out. It took almost an hour before the first race and she finally had her races written on her arm:
     #5 100 Medley Relay
     #17 25 Free
     #29 25 Back
     #69 Free Relay
For those of you not in the know, that #69 means that there were 68 OTHER races before her last race and we could go home!


She thought she was going to vomit so spent the opening ceremony and the singing of the National Anthem in the toilet. And I am feeling like I need to decide whether she has to swim or just take her home. But, we don't like quitters in our house, so I drug her back to the pool chairs and forced some Chik-Filet into her. That seemed to help.

First race, and she heads up to the starting blocks. Unfortunately, she is the first swimmer, which will require a dive! But as I am looking at her from the side of the pool, I realize she doesn't have her goggles! OH CRAP! I motion wildly using finger glasses around my own eyes, and she gasps and points back at the pool chair. OH CRAP! I run back to the table and grab the goggles on the table then run back to give them to her at the start area, but OH CRAP she's 10 meters down the lane already! Did she dive? Are her contacts in? I raced back around the pool to get to the finish and thereby missing her entire effort. I meet her at the end with her goggles in hand. As she is pulling herself out of the water, I am watching for the face that indicates "I am never doing this and I don't care about the whole no quitters thing", but alas, instead I see a grin! Wow. Unexpected. She  actually like it. So from that point forward, no stomach ache! I on the other hand was still stressed and wondering why I encouraged her to particpate in the first place!

Back to the chairs to wait for her next race. This small wait offered the first chance I had to observe my surroundings. And anyone who has participated in swim clubs knows how I felt for the next 15 minutes. I couldn't understand how anyone knew where or when they were supposed to be somewhere. But races took place and there were kids swimming in the races, so I assumed there was some level of organization somewhere. But no more time for oggling as it was time for the 2nd race! Another dive for the start, but she seemed to be ok with it now. I left her at the start and I headed to the finish.

Waiting for the 2nd race

Good start... But what's that?

Uh oh. The goggles are NOT supposed to be on top of her head!

This is the result of no goggles. She swam twice as far as anyone else!

So another interesting race made more interesting by watching her weave back and forth as she tried to swim without goggles again. And this time, they had actually fallen off into the pool. So we had to head back and she had to ask an official if she could jump in and get them. At this point, I had determine that this was not the sport for me. Too much stress! But Natalie was nonplussed and talked about how she was lucky she didn't lose her contacts and she actually thought she swam pretty good until she looked at the pictures on the camera.

By the third race, she had finally gotten into a better groove. Remembered her goggles, and actually did pretty good at backstroke which is not her favorite! She finished 5th out of 5, but she was totally ok with it and still seemed to have fun.

Natalie is the 2nd swimmer from the right

Strong finisher!

And then the wait until the last race. Finally, she and I started to get into the groove of how a meet works. You race and then the swimmer eats snacks and drinks Gatorade until they have to swim again.

Waiting on the last race to start. When did she get so tall?

Overall, it was interesting. She really had fun and somehow I found the whole evening stressful. She doesn't have any friends to chat/play with between races, but that doesn't seem to bother her at all. In that respect, I am super proud of her. But I must also comment that for the number of parents in attendance, all of us with a common mission of getting our kids to the starting line on time for the right races, it was the most socially uninviting group I have ever been around. No one says hi to anyone, they sit in their own huddles, and no one really cheers on anyone other than their own child. Weird. But more on that some other time. Enjoy the best part of the night for me, watching Natalie successfully swim 25 yards!

Volunteer

Natalie decided that instead of begging for a dog, she would be proactive and work at a dog shelter or rescue organization when we returned to the U.S. We agreed that if she was volunteering time and they asked her to "foster" a dog, we would be open to that. Only good can come out of her learning to volunteer for things she is passionate about. Here is the letter she sent to a shelter in the Dayton area. She hasn't heard from them yet, but this made me smile anyway!

Dear Helpers and Founders at Puppy Pals Rescue,

My name is Natalie Bramer. I am nine years old. I currently live in Shanghai, China, where I have been living for the past five years.

I am emailing you to ask if I can help work and foster at Puppy Pals. I have always loved dogs and now want a chance to help them and spread dogs to loving, happy families. I want to help as many dogs as possible and give them the life they deserve.

A couple of years before I was born, my parents, Tom and Shelly Bramer, owned a teacup poodle that they had bought from a breeder. The poodle was too small to be a show dog, and was given to my parents agreeably. They named her Shelby. My first memory of my short life was her licking my cheek on Christmas morning when I was two. It was only three years after I met Shelby that she passed away while my mom was on a business trip.

I didn't really understand it at the time. I only remember that when I woke up the next morning, Shelby was not there.

When I was four years old I moved to Shanghai, a large, bustling city that was located in Eastern China. I begged for a dog, pleaded, coaxed, and asked and asked and asked for one. My parents said they would think about.

I found a particular breed I liked on my friends dog breed book. I did research on them, and found shelters in a suitable price range, driving distance and correct management. Dogs caught my eye and I asked my parents harder than ever.

This year, my mom suggested that I might prefer working at a animal shelter. At first, I was reluctant, but the more she talked about it, the more I was drawn to that idea.

I set to work looking for a reliable shelter that needed helpers, and after tiring and frustrating work, I found Puppy Pals Rescue. I looked at the dogs and noticed the paragraphs you submitted onto the website about needing Foster Parents. I would gladly accept any chance to care for a dog for periods of time.

Please reply back with your answer at natratb@gmail.com.

Thanks,

Natalie Bramer

The Move: A Short Story by Natalie Bramer

Many of you know that Natalie is usually very hesitant to share any of her stories that she writes. She doesn't even let Tom or I read them. I looked the other day and she had more than 20 fiction stories on her computer! So we have been encouraging her to complete a story and then share so that people can enjoy them. We also encouraged her to enter a local writing contest. The grand prize is an iPad2! The challenge is that it had to be 2000 words or less. This is difficult for someone who uses 4 adjectives to describe everything! But she finished it and we submitted it. It was a great process for her to go through. And me to go through. I had to keep reminding myself she is only 9 so in her mind boxes can and do "sit blankly"! And now we can finally share. Enjoy!

THE MOVE

by Natalie Bramer 

“We’re moving to Canada?!” The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them.

My dad nodded happily, like we had won the lottery. Ron was pumped, Nina was surprised. I was angry. Ron danced up behind me. “We’re going to Canada!!” He sounded happier about it. I glared at him.

My mom shot me a look. I refused to shut up. “We’re going to Canada?” I asked stormily, looking sulkily at my parents.

My father had a dangerous glint in his eye. He nodded sharply as he pushed his glasses up his nose.

I banged down my hand on the table. “I don’t believe you were so stupid that you took the job offer! How could you?!”

Mom turned to me icily. “Camarina, room. Now.” she pointed a finger at the staircase. I glared at her and stomped up the stairs, then slammed the door to my room.

For a while I lay on my bed, staring at my endless amount of posters that were pasted to my wall. “We’re moving.” I whispered. The reality hit me with a bang.

 “Have you got the snacks?” Mom barked at Ron. He nodded.

“Your pillows?” Mom snapped at me. 

“Yes.” I snapped right back.

Mom rounded on Nina. “Got the drinks?”

Nina nodded blankly.

Mom nodded approvingly and ushered us out the door.

Dad was loading the last of the luggage into the trunk, where thousands of suitcases and bags were scattered in the back.

“Ready, troops?” Dad asked.

Nina and Ron nodded eagerly. I just crossed my arms.

Dad ignored my stormy spirits and started helping us into the van. As soon as I got in, I stared out the window, although all I could see was the dirty blank wall of our garage. Nina was sitting next to me, and Ron squeezed into a tiny seat in the back, where all the luggage was.

I took one last glance at our house. The dead trees shifted in the wind, waving at me as if to say ‘goodbye!’.

The world was a blur of snow: at least outside the window.

It had been about six hours since we left; we had entered Canada and arrived at our home in Toronto.

Dad’s eyes twinkled as we pulled into the snow-coated driveway. “Grab your suitcases and go!” he announced as he parked the car. “We have arrived!”

The next day was busy. The boxes were still sitting blankly in all of the rooms. Occasionally, someone would slip something out of them and place it in its correct spot, but the house did seem to stay bare and cold.

I, myself, had more worries to attend to. Today was the first day of school.

As I undressed and pulled the uniform of the shelf, I pondered the question that had been in my head for days. ‘Would I make any friends?’ I slipped on the uniform. It had a skirt in it. I groaned inwardly. I hated skirts.

I emerged from the bathroom moodily, swinging my arms at my sides.

My mom was waiting for me in the hall. She wrinkled her nose in disgust at the sight of my hair, and sent me to Dad for a brush.

“Here you go, sport.” He handed me a brush wearily. “I swear, the boxes are multiplying.” He sighed and ran a hand through his messy black hair.

I jogged down the carpeted hall into the kitchen, where utensils, cutlery, boxes of frozen food and plates were strewn all over.

Nina was rooting through a box of Easy-To-Make Pancakes, a gooey mess of sour tasting mix, all ready to go. Nina knew nothing about cooking. She could barely make anything. But one of the things that she did know how to make was boxed pancakes.

I watched Nina pour the batter into a pan she had managed to find. She adjusted the temperature and pulled out her phone as the pancakes sizzled.

I joined Ron, who looked both tired and hungry. “We get to have pancakes.” I jammed a finger in Nina’s direction. I smirked as Ron’s hungry look vanished.

“What is that smell?!” Mom gagged as she entered the room.

“Nina’s making breakfast.” I said matter-of-factly. Mom nodded in recognition. “Pancakes?” she asked, taking a long sniff in the smoky air.

Nina entered and handed us each a charred pancake. We ate in silence. Well, we didn’t really eat.

Soon, a bus honked outside. Our cue to go.

I slipped my coat on, then threw away my pancake, snatched my bookbag and raced out the door into the chilly winter day.

The school bus for Toronto Eons Public School was much bigger than your average one. A lot of windows were lined down the bus, with faces studying me critically from each and every one. I stepped toward the front of the bus.

The bus doors opened automatically, and I stepped in to find thousands of eyes staring at me. I uncomfortably nodded and slipped in the only empty row left, the one right over the wheels, the ones that get the biggest jolts. I scrunched myself into the seat, trying to make myself look smaller as the occupants of the bus stared me down, some as young as five.

Ron had to sit next to me, and Nina sat with another girl who was texting away on her phone.

The driver shifted gears. He pulled his orange cap tighter on his nearly hairless head and started the engine. The bus vibrated when it was moving, so I felt extremely uncomfortable throughout the ride, with my insides scrambling around. Not just from the bus.

When the bus reached the school, I felt sick all the way to homeroom. The door to my classroom was littered with signs saying Ms Sterner, so it was easy finding my class.

I was really hoping that the teacher was not like Mrs. Paddington, my fluttery teacher I had in second grade.

Just my luck, my teacher Ms Sterner waddled up to me and took me by the shoulders. “Why, hello Camarina!” she said loudly. Several classmates looked up.

“Uh, you can call me Marina.” I said. I snuck a look at my classmates.

Most classmates stared blankly at me. I tried to smile as the knot in my stomach squeezed tighter. A girl with blonde hair smiled back kindly. “Hi, I’m Marina.” I managed to get out.

The girl smiled at me more, than gave a shy, small wave. I didn’t wave back.

Ms Sterner started a speech. When it was done, she asked “Can we have a volunteer to help Camarina out? What about you, Jessie?”

The girl who had waved nodded vigorously. “You can sit next to me!” she said excitedly.

I nodded numbly.

Jessie smiled at me again. I kept my head down, staring hard at the circles expanding from the wood.

A shrill whistle pierced the air. A teacher shook his finger at the boys playing soccer. I snuck a look as I skimmed the field. Nothing interesting.

“Hey Marina!” a cheerful voice said behind me. I turned to find Jessie standing behind me, grinning like a lunatic. “Whatcha doin’?” she grinned.

I shrugged. “Nothing, really.”

“You wanna jump rope with me?” she asked.

This was my chance to make a new friend! “No thanks. I’m fine on my own.” The words came out of my mouth without me thinking about it.

Jessie looked taken aback for a second, than said in a surprised tone. “Uh, okay.” She walked off towards her waiting friends.

I buried my head in my hands. My only chance to make a friend and I blew it!

Nina flagged me down after the bus rumbled away. “Tell Mom I’m going to Lilly’s house.” she told me, then set off towards the park with a girl.

I nodded. I already had to tell Mom that Ron was going to a kid named Matt’s house.

I trudged home, my feet unusually heavy against the light coating of snow. As I passed the park next to our house, I saw Ron and his friend engaged in a game of soccer with some other boys. Nina was still in sight, chatting with Meghan as they walked across the street.

My mom was waiting for me as I opened the door.

“Hey sweetie. Dad’s at work.” She looked up from a cardboard box that she was unpacking. “How was school?”

I responded by trudging over to the table, leaving my coat and bag in a heap at my feet and crossing my arms as I sat on one of the chairs.

Mom leaned away from the box. “Do you want to talk about it?” she asked, sitting down beside me.

I shook my head and crossed my arms even tighter.

“Oh, don’t be such a bad apple.” My mom persisted, resting a hand on my shoulder. I hesitated for a moment. Then the story tumbled out, from the second I walked outside to when I walked home.

My mom listened all the way, twisting a strand of her hair in her finger. “So Ron and Nina made new friends and you didn’t. Do you know why?” she asked softly, looking deep into my eyes. I didn’t move, just stared down at the tablecloth.

“Because,” Mom continued. “You didn’t try.”

I looked up and Mom stared back at me. “Well, I guess I didn’t try too hard.” I admitted.

Mom placed a hand on my head. “Tomorrow, you are going to go up to Jessie and ask her if you could jump rope with her.” She insisted, eyeing me apprehensively.

“All right, all right.” I put my hands up and gave a laugh. It felt nice to laugh, like I had been holding it in.

My mom smiled and stood up. “Now, dinner isn’t going to make itself. You can start with the salad…”

The sun was warm on my back as it drained the little amount of snow left. I was standing beside a large bush, trying to gather my courage. I could see Jessie and three other girls hopping as the long jump rope swished over their heads. I took a deep breath and emerged from the bush, slowly making my way to where the girls were skipping faster and faster.

“Teddy bear, teddy bear, turn around, teddy bear, teddy bear, touch the ground!” The rhythmic beat matched the speed of my thumping heart. I watched as Jessie touched the ground as the other girls repeated the chant.

One girl messed up. She was handed the end of the rope, the other gladly joined the middle. This was my only chance…

“Hey Jessie. JESSIE!” I bellowed at the top of my lungs. Jessie turned, looking surprised.

I ran towards her. “Can I play?” I panted, sweat pouring down my forehead.

“Sure.” She beamed at me. But it was more than just a smile. It was an act of kindness. A smile of relief.

Maybe even a sign of things to come.

The next day found me waiting in line to be a jumper. Slap…slap…the rope worked out a beat as it slammed into the stone ground. The spinners of the rope, who were named Meghan and Josie, were chanting a beat, spinning the rope faster and faster.

As I waited, I reflected on the day. The sun poured on my back as I stepped to the front of the line. I had had lunch with Jessie, Meghan, Josie and their friends, and Jessie invited me over to her house!

After the talk Mom had given me last night, I realized I really did act like a bad apple. Cranky, rude, and all the rest of that stuff. And when I had been more open to the situation, wham!, I made a friend. I listened to the chant for a few moments.

Then, smiling, I joined Jessie and her friends, jumping to the beat of the rope.

New Lens and Sharing some Pictures

I bought a new lens for my Nikon 40DX this week. I have been wanting to get a prime lens for a while and have been looking and browsing, but no buying. After realizing that I had less than a handful of decent pictures from the two weddings I attended recently, I decided to go ahead and get it here. I bought a Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX.  This was my first major purchase at a Chinese Photography market. I knew what the price was on Amazon and also new that I would be able to get for same price, but probably not cheaper.

This is a super fast lens! At f/1.8, I can take pictures in very little light. But I must admit that using the new lens takes some getting used to. It definitely makes me think about the process a bit different. The combinations of aperture and speed make controlling the exposure a bit more tricky!!! I really want to use the lens for some real portraits and have been snapping around the house to practice. I can see myself taking this lens on street walks from now on. It is super light and almost like a point-and-shoot if you get the right settings for the lighting. One feature it has that I love is the ability to override the auto focus without changing the setting on the lens. The A/M setting on the lens will allow you to use the autofocus to get 95% of the focus and then you can fine-tune manually. Seems like work, right? But when you are trying to take a close picture of someone, it is sometimes difficult to find the right focus point. The nose? The glasses? Being able to change that on the fly is a good technique for quickly taking a few shots with slightly different points. Anyway, more on the technical discovery's later.


I took a few pictures and wanted to share. Not just a technical article, but some picture of Natalie. Seems like she is growing up way to fast. Oh, and I got a few pics of Tom smiling. Really. Check it out.

Picture of the Expo Center in Puxi taken from car
f/3.2   e1/400

My sister-wives from Puxi
f/3.2   e1/20

Caught a real smile that comes after the fake smile
f/1.8   e1/20

Seems grown up to me
f/1.8   e1/50

Conference call night. This is how I see Tom most evenings!
f/1.8  e0.3

Some smiles from the morning of International Day. Curly hair courtesy of braids we put into wet hair at 8:30 PM the night before.
f/2.2  e0.3

Smiles
f/1.8   e1/60

Still loves Mucho (AKA Hobbes)
f/1.8   e1/60

She CHOSE to wear a skirt
f/1.8   e1/60

I asked for a smile. I got one. Whoohooo!
f/1.8   e1/60

These are Natalie's shoes that she wore to school. Told me that morning that the holes have been there for a couple of weeks. Oh, and it was raining this day. Said she was used to her feet being wet.
f/1.8   e1/60

Better shot of the inside of her shoe. Off to the market today to get a new pair of fake Converse. Why can't she wear the $50 New Balance she got this summer?
f/1.8   e1/60

Mother's Day

This morning is Mother's Day. A holiday that for many years meant remembering to send/buy a card for all the mother's in my life. I never really thought it would be my turn to wait for some little recognition of the things you do as a mother. I've had 8 years of  motherhood and every years brings new highs and lows. 

This year brought new challenges. Glasses. First lie. Contrariness just because. Greek mythology. Chasing boys on the playground. And new discoveries. Overcoming fear to watch Harry Potter. Superheroes. Caring about hair. Participating in Character Day. Chasing boys on the playground. 

I love being a mother. That alone is a huge surprise for me. I'd like to believe that this has made me a better person, but frankly, that was never the objective. I do know that we are lucky enough to have a beautiful, healthy daughter. She is the love of  our life. And that also reminds me that it takes two to make the world go around. So Mother's Day also makes me appreciate how much easier it is with Tom here. Not just because he is Natalie's father, but because he is a wonderful, loving husband. What helps make me a good mom is to have someone to hand off to when the heat is too much for me. And that works as long as it does not happen when he is on a business trip!!!

Natalie gave me her Mother's day card this morning. Please note that this was not an "original". Though I do know she had to add a few flourishes of her own near the end. She took the poem from a Calvin and Hobbes book. But even though the effort was not original, she was up after bed time last night pouring through her three HUGE Calvin and Hobbes books looking for the poem! She was so tired, but begged to stay up a little longer to finish her card. So my real gift was my daughter laying on the floor surrounded by her open books creating something for me that she felt would express her love. Another year accomplished.

Without further ado, below is her Mother's day card to me. 

I was going to buy you a card 

with hearts of pink and red, 

but then I thought I'd rather 

spend the money on me instead. 

It's awfully hard to buy things 

when one's allowance is so small, 

so, I guess you're pretty lucky I got you 

anything at all.

 Happy Mother's Day to you. 

There I said it. Now, I'm done.

 So, how 'bout getting out of bed, 

and cooking breakfast for

your favorite child (well, only one).

Just joking,

Love,

Natalie

the pretty, smart, popular mature, 8 year old girl.

My baby is growing up. Yes, I know that happens. However, I prefer the maturation that is subtle and invisible. Not when it all happens in one week! It is only Thursday, but every day Natalie, my 8 year old, has thrown some "I'm growing up faster than you can adjust" thing at me. And they have hit me hard. Maybe because of the weather. Wait, the weather is good. Maybe because I am not feeling my best so her actions exaggerate the gap.


It started with a LIE on Tuesday. I am not naive, I know she has fibbed before and I have not caught it. But I myself was a terrific liar as a child (just ask my mother) and so I generally catch it. I learned that catching the child in the lie is almost as bad as knowing the child lied! And of course it revolved around the TAKING OF A BATH. Which was also the primary focus of my lying as a child. I truly think it might be genetic! I was downstairs cleaning up dinner, so sent her up to get in the bath. When I headed up after about 20 minutes, thinking she would be ready to rinse her hair one final time, I caught her on the bed, reading a book and her PJ's on. Actually she had thrown her book to the side and was struggling out of her PJ's and muttered "Oh, sorry Mom, I forgot!".  "Natalie Rochelle Bramer, get in this bathroom right now!" was my response. I felt I added just the right amount of exasperation in my voice to express, well, my exasperation.  We hustled her into the tub, and I asked if she wanted to wash her hair now or in a bit. "In a bit" was her reply.  Daughter safely enveloped by L'Occitane Verbena Bubbles, I headed back downstairs to finish picking up. When I headed back up in another 20 minutes (man, I did a lot of cleaning that night!), she was laying in my bed, PJ's on, hair dryed and perfectly parted. My immediate observation was that she did NOT take a bath. But I had put her in, so I knew she had! I quickly took a closer look at her hair and said "DID YOU WASH YOUR HAIR?"


So this was the moment. I hope in her little mind there was a struggle between angel and devil, between truth and consequence. But I think it came down to choosing between having to give up the book she was reading and getting back into the shower with me taking away all privileges and generally overreacting. The book won.  "Yes, I washed my hair" Spoken to me while looking me right in the eye. I hesitated as she definitely was confident I would accept this explanation even though her hair was 90% dry and PERFECTLY parted. So there it was. A lie. And the lie mutated into the truth for her. She insisted, adamantly, that she did wash her hair. We continued to argue back into the bathroom. I quickly checked the bottle of shampoo to be sure. Yup, dry as a bone. No 8-year old can wash their hair without getting the shampoo bottle wet. Instead of explaining that, she vigorously stuck with the "But I did wash my hair". No clarification given for whether that was with shampoo or not. The immediate parent response was to take away her DS for the weekend. That got her bawling so we had a wonderful evening washing hair and body (the bar of soap was dry too, so clearly she just laid in water) while crying.  


The thing that made this the LIE rather than the FIB was that she totally stuck to her guns. Even after losing privileges, she was trying to convince me she was not guilty. While I am sure this skill will come in handy if she is ever accused of a capital crime, it was not appreciated by me at all. It was a major indication that the little girl who could be snapped out of a FIB by just the threat of a loss of privilege, had matured on to the determination that a LIE was a better option. I am not whining about the lying. I can deal with that (note my earlier reference to the experience I have with lying). I recognize that this is just the first of many adult behaviors that will need to be encountered and conquered. It was not the best finish of what was already a crappy day.


Wednesday night, getting ready for bed. I was closely monitoring the situation making sure that no hand touched a book before PJ's were on and teeth were brushed. She was pulling on PJ bottoms when she stood up, looked in the mirror, checked out her naked torso, and said "Do you think I am fully developed?".  I looked in the mirror to see what she could see. I should add that recently she and I discussed that she now had small "bumps". I mean really little things, but they are there. It was maybe a week before this night. So, the "bumps" were pretty obvious in the bathroom mirror. "No honey, I think you have some more development to go. If my genetics are any indication, you have a lot to go!" This made her laugh and she finished pulling on her top and grabbed the toothbrush to brush the four front teeth she has left in her mouth.  So, she suspects what's coming. And she is not nervous about it. She is growing up. 


Today she dressed in a skort, white shirt, and knee socks. Even though I pressed for an indication as to why, no real answer. Just "'Cause I wanted to". No explanation for contrariness in her behavior. Another sign of her maturation process. To further the ache in my heart at these signs, she begged to walk by herself from our house to the front gate to her bus. She asked when I would let her walk by herself. "Mom, I am responsible enough to get to my bus by myself" she snorted. "PUHHHHLEEEAAASE?". A quick recap of the week so far played like an M.C. Hammer video in my head. "OK, If you really want to, I will let you walk from the Bell Tower." Resignation. "Awesome. Thanks Mom". Relief.  We walked together half-way, the Bell Tower. I kissed her and then sent her on her way...


Now I sit here typing. Listening to Simply Red (yes, you know which song). Hoping 3:40 comes fast today. Very fast.

The Discovery Channel from a 6-year old's Perspective

The other night, Natalie was watching the Discovery Channel and asked me for a pad a paper to take notes with. I am not exactly sure what the topic was on that particular show, it was something about your body and dreams. Here are her notes from the other night, mispellings and all:

• Body made of water
• Conection between penceil and soil
• Find zink in bateres (there is a picture of a battery on the notepad)
• We have to sleep or else we could die
• While we sleep our body does tasks
• You have forgoten stuff when you are busy, but when you sleep, you rember because you are to focused what you are doing when you do work

I think the last one is a good for all of us to remember!

Natalie Loses Her First Tooth

Well, it finally happened. Natalie's loose tooth came out today at school. She got bumped in the mouth by another student and VOILA it fell out! It surprised me today when my cell phone rang at 5:02. She had brownies after school and she is usually not home on brownie day until 5:20. She had rushed home to tell me about some good news and bad news. The good news was that she had lost her tooth. The bad news was that she had lost it! Somewhere along the way, she had misplaced it and it did not make it home. But, she had a plan! She was going to write a letter to the tooth fairy and explain what happened. She was calling to tell me that I HAD to print it for as soon as I got home! Funny little girl.

When I got home around 6.30, she had written the note already. I guess she had decided she couldn't trust the computer! Dad had printed a couple of the pictures that I have added here. She placed the note and the pictures upstairs on her nightstand along with her Tooth Fairy box (she got this special box from the Tooth Fairy when she was born so that she did not have to put teeth under her pillow!). We placed a teeny tiny note in the box to direct the Tooth Fairy to the note which explains why there is not tooth tonight! Lots of work for a bit of money!

She and I talked about how losing a tooth is "bittersweet" for a parent. Her Gammaw explained the "bittersweet" concept this summer to her. So she understands that while it was her "best thing" of the day, it was both my "best thing" and my "worst thing". Because it means she is in fact growing up. She looks so grown-up with the tooth missing!

Well, I better go and see of the Tooth Fairy made it here already...

Natalie's Basketball Experience - Early Season

Natalie is playing in a basketball league this winter. She is a member of the Nuggets and wearing #3. There are only a few girls in this league and Natalie is youngest and smallest on her team. But, we are just proud to have her out there. Up to now they have played 4 games, won 3 and lost 1.

She has only taken about 4 practice shots, and then only because the coach made her. She prefers to dribble and stays away from the ball if possible. She likes to spend most of her hiding behind her team mates. But we are really proud of how she goes out there and plays.

There are huge differences in the levels of play, even at this level. There are some kids that clearly have been playing for a while. They can dribble and shoot into the basket, even at the regular height. And there are a few who appear to not have touched the ball much.

And just like any other kids league in any other part of the world, we have parents who appear to be extra involved with their child's playing ability. It seems especially emphasized by the international mix of kids.

Anyway, enjoy the clips. And we placed a few videos out on You Tube. More to come as the season progresses...