Once Upon A Time

I have been thinking about writing about how Nicco references the past for a while now. I know (from experience...I have 11 nieces and nephews and a few hundred young students after 9 years of teaching preschool) that little kids have many cute and adorable ways (also many NOT cute and NOT adorable ways) of expressing themselves. So, here are a few "Nicco-isms" that I think are cute and adorable.

*Yesterday when I was little, remember? (as in "I saw that episode of SpongeBob yesterday when I was little, remember?" Also, when looking at pictures of himself as a baby "I slept in my crib yesterday when I was little, remember?")

*I grow talled (as opposed to I growed tall, or I grew tall) (He stood on tiptoe to pee in a slightly taller toilet than he is accustomed to, therefore needed to "grow tall.")

*I turn them offed (a pattern...he puts the past tense -ed ending at the end of the sentence, not at the end of the verb. I know. No wonder he corrected my grammar the other day.) (He "turn offed" his tears so he could join us in the family room again.)

*The end is pretty. (This isn't really about the past, just a cute saying of his that I like. He likes sunsets. At dusk he will say "the sun is going down. It is almost the end. The end is pretty.")

I love all little kid-isms. Please feel free to share yours.

(P.S. I will feel sad and rejected if nobody shares their kids' cute and adorable sayings after I invited you to do so. Validate me. Comment on my blog. I command you.)

P.P.S. PLEASE?

Mushy Gushy

Unless you randomly stumbled across this blog by, I don't know, opening links to friends of friends on your friends' blogs, then you have probably met me. Since I don't have that many friends to begin with, it is reasonable to jump to the assumption that I don't have that many friends of friends either. Nor am I many people's friend of friend. I guess that is what I meant to say. Anyway, unless you are an accidental tourist of my blog (unlikely) you have met me. And if you have met me (likely), you know that I don't gush or get mushy about my (here it comes...) twoo love. (Read the Princess Bride if you haven't yet. Or just watch the movie. No, really. Read the book.) So, to keep up with the "My Husband is the Most Wonderful Husband in the History of the World and the Greatest Father on Earth Ever" gushy wives out there, I am going to share a moment of "aah, isn't he just the cutest daddy EVER?" And by that, I mean simply that it was really nice to have Patrice come to our Daddy Day breakfast at school today with Nicco, and he looked handsome. When mom and dad arrived at the hospital after Nicco was born, they asked Patrice how he felt and he said (with the New Daddy tear in his eye and catch in his throat) "I am a changed man." (I KNOW!!! This has never happened to anyone else! Amazing! With all the babies born EVERY SINGLE DAY, Patrice is the only one EVER to be completely changed after the birth of his child!) So anyway, I love to see Patrice in his daddy role. I like to use my objective eyes and look outside myself and just see us as a traditional little family, doing traditional little things. Daddy came to the Daddy breakfast at school. Fun. Cute. Fulfilling. Warm fuzzies all over. Yay for me. Mine is the Most Wonderful Husband/Father of A Child in The World TO ME !

I'm a Bad Mom

Nicco didn't have the greatest weekend ever. He didn't eat much all weekend, and Saturday he had a fever. He seemed better on Sunday, but he still didn't eat. His fever was gone and he was pretty much back to normal, except for taking a long nap. I figured he wanted the nap because of the fever the other day and not eating. I was not excited about getting up to go to work this morning (WHAT???) and I actually said out loud to Patrice "I almost wish Nicco still had his fever so I would have to stay home." (This is foreshadowing) I walked past Nicco's class at lunchtime and his teachers pulled me in because he was being very stubborn about not eating. He even started to cry when I tried to convince him to eat something. I let it go, because I don't want to create food issues, and I told him that we will go to the store and he can pick out some things that he will eat at school. No more than 10 minutes later, Mrs. Georgia came down to my class and told me I had to get a sub and go home because Nicco was throwing up. So, my evil wish came true. I had a half day today, and because of the vomit, I can't take Nicco to school tomorrow either. Guilty guilty guilty....

Quote of the Day

My co-teacher has a really great stuffed dog that she brought to school for the kids to play with. He is the favorite pet, and Nicco has become attached to him lately. He wanted to take Marley upstairs to his class today, but I wouldn't let him. He found a suitable stand-in among the stuffed toys in his classroom, and when I spied on him as I walked my kids past his classroom, I saw him playing with a puppy while he "listened" to his teacher read a story. A few moments ago, Nicco dragged his big doggie onto the couch and made a doggie nest for himself. He said "I like doggies and nests." I told him I saw him playing with doggies at the circle during story time. He said "I did not play with doggies at school today. I only played with one doggie. One doggie, mom. Not a lot." My apologies to the grammar police. I will pay closer attention to singular and plural usage in the future.

Hooray for the Library!

I went to the library to pick up a book about Charles Demuth for our current Masterpiece work at school, and of course I stopped by the sale shelf, you know, just in case. What do you know...there were three books on my Pulitzer list and a few other interesting books too. I picked up seven books for $3.50! Again, HOORAY for the library!

A Small Boast

Sometimes I get a little proud of the projects I come up with at work. We are in a process of changing our whole curriculum to be more child-generated. Part of that process was to get rid of all the "unnatural" products in our rooms. We replaced bright plastic bins with wood, wicker, and bamboo baskets. We also took down all the manufactured art and replaced it with photos of our kids in the different centers, as well as samples of their own artwork. Since we took down our pre-fab alphabet, I had the kids paint all the letters to hang on our newly bare walls. My co-teacher was not optimistic about their ability to reproduce a recognizable alphabet, but I just knew they would do a great job. So in spite of the protests from my partner, I took on this task and the kids came up with this beautiful (in my opinion) display:

Another project I am particularly proud of is our "Masterpiece of the Month" where we learn about one artist, his or her particular style, and some art concept. Then the kids reproduce well-known paintings. So far, we have recreated "Summer" by Giuseppe Arcimboldo, a "mural" by Jackson Pollock, a "Composition in Red, Yellow, and Blue" by Piet Mondrian, "The Starry Night" by Vincent Van Gogh, and "Water Lilies" by Claude Monet. Our Water Lilies are still on display at school, but here is one of my student's portfolios of the other four:
I don't feel like I am being too prideful, since it is really the kids' work that is praiseworthy here.

Happy (Sappy...?) Mommy Moment

The other day, Nicco asked me for a snuggle. We collected his "lot of things" (Sponge, Soft Blankie, sippy cup, an airplane or two...) and settled on the couch for a snuggle. He petted my hair ("because it is so soft") and said "Mom, I love you." I said "Nicco, I love you." He repeated, I repeated. He repeated, I repeated. Even though the repetition from 3 year olds gets tiresome sometimes, I let this one go on for quite a while. Ahhhh...basking in the unconditional love of a toddler.

So Here's the Thing About Facebook...

I'm Stubborn. Yes, Stubborn with a capital S. For those of you who don't know me that well, I will just relate one small story. When I interviewed for my first teaching job, my principal told me that he called someone to get a little more information about me. That is totally normal, in fact, it is the precise reason we make personal and professional reference lists. He said he called the one person who probably knows me better than anyone else. I said "You called my mother." Affirmative. The question he asked her was about my greatest strength and my greatest weakness. Mom said that I have one personality trait that is actually both. You guessed it, I am Stubborn. So you may be wondering how this relates to Facebook. I will never join Facebook. It is not because I think Facebook is stupid. I think it is a great tool for finding old friends and getting in touch and sharing stories, events, etc. It is not that I think that people on Facebook are stupid. Most of the people I know with Facebook profiles really enjoy the contact it brings them with friends, family, acquaintances (and apparently, random strangers...maybe it is the random stranger thing that makes me a little stubborn.) One of the arguments people have used to convince me to join is that you can find old friends, people you haven't seen since high school! The thing is, I didn't have that many friends in high school, and if I can find them, they can find me! I don't want to be found...I am on Goodreads and I have a blog. That is as "out" as I want to be. My friends at work keep telling me they will get me on there by the end of the year. That statement alone ensures it will never happen. (Remember that Stubborn thing I mentioned earlier?) Then the stories they tell! Holy Cow! I won't share them here, but truly, if you are trying to convince me to join, you probably shouldn't share all the humiliating and embarrassing things that happen to you on Facebook! Now I'm feeling a little like it is '1984' and I will be examined by the Ministry of Truth...I may go and make my Goodreads profile and blog private....aaahhhh.....

So here's the thing about Facebook...if you invite me to be your friend, I will ignore your request. Don't equate ignoring a "friend request" with actually ignoring a friend. I probably love you and have no intention to hurt your feelings, (you were probably just being nice and don't really care if I accept your friend request anyway) but I am not going to join Facebook. Most of you have blogs or Goodreads accounts. You all have phones and e-mail addresses. I pretty much keep in touch directly, indirectly, or vicariously (i.e. my brothers-in-law and cousins-in-law via my sisters and cousins...) with everyone I love and want to be in touch with. I am not going to join Facebook. LOVE YOU ALL!!!

Buddies

It is fun (if a little disconcerting...) to watch the next generation of Madsen/Russo kiddos playing together. Nicco and Dylan are 5 days apart and they have gotten along famously the 2 times we have thrown them together. They mimic and encourage each other, and only when they were pushed to their tired limits did they argue about toys.
Here they are watching a light/music toy together.

Too cute...if only they were always so calm.

Here is the other (silly) side of Nicco and Dylan. They have different moves, but they are equally entertaining.

SUPER!

We went to the annual Super Bowl party at the Russo's house. They are such gracious hosts. As always, the food was plentiful, the company was delightful, and the game certainly did not disappoint this year. On the way over I asked Nicco if he was going to cheer for the Cardinals or the Steelers, and he said the Cardinals. He was sitting next to Mr. Russo, however, and quickly changed his mind. He repeated every word and gesture of John's and put on quite a sideline show for all of us. Thanks to John for keeping it G-rated!
Here is my little man, sitting in his football watching chair with his bowl of game snacks.

The 3-D glasses for the Monster v. Alien commercial were a little tricky, but he made a good effort at using them. His sticking out ears didn't stick out enough to keep the glasses on his head.

Here is Nicco's reaction to the first touchdown of the game. He was very excited. He even won the 3rd quarter pool and got $3.00! He was this animated for probably 3/4 of the game, but then his little buddy Dylan woke up and he spent his energy playing with him instead.

It was a fun evening, and I am glad that we are still part of the crowd at the annual gathering. Maybe someday mom and dad will be in town for the Super Bowl instead of traveling!