1m2aSandbox

It’s time once again to start making
that list and checking it twice.


The list for ways to entertain the kids during long summer days,
that is.


And in case you’ve forgotten, href="http://www.kidsbowlfree.com" target="_blank">Kids Bowl
Free is a national program, so give it a look. Head to
their website and see if there’s a participating bowling
alley near you. If there is, simply sign up each child and once
registered, your child will get two free games a day for the summer
to bowl. And for a mere twenty-five bucks, you can purchase a
family pass that allows the grown-ups to bowl all summer as well.


Now, strictly speaking, it’s not totally free. You’ve
got to rent the shoes each time (unless you’ve got your own
and you’re hard-core). But it does cut down on the cost, and
provides you an air-conditioned, fun place to head that’s not
covered in Disney princesses or Thomas stuff on a hot summer day.


For me, having an alternative to yet another six hours at the pool
is always a good thing.

Maddie had a fantastic birthday and I
didn’t shed a single tear. I did watch, misty-eyed, a few
times. I’m telling you, this kid grows like a weed and it
seems only last week that she was trying to run, stumbling on her
coltish legs and skinning her knee on the sidewalk.


Oh, wait, that was last week.

Dear Maddie:


The clock’s really starting to fly now, kiddo, and I’m
afraid we’ve got a big birthday here.


So you’re turning five. Wow. At this point, I can no longer
pretend that you’re anywhere near the babyhood stage.
You’ve passed babyhood, toddlerhood, even pre-schoolerhood,
and are firmly entrenched in kid land now. At five years old,
you’re moving to big-kid school in a few months and are truly
becoming your own person. Yikes.

I consider myself to be fairly
knowledgeable about clothing. I used to be a personal shopper, and
am definitely expert in that area. And while I do enjoy dressing
nicely and putting together a good outfit, I’m not a
clotheshorse, following those youtube clothing bloggers religiously
or waxing lyrical about a Prada shoe sale.


So I’m not quite sure where Cora gets this positive passion
for changing her clothes. Several times a day. And having complete
artistic control over the outfit.


I’ve always known she’s concerned about her look and
interested in clothing. When I’ll go shopping with her in
tow, I usually have a list in hand – jeans for Maddie, dress
for Cora, and so on. Cora will begin “shopping” on her
own, fingering materials and holding up outfits, frowning: does
that shirt really match those pants? Will that bubble suit be
flattering on me? By the time I’ve found a few necessaries,
Cora’s got an armful of “necessaries” of her own,
and it’s quite a process to talk her down off that ledge.

Maddie started out enjoying her swim
lessons, but last week they went right into the crapper. Come
Wednesday, the instructor tried to push Maddie too far outside her
comfort zone, and Maddie hit a wall. Thinking a little tough love
was in order, the instructor lovingly tried to push Maddie on. She
gave Madeleine two options, neither of which was appealing, and
stood firm on it until Maddie chose the lesser of two
“evils”.


The instructor thought this would be a break-through for Maddie;
she thought Maddie would see she survived the “ordeal”
and not be fearful any more. Instead, Madeleine was so overcome
with fear and worry that she cried uncontrollably the rest of the
lesson, even as she went through the motions of trying to please
the teacher.


For the next two days, Maddie worried almost hourly about her final
lesson on Friday. Thursday night she couldn’t go to sleep, so
concerned was she about the lesson the next day. She cried and
begged to not have to go, and I went to bed with a heavy heart.
Should I allow her to stay home, and not end the swim lessons on a
sour note? Should I give in to her, and avoid a life-long scarring?
Or should I force her to go even though she was scared, and not
allow her fear to overcome her?

Our family reads a lot, and we’re
always bringing home a bag full of books from the library. You want
to watch the girls go crazy? Give them a gift card to Half-Price
Books and stand back as they agonize over which book to pick. I
guess I’m saying we go through a lot of books.


I have a long list of go-to favorites that I’d gladly give
out as birthday or Christmas presents, and we just recently added a
new one to the list – href="http://www.amazon.com/Memoirs-Goldfish-Devin-Scillian/dp/1585365076/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1275530719&sr=8-1"
target="_blank">Memoirs of a Goldfish.

Could someone please tell me exactly what
I was smoking when I agreed yesterday to allow Maddie to bring home
a cartoon biography DVD about Helen Keller from the library.


I didn’t think much of it, except to make sure it
wasn’t too long. I vaguely remember thinking, “Well,
it’s inspirational, and it’s better than Bob the
Builder!” And that was the extent of my Mommy Alarm sounding.


I’ve got to get the batteries in that thing checked.