Sunday, September 26, 2010

Power of the Tooth Fairy



I recently discovered the POWER of the TOOTH FAIRY in my youngest daughter's life. She has lost three teeth so far . . . and as time has progressed, you may notice that the Tooth Fairy is becoming just a LITTLE BIT more stern and emboldened. I hear she drinks also . . .

Dear Glowie,

Congratulations on your FIRST TOOTH! You are officially a big girl now.

This is a very important and exciting time in your life – you are finally starting to grow up!

You are a very good girl. You have a lot of spirit and love in your heart. Keep being a good student, listen to your Mom and Dad and your teacher. You are also a very loving sister. Your whole family is so lucky to have you!

Brush your teeth every morning and every night!

Love,

The Tooth Fairy



May 25, 2010

Dear Glowie,

Congratulations on another tooth! You have lost two teeth in one month! Wow!

You have such a big heart and you bring joy to so many people, every day. I am so proud of you.

Be a good girl and follow the rules! Your Mommy and Daddy and your teacher, made these RULES because they LOVE you and they want you to DO WELL. I love you too!

Brush your teeth every morning and every night!

Love,

The Tooth Fairy



Dear Glowie!

Congratulations on losing another tooth. You are the most amazing little girl ever! You have such joy in your heart and such love for everyone. The world is a better place for having you.

Be a good girl and brush your teeth every morning and every night.

And don’t lie to your Mommy about brushing your teeth! I want you to be the healthiest and prettiest little girl in the world. Lying is NOT pretty! I love you.


The Tooth Fairy

As you can see the Tooth Fairy might need a Martini! #maybetwo

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Back to School. Stalking is a skill set.



When I first started getting into Twitter, I followed all the big Mommy Bloggers. Nothing would be more exciting than getting a response, or horning in on a conversation one of them was having.

Until one night.

I told one of the women, in a tweet, that I thought she was fabulous, and I was stalking her with orange stained Cheetos fingers.

I laughed at my cleverness, until I logged back on to see that a couple of these big Mommy Blogger chicks were having a conversation about how they hated people who used the word: “stalk”.

Gulp. One even posted a link about a teacher that was killed by a stalker. (They didn’t note in the article if Cheetos had played a role in the murder.)

Wow. I felt terrible. Cuz I hate that kinda stuff.

So I went on to post an apology.

But I couldn’t. Cuz these two women had BLOCKED me! Not for using the “f” word, or bitching about my kids, but cuz I had manifested my adoration for them by telling them I was Twitter Stalking them.

Fast forward one year.

I still don’t use the word stalk much. Cuz I’m scared of the backlash. (Though anything that has to do with Cheetos and Stalking does make me laugh.)

But I have discovered that my stalking skills are a real boost to being involved in my childrens’ lives.

When we moved to Palm Springs, I checked out the local school, by assuming a semi-squatting position in the bushes (bougainvillea of course, kinda thorny) so I could watch the families and their kids interact with each other on their way into the school.

I actually wept, when I saw a Daddy and his little girl ride bikes to school. Then the Dad rode off, carrying that little pink bike on his shoulder.

I saw the PTA ladies talking to everyone.

I wanted to be part of that group.

So I straightened my legs, and walked into the group. That welcomed us (and my petrified, at that time, 7 year old).

So we signed up.

Every day (sometimes from the bushes, sometimes from out in the open) I watched these mothers embrace my daughter, a brand new student coming into the school in the 3rd grade.

And our lives have never been the same.

In case you want to know who I am? Drop by the middle school this week. I’m the mother who walks in the odd crouching position, hovering outside the 6th grade classrooms.

I see many touching acts of kindness. By kids and adults. Every day.

Cuz stalking? Baby, it’s a skill set.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Saturday Mornings



We had a summer filled with Saturday mornings.

Then School Started.

Which for some reason meant I got up at 4 or 5 am to get my work started, before I got my kids up at 6:15.

It seemed like a great plan for the first three days of school.

Ahem. Cuz any plan that includes Mommy only getting 5 or 6 hours of sleep a night is sure to be a good one right?

I must have been running on some kind of adrenaline high. Cuz I had business dinners, I was super efficient, and I even wore undergarments when delivering my daughters to their schools.

I signed up to be the school crossing guard one morning a week. Cuz in that weird, over-awake, sleep-deprived state, holding a giant metal stop sign while other mothers tried to run me down seemed like pure genius in the moment!

We are in the process of a couple of business deals. I’m negotiating, figuring out terms, supervising due diligence., developing strategy for each deal. Well, why don’t I just say it? I’m a goddess.

And I’m purging. No, not throwing up, cuz that would be wrong. I’m throwing out all the old school work from last year, going through old photos, last years handbooks, etc. Again, an odd manic state has overtaken me.

And then there was the schedule.

Get the girls up, so my older daughter can get to Middle School by 7:30. (Bell rings by 7:40 and she has to get her Sax to the band room first. We are pretty sure she is the next Clarence Clemons.)

Then bring the 2nd grader home. Feed her a second breakfast, then walk her to school at 8:00. After crossing guard duty, I get home at 9:00. And I’m sweaty. Cuz the first week of school, temps hit 115. (Don’t touch the monkey bars, no really, NOOOOOOO.)

Then, Blondie gets out of school at 1:50. ONE FIFTY. Dear God in Heaven. HELP ME!

So my work day now ends at 1:30.

Except for those two evening meetings. Which meant I didn’t get home until 9:00.

So the next morning I get up at 4 am to get started on my work.

6:00 am exercise classes . . .

By Friday? Flat on my face. Efficient? Not at all.

A smiling crossing guard? Uh, NO! (Really, you need to smoke, talk on the phone AND try and run me down, all at the same time. Now I know why the office lady complimented me on not hitting anyone with the Stop Sign.)

On Friday I got very little work done on our next potential acquisition. (By “very little” I do mean I moved the papers around on my desk. And evened up the corners of everything.)

During my exercise class I lay on the mat in the fetal position.

I did however buy a couple of items from Lane Bryant online.

I looked at Labs available for adoption.

And I did bathe. (Did I mention walking my kid to school when it was 90 degrees BEFORE 9 am?)

But the mania was gone and it was replaced by a heaviness in my limbs.

Saturday morning? Slept til 7:30. I’m a new woman. Ready to . . . crawl back in bed and watch some TV.

Back to school? I gotta come up with new plan. Carpooling anyone?