Golden Bear – Birds of a Feather

Student of the Week

April 6, 2019Building Each Other Up, Family, Golden Bear, Happiness, Humor, Love, Parenting, Special People, Uncategorized2 Comments

This week, Liam enjoyed all of the attention and excitement surrounding the coveted title of Student of the Week in his first grade class. With more than three fourths of the school year complete, for an impatient first grader this honor took far longer than he would have liked. When his moment to shine finally came, it is safe to say he relished in every part of it.

Friday culminated the end of a wonderful week for him and allowed me the opportunity to surprise him with an open letter his teacher shared with him and his classmates during the morning meeting. I joined his class towards the end of his lunch period to share two of his favorite books with his class. When I arrived, they were all abuzz about how cool Liam’s letter was. I put a little extra care into the creation of the letter by incorporating it into a PowerPoint presentation filled with pictures and special anecdotes about Liam. It only seemed fitting to format this piece into my latest blog post.

Our Letter to Liam

Dear Liam,

Dad and I are so proud of how much you’ve grown over the last few years. You amaze us with your energy, love of reading, and curiosity.

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Dad and I know being the oldest comes with a lot of responsibility. We are proud of you for accepting this role. You are such a hard worker at home helping us with chores and taking care of your new puppy, Stormtrooper. Thank you for doing such a great job. We appreciate your help so very much.

Liam you truly are an amazing big brother. Atticus is so blessed to have a brother who is kind, caring, helpful, and loving. You understand how important it is to share and help him learn to how to be his best. Thank you for your big heart!

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Your adventurous spirit is something we truly admire about you, Liam. We love how excited you are about the thrill of scaling a fence, racing across the neighborhood on your go kart, or achieving some type of athletic accomplishment. May you continue to enjoy all of life’s great adventures!

Growing up on the beach, I have loved watching you find so much joy on the sandy shores of South Padre Island too. The excitement of building sand castles, riding waves, and collecting sea shells are some of my favorite summer memories with you.

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I know dad loves sharing his love of snowboarding with you. You have really picked up the sport and impress us both with how adventurous you are to carve down mountains in Colorado. We look forward to seeing you continue to improve and excel in the sport.

You astonish us with how much you love sweets. Donuts, candy, cupcakes, milkshakes… you name it, you are all too happy to gobble it up. May your love of sugary sweets continue to bring you endless amounts of happiness.

Liam, your life of leisure is something we admire about you. You are all about the pajama life and would stay in them all day, every day if we let you. As you grow, I hope you do not lose sight of the simple pleasures in life like wearing comfy pajamas from sun up to sun down.

Liam, we hope you continue to work hard, show kindness, and find joy in life. We love you so much and are proud of all of the positive things you do.

All our love,

Mom & Dad

Summer on the Horizon

June 1, 2018Baby Bears & Little Bears, Family, Golden Bear, Happiness, Love, Mama Bears, Opportunities, Parenting, Simple & easy, Special People, Summer fun, UncategorizedLeave a Comment

With just one week left until my work obligations cease and desist, at least until August, the excitement of summer is definitely on the horizon. If the little moments of happiness sprinkled in on the weekends and after school can predict the future, then the boys and I have a great summer in store for us. Today marks Liam’s last day of kindergarten. I still cannot believe how much he’s grown academically, socially, and not to mention physically. But today instead of looking backwards, I am looking forwards to the simplicities that come with the summer.

ADIOS ALARMS…

One of the simple pleasures of summer is bidding adieu to setting an alarm clock. Granted my children are both set with internal alarms that often have them rising before the sunrise most days however I look forward to letting their internal clocks set the tone for our days rather than a blaring alarm.

SNOW CONES! YES, PLEASE.

Houston summers are hot and humid no matter how early in the morning you rise to avoid the heat. Hydration and sunscreen are both key to a safe summer of fun in the sun. What better way to cool off than with an ice cold, refreshing treat like a snow cone. Our favorite local spot is Bahama Bucks. They have a great rewards program to help you earn free snow cones and the boys absolutely love this indulgence. This Mama Bear is pretty keen on them too, especially their Birthday Cake flavor with sprinkles.

QUALITY TIME

During the school year, authentic quality time is often limited to the weekends when free time is readily at our disposal. Summer, on the other hand, offers bountiful opportunities for time well spent together. Unfortunately Sean’s schedule doesn’t ease up in the summer, but we’ll try to weave in some spontaneous moments together when we can.

SPLASH PADS

In the Texas heat, water, in any form, is your greatest chance of beating the heat. In our neighborhood a wealth of splash pads offer some solace from the heat in a fun and extremely kid friendly way. There will be lots of splash pad play dates this summer. I’ll be one of the many Mama Bears splashing alongside my children as a refuge from the grueling heat wave that sweeps across our Texas summers.

SUMMER SILLINESS

Summer is the perfect time for silliness in all its forms- silly smiles, sounds, traditions, etc. This morning we kicked off the almost official first day of summer vacation with an impromptu breakfast at Shipley’s Donuts to commemorate National Donut Day. Cake sprinkles, chocolate icing, and free donuts had my little Golden Bear offering up his best silly smile.

For those of you also lucky enough to have a summer break, may your days be filled with sunshine, smiles, and snow cones. Bask in the little moments and enjoy the slower pace of summer with your water babies!

My Dynamic Duo

March 25, 2018baby bear, Baby Bears & Little Bears, Family, Golden Bear, Happiness, Love, Mama Bears, Parenting, Special People, UncategorizedLeave a Comment

From playgrounds to playtime and everything in between, the brotherly bond between my Golden Bear and Baby Bear continues to grow and melts my heart at every turn. I know it won’t always be this simple. When Atticus is more verbal or when Liam decides his little brother is too much of a baby to spend time with. The natural ebb and flow of sibling rivalry and banter will slowly trickle in and this Mama Bear will be praying for more patience and guidance to get them all happily through it.

Until then, I will continue to float on the beauty of these little moments- little exchanges between little people who love each other dearly. It comes in so many different forms- a sincere and heartfelt hug initiated by Liam as he wraps his brother in his arms in an embrace. The giggles and coos that reverberate around Atticus like a halo as he finds humor in all of the big boy things his older brother does. My cup runneth over as I stand idly by witnessing such heartfelt moments between a big brother and his baby brother.

Lost in each others company, they play together lovingly- stacking colorful blocks one on top of the other or pushing matchbox cars around an imaginary track on the carpet. Each in awe and wonder of the other. Liam fascinated by all of the things his brother can now do- walking, playing, laughing, and discovering. Atticus intrigued by all of the things he can only dream of doing one day- zip lining across the playground, rock climbing high above his head, or racing across the sidewalk faster than lightning.

As a mother, I absolutely love seeing the two of them leaning on one another and growing as brothers. There is something truly beautiful to see as an outside observer. My two sweet boys may you always look out for one another, want the best for each other, and demonstrate love and support every step of the way. When you find yourself frustrated or angered by your sibling, may you search deeper and let your bond and love outshine the conflict. I will always be here to lend an ear, help you make amends, and guide you back into one another’s good graces. My little dynamic duo, together you will always be stronger, happier, and more alive when you are in it together.

Sharing is not always Caring

January 31, 2018Family, Golden Bear, Mama Bear Rant, Special People, UncategorizedLeave a Comment

Between daycare, an elementary school, and a high school, our den is prime real estate for germs to be passed from one bear to the next with sometimes very unfortunate results. This weekend these germs reared their ugly head and knocked half of us off our feet.

It started with me on Saturday night. Sean and I enjoyed a date night out at a colleague’s birthday party. On the drive home, I started to feel bad and by the middle of the night I was praying to the porcelain gods. This wasn’t the result of too much drinking and no it’s not an early sign of morning sickness. My initial thought was food poisoning but the madness continued well into Sunday afternoon. I spent the majority of my Sunday either in bed or tossing my cookies- definitely not my idea of a good time! I was certainly in no condition to write a blog post.

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By Monday morning, I was feeling more like myself and finally able to keep food down only to discover that poor Liam was now sicker than a dog. Armed with a bucket, we dropped Atticus off at daycare and trekked to CVS to arm ourselves with Nauzene, Pedialyte, 7 Up, and fresh bread. All of the essentials, to help fend off the ickiness of a stomach bug. For all of the times Liam threw up, the little guy was one hell of a trooper. His lingered around longer than mine so he spent half the day at home today and the other with his Grandpa Jim to make sure he was fully recovered and ready to return to school tomorrow.

By the grace of God, Atticus appears to be spared. I pray both Sean and him fare better than the two of us. To combat the breeding ground of germs in our house, I’ve been running around with Clorox spray, disinfectant wipes, and Lysol trying to prevent these nasty germs from settling in like their welcomed guests.

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When half of your clan falls flat on their rear, it definitely debunks the “sharing is caring” adage we sprinkle on our children like confetti for most of their formative years. Sharing is not always caring when it comes to spreading germs from one person to another.

Aside from recounting the disgustingness of the last few days in our casa, I am writing this blog as a PSA for other Mama Bears out there. The flu in various strains is running rampant across the country. We have an obligation as mothers to recognize the signs, take the necessary precautions, and keep our children out of schools and daycares when they’re sick. Most schools maintain a policy of 24 hours fever and symptom free for a reason. While Liam seemed to be on the mend last night, I knew if the shoe was on the other foot I wouldn’t appreciate another parent sending their child to school when they might still be contagious. It might not always be convenient either. After all, I missed a day and a half of work. But things aren’t going to get better if we don’t make a concerted effort to change the trend. Take precautionary measures like hand washing to minimize the spreading of germs. But more importantly keep yourselves and your children home when they’re sick. Sharing really is not always caring, especially when it comes to contagious viral infections, flus, and the like!

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Okay, I’ll simmer down now and put an end to my Mama Bear rant, at least for now.

Elf on the Shelf Shenanigans

December 9, 2017Family, Golden Bear, Happiness, Holiday spirit, UncategorizedLeave a Comment

Shortly after Thanksgiving, the Elf on the Shelf shenanigans begin at our house. I don’t know if I have more fun finding unique and creative ways to showcase Willie the Elf or if Liam does scouring the house every morning in search of his elf’s most recent hiding place.

I know staging your child’s elf may not be something everyone enjoys doing, but many do it because it’s an obligatory part of their family Christmas traditions. For the Mama Bears who find it more of a chore than a joy to hide their child’s elf, I thought I’d post a few of this year’s best hiding places so you could catalog them away and implement them in your house in the next few weeks leading up to Christmas.

Willie blended in nicely with one of my favorite kitchen staples, cherry tomatoes. This hiding place proved to be incredibly difficult for Liam to find. He was unable to find him in the morning before we headed out the door for school and work. Later that evening though, I asked him to help me with dinner by grabbing some tomatoes. He was so very surprised to see who was hiding inside.

Friday morning Liam woke up to fresh snow outside. As many of you know, this is truly a rarity in South Texas. He enjoyed building a snowman, having a snowball fight, and eating snow. This morning to piggyback on the merriment, Willie had his own snowball fight in the guest room with Liam’s Christmas stuffed animals.

Willie borrowed one of Atticus’s bath toys for a little fishing fun in a decorative pot in our dining room.

Baby toys have proven to be ideal props for staging Liam. For this one, I made a chain of teething rings and hung them from the drape rod.

A bag of Oreos doubles as a prop and as an easy go-to dessert. Liam loved finding his name spelled out in them and was even more surprised that Willie made the icing red just like his clothes.

During the off season, Willie moonlights as an extra for Cirque de Soleil.

Willie pulled the drapes together to make a relaxing hammock. He enjoyed a day of sunbathing while Liam was away at school.

Sometimes Willie leaves notes for Liam that talk about something special Liam did during the day. These notes are a labor of love on my part because I write them with my non-dominant hand. For not being a leftie, I think I fare pretty well.

To the other Mama Bears hiding elves this Christmas, let your inner child out and get creative. Seeing your child’s eyes light up when they discover their elf’s new hiding place makes it a labor of love well worth the effort!

A 6th Birthday of Liamisms

November 6, 2017Family, Golden Bear, Happiness, Love, Milestones, Special People, UncategorizedLeave a Comment

Today marked Liam’s 6th birthday. While driving to Shipley’s this morning for birthday donuts. I started singing happy birthday with an assortment of different nicknames for Liam just for grins. Each time it went a little something like:

“Happy birthday dear, Liamnardo da Vinci. Happy birthday to you!”
“Happy birthday dear, Liamnardo James Macaroni . Happy birthday to you!”
“Happy birthday dear, Liam Sweet Pea Mogwai. Happy birthday to you!”

Every time he chimed in with, “Mom, that’s not my real name.” I preceded to follow up with his full name. At which point he contested yet again that this wasn’t his real name either. He matter of factly followed up with, “No mom. My real name is just Liam.”

In honor of Liam and his special day on this 5th of November, it seemed only fitting to compile some of his most recent Liamisms to commemorate his sixth birthday.

“Mom, you want to hear something hilarasing? It’s so funny it will make you laugh.” “Liam, sweetie, I think the word you mean is hilarious. Hilarious is another word for funny.” “Oh yeah, that’s what I meant to say!”

“Liam, I really need you to be a first time listener, please.” “Mom, I think I’m having a hard time hearing because I have too much ear wax in my ears. Maybe you should clean them out with a Q Tip, so I can hear better.”

“Mom, why don’t we use mattresses at the dinner table anymore?” “What mattresses are you talking about Liam?” “You know the ones we used to put under our plate to catch the food.” “Oh, you mean place mats.” “Oh right, that’s what they’re called.”

“Mom, wouldn’t it be funny if I was only one like Atticus. Then we’d be twins. We could play together all the time.” “Liam, I’m sure that would be a lot of fun for you two but it would be a lot of work for me.” “You’re right, Mom. Think of how many poopy diapers two babies would make. That would be disgusting!”

Liam, your wit and humor bring light to our days. You are an incredibly intelligent young man with a world full of possibilities in front of you. Keep working hard, making us proud, and bringing a smile to our face with your perfectly imperfect Liamisms. May this year bring you happiness, adventures, and so much more! Happiest of birthday wishes to you, Golden Bear.