About This Blog
Welcome to my blog. I'm Anne-Marie Nichols, a 40-something WAHM to Nathan, 6, and Lucie, 3. I've been married 12 years to their dad Paul, a scientist. When I'm not doing the mommy thing, I'm a freelance writer, and vice president of the board of directors for a Colorado public charter school. In my spare time I like to sleep, eat, read, and decorate cakes.
I created this online journal to share some entertaining and insightful stories from my own experiences as a writer, domestic engineer, and mom. I encourage you to share this blog with your friends, and hopefully it will spark some lively discussions on issues we can all relate to. Enjoy!
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Oct 6 2008
Obsessions
Nathan is usually obsessed with something and constantly asks us about it. This week it was with the golf pull cart I ordered for him online. Nathan's in a golf league that meets in the middle of the day. With the heat, it's difficult for him to carry his clubs and keep up with the rest of the kids on the course. Seeing that his buddy Michael had a kid-sized pull cart, I got Nathan one, too.
After I told Nathan I placed the order, the questions started coming:
What color is it? (Black)
Is it the same one as Michael's? (Yes, but his is yellow.)
Do the wheels come off? (I don't know, but we'll see when we get it.)
How much did it cost? ($35.95 with shipping.)
When will it get here? (Soon. Stop obsessing!)
That week every time the UPS man came by (which is often) Nathan would run to the door screaming, "My golf cart, my golf cart!" Seeing it was yet another review book for me, he was inevitably disappointed.
Yet five minutes later he'd ask, "So when's my golf cart coming?" and I'd sprout another gray hair. Luckily, I was eventually emailed a tracking number, and was able to tell him exactly when it was coming.
This obsession behavior isn't unique to Nathan. His dad has it, too. Recently Paul was fitted for and ordered a very special golf club, a PING G5. Every day he'd come home and ask, "So is my G5 here yet? I need it this weekend!"
The leaf doesn't fall far from the tree now, does it?
Oct 3 2008
Checking for feathers
Nathan's developing a very unpleasant habit of taking things that aren't his. This past school year I'd clean out his backpack and find school supplies, fast food toys, or other trinkets I knew weren't his. I'd ask him to return the items to their rightful owners, but somehow they never made it out of his backpack or I'd find them later hidden in his desk.
When the items looked valuable, like a bracelet he found on the playground, I'd insist that he turn it in to the lost and found at school. Still he'd conveniently forget to turn it in, and I'd end up doing it myself.
During the last week of school at Field Day, he found a wallet. First he tried to pass it off as a gift. Then he finally admitted he found it. Again, I'd bring up the lost and found. I was beginning to sound like a broken record.
We left the playground, and I accompanied Nathan to the lost and found in the lobby. Distracted by Lucie, I lost track of where he went. I finally found Nathan coming out of the bathroom.
"So, Nathan, you put the wallet in the lost in found?" I asked.
"Yes, I did," he answered.
"Well, can you show me where you put it? I didn't see it when I looked," I told him.
"Oh, oops, I forgot. It's in my pocket!" Nathan said.
I grabbed the wallet from him and shoved it in the lost and found box. Shaking my head, I told him how disappointed I was with him and that I'd tell his dad. While I know this behavior is typical of many kids his age, I'm not thrilled that he's turning into a magpie either.
Oct 2 2008
Feline visitor
As I do most summer mornings, I open the back sliding glass door to let in the only cool air of the day while I sit at the dining room table, working on my laptop.
This morning, we have a neighborhood cat visiting us. I've warned the kids NOT to let the cat inside. I have no idea whose cat it is, and it's not wearing a collar. Last thing I need to do this morning is coax a feral cat out from underneath the sofa.
Nathan and Lucie are sitting on the floor in their PJs on one side of the screen door with the cat on the other, sitting on our deck. Nathan and Lucie are making meowing noises and talking to him. The cat's lying there looking bored at all the racket. He soon gets up and leaves, much to Nathan and Lucie's dismay. They start to call him back, but with no luck.
Nathan and Lucie love and relate to animals so well, that I wonder if we should get a dog or cat. Realizing that's why we have a yearly membership to the zoo, I quickly put that thought aside.
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