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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Nov 20 2008
More in common than we thought
I recently participated in the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life. For those of you not familiar with the Relay, you join a team to raise money for cancer research and participate in an overnight relay. Our local Relay was held at the high school outdoor track. Each hour for 12 hours, at least one person from my mom's club's team walked the track. If we weren't walking, we sat around talking and eating when we weren't trying to catch some sleep in our tent.
There's nothing like hanging out all night with other people to get to know them better. I invited a couple of moms I knew from Nathan's school to join our team. One of them serves on the charter school board with me. While we knew we had a lot in common, from marketing and writing backgrounds to a love of punk and new wave, it was great to finally sit and chat with no little people or grumpy board members interrupting us. We talked about everything from religion to our families, and hope this is the beginning of a closer friendship if we can find the time to get our families together. (She has an even crazier schedule than I have.)
As the entire team walked the last lap at 6 a.m., she told me of the couple of times her son, who's a year older than Nathan, had to do a "refocus" at school. Like Nathan, her son was having a tough time adjusting to school. Then she told me about a friend of hers who is having a tough time with her six-year-old son's rotten, teenage-like behavior. I could really relate.
I looked back at the struggle I had with Nathan's problems almost a year ago. At the time I wondered what I had done wrong to cause a sweet little boy to become so defiant and stubborn. Talking with my new friend, I realized how normal Nathan was after all. It seems that many of the boys we knew in that age group -- all of them smart, shy and sweet -- were struggling with behavioral issues and strong emotions at school. Funny how we had all kept our little secret to ourselves and that it took a sleep deprivation to chat about it.
We moms definitely need to talk more.
Nov 18 2008
Power Rangers bring peace
I finally have found one way to get the kids to stop fighting -- let them watch the Power Rangers together.
That's almost as pleasant as saying I let them shoot rifles or throw knives at each other -- I hate the Power Rangers that much. I think the show is stupid, ridiculous, and boring. The special effects are lousy, too. Yet the kids love it. It's maddening.
However, there's an atmosphere of cooperation when the Power Rangers are on. The children sit together quietly. They agree on things. They diplomatically assign each other roles in the show. "Nathan, you can be the black Power Ranger and I'll be the pink one," says Lucie. "O.K.," says Nathan, "And mom can be the bad guy."
I'm always the bad guy, which is fine by me. I'm willing to march around waving my imaginary claws in the air while making Godzilla noises. It's worth sacrificing my dignity so they won't fight. I'd do anything for a temporary detente.
Oct 24 2008
Our other family
We're preparing to go to a friend's wedding in Vegas this week. It's the first time we're leaving the kids with a non-family member for more than a day. I'm excited to go, but a little anxious about leaving them, too.
Nathan and Lucie are staying with my friend Linda, who works in the office at their school. Linda has two daughters -- Ashley, who was in Nathan's homeroom last year, and McKenzie, who is a kindergartner.
The nice thing about leaving them with Linda, besides that she has girls around my kids' age, is that she's used to the whole allergy thing. However, her family's allergies are completely opposite of Lucie's, so I've jokingly told Linda that Lucie will be fine on just bananas, popsicles, and Oreos for a few days. We had a good laugh at that, knowing how challenging food allergies can be.
Linda has a unique childcare arrangement at school. McKenzie attends afternoon kindergarten but hangs out with the preschool class in the morning and with one of the preschool teachers at lunch when her mom's working. Lucie will have a similar arrangement or will hang out in Linda's office all day when I'm gone.
I was a bit nervous that Linda was going to get in trouble with her boss, the principal. So I told him what was up, and he said that was fine. In fact, he came across as looking forward to having Lucie hanging out in school all day. I don't know why I was nervous about it, because Lucie's been hanging around at school and with the principal and his family for over two years now.
That's the nice thing about starting a charter school. You become close with your fellow board members as well as the office staff, teachers and administration. Because of the challenges we've faced, we've become a very tight knit bunch.
So I really have nothing to worry about this week. Nathan and Lucie will be staying with family members after all.
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