Stand By Me

I know there are a lot of women out there who just LOVE their hairdresser, but my feelings for my stylist run deeper than the shampoo bowl.  I met Eraka…or should I say, “Hairaka” as Natalie calls her, when Noah was a preschooler and Natalie just a baby.  I was juggling work while managing Noah’s therapies and seizures along with Natalie’s growing eczema and ongoing sleep issues.  The last time I had given myself permission to enjoy a haircut was when I donated my hair to Locks of Love.  However, as I listened to woman after woman in our MOPS group not only rave about their new styles, but recount how much fun they had while in her hands – I thought, I want some of that.  When she enters a room, Eraka is a hard person to miss as she seems to radiate positive energy.  Her ready smile and infectious laughter is rivaled only by her willingness to give hugs to anyone in need of one.

During that first cut, I learned that while we look and carry ourselves very different on the outside, inside we share a lot of the same struggles and dreams.  Today, five years later, our friendship has grown beyond the commonalities of motherhood.  She’s my party-decorating-partner-in-crime, and like me, believes no social gathering is really good, unless costumes are involved.  Whenever I spend time with her, I always return home walking a little taller...more so than can be explained by hairspray alone.

(L-R) Barb, Eraka, me and Nancy at my surprise 40th - Eraka chose a cougar theme.

On 4^th of July, she messaged me to say she and the kids were having a lemonade stand and were going to donate all the profits to  Action for Autism St. Louis– an organization near and dear to our family’s heart as their support has helped us maintain Noah’s academic and social skills through his participation at Camp Happy Day.

Her kids were so enthusiastic and thought of everything...even name tags.  Below are the commercials they created and Eraka posted on her Facebook page to entice customers.

If you are in need of a new 'do.  Visit "Eraka Scissorhands" at Trim - A Hair Salon in Kirkwood, MO.
And, if you'd like to buy a "virtual cup" of lemonade. It will fill up your heart without affecting your waistband one bit.  Click here and type lemonade in the comments section.  

Musings from Natalie #5

Me: "Natalie! Come on!  We have to go!"  

Natalie: "Sorry, Mom.  I'm coming.  I was just talking to the flowers and telling 

them that it will probably rain someday."
 

Me: "Yes, Natalie.  I will watch you during your gymnastics class."

Natalie: "Ok, so wherever I walk, you move your eyes."

(Yes, Queen of Quite-a-lot...I promise.)

 

Me: "Natalie, I know you are not a patient person, but I need you to 

wait a minute."

Natalie: "Yeah, I'm a right-now-person."

This week's "smokin' song" per Natalie.  "The Chain" by Fleetwood Mac

I Know What You Mean #2

If you are a parent then you are probably well versed in the language of Kidese (kid-EEZ). However, dialects and terms vary greatly among the population of the pint-sized group. Here are this week's  phrases that Natalie has tossed out and I've tried to catch her true meaning.


"Mom, Noah is always giving me nuts!" yelled Natalie
Since Natalie is allergic to peanuts, I'm pretty sure he wasn't trying to give her any legumes. I think she meant Noah quite often makes her nuts.


"Mom, can you help me find Ariel's boobs?" asked Natalie
Although models and celebs are known to change their cup sizes quite regularly, I don't know of any dolls sold by Disney that offer that option.I think she may have meant she needed help finding her mermaid's bikini top.


"Yea, Dad...if you lived in South Africa then you could shoot cantaloupe!" cheered Nat
Although it is difficult to land a good, ripe cantaloupe.  I don't think it requires firearms, only a little thumping with your thumb.  I think she meant to say antelope.


"Mom, did you buy any moo moo's?" inquired Natalie.
Since we don't live in the country and have no room to house a cow, I think she may have meant Moo Tubes -- the sugary snack marketed as push-up yogurt for kids.

4th of July Fun

Early this morning Steve took Natalie out to the August A. Busch Memorial Conservation Area on her very first...and quite possibly last, blackberry-picking adventure.  If you've never picked berries, then you can't really appreciate why they cost so much in the grocery store. Basically, if the chiggers and ticks don't get you -- the thorns will!

About five minutes after they arrived, I received a call from Steve saying, "We need bigger buckets!"  This was surprising to me as we have had so little rain.

While on the phone I could hear the pride and joy in his voice as he shared, "Well, she's an interesting picker...she puts one berry in her bucket and then the next three go in her mouth."

I figured they'd be gone for a couple of hours or at least until they had buckets brimming, however, I received another call about 15 minutes later...this time the call came from Natalie herself.

"Maaahmmm, there are forns," she sniffled.

Needless to say, the thorn in her finger cut their berry-picking trip short.  She LOVES venturing into the woods with her Dad -- whether fishing or hunting for mushrooms, but when she hurts, she just wants her Mama.  And, I'm glad.

By 9:30 a.m., the tears and forn in her finger were gone.  Both she and Steve had been de-ticked (we found two crawling on their clothes!) and had showered so as to be ready to attend our community's 4th of July parade in the triple digit heat.  We go every year and the kids always look forward to scurrying around for candy and beads that get tossed out to the crowd.  And, I'd be lying if I said Steve and I didn't spend a lot of time laughing and placing bets on who would be the next unlucky person to step into one of the road apples left behind by the crew from Green Acres Ranch. Good times!

So bright...gotta wear shades

Greater St. Louis Ghostbusters...I had no idea

An awesome rendition of downtown Webster created by Webster Groves Art & Air

The End...or so to speak. 

Invisible Drama

As I headed to the kitchen to investigate a ruckus ensuing between the kids, Natalie rushed up to me with tears streaming.  She was wailing so loudly I could barely understand what she was saying.  Finally, she calmed down enough for me to make out, "Noah just SAT on my invisible friend!" she sobbed.

"I was just kidding," shrugged Noah.  Then, he walked over to an empty chair and proceeded to apologize to her airy-playmate.  To which Natalie responded by raising her protest to an ear-bleeding octave.

"Natalie, he was just kidding.  Isn't your friend ok, now?" I inquired. While in my head, I couldn't really believe that I was even having this conversation.  I looked around  half-expecting to see the host from Candid Camera appear from behind my fridge.

"Noooooooo......He's flat!" she bawled.

Noah strolled over to the vacant seat once again and pretended to "re-inflate" Nat's invisible friend.

I don't think there are two kids on the planet who know better how to create drama...
out of thin air, than my two darlings.

Bravo.

Like Two Peas in an Escape Pod

On Friday afternoon after a particularly trying homework session, Noah began a downward spiral of negative self-talk.  From him I heard, “Why did God have to make me this way?”… “I have no friends.”… “I try to talk to kids, but they just don’t understand anything I say.”

My knee jerk response was to tell him that God made each one of us to have special gifts and challenges.  And, although I may not always know how to help him with his struggles, I promised to be tireless in my search to find someone who could.

That evening I contacted my friend to see if her son, Ross, could come over to hang out with Noah.  Although he is 2 ½ years younger than Noah, it’s a good match as Ross has similar interests and both boys fall somewhere on the awesome spectrum.

Ross was over the moon to see Noah…so much so he made him a card. On the inside of the card he wrote, "I really like you and I am playing the Wii and I like skating with you.  I really like spending time with you."

Front of Card

Back of Card

On the car ride over Noah said, “Ross, I organized my room to make it easier for us to play in."  

(Hmmm...not a typical way for a 9 year old to start up a convo, but Ross didn't seem to notice. And, by "I" I think Noah meant "my mom" but no need to get picky with the details.) 

A short time after we arrived at our place, Ross asked me if he could come back to our house in 7 days. 

(I think my heart grew 3 sizes.)

Although the two boys see each other very infrequently, they quickly began talking “LEGO shop” and then settled in on a game of R2D2 Trouble.  Next, they decided to play the Wii.  

Noah asked Ross, “Would you like me to put them in two rows or three rows?”  

“Two rows,” replied Ross.  

Apparently, Noah not only thought it necessary to remove each and every Wii game from the T.V. cabinet, he also believed it best to carefully place them into rows, prior to making a game selection.  But, the best part was that Ross was completely onboard with the protocol.

A few minutes into playing on the Wii, Noah announced that he was going to play in his room by himself and Ross didn't seem concerned at all.  However, I told both boys that they could spend 15 minutes doing their own thing, but then they’d have to find something to do together.  Both agreed without complaint and went on to enjoy a lightsaber duel and a few games of LEGO Ninjago.

I love it when a plan comes together.

Decisions...decisions

Visitor's Day

Thursday was Visitor's Day for the primary-aged groups at Camp Happy Day.  It's an opportunity for parents, friends and family members to shadow their favorite camper.  I arrived a little late as Noah's camp begins before Natalie's and by the time I had dropped her off and doubled back to Camp Happy Day, his P.E. class was already in progress. When I entered the gym, I found Noah making his descent from a 30 ft. climb.  And, he was just fine with that!  In fact, he was so comfortable with climbing - he was happy to head to the top again so that I could capture the Kodak moment.  It was awesome and a good boost to his ego to perform in front of his peers and me.

 

Fearless and Fancy Free

After P.E., I followed him to his speech therapy class.  He and two other campers worked with a therapist on idioms and I wouldn't be pulling your leg if I told you Noah seemed to be at home...maybe even enjoying himself during the session.

After speech he had arts & crafts and I worked alongside him to paint what will soon be a snake with movable parts made from toilet paper rolls.

Ssssss...So Much Fun!

Next, I joined him for his math class in which the kids each created their own cube as a tactile means to understanding basic geometry terms like base, surface, and volume. Prior to heading to reading, his last class, the group made a pit stop at the "prize store" to select a reward for completing their weekly homework assignments.

It's Hip To Be and Make Squares

Click here for more information on Camp Happy Day.