Where’s Grammom Shopping???
Lil C has kindly decided to share her stomach virus with me. It’s been a fun week full of unintended weight loss and other unpleasantries. I think I have the perfect work out plan: bronchitis (toned abs) chased with a nasty stomach virus (weight loss). I’m going to have a beach bod simply from being sick. I guess that is what’s called looking at life with rose-colored glasses. If you’d like to hear what it’s been like you can go read this post from last summer, because it’s pretty similar. Subtract out the scallops and add in Lil C’s virus as the culprit and that pretty much tells the story (minus the hospital this time around, thank God). . .
So due to my hiatus, here’s a little something I prepared over the weekend which I think you’ll enjoy. . .
My grandmother will turn 90 years old this June. She never ceases to be empty-handed when she sees my kids. Big I has about 4000 notebooks and/or coloring books that my grandmother has given her over the years (I, on the other hand, am never lacking dish towels for which she keeps me in constant supply).
On Saturday, of Mother’s Day weekend, we all got together. My grandmother gave my daughter a little notebook and Big I went right to work on filling it up with pictures. On Saturday night my parents watched the girls so Mr. BBM and I could have a very much needed night out.
The next day we got a phone call from my Mom telling us we might want to get rid of Big I’s new notebook from her Great-Grammom. Here is the image and wording that appears on each page of the notebook. . .
Apparently, while Mr. BBM and I were out, Big I took a little closer look at that image and asked my Mom, "Why is that girl bunny looking down that boy bunny’s pants?" My Mom about fell over and did what any responsible Mom-Mom would do. . . she told Big I to go ask Pop-Pop. My Dad took one close look at the image and wording and erupted into laughter. Only after minutes of this was my Mom able to give Big I the likely (wink, wink) explanation that the girl bunny was just showing the boy bunny how much weight he had lost. Way to go Mom!
That convinced Big I for the time being. Somehow I’m not convinced that explanation is the right one. So my question is, who decides to put this kind of image on a notebook? But more importantly, where is Grammom shopping???
A new “baby”
My Mother’s Day gift arrived in the mail last week. When I opened the box and unpacked all the styrofoam peanuts, what greeted me was a miniature tree, a bonsai tree. The card was from "your karate kids" and it was a sweet and thoughtful gift. Once I had the delicate tree out of the box, I saw a sheet of paper at the bottom of the box.
The sheet was single-spaced, and typed on both front and back. . . the instructions for my bonsai tree’s care. For most plants, the care instructions can be fit on something the size of a small bookmark, but for the bonsai. . .
-Watering is crucial, but don’t over-water and FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, don’t under-water.
-Sunlight is crucial, but not too much direct sunlight and you better have a window that faces south or else the Bonsai Police are coming to take you away!
-Bonsai tree’s do best outside, but ONLY when there is no threat of frost. Bringing the plant inside once it starts to get cool again is a gradual process. You actually have to bring the tree in for a few hours at a time to reacclimate the tree. Talking to the tree to let it know it’s going to be o.k is highly recommended (o.k. I added that last part).
After reading the entire two pages, I started wishing the box contained a massage therapist instead, and started feeling like I now had three very temperamental children to care for. And then, right at the end of the second detailed page? A recommendation to buy the book about the complete care of the bonsai tree, because really, these two pages are just the basics.
I’m including a picture of my bonsai tree now, because this is probably the best it will ever look.
Mr. Miyagi, where are you????
Surprise Promotion
When I arrived at karate class tonight I was expecting some kata, waza, and maybe some self defense. After a two week hiatus due to the cess pool of germs that is my house, I was feeling rusty and anxious to get back in the swing of things. What I wasn’t expecting was a promotion, but that’s just what I got.
1st kyu feels very surreal. Surreal because I wasn’t expecting this until June or September, and surreal because my next test will be for black belt. It just doesn’t seem possible because I feel like I have so much more to learn.
I envisioned my testing for 1st kyu as very polished and a step-up from my other testing performances. But truth be told, I’ve been working on my own to learn the last two kata’s I need for Shodan and the three I needed for 1st kyu felt like they needed to be dusted off a bit.
Testing was a bit informal this time around and promotions were moved up because two of our instructors are injured enough to require surgery within the next few weeks. They didn’t know if they would be up for testing in June, so it happened now.
The only problem with tonight was Big I. We have been working on Big I’s material at home with a hopeful promotion in either June or September to green belt. With t-ball and end of the year Kindergarten activities, she hasn’t been practicing as much as she should be and she was not at all ready for green belt.
Big I has been taking karate for three years now. Tonight she watched other students who have been there for much less time get promoted to her rank and beyond. I talked to her during class, as did my instructors, and told her that she has time to learn this kata the way it should be learned and that they will test her this summer. Her response was that she didn’t want to wait; but really, that was the only thing that made sense. She’s simply not ready.
I thought she was o.k. with this right up until we got in the car to come home. Before she was even buckled she began to sob. "I really want my green belt," she cried, and I felt horrible for her. But then I told her what one of my instructor’s told me a few weeks ago. She said that when I go to black belt testing I will "take my black belt" instead of "testing for black belt" meaning that I will walk in there knowing my stuff so well that the only option is to promote me to Shodan.
I asked her how she would feel if she was given a green belt without earning it. I asked her to think about how good it will feel to get that belt after she’s tested and done everything right. After a good long cry she came around, but still insisted she was very sad.
I told her to turn that sadness into motivation to learn, so that she can go into the dojo in another month or so and "take her green belt." It was horrible as her Mom to see her so upset; but I think that she will look back on this disappointment as a very good lesson for life. It doesn’t matter what anyone else is doing, or how quickly anyone else is being promoted or moving along in this world. The only thing that really matters is where she’s going and how she’s going to get there. Although she didn’t necessarily choose this path for herself, in the end she will have learned about discipline, determination, and eventually, how good it feels to succeed. And that is certainly a lesson worth learning.
Interview Meme
This has been going around the internet, even more rampant than the sicknesses around my household. Since I’m practically a shut-in from the allergies turned bronchitis, and Lil C’s virus I thought I’d participate. J from Thinking About posed these five questions of me:
Is there any food you could eat everyday without getting sick of it?
The only thing that comes to mind is dark chocolate. I absolutely love dark chocolate, the darker the better.
Do you consider yourself to be practical, a free spirit, or lazy?
This one is kind of tough since I think all those descriptions are so different. I think I’m a pretty practical person. I think I’m probably too high strung to be considered a free spirit although my birth sign strongly disagrees with that assessment. Lazy? Sometimes I can be, but when you consider that I’m a stay at home Mom, part time work from home recruiter, working on writing a book, Team Mom for Big I’s t-ball team, and very much committed to my karate, I don’t think lazy describes me at all.
What do you consider to be the most important quality in a person?
Honesty. I hate liars. Just ask some of my ex-boyfriends. Nothing makes my blood pressure go through the roof as much as when someone lies to me. Along with honesty is just being a really good person, someone who is honest with others and also honest with themselves. I can’t stand when people are passive-aggressive and not direct about things either. I think all of that falls under the category of honesty and I think that is the most important and admirable quality a person can have.
If you could change one thing about your personality, what would it be?
I wish I wasn’t so sensitive about things. It upsets me when people say things about me or my kids. Things tend to just sit in my head and simmer for a while. I can’t seem to let rude comments go and I really wish I could.
Smoking or Non? If non-smoking, have you ever been a regular smoker?
NON! I am the person reporting people who throw cigarette butts out their windows. I also tell smokers to move away from entrances to stores so that my kids don’t have to inhale that crap; and I have no problem telling teenagers they’re being stupid when I see them smoking or asking them to move away from me and my kids if they continue to be stupid.
That being said (and PLEASE let this be the entry my parents do not read), I was stupid in college and when I was out and around my friends I occassionally smoked. I can’t even begin to say how much I regret having done that. It was so stupid. One day, I made up my mind that I was done and that was it. I never did it again. I wouldn’t say I was a regular smoker at any point in my life though.
Here are the rules if you’d like to play:
1. Leave me a comment saying "Interview Me."
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with the questions and answers.
4. You will include this explanation and offer to interview readers in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.
Depending on how many more diapers I have to change today, it may take me a couple days to get these out if you choose to be interviewed.
Renaming blog
I think I need to rename my blog. Lately this place has been less about karate and more about sickness. I’m thinking I should rename it "Barfed on Mama" or "Co-pay Blues" or something. I was unable to make it to class again.
We got back from the hospital about two hours ago. Lil C is very sick. She spiked a fever of 105.4 today after her nap and had me an absolute wreck. The doctor couldn’t see her until this evening. He checked her out thoroughly and decided to do a blood count. No big deal right? A finger stick and done, except Lil C’s finger stick turned into two finger sticks. When they wanted to do a third after she had thrown up all over the exam room, my husband and I said "NO!".
The doctor came in, agreed with our decision and sent us to the hospital to rule out pneumonia. The x-ray process was a nightmare. Imagine a 19 month old baby being strapped into a plastic tube with her arms straight above her head. I almost cried, but I knew I had to try to keep her from being a complete wreck. My efforts were futile, but the x-ray came back negative.
Tomorrow, we fill a prescription to combat the beginnings of an ear infection and hope that the rest of this stuff is just viral.
Of course, you know what that means right?
You’ll also be able to label this blog, "Black Belt Mama Barfs". One thing is for sure; I’ll either be cleaning it up or throwing up at some point this week.
And note to self: In the future, skip feeding ill child spinach. . . and I thought spaghetti was bad.
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