Friday Miscellany: Flying Solo Edition

I think I mentioned that Mark is away on his annual ASP trip, which means it's time for my annual week of parenting, flying solo. Am I being an annoying internet mom if I say it actually gets easier every year? I think the hardest one was the first one. When I only had two kids. Oh and the one where I was 39 weeks pregnant trying to find a tanker truck to come fill up our pool wasn't a breeze either. BUT anyway, this week has been pretty easy.

Besides melting various plastic shapes in the guest house oven, we also did another bucket list item -- "go downtown and go up in that big tower again" -- by request of Anneliese, who remembered our glamorous (not glamorous) trip to the state vital records office last fall to get Charlotte's birth certificate. And wanted to re-create it. Apparently.

So we went downtown, we looked at the big towers, we went into the big towers, we rode elevators in the big towers, and then we ate hot dogs at a sidewalk table in the shadow of the big towers.

It was not unpleasant. It was lovely, actually. Sometimes I am glad when we do random harebrained kiddie ideas.

Now, want to hear something that is unpleasant?

I am feeling pretty pissy that I still don't have my oven back. You would think I wouldn't care (or at least care less) when it's a week without Mark which means I am not cooking much real food, but I do care. It is driving me nuts and taking forever.

Our home warranty is covering the damage, which is nice, but the red tape requires attempting to fix it first, which is also fine, and I totally get that diagnosing the problem and getting approval for parts, and then ordering said parts takes time. I get it. I do. But all our parts came, we still had to wait a long week for a technician appointment, and then when he came, he found that we (of course) need a different part. Argggghhhh.

Shit happens, I know, I know. But an oven is an essential appliance. ESSENTIAL. And I feel like there should be an upper limit on how long it takes the warranty people to fix/replace it before they are in violation of the warranty. Or if their contractors have a several week waiting period to get it fixed, we should be able to ask for a different contractor. Our next repair visit is in August. AUGUST. Our fire was IN JUNE. I am basically going all summer without an oven. Well that's how it feels. It is TOO LONG.

I would bitch about it a lot more except I do technically have a working oven in the guest house, and saying that that isn't good enough makes me sound brattier than I want to believe I am. So.

Anyway.

So now not only is Mark out of town, but Another Nathan left yesterday to lead worship for a huge youth conference for the next three weeks (pray for him! send him a million encouraging thoughts!) AND our Nathan is visiting my dad for the weekend, so it is hella quiet around here. No one should say that about solo parenting an almost-two-year-old and an almost-four-year-old, but it does indeed feel... still.

I miss all my favorite dudes! Marky comes home tomorrow so there will be ginormous hugs involved.

And in the meantime I wanted to record a little bit of Charlotte on video, to share some sweetness with our traveling guys, and also just since I haven't been great about getting her on video of late. (Remember this sweetness from Nathan at almost two?)

So, here is her cute little voice getting ready for bed (and no, she doesn't know her correct name or age and no one is really bothering to correct her, so just go with it) (also try not to notice she does something vaguely Hitlerish with her hands when she says her (wrong) age, which is... yeah, um... awkward):


(If you can't see the embedded video, click here to watch it on YouTube.)

Oh and I also realized I never blogged about Nathan passing a belt test at Tae Kwon Do, so I guess this is also a good time to say yay Nathan! He worked hard and passed the test and is one belt level higher (I don't understand all the levels, please don't ask me). Oh and yes, if you remember his previous disappointment, he broke a board. His first real wooden one.

I can't believe how big he is getting. He will be six in a week! A WEEK! SIX! When I could swear I was just pregnant with him. That cannot have been six years ago, when I wasn't even a mom yet. No way. Cannot.

Another Nathan pointed out that I do this every July, get all mommy nostalgic remembering where I was and what I was doing every summer previously, pregnancies and births and such. It's true. Summer brings it out in me. All the birthdays are approaching and I have feeeelings and now I am HYPER AWARE of how much time I spend in memory lane. Um I don't know what to say about that really, since I like being this way, nostalgia feels kind of great actually, but... now I know I am That Way.

And the chromebook battery is dying (dark red with an exclamation point), so that's how this post ends.

Disappointed

Oh man. Nathan had a rough go at Tae Kwon Do a few weeks ago.  They were practicing breaking boards (they learn on foam and plastic, don't be too impressed) (or impressed at all) (remember they are five) and while Nathan regularly does great with the foam sets, this was the first day they were trying the hard plastic interlocking ones.

And he couldn't do it.

Which shouldn't be a big deal, I know. All the time, people try things for the first (or hundredth) time and can't do them, or can't do them well. It's a thing that happens on the reg. It's life.

But he was crushed.

He was just happy and grinning through his lesson, and had no clue it would be tougher than he was thinking and even though his teacher said focus, he didn't really, he just went at it without paying too much attention and then suddenly WHAM shocked eyes and trembling lip. He did an about face and walked straight to me with his face crumpling. (He has never run to me in a lesson before. Never.) 

He was worried his teacher was disappointed in him.

More than that, he was disappointed in himself.

It might not seem like that big of a thing (he tried something, he couldn't do it, who cares, he also can't swim or ride a bike after many tries, and that's not breaking his heart at all) but I think it might be the first time he's ever felt disappointed in himself like that. It's not really about the board, is what I'm saying.

He spent the ride home quiet and a little tearful, even after staying late with his teacher and trying it again and doing just fine. And it's been several weeks now and it is completely forgotten, or at least he doesn't mention it. He has gladly gone back to his lessons and done great in class. When I asked him if I could tell about it, he said sure. So I don't think it's weighing on him now at all, as heart-wrenching as it was in the moment.

I don't know why I'm writing it now, it just seemed monumental as it was happening. I don't have any good take-aways or anything. No moment of parenting brilliance. Just hugging him because yep, sometimes we disappoint ourselves, and yep, I love you.

I didn't know what else to say. 

Tae Kwon Do

Nathan started in Tae Kwon Do today. Kind of random (for us) right? It's something brand new to Mark and me, since neither of us did anything martially-artsy (that's the technical term). And it's not that we had ever planned anything sports-specific for our kids, but I think we were picturing things like tennis and baseball (him) or swimming (me), not.. tae kwon do. But somehow this feels right for Nathan. It seems to be a lovely blend of athletic and social, without being overwhelmingly athletic and social. 


We wanted him to do something active, a sport where he could work on confidence and coordination, and be around a new set of kids and grownups. He loves the gym stuff they do at preschool (nowadays it's called "movement" in case you were curious) and several people have suggested tae kwon do could be a good fit for him. So we're trying it.


He'll do classes twice a week for the next month. His age group's class is called the Little Tigers. Nathan was the only new one yesterday.  And the only nervous one. 


And yes, it really was this adorable.

I die of the cute.


He might have started off timidly (it's his way, after all), but it took him no time to plaster a silly smile on his face that stayed the whole time. HE LOVED IT.  I don't know enough about Tae Kwon Do to really say what was going on, but I know how happy it made me to watch Nathan so clearly loving something new. Who is this child??? 


And even though Mark and I know nothing about this, and never pictured it, we're glad to learn as he goes, and let him do something that's all his, for however long it lasts. 


I'm proud of him and excited for him.