Archive for October, 2008
October 31st, 2008, 4:13 pm by Michelle Reese
 Photospin I’m heading home soon and awaiting a decision by my daughter - what will she be tonight for Halloween? She’s nearly 4, and very indecisive on this critical matter. Last weekend we attended a Halloween party with friends and as we went through my daughter’s enormous collection of dressup clothes, she wandered to her brother’s room and picked out the Spider-Man costume he wore last year. So, that night, 20 minutes before we were to leave, I found myself with needle and thread on my kitchen floor trying to hike up the costume by 4 inches. She looked adorable.
So last night I asked her what she plans to do tonight. First, “Mom, I’m going to be a princess.” Then, spying a cowboy hat and vest in the dressup basket she announced, “No, I’m going to be a cowboy.” This morning, I went to get the costumes in order before I left the house (my son is easy - he’s a Power Ranger), she announced, “I want to wear my angel costume!”
She’s a mischieveious little one. I wonder if the halo will fit. Here I go to find out. Happy Halloween!
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October 29th, 2008, 10:49 am by Michelle Reese
The Arizona Association of Community Managers put out a list of homeowner tips for Halloween night.
1) Be mindful when you drive: Remember to drive more cautiously through neighborhoods since children will be out later than usual and do not always keep to sidewalks and crosswalks.
2) Sealed wrappers: Help parents make their child is safe and only girve out candy that has a sealed wrapper.
3) Illumination: Use batter power instead of fire to illuminate any decorations such as luminarias or carved pumpkins.
4) Yard awareness: Clear all front-yard walkways and sidewalks of items like tools, hoses and plants that can trip trick-or-treaters.
5) Pet smarts: Secure all pets in a safe place during Halloween to ensure that pets do not escape, get scared or bite anyone.
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October 27th, 2008, 10:03 am by Michelle Reese
I don’t think I’ve ever felt this tired on a Monday. Yet, it was my idea that both kids play a sport this season.
What was I thinking?
So Saturday morning – keep in mind my daughter and I were both sick last week – we woke up our 6-year-old son at 7 a.m. and he and daddy were out the door by 7:15 to get read for an 8 a.m. football game.
My daughter who usually wakes at 6:30 a.m. was still snoozing.
So I let her crash and finally at 7:45 a.m. she came downstairs. I already had breakfast ready. I put her in her soccer uniform, grabbed breakfast and dashed out the door.
Oh, and I forgot about those new speed cameras on westbound U.S. 60. I’m pretty sure I was under 70 …
We made it to the game in Mesa right after the first play. My son looked a little tired on the field, but the kids had fun.
Then we dashed back to Gilbert for my daughter’s game at 10. She was a riot. I couldn’t believe it when my nearly 4-year-old took down a few of her fellow players to get the ball.
(I need to work on that team idea with her!)
After the game we played at the park, went home, crashed and then took in a neighborhood Halloween party.
Oh, and Sunday we had a family gathering.
I have to admit as crazy as it is, they’re both having fun. And while it’s a bit chaotic (did I mention my son has a double-header the Saturday after Halloween?), it’s keeping us outdoors and away from the television and I’m a big proponent of that.
But I will also admit that I already threw away the registration form for next season that starts in January. My daughter has been begging to try gymnastics and both kids need swimming lessons.
That will probably be a bit more managable since they’ll do it at the same time.
I’m sure come next fall, however, we’ll be back in two different sports again!
I’m going to need another cup of coffee.
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October 19th, 2008, 7:34 pm by Michelle Reese
My neighbors are pretty tolerant. At least, that’s how it appears.
I live in one of those developments where you can stand between both houses and – if your arms are long enough – touch houses on either side of you.
It’s worse in the backyard. I’m pretty sure there’s less than four feet from my block fence to the foundation of my neighbor’s house.
Despite that, they’ve never once complained about the kids.
That’s an interesting fact because when it’s cool outside, I’m sure they can hear my kids run out the door first thing in the morning to play.
No matter the time.
I try to keep it from getting too early on the weekends. But this morning I didn’t look at the clock until after I put on the coffee.
It was 7:46 a.m. and they were having the time of their lives.
“Let’s go to grandma’s house. Mom, you pretend to be grandma. I’ll drive the car.”
I looked out to see my 3-year-old on top of the play truck my 6-year-old was driving.
“WHEE!”
I only had to ask her to stop screaming once. They really weren’t loud. They were just being kids.
I love this time of year because they LOVE to be outside. And their imaginations run wild as they make up their own storylines to play.
I’m pretty sure my neighbors have forgiven me.
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October 17th, 2008, 4:29 pm by Michelle Reese
Last week my family travelled to Indiana for a family reunion/wedding/celebration of grandparents weekend. It was amazing to have all those great grandchildren together. My kids found instant connections with my cousins’ kids. In all, there were 43 of us who are descendents of my grandparents - a tribute to them and their nearly 60 years of marriage.
We stayed at my aunt’s house. My kids, husband and I were assigned to the “bunk room,” and like it sounds, it had bunk beds. Rewind to August when we took a family trip and I fell off the top bunk of bunk beds while sleeping and broke my nose. As soon as we walked into the “bunk room,” I was banned to the floor.
Yes. Not even one of the lower bunks. The floor.
“Mom, you can’t sleep up there. You broke your nose,” my 6-year-old said to me. “Mommy will fall off,” my 3-year-old said.
“No way. No how,” said my husband, adding that the kids were banned as well.
I gave up. I laughed though, too. I know it’s their way of loving me, caring for me, and taking care of mommy. But seriously!
So I grabbed a few comforters and threw them on the floor. My son took up one bottom bunk, my husband the other. I could have pushed my son to the floor, but I didn’t have it in me. My daughter and I cuddled up close and crashed on the floor. Two nights later a bed opened up in the house when my sister left, but my kids didn’t want to break up the sleeping arrangements. So, to bed we all went.
And when everyone was asleep, guess who snuck out to a bed elsewhere!
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October 17th, 2008, 4:20 pm by Michelle Reese
Here are a few free, or very worthy, events you can take the kids to this weekend.
Saturday
Fall Blissfest, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., downtown Mesa around Robson and Main Street. This is the second year the owners of Domestic Bliss and Blissful Living Studio have sponsored this community event. They’re including a carnival aspect as a fundraiser for Christian and Stephanie Nielson. Many vendors will sell arts and crafts as well as food.
Mesa Old West Days, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., downtown Mesa around MacDonald Street between Main Street and First Ave. Re-enactments, period costumes, authors and poets. Fun stuff for the kids. And it’s free (food will be sold).
Chandler Day of Play, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Tumbleweed Park, 2250 S. McQueen Road. Old-fashioned games, hop-scotch, dental checks, vision and hearing screenings, free activities at vendor booths and more. Free.
Sunday
Shape Up Arizona, 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., Mesa Community College, 1833 W. Southern Ave. Radio Disney games, bounce houses, sports demonstrations, magic show and more!
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October 4th, 2008, 10:38 pm by Katie Mozurkewich
I think Women’s Lib went wrong somewhere down the line. Somewhere down the road, women decided that they’d like to be treated equally to men - with the rights to vote, hold down decent jobs and to choose their own path. All good and decent ideals. However along the way, and I don’t know who to blame, something went awry. In order to receive these rights, women thought they had to become just like men. We started opening our own doors, going dutch for the check on dates, opening our own pickle jars, etc. We felt we had to give up all of the perks that came with being a female in order for men to take us seriously. And it worked, in a way. We can now run for President, earn our own living, and pay our own way. Which is a smart place to be, if we ever end up alone. But therein lies the rub.
We didn’t have to become men to be equal to men. Fundamentally, we were already equal. Different, of course. But equal in the ways that matter. We are just as smart, and just as capable as men, yes. Are we weaker physically? Sure, most of us. But that’s what makes us attractive to you, like your strength makes you attractive to us. It’s the differences that keep us interested in the other. Would a man who is not a homosexual be attracted to a woman who is physically matched to him? Why would he be? What would be the point.
Do women deserve to have their cake (their equal rights) and eat it too (their feminine perks)? I’ve always thought so. And not because I’m a woman and doesn’t that work out nicely for me. But because it’s the way the women closest to me have been handled. My mother and her sisters are all prime examples of what I mean. They all had jobs, children, families, and homes. They were all intelligent, independent and yet definitively female. Their respective husbands appreciated their ability and desire to work outside of the home, but no woman seemed to absolutely have to. Their husbands all allowed their wives to be themselves, and none seemed to battle with their gender roles like you see nowadays.
The men I’m speaking of played their roles as fathers well. They were stronger, they were the disciplinarians, they were the back-up. Mom was in charge, but she had Dad on her side to lean on, and as an outsider looking in you always had the impression that parental discussions happened behind closed doors frequently and amicably. This is what I expect marriage and parenthood to be. Mom and Dad make the rules together, Mom deals with most of the daily issues and Dad gets involved when he needs to. It’s not that Dad isn’t capable of the daily stuff, or that Mom isn’t capable of discipline. It’s just simply that it’s less confusing when children know what to expect from whom.
So do I want to be treated like a woman, or like a human? I think that’s the basic point of this discussion. The answer is yes. I am both. I am equal to a man, and yet not the same as a man. I like when you open my doors. I like when you buy my dinner. Not because I can’t, but because it’s just a nice way to be treated. And I want my daughter to grow up thinking that she should be treated the same. I have my jobs as a woman as well. And I hope I do them and can continue to do them well enough to make and keep my man happy.
Because that is my most important job. And in that way we men and women are exactly, uniquely, equal.
Posted in: Katie Mozurkewich | 1 Comment »
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