Alicia Castelli |  |
Dec
03
Posted by
Alicia Castelli
My son, Ryan, turns 10 this week and let’s just say his idea of what those double digits mean for his life vary from mine.
At Thanksgiving, Ryan was perturbed to find himself banished to the kids’ table in the kitchen. There were five children there and the next closest in age to him was his 6-year-old brother, Ethan.
I personally think he’s plenty old enough to sit with the adults, but it wasn’t my house. I felt kind of sorry for the little guy, truth be told.
The look Ryan gave me was half despair and half irritation.
The irritation may have had more to do with his adoring 5-year-old cousin’s complete lack of understanding when it comes to personal space than with having to sit at the kids’ table.
Still, Ryan is definitely growing up and...
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Nov
27
Posted by
Alicia Castelli
Parents should always think before they speak, especially when it comes to dinner.
My kids are more than ready for dinner by the time I pick them up from daycare. Last week I made the tragic mistake of forgetting there was a cooked roast in the fridge.
“Mommy!,” my kids greeted me with enthusiasm and hugs. “What’s for dinner?”
Like most parents, our brains are constantly multi-tasking. I was running through my list of things to get done before the kids go to bed, things I could get done after the kids are in bed, things I had to take care of the next day and things that would need my attention throughout the week. Dinner? What’s dinner?
“Eggs and bacon,” I said as I counted my children, checked their folders and lockers and tried to discourage...
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Nov
20
Posted by
Alicia Castelli
I’ve found sibling rivalry spills over into pretty much every area of my sons’ lives.
I’m used to the “I’m bigger, faster, stronger” battles and the “I was sicker than you!” and even the “Mommy loves me more!” squabbles between my two boys.
At age 9 and 6, everything is a competition – usually for my attention.
But report cards came out and for the first time, 6-year-old Ethan is getting graded in all the same areas as 9-year-old Ryan.
What I wasn’t prepared for was the boys’ interest in each other’s report cards.
I am a huge believer in doing everything I can not to label the kids.
I don’t want one child to be the “good student” and leave the others feeling like that role is filled so they don’t have to work as...
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Nov
12
Posted by
Alicia Castelli
Costumes are not just for Halloween and dress-up is not just for little girls.
I’ve found that both my sons enjoy pretending to be super heroes as much as my little girl likes to twirl around in a gauzy skirt with a tiara and feather boa pretending to be a ballerina.
My oldest son, Ryan, recently came across his Halloween costume as I was spring cleaning. He was Boba…something-or-other from Star Wars. He put the costume on and spent the better of that day jumping out at me and slicing off various body parts with his “light saber”. I lost my arms, legs and even my head several times and he had a great time.
Procrastination on my part brought a Batman costume into the house. Ryan had to dress up as Harry Houdini for a school project and I was scrambling (and...
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Nov
09
Posted by
Alicia Castelli
A child’s dedication to acquiring candy is something to be admired.
Halloween borders on the sacred to my kids and trust me, it’s all about the candy. The cool cos-tumes are just a bonus.
My oldest, 9-year-old Ryan, starting running a low-grade fever the day before Halloween. Throughout the day Saturday we were battling his 102-degree fever with Tylenol and Motrin. Noth-ing hurt and he wasn’t nauseous – just the fever.
Now came the parental dilemma. Do we let him go trick-or-treating?
We went back and forth and ultimately decided to let him go if he kept his mask on, wore gloves and didn’t touch anything except his candy bag.
About 45 minutes in, Ryan was drooping. Last year he’d been running from house to house leap-ing over smaller children...
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Oct
26
Posted by
Alicia Castelli
My daughter has apparently decided random acts of vandalism against her glasses will result in her not having to wear the glasses.
Since Keira is only 4, I went with the “2 pairs for $99” deal at Great Northern Mall. I assumed the worst thing she could do was lose a pair and we’d have to bring out the backup pair.
Turns out I seriously underestimated her.
When “I can’t see with them on!” didn’t work, Keira decided she’d try sneaking them off when we weren’t looking.
When that didn’t work she tried outright refusal but she didn’t care for the swift and immediate consequences of telling her parents “no” so she gave that one up pretty quickly.
Then she insisted they were slipping down her nose. They actually were but Keira was...
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Sep
29
Posted by
Alicia Castelli
The fact that I’m not a young woman anymore was rudely brought home to me this weekend when I lost a foot race to my 9-year-old son, Ryan. The icing on the cake was that I hurt myself in the process.
My oldest has become increasingly less of a “little boy” and more aware of the fact that he’s fast approaching double-digits in age. We’ll deal with how it’s even possible that my baby is almost 10 years old another time…
So, the family is gathered on a beautiful fall Sunday to celebrate my nephew’s 3rd birthday. We throw around a Frisbee and there’s an impromptu game of softball with grandpa on the mound.
Apparently, this was not enough to burn off the cake buzz the kids had so they began to race each other around the back yard. Feeling pretty good from...
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Sep
20
Posted by
Alicia Castelli
Kids can be cruel to each other.
My 4-year-old daughter, Keira, recently got glasses.
We learned she is severely farsighted and slightly near sighted at the same time. In other words, her eye muscles never get a rest but are constantly straining to focus which is why they turn in – sheer exhaustion.
If left untreated, Keira’s eyes would’ve gotten progressively worse and may have required sur-gery to correct.
Bullet dodged.
“You’re gonna get teased for wearing glasses,” 6-year-old Ethan warned a now VERY nervous Keira.
“She will not!” I said.
“Ryan does,” Ethan shot back.
I sent Ryan a pleading look.
“No one is going to tease you,” Ryan lied through his little teeth to his baby sister. I love that child! And...
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Aug
29
Posted by
Alicia Castelli
An extra set of school supplies needed to be bought this year – something that briefly sent my kids into a bit of a frenzy.
I recently decided to go back to school and I casually mentioned this to my 9-year-old son.
His shoulders fell, his face crumpled and his body sagged.
“How long will you be away?” he asked.
Whoops! I quickly reassured him I would still be living at home and working.
I was watching the Blue’s Clue’s episode where Steve goes off to college and the actor replacing him is introduced as Steve’s brother, Joe.
The show carefully and happily describes what it means to go to college.
The next day my 3-year-old daughter overheard a phone call between myself and a friend whom I was telling about my return-to-college...
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Aug
06
Posted by
Alicia Castelli
Webkinz mania has finally hit my children.
I’ve been managing to avoid them for some time now, but when the kids start school my influence takes a back seat to their peer group. And their peer group loves Webkinz and the virtual world online Webkinz owners create.
My oldest, Ryan, got his first two Webkins while in second grade, set up his virtual world and got bored after a few weeks. It wasn’t until recently he tried to go back to that world that he learned he had to buy a new Webkin because the original account is only good for one year. Now that it was denied him, he was suddenly desperate to check on his pets.
To his credit, he used the last bit of his own money and bought a small Webkin for himself and for his brother and sister. I was very proud of him for...
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