I don’t think I’ve ever loved a kid thing as much as I love Moose’s balance bike.  I almost got it for him for his birthday [...]]]> I know I don’t usually write about product-y stuff, but I’ve had so many people ask me about this thing I’m going to share it with you guys.

I don’t think I’ve ever loved a kid thing as much as I love Moose’s balance bike.  I almost got it for him for his birthday in November, but we decided to go with Christmas instead.  On Christmas morning, he was already riding it around my mom’s street, and within a week, he’d completely figured out how to haul ass and lift up his feet and glide.

He’s three!  It’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.

Apparently these balance bike things are big in Europe, but they’re not that common in my area yet.  Wherever we go, everyone wants to know where we got it and how it works. We bought the Smart Gear Classic balance bike when it was on sale on Amazon for $60.  Looks like it’s $72 right now. (That’s an affiliate link.  Just delete the REF part of the link if you’re not into affiliate links when you shop on Amazon.)  It took George about half an hour to put it together, and we’re super happy with it.  Actually super happy doesn’t come close to putting into words how much it gives me stupidfaced delight to watch Moose fly around on this little bike.  And he loves it.  He wants to bring it everywhere.

Since it’s very light and has a helpful little handle, we take it to playgrounds where he can ride around on sidewalks and basketball courts.  We took it to a city park on Saturday and he rode it from the parking lot to the playground easily.

We use a Bell Fraction helmet.  I’m going to be picking up knee and elbow guards when I can because he’s being such a daredevil with it (including riding it at a BMX park already.)  Definitely look into a good wee helmet if you get one of these, because your kid can really get moving on it.  Like full on super speed.

If you get the Bell helmet, measure your kids head and look up the sizes in the comments in the reviews.  They have some removable-changeable padding to help make it snug, but you definitely want to get the right size.

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When I got an email asking me “what’s essential?” the timing was pretty [...]]]> I’m taking part in the Nordic Naturals What’s Essential™ campaign through HealthyChild.org. I chose to work with this brand because Chipmunk’s neuropsychiatrist recommends them and he thinks they’re awesome.  Win win for me.

::

When I got an email asking me “what’s essential?” the timing was pretty spectacular.  There I was having an utter meltdown about my husband being laid off.  This meltdown came on top of some lesser meltdowns about being sick and most likely having to have another surgery this spring, and a much smaller meltdown over my kids behaving like monkeys in the back seat on the way home from school.

Life throws a lot of gut punches at us.

When things are going great, it’s very easy to take that for granted.  Great weather!  No traffic!  The kids are behaving!  Dinner came out tasty!  When these things happen, I rarely stop to celebrate them.  They’re just life, ho-hum, moving right along.

When things go wrong?  It’s like I want to yell about them to the heavens.  Or I jump on Twitter and yell about them to cyberspace.

I don’t love that aspect of my personality, but I take a small comfort in knowing I’m not the only person who is more likely to stop and take notice of sucky things than good things.  I’m also not the only person who takes the time to share bad experiences more often than good experiences.

But I want that to change, because right now I’m in a web of suck, and my stress levels are through the roof, and I’m thinking–why didn’t I celebrate the good things more?  Those boring days, that steady paycheck, the sunny afternoon, the smiles.

It’s not that I’m a huge pessimist, but I think along the road I lost sight of what’s essential.  What’s essential to me?

Hugs.  Getting an extra ten minutes of sleep.  Realizing I have chocolate in the house.  A shower for two.  A spontaneous I love you from any one of the menfolk who live with me.  Green lights.  Short wait times.  Smiles.

Good things.  These are the essentials.  I want to take them and weave pretty pictures with them and hold those pictures up to everyone I can saying look, look.  This is why we’re here.

The Contest Thingy

Nordic Naturals® What’s Essential™ Contest Details

Share your What’s Essential™ story, and enter to win a ticket to California!

We want to know what matters most in your life. So we’ve designed the What’s Essential contest that will run from January to April 2012 with prizes to get you motivated and musing! What’s Essential to you? Is it spending time with friends and family? Is it hanging with your pet? Finishing a marathon this year, or perhaps running a mile every day? Share your What’s Essential story, and enter to win!

How to enter? It’s simple…

1. Like us on Facebook or visit www.whatsessential.com
2. Submit your What’s Essential story and accompanying image
3. Tell your friends, and their friends, to share their What’s Essential story, too!

What you will win:
The What’s Essential Contest will award 19 prizes to the top What’s Essential entries. Here’s what they win!

• Grand Prize Winner: One winner will receive a trip for two to Santa Cruz, California with all the trimmings, including airfare, car rental, hotel, spending money, Nordic Naturals award winning omegas and more*!
• Second Prize Winners: Each of the six Second Prize winners will receive one Canon® Vixia HF M400 camcorder and a one-year supply of Nordic Naturals award winning omegas.*
• Third Prize Winners: Each of the twelve Third Prize winners will receive a one-year supply of Nordic Naturals award winning omegas.*

*See official rules at whatsessential.com.
Learn more on Facebook or www.whatsessential.com

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A couple of weeks ago, we went on another, and when [...]]]> Halfway through kindergarten, Chipmunk is doing over the top super well. I’ve gone on a couple of fieldtrips with him. On the first, he didn’t interact with kids, but he pointed at what they were doing and told me they were his friends.

A couple of weeks ago, we went on another, and when a few of his friends showed up, he ran up to them and did this arm-waving-tentacle thing and said their name all silly and… the kids did that back. So I guess they have some kind of awesome awkward playground routine. (These kids aren’t in his class.)

He’s also in love, but. Nope, not thinking about that. He won’t tell me who she is anyway, only that she is his happy thought before he goes to bed and A SECRET.

So I’m ridiculously pleased, of course. I believe a lot of it has to do with the structure of his school and classroom, the social skills program we did for nine months leading up to Kindergarten, and the sink or swim nature of blasting into public school for the first time. I know he’s doing well when he gets in trouble. But I also know we have to keep an eye on that. Right now I’m feeling positive though.

He has a busy day each day, and a different special class every day. Music, Art, Library, Drama, Dance. And some surprise stuff. He knows which class he’ll have each day and the next. He hates dance and loves drama. (His drama teacher is a dude and he worships the guy.) (Dance is, apparently, now for girls, mama. And boooooring.)

Things that aren’t boring:

• poop jokes
• fart jokes
• fart sounds
• walking R2 off various precipices in Lego Star Wars
• General Greivous
• Jar Jar Binks
• stinky cheese
• discussing who is getting married
• asking how long people are married before babies come

I.

Cannot.

Anyway, in the midst of all this awesome, I’m also noticing that his handwriting is terrible.  And yes, he isn’t even six.  But seriously.  It’s illegible.  He’s reading at a second grade reading level, so his teacher isn’t super concerned in general, but it needs work and I’m meeting a metric assload of resistance from him about practicing at home.

Today he also sulked to me, “I never want to jump rope again.  I couldn’t do it.  And every single kid in my class could do it except me.”

Coordination is still an issue.  His sensory issues aren’t so very in your face crisis mode constantly, but in some ways he’s no longer making progress and as much as I read and listen to his therapists, I’m not an expert.  So–it was awesome when the children’s hospital called me last week and said they finally have an OT opening for us again.  As much as I dread having yet another weekly appointment over at the hospital (and the fact that I haven’t finished paying for last year’s therapies yet and the fact that my insurance thinks it’s a luxury and will only pay for 20 appointments all year) I said yes, yes yes.  Sign us up.

She’ll start with a little mini evaluation to get back up to speed (it’s a new-to-us therapist) and we’ll go from there.

Chipmunk is super excited.  The first thing he wants to do is learn how to jump rope.

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