ROOKIE MISTAKE
Note to self: make sure your child is really excited about something before you travel 2 hours for it.
Last summer I learned that Thomas the Tank Engine was coming to Cumberland, Maryland. Conor loves Thomas and I was excited that a full-size Thomas existed. I read that it makes stops all over the country to historical railroad stations. So, wanting to give my child a wonderful experience, I bought tickets online… and then looked at a map. Cumberland is FAR from Bethesda where we live, as in about 2 hours and 15 minutes… and that’s without stopping. Still I thought, Conor will love this, he deserves this.
We talked about it with Conor who was 2 ½ at the time and he seemed to like the idea.
We set out that Saturday and after driving for a full hour out I- 270 Conor announced to us, “I do not want to ride the train”.
My throat closed up. I couldn’t breathe. My husband gripped the steering wheel. We didn’t look back at Conor, we just looked at each other. John took a deep breath, and mouthed, ‘relax’. I took a moment and looked back at Conor and cheerily said, “We’re just going to take a look at it, I think it will be fun!”
Another hour and 15 minutes later we were in Cumberland. The railroad was great, but we were holding our breath. We walked without saying much up to Thomas and waited in line to board. I brought a small Thomas along with us that Conor played with while we waited in line. As he played with the mini version of what stood beside us, John and I just kept looking at each other and crossing our fingers.
We boarded the train, Conor was a little fidgety, but cool. The train started, “We’re on!” I thought. Thomas the Tank Engine then went about 10 minutes down the track, then stopped and then went in reverse back to the station. Honestly, Conor liked running around the little hay-bale maze afterwards much better.
FAST FORWARD TO LAST MONTH-
I got an email that a movie theater was doing a special debut of a few new Thomas episodes at 10am on a Saturday in Gaithersburg.
So, I looked at a map… THEN I bought the tickets. We went, NO traffic since it was Saturday morning. We bought popcorn, watched Thomas on the big screen and had a great time.
I learned from my rookie mistake and didn’t repeat it… Yey- Victory!
NERDS RULE THE WORLD
Nerds rule the world. Think about it…
Bill Gates is a nerd. Warren Buffet is a nerd. Mark Cuban tries not to be, but he’s a nerd. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck were high school nerds. I can’t imagine any of the Supreme Court Justices are not nerds. And Drew Carey is a nerd.
I was watching the ‘Power of 10’ the other night and Drew Carey reminded a contestant that “nerds rule the world”. My husband picked up on the line, just like I did and brought it up to me later.
“Let’s encourage Conor to be a nerd,” he said. “What, by example?” I thought. Then we talked about letting our son decide what he wants to do with activities, stress that learning is fun and making sure he doesn’t top out in high school.
Drew Carey is now hosting ‘Power of 10’ AND soon, ‘The Price Is Right’ and he is hilarious (I’ve always been a big fan)! He also strikes me as an intelligent investor and I know he made gobs of money from his long-running sitcom. And Drew Carey is a nerd… a funny nerd, but still, a nerd.
Nerds can communicate an idea effectively; they are just not the most popular kids in their class. And who really cares about being popular after you turn 18 anyway?
Embrace the nerd!
They run corporate America, the Government and your local toy store.
There are worse ways your kid could turn out.
Blueberry- The New Banana!
Bananas have always been a favorite fruit. They’re a staple, a stand-by. They’re good for you and easy to eat. You can hand one to your kid and that’s that. Bananas are ‘old school’ nutrition.
Now blueberries are making news. After starting BananaBlueberry, I quickly learned how chic the blueberry is now. It’s like it’s just dawning on people how good blueberries are for them (like any fruit is bad for you).
Everything old is new again…
American Indians ate blueberries, and used them for cold medicines too. Believe it or not, Native Americans even used blueberry tonics to relax expectant mothers in childbirth (that’s great, but I’ll take an epidural over a blueberry any day).
Even back then, the blueberry was heralded as an anti-ager. It is crammed with antioxidants, the highest antioxidant ability of any fruit, thus, preventing disease, improving memory and boosting your immune system.
Blueberries have zero… ZERO fat, are low calorie and high fiber.
So, the blueberry lives up to the hype it’s getting right now. And it should stay in the spotlight as a stellar fruit. In fact, the blueberry is finally getting its due.
Okay, I’ll be the first to say it…
Blueberries are the new Bananas!
Beautiful Autumn
Autumn is the best season of the year. The air is crisp. The leaves are turning shades of brown (a great color on anyone) and honey. The upstairs windows are open. My son noticed the leaves this morning and was amazed by their transformation. It’s nice to take a moment and be reminded of everyday beauty by a three-year-old.
BananaBlueberry
Welcome to BananaBlueberry! Bananas are good for you. Blueberries are great for you. Kids love them both. This BananaBlueberry world is all good stuff for you.
Life is sometimes hard, but at BananaBlueberry the emphasis is on celebrating the little victories (pottytraining) and the big victories (a new career, the birth of a child… pottytraining).
Calm takes just a little more strength than crazy. Life is for celebrating and enjoying, not denouncing and being downcast about. Don’t keep score and don’t keep track of what you’re due. Listen more. And love.
And while doing all that, if we can pass on great information on shoes, bags and how to organize a street happy hour- then let’s do this!
Welcome to BananaBlueberry!
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