I have been working a lot with Hadley on reading and numbers lately. She has progressed leaps and bounds with the former but the latter?
Let’s just say I’ll never put her in charge of our finances.
The smartest girl in class is named Mia. Hadley divulged Mia’s smarts secret: “Do you know her mommy won’t let her play or watch TV until all her schoolwork is done?”
She sounded no less appalled than if she had revealed Mia was actually a teen-aged boy parading around as a kindergartner.
Hadley is a competitive little thing so we often talk about Mia and what it would take to get to be smart like her. Jamie joined in on the conversation once.
Hadley: “I think she practices reading for an hour every day.”
Me: “Well, that explains why she’s at least at a second grade reading level.”
Jamie (scoffing): “A second grade reading level? That’s not impressive. That’s what I’m at.”
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I compiled a gift guide for Denver moms at Mile High Mamas last week. As I was going through my choices, many of my recommendations came from thoughtful and romantic things Jamie has done for me during our marriage. Feeling suddenly inadequate that I don’t do enough for him, I whipped up a batch of his favorite cookies. When he walked in the door, he exclaimed:
“Wow, buttterscotch oatmeal cookies?”
“Jamie, you do so much around here that this is just a simple thanks.”
“Yes! Just the other day I picked something up off the floor!”
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There is no greater obsession in our home than Super Mario on our Nintendo Wii. If anyone has ever wondered if sibling rivalry is dead, they need to watch my kids duke it out. Evidently, the stakes are high because at one point, Hadley abruptly stopped the game and exasperatedly looked at her brother.
“Bode, I need you to put the Wii remote down, come over here, and visualize yourself winning.”
Nice to see all my sports psychology sessions are rubbing off on her.
I'm a Canadian-born mom of two, former Denver Post columnist, family travel writer, editor of MileHighMamas.com and 9News contributor. Expert on all things Utah, Denver, family and travel. Lover of laughter and life. Happily married to a man obsessed with growing The Great Pumpkin. 