Zoë

One In 7 Billion–Days 4 and 5

/ Dawn Kasal-Finley / Leave a comment

Well this isn’t going to be a very moving post, but it will be an honest one and something I didn’t really think about when I started this challenge.  I hadn’t realized how much I had cut back on my own personal spending over the last year or so.  Yesterday, I didn’t spend any money and well today, I didn’t spend any either.  I planned to donate a default $5 on days I didn’t spend any money–but then today my little princess hit her chin at the pool and I had to pay a copay at the urgent care.

So, instead of beating myself up about it, I am going to allow myself to be honest on the days that I don’t spend any money.  There are going to be those days and there are going to be those days when an emergency comes up that requires me to spend money that would have been extra.

We live on a tight budget and all the money that I am donating on days instead of buying something frivolous–is from my monthly spending money.  I do believe that the smallest amount can make a difference and I am committed to being that difference.  I will keep working towards giving what I can each and every day.

 

Because It Had To Be Her

/ Dawn Kasal-Finley / Leave a comment

I always joke that Noah didn’t prepare us to be parents. He was pretty easy-never put things in his mouth, etc. He left us completely unprepared for the whirlwind that is our Zoë.

She was in timeout the other day and came out talking about how she had something big in her nose. So, I look up her nose to find a hair bead.

I had to keep myself from laughing–because it was not at all surprising.

So, I googled what to do. I knew I didn’t want to take her to the doc or to urgent care. Google taught me that I could hold down the nostril that wasn’t obstructed and then blow into her mouth like CPR and it’ll pop out. But that only works if whatever is up their nose doesn’t have a hole in it. Her bead, of course, had a hole. I laid her down and extracted it with the tweezers.

Hopefully I won’t have to do that again.

36-Months Later

/ Dawn Kasal-Finley / Leave a comment

When I write 36-months it doesn’t seem very long.  But it has been nearly your entire life time Zoë.  I can barely remember what our life was before you.  You have completed our family–I can say that now with complete confidence.  You are an incredible personality and I could never imagine how much I enjoy having a little girl.  I could never could have imagined what a girly girl you would blossom into–and I will write it here–your girlieness (making up my own words) scares the living crap out of me.  I am not a girlie girl.  I don’t wear make-up.  I didn’t own a dress or skirt until I was 21.  You love sparkles and make-up and earrings and make-up and diamonds and jewelry.

The love and the joy you have inside you is amazing and it affects everyone you come into contact with.  Your spirit is bright and your determination is strong.  You love so intensely and OMG–you give the absolute best hugs and kisses.  You stand up for yourself and don’t let the big kids push you around.  You are inquisitive and curious and eager to learn new things.  You recently learned how to button/snap your own pants and you couldn’t have been more excited.

When you get excited you jump up and down while you talk and it is the cutest thing. You did this yesterday in the kitchen and had me laughing hysterically and you just kept jumping.

You are a delight to parent–except you really have to stop telling me NO and NEVER.  Even though you say those things with a smile and a twinkle in your eye–it will get you into trouble one day.  SOON.

You are the apple of your daddy’s eye and you know it.  You are learning quickly to wrap him around your little finger.  But Zoë you have rocked our world and I couldn’t have asked for a better daughter.

Happy Zoëversary.  We love you so much.

Here is year 1 and here
Here is year 2

New Camp

/ Dawn Kasal-Finley / 1 Comment

Today, I dropped my kiddos off at a new summer camp. A camp where they don’t know anyone, except each other. Last summer, my son when to summer camp all summer at his school–which is amazing, but with two kids it would have cost us about $4000 for 8 weeks of camp….sorry, I choked a little just writing down that figure.

We need somewhere for them to go during the summer. I work. My husband works. Our kids (5 and 3) aren’t old enough to entertain themselves at home while letting daddy work (he works at home). While we love the summer camp at their school–and all of it’s comfort. We just can’t afford the price tag (or aren’t willing to afford the price tag). So we are mixing it up this summer. They get to do 4 weeks at their school’s summer camp, two weeks at a new summer camp (at the Y) and then 3 weeks at the sitters.

This is the first new camp week. The kids were excited, but Noah was a little skeptical. He wanted to know if any of his friends would be there. I said no. Maybe someone from your basketball team, but probably not anyone from your school. He was okay with that–for the most part. And Zoë, well she just likes to be around people and she hasn’t made a lot of friends yet. Whereas, Noah has spent two years with the same group of kids and has formed amazing bonds. I am think that this will be good for him, to know that he can make friends. To remember that he can make friends. I have noticed that he has become more self-conscious about making friends. I think part of this is because that he is in a school that is so much a family that he forgets what is was like 2 years ago when he started and didn’t know everyone.

So, I will make a concerted effort to put him in situations where he has to make new friends, so that he remembers that he can do it and how easy it is.

I hope it went good today. There were no tears or “mom, don’t go” when I dropped them off today in a sea of unfamiliar faces. Let’s hope that keeps it up.

The Art of The Third Person

/ Dawn Kasal-Finley / Leave a comment

Zoë has taken to referring to herself in the third person.  “Zo Zo wants a drink.”  “Zo Zo went potty.”  “Zo Zo had a good day.”  And the list of third person reference goes on and on.  The first time she did it, I did a double take.  It certainly surprised me.  When I asked her why she was saying “Zo Zo” instead of “I”, she simply replied “because I like to.”

Well, okay then.  I now have a child who talks about them self in 3rd person.  Brings me back to that Seinfeld Episode with Jimmy.  I can at least say it is slightly cuter on a 3-year-old than it is on a grown man.  I can’t imagine where this quirky habit has come from, but it’s been about a week now and has so far stuck.  It is never I and only “Zo Zo.”

I laugh a little inside every time she says it.  Noah looks at her like she’s a little off her rocker; but for now, we are just going with it because she is just so cute.   The “Zo Zo”