Teacher - Mommy

I had the opportunity to volunteer my time on my day off at Mateusz's school today. I had 2 things on my agenda - 1. Help his teacher out in any way I could since the aide was not in until the afternoon and 2. spy on Te. I was introduced to the children as Mrs. Waring and although I know that my last name IS Waring, I was thrown off a bit and found myself looking for Mom Waring (Nonni). I also instantly felt my age. That moment left me wondering when life moved on and how lucky I was to have Te as my son. I am a Mommy and LOVE it! I was able to work with all the children and we made mice out of various shapes. I actually made the time a bit longer and incorporated letter sounds, rhyming words, spelling, and memory. I enjoyed every bit of it and look forward to my time next week (yup - I volunteered for more!). I had several children want to give me a hug when I left and feel I made Te proud. He waved to me throughout the class and asked me to stay and teach them more. Te calls me "Teacher - Mommy" when we do homework or play school to practice his writing etc. He seems to truly enjoy the learning process even though his focus can shift like the track of a hurricane. I am very proud of Te and love watching him grow into such a wonderful little gentleman. Thanks for reading!

Happy Tuesday!

The start of the school year has been fun. Mateusz has adapted well to his class although he still can't remember anybody's name to talk about with me. His favorite part of the day right now seems to be snack time (honestly, who can fault him) and gym. Te says he gets to throw a ball at a green duck and knock him down. He gets rather excited talking about smashing it then being able to do it again. Should I be worried? :) He has gotten "talked to" already, though. During the 2nd day of class he called someone a "Jack-wagon" during play time. Thanks to a commercial he saw on TV and his parents laughing at it, he felt it was appropriate to repeat and now has added the word to he ever expanding vocabulary. Just to clarify, a "jack-wagon" is not a bad word and, yes, Mom, I corrected him and told him not to repeat it again. The other minor detail of his 2nd day of school was that he made a girl cry because he told her that her lunch looked like "poo poo". Again, who could blame him when he gets a fabulous lunch made for him every day? :) Yes, Mom, I corrected him and told him not to repeat that again. So onward we go!

First Week at Bay Vista

The first week of "big boy" school is over and according to Te it's been "good". Yup - that's it - "good". Not "I've made new friends and have fun" or "we learned about xyz", nope, just "good". I know he likes it because when he wakes in the morning he asks about going back but I seem to be the only one talking when I ask about his day. Kind of reminds me of my brother at the dinner table growing up. All the girls talked and my brother would give one word answers about his day. Fun conversation. :) Anyway, we made it on time every day and had all papers signed and returned. Since this is a fundamental school, EVERYTHING makes a difference. The family gets demerits if late, or daily homework is not checked and signed by the parent, if 30 minutes of reading is not done nightly, or if meeting are missed etc. It really keeps the parent involved and on top of things but at the same time, it is a wee bit stressful. I was very impressed with his teacher who has a very hefty agenda for these kids. I really feel Te will be successful with her because she seems to have a kind but firm way of teaching - just perfect for Te. The first project I was shown was a picture she had the kids draw on the first day. The task was to draw a picture and tell a story from start to finish about something you did over the summer. Te drew a circle. The teacher asked him why a circle and he replied "We did a lot and it holds all my stories together." Pretty smart if ya ask me. Here's hoping the rest of the year will be as fun!

25 Things about Mateusz at 5 Years Old

Since I am in the mood to update this blog I felt compelled to return to an older post where I listed fun facts about Mateusz. Without further adieu:
1. Favorite movie series: Transformers, Cars and Ice Age
2. Te continues to suck his thumb and have his "gully" at night.
3. When asked what he wants to be when he grows up he stated "a crab". When asked again he stated "Well maybe a fireman or racecar driver or pilot". P.S. NOT a Physical Therapist.
4. The first thing Mateusz will ask anyone (especially Mimi, Pops and Nonni)"Do you have a surprise for me?"
5. Current favorite food: Chips and M&Ms
6. When asking for Daddy, Te now says "Where's my Father".
7. Mateusz has turned into a very polite little gentleman holding doors for Mommy and saying "Ladies first and boys second". He also continues with "Ma'am" and "sir". (We'll see how long that lasts!)
8. Handy Manny is his favorite cartoon along with Seseame Street /Elmo. OK - SpongeBob really is his favorite but I hated to admit that. (Thanks Daddy!).
9. If something can be taken apart, Te will figure out how to do it (or at least have Daddy do it with him).
10. Te is able to help read books and is able to get through sentences on his own.
11. Mateusz was 1 of 3 students to count to 100 on his own in front of his pre-school class last year.
12. Mateusz talks about his cousins, aunts and uncles often during movies and gives each one a role.
13. Te loves roller coasters and called Mommy a "wimp" for screaming on the Scorpion at Busch Gardens. In my defense - it has a 360 degree loop that turns you upside down and we were in the front seat.
14. Mateusz tells elaborate stories which all seem to end up with a crash of some sort.
15. Weight: 44.8 pounds Height: 44.5 inches
16. When the ice cream man drives through the neighborhood, Te runs out screaming "Icccceee Creammmmmmmm".
17. Mateusz took swim lessons and is able to go under water and hold his breath which he calls swimming. (It's a great start!)
18. If Te had it his way he would spend every day swimming at the beach or "surfing" on his boogie board.
19. Favorite racecar driver: Dario Franchitti (or as he would say "My best-franchitti")
20. Te went to the movies for the first time this year and saw "How to Tame Your Dragon" and "Toy Story 3". Best date nights i had in a longgggg time! :)
21. Mateusz loves Legos - Mommy does not (I curse the man who made all those little pieces that are found all over the house).
22. Te has one front tooth that got lost during an epic battle between him and our dining room hutch.
23. Dinners continue to be a challenge. Thank the good Lord for mac-n-cheese, PB&J, ABCs and 123s and grilled cheese.
24. Te has discovered hopping on one foot and bounces about the house.
25. Mateusz continues to be a wonderful little boy who brings a smile to our face every day. He is funny, witty, smart and full of life. Life with Te is a continuous adventure!

How Time Does Fly

It seems as if it were only yesterday that Brooke and I decided to adopt a 16 month old beautiful baby boy from Warsaw. Today, 4 years later, that little baby grew up into a little boy and started kindergarten. Te was so excited to start his first day of "big boy school" at Bay Vista Fundamental. He wore his new Sketcher light up sneakers that made him run really fast (yes - he ran up and down the aisles of the store when he picked them out to test their speed). I packed his new Transformer backpack and old school Transformer lunch kit with a delicious lunch and a special note from Mommy and Daddy. We were both able to take him to school and walk him into his classroom. He politely greeted his teacher (Mrs. Moyer-think perfect kindergarten type of teacher)with a "Good morning Mrs. Moyer" and walked over to his cubby hole, stored his stuff and sat down ready to begin. We gave him a kiss good-bye and left the classroom. Funny thing was, I think Te wanted us to leave more then we wanted to let go. As we walked away, we realized several very important things:
1.Time does not stop no matter how much you want it to; 2. Mateusz was ready for kindergarten even though in my eyes he is still that 16 month old baby in Warsaw; 3. we have done a pretty good job getting him ready for this big adjustment since he let go of us a lot quicker then we let go of him; 4. Mommy cries very easily; and finally, 5. Daddy will be able to go fishing on his days off once again!
Mateusz had a great first day of school and is ready for day 2 to begin. Here's hoping for a very successful school year!

26 Things About Mateusz at 3 1/2 years old

OK - so I admit that I am addicted to Facebook and have loved getting in touch with lots of old friends and keeping up with everybody. One of the things that I really have enjoyed is finding out 25 things people have posted about themselves. Therefore, I thought it would be neat to post a few items about Te at this point.
1. He loves cars, trucks, wheels and taking them all apart. (I hate finding all the pieces!)
2. He named his blanket "Gully" when we first adopted him in Poland. Picture him in his stroller, thumb in his mouth while waving his fingers syaing: "Gully, gully, gully, gully." We actually say this is the Waring Welcome sign.
3. Favorite movie: Cars
4. He currently weighs 38 pounds and is about 42 inches tall. Keep in mind I am about 60 inches tall - carrying him is getting to be a challenge.
5. Favorite color today is: Pink
6. Whe asked what he wants to be when he grows up he always says first: "A good boy". Then when asked again he says: "A race car driver".
7. He continues to be picky with what he eats but loves strawberries, cheese, pizza, mashed potatoes, waffles, peanut butter, and pasta pockets.
8. He loves to crawl into bed with us and will wake us up with a kiss and the "Good Morning" song.
9. Favorite books: "Because a Bug Went Ka Choo" and any book that has animals and their Mommies.
10. Favorite TV shows: Handy Manny, Winnie the Pooh, and Meteor and the Monster Trucks
11. He continues to work on potty training but will easily and quite happily revert back if placed in a pull up. (Thanks Daddy!)
12. Whining has become his irritation of choice when he does not get what he wants. To me, it's worse then nails on a chalk board but I can ignore it.
13. He loves to be chased and plays "Hide and Sneak" instead of "seek".
14. His sport of choice at this time is soccer and he starts on his first team at the YMCA in March. :)
15. He can count to 20, knows his ABCs, knows all colors, helps pick up his toys and puts his plate into the sink, loves to sit and read, and is really creative with playing.
16. Te just started dancing "like Daddy" and hopefully will develop a few better moves then that (wink, wink).
17. Funniest sentence he has stated: He climbed into bed, placed his hands behind his head and said: "Wow this is very exciting. I am exhausted and need to rest." Cracked me up at the time.
18. Mateusz climbed the rock wall at the YMCA all by himself and made it to the top on the 1st try. He does it every day now and loves it.
19. Loves to exercise with Daddy in the garage.
20. Loves to smell flowers, chase bees, and find worms in the garden.
21. Has started swimming and enjoys holding the kickboard and splashing "like an alligator".
22. Te will strip naked in 2 seconds flat when he hears the water running for a bath but hates showers.
23. Mateusz thinks that everyone should give him presents every time they see him.
24. When we are mad at him or when he knows that he has done something wrong he will ask for "hugs and kisses" and say "I'm sorry" very quickly.
25. When Te hurts himself he will immediately ask to be taken to the hospital "for a flu shot".
26. He loves to watch cookies bake and gets very excited waiting for them to cool.

I probably could have kept going and smile as I read this list. He has grown up so much and I cannot believe that life is moving so quickly. I hope he looks back on this list someday and loves thinking about these cute times as much as I do and will.

A Cool Picture

I wanted to share this pic I took on February 12, 2009. Dad W. and Jody came to visit and Brooke took us out for a ride on our boat. It was a really foggy day and quite spooky on Tampa Bay. It was the perfect setting for another installment of Jaws! (Trust me - that's all I was thinking about!)

A Man's Day of Work

Dad and Mateusz were caught having some bonding time doing some manly men work around the house. Daddy was teaching Te how to properly cut wood into smaller pieces. Te ran and got on all his safety gear and grabbed his John Deer tools to try and cut the wood himself. They looked so cute doing it I had to capture the moment. After all the hard work, they both retreated to the "Man Cave" for snacks, a drink and Daddy's cigar.

A Moment To Brag About

I realize that this entry is one big pat on my back but I want to post it anyway. We were out to dinner with Dad Waring and Jody at a place called Billy's. Dinner was long but Mateusz didn't seem to mind. He was playing, eating, talking, and acting like a polite little boy. When the server brought the check she looked at me and stated the following (I swear I am not making this up!): "What a very well behaved little boy. If I didn't see him I wouldn't have known he was even there. He is so good. Mom, keep up the good work." Yeahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!! I am taking that comment and moment and basking in it! It may never be said again so I am running with it and am VERY proud at this time. That comment by a total stranger made my night.
Another happening that I need to document is something that I have been waiting for since we brought Te home in 2006. I assumed that when we adopted him he would instantly accept me as Mommy since he was only 16 months old. I soon understood that this was not the case even though I had been warned. Te has always gone to Daddy. He is just a Daddy's boy and has bonded with him since day one. I, on the other hand, have really had to work hard to teach Te that women are OK and will not hurt him, leave him, etc. Te has never run to me to seek comfort or cuddled with me on the couch during a story etc. Until now. I have realized that what I have worked so hard to do with my baby boy is finally happening and it feels really good! My Te runs to me, hugs me with 2 arms (good and tight), cuddles with me, says "Mommy I love you all the time", kisses me without me asking / telling him to, and is content on just having me hold him on my lap. These are the moments I have been waiting for. These are the moments that I never realized I needed to teach him. These are the moments I live for. These will be the moments I miss when he gets older. Mateusz, Mommy loves you all the time!

Soccer

I have a soccer star in the making! We signed Te up for soccer at the YMCA today for 3-4 year olds. I signed up to coach him and the others. He was so excited when we took him to Target to pick out his own soccer ball (he chose a green one - size 3), got new black soccer socks and new shin guards. We didn't buy his cleats yet since we wanted to see if he really liked the game. We practiced throw ins, dribbling and kicking really hard into the goal. He had a blast playing outside and seems to be a natural - well, I think so since I am his BIGGEST fan! Be warned - please mute the video prior to watching because my voice is VERY annoying! :)

Super Bowl Feb 1 2009

The final score is set and the Steelers came out ahead this year. What a game between Arizona and Pittsburgh! Did you know that last year's game was won in the final 35 seconds also? The Super Bowl was held here in Tampa and we got to enjoy the NFL Experience with Dad, Pops, and Uncle Rob. Mateusz and Mom worked really hard at pushing the horses (of course Mom was the only one winded after 2 tries). Watch the video - Te was so happy and wanted to go faster.
Mateusz and Pops ran a football drill course and Te's favorite part was jumping on the mats at the end. Pops gave him great coaching throughout the entire day from kicking to running and Mom, Dad and Uncle Rob were his biggest cheerleaders. We also took turns attempting to kick a "final point" field goal. Well - the thing I dreaded the most was missing the point in front of everyone. Guess who fell short of the posts. Yup - me. Guess who made it through - yup - Daddy. Guess who hasn't stopped talking about it. Right again - Daddy. He'll be smiling until the end of time talking about his "moment". I think he is secretly waiting for the scouts to call any day since he kicked it so hard. Not sure if he could get to the phone to answer it, though, since he pulled a hamstring kicking the ball. Tough getting older. My "moment" came when I got to be the ham that I am and dance an end zone dance. It was really fun to say the least. That night we all went to watch the Tampa Lightning and Philadelphia Flyers play some hockey. Bad ending to that game - the Flyers beat the Lightning up! It was pretty cool after the game seeing Tampa lit up for the Super Bowl and seeing all the parties set up in town. Can't wait for another game to be played here!

The Cutest Little Man!

I just started using my new Flip video camera and Te was being very cute. Hope you can view the clip.

A friend's birthday party

We had a wonderful day of playing at a new playground with all of Mateusz's old school friends. It was Te's buddy Max's 4th birthday and it was great! He climbed on a real rock wall (look out Bear Grylls) and only fell once (that translates into one cut chin). He got back up, yelled "Yup, I'm OK everyone!" and climbed right back up again. The playground also had a large rope climbing structure (very cool) and lots of safe slides and swings. Max's Mom had pinatas, "dirt" in pails (chocolate pudding with gummy worms), cake, juice in road cones, goldfish crackers in trucks, pizza, and of course, ice cream. Needless to say, Te got home and fell directly to sleep. Really fun to see him have such a great time!

A Fun Week without school!

Well, we finally made the decision to pull Mateusz out of school. I got tired of the stress of being told that he liked to knock down the blocks and didn't sit for the whole 30 minute story / circle time. So, Mom has taken over once again and will do the "school" stuff with Te with a lot more fun and less stress. We had a great time at Great Explorations (a children's learning museum) where we found out that we can join different groups that meet there during the week and have some fun. Te sat in a group and learned all about sound and how his ears work. We used tuning forks and long tubes that we twirled and made high pitched "screaming" sounds. Really fun! Then he sat in front of the TV camera and "read" the news. Actually, he talked all about cars and trucks (now there's something different). He even got to be the local weather man and loved it! What a great time!



On Saturday, January 17th Mateusz and I were the first lucky 2 people to see Aunt Christina's and Uncle Rob's first new big home. What a beauty!! We helped load up all their stuff from the rental and found out that both of them own A LOT of clothes. :) I am sure that Christina and Rob will make the house a home very soon.

Thanksgiving 2008 Flashback

It was brought to my attention that I failed to post the fun pics from our Thanksgiving trip to Ohio this past year - thanks Uncle Bruce! :) We had a GREAT time seeing everyone and spent a full week with lots of cold weather. I think we all came back 10 pounds heavier after a fabulous meal put on by Aunt Trecia. We took a walk with Nonni in a local park that Daddy used to play in and got to feed the ducks. Don't be fooled - they may look cute but when Daddy throws the food close to your feet the ducks attack! Nonni and Te had a great walk.
On Thanksgiving, the boys had a ball! All the cousins played nicely together and were exhausted after hours of running and screaming (literally). Brock, Te, and (the back of)Braxon stopped for a quick pic. Good ol' Uncle Bruce is in the background being silly.
Aunt Trecia did a great job with all the food and had tons of it! She was able to feed a house full of very hungry people without breaking a sweat. Aunt Adrienne is looking beautiful and Uncle Brandon is as cute as ever!
Daddy, Brody, and Nonni are all enjoying the food.
We all went out to Grandpop Waring's house in the country that weekend and had another wonderful dinner. All the boys walked in the woods and played a game of football. Wii was a big hit - literally for Brock thanks to mean ol' Aunt Cherie! After dinner Wilmington had a parade to welcome Santa Clause - boy was it cold! Wish I had some pics - but at least we have the memories!

Paradise - Venice Beach

Mateusz, Aunt Nina and I all went to Venice Beach today and had such a great day! We looked for shark teeth and found some great pieces!
Aunt Nina developed a great method of scooping the shells and taking them to the beach to be sorted through. Others had long poles with baskets at the end to gather the shells. We'll be better prepared next time knowing how to do it.
My little handsome devil easily picked up a beach girl and played nicely with her. He shared all his toys and jumped over the water as it came onshore. Personally I think he needs to eat more keilbasa and put some meat on his bones!
We ended up finding a place for lunch called "Sharky's" on the beach and had a great lunch followed by a walk on a longggg pier where lots of fisher people were trying their luck. Take a look at the rods they were using - would you swim in waters where they needed that size reel to catch the fish? I stayed on land.


If you were wondering where Daddy was, unfortunately, he reached for something in the garage the wrong way and is out of commission for a little bit. We had a quick trip to the ER for some meds to relax the muscle and physical therapy begins at home tomorrow. He's lucky to have a PT in the house! Anyway, thankfully Daddy is already getting better.
Hope everyone had a wonderful day!

A messy day

What a beautiful day in the neighborhood today. The weather is really pleasant and the flowers are already coming out. I personally would love some more cold air but I guess I should be happy the sun is shining. Mateusz had a great morning and dug for worms out in the garden. He was tracking a bee buzzing from flower to flower until it flew towards his nose and he wiped his face with muddy hands. How could I get mad at such a cute little face?

A New Year 2009

Welcome to a New Year and a fresh start! This is going to be the year of "change" so a am trying to go with that theme. I am going to update this blog more then I did last year - which shouldn't be too hard to beat. We had a memorable and very busy holiday season this year! Unfortunately, Daddy was not able to celebrate Christmas in NJ with us because he had to work but Mateusz and I had lots to do. Te received a new kitchen set from Nonni and loves making eggs and pizza while talking on the phone to someone (still can't figure out who it is).

We baked lots of sweet treats for Christmas and hopfully satisfied everyone's sweet tooth.

Mateusz and his cousins Avamarie and Kalina had fun making and decorating their own homemade donuts. More yummy treats!
RCS (Pop's company) had their Christmas luncheon at Chez Cherie's where songs were sung, games were played and great conversation was had. Uncle Jack (Director of Supply and Shipping) even tried something new for the 1st time! Mimi (Payroll Director) won the song contest and Uncle Lou (Jack of All Trades) claimed to have won $$ with the lottery tix. Once again he had me fooled. AJ (Assistant to the President) sang beautifully throughout the lunch trying desparately to figure out the words to the lyrics. Nice try!

On Christmas Eve we went to 4 p.m. mass and listened to Te ask if Santa was bringing him presents for one hour. Once out of church, we celebrated our annual Christmas Wigilia at Aunt Janice's and Uncle Lou's. Te was very excited to see everyone and created a very special memory for me by breaking AJ's shower door. Ahhh ... no stress raising him! :) Even though this happened, Santa still came since all the kids were very good this year!


Mimi had her left hip replaced the day before Thanksgiving and worked really hard in Cherie's Home Health Rehab. She worked so hard and did sooo well Pops rewarded her with a new bike. She can't ride it yet but come this summer you will see her pedaling around town on her cruiser.

Christmas breakfast was a big hit with Aunt Kristy from Boston and Uncle Rob and Aunt Nina from Florida being awake and in the holiday spirit and ready to play. we feasted on quiche, Pop's fruit blend, rye bread, keilbasa and ham. I get hungry again just thinking of it!
We seemed to eat all day and had another feast at night. More guests arrived - Aunt Kimba, Uncle Bill, Avamarie, Kalina, Aunt Millie, and Mr. and Mrs. Ginocchio helped us eat roasted beef (done to perfection), roasted veggies, baked potatoes, salad, smoked turkey, coleslaw, and green beans. I think I'm still stuffed!
Finally we ended a fabulous vacation with Riverside Componant's annual Board of Director's meeting dinner. Everyone had a great time!
I wish to all of you a happy and healthy New Year!