Soccer Season Sweet Moments

Last Tuesday we were elated when we received an email from Coach Joel asking B to play up in the next U9 friendly given the absence of two girls. 

She immediately accepted the challenge.

Although the U8 and U9 girls practice together and get along extremely well, some of the U9 moms are catty bitches and very stuck up. When I went to ask one of them if they had the exact address she went on to ask me: " Do you have a computer?". I laughed at her for the insult. Who in the world these days does not have a computer or  a phone that you Google for directions. I wanted to know the exact address to put on the GPS, damn it!

Saturday came and with it, a very early morning, which I was not expecting to have any time soon after we left swim meets behind. We had to be in Lithia for the game at 8.15! That meant waking up at 6:30!!!

Of we went. I was personally ready for a battle myself but not against the team we were playing against, but against the blond bitch, who treated me in a demeaning way.

As if B sensed that, she asked me if the U9 girls were much better than she was. I explained to her that this would be a much tougher game than her first and only U8 game in which her team beat the boys 3-1 and she scored.  That game in itself deserved a post. For different reasons from this one. It was not a war, a tense difficult game, but it was so sweet to see the starting line up with B and her besties Emily and Mady playing side-by-side. Corny or not, I almost cried. And the fact that the trio played so well with B and Emily scoring 3 of the two goals and Mady assisting in most of the important plays, made it all so much special.

But getting back to the U9 game...I told B that aside from the physical strength, some of the girls were going to be more experience and hence, better than her. Some would be the same and some would play worse than she played. But I told her that if Coach Joel had chosen her, it was for a reason. And the reason was that he trusted her to play well. Further, I told her that she should not be doubting herself. I think the fact that I did not lie to her that she was the best yada yada yada, helped her and to prove me otherwise during the game.

The first obstacle presented itself during our ride to Lithia. I had forgotten to bring her a jacket and it was chilly outside. I thought to myself. As a U8 she may be spending significant time on the bench, therefore she needs a sweatshirt or something.

After 3 stops in Walgreens and Walmart and because I don't give up easily, I finally found an adult size S. 5 times her size, but it was better than enduring cold.

I was so right to demand an address and specific directions in the end. The computer would not tell me that there would be two fields in the Complex or that they would play in field 9. After being told by local I was at the wrong soccer field, I went to the field in a hurry. I parked at 8.15 and prayed we were at the right place. As I got out of the field, the first face I saw at the parking lot was the nice mom of Peyton, who goes to Imagine too. My battle mask was slightly cracked and I thought to myself, at least I will be sitting by a nice person!

When we got to the field I saw no sign of the blond lady. B was also very welcomed by her team mates as she arrived. One or two girls were happy and yelled: Biaaaaanca! I was so happy already and no blond bitch would spoil my day and I thought to myself, just hope B does not play bad. I know it should be all about her, but I had myself the need to fit in or not even that, the need to say to that blond lady: now, who does not have a computer, who does not play well here... And who do you think you are in your righteous stuck up attitude?

When I look closer, I realized that B would be no sub! There were only 6 players and they would be playing 6 on 6! Good for her, then I asked myself: can she handle that?

Not only was she ready, but also entered confident and ready to win. It was a tight game but she played well. I was already happy with her attitude. 

Against all odds, not only she played well but she also scored the winning goal! 

I was of course thrilled for her, that got her more confident and she was called for other U9 games in the future. But selfishly, I was relieved that as a team we could prove to the computer lady that we were no underdogs trying to fit in. We were here to stay. 

Hot 'N' Cold

'Cause you're hot then you're cold
You're yes then you're no
You're in then you're out
You're up then you're down

No one says it better about kids ever-changing likes and dislikes, as Katy Perry lyrics in her song Hot ‘N’Cold.

 Sometimes you plan events or you buy things thinking that they are going to be a hit and they end up being a total miss. Or you buy a lot of expensive stuff and they really like the cheapest ones.

I remember when Miss B was 3, we gave her a bicycle as a Christmas gift along with little things, such as a $1 play fruit baskets from the discount aisle at Target. Guess which one she was mostly enchanted with? Yes, the cheap plastic play fruit basket!

 Other times, they are into something, however, when they go and check they suddenly don’t  think it was all that. That happened with the Katy Perry concert at some level.

 We planned ahead, we talked about it in the weeks to come with great anticipation. She was so very excited about it. And I loooved the concert, but in the end, she said she was not sure if she would come again to a Katy Perry concert. Wait, what? Yes. But there are reasons behind that.

 

 She had not slept well the night before, the bands opening for Katy Perry took forever. We got there at 6.30 and the concert did not start till 9.30. By the time it started, she was exhausted and, at first , she couldn’t see well. She ended up bursting into tears when the apparent loud combination of the music and the crowd cheers hit her ears. Maybe she was not ready for all of the noise and people and we should have arrived after the bands. She dozed off here and there and was up, jumping, by the time Katy Perry sang Firework. It was not that she did not like it, but there were little lessons for me to learn for the next concert. We agreed finally there will be a next!
 

 Another time she was really into ‘Princess Sofia’ and ‘Jake and the Neverland Pirates’. I was so excited about it that bought the Disney Jr. Live tickets way ahead of time to ensure we got great seats. However, by the time the performance came into town, she could care less about Princess Sofia! A month after that she even asked me to remove the songs from her Miss B Playlist! Now she wants nothing to do with Princess Sofia., “a  little kids show”, she says.

When I heard that Frozen would come to town only in May of 2015, but would come to Orlando in a month’s time, I measured no efforts to take the entire family to Frozen in Orlando...Now! That one was a major hit!

In the truth, when I actually gave her the tickets for the first time as a gift for her end of school year, she was ok, but did not get as excited as I imagine. However, as the date approached and she knew we were going to a hotel and she was meeting her friends in there, she got more and more excited. We also saved $55 from her toy sale to spend in Frozen merchandise and bought her an Elsa dress too. Once she got ready, her hair braided by Ms. Liza, dress and gloves and all, she was so happy, that she was  glowing and,quite frankly, stunning!



My Elsa, so pretty!

Hair Perfection thanks to Ms. Lisa!

 

Being a few feet from the rink  also made a whole lot of difference. We got to connect with the characters. Anna winked at B, Elsa blew her a kiss and Anna along with Kristoff even photobombed our picture!

The Frozen Family

The view!So close.

 

Elsa blows her a kiss

Photobombed by Anna and Kristof

Singing away with Olaf

Finally when Let it Go came she got up from her seat and sang  her heart out as if there was only her and Elsa and no one else. It was magical, I had tears in my eyes.

And then it just hit me. We just have to keep on trying in spite of hots n colds and yesses and nos. Because seeing  a huge grin stamped on their faces after all is what makes us realize that misses are quickly forgotten and all of our attempts were really all worth it!

School Life

Miss B started school mid August. At this point, everything gets easier. I was quite frankly more worried about the moms that would be in my class (or not be) than with the teachers, sad to say.

She ended up getting excellent teachers and reuniting with few of her very best Kindergarten class kids, whose moms I love. So, except, for some casualties and past the drama of Meet and Greet day, we are happy campers.

Time does fly... The school year began seems like not too long ago and yesterday, we were already going to her Open House at her school!  I love Open Houses because it is the opportunity we have to get a little bit more inside B's head and read and see what she thinks about herself and the world.

My favourite part of the Open House has always been getting to read her journal. And I plan to keep them every year. Kids write freely, it's great fun to read.

She had been asking me to wear her animal print things every single opportunity she had: to church, to the mall, really... anywhere! I had been telling her that it was not cold enough or fancy enough and she was beyond frustrated. Finally, yesterday as we were getting ready to go, I granted her wish of wearing her animal print dress and she immediately found the animal print hairband and snickers  that matched too that she had got from her Fofoh (quite frankly it was a bit too busy wearing them all, but I let it go). And off she went all dolled up to the Open House.

As I was browsing through Miss B's journal I came across with her write up on what she would do if she was the President. Apparenly, she thinks the President has superpowers because her list was long and highly irrealistic: 1) ice-cream day every weekend (somewhat reasonable for president kids, maybe?), 2) have a lot of adventures (feasible, presidents travel a lot), 3) meet the Ninja Turles (unlikely!), 4) teach others how to fly (impossible!), 5) make it snow in Florida (the Prez is no God!) and, finally, the one that caught my eye was the fact that she wrote in her journal she would wear an animal print dress with black leggings and that was exactly how she was dressed for the Open House, she even drew herself in an animal print dress. 

We of course knew her preferences: the Frozen and MTNT obsesssion and her love for anything glitzy with rainbow colors or animal print stuff wise, but reading what her priorities were as a President were insightful and funny. As she describer herself in the Open House, she is definitely funny! A piece of work my  B...

Coisas da Lolinha...

February 2015

I tell her I will be going out on a girls night out to the movies. She turns to me and says: "oh I know, are you going to be all 'jazzy' and 'makey up'? Is that kind of girls night out?! I laughed so hard! 

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Miss B gave Ms. Henderson a globe for Valentine's. Her teacher then asked her to write on the bottom so that she would know in the future who it was from. She then asks what she should be writing about. Her teacher replies: "I don't know, write something like ' Dear Ms. Henderson, you're wonderful and the best teacher ever..." B interrupts her and says: "Can't I just sign my name?" She loves her teacher but sometimes she just wants to get to the point hehe. 

December 2014

Miss B continues to be obsessed with all things TMNT. Lately she has also become a fan of singing songs and asked me to record a video of her. One night she comes to me and asks me: "Mamaya, do you think I could be a singer and a scientist by day and a ninja by night?" 

August 2014

I told Miss B her cousin Morena was going back to Germany for good. She gave me an incredulous look and asked: But why? I explained to her that in there she would get college for free and she missed it etc. Then she stops and asks: " Is college in there for free, because the teachers love teaching so much?" Awwww, I laughed so hard, but felt bad afterwards. I wish she would never lose her innocence...

July 2014

" When are we going to a restaurant again?", asks B. I answer: " Not sure, maybe Saturday and definitely Sunday after we take your Daddy to the airport. We can go to Panera then." She interrups as I was finishing: "No, Mom, I don't mean like Panera. I mean like to a fancy restaurant so that I can dress up adn wear my animal print dress!" Really?? Hahaha

June 2014

Miss B talks World Cup:" I hope the boys are as good as the girls. Because, you know, sometimes the boys are better.And sometimes I am like a legendary boy and I even sweat." Note 1: legendary is a new word.Note 2: This past week she asked me why boys sweat so much. Hahaha.

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I asked B to help me with the Frozen Grapes for her end of school year pool party we were having with a couple of her girlfriends. She obviously loved the idea as she loves to help me in the kitchen. She asked me if five sticks were ok. I told her we needed a whole lote more, more like 15 or 20 as at least 8 people would show up. She looks at me very surprised and says in her very southern accent: "What??? 20???!!! Then you gotta help me, girlfriend!" Hahaha I laughed so hard.


May 2014

My girl is a Science/Math geek. And no doubt she wants to be the best. She asked me: " Mommy, has anyone ever gone to Mars?". I said that no one had not been Mars yet. She then told me: " I want to be the first woman in the world to go to Mars". A bit ambitious you would say?


April 2014

We get to the school bus and I start to talk to another kid's mom. We arrange for her to pick B up since it's early release day and she will be going into car line anyway. That means B won't be taking the after care bus as usual, but instead, she's going to wait for the car to pick her up at school.  To avoid any confusions, I repeat the story to B aboutn where she's supposed to go. She looks at me seriously and say: " kids understand when the grown-ups are talking in front of them, you don't need to repeat yourself to me."  Whoa, excuse me... ???!!!

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I told B I was going to Johnny's moms party this weekend. She asked me if I was going to see him while in there. I told her I had no idea. She then said: "I hope not" . I asked her why and then she goes on telling me what a troublemaker he is  and add: " he's worst than Brooklyn, mommy!". Brooklyn is an adorable girl in her class but infamous for her bad behaviour in class. Knowing that Johnny never really was in the same class as her I ask how she knows that. She just says: " oh I know from recess". Amazing, she knows everyone, everyone's lives and is a little snitcher!!!! :)
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We were on our way to go to Mady's party at DGA. She loves DGA because of the gym and has the best time going to birthdays in there.

For me it's a great place because it's close, accomodates a lot of kids and parents and it is not terribly expensive. Being an easy choice, I asked if she wanted to have her birthday party there next time. She answered: " No, Mommy! I want to have at a place that no one has ever had before." That is reinforcing that she had already told be me before that she thinks it's cool to be different! Hoping she does not grow to be that kid that dyes her hair purple as a teenager!

March 2014

We ran a 5k recently and every time we'd stop B would say: " why are we stopping? I'm not tired!". It was actually very annoying. One week after this race I told her I had registered so that we could together do the Color Run. She turned to me and said: " Mommy, ok I will do it, but let's see if this time we stop less time that in the glow run." Ok... I guess I have to train not to disappoint my cheetah girl.

December 2013

The other week the opposite team in soccer scored when she decided to do a back heel pass which ended  up landing on the feet of the adversary instead, right in the center of the goal. When we were driving to the game on Saturday I told her that she had to focus  etc and that she should not try any "funny" tricks like the back heel pass she did the other day right in front of the adversary's goal. She looked at me and said: "but I didn't think that was funny".  Excuse, me pro soccer player...

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We get into Justice and there's a section with "As Seen on TV" products. One of them is this stuffed animal pillow that you use on the seat belt. She looks at the shelf, points to it and tells me: "Look, Mommy, the seat pets! If you bought me one I'd never ask you again: 'are we there yet?'"There you go, my sales girl!

November 2013

We are having dinner at a restaurant and she barely ate, being the picky eater she is. I asked her if she liked dinner. She replies: "yes, just the bread and the water".  I'm glad she's easy...

October 2013

I got flowers for both anniversary and birthday. It's been a while so the flowers are at this point nearly dead. She comes to me and says: "Mommy, I think the flowers are a bit sad". I explained to her that they were nearly dead, she got all sad. After I briefly explained to her that the flowers needed to be in a pot to be able to survive she proceeded as a Scientist that she really is, to explain it all. She then started to explain to me that because they are not planted in soil and their roots are not under the soil getting water were the true reason for the flowers to die yada yada yada.


September 2013

I woke up with breakfast in bed the other Sunday. Curious about the reason, I was told that I deserved it  because it was almost my birthday (still 2 weeks away!) I already found that so sweet. I was already on cloud nine, when Miss B further told me: "Mommy, it comes from the heart". I felt butterflies in my stomach, a sudden surge of happiness, the same feeling I have when she runs to hug me. Pure bliss. That is the greatest love of all, my friend. What have I done to deserve such a passionate and loving daughter?
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The day I wrote the teachers asking for a meeting and stating all proud that Miss B had only gotten a note throughout the entire Kindergarten year, was also the day she got her second note! Why,  you ask? Because during circle time she hit jokinly a friend's foot with her hand. When the teacher asked her why she had done it, she said she thought it was funny.

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We are traveling on the airplane on our back  from DC when she then asks me: "Mom, is there oxygen when there's no gravity". Wow, I seriuosly need to review my Science!!!



August 2013
We were grocery shopping when we ran into this 8-9 year old girl who very enthusiastically greeted Miss B: "Hi Bianca!". Miss B passes by her without even acknowledging the girl. I ask her in Portuguese: "Aren't you saying hi to your little friend?"She replies in plain English loud and clear for everyone to hear: "I don't even know who she is!!!"I was mortified!!!!
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Last Sunday we went to Wiregrass Mall and she found a stuffed animal she really wanted but she didn't have her money with her and neither did I so I told her we would come back the next day. For the past two weeks she hasn't been in her best behaviour, always talking back and giving me an attitute. Finally yesterday in the morning when she asked if we were going to go to Wiregrass to buy her stuffed animal I told her we wouldn't and that she would have to wait for at least two weeks to see if her behaviour improved before she was entitled to buy her stuffed animal. She was not a happy camper. The day went by and we went to swimming practice. She did an outstanding job focusing, not asking too many questions etc. At the end of the practice she asked me how she had done and I said that  that had been her best practice ever. Taking advantage of her momentum, she turns to me on the way out and asks: "Mom, we are going now to Wiregrass to get my stuffed animal, right?" I answered by reminding her what we had talked about that already and that she was on probation for two weeks. She grins and says to me: "Oh Mom, I know, I was just joking!". Can you believe it? She was trying to fool me! How can she be that manipulative at 6 years old???!!!


July 2013

We were talking about Lilie's baby brother when she started saying she wanted a baby sister or a baby brother. I told her that in life we not always got what we wanted. And that we had tried but that did not work out. She went to line of questioning I wasn't prepared: "how did you try". I stopped, thought and told her the truth. "We tried by making love". To which she respond: "Oh gosh, you must be exhausted of doing it". I laughed out loud. After that she moved on. You see, it was not so terrible to get "that" out of the way.
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“I know what magic is! It’s nothing but make-believe. It looks like magic, but it’s not, it’s a sneaky way. It tricks you to believe it’s real but it’s not. It’s a good trick, they don’t do any harm.”
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I was in a hurry to get her ready for swimming at Kids R Kids as she takes ages to get changed. She went to the restroom and I asked her if she needed help. She replies: "chill out, I'm gonna be just fine!"
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Miss B was very upset because she got third place. Trying to comfort her I told her that after all was a great result that she almost got 2nd place and that there were more kids and that she had improved her time considerably. She looks at me and replies: "I strongly disagree!" Oh my ever competitive girl...

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Miss B was very inquisitive on all things work related today. First, she asked me what resources were. Then she went on to inquire about her daddy's job: "Does Papaya have a boss?"I explained to her that most people that work have bosses. She continued: "Does his boss give him golden stars when he does a good job?"I simply answered no. She looked at me in shock: "So he does not get golden stars when does a good job???!!!"Her indignant tone implied "what a dreadful boss, why does he work then?" So I decided to ease her concerns by explaining that he gets something that is equivalent. I felt tempted to say that he got "green stars"! I love that innocence and will miss dearly as she grows up.


June 2013

"Mommy, when I grow up I want to be a Scientist."Why Bianca?", as I ask. She replies: "because Scientists have all the answers!"

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I was telling her that we were thinking about going to Washington DC, where the White House was. She looked all excited and asked me: "Yay, are we going to get to meet President Obama?"

April 2013
It was Teacher's Appreciation week and we were writing the cards to her two Kindergarten teachers. She wrote the card to her main teacher saying something like. "Dear Ms....  I like you because..." Then she went off to write the card to the second teacher. I asked her if she had already given a thought about she was going to write. She said she planned to write: "Dear Ms.... I like you second best because..."  Hahaha, it was hard to explain that you can't always be that sincere.

March 2013
Miss B is a planner apparently. She has planned all her birthday parties through 2018! This morning during her ride to school she told me: “I want Emily to come to all my birthdays! My 7th year birthday will be Tinker Bell, my 8th year birthday will be Lalaloopsy, my 9th year birthday will be Hello Kitty, my 10th year birthday will be Justin Bieber [over my dead body!!!!] and my 11th year birthday will be Katy Perry!


February 2013
It's Cecilia's birthday and the party assistant asks a couple of questions to her so that they know how to introduce them when it's time for the Princess show. One of the questions was: if you had a kingdom, what would be your law? She answered: "That all citizens obey the laws." Oh!
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Fomos fazer os cartoes de Valentines da escola juntas. Dai perguntei pra ela o que ela gostaria de escrever para Emily F. Eu esperava um  simples "Be my Valentine" ou o classico "Happy Valentine's Day!". Nada e tao simples para Miss B, que adora um floreado. Ela se saiu com um:  "Valentine's is sweet just like you"
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No dia do aniversario dela ela tava falando com Tia Nena e seu primo Minduim. Tia Nena ensinava Minduim a dizer Bianca. Dai ele comecou a repetir: "Biaca! Biaca!" varias vezes. Ela nada egocentrica pergunta: "Is Bianca the first word he learned to speak?"


October 2012
Ela comecou a reclamar no carro que estava com fome, quando estavamos a caminho do restaurante. Papaya falou pra ela: "Quando a gente sair daqui a gente vai pra uma yummy-yummy party e dai voce pede o que voce quiser!"Ela logo esclarece: "No, Daddy, not anything I want, just what it is on the menu, right?" Papaya pensando que ela ainda eh bobinha...
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Fomos ao Cirque du Soleil com ela e no alto das acrobacias mais complicadas ela se sai com um: "Let's practice this at home!"

August 2012

Miss B the socialist: "Mom,  it's fair  when everyone receives the same amount of food, toys and everything because if you don't, then you are not happy,you whine and then you're in trouble!"
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Miss B has been obsessed with kissing and love these days. She saw a couple kissing on TV and said: "Look, Mommy, they are getting married!". I'm not going to tell her otherwise! Even though friends tell me and I believe "otherwise" will be here sooner rather than later!
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"Mommy, did you know that people kiss each other when they marry?! It's to say that they love each other!" Oh my sweet, innocent and romantic Miss B...

July 2012

 Miss B went to Skydiving city on a field trip with her class. I asked her if she had gone skydiving. She said that no because only grown ups could sky dive. Her face lit like a Christmas tree and then she asked me: Mommy, when you go skydiving with Papaya can I come with you and go skydiving with you too? But I want a parachute that has all the rainbow colors and has flowers and lights". Oh the oh so girly daring girl of mine 2!
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 While we were having dinner this conversation began. "Mom, we can only touch a snake if we have it as a pet and teach the snake not to bite. Can we teach a snake not to bite so that we can have one as a pet?" I thought of my mom who used to have snakes as pets in my grandpa's farm until someone found out! I know she misses having a pet, but a snake as pet!? Daring girl of mine...

May 2012

The best gift of Mother's day was this: I said to her: "Let's make muffins together!" She answers: "yes, and because it's your special day I will do everything you want!"  Of course she did not live up to her promises and had a mini-melt down at the restaurant later that day (don't recall why, it was obviously not important...), but she tried!

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Fomos a um aniversario de uma vizinha e o que ja previa aconteceu. A aniversariante de dois anos brincava alegremente e Bianca aproximou-se dela e falou: "Parabens, Neena! Sabia que eu tinha uma cachorrinha que se chamava Nina tambem?". Olhei para os quatro lados e nao vi nem um adulto ao redor, fiquei aliviada e ri sozinha! Sinceridades de crianca...

Abril 2012
No aniversario da prima dela a Bruna tinha uma senhora de unhas longuissimas (digo, sobrenaturais!). Claro que ela logo notou. As unhas estavam pintadas de rosa chiclete, mesma cor do bolo de aniversário da Bruna. Se cantou parabens e depois a senhora foi ajudar a cortar o bolo (nao me pergunte como ela consegue!). "Dai ela olhou para senhora e falou. Look your nails are camouflaged. Your nails are the same color of the cake and we can't see them because they are camouflaged!"

Fevereiro 2012

Emily's mom Jacci came to me and asked what Bianca would like for her birthday. She said she had tried to ask Bianca several times but Miss B always replied that she wanted a pink hang-glider! Hmmm, not feasible... not at this age!

Janeiro 2012
Ela me pede em Português para fazer um sanduíche: "Mamãe, eu quero 'chalchicha' (sic), ketchup e 'mais tarde' no meu sanduíche!" Detalhe era na verdade "mostarda". Hahaha!

Novembro 2011
Amanheci no maior bom humor e estava cantarolando enquanto arrumava o cabelo da Miss B. Ela ja nao suportando o meu bom humor me fala super annoyed: "Mommy, stop singing, you're hurting my ears!"Ve se eu posso com isso....
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Ela estava cantando "Happy Birthday Jesus" no carro, mesma musica que ela vai cantar na pecinha de Natal da igreja. Quando ela acabou de cantar, ela mesma falou: "Mommy, I sang it so sweetly and so right, did you like it?" Bom saber que autoconfianca nao eh um problema para essa crianca...

Outubro 2011
Eu estava saindo do carro quando ela queria que eu levasse tudo dela. Eu falei para ela e disse: - Nao nao, vc tem que levar suas coisas que vc trouxe pro carro. Eh cada uma! Ela me responde: "Nao, eh cada duas!"
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I was making PBJ sandwich for her when she asked to help."  Mommy - can I help? Can I spread the jelly pleeeease? I'm a good jelly spreader" . And it all started with " chickener" hahaha.
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Ela queria que eu fizesse um favor para ela: " Mommy, can  you do me a flavour? haha, tao boninhho. Vou sentir falta dessas mancadas!
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Ela estava tentando botar o cinto dela sem conseguir e ficando visivelmente irritada. Eu falei com ela que se acalmasse porque tudo se resolvia. Ela olhou para mim e disse: " Yes, Mommy, because nothing is impossible with God". Esse eh justamente o trecho da musiquinha que ela estah aprendendo para a apresentacao do Natal na igreja.

Setembro 2011
No segundo dia de viagem em Punta Cana, Miss B conhecou uma francesinha. Eu ensinei-a a dizer "Bonjour". Quando ja voltavamos de viagem, esperando o voo no aeroporto em Miami uma moca de seus 25 anos, que esperava o voo para Boston,  puxou conversa com ela,, enquanto ela pintava. No vai e vem da conversa a moca  nos ouviu falar Portugues. Dai comecou a falar como ela achava Portugues  bonito e que ela mesma falava Frances e Italiano. Na mesma hora Miss B virou para ela e perguntou: "Do you speak French?!'. A moca confirmou e dai ela se sai com sua perola:" I speak French too, bonjour!" Todos rimos demais com essa. Uma coisa que ela escutou uma vez no segundo dia de viagem!

Agosto 2011
Eu acabo de arrumar o cabelo dela todo. Ela se olha no espelho e diz: "Magnificent" . Sera que a criatura eh convencida?
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We went to a party for the Brazilian Exchange Student. Once we got in there they were serving cake. There were two types of cake: an all white coconut cake and a dark chocolate. The hostess asked her which one she liked. She pointing to the white coconut cake answered: "This one looks familiar!" Hahaha, this is because she does not like chocolate.
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Como ia viajar naquele dia mais tarde a trabalho para NY, resolvi levar Bianca na escolinha.  Quando chegamos na sala ela foi correndo dizer a professora: "Ms. Kuhn, my mom is going to go to New York to see the Smurfs!" Isso porque haviamos assistido o filminho do Smurfs no final de semana que se passa em Nova York. Me acabei de rir.

Junho 2011
Por alguma razao desconhecida, essas duas ultimas semanas tem sido challenging to say the least com a Miss B aprontando mil e sendo mal-criada. Em um desses episodios ela estava brincando com os talheres na mesa o que iria terminar por arranhar a mesa. Falei para ela nao fazer umas duas vezes  e finalmente pedi a ela para me dar o talher. E falei: "eu vou contar ate 3 para voce me dar esse garfo!". Geralmente, na contagem de 2 ela ja fez ou deixou de fazer o que eu tinha mandado. Nesse dia foi diferente... Ela virou para mim calmamente e falou: "mae, conta ate 3 nao, conta ate 10!" Juro que me deu vontade de rir, mas continuei firme e ao chegar em 3, ela me devolveu. Acho que tem que estar contando ate 10 para nao perder a paciencia sou eu!
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Ontem foi Dia dos Pais por aqui. Quando chegamos em casa o vizinho de frente Rodney estava la fora. Da garagem mesmo gritei um : Happy Father's Day para ele e Bianca tambem. Ele falou de volta para a Bianca: "Happy Father's day to you too, Bianca!" Ao qual ela respondeu com as maos na cintura: "But I am not a father!". Nao passa nada desapercebido, nao sei a quem ela puxou com essas respostinhas na ponta da lingua, hmmmmm....
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Miss B ganhou coupons do McDonald's  e pensava que era dinheiro. Expliquei para ela que aquele dinheiro so valia  para fries no McDonald's como nunca fomos no McDonald's com ela apenas passamos no drive-thru muito raramente, ela nao eh familiar com o lugar. Depois que ela entendeu (ou pensei eu) ficou me pedindo"Mommy, Mommy let's go to Old McDonald's.  Misturou o nome com a cancao que ela ja conhecia: "Old MacDonald had a farm, E--I-E-I-O! 
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Estavamos escutando musica no carro para ensaiar para pecinha que a Miss B vai participar na colonia de ferias da igreja. A musica bem animadinha repetia varias vezes "Aleluia!"no refrao. Dai ela, com sua habitual "pouca" auto-confiança e modestia me sai com essa perola: "Mommy, I like this song because it says I am linda!" Ela confundiu Aleluia com linda, kkkk. Depois de um dia infernal, era o que eu precisava ouvir para acabar com o meu mau humor. Ninguem merece essa Lolinha.

Maio  2011
Estava botando a Bianca para dormir, como faço toda noite. Abracei e dei um beijo, ela me deu vários e vários beijos e me falou: "I cannot get enough of my little Mommy!"Aí eu fui no céu e voltei! Priceless mommy momments!
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I'm squeezing and biting Miss B's feet while she watches her fave Jake and the Neverland cartoon. She turns to me very serious and says: Mommy, don't squeeze me cos I'm not a squeaky toy!

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Estávamos fazendo juntas um cartão para uma das professoras pelo "Teacher's Appreciation Week". Daí quando acabamos de fazer o cartão pedi para ela me dizer o que ela queria escrever no cartão daí ela me ditou essa mensagem:
"Dr. Miss Johnson,
You're fabulous because you do everthing for me."

Achei demais ela se sair com esse fabulous!

Abril 2011
Ela tá com os lábios descascando. Daí ela me perguntou se a Tooth Fairy viria visitá-la. Eu falei que não porque ela nao tinha perdido dente, mas só os lábios que estavam despelando. Daí ela me perguntou se então a "Lip Fairy"  viria visitá-la. Disfarcei e saí de fininho para não dar uma gargalhada na cara dela.. Santa inocência, Batman!
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Esse final de semana ela falou para mim. "Mommy when I grow up I want to be a doctor". Perguntei para ela porque. Ela me respondeu: "Because I want to help others" Awww, que fofa no alto dos seus 4 aninhos!

Março 2011
Hoje quando voltávamos do supermercado com o balão que ela sempre pega no supermercado, ela começou a reclamar: "My tummy is hurting". Isso significa geralmente que ela está enjoada e poucos tempos depois ela algumas vezes até vomita! Daí abri a janela de trás do carro para respirar um pouco Logo que abri já fui avisando para ela ter cuidado com o balão dela. Foi mesmo que nada. E depois de nem 1 minuto, já saiu o balão janela afora. Ela começou a chorar e pedir para voltar para pegar o balão. Falei para ela que o balão tinha voado lá para cima. Ela imediatamente perguntou: "Mommy, did it go into outer space?!"Falei que achava que sim, pronto aí so piorou. Ela chorando falava: "We have to get to the balloon before the outer space people get to the balloon get to it!!!"We have to!. Na hora do desespero total ela me pergunta: "Mommy, can we buy a rocket so that me, you and Papai can go to outerspace and get my balloon? Do you think the outerspace people will give it to us if they find it?"Bem, ainda bem que eu estava dirigindo porque me deu uma crise de riso com a noção de ir ali e comprar um foguete. Respondi que ia ver... A Bichinha...

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Miss B to me during lunch: "Mom, I don't like boys! There are only 3 boys I like: Papai, Tia Nena's baby and Antonio". Em tempo, Antonio é o filho da minha mega amiga Ana Carolina o qual ela brincou alguns dias enquanto no Rio.


Fevereiro 2011
Papai desligou o desenho porque ela já tinha assistido demais. Ela fala para ele. Papai, I'm really frustrated with you.
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Estava fazendo maria-chiquinhas nela quando ela falou que queria 2 ponytails. Falei para ela que ponytail so era um, que para ser duas tinha ser piggytails. Dai ela perguntou porque. Respondi que o pony so tinha 1 tail, achando que tinha resolvido o problema. Que nada, ela perguntou ainda: "but  pig only has one tail, right?". Despistei porque não sabia bem como responder, afinal ela estava certa!
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Estava falando alguma coisa para ela quando ela me sai com essa: Mamma, como se diz isso em chines? Geracao global essa de hoje em dia...

Janeiro 2011
Estava saindo da escolinha com ela, bem na hora que a Olivia e sua mãe também estavam saindo. A Olívia é uma menina para lá de peralta que está sempre de castigo porque chuta as professoras, joga os sapatos etc, mas apesar disso tudo é uma menina fofa! Pois bem, saimos da escolinha e eu falei "Hi Olivia!"  A Bianca em alto em bom som para todo mundo ouvir, principalmente a chata da mãe da Olívia: "Mommy, Olivia was in time out today because she is a bad girl, she doesn't make good choices at school, Mommy, she does not..." E continuou falando e eu fiquei morta de vergonha, falei em português para ela nao falar mal, mas ela continuou insistindo e falando as mesmas coisas. Graças a Deus estavamos já perto do carro e fechei logo a porta. Se a mãe da Olívia já é chata por natureza, agora ela tem mais um motivo para não nos suportar!!!!

Dezembro 2010
Bianca: When I grow up I want to be big like Daddy.
Me: Don't you want to be big like Mommy?
Bianca: No, because you're not big, you're  short, Mamma!

I really cannot argue with that...
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Compramos um conjunto para a sala de estar. Mas as coisas chegaram separadas. Primeiro havia só uma cadeira. A sala de estar fica perto da escada que é onde ponho a Miss B em timeout. A cadeira chegou e levei ela para ver. Ela olhou para aquela cadeira lá sozinha e me perguntou: "Mommy, is this chair for timeout?" Awww, fiquei triste! Até parece que eu ponho ela de castigo todo dia!!!!

Novembro 2010
Tenho a política de não dar doce durante a semana. Eu estava comendo barra de cereal e ela me pediu para comer pirulito. Falei para ela que não porque não era final de semana. Ela virou para mim, apontou para a barra de cereal e falou: But isn't this doce too, Mamma?! Resultado, acho que preciso daqui para frente ser mais consistente, já não dá para enganar a Lolinha!

Outubro 2010
Antes do Halloween a Bianca queria ser uma borboleta. Depois de ir a uma festa de princesas decidiu entao que queria ser uma sereia. Já às vésperas do Halloween ela me comunica que na verdade ela queria ser uma "Butterfly-Mermaid". Ta dificil!!!! Em tempo: terminou saindo de sereia feliz da vida.
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Lolinha estava aprendendo as profissões na escolinha. Daí perguntei a ela"Minha filha, o que você quer ser quando crescer?". "A mermaid!"" , respondeu ela. Eu:Ok! O que vou argumentar!!!!
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Estávamos na escada para subir e dormir quando ela soltou um "pum" daqueles sonoros e demorados. Sempre ensino a ela que pum só no banheiro. Daí falei para ela: "Minha filha, o que é isso? Você não sabe que pum só no banheiro?". Ela para mim: "Sorry Mom, I was making music!"... Ninguém merece!!!!
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Lolinha estava bastante gripada e com o nariz entupido. Ela falou para mim: "Mommy, I can smell the inside of my nose!"

Setembro 2010
Todos os dias passamos por vários currais até chegar em casa. As vacas são em geral bezerros, garrotes ou vacas adultas já mochiadas. Dessa vez passamos em vimos uma vaca com chifres enorme.Comentário da Lolinha: "Mommy, look, a 'reindeer vaquinha'!"

Agosto 2010
Papai falava que estava triste porque ela dizia que era Lolinha da Mamãe e não do Papai. Dai ela fala para o Papai: "Papai, I want to eat a cookie to cheer you up" . Que ótima idéia essa! Da próxima vez que alguém ficar chateado comigo, direi que vou tomar umas cervejas para cheer them up!

July 2010
Mommy had put Bianca earlier in the day in time out. Repeating the mantra of her school I talked to her and said that she was in time out because she was not being a good listener. As usual, the day went smooth after the time out session. We were getting ready to go to Publix when I told her: "Bianca, vamos no super pegar uma chicken". She turned to me and asked: "Can I help?! Can I help?! I wanna be a good chickener!"

Nota: Me controlei para nao me acabar de rir. Mais uma palavra para a lingua inglesa. Se Sarah Palin cria "defudiate", porque nao chickener - aquele que pega galinhas!!!
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Estava botando a Lolinha para dormir, quando os sapos começaram a coaxar quando fazem todas as noites lá pelas 8. Ela escutou o barulho e falou: "Mommy, I think I smell a noise!".

June 2010
 Desde bebezinha eu falava para ela antes de dormir: "Mamãe ama Neném" e recentemente ela responde " Neném ama Mamãe". Se o papai dela a poe para dormir ela fala:"Papai ama Neném". Só que ela mesmo assim responde"Neném ama Mamãe". Ele fica tiririca kkkkkkkkk.

May 2010
As we were leaving Primrose, Mrs. Bryant said bye to Bianca in the usual southern way: - "Bye, bye Pumpkin!"Bianca turned to her and responded: - "I'm not a pumpkin, I'm Bianca Siqueira!"
Nota: Claro, para ela uma pumpkin eh so uma pumpkin e sinonimo de nada mais!

April 2010
Desciamos na escada para sair. Ela pára na escada e diz que vai buscar os óculos e as pulseiras dela. Ela sobe pega os óculos e a pulseira e fala: " I want to wear oculos and bracelets to fica linda"!
Só o que me faltava essa mini-perua

Miss B Retires!

And she "retired" in style as it was her wish! 

She was able to beat all of previous  times for all styles she swam as she had vowed to doing it herself. In spite of swimming against 8 year olds, she was even able to get medals. It was a surprise, especially after a brief heartbreak moment when we thought  she had been DQ'd.

In the end her final meet was great!

Quitting swimming was a tough decision at least for me. For her it was easy as soccer has always been her sport #1. 

We will miss swimming and the friends we have made. I'm sure she will miss the swim meets, her favorite part. Whereas I am not going to miss the early mornings and the very hot days of the meets! But having her excited and pumped up was a joy to watch. 

However, the so called retirement was her choice. 

I believe she would have a great future as a swimmer if she devoted herself to practicing 4 times a week like most of the kids do. But swimming ceased to be fun when she realized how much more fun she was having during soccer practices. 

She is off to chase her dreams and follow her passion (and mine too!). Because, after all, Brazilian blood runs in her veins! 

Joga bonito, Lolinha!

It Takes a Village

A popular saying is that  "it takes a village to raise a kid".

I am finding that more and more to be truthful.

First, my first epiphany about this was a couple of Christmas ago. I wrote a desperate plea about finding a Purple Furby.

My host sister with Canada offered to help and my friend Dea too. Her daughter ended up finding a pink, she paid for and her husband mailed it to me so that her Santa wish was granted.

I have posted Frozen related stuff in Facebook since Miss B has been become enamorared with the movie. One  of these days, a friend from Rio, knowing how much she loved it, told me Frozen  On Ice was about to come out. That same day, I found out that tickets were on sale and we bought tickets to the premiere of the U.S. Tour in Orlando. This would end up being one of the highlights of 2014. 

And even when I post her accomplishments, her birthday in Facebook or just day-to-day stuff I feel a shower of love. It is as if there is no physical distance and my Facebook friends are following our journey and being part of our lives every day And, that is why, as much as I have issues with privacy, I can't stop myself from sharing our lives through pictures. 

It does take a village to raise a kid,  these day a virtual village of folks too that are caring and feel like they are not virtual at all. Because truly they are not, just separated by many miles. 

Claudia is Cancer Free!!!!

When I read the update of Claudia's mom on Claudia's Clause Facebook  page last Saturday, I could not stop  the tears.

I could not believe, Claudia is cancer free!!! This came not without a cost, Claudia is no longer registered as terminally ill, but she's registered as blind. Chemotherapy fights cancer, but, at the same time, is a poison for your body. Still, after having heard around 3 years ago that your daughter has about 2 weeks to live and hear 3 years later that she is cancer free makes it all worth while.

It is a miracle, a miracle of the medical science coupled with a lot of faith and the love of this mom that never gave up on Claudia.

I am overflowing with joy, so very happy for this family that went through so much and for us moms that want to believe that our  kids are invincible. Maybe they are indeed...

 

Of Love and Little Girls - An Update

Do you see a trend here? Yes, that's the new boy in town.

And here's the most recent conversation we've had on this while we were looking through her 1st Grade yearbook I put together for her class:

"Mommy, I love Brendan There's no one else like Brendan.... " (she sighs)

A couple pages and many sighs later:

"And Brendan, I gotta say,  I love him!"

I can't stop myself from giggling. She gets annoyed.

" You don't know what's like."

To be in love she meant? Hahaha, yeah of course I don't, right?. Oh B...

Note that all the while, she comes home saying she loves wrestling with Ian and Ian tells his mom about playing Cops and Robbers with her.  Oh, B... 2!

So far I've been luck, she's been falling for the good boys. May that trend continue. Will it last through Summer while school is out? My guess is... not! Next!

The Game Before the Game

With what happened this past week, I have learned a great deal about bringing up a kid. I have learned about letting her make her own choices, in spite of what I thought was best.  I have learned to admit to my kid that I am wrong (there was no escape!). I am sure this will come handy in the near future as she becomes more and more able to make her own choices.

Last week B had a swim meet scheduled for Saturday and because of the thunderstorms a lot of the practices were cancelled. She had practiced only once that week so I suggested she went on Friday.Only that Friday swim practice clashed with soccer and she did not want to miss soccer for anything.

 It is becoming evident that soccer is her real passion.  It was a tryout, but I was told by the coach that she did not need to attend as she was in already. She insisted she wanted to play soccer over swimming. I was against it, but finally gave in  but not without warning her. I told her that if she didn't do good at the swim meet that it may be a direct result of her lack of practice and that I did not want to hear any crying if it was the case. She looked at me in the eye and said: "Mommy, I won't let you down!". I told her that it wasn't me who she was letting down, but her team and herself. I emphasized that because I want her to understand that she did not need to impress me. I want her to want to excel at school or in her life for herself.

With that, we went to soccer practice. She was so excited! In the tryout,  she played with 7 and 8 year olds during scrimmage. She was the only one kicking towards the goal, stealing the ball in the defense, where she was supposed to be positioned,  and running all the way up to the front.She kicked  5 or 6 times towards the goal. She ended up scoring the only two goals of the scrimmage, something of a rare feat for her that has never been that much of an offensive player. Maybe this was the best I've ever seen her play! She played her heart out!

I think it was her way of telling me: " Mommy, and this is why I wanted you to bring me to soccer." She was right about that part, but would she still be right about it the next day when the swim meet rolled in the next day?

Well, well, indeed she was.  She improved her time in all 4 styles and I'm talking really improved! Some of the styles she took 5 seconds off (which is a bid deal for swimming)! She got one second place, two third places and one fifth place swimming against 7 and 8 years old of both her level and some from the level above hers. She swam her best swim meet ever!

After a tryout of Friday evening, a swim meet duting the hot morning on Saturday, she insisted she wanted to go to the second round of tryouts that same afternoon 1 hour after the swim meet. My girl loves soccer, knows what she wants and goes after it. She has an endless source of energy, I called her my Energizer Bunny.

The entire weekend spoke volumes about her ability to take responsibility (when she told me " I won't let you down") and about using that as her fuel, her motivation.

In the end she told me: " Mommy, you know, you were wrong." I did not even try to deny, I acknowledged my mistake, but not without patting myself on the back for, for the first time,  letting her make tough decisions and backing her up, even when I did not agree with them. So in the end, I was very, very happy about the mistake I made.

P.S: Decided to title this post after watching this fabulous ad:

She made it the Yearbook!

I was the homeroom photographer mom this year. As such, I had to submit many pictures to the year book.

I knew some of them would make it into the Yearbook but little did I know my Miss B would be right on the first page with a picture I took! And then other pictures were included in her own 1st Grade page.

Sweet memories to keep forever!

 

No To Racism

We are not born racists, we become racists, most of the time by influence of our parents, friends etc.

One of the greatest gifts my parents gave was to learn to love someone regardless of color, religion  and money. This way, I had a black baby as a toy, my sister has a black Barbie equivalent (Suzi). The first close friend I can remember was an Indian girl named Anupama.

As we grew up,  we had friends that were not as privileged as us, that had different religions and that had different colors too. We never stopped to question, we looked at their hearts instead and chose our friends this way.

It is this very set of beliefs that I have passed onto B. 

Last year in Kindergarten she had a friend who was from India,  a vegetarian  and a non-Christian. She came to tell me that her friend would not eat and meat and she believed in different Gods. I went on to tell her that it was ok to be different and that we had to learn from their differences and be tolerant about them. I also told her that the world would be very boring if we were all the same. We would not learn anything new with the other.

She actually embraced the idea that being different is cool and says that she does not want to be like everybody else, because she wants to lead others! I just hope she will not be that kid that will dye her hair pink!!!!

The incident with the Brazilian player during the international game was the perfect scenario to re-introduce the discussion we once had about being tolerant towards the others and their differences. When she arrived from school I told her about the player and asked if she wanted to take a picture eating a banana. She was fast to agree and the result is the picture above. 

In my view, Neymar's campaign is not about ignoring racism, but telling the offenders we don't care what they think because we know we indeed allcame from the monkeys. We are all monkeys, we are all the same! Raising above it and not exacerbating the difference is in my view a lot more effective. 

Mother's Day

My heart grows bigger every year and almost bursts every Mother's Day.

It becomes more and more interesting to read what she writes, to know what she thinks and what she thinks about me.  And why not: to see through her drawings and read through her notes and cards of her love for me, even though she still doesn't think that I love her a whole lot more! To the moon and back...

This year was no different. 

I learned she thought I am smart because I figured out her Summer camps.Yes, that is true, it's almost a science given that she is doing so many different things (to be honest with you,  I wish I could do them myself!) ! She did see my excel grid and must have thought I was a smart Scientist, like her. I learned she actually realizes where I work and she thinks I'm great at it, which I was surprised she knew. She remembered our fun runs together and when we ordered pizzas! Finally, she says I like her because she's beautiful, cute and she does nice things for me. There, she has no clue.

No clue that my love for her is unconditional, infinite and not tied to one or two simple reasons. I love her for a lot of reasons that I could be listing forever and have done so in many other posts. But deep down, I love her because she exists and is part of me, of my body, of my heart and of my soul...And forever will be this way, my Lolinha. Love you to the moon and back, to the infinity and back.