And there will be a lava pit and invisible ants . . .

My apologies for those readers who know me and my family well as the content of the first few paragraphs will not be new to you.

The basement of my childhood home was unfinished. One half was taken up with laundry and storage. The other half was wide open, excepting the support poles, and could serve various functions, including roller rink. A good portion of the basement was consistently dedicated to my classroom. I had real textbooks (NTB), old desks from my grade school, a chalk board, and plenty of invisible students. And I was happy. I taught my heart out to empty desks, completing assignments on behalf of my phantom students and then grading them.

I grew up and, to no one's surprise, became a teacher.

My sister LAP set up a store in the room she shared with our younger sister Pita. Before bed each evening (while I was reading in my room), Pita was required to "shop" from the bedroom store before she was allowed to go to sleep. LAP would ring up Pita's "purchases" on one (yes, there were multiple) of her cash registers. LAP also had a binder labeled "Business Work" in which she inventoried things like our household's collection of board games.

Despite a childhood wish to work the checkout at Kroger, LAP grew up and, to no one's surprise, became an accountant.

My point is that sometimes career paths are chosen early on.

Of course, sometimes they're not. There are plenty of wonderful stories about individuals whose life experiences have led them through a variety of jobs and eventually--through some combination of hard work, serendipity, persistence, openness, passion, and experience--to surprising and satisfying careers.

As a mom, I wonder how, if at all, my kids' current passions and preferences will predict their future careers? I'm guessing that Little Bit won't be a Jedi and that Sweet P won't get a job crawling after and chewing on dirty shoes, remotes, cords, and crumbs.

But maybe our Bub will be . . . an architect?

He came home from school last week with a two page drawing he called his "blueprints."

Using some empty cardboard boxes from the Costco run, he began executing his design.

His little brother is allowed to help.

The next day he came home from school with more "blueprints." And more the day after.

Work on the cardboard model has slowed a bit, but conceptually the project is still going strong. Throughout the day, Bub shares new aspects of his design with me and Little Bit.

Here's what I know so far about the structure he's designing: It's going to be big, a mansion. It will have wheels so it can be moved. No grown-ups allowed because they will wreck stuff. It will be big enough for all the kids he knows. There will be a pit of hot lava for robbers. Also, invisible ants to attack those robbers. All the kids will have their own rooms for sleeping and fireproof robots will protect them at night. The shower will shoot out gold coins that are really pieces of chocolate. Big kids will be there to help with homework and to read books to little kids (our next door neighbors in eighth and ninth grades were specifically named as among these "big kids"). There will be a room for babies and a robot to watch them. I forgot to mention that the robots are fireproof and waterproof.

That's all we know so far.

Maybe he'll be an architect. Or a novelist. Or a security guard. Or a designer of robots. Or all of those things. Or none of them.

My job right now? To listen to his ideas, to study his blueprints, to honor his passions and enthusiasms, to teach him to work hard and dream big, and to make sure we all remember to enjoy the journey.

Do the children in your life express career preferences yet? Do you have hopes for or guesses at the future careers of the kids you know? How did your childhood passions and preferences predict your current career? Please share in the comments.

Chew-R-S

Some things I want to remember years from now when Bub and Little Bit are all grown up and possibly giving speeches or otherwise impressing people with their language skills:

1. The part of the ABC song when Bub belts out, "Chew-R-S-T-U-B."*

2. The fact that Little Bit's first recognizable utterance besides "dada" is the phrase "tickle, tickle, tickle," complete with hand motion. So adorable, NTB.

3. Bub's love for the books Corduroy and A Pocket for Corduroy by Don Freeman and the way he pronounces Corduroy as CorduRORY.

4. The way Little Bit says something like "mmmm" after bites of watermelon.


What are you hearing these days?



*explains why some of our matchbox cars are called "bans" but not why all the "bans" are referred to with the adjective "rescue bans."

Bub's Got Game(s)

Bub is developing an interest in boxed games like Candyland, Hi Ho Cheerio, Memory, Cootie, and a Thomas the Train game. His attention span and respect for the rules of play are still, ahem, developing, but he seems to enjoy himself. Plus, he is great, NTB, about cleaning up all the little pieces so Little Bit won't try to eat them. I play such games with Bub while Little Bit naps in the morning. Hubby plays with Bub before bed most nights.

With lots of rain and temperatures in the mid-fifties most of last week, we've had more indoor time this summer than anticipated and thus, more indoor games. NTB, but Bub has been thinking out of the box on some of most recent "games."

Here are some of Bub's favorites games with materials and instructions given from his perspective . . .

Mailing Letters
Materials Needed: candy, envelopes, stickers, crayons
Instructions:
1. Mention every five minutes that you want to go to the candy store.
2. Once your mom has given in or found some candy somewhere, ask her to dump it on the table.
3. Get to work filling envelopes with one or two pieces of candy in each.
4. Work with mom to put a sticker on the front of the envelope for a stamp. Remind her that you do not want any Winnie-the-Pooh stickers with Piglet on them because "the pig is sad."
5. Delegate as much as you can, as in, "You write my name on the envelope, Mom." She will probably make you trace your name.
6. Place envelopes in your own mailbox.
7. Start asking your mom when you can check the mail because you think you have some letters.
8. When she relents, open all the letters, even the ones you said were for Daddy. 9. Eat the candy inside.
10. Return to step 1.

Poker Chips
Materials needed: poker chips and caddy, Spray N' Wash (suppose Windex or non-aerosol hair spray would work in a pinch)
Instructions:
1. Dump all the poker chips out of the poker chip caddy and on to the basement floor.
2. While your mom is changing the laundry, spray as many chips as you can with Spray N' Wash.
3. Find a piece of dirty laundry from the pile and use it to start drying the chips.
4. Put the chips in the caddy as you dry them, reserving the black and white ones. Don't forget to scold your baby brother for trying to put away chips that have not been "washed and dried" yet and for not keeping black and white ones out of the caddy.
5. Tell your mom the black and white chips are for "making snowmen."
6. Take an extra pile of black and white chips and hide it in the guest room.
7. Once you have about 15 chips dried and back in the caddy, leave the rest on the floor so that you can skip step 1 when you are ready to play again.

Unnamed Game A
Materials: matchbox cars, silo from Fisher Price farm, tennis ball
Instructions:
1. Fill silo full of matchbox cars, leaving some room at the top.
2. Place tennis ball in top of the silo.
3. Empty silo and repeat.

Unnamed Game B
Materials: bin of baby and toddler shoes, toy hammer
Instructions:
1. Empty shoes on to the floor. Do it right in the doorway between the kitchen and family room so that no one can miss the fact that you are playing.
2. Use hammer to beat the shoes repeatedly.

Making Sand
Materials: sandbox with plentiful sand toys, neighbors
Instructions:
1. Stand on the deck and peer over the fence until you get the neighbors' attention.
2. Invite them over. (Your mom will not mind because she prefers inviting them over to having you invite yourself to their yard or stare over the fence with longing. Plus, she likes the neighbors.)
3. Make sure all the toys you own are out of the garage and strewn about the yard.
4. Once all the toys are out, ignore them and lure all the kids into the sandbox.
5. Remove your shoes and socks, no matter what the temperature.
6. Once there are five kids (ages 11 months-8 years) in the sandbox (3-4 feet in diameter), work together to create an elaborate system for filling, straining, dumping, and moving sand. This is called "making sand."
7. Make sure to get as much sand out of the box and into the yard as you can.
8. Throw a fit when it's time for dinner and no more sand can be made.
9. Ask the neighbors if they want to "make sand" every other time you see them.

What games do the kids in your life play? Please share in the comments.



Also, please don't forget to send in your recipes for the NTB Dips and Sips Summer Recipe Drive! For the price of one recipe, you will receive many! Pretty please.