Is Your Child a N.E.R.D.?

My son will admit to anyone that he's a N.E.R.D. – a Naturally Exceptional Righteous Dude. Just the fact that he has come up with that description is pretty nerdy, don't you think? 

The term "nerd" dates back to, of all people, Dr. Seuss in the 1950s. In recent decades, though, there has been a lot of "nerd pride" with movies like Revenge of the Nerds and, as Charles Sykes said: "Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one." 

I love nerds. I married one and gave birth to at least one. (The jury is still out on the second child.) I even have an "I Love Nerds" t-shirt. 

Do you have a nerd in your house? There are certain signs and here's one ... 

If your child is in the top 5 percent of their grade level in 4th grade and up, you may have received a letter from Duke TIP or your school's gifted program director inviting them to join the Duke Talent Identification Program. Students who join Duke TIP (www.tip.duke.edu) for $30 a year get, first of all, "recognition," online enrichment and resources, exclusive publications, a chance to compete in contests and the opportunity to take standardized tests normally taken by children older than them.

I know what you might be thinking (or at least this is what I was thinking) ... is the opportunity to take another standardized test really a good thing??? I can already see my son's reaction to being presented with the opportunity to take more tests and do more work. "No, thank you," is what I expect him to say. "I'd rather play video games."

So, do you join? 

We did some online research and, pretty much, found that Duke TIP is -- just what we expected -- a Nerd Club. Many of its members and alumni refer to it as such online in blogs and various chat rooms. Since I know and love some very cool nerds, that didn't negatively impact my opinion of TIP. So, I went straight to another Sugar Land mom for advice. Her son joined Duke TIP in 7th grade.  

"The biggest advantage is taking the ACT/SAT in 7th grade. I think the 4th/5th grade take the EXPLORE test which is similar to a test given to 8th graders to assess their readiness for the ACT/SAT that they take when they're juniors. Even though I'm not the biggest fan of all these standardized tests, it is the world we live in, so I think it's good that the kids get used to taking them so they're comfortable and do their best when the test scores really count."

I'm not sold on Duke TIP yet but, if nothing else, getting the letter verified what I pretty much already knew in my heart ... my son has surpassed me in intelligence and I am in big trouble. 

 

Ommmm! Free Yoga!

Lisa Kastens, an awesome Sugar Land mom and yoga instructor, is inviting Sugar Land moms for a free yoga class on Valentine's Day, Saturday, Feb. 14, at 10:30 a.m. at 24 Hour Fitness, Hwy. 90 and Dairy Ashford. Lisa says it's part of the club's "Open Door Saturday" program where friends can come free, so consider yourself Lisa's new friend and stop by for the yoga class. The club will not try to sell you a membership unless you want them to, according to Lisa, and childcare is FREE! 

Just tell them you are "Lisa's guest" at the front desk.

Call 281-242-7500 for more info. 

Check out info on Lisa's Kid Yoga class in Greatwood at SugarLandMOM.com's HealthyMOM page. 

Good Night and Good Bye Extra Pounds!

Watched the Today Show this morning and learned that the "hunger hormone" is triggered when you don't get enough sleep. About 7 1/2 hours of sleep is the ideal amount most women need to be well-rested. "Getting enough sleep is as important as the food you put into your mouth," according to the Today Show's medical correspondent. If you're anything like me, you find it virtually impossible to get enough sleep between work, the kids, the husband and all the other things that need to get done. If you do get enough sleep, please tell me how you do it. I'm not sure when the last time is that I got 7 1/2 hours all at one time, but I'm starting that diet ... tonight! 

Food Glorious Food!

I hate grocery shopping. With a passion. I will do anything to avoid it, even if it means eating 2-year-old peanuts from the back of the pantry accompanied by Kool-Aide made with powder purchased over a decade ago (and borrowing the sugar from a neighbor). When you have kids and a husband, though, it's hard to get away with not grocery shopping for very long. After a while, they start complaining ... and begging for food at the neighbors' houses!

(That reminds me of a story where my sister went begging for "bread money" from a neighbor when she was little. Everything was fine, and we had food at home. The neighbor called my mom asking if everything was OK, and if we needed to borrow money! Needless to say ... my sister was "paying" for that strange episode for quite some time. To this day, she isn't sure herself why she did that!)

Anyway, before my kids decided to go begging for bread money, I decided to make the pilgrimage to the grocery store and $285 later ... a full fridge! It's amazing, though, how long we went without shopping. Try it. Take a week off from going to the store and see how much money (and time) you save. Your family may not like it but a few meals comprised of raisins and saltines won't hurt them! 

Like Water for Pizza

There's a new pizza place at First Colony Mall and, apparently, the secret ingredient is water. They had a chemist come in to "analyze and recreate the mineral content and exact composition of the water" so that the dough tastes the same as at the original Brooklyn restaurant. Located in the outside shopping area, Grimaldi's Pizzeria is currently only open for dinner from 5-11 p.m. but lunch hours will be added soon. 

Who knew Brooklyn had such great water? I love Chicago pizza and have never heard that it was Lake Michigan that made it taste so good.  However, I would be willing to go to Chicago and drive back with large containers of Lake Michigan water if someone would be willing to open a Lou Malnati's Chicago deep dish pizza place in Sugar Land.