So Long 2012

It was quite an interesting year in our house. There was good and bad but overall it was a good year.

The Boy learned how to ride a bike this summer, was close to breaking a school cross country record, kicked butt on the second grade report card and is doing the same in third grade, and went to art camp and made some great pieces of art. There were other things but the kid had a great year.

The Girl had a good year as well. She is reading and writing, is in Academic Excellence program in preschool, is almost swimming without help, went to Angelina Ballerina camp, and recently went sledding on the big hill.

The kids amaze me every day anymore. If 2013 is half as good as 2012 then we have a lot to look forward to.

The Clock

It happened partially on accident on Black Friday. I found a Hello Kitty clock for the Girl.

We have been working on her not waking up so early on random mornings and she knows what 7:00 is. For two days this has been fantastic.

This clock is awesome as well. It projects the time on the wall or ceiling. Plus on the projection there is a hello Kitty face. Only thing I don't understand is why the projection part has a separate time control.

Anyway you look at it it has been a good thing as now maybe before she strolls in at 5:45 am she sees what time it is and stays in bed. Now if I can only sleep as I have been up a few times each of the past couple of nights.

5:45

It is day one of break from school. The Girl after being peeled out of bed the day yesterday for school was up at 5:45 am. Needless to say that was not good.

Within the first minute of getting downstairs she was already whining about something. The question is should I start the countdown for back to school? Naw just need to get her to sleep in a bit.

Also no snow day. Matter of fact we got zero inches of snow. Argh!

Snow Day?

With Christmas break right around the corner i have been working a snow day for the past two weeks to happen Friday the 21st.  If you ask anyone I really have been working it.  

Today we did a snow dance to "Let It Snow."  The kids had fun are all their belief and will power will certainly help.  

The Boy and I flushed an ice cube, he was putting PJs on backwards as will I.  

Some staff are with me and we are going with the believe as opposed to not talking about it.  But like the Polar Express there are DOUBTERS.  With any luck I will blog with my coffee and backwards PJs in the morning.

Algebra

The Boy who is 8 and in third grade gets some extra math enrichment from time to time.  He is a very bright kid but the recent worksheet was surprising.

Basic Algebra from the standpoint of m=3, then the problems would be 3m+12= ?.  There was no explanation of what to do, his initial answer was 45.  After I explained that it 3 x m, he then whipped out the answer 21.  I was quite surprised he got it pretty easily.

The way home from swimming class I thought I would see if he could solve for 'x'.  I gave him 2x=10, and asked what is 'x'?  He got it no problem.  We did a few more and he rattled off the answers.  I took it a step further and gave him the following to solve for 'x': 3x+4=13, within about 5-7 seconds he said '3'.  We did a couple more like that he got them pretty easily.

I was impressed but then started thinking about when I started learning Algebra.  I don't remember starting that kind of math until at least high school, or maybe 8th grade.  Since I got all the way to Calculus 4 in college, I figure he will be well beyond calculus by the time he reaches college.  I can't even fathom the math he could be doing or what it is even called.  Glad for the next year or so I MAY still be able to help him with homework.

The past crazy month, into the next crazy month

The past month has been crazy as I am sure many people have experienced.  With the Thanksgiving holiday, Black Friday, School, swimming lessons, school athletics program, and many other little items going on it seems like it has been a whirlwind. 

The next month heading into Christmas however short it is due to the break from school, it will be even more crazy.  There are many things going at school, after school, during school, etc.  Although this also is a fun time of year with all the things going on and being the Holidays.  At least I have a 3.5 pound bag of M&Ms in my drawer at school to get me through.  

The kids are excited as being a kid this time of year is fun, even with school involved.  Granted they both like school so it isn't issue but between two christmas programs, various field trips, and hopefully some snow it should be good times.  

Wishing Time Away

We went through this with the Boy and now the Girl is getting into this phase.  It is not so much of her actually wishing time away as having no concept of time other than during the current day.  Maybe she is just trying to manipulate me into getting something earlier.

We recently hung up Christmas lights.  I know it is before Thanksgiving but when you have a 65-70 degree day, you get it done.  Now all she talks about is Christmas.  I know she should be excited but at least let me have some turkey, shopping and more turkey first.

This often happens with other things as well.  My AGW and I often tell our kids things at the last minute because otherwise they bug us to no end.  So much so I want to threaten to not go to the show that we just paid $70+ as a family to go see.  Yes they may learn a lesson but what lesson do I learn?

Either way I seem to lose.  I either get the constant whining and asking when we get to go or when something is coming, or I get crying and whining because I said no or took something away.  I know it is supposed to provide a base and help them learn about consequences but I will be the one standing in the garage yelling "SERENITY NOW!"

A Sort of Day Off

With Parent Teacher Conferences  going on I have sort of had a day or two off.  I say sort of in the way a teacher at a private school has a day off (some say that a day off in a private school is a myth).  With all that I love my school and all the kids there.  Who knew getting paid very little and teaching a bunch of K-8th grade kids could be so great.

So on these sorta of days off, I still am working at my other job of Dad.  The first day I get to be the parent a little bit at school for conferences.  It is great hearing from the teachers on how good my kids are even though they are a major part of the red wine I am currently enjoying.  Then it was home for them to play outside while raked leaves again.  We also played some until the temp was getting cooler and it was getting to be dinner time.  After dinner the Boy was working on the computer trying to make a chart and I introduced him to using excel to make charts so I am sure there is a chart of direct proportion of candy to his goodness in my future.  The Girl was working on being entertained by my AGW who had recently arrived home.  Then it was bedtime and with the Girl you never know how that will go.

Today however was the ultimate in role reversal.  While my AGW went to work it was a whole day of the kids and me.  Granted this blog started with me staying home with the kids which is the greatest job,  as they grow older they have new challenges and an 8 and 4 year old playing together can be difficult at times.  As the day went, we had breakfast, I dropped the kids off at my AGW's work so I could go vote, picked them up and ran a few errands of clothes shopping and other various things (which they never enjoy), picked up lunch (which one only one of them ate), worked on laundry, cleaning up the house as much as the monsters let me, cooking a prime rib, making chocolate chocolate chip cookies all while trying to finish the red wine my AGW doesn't care for too much to open a bottle she likes for when she gets home.

Great Day! And that is not the wine talking.

Days Off of School

The Boy is at the age that a day off a school is awesome.  The Girl is indifferent as she likes school and likes being at home. I am a teacher so a day off can go either way, a day off is great but must days off of school there are teacher meetings and professional development.  

Recently at school we had our Scantron testing.   The Boy really likes Scantron testing.  Maybe it is the online aspect of the testing but he that it was "Awesome!"  With it being the end of the quarter we have a Monday and Friday away from school.  

I asked the Boy about having and a four day weekend and this is what the 3rd grader said, "I don't know I think I want to go to school as my teacher is a lot of fun."  I was shocked.  Granted he still has a great time on days off but it was pretty cool that he wanted to be in school .  

Another Year

I can't believe almost another year has passed in the Boy's life.  He will soon turn 8.  I remember to when he was little and can't believe how big he is.  Every time I look at him he is taller than the last time and that can be just a few seconds or a blink of an eye.

The last year has went so fast.  I just saw a picture from his last birthday and it amazes me how much bigger and older he is.

The Girl is growing just as fast as I believe she is running her preschool.  Even today right after I told her she couldn't take something to school she took it anyway and would have gotten away with it had she not taken it out of her bag in the car and dropped it.  I think I am going to put a Toy Detector at the door to check these children.

A couple of our good friends just had their second baby - "Fools!" We went to see the baby and they are tired as they are up often at night.  They commented on how I looked tired considering my kids are 4 and almost 8.  I know I will be complaining that they over sleep but for now I would like a few weekends of them sleeping until at least 8 am and not 6 or 6:30.  At some point the kids will either be able to get up and not bother my AGW and me, but until then tired I shall be as I watch them grow up too incredibly fast.

Picky Eating

Picky eating is a tricky thing.  I am not talking about the pick and eat, but rather a very limited menu.

Everything the Boy likes falls into these categories: Hamburger, Hot Dog, Chicken Nuggets.  It was until recently, within the last year, that he at least started trying and eating a piece of pizza now and then.  What seven year old doesn't like pizza?  And don't get me started on Cake, for awhile he would go to parties and I would have to eat his pizza and cake.

The Girl on the other hand is picky in two ways, either she wants what is on my plate (literally) or she is like Sally ("When Harry Met Sally") and wants it a certain way, which is usually not possible with the limited kitchen resources.  I really think I need a stocked kitchen like Kitchen Stadium of Iron Chef.

I try to get the Boy to try stuff.  It takes coaxing but he usually will take a small bite, make a face, tell me he likes it and never touch it again.

The Girl is a little more delicate, she won't try anything unless it is on my plate.  Then when she decides on something, as soon as it is in front of her she has changed her mind, even when she specific requests something.  It seems she is all knowing, because if there is something I really like and necessarily don't fell like sharing she knows it.  She will not only want it and try it, she will eat as much of it as she can.

The question is do you tell her something is what she likes if you think she may not like it or throw a fit.  Just today I had to decide if it was truth time over a different kind of bread. The kids love ciabatta, but I made her ham and cheese sandwich with turkey (she says "ham" could be anything from ham to bologna to turkey to etc.) on sourdough.  When she asked what kind of bread I had to make a split second decision, I said "sourdough" and she has kept eating without skipping a beat.  This time I dodged a bullet but most times, I am not so lucky.

Is it September already?

Summer seemed fast.  School started two and a half weeks ago, cross country is in full swing and the first fundraiser of the year.

School for both kids has started relatively well.  There is an adjustment period and third grade homework for the Boy some days is proving to be challenging but we are getting through.  The Girl is  loving being in preschool all day, she even rushed us out the door on Friday to get to school as soon as possible.

My AGW had a great idea for this fall, watch some college football.  The Boy is starting to pay more attention to it so maybe we can actually enjoy some junk food and watch some good games.  This is an exciting prospect to me since last year I got to attend the Game in the Big House.

This three day weekend is perfectly timed to get caught up on sleep and should help the daily routine as it gives a moment to breathe.  All too soon we will be into the holiday season and I will wonder what happened to the past couple of months.

Back to School

I have been away.  Well not away but away from my blog.  School started recently and is kicking my butt.  The Girl is not helping either.

The last few mornings:
Sunday - wakes up about 6:15 am, I get to her door before her and ask her to go to bed, she throws herself on the floor, so I lay down int he doorway and go to sleep.  No way she is leaving that room before 7:00 am.

Monday - Go to get her up at 6:30 to eat and get ready for school, she is literally glued to the bed.  Takes a good 20 minutes to get her out of bed.

Tuesday - Is up about 6:15 am.  Actually ended up a fairly decently school morning.

Today - Up at 5:55 am, eats a big breakfast and is good all morning until 5 minutes before leaving for school, totally melts down about getting dressed.  Try to calm her, well I mean wrestle her clothes on then she wants a different shirt and goes upstairs with my AGW and has all her clothes off.  Eventually gets clothes on, is sad all the way to school, I have to carry her in.  I am worried she is going to be a wreck.  I see her in the library listening to a story and she smiles and waves. UGH, little girls!

I should be sleeping preparing for what Thursday morning brings but I wanted to share a little slice of what makes me crazy.  Fortunately for my 8 am class, I had coffee and a moment to breathe and de-stress so I could do my best in school.

Need a Break from Summer Break

Kids are amazing.  They have energy that seems endless.  They only go to bed because we make them. Plus the things they do are awesome, scary, exciting and just plain weird.  This isn't over and I am already tired.

People say that it must be nice to have a break from school, yes and no.  Yes because school is exhausting but fun all at the same time.  No because even though I get a break, I have to keep two of my favorite kids happy and try to do fun stuff with them all the time.

We dug for fossils one afternoon.  The Boy went to baseball camp with the local minor league team.  The Girl started ballet class.  Both kids are in swimming classes. There is vacation, which as I have learned is beach playtime for the kids but work for the parents (love it either way). The Boy ran in some track meets for the first time ever and the tall little seven year old jumped 8' 7" in the long jump.  The Girl went to Ballet Camp, which is where I need to go on a tangent:

Ballet Camp for the Girl was awesome. Me - not so much.  The very first day I dropped her off, I felt like I was on an episode of "Toddlers 'n Tiaras."  The moms were mostly blonde chesty women (I am trying to be polite) and their daughters seemed a little like their very own dolls.  The morning that one girls had eyeliner, eye shadow and glitter on was it for me.  I was very proud of the Girl, she listened well, and learned quite a lot.  The final performance she did an awesome job and this Dad sat a little taller than all the Moms.

The Boy is now in art camp.  I know he is very creative but some of the stuff he does being only seven is very impressive to me.

All this in addition to all the fun nights out with my AGW.  This summer has been fantastic, but I will need to take a little time off of school to recover.

A Day at the Beach

A day at the beach with the kids is always a good time. Beyond enjoying the sun, sand and surf we also have constant instructions for the kids: Don't throw sand. Don't touch your sister. Don't touch your brother. Play in front of our blanket. Watch out for other people! Watch out for other people! No matter what the kids ignore everyone and think they own the whole beach. One new activity included burying our beach toys. One problem is they forget where they put them. We only lost one Splash Bomb so not to bad. We as a family had a great time. The AGW and I have the beach trips down pretty well. We pack lunch, drinks, snacks, treats, beach chairs, towels, beach blanket, canopy, beach toys and some spare sanity. But it is all worth to watch the Boy long jump on the beach, dig holes, jump over waves, play baseball in the water with me, run around like a mad kid; and watch the girl build sand castles, then destroy them, destroy my sand castle with a grin, play in the water and keep walking further out into the water with no fear (actually scares the crap out of me). Would I do it all again next weekend? Absolutely!

The Sponge

The Boy is a sponge.  He remembers what seems to be everything, except picking up his Legos.  He can hear or see something one time and he will remember.  He may not remember the next day (he probably does) but he will pull things out of the air and remind us of something we said or something that happened.  To me his recall is amazing.

This morning he slept in, granted sleeping in at our house is usually 7:00 am, he slept to a little after 8:00 am.  I had mentioned to him that he slept in past 8:00 am and that it was awesome, he asked, "Do I get a prize?"  I responded, "A prize?!" He informed me that I had said, "If anyone sleeps until 8:00 am they will get a prize."

I more than likely said this as I bribe the kids from time to time.  Although I don't remember saying it and it was probably last summer or before, he remembers and was prompt to remind me.  I think a prize is in order, now if I could the 6:30 am Girl to follow that same philosophy it would be pretty awesome.

The Unofficial Start to Summer

We kicked off the unofficial start to summer pretty well.  We attended our traditional Memorial Day parade and followed up with some time with some friends and food.  

The pool was ready but was still pretty cool but not cold enough to deter the chattering teeth of the Boy, the Girl and their Friend.  The Girl learned she can touch the bottom which is nice so we don't have to carry her everywhere.  Hopefully soon they will both get the hang of swimming so they can enjoy the pool even more.  Although with the kids getting bigger it makes the 14' wide pool seem even smaller.  Maybe next year I can start my third slightly larger crop circle in the yard.  

This year was grilled flatbread with sauteed onions, grilled chicken and feta cheese.  Our friends brought some ice cream, strawberries and "Yummy" Sanders chocolate sauce for sundaes.  It was a good start to what could be the yummiest summer yet as long as I can get the kids out of the pool long enough to make something to eat.

Almost Summer

School is winding down for all three of us.  The Boy is very excited to not have school.  The Girl is only excited because big brother is excited.  I am 50/50.

The Boy likes school but he is growing up and being a boy.  He would rather play all day and not be in school. Plus he has done well and needs a break or my AGW and I fear he will be way too smart for us.

The Girl loves school.  I mean who wouldn't like preschool with a mini kitchen, different centers every couple of weeks, lots of kids your age, snacks, playground, etc.   I afraid in a week of no school she will be kick me in the shin and say "TAKE ME TO SCHOOL!"

I am happy that my first year will be complete, although there is the thought that now my two lovable children will team up to see how long until the last bit of hair falls off my head.  I am looking forward to having a break from school as it is a very time intensive job, even for a PE teacher.  I only wish my AGW could have a summer break as well so at least we could share the insanity of our 7 and 4 year old.  

The Crooked Finger

When the Boy was born he had a crooked pinkie finger.  We had asked the doctor about it but it was no big concern and not much worth doing about it.  It is kinds of in the shape of a "C" but not quite that crooked.

So for the past 7 1/2+ years he has this crooked pinkie and  today during dinner he turns to me and says, "Dad, why is my finger crooked?"  I explained to him that it has always been that way since he was born.

He followed up with his smile, "So it is something special, like everyone has something special."

The full brunt of "3"

The Girl this morning has decided to give all her best as she nears her fourth birthday.  She had an all out tantrum about everything this morning.

First she didn't want breakfast, then when the Boy wanted his she wanted hers.  She didn't eat it.

Then my AGW had to go get ready for work and she wanted none of that, so my AGW laid on the couch with her for a bit longer.  Then the Girl still wouldn't let her get up so she went with her.

She was then supposed to change clothes for school.  This became a wrestling match between her, my AGW and me.  The Girl dominated the match and wore her pajamas with pants to school today.

Then it was time for shoes and socks.  You might as well have taken favorite doll away as she was done with me in any way shape or form.

She still had not eaten her fruit loops and was mad that I put them in a bag to take in the car and to school.  Whether she ever ate them we will never know.

Thankfully my AGW didn't have to be in early so she took her to school this morning.

When I picked her up she seemed to have forgotten the proceedings this morning and was happy as could be to see me.  Although she claims she wants to drive now and she asked me all the way home to drive the car.

Copying

I have a new least liked thing at the top of my list (well there are two but one has been there a while).  Copying, Mimicking, etc.  The kids do it too each other, neither can stand it when it happens to them but think it is fun to do to each other.

I believe this activity was actually started by the Girl as she wants to be just like her big brother.  The Boy is a sensitive type that doesn't like to bothered but doesn't mind one bit bothering someone else. It is an activity that grows old very quick as one child or the other can say copy one word and it becomes a crying mess.

They have yet to copy us, but if they do I will move to cleaning their stuff or maybe even throwing it away.

The Little Barkeep

I have found I have a little barkeep in my house.  The Boy enjoys stocking my mini fridge with pop we purchase.  This is a awesome due to the fact that we don't always get the pop into the fridge. He was even a little upset that he didn't see the Sierra Mist until after he fully loaded up the fridge.

The other great thing is when we want something to drink he is more than happy to run downstairs to bring it to us. Now if I can just teach him to make a martini.

The Master Manipulator

The Girl is quite the manipulator these days.  We have a great group of babysitters but now two of them have been fooled by the Girl.

The Girl has a nightlight in her room.  The first instance of tricking the babysitter she told her that she was afraid of the dark and had to leave a light on.  Not knowing the babysitter left her table lamp on which is pretty bright.  We had a good laugh about this one, because I don't know if I could sleep with that kind of light in my room.

Just recently another babysitter fell victim to the Girl which could have been disastrous.  She convinced the babysitter to move her nightlight which is conveniently placed behind her dresser.  The disaster part could have been that if the light bulb would have blown, it would have been a long night.

I will have to start inquiring more to see what else she gets the babysitters to do.

Unicycle

After some practice before riding the unicycle in classes, I did in my opinion very well for the little practice I had.  My best ride was over 20 feet.  I was doing great and got a little excited and promptly fell off the unicycle.

The kids loved it and got many compliments from parents.  I love working with the kids and I would do many things for them.  About mid-week I noticed that my inner thighs were very sore.  I had two bruises that were about the size of baseballs on each thigh.  In the end though I learned to ride a unicycle with limited practice and it was a fun experience for all.

The circus theme continued later in the week as we were juggling scarves to learn how to juggle.  I started to figure out how to juggle balls which I am excited about.  I need to practice more but soon I know I will have a circus career to fall back on, at least if I can get over the claustrophobia of being stuffed in a tiny car with 39 other clowns.

Cookie Habit

Ahhhh.. Late Winter, always one thing to look forward to "Girl Scout Cookies!"  With my new job in a school and the number of girl scouts in school I expected to be eating a large amount of cookies.  Not the case, only three asked me and my intention was to buy one from every girl scout that asked.

The difficult part of all this is I am stress eater, when I am stressed I like indulge in different junk foods and Girl Scout Cookies are number one on that list because they are not readily available all year round.  Except for today with all going on in my world I have been devouring a box of Tagalongs a day. So you figure three days and I am done, well fortunate the girl scouts sell longer than just cookie order time (they must get us hooked) and one scout is benefit from my stress.

The question is do the Girl Scouts have a code of ethics that relate to the stress eater in me?  Do they realize their delicious little cookies are a serious addiction?  IF word gets out about my cookie habit I feel that next year in school I will have at least one box of cookies for every day of the year.

Navy Blue Uniform Pants

I have one item impossible to get these days - Navy Blue Uniform pants in a size 8.  I had purchased 6 pairs from Old Navy in August for $9 each, four of those six have holes in the knees now.  I believe this was a good investment as pants for 6+ months for school cost me a mere $54 dollars.

Now I am trying to get a few replacements but they are impossible to find, this week I have been to Target, JCPennys, Macy's, Dillards, Sears (Lands End as well but at $30 a pop, no way), Kohls, Old Navy, and various browsing on the web.  Apparently there is a shortage of Size 8 everywhere.

Sometimes I don't understand how/why stores have a million of sizes that no one needs but can't reorder more sizes of the ones that are always sold out.

The other place which I don't go unless I have to is Schoolbelles.  Nothing against them except their prices.  Their value brand is fine for me but there is no adjustable waist and when you have a 4' 4" seven year old who weighs in the neighborhood of 55 lbs. you need adjustable waist or a large amount of duct tape.  Their regular pants would be great but due to their 180 day guarantee they are about $26 dollars a pair.  So if bought 5 pairs it would coast me $130 where as my 6 pairs plus a few replacements are much less (granted if I can find them) and the fact that at this point I refuse to pay $26 for a pair of pants for a growing 7 year old when I have a hard time paying that for my own pants.

Getting Stamps

For the Boy in school good behavior earns you a stamp on your chart. If you have to write your name down you still get a stamp, but if you get a check you don't get a stamp.  I have a prize system setup so that if he gets 4 out of 5 stamps in a week he gets a prize, usually a Lego Minifigure.  If he gets 5 out of 5 stamps but having to write his name down any one day he gets a bigger prize, and for 5 out of 5 with no name I have a bigger prize.  Needs to say I have only given one or two of the middle prize range and a bunch of minifigures.

Most of the issue is the Boy is outgoing, likes to talk and when he likes something he doesn't listen well.  Granted the kid sounds like a handful but he is doing very well in school so there is not too much complaining.  I just want him to follow the rules and listen to his teachers.  Plus I really like to give prizes.

Today was a little different as he didn't get a stamp, but as opposed to pulling it out of him (he is very honest but doesn't like to talk about it) he told me right away and was disappointed. So maybe progress is being made, but then again it is Wednesday.  Wednesdays are the toughest day for him for some reason.  Get a stamp on Wednesday is very rare.  If I charted all the days of no stamps Wednesday would win by far.  Even in this shortened week Wednesday was still no stamp.  So the question is why is Wednesday so difficult?  Is it that it doesn't sound like it is spelled?    

The Unicycle

Our school has "Right to Read Week" coming up and the theme this year is the Circus.  The Librarian asked me a simple question, "Do you have or know how to ride a unicycle?"

Unfortunately I do not own my own unicycle, but through some question asking I know have two borrowed unicycles and a week to learn to ride.  One friend questioned my intentions that this was for school, but this is indeed for school.

I am excited at learning how to ride a unicycle, as it is one of those things I can put on the resume.  I am sure there will be pictures and I will update how it all goes down (hopefully not me on the pavement) later next week.  Plus I have added guy incentive, one of the unicycle owners said, "I don't think he will be able to do it." I am just thinking that the person was being a motivator because anytime you tell a guy he can't, won't, unable to do something it only means "Yes I CAN!"

Growing Overnight

The kids spent the night at the grandparents house recently.  It had barely been 24 hours from when I dropped them off to picking them up.  I walk in and see the Boy and the only thing I could think of is, "Did you get taller?"

When my AGW got home from work she said the same thing.  So I had him stand against the wall, marked his height, and got the tape measure to see how tall he was.  Not quite 7 1/2 years old and the kid is a little over 4' 4" tall.

Granted all his school pants look like capris at this point, but i figured part of that was them shrinking in the wash until I had put the new pair on him.  The new pair (which was bought as a backup for when the holes in the knees started) was still too short, not as short as the older worn pants but above the ankle.  So now I need to find pants that have a size 6 waist with a size 8 leg length.  I realize there is adjustable waist but you can only pull that elastic so far until it breaks.

It is 6:20am on a Sunday!

It is 6:20am on a Sunday and both kids are awake. Why? I wish I knew. Any day during the school week it can be difficult at best to get the kids up and ready for school. So far this morning I have been asked to play several times, refereed one dispute and watched one not to exciting episode of Jake and the Neverland Pirates. I can almost guarantee that Monday morning the Boy will say he is tired and the Girl will need to be pulled out of bed doing the clingy whine and grab the entire morning. Well as I type this, it is time to settle another dispute.

Opposites

The kids are playing opposites quite often these days.  Saturday was Movie Night at home and the kids could not agree on any movie - the Boy would say yes to a movie and that would immediately elicit a "NO" response from the Girl and vice-versa.

Finally after a back and forth we were going to each pick a movie put it into a hat and draw one, although I think the process would have been lost on the Girl but it was something.  I then picked Despicable Me and suddenly there was agreement.  Granted I think that option was given with a positive and negative reaction which leads to me to the theory that the kids were either trying to make our heads explode or remind us why our two wonderful children were enough.

In other news around the house, the Boy is playing basketball.  He is having fun and plays good defense but doesn't realize he needs to get closer to the basket as he doesn't quite have the strength for the three pointers yet.  The Girl is very much into playing Mom or Teacher these days, I think it is mostly as she wants to be in charge - ahh, who am I kidding she is in charge.  My AGW and I are trying to paint and redecorate our bedroom which will be great, it is just the fact that I know doubly hate wall paper, both putting it up and taking it down.  There is a border that I put up and being like my Father I was going to be sure it stayed up there and now I am cussing it out trying to get it down.  

26 Jump Ropes

For some of my classes in PE at the school I teach you would have figured I would have been injured some other way.  We have golfed, played frisbee football, floor hockey, basketball, volleyball (even a student faculty game), scooter boats, etc.  We are doing jump roping for Jump for the Heart and the American Heart Association.  All day we have had music (disco if you are wondering) and different jump rope activities.  Besides being dizzy from one two many games of helicopter with the younger grades the day was going remarkably well until the class of 26 kids.  26 kids in a gym with jump ropes is a dangerous thing, not so much for the kids but for the teacher.

I love all the kids and this class is a great group of kids.  They all want to show me all the time how good they are at everything we try.  One thing they had trouble with today with their teacher (me) was spatial awareness.  They were all very proud and wanted to show me how good they were getting at jump roping.  One sweet little boy starting saying "Hey Coach, watch me!" and as I turned my head - WACK! right on the top.  After all we have done and tried in gym class I am surprised it has taken this long to have something happen.

Why Poke the Bear?

Granted I would never poke an actual bear but this is something I wonder of my children sometimes.  The bear in this instance would be each other.

When one of the kids is not happy about some tiny little unimportant issue, why must the other child poke the bear.  I mean the Girl can already be pissed at me for just trying to help her sustain life by offering her food and the Boy has to come up and get in her face, say something to her, or just be too close.  She will make it known that she doesn't want you to look at her or talk to her but the Boy insists on talking to her or looking at her.

When the Boy is playing with his Legos, or down in the basement playing with his trains, the girl must go and grab something from him or bug him to no end.  He gets mad and reacts and then she cries because she poked the bear and he didn't like it.

The issue is they don't learn anything other than the other gets mad, and then they get sent to timeout but that is no deterrent to them not doing the same thing two minutes later.  I wonder if they would learn if the poke a real live bear with a stick or something, knowing my luck the bear would play nicely with them increasing the madness of the situation.

Snow Days

Considering Monday is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day I was hoping for a snow day today as it would have made for a nice long weekend and a break from a little of the craziness.  Being a teacher has brought a new light to snow days from the strictly stay at home Dad days.  Then I hated snow days as it ruined my quiet time, plus it meant it was hard to go anywhere because the roads were bad enough to close school so it probably meant I shouldn't be driving the kids around.  Now I was hoping for one.

The day at school was good but I was still thinking of the snow day.  I had one thought, I would still have to be home with the kids (I love them dearly but not when we are stuck in the house).  Next came the question, "Would it be better to have the day off and be home with my kids beating the snot out of each other while I drown the noise in martinis or to be a school with the kids at school playing floor hockey?"

The answer becomes more clear as I sit here typing this watching my kids play and not listen when play gets a little out of hand.  Until they are a little older I think this question will be debated in my head and officially answered when I have a snow day before or after a weekend and run out of gin or vodka to make my martinis.

The Report Card

The Boy recently brought home his second quarter report card.  My AGW and I were very happy.  He is doing a fine job.  There has been one issue which has been noted a few times now with his conduct. The comment used is "Self Control".  I have a hard time with this as he is a 7 year old boy who skipped the 1st grade and is very friendly and social.

I believe the biggest issue is he likes to talk, or as a teacher I was talking to said "He is a Chatty Charlie!"  I laughed a little but it is true.  I try hard not to worry about it too much as he is kicking some 2nd grade butt in the classroom but I feel like the bad parent because I see the comment every time there is a report card or interim report thus far (4 so far this school year).  We talk about it and do our very best to work on it but he just keeps going on.  There is even a nice big prize if he gets five perfect conduct days in a row (getting a stamp without having to write his name down or put any checks by it each day).

Then after being a little non-nonchalant about it he got a discipline report for talking excessive even after multiple warnings.  I really don't think he cared until my AGW and I laid down the punishment.  Hopefully he has a better understanding of consequences when you don't follow the rules.

The Girl is talking more and more and has since started 5 day preschool.  This is a wonderful thing as Tuesday and Thursday now I have a few hours to myself.  The first day it was strange not having her around but it only took about 1 minute and 17 seconds to start to enjoy the quiet time I was going to have.  She loves school and loves the extended day program on the days when I am teaching.  She is quite the pistol though as she is very strong willed and unless it is her idea forget about it.  I really believe her goal before she turns 5 is to see if she can make my head explode.