It's hard to believe my handsome little boy is now 11!! How did that happen? The years have just flown by, light speed really. My little Biel is now in 6th grade. He was soooo nervous to go to 6th grade (which is middle school) and in all honestly I felt as though I was sending my lamb to the wolves. However, with nearly 3.5 weeks into the school year already my little dude is loving 6th grade and has been heard stating on more than one occasion "I just love 6th grade, it makes me feel so responsible and professional". I am thrilled he is having a positive experience.
As is tradition in our home the boys get donuts and breakfast in bed on their birthdays. Up until this year I haven't had to be at school for 7:45am with 4 boys completely ready for the day in tow. So this year was a bit stressful. I drove up to Maceys at 6:15am to get some donuts...sadly they hadn't even cooked them yet. I called hubby at home and asked him to look up phone numbers of additional grocery stores that may have 6:15am donuts. I finally located one and rushed to fill my order.
Once home with the "loot" of donuts I rushed about to make a suitable "breakfast in bed" tray for my sweet 11 year old, while simultaneously chiming the other boys to "get ready right now!".
And then came the sad moment of the day... while we brought down the breakfast in bed tray to Biel I had to venture into the "downstairs" where the boys sleep and play. The disarray that assaulted my senses was unwelcomed and instantly launched me into a bad mood as I sang "happy birthday to you..." through a clenched jaw.
I tried to push it out of my mind but felt so taken for granted and sad that my boys would show such little respect for the laundry I folded for them or our home in general...I sort of forgot that they after all are "little boys". On the way to school I was bombarded with apologies and promises of change to which I replied "I don't want promises, I only want actions". I explained that they were to not participate in any electronics for the rest of the week (4 days) and that should be sufficient time for them to live, sleep and function in their rooms and prove to their parents that they can reside in our home and still be responsible.
I feel badly that I was not able to overcome this "bleep in the radar" and could have potentially ruined my sweet boy's birthday. I made up for it by decorating his locker at school for which he was completely excited and became very popular for the day.
Our little Biel also joined the cross country running team the week of his birthday. He is a whole head shorter than many of the 7th and 8th graders but notwithstanding that he amazed me with his 15min 44sec 2 mile run beating all the 7th and 8th graders. Who new someone so speedy could come from a body with slow and stumpy legs like mine? I guess miracles do exist, now maybe if we could only experience a miracle for keeping the downstairs perpetually clean.
August 31, 2011
August 25, 2011
Thanks for sharing....
This has been my first full week of classes with my new students. So far I have met with nearly 21 different classes...that's roughly 400 students! We have been going over classroom expectations and playing ice breaker art games and some classes even had time to do some drawing. My older grades have been making and "personalizing" their sketchbooks.
Yesterday I had a first grade class come in with a new student that started off yelling "Hi Art Teacher, when are we doing sculpture?", I replied that we will be doing it later in the year. He continued to interrupt throughout the entire period about 20 times asking "but how are sculptures made?", "when are we making sculptures?", "I want to make a sculpture!", "You haven't told us yet about our sculptures!", "When are you going to let us start on our sculptures!", "Your not paying attention to me I'm asking you about sculptures!!", etc. At first I thought 'ok this student is new and just needs to learn how to raise his hand and take his turn'. After about 10 minutes I thought 'maybe there is something up with this little guy and I need to handle it differently than I normally would'. After about 20 minutes I thought 'OK there is definitely something going on here and where is his IEP??" My energy was draining FAST and the class was starting to get restless cause I kept having to stop and direct my energy towards our new student.
After class their teacher came to pick up the class and walk them back. I gave her the "mayday mayday crashing and burning look" with my eyes. She told me that he was a new student that just got in on the lottery and this was his first day (school started a week ago), that they haven't received his IEP yet but that his parents have indicated that he is quick to anger, shouts out uncontrollably in class, has high functioning asperghers/autism and some ADD. She said "I probably should have given you a heads up."...in my mind I'm thinking "yeah that would have been helpful" but I just smiled (she is an amazing teacher and a dear friend) and just pretended like I had it under control. (fake it til' ya make it!) Well, if nothing else it has brought yet another weakness to the surface that I need to make a strength so I can help this little guy have a great year as well as the class and so I can maintain what semblance of sanity I have remaining.
Today in class I was teaching another 1st grade class. I was explaining to them that we need to sit with "all four stool legs firmly on the floor". I mentioned to them that we need to be safe and we might fall off the stools and hit our head and we just don't want to have any stitches. That was obviously the wrong thing to say as 7 hands shot up in the air to share their "stitches stories". One little boy blurted out as I tried to get back on track "My brother got stitches in his butt crack!"...."Oh my!" I replied. Well, thanks for sharing.....
Yesterday I had a first grade class come in with a new student that started off yelling "Hi Art Teacher, when are we doing sculpture?", I replied that we will be doing it later in the year. He continued to interrupt throughout the entire period about 20 times asking "but how are sculptures made?", "when are we making sculptures?", "I want to make a sculpture!", "You haven't told us yet about our sculptures!", "When are you going to let us start on our sculptures!", "Your not paying attention to me I'm asking you about sculptures!!", etc. At first I thought 'ok this student is new and just needs to learn how to raise his hand and take his turn'. After about 10 minutes I thought 'maybe there is something up with this little guy and I need to handle it differently than I normally would'. After about 20 minutes I thought 'OK there is definitely something going on here and where is his IEP??" My energy was draining FAST and the class was starting to get restless cause I kept having to stop and direct my energy towards our new student.
After class their teacher came to pick up the class and walk them back. I gave her the "mayday mayday crashing and burning look" with my eyes. She told me that he was a new student that just got in on the lottery and this was his first day (school started a week ago), that they haven't received his IEP yet but that his parents have indicated that he is quick to anger, shouts out uncontrollably in class, has high functioning asperghers/autism and some ADD. She said "I probably should have given you a heads up."...in my mind I'm thinking "yeah that would have been helpful" but I just smiled (she is an amazing teacher and a dear friend) and just pretended like I had it under control. (fake it til' ya make it!) Well, if nothing else it has brought yet another weakness to the surface that I need to make a strength so I can help this little guy have a great year as well as the class and so I can maintain what semblance of sanity I have remaining.
Today in class I was teaching another 1st grade class. I was explaining to them that we need to sit with "all four stool legs firmly on the floor". I mentioned to them that we need to be safe and we might fall off the stools and hit our head and we just don't want to have any stitches. That was obviously the wrong thing to say as 7 hands shot up in the air to share their "stitches stories". One little boy blurted out as I tried to get back on track "My brother got stitches in his butt crack!"...."Oh my!" I replied. Well, thanks for sharing.....
August 23, 2011
Dear oh deer...
I managed by some small miracle to drag my behind out of bed this morning at 4:45 after a few short hours of sleep...ok 5.5 hours to be exact. I met my friend and we went for a 4 mile run before work, kids, school took over our attention. As we neared the end of our run I said goodbye to my friend and she headed towards her house, I changed course to head towards mine. Five minutes down the road I saw a couple of figures, what looked like dogs. I suddenly became very worried because they were not behind a fence and there were no owners around...and I have had dogs chase me when I run, not pleasant. As I approached I quickly realized that they were not dogs at all but rather deer! I have never seen deer in our city and really do consider ourselves to live in the "city". I was pleasantly surprised and not sure how to handle the situation. Growing up in Canada we have "beware of deer" and "beware of moose" signs along many major highways and roads. I know of the damage they can do to cars for example but what about humans? These deer were only 2 feet away from me, it was quite a treat.
OHHHH DEAR!... This weekend I am going to Oregon to run in a 195 mile relay race. Our team theme is "running time machine" and we are supposed to dress up in 80's retro fashion. I ordered a pair of hot pink leopard printed biking shorts online. Only when I got them they were not as long as biking shorts but more like hot pants! Eeek! I asked Hubby if I could get away with wearing them to which he replied "I think so especially if you wear a long-ish shirt". Hmmmm....that didn't leave me feeling too confident. I must say that on my relay team I am the 2nd oldest and am older than most of my teammates by over a decade! Not to mention that my teammates don't have kids let alone four! Something special happens to your body as you age and particularly after you have kids. Let's just say that everything tends to migrate south! I decided that I should take a run (in the dark of course, don't want to scare people) before my relay to see if the hot pink leopard print hot pants had any redeeming qualities. I put them on this morning and as I bent down to tie my shoes I distinctly heard my inner voice scream at me "OHHHH DEAR, YOU JUST CAN'T PULL THOSE OFF". So off they came and me and my bruised ego donned a fluorescent yellow pair instead. And am I the only one that constantly has one side of my shorts that rides up or do I have one butt cheek bigger than the other? Guess I should have Hubby answer that question for me after I've healed from the last diplomatic zinger.
Oh dear!...yesterday S-dog was upstairs and I called him downstairs so that Biel could concentrate on his homework (S-dog was distracting him). S-dog thought I wanted him to come downstairs and do homework so he called back "Mom I already done my homework" in an exasperated tone (as if 3 year olds even have homework!). I told him that I simply needed him to come downstairs...he replied "Alright! Silly dummy!..." and started stomping down the stairs. I was so shocked to be spoken to in this fashion I literally gasped. Hubby heard my gasp and said "was he talking to you?", I affirmed his fear and Hubby flew up the stairs to reprimand and rebuke. Less than 5 minutes later I had a tear stained little S-dog at my side apologizing amidst sobs of regret and demanding validating hugs. I am grateful for a husband that defends me and teaches our boys how to honor their mother...but they are definitely still in training!
OHHHH DEAR!... This weekend I am going to Oregon to run in a 195 mile relay race. Our team theme is "running time machine" and we are supposed to dress up in 80's retro fashion. I ordered a pair of hot pink leopard printed biking shorts online. Only when I got them they were not as long as biking shorts but more like hot pants! Eeek! I asked Hubby if I could get away with wearing them to which he replied "I think so especially if you wear a long-ish shirt". Hmmmm....that didn't leave me feeling too confident. I must say that on my relay team I am the 2nd oldest and am older than most of my teammates by over a decade! Not to mention that my teammates don't have kids let alone four! Something special happens to your body as you age and particularly after you have kids. Let's just say that everything tends to migrate south! I decided that I should take a run (in the dark of course, don't want to scare people) before my relay to see if the hot pink leopard print hot pants had any redeeming qualities. I put them on this morning and as I bent down to tie my shoes I distinctly heard my inner voice scream at me "OHHHH DEAR, YOU JUST CAN'T PULL THOSE OFF". So off they came and me and my bruised ego donned a fluorescent yellow pair instead. And am I the only one that constantly has one side of my shorts that rides up or do I have one butt cheek bigger than the other? Guess I should have Hubby answer that question for me after I've healed from the last diplomatic zinger.
Oh dear!...yesterday S-dog was upstairs and I called him downstairs so that Biel could concentrate on his homework (S-dog was distracting him). S-dog thought I wanted him to come downstairs and do homework so he called back "Mom I already done my homework" in an exasperated tone (as if 3 year olds even have homework!). I told him that I simply needed him to come downstairs...he replied "Alright! Silly dummy!..." and started stomping down the stairs. I was so shocked to be spoken to in this fashion I literally gasped. Hubby heard my gasp and said "was he talking to you?", I affirmed his fear and Hubby flew up the stairs to reprimand and rebuke. Less than 5 minutes later I had a tear stained little S-dog at my side apologizing amidst sobs of regret and demanding validating hugs. I am grateful for a husband that defends me and teaches our boys how to honor their mother...but they are definitely still in training!
August 21, 2011
How to raise a fruit ninja
While I was making lunch this afternoon Seichi came upstairs wearing baby legwarmers on his feet and arms and saying that they were "ninja clothing that helped him with his ninja moves". He was followed closely behind by 3 year old S-dog with a blue fuzzy bathrobe with different vehicles on it (a gift given to his oldest brother by Grandmum), also adorned with black opaque goggles and some wicked ninja moves. They were moving all over the kitchen assuming a variety of well executed stances and facial expressions as if they had been in training for months at the very least.
At lunch hubby kept encouraging S-dog to eat more than just grapes to which S-dog replied with the most grown up mature expression he could muster: "but Daddy that's what ninjas eat. That's what they like is grapes and watermelon". A few minutes later he exclaimed "I'm going to sing you all a song so you can 'rock out'....Ninja's eat grapes and ninjas eat quesadillas, ninjas drink water and watermelon too and they don't take naps they just practice their sumo and karate moves".
Daddy gave a stellar performance trying desperately to maintain his composure and keep from bursting out into laughter as he said "S-dog there will be no more fruit for this little ninja until your quesadilla is finished". Well...the voice of reason has spoken, what more is there to say?
At lunch hubby kept encouraging S-dog to eat more than just grapes to which S-dog replied with the most grown up mature expression he could muster: "but Daddy that's what ninjas eat. That's what they like is grapes and watermelon". A few minutes later he exclaimed "I'm going to sing you all a song so you can 'rock out'....Ninja's eat grapes and ninjas eat quesadillas, ninjas drink water and watermelon too and they don't take naps they just practice their sumo and karate moves".
Daddy gave a stellar performance trying desperately to maintain his composure and keep from bursting out into laughter as he said "S-dog there will be no more fruit for this little ninja until your quesadilla is finished". Well...the voice of reason has spoken, what more is there to say?
August 20, 2011
Clean Fun!
Well, yesterday marked the end of swim team season. The boys will continue to swim throughout the year but the swim team meets are only in the summer. Biel and G-man are on the swim team...even at that G-man is the youngest and smallest on his team. Generally you can't be on the swim team until you are 9 but they made an exception for him last year allowing him on the team at 7.
Seichi and S-dog took swimming lessons all year as well and throughout this summer. Seichi is DYING to be on the swim team too with his older brothers and experiencing quite a bit of frustration in having to wait so long :)
The older boys were so nervous for their first meet. Biel spewed off a whole litany of worries to me that morning at breakfast...."what if I do horribly and my team gets upset with me?", "what if my goggles fall off when I dive in?", "what if I swallow a whole bunch of water and can't finish my heat?", "what if, what if, what if...."
I tried my best to dispel the myths and put his mind at ease but I realized since I was never competitive in swimming I really don't know exactly what advice to give. I thought that perhaps redirecting them to handsome hubby might do the trick. So I said "I can understand that your nervous, that is normal for your first meet especially...why don't you go talk to Daddy about all your "what ifs" and see if he has some advice. Daddy swam competitively for years and I bet he has some great advice for you." Well I wasn't wrong. Daddy's response? "Boys just swim your hardest and stretch out those arms and let everything else happen if they happen. Just do your best, don't worry about anything else." Somehow that advice worked and the boys were able to calm down quite a bit.
Enough to get 2 first place, 2 second place and 1 third place in their heats. It was so fun to watch them "try their best". Here is a little video of Biel taking first in 50M back stroke.
After the meet the boys were so overjoyed and on top of the world excited with their ribbons and their overall experience. And the best part? They come home exhausted and CLEAN! Gotta love that!
Seichi and S-dog took swimming lessons all year as well and throughout this summer. Seichi is DYING to be on the swim team too with his older brothers and experiencing quite a bit of frustration in having to wait so long :)
The older boys were so nervous for their first meet. Biel spewed off a whole litany of worries to me that morning at breakfast...."what if I do horribly and my team gets upset with me?", "what if my goggles fall off when I dive in?", "what if I swallow a whole bunch of water and can't finish my heat?", "what if, what if, what if...."
I tried my best to dispel the myths and put his mind at ease but I realized since I was never competitive in swimming I really don't know exactly what advice to give. I thought that perhaps redirecting them to handsome hubby might do the trick. So I said "I can understand that your nervous, that is normal for your first meet especially...why don't you go talk to Daddy about all your "what ifs" and see if he has some advice. Daddy swam competitively for years and I bet he has some great advice for you." Well I wasn't wrong. Daddy's response? "Boys just swim your hardest and stretch out those arms and let everything else happen if they happen. Just do your best, don't worry about anything else." Somehow that advice worked and the boys were able to calm down quite a bit.
Enough to get 2 first place, 2 second place and 1 third place in their heats. It was so fun to watch them "try their best". Here is a little video of Biel taking first in 50M back stroke.
August 18, 2011
Joy In The Journey!
I just started a new job last week...teaching art full time! It's been a new adventure filled with lots of things to look forward to but also it has been a venue through which all my weaknesses, inabilities and inadequacies have come bubbling to the surface.
Along with the inevitable stresses and difficulties that a new job presents has been a hightened ability to see the sweet moments where they occurr. I don't remember seeing as many along the way of my 11 years of parenting or the 12 years of marriage that I have successfully navigated (so far) but nevertheless I am grateful to see them more frequently now.
For family home evening night last week we took a very belated (and promised) trip to our local 7-11 for Slurpees. To be able to walk hand in hand with my hubby while our four boys walked ahead of us also hand in hand and broken into groups of two warmed my heart. On the way home S-dog couldn't finish his Slurpee and offered it to his brothers and they took turns gladly "helping" him finish it...not very hygienic but nevertheless sweet.
At dinner the other night, gathered together and hearing the boys chatter away about their days activities and how much fun they had at the park and the latest Lego creation and the newest powers that they've discovered about their Pokemon just made me so grateful for 4 little dudes. All 4 have very different personalitiea but still thoroughly enjoy each others companionship. How lucky I am to have 4 very healthy little boys...sure we have a major deficiency of pink around our house but notwithstanding this...I am a lucky Mommy and so blessed to be working at their school and see them/hug them throughout the day. I'm thankful that my heart took the time to "take some pictures" this week and hopefully in the process the joy in the journey can balance out the stresses and worries.
Along with the inevitable stresses and difficulties that a new job presents has been a hightened ability to see the sweet moments where they occurr. I don't remember seeing as many along the way of my 11 years of parenting or the 12 years of marriage that I have successfully navigated (so far) but nevertheless I am grateful to see them more frequently now.
For family home evening night last week we took a very belated (and promised) trip to our local 7-11 for Slurpees. To be able to walk hand in hand with my hubby while our four boys walked ahead of us also hand in hand and broken into groups of two warmed my heart. On the way home S-dog couldn't finish his Slurpee and offered it to his brothers and they took turns gladly "helping" him finish it...not very hygienic but nevertheless sweet.
At dinner the other night, gathered together and hearing the boys chatter away about their days activities and how much fun they had at the park and the latest Lego creation and the newest powers that they've discovered about their Pokemon just made me so grateful for 4 little dudes. All 4 have very different personalitiea but still thoroughly enjoy each others companionship. How lucky I am to have 4 very healthy little boys...sure we have a major deficiency of pink around our house but notwithstanding this...I am a lucky Mommy and so blessed to be working at their school and see them/hug them throughout the day. I'm thankful that my heart took the time to "take some pictures" this week and hopefully in the process the joy in the journey can balance out the stresses and worries.
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