Not (Dish)wash(er Safe)

We are a Lego family.  For Christmas, I was able to get 4 pounds of Legos at the IDEA Store, which was the beginning of our stock.  Add to that some special sets from family, friends, and Santa, and amazing vintage hand-me-downs (tug boat and helicopter!) from our good friend C, and we have a good starter collection.

I was excited to hear McD's was going to do a Lego Movie happy meal toy.  Unfortunately, it was not really something to get excited about - it was a themed cup.  Which was not even dishwasher safe.  Oy.

My usual opinion about dishware is that if it says not dishwasher safe, that I'm willing to take my chances, and if it does not come out usable from the top rack, it wasn't worth my energy or attention anyway.  But the children were really drawn to these Lego cups, so I committed to at least temporarily hand-washing them so that we could use them a few times before I put them to the dishwasher test.

I explained to the kids that the cups couldnt go in the dishwasher. 

C took this very literally.  It took us a few days to realize (and a couple times of M pulling a cup out of the drawer and exclaiming "this is dirty!"), that instead of putting the cup in the sink or on the counter to get hand washed, he was putting it back in the kids cup drawer and reusing it! Wouldn't have been too bothersome if it had just been water in the cup, but once it was chocolate milk!  Eww! 

Lesson learned from the 5 year old:
"cup can't go in the dishwasher" = "cup does not need to be washed"

ha!

~

Tights

It's been said by many that M has a particularly unique fashion sense.  And this day was no exception.  On this 20 degree morning, M picked out a short-sleeve black top with horizontal sliver glitter stripes paired with a flowing black knee length skirt.  Perfect for a summer night out!  She wanted to add knee length leggings under the skirt for provide some modesty in P.E. class.

Mom rarely raises an eyebrow about anything adorning M as she emerges from her room, but exposed skin on a below freezing day with a wait at the bus stop will not fly.  So, I suggested she wear tights rather than leggings. A reasonable compromise.

"I don't like tights.  I don't like wearing pants with socks attached to them!"

M for the win.

To appease her mother, she changed into pants.

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Dinner Conversation: The Bighouse

This evening's dinner conversation was beyond entertaining.

It all started with a sobering talking-to from Grandpa to M, warning of the downfall of credit card missed payments and the subsequent bankruptcy, court appearances, and possible hard time.  Never too early to discuss financial responsibility, Grandpa.

Overhearing the conversation, and specifically the word "jail," C jumped in.
C: "In jail, all you get is vegetables.  Tomatoes, the red ones.  And you have to eat all of them. And onions."
C; "I could get out of jail. That would be easy.  You sneak up onto the roof and you jump off"
C: "You gotta be sneaky.  You get a bunch of money and you throw it at the policemen - every one of them. Then you run out the door while they are picking it up."

If you'd like to have a lively discussion about prison-breaks, C is your go-to guy.  This segued into further conversation about prison escapees, which I've since learned have been fairly many!  Daddy also remembered a recent Chicago jail-break, involving a truly extraordinary story of descending 17 stories using bed sheets!

~

Beety St. Valentines Day!

To celebrate St. Valentines Day, we invited bestie A, J, and baby A over to make a special batch of pink and purple pancakes.  So special, in fact, that I was inspired to write a poem about the experience.

Beet Pancakes

Would you like a little pancake
made from flour and milk?
how about with veggies in it
pureed as smooth as silk?

Did you know this pancake
has beets to dye it pink?
Oh say, you don't believe me?
See the blender in the sink!

What better way to eat a pancake?
I'm like a magic pancake genie!
Can't wait to try more veggies
carrot, pumpkin, and zucchini!


What's even better than making beet pancakes and writing poetry about them?  Watching M eat the entire beet pancake and not realize until the last bite was stuffed in her cheeks that she just ate a vegetable - the horror!  The look on her face when she overheard the word beet.  Hilarious.  And Awesome.  And DELICIOUS.

~

My FurDog OldManBaby

Oh the cuteness!
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Family Meeting

*dun dun duuhhhhn*  Yes, that's the foreboding tone of an impending family meeting.

The agenda:

• Kindness. Our goal as parents is to raise the children into adjusted adults.  The most important thing in life is building relationships with others through kindness.
• Yelling. Getting in a yelling match with your mother (or your brother, or your sister, or your father), is not acceptable.  I refuse to partake in said yelling match.  If yelling ensues, I will leave the room for 5 minutes and will return to discuss the problem in a normal tone of voice.
• Respectful vs. disrespectful behaviors.  The children will brainstorm both types of behaviors and suggest proper forms of discipline for disrespectful behaviors.
• Chores. As part of this family, children are expected to contribute by performing their chores in a prompt and cheerful manner.  The children will name all of the chores they currently are capable of completing, thereby giving their mother a list of chores for our new Chore Ribbon.

This is actually the second family meeting we've organized and executed.  The first was to discuss and establish our bead jar reward system.  That's another post for another time. The bead jar has been successfully up and running for some time, but we needed a refresher course in kindness and respect.

This family meeting went over surprisingly well.  M especially enjoyed it, asking for more discussion, prompting Daddy to append two additional addenda to the agenda.

The comic relief came around the second bullet point:
Mom: "when you grow up and go to work, what do you think would happen if you got in a yelling match with your boss?"
M (with not a second of hesitation): "What if I am the boss?!"

~

Cuteness Overload

Just a couple of quick stories I want to remember from 5-year-old C.

C: Dad! Dad! You'll never guess what comes out tomorrow!  The Lego Movie!  IN ALL THE THEATERS - Every one! It doesn't matter which one you go to!"

Of course, we were compelled by his overt enthusiasm and took him to see it on opening weekend.


C: Mom, can we please get corn? The kind you put the pokey things in?
Several hours after our trip to the grocery store:
C: Mom, can you make the corn for me for dinner? Even if it's just for me!

Of course, I never say no to a child asking to eat his vegetables, so I made corn on the cob for the whole family!

~

Christmas 2013

I'm trying to make a tradition of getting the kids dressed in their Christmas best and doing one last photo shoot before the tree is put away for the season.  Here are the fruits of that effort.

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Never Too Old

The children have a routine of snuggling up in our bed to fall asleep at night.  Then, whenever Daddy is ready for some space in the bed, he relocates them to their own rooms.  An interesting conversation ensued yesterday evening.

Daddy: "I'm getting tired of carrying you down the stairs, Babe. You're getting too big."
M: "Well, I'm not tired of you carrying me down the stairs!"

A quick Google search will reveal several interesting insights, none of which this post is about:








 M's lesson this evening is about perspective.

As the Carrier, you bear an ever growing weight.  The load gets a bit heavier, a bit taller, a bit stronger each day. And let's face it - your back's not getting any younger.  The responsibility of raising a child is ever more challenging as she continues to mature.

But as the Carried - you're never too heavy, too big, too tall, or too strong. Never too old. You're never too old for your Daddy to carry you down the stairs one more night.  For him to hold you in his arms, carefully maneuvering you down the stairway, so as not to bonk you on the door frame or the railing.  To hold you tight against his chest, protecting you, laying you gently on your pillow and tucking the blankets snug around you.

How does one respond to such an honest, innocent, and wise disclosure?
Daddy's response: "I guess I gotta keep carrying you then!" Amen!

~

Cattail Snowstorm

Uncle M had some cattails as fall decorations.  The tails spontaneously combusted into an outpouring of seeds and fluff.  We decided to make a fun adventure of it: a cattail snowstorm!

How cool is this? The roots of the cattail are edible and there are all sorts of recipes for them!  I also learned more about the problematic nature of cattails as a weedy and invasive species.  Perhaps I'll have to go uproot all of the seeds we spread and cook them up into something yummy.

Also, check out this adorable and clever Cattail poem by Eric Ode. Perhaps you'll be inspired to go out and have a cattail snowstorm of your own.

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Family Portraits

Surprisingly, besides with our point-and-shoot, we've never had family portraits taken.  Hubby and I prefer to be behind the camera, with the cute kids in focus.  But a great opportunity came about, and we went for it! We are really pleased with the results.  Can't get enough of these adorable children! Now to order lots of prints and put them on every shelf, wall, and decoratable surface.

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Cussing Cultural Cartoon Characters

Similar to the way The Simpsons shaped our childhoods with curses such as  "Eat my shorts!" and "D'oh!", the Spongebob Squarepants generation has many an obscenity.

C stubs his toe and shouts "Barnacles!"

M loses a game and response with "Oh, tarter sauce!"

This cartoon even has the the blasphemous swearwords covered: "Neptune!" and "Holy guacamole!"

Spongebob, gotta love him, and all his expletives.

~

Green - Yellow - Red

As we approach an intersection the signal turns yellow.  My brakes squeak to a stop.

"Mommy!" C barks from the back seat, "The yellow light means GO FASTER!"

And if you ask him where he learned that little gem, he'll proudly shout out "DADDY!"  Ha!

And now for another silly traffic light joke:

What did the traffic light say to the car?
Don't look! I'm changing!

ba-dum-ching!

Speaking of the car.  Seems like this is all C ever does in the car any more.  Did you ever hear of looking out the window now and then?  Ever since we got the Kindle Fires for the car, its hard to get him to put it down.

And a pic of what M likes to do in the car (pass out):

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Hometown Heros

We had an amazing opportunity last month, along with M's Daisy Troop, to get an inside look at our local Fire Station One and to meet the real life superheros who work there.

We got to try on the firefighting apparel;  Got inside an engine, a ladder truck, and a medical emergency vehicle; Learned all about how they load the trucks and how all of the different tools are used.  The most interesting thing I learned was that there is a tool called a Halligan bar, which was invented by a fireman, and is the only tool that was specifically made for fire fighting. The pick can be driven into a wall, providing a foothold/step for a firefighter to stand on - as well as many other prying, twisting, punching, and striking uses.  All of the other axes, pry bars, tools and equipment are re-purposed for fighting fires and responding to any other variety of emergencies.

Firefighter M.

Fireman Jake, in full firefighting gear!  Apparently small children are often scared of firefighters in full gear, and are afraid to accept help during an emergency.  So, Jake dressed up in front of the kids so they could see he is just a regular guy, wearing extra fancy firefighting clothes.  It was really effective!  He breathed through the ventilator and C was quick to point out that he sounded like Darth Vader, which he thought was super cool.

Firefighter C!

The firemen also reviewed fire safety with the kids and gave them all firefighter hats and badges.  The men were so generous with their time.  You could tell not only that they enjoyed teaching children about the fire station, but they also loved their jobs.  I was impressed and humbled.

To end the trip with a bang, the station got an emergency call over the loud speaker just as we  wrapped up our visit.  The entire crew left in a hurry - every engine, ladder truck and medical vehicle, sirens blaring! Wow!  Talk about exiting in style!

~

Perfect is, as Perfect Does

Back in October 2012 M was administered a standardized test called the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test.    This test, a multiple choice test, is administered to 1st graders with little to no experience with standardized testing or with multiple-choice answer formats.  The test administrators are staff from the school, not their usual teacher, and the test is administered in the library, not their classroom.

A letter was sent home to parents in September letting us know of the impending testing.  We didn't think much of it, never said anything to M, and went about our merry way.  A follow-up letter was sent in December with the final test score. 50th percentile.  Ok, my daughter is perfectly average.  It's fine to be perfectly average.

Naive 1st grade parent I was.  I did not realize at the time that gifted/enrichment selection hinged solely on this score.  This test aims to determine which 2nd-5th grade students are eligible for gifted classes, or pull-out enrichment services in schools without designated gifted classrooms.  Without a score of over 80th percentile, my child would not receive a more enriching educational experience.  Whoa now - say what?!  My daughter is at an educational disadvantage because of a piece of paper?  Because of a test that was administered to her with no preparation, in an unfamiliar testing environment, with a novel testing format? 

I felt overwhelmed, misled, and uninformed.  How did I let this happen?  How could I have been so passive from the beginning?  Am I to blame for detrimenting my daughter's learning potential?  Bring on the mother bear.

I'm not usually a confrontational person.The idea of me tackling "the system" felt harrowing and insurmountable.  But who else is there to stand up for my daughter's education?   I think my daughter deserves more! I think my daughter is the best! After all, my daughter is perfect(ly average)! 

I decided it was best to face this problem head-on, rather than sitting on the side to watch it play out.  I began communicating with the principal, which led to emails with the Enrichment Coordinator and the Director of Curriculum for the school district.  My request was simple: please retest M.   Luckily, everyone was helpful, courteous, and happy to comply with this request.  Not only did staff provide me with a packet of information about the test they also included two examples for us to review with M prior to the retest, to familiarize her with the format as well as to reenforce the importance of her concentrating, rather than picking an answer in a whimsy way, a defensive behavior any 1st grade may use when faced with such an uncomfortably foreign test.

Fortunately, this story has a happy ending.  M was re-administered the test directly by the Enrichment Coordinator for the school.  And the results are in: 92nd percentile! M now receives enrichment services.  She is pulled from her classroom to be challenged with additional math and reading skills.  And she loves it.

Not only that, but I feel fully vindicated.  I feel justified, encouraged, and acknowledged.  I feel supported by the school and district staff who heeded to my request in a professional, sincere, and timely way.  I stood up for what I truly believed was best for my child.  I've had my first glimpse of what it is to truly be a parent.

~

The Meandering Maze

Back in the day, my godfather/the kids' Uncle M owned and operated a preschool for gifted children.  While Creative Discovery School hasn't been operational for over ten years, it is still all over a Google search!  One of the highlights of the year was the Summer Program, in which kids had a little less structure to their learning and whole lot more fun.  Each summer the kids would choose a main project, in which to invest their time and energy for the parent open house.  The themes changed, but a recurrent project was often the box maze in its varying appearances.  The last year the school was open, I student taught as a junior or senior in high school.  We made the biggest box maze of all time - you had to go down the stairs in a box-maze-slide to enter the maze that encompassed the entire lower level of the school!

Uncle M decided it'd be wise to teach M and C the ways and windings of the box maze. We started collecting and adding boxes over time, decorating, rearranging, taping them together.  It's been fun and nostalgic to teach the kids to use the box saw.  The smells of cardboard shavings and masking tape.  They've enjoyed coloring inside and outside - C made many a member of a lion family out of the cut-out scraps.  We've added strands of lights, windows, doors, and even a lookout tower.  We have over a dozen boxes now, taking up quite a large chunk in the basement.

When will it end, when will we stop?  I say not til there's a box-maze-slide down the basement stairs!

~

Enlightening

C: "Did God make robots?"

Yep.

~

Sick Day

Two weeks ago, M came down with a case of walking pneumonia.  You know a girl who loves school is really sick when she can't get out of bed!  She missed three days of school.  She was so concerned about her homework getting turned in by the deadline that she asked me to go to school to submit it to her teacher.  Sweet sweaty little thing! (the girl, not the teacher!)

And of course, since we teach our children to share, after a 10 day incubation period, she promptly passed her illness on to me.

I was sick as a dog with fever, chills, and a nasty cough.  As C was winding down for the evening, he heard coughing emitting from the sick, sad lump curled up under the sheets.  Without saying a word, he scurried to the bathroom, filled a glass full of water, and hurried to my bedside.  "Here mama, for your cough," C said.  That was the best medicine of all.  Whetted my sore throat and melted my heart.

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M has been working on reading stamina in 2nd grade.  They practice Read to Someone and also Read to Self.  They are challenged to increase their reading time on each attempt.  Read to Someone typically happens on the couch after dinner, with any variety of books on hand.  However, M is content with a single book for Read to Self, as she curls up in bed each night: Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein.  A gift from my good friend O, M reads this book with so much anticipation and concentration.  In fact, during a week that her teacher expected a stamina of 12 minutes, M read for over 20!

To honor this amazing poet, whose words enchant my daughter many a night, and whose poem consoles me during this bout of illness, I give you Sick by Shel Silverstein:

"'I cannot go to school today, '

Said little Peggy Ann McKay.

'I have the measles and the mumps,

A gash, a rash and purple bumps.

My mouth is wet, my throat is dry,

I'm going blind in my right eye.

My tonsils are as big as rocks,

I've counted sixteen chicken pox

And there's one more-that's seventeen,

And don't you think my face looks green?

My leg is cut-my eyes are blue-

It might be instamatic flu.

I cough and sneeze and gasp and choke,

I'm sure that my left leg is broke-

My hip hurts when I move my chin,

My belly button's caving in,

My back is wrenched, my ankle's sprained,

My 'pendix pains each time it rains.

My nose is cold, my toes are numb.

I have a sliver in my thumb.

My neck is stiff, my voice is weak,

I hardly whisper when I speak.

My tongue is filling up my mouth,

I think my hair is falling out.

My elbow's bent, my spine ain't straight,

My temperature is one-o-eight.

My brain is shrunk, I cannot hear,

There is a hole inside my ear.

I have a hangnail, and my heart is-what?

What's that? What's that you say?

You say today is...Saturday?

G'bye, I'm going out to play!'"

~

The Ant-tastic Art of Ant Finding, Feeding, and Friending

We didn't realize the strength of C's empathy for the insect world until one afternoon he ran up the stairs and to his room bawling after M ran over an ant hill with her bike.  He was beside himself at the senseless devastation.  C has a passion for ants.

  




















Here he is holding his "friend" ant.

We were able to calm his heart by suggesting that we feed the ants some animal crackers.  Which he has done again and again since that day.  He enjoys taking others out to the ant his to introduce them to the ants and asks them to help him break up and spread the crackers. 

C will fit right in when he starts Nature Day Camp in a week!

~

The Sacrafice

What are all of the animals doing in a circle by family group, you might ask?

"The lion gets to choose which one to eat!" ~M

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