Everything's Okay, But...

THAT is how the lady with my children's afterschool care program should have started her conversation with me on the phone.

But, no.

She didn't.

THIS is how the conversation went, instead:

Moi: "Hello?"

RA: "Yeah... Is this.... uh! I don't even know who I'm calling for.... I guess... Lopez??"

Moi: "Yes. That's my children's last name."

RA: "Ok. This is 'so-n-so' with aftercare. for Gabriella."

[Right about here is where some reassurance that my children were okay should have taken place.]

RA: "Yeah, she... We... They need to be picked up by 4:30. We're shuttin' down."

Moi: "Oh.... Ok..."

RA: "Because of the weather. They need to be picked up."

Moi: "Oh. Okay. That's... That's fine... I was just starting to get a little worried there..." <--My hint that Rude Ass should have begun the convo a little differently.

RA: "Yeah. There isn't even a name listed here. Like for the parent..... Unless it's this... Camille.... Mow-something?"

Moi: "Yes. That's me. I'm their mother."

RA: "Oh. Well they need to be picked up by 4:30."

I'm not sure she made it clear.... What time do they need to be picked up???

Career Day

So Christian wanted to be "the donut guy" for Career Day at school...

I thought it was just about the cutest thing he could ever request. It's one of those moments that remind you how innocent and pure a child's mind is, ya know? [like when our little brother said he wanted "a car like PawPaw's" when he grows up (an old station wagon) - for which we have teased him relentlessly.] Cause Christian didn't request to be someone with a high paying job, or even something that would put him in the spotlight as the hero (like a cop or a fireman). Instead, he went with his heart... and probably stomach.

And sweeter still: When we went by Dunkin Donuts to see if they had any paper hats (like the ones at Krispy Kreme), the manager hooked us up with an official Dunkin Donuts visor and name tag - which totally made Christian's costume!

It's official...

I'm old.

My lil' man starts.... KINDERGARTEN tomorrow!! I can't believe how quickly time flies by these days. I swear I just posted something in here yesterday, but alas... It was in July! So I definitely need an update - as per one of my two readers' request.

So back to my youth slipping away and into my youngins...

Yesterday was Meet the Teacher night. I warned Gabi before we got there that we would be visiting Christian's classes first, as this was his VERY FIRST experience with the whole thing. Gabi, like the big 2nd grader she now is, smiled and said, "okay."

Christian was very excited - but soon realized there wasn't much to Meet the Teacher night. He said a quick, "hey," to his new teachers and promptly asked if he could play with the toys. [sigh. boys.]

A few kids started to trickle in, and I tried to get Christian interested in meeting his classmates, but you know how absorbing dinosaurs are...... he threw them the same, "hey," he gave the teachers (still with no eye contact), never skipping a beat - or a dino bite.

I've noticed Christian's the type that can hang with anyone. He'll just walk right up and say, "Hey! Can I play with you?" He doesn't seem intimidated at all; he'll ask a 10 year old to play.

My Gabi, on the other hand....

She's my shy gal. She sat by herself and played with the mini doll house while we did the meet & greet with Christian's class. While it was time to meet her teacher and "friends," she stayed to herself, too. She found a puzzle of the US and quietly worked on it solo.

When I told Gabi there was a girl she actually knew in her class (who had been in the same kindergarten room with her), she finally perked up and actually wanted to speak to her. Unfortunately, though, the little girl and her parents didn't remember us. :(

My poor Gooby....

I'm eager to see if my little ones switch roles as they get older, like my sister & I did.

Hmmmm....

Save a Christian Blogathon

Let me preface this post by clarifying: Christian is my son. The following is in no way a religious campaign.

You know those mothers, the ones who think their children are so sweet and innocent...?? The teacher must have something against their children, or maybe their child is just misunderstood. Well, lately I have been that mother. And I really don't WANT to be. But I keep feeling like maybe that persona just crept through for an unexpected visit. And to me, that's as bad as those women on A Baby Story who reenact their own personal version of The Exorcist during labor [and, for the record, my immense disgust - and probably FEAR of becoming one of those women - kept me from becoming Linda Blair. My sister is my witness. Two points for me :) ].

My son has always been my child with a big heart. He's actually my sweet one: so loving and giving - melt your heart kind of sweet when you catch it. But, for some reason, he's the one with the behavior problem at school here recently. My "Miss Independent" know-it-all daughter (who is only six, by the way) is on her perfect color everyday, and my angelic little boy has horns that emerge between 8 AM and 2 PM.

In all honesty, I'm completely clueless about how to 'fix' the situation - or even make it a little better. He's in "Time Out" EVERY DAY now. I'm lucky if he takes one day off from his new routine a week! Last Friday was his only good day all week!

I've tried rewarding him at the end of the week with little Hot Wheelz cars, if he manages to stay out of TO.

I've tried taking away video games (and even took away watching someone else play them).

I've tried taking away all his sleep buddies (and then letting him earn one back with every Non-Time Out day).

I've even tried spankings - which I feel is kind of like spanking a dog when you've caught him an hour or two after he's peed on the floor... What's the point??

So, my latest attempt: Today I got his sister a big surprise as a reward for having such good behavior. Being excluded brought bug crocodile tears to my little boy's eyes at first (here's my heart; I saved you the trouble of RIPPING it out), but it was pretty soon out of sight, out of mind. I guess I have to wait til tomorrow to see if it made a dent.

Til then, the blog lines are open and accepting your verbal donations toward this great cause. The comment is free, and YOU could potentially help save a Christian... and his butt.

Let's Stick With Multiple Choice

So I was sitting on the couch, going over my daughter's homework with her, last night... Let me interject here that she is in first grade - which is good, b/c this means I am still able to help her with her homework, as opposed to it being way over my head.

Anyway, we were looking at some Q&A stuff she had done: ya know, read the paragraph and then answer 3 or 4 questions about the story. It's 1st grade, so of course it's simple stuff: "Jack felt sick. His tummy was hurting. He told his mom, and she took him to the doctor.... yadda yadda yadda." It was about six sentences long.

As I checked her answers, I started to feel so proud of her, "Check it out. My 'Goob' is so smart!"

Question 1: correct.

Question 2: correct.

Question 3: correct. :)

And then I get to Question 4...

It wasn't multiple choice like the previous questions. It was a discussion question. And I looked at what Gabi had written, and the answer just didn't seem to make sense with the question. It was something along the lines of, "Why did Jack's stomach hurt?" And it looked like my daughter had written "Due" as her answer. Sometimes Gabi doesn't always spell things correctly, so I asked her, "What's this say? D-u-e?"

Her reply: "Duhhhhhhhh!" - accompanied by 'that look' and everything

She was trying to write "duh" as her answer to the question. I couldn't help but burst out laughing!

I finally composed myself and explained that I didn't think her teachers would appreciate that as her answer...