COSI

This afternoon we took the kids to COSI - it seemed like a good way to get out of the house and have some fun after being snowed in for the past three days. We saw most exhibits - many we have seen before but as the kids age they have a different experience. Maria was almost too old for some things, but Sam was at the perfect age. Then again, Maria took time to read a lot and Sam mostly went from activity to activity. We even went into their "Test" center - they wanted families with 10 year old kids and Maria is close - and did a short activity while we were observed by a man with a clipboard, who then asked Maria questions about it. Sam's favorite activity was the ball exhibit in "Gears" - throwing balls into tubes and then shooting them back. Maria's favorite was the "Ocean" exhibit and getting into a submarine.

We All Live in a Yellow Submarine

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

"I Don't Care"

Sam has started replying with "I don't care" to any request he doesn't agree with. For example, "Sam, you need to drink your milk," is replied to with "Why? I don't care." Or "Sam, pick up your wrappers, you're making a mess," is met with "I don't care." Telling him to stop saying it wasn't working, which meant Ben and I had to come up with a discipline plan. Maria has usually stopped such behavior after being asked, and Sam really hasn't misbehaved much since starting school, and the threat of an occasional time out was still working. But we thought he is starting to grow out of time-outs, so we came up with a punishment we thought would stop the "I don't care" immediately.

Of course it wasn't that simple. Last night after dinner was the first attempt at the new plan. Sam said "I don't care," and I responded with "You may not say I don't care to us anymore. It's not polite. Next time, you won't be able to play Super Mario Galaxy if you say that." He was playing at the time and has been playing that game a lot.

Sam: You mean I'll never get to play it again?
Me: No, just for the rest of the night.
Sam: So I will be able to play again when I get up in the morning?

And I can see where this is headed. He is trying to decide if getting his way is worth giving up Mario for a few hours if he knows he can get it back in the morning. And this is not a scenario we had anticipated, since we are somewhat inexperienced at this punishment thing. So it ended up he grudgingly drank his milk without saying "I don't care" again, and later he caught himself saying "I don't care" and quickly changed it to "I mean, I do care."

But I can tell we are going to have to have quite a plan laid out for the next time we need to enforce a punishment.

Snow Day!

Random Updates

Here's what's been going on here:

Sam's front lower tooth is finally quite loose - he showed it to me after school. I'm hoping it will come out very soon so that permanent tooth behind it can slide into place. Maybe I will have to help it along!

It's snowing here - we are supposed to get 10 inches by the time it's done tomorrow afternoon. I'll believe it when I see it, but school for tomorrow is already closed. It's Day 6, which means we make it up, but what can you do? Ben took Maria to piano and he said the roads aren't too bad yet.

We had Sam's parent/teacher conference yesterday - the first one of the year. Basically, he's doing well academically (he's reached the end of year goals in almost all categories), with a few small things he could work on. He needs to look for the Popcorn words on the Word Wall and spell them correctly, and he guesses quickly at words he cannot read instead of taking time to see if the words make sense. Also, he still gets distracted easily, and needs to sit near the teacher to keep on task. He doesn't cause trouble, he's just more interested in everything around him rather than what the teacher is saying. This is all very believable to me - it's exactly how he acts at home. Ben and I are trying to decide if it's possible to work on making him more attentive, but haven't come up with anything yet. Overall, we're very pleased he's doing so well.

Maria continues to do Wii Fit a lot. Ben and I play some each night, but Maria tends to rack up more than an hour's worth each day. It's going well - Ben likes the Yoga and I like the step aerobics. I'd like to start strength training but end up doing the aerobics and then run out of time! Only occasionally do I get the urge to punch the talking Balance Board. Maybe he should try working full time and raising a family, and see how much time he has to exercise!

Sam's Great Writer Award

I kid you not.

Just a week after Sam and I had a horrible time completing his writing homework assignment, he decided to start writing on his own. He does it in my classroom in the morning when the kids are waiting for it to be time to walk over to their school. In two mornings, he has completed an entire page about he and Maria and how they love their Bakugans. He is spelling most words by how they sound, which is what they are taught to do for most words, and occasionally asks how to spell some words, like "Maria" and "they." What amazed me was his use of correct punctuation all on his own - a question mark (although it was backwards) at the end of a question and an "exciting point" at the end of an explanation.

So after he finished his masterpiece, he showed it to Maria and I and Maria suggested he take it to show his teacher. So he did, and proudly brought it back this afternoon with a huge ribbon on it, stating it's a "Great Writer Award." I'm sure this encouragement went a long way - he really likes to please Mrs. Wilson.

But I kept thinking, why couldn't he do this when I asked him to write so much less last week?

Inauguration Day

I didn't think I could let today pass without saying something about what an historic day this has been. I unfortunately have not watched the actual swearing in of Barack Obama, or his inauguration speech, but plan to whenever Sam quits playing Mario Galaxy and I can actually get to the T.V. Watching at school was impossible - all the live feeds on the Internet were bogged down and not working, and we have no T.V.s with cable. It is difficult to believe that in this technology age I could not watch it live, but it's true.

I asked Maria if they watched it at school and she said a little bit. I also asked if she could tell it was a really big deal or just kind of boring, and she admitted that it was pretty boring. Of course, we are fortunate that the country's problems have not really affected her in her day-to-day life. No one has lost their job or their house here, and no one she knows has died whiling fighting a war, so she doesn't really understand why so many people in this country are looking forward to a change. I know it's going to take some time for any real change to take place, but for the first time in a long time, I have respect for and trust in the American president, and it feels pretty good.

Sam's Basketball Game

Here's a picture and short movie from Sam's basketball game Saturday morning. He did make one basket during the game, but we don't have that one on film. This was only their third game, and they went two weeks without playing because of cancellations due to weather, so I think they look pretty good considering. He's #2 in the black T-shirt.

Snow Day

Today was our fourth calamity day, but the first with actual snow on the ground. Unfortunately it was really cold. But the kids were still able to play outside two separate times for about a half hour each time. They are working on "forts," which are really little walls that they plan to hide behind during a snowball fight. Of course, they couldn't really make snowballs since the snow was too cold, but they're there when they need them.

We've already canceled for tomorrow, just like almost every other school district, or so it seems. It's already below zero here and that's not including the wind chill.

Ben went to OMEA conference in Columbus and he'll be there again all day/evening tomorrow, so the kids and I will probably go out shopping or somewhere later in the day, when it "warms" up.

The Exciting Conclusion

Sam and I just finished his homework. He grumbled about doing it a little, but not nearly as much as last night. His four sentence winter story:

"I like winter. Winter is fun. I like snowmen. I like to make snow angels."

I like that it's done.

Snow!

Today we finally got some decent snow here. The storm started around 9:00 this morning, and we were released from school at 1:15. Around noon our county went on a Level 1 snow emergency, and that's still the case. The forecast called for 2-4 inches, but we have about 6 inches now and it's not supposed to stop until midnight. That's when the wind will start, and the snow is so light and fluffy I'm sure drifting will be quite a problem tomorrow. And the wind chill, which will be around 15 below. I'm guessing we'll be out of school tomorrow, but can't be certain yet. The kids went outside by themselves for about 45 minutes this afternoon, and did some shoveling (their choice!), made snow angels, rolled down the hill, and played on the swing set. Ben went out later to use the snow blower before it got dark. I stayed inside and took care of hot chocolate, wet snow clothes, and cooking dinner.

Torture...or Homework with Sam

Today Sam brought home a homework assignment - usually if he has homework, he has to read a short book to me, occasionally writing one sentence about it. But today he has to write 4 sentence story about winter. "Popcorn" words must be spelled correctly and circled. All other words can be spelled by sound.

Sam hates homework. So right away, I knew it would be a fight. We have two nights to do it, so we wrote two sentences tonight, and we'll write two tomorrow. We just finished and I thought I would share the experience. I think you'll find it amusing, and maybe I will too someday. But all I can think about now is how trying his school career with homework may be.

Me: You have to write four sentences about winter. What do you like about winter?
Sam: Winter is dumb.
Me: Sam...
Sam: I hate winter, it's stupid.
Me: I don't think you should write that.
Sam: OK, I like winter.
Me: Good. Write that
Then he rights the sentence, spelling the first two words correctly and copying "winter" from the assignment sheet, with no more prodding from me. Which proves he can do it easily and makes dealing with him that much more frustrating.

Me: OK, we have to do one more sentence tonight. Why do you like winter?
Sam: Winter's dumb.
Me: WHY DO YOU LIKE WINTER?
Sam: People make snowmen and snow angels and forts and...
Me: OK, pick one of those things.
Sam: People make snowmen out of their skin-
Me: How about "People make snowmen?"
Sam: -and then they have no skin and their out in the cold snow...
Me: Sam!
Sam: Winter is fun. I want to write "Winter is fun."
Me: Good. Write it.

So he writes it and only need help spelling "fun" - not a popcorn word. I tried to get him to just finish the other two sentences tonight but no deal. The entire process took less than 10 minutes, and he can handle the work easily, so why does he have to make it such a pain?

So if you're keeping track, Sam's winter story so far is "I like winter. Winter is fun." Check in tomorrow for the exciting conclusion, which hopefully won't include skinless people out in the cold.

The Tank Gang

We finally decided something about the fish tank. Figuring out exactly why things will never run perfectly is not realistic. We have embraced the green algae and given up trying to get a completely clear tank. Two things led to this decision:

1. No matter how much research and analyzing we did, nothing seemed to be able to get rid of algae without killing the fish.

2. Since we gave up on the algae a few weeks ago, our one remaining fish was happy and alive, breaking a record in this house - alive two months after our purchase.

One conclusion we made, although based on nothing other than our observations, is that guppies seem to die in our aquarium. Katie, the longest living fish referred to earlier, is the only non-guppy we have ever had. So after Katie survived the algae-tank for several weeks alone, we decided to go ahead and try more fish. This time we decided to work toward stocking the tank, so we decided we would purchase three new fish. And the only rule - no guppies.

Of course that rule went out the window when Sam, who treats picking out his fish like a life and death decision, only liked guppies so we finally relented and let him get a guppy. Naming these fish took several days as well, but finally three new names were chosen. Sam named his guppy "Mickey," Ben named the bright orange one "Fred," and Maria named the large blue/orange striped fish "Splatter." I know the picture is fuzzy, that's just the algae haze you're looking through. Mickey is light orange fish in top picture, Fred is bright orange in same picture, and Splatter is the larger fish in the bottom picture.

We've had the fish almost a week and so far, so good. Although Fred seems to be the tank bully, chasing a nipping at the others, I think we may have taken care of that problem by feeding them more often. Time will tell.

CORRECTION: Apparently Melanie, a fish that dies right before Christmas, was also not a guppy, Maria reminded me. So we've killed several guppies and one fish that was not a guppy.

Puzzle Complete

Here is the completed 499 piece (we are missing one piece and we looked everywhere!) Disney puzzle that Maria got for Christmas. We started New Year's Day, and have had it on a card table in the front room until we finished it this morning. Mostly Maria and I worked on it, Sam contributed some. Overall, I think I enjoyed it the most. But it was time to get that table out of the living room, so we finished it this morning and then took it apart tonight. As usual, the puzzle was more difficult than I thought it would be when I bought it for the kids, but we got through it.

Coats & Zippers & Boots, Oh My!

Another subtle yet consistent difference I've noticed between boys and girls is the way they prepare to go outside in the cold weather. Here's how each child gets ready to leave the house.

Maria: Puts shoes on, carefully tightening laces, tying a perfect bow, and making sure the tails don't hang over the edge of the shoe. Then she puts on her coat, careful to not mess up her hair. She situates the coat on her shoulders and makes certain that all layers underneath (and there are always carefully chosen layers) are laying perfectly flat and cause no discomfort. Then she goes about zipping the double zippers, which always must both be zipped even if we are in a hurry (seriously, the house might be on fire but she would have both zippers done). When all is perfect with the coat she gets her backpack on (which actually goes on easily and quickly), picks up her lunch off the counter, and heads to the car (where sometimes Ben has almost gone back to sleep by the time she gets out there). Entire process can take several minutes, but she does it all on her own without being reminded at all.

Sam: Only puts shoes on after being told 20 times. Sometimes is in such a hurry he can't be bothered to undo the one Velcro strap to loosen the shoe, then whines and growls when the shoe won't go on. He throws his coat on, never zips it up, grabs a toy, and gets into the car. Has to be told to go back and get backpack and lunch, since he is going to school. Entire process, once started, takes about 30 seconds, tops.

So you can imagine how this difference can hold us up when we need to go somewhere. As usual, the perfect child, in my eyes, would be a compromise somewhere between these two routines. But we've accepted we can't change the habits, so we just learn to work with them. I do a lot of standing around with my coat on, waiting to leave. I just hate to add putting boots on to this scenario when the snow starts to fall.

I Heart Technology

One of the things I hate the most about getting everyone out the door in the morning is packing the kids' lunches. Both Maria and Sam are picky eaters, especially Sam, and so they pack on most days. I end up packing three lunches, including mine, while the kids are eating their breakfast, and I really dreaded it each morning. In addition to the lunches, I had to find the correct change for their milk, or the $2.25 if they were buying.

When Maria was in 1st grade, I used to write a check on Monday for milk and lunches for that week, and send it in all at once. But about halfway through the year, Maria expressed to me that most other kids took cash, and she wanted to do that too. I caved, remembering my school days when my lunch was packed in large brown bags and other kids used to make fun of me. So I have been sending cash since then. Last year, when both kids ate lunch at the same time, I would send a dollar with Maria, intending for that to cover a milk for her and for Sam, since milks are $.50 each. Several weeks later I found out that something got lost in the translation, and Maria was building up credits each day for an extra milk while Sam was not having anything to drink with his lunch. And why this went on for several weeks before the kids told me, I have no idea.

So anyway, I conceded that I was going to have to send in correct change with each child each day. And it was a pain, trying to hoard one dollar bills and quarters all the time. But now the school uses an online payment system, where I put money into each child's account online using PayPal. Then the money is deducted from that account whenever they buy something. As an added bonus when they get older and have choices, I can check their history and see exactly what they are buying with their lunch money. We started this payment system this week.

And it has been wonderful. I knew it would help, but packing lunches is not a hassle for me at all now. I have plenty of time without having to hunt for quarters, and it's not nearly as stressful either. I had no idea that this would make things so much easier.

Just another case of technology making our lives easier.

"Very Please?"

Tonight Sam asked me for a drink of lemonade. I told him I would get it as soon as I was done with the newspaper. Apparently he couldn't wait two minutes so Sam asked Ben to get it.

Sam: Please?
Ben, trying to get him to re-phrase the question: Please what?
Pause
Sam: Very please?

Back to School

Today was our second day back to school after a two week break and things are going fine. The kids wanted to go back, thank goodness, so it wasn't too difficult to get them motivated, although Sam has refused to eat anything for breakfast the last two mornings. But he just helped me make muffins so hopefully that problem is behind us.

Ben had to get used to teaching again, after having a student teacher for most of the fall, but he was ready to get back to it. And nothing has changed for me, although sometimes I do wonder how many years I can continue to teach the exact same lesson four times a day and not go insane. But I do enjoy the easy planning and grading that goes along with that.

We had ice today, but not until after we already got to school. Ben took Maria to her evening activities, and said its slick in spots, so we're hoping for a two hour delay tomorrow. We don't want to miss a day this soon, though - thanks to the wind storm in September we only have 2 calamity days left!

Maria's Basketball

These are pictures from Maria's basketball game today. The girls usually have basketball for two hours - the first hour is practice and the second hour is games. Ben went to watch - I was at Sam's games - and he said she is doing great. She even had a basket, but she excels at being a guard and setting a pick, according to Ben. I will be going to watch her next week and Ben will take Sam.

Sam had a double header this morning - one game at 9:00, one at 10:00. Today were the first games they have played, and it was entertaining as they figured out how to play in an actual game. They use five colored wristbands, and then try to match the players from each team according to height. Those two players have the same color wristband, and then the child knows who he is supposed to block. It seemed to work out pretty well. Several kids had trouble remembering to dribble and just held the ball and ran to the basket. Sam did well - better in the second game than the first after he got the hang of it. He even scored a basket at the end of the second game. I didn't have the camera, but will post pictures after next week's game.

Zoo Wildlights

Last night we went to see the lights at the zoo. We go every year, but didn't make it before Christmas this year, mainly due to Maria's play schedule we just had no time. The one night that we had planned to go before Christmas the temperature was close to zero, so we cancelled. We would have forgotten about it, but Thursday night Maria got out of bed to tell us that we had missed the lights this year, since it was the 1st of the year and she thought it was over. But it turns out the run through this weekend.

So we went. Neither Ben and I really wanted to go, but the kids did so we went. And we ended up having a good time. The lights are all new this year, which was a surprise and made it much more interesting. We also went to a new exhibit, and Asia house, which had bats and monkeys and other cool stuff. The bats were just waking up and fun to watch. It was cold, but bearable, especially when you went inside every so often. The kids had a blast taking tons of pictures with their new digital cameras from Christmas. These pictures are from us, though, since we still have to download the kids' pictures.

Happy New Year!

Last night we spent New Year's Eve next door with Andy and Lisa and family. As always, we had a great time, and all the kids made it to midnight. Lindsey was pretty grumpy that last hour, but she is three. Sam saved his meltdown until just after midnight, when it was time to clean up and head home anyway. We got home around 12:30, with the kids in bed by 12:45. Of course, Maria was still up early - I got up at 8:30 and she was already up. Sam slept until 9:45, so hopefully he'll make it through the day.

We also went ice skating yesterday afternoon, which is our tradition the last few years. Maria did great, Sam did well but fell a lot and was done after a hard fall on his knee after about 40 minutes, and I had skates that gave me a huge blister on my foot and so I was ready to be done after a half hour. Sam and I sat in the car for about 30 minutes while Ben and Maria finished skating.

And if you were wondering, the cable crisis was averted. Right after ringing in the new year, we switched to Nickelodeon and saw that it was still on. Later we learned that Viacom and Time Warner did come to an agreement at the last minute. Thank goodness!