I just read in a Parents magazine that when a child likes to collect things, its a sign of creativity and intelligence. So I guess I can tolerate Maria's and Sam's "collections" of rock, erasers, coins, etc. laying all over the house all the time. (My favorite was Maria's "used candy wrapper" collection a couple of years ago). But allowing them to keep these collections and nagging them to put them away all the time is really driving me CRAZY.
Maybe my intelligent and creative children will be nice enough to visit me in the insane asylum.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Never a Dull Moment
Last night all four of us attended a rehearsal dinner for a wedding that Ben is playing in today. A former student is getting married, and Ben was asked to play in the wedding. Brad, the groom, is part of a family that was involved in Fairbanks band when we first came here, and Brad and his twin brother Brent graduated a few years ago. Ben is good friends with Brent too.
Anyway, Ben went to the rehearsal and the kids and I stayed here until it was time for the dinner. I fed them a small dinner here, assuming that by the time we ate at the rehearsal dinner they would be hungry again, plus the chances of them having something Sam will actually eat were slim.
So we got to the dinner between 7:30 and 8:00. Most people were there and it looked like things would get started soon. Then the tornado sirens went off. This is new for us - living in the country we never hear the sirens. But this was the real thing, so we all went down to the basement. The dinner was being held at the OSU extension office which I believe is a fairly new building and so the basement was not nearly as bad as it could have been.
The kids had two very different reactions to our situation. Sam just didn't understand. Didn't know what a tornado was, why we needed to go into the basement, etc. I was with him during the parade into the basement and was looking forward to catching up to Ben and Maria so someone else could have a chance to answer his never ending "why" questions.
Maria was really upset. She was so scared she was crying, and nothing we said really helped. She does tend to get upset about storms during the past few years, and hates thunder storms, is always worried to power will go out, etc. But I have never seen her this upset for this long about a storm. She was worried about the building falling in, about our house being blown away when we got home, about her stuff, etc. I told her that the sirens were great because it gave us a chance to get safe, but that the majority of the time there's not actually a tornado that touches down. And I tried to emphasize that at least the four of us were together and safe. But she just kept crying until we could go upstairs again.
We were in the basement for probably about 20 minutes, during which we were brought bread sticks and had our drinks already. The dinner finally got started about 8:30, and we didn't get home until 9:45. Hopefully Sam won't be too tired for his first soccer game at 9:00 this morning. And hopefully it won't rain - its awfully cloudy right now!
Anyway, Ben went to the rehearsal and the kids and I stayed here until it was time for the dinner. I fed them a small dinner here, assuming that by the time we ate at the rehearsal dinner they would be hungry again, plus the chances of them having something Sam will actually eat were slim.
So we got to the dinner between 7:30 and 8:00. Most people were there and it looked like things would get started soon. Then the tornado sirens went off. This is new for us - living in the country we never hear the sirens. But this was the real thing, so we all went down to the basement. The dinner was being held at the OSU extension office which I believe is a fairly new building and so the basement was not nearly as bad as it could have been.
The kids had two very different reactions to our situation. Sam just didn't understand. Didn't know what a tornado was, why we needed to go into the basement, etc. I was with him during the parade into the basement and was looking forward to catching up to Ben and Maria so someone else could have a chance to answer his never ending "why" questions.
Maria was really upset. She was so scared she was crying, and nothing we said really helped. She does tend to get upset about storms during the past few years, and hates thunder storms, is always worried to power will go out, etc. But I have never seen her this upset for this long about a storm. She was worried about the building falling in, about our house being blown away when we got home, about her stuff, etc. I told her that the sirens were great because it gave us a chance to get safe, but that the majority of the time there's not actually a tornado that touches down. And I tried to emphasize that at least the four of us were together and safe. But she just kept crying until we could go upstairs again.
We were in the basement for probably about 20 minutes, during which we were brought bread sticks and had our drinks already. The dinner finally got started about 8:30, and we didn't get home until 9:45. Hopefully Sam won't be too tired for his first soccer game at 9:00 this morning. And hopefully it won't rain - its awfully cloudy right now!
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Kindergarten Round-Up
This morning I took Sam to kindergarten round-up. I can't believe my youngest will be in kindergarten. But I am so looking forward to being done with Day Care! Although this year hasn't been bad.
Anyway, I was slightly concerned because I really haven't worked with Sam much on anything related to kindergarten. With Maria, we did things quite often. But as I was feeling really guilty about this last night, I reminded myself that Sam does not like to sit and do those kind of things. And after being rejected time and again last year, I just quit trying. And he has gone to preschool for the past two years, so I felt like he should be prepared.
And he did just as I would have expected him to do. Scored "average" or "slightly above average" in all but one verbal category. He scored in the "significantly above average" in the nonverbal categories - like gross motor skills, visual-motor skills, etc. No big surprise - he's always been very physically coordinated - Ben and I can never figure out how that happened! And maybe all that Guitar Hero has paid off.
Anyway, all of this meant his total was in the high end of "average," definitely ready to start school in the fall. And he passed his speech screening as well - all errors are considered "normal" for his age and they will re-check when he's in 1st grade.
Afterward, we went to Chuck E Cheese since pre-school was canceled due to Kindergarten round up and I took the whole day off. I've never been there with just Sam before. He had fun - but was all business. Played the same game for 50 tokens (the water spraying contest, only there was no one to compete against so he kept winning), got 235 tickets - his all time high. Then he picked out his toys and we were out of there in less than an hour!
It was a fun day with just the two of us. Now I am at parent/teacher conferences until 7:00. Except there are no parents here, so I should be getting a lot of work done. But I am truly a morinng person - have a very hard time motivating in the evening to get anything done. So I'm just counting down the minutes until I can leave.
Anyway, I was slightly concerned because I really haven't worked with Sam much on anything related to kindergarten. With Maria, we did things quite often. But as I was feeling really guilty about this last night, I reminded myself that Sam does not like to sit and do those kind of things. And after being rejected time and again last year, I just quit trying. And he has gone to preschool for the past two years, so I felt like he should be prepared.
And he did just as I would have expected him to do. Scored "average" or "slightly above average" in all but one verbal category. He scored in the "significantly above average" in the nonverbal categories - like gross motor skills, visual-motor skills, etc. No big surprise - he's always been very physically coordinated - Ben and I can never figure out how that happened! And maybe all that Guitar Hero has paid off.
Anyway, all of this meant his total was in the high end of "average," definitely ready to start school in the fall. And he passed his speech screening as well - all errors are considered "normal" for his age and they will re-check when he's in 1st grade.
Afterward, we went to Chuck E Cheese since pre-school was canceled due to Kindergarten round up and I took the whole day off. I've never been there with just Sam before. He had fun - but was all business. Played the same game for 50 tokens (the water spraying contest, only there was no one to compete against so he kept winning), got 235 tickets - his all time high. Then he picked out his toys and we were out of there in less than an hour!
It was a fun day with just the two of us. Now I am at parent/teacher conferences until 7:00. Except there are no parents here, so I should be getting a lot of work done. But I am truly a morinng person - have a very hard time motivating in the evening to get anything done. So I'm just counting down the minutes until I can leave.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Ugh...Mud!
Spring is here and the kids have had a blast playing outside. But one thing I hate about spring...mud!
It started Saturday when Ben let the kids and neighbor Mason play in the field behind our house. Most of the time there are crops growing back there so having the opportunity to walk around and explore is rare. And Ben figured, "They're kids, they're having fun, and they can clean up when they're done playing." (I was taking a nap since I had a pretty bad cold.) But the ground was REALLY muddy in some places without warning and before they knew it the kids had lost their shoes in the deep mud. Good friend Mason knelt down to rescue the shoes of both Maria and Sam, whose socks and pants were covered since they lost their shoes.
So you can imagine what a mess all three kids were when they came back up to the house. Two loads of laundry later, I thought the worst was behind us. But the kids, Maria especially, cannot get enough of going into the field to play. They are making "clay pots" out of the mud, searching for rocks, etc. This has gone on the last three days, and I'm tired of muddy clothes, shoes and hats. And when the kids wash their hands/arms/whatever else in the bathroom sink, there is a trail of dirt all over the sink, counter and bathroom floor.
So even though they still want to go out there, I have decided to be a mean Mom and say "No," just because it is too much work cleaning up after them. Hopefully, they won't be scarred for life. But they've had three days out there, and they still continue to come in covered in mud. And I've had enough.
Besides, Ellen is watching the kids tonight since Ben and I have tickets to Avenue Q, and I don't think she should have to deal with that mess. And then tomorrow it will get cold and rain, so it may end on its own without me having to get too mean.
It started Saturday when Ben let the kids and neighbor Mason play in the field behind our house. Most of the time there are crops growing back there so having the opportunity to walk around and explore is rare. And Ben figured, "They're kids, they're having fun, and they can clean up when they're done playing." (I was taking a nap since I had a pretty bad cold.) But the ground was REALLY muddy in some places without warning and before they knew it the kids had lost their shoes in the deep mud. Good friend Mason knelt down to rescue the shoes of both Maria and Sam, whose socks and pants were covered since they lost their shoes.
So you can imagine what a mess all three kids were when they came back up to the house. Two loads of laundry later, I thought the worst was behind us. But the kids, Maria especially, cannot get enough of going into the field to play. They are making "clay pots" out of the mud, searching for rocks, etc. This has gone on the last three days, and I'm tired of muddy clothes, shoes and hats. And when the kids wash their hands/arms/whatever else in the bathroom sink, there is a trail of dirt all over the sink, counter and bathroom floor.
So even though they still want to go out there, I have decided to be a mean Mom and say "No," just because it is too much work cleaning up after them. Hopefully, they won't be scarred for life. But they've had three days out there, and they still continue to come in covered in mud. And I've had enough.
Besides, Ellen is watching the kids tonight since Ben and I have tickets to Avenue Q, and I don't think she should have to deal with that mess. And then tomorrow it will get cold and rain, so it may end on its own without me having to get too mean.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Congratulations Dad!
Last night was an important one for my family. My Dad, Chris Larick, was honored by the Ashtabula County Basketball Foundation by being inducted into their Hall of Fame as a Media person. He wrote for the Sports section for the Geneva Free Press and then the Ashtabula Star Beacon for 30 years, and most of those while teaching high school English full time as well. He was very honored to be recognized for his hard work and talent, and Ben and I were fortunate to be able to be there to see it. (Thanks G. & G. K., for taking care of Maria and Sam for most of Sunday and into the evening!)
I was in the first grade when Dad started writing part time at the newspaper, but until now I didn't know that he originally took the job because he was in fear of his school district closing and not being able to provide for his family. I did pick up, even at a fairly young age, that although teaching was his main job, sports writing seemed to be the career he enjoyed most.
In both Dad's acceptance speech and in the feature article in the newspaper about him, he was certain to thank my Mom for her hard work parenting without him on most evenings, as he was off covering local high school games. I knew it was difficult at times for my Mom to always be the one to deal with my sister and I then (especially during those trying teenage years), but have a much greater appreciation for it after I became a parent myself. Ben also has a career that takes him away from home during the weekends and some evenings (depending on the time of year), and I now have a much clearer understanding of how trying it can be.
So Congratulations Dad - its got to be great to be honored for something you love doing.
If interested, check out the feature article here http://www.starbeacon.com/archivesearch/local_story_094025154.html
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Stupid Skybus
Ben and I hardly ever get away on our own. And we also hardly ever fly anywhere. It's difficult to get away with the kids and their schedules, Ben and his work schedule, and the desire to want to do some traveling with the kids too.
But we decided to go away with friends to Marathon Key in July. They are all celebrating turning 40. And we are celebrating not turning 40 yet. We finally got around to getting our airline tickets the weekend of the blizzard about a month ago. A combination of the date getting closer, being on the same flight out as David and Suzy, and having time stuck inside with nothing to do motivated Ben to get busy.
Yes, we bought Skybus tickets to Fort Lauderdale for the way down - you just can't beat their price.
And now they're out of business and we may be out our money. We are in the process of trying to contact someone at the credit card company, which is what we've been told to do. But I never buy any of that credit insurance crap so I really doubt we're going to get any of the money back.
Sigh.
But we decided to go away with friends to Marathon Key in July. They are all celebrating turning 40. And we are celebrating not turning 40 yet. We finally got around to getting our airline tickets the weekend of the blizzard about a month ago. A combination of the date getting closer, being on the same flight out as David and Suzy, and having time stuck inside with nothing to do motivated Ben to get busy.
Yes, we bought Skybus tickets to Fort Lauderdale for the way down - you just can't beat their price.
And now they're out of business and we may be out our money. We are in the process of trying to contact someone at the credit card company, which is what we've been told to do. But I never buy any of that credit insurance crap so I really doubt we're going to get any of the money back.
Sigh.
Friday, April 4, 2008
Celebration
We went out to dinner tonight to celebrate. Initially, we were celebrating Maria's straight A report card. All A's and A+'s, and a hand written comment from the principal that said "Magnificent! Maria is a really amazing kid - you should be very proud of her." We try to praise her and remind her how her hard work pays off. So we let her pick out where to eat and she picked Jerry's House of Hunan. She loves Chinese - Sam not so much, but he ordered mini corn dogs and actually ate a few of them.
Anyway, here's some other reasons for celebration:
1. Ben WILL NOT have a lunch duty at school next year. We are moving from an 8 period day to a 7 period day, and since he teaches 6 different classes, he does not have room for lunch duty. He just found this out today - no other details on either of our schedules. Spring is in the air when teachers have to start worrying about their individual teaching duties for the next year. No teacher likes lunch duty, but Ben has had 5th graders this year and they are a really dysfunctional group - worse duty he's had in 15 years of teaching. This duty can sometimes cloud his entire day - in some ways I think it's put a black cloud over his entire year.
2. I saw the eye Dr. today and am seeing 20/20 in each eye - with both eyes I can read the 20/15 line. I knew about Tuesday that I could all of a sudden see much more clearly, so I wasn't surprised but so relieved that my eyes have healed well. I don't go back for a month.
3. I guess we were celebrating that Sam was not in the hospital with a concussion even though he had a fall today (on his head) that was worthy of a phone call to us in the middle of the school day. Apparently he was messing around on a bar stool at Ms. Jenny's when he was supposed to be sitting still eating his lunch, and fell a few seconds after Ms Jenny told him to stop. He fell backward off the stool and the stool fell on top of him and hit him in the head. She iced it and called us, went ahead and sent him to school, and warned them to keep an eye on it at school. By the time I saw him at 3:00 we couldn't even see a mark.
4. Tomorrow is the last Saturday morning we don't have to get up early and go freeze watching Sam play a soccer game - his games start next week and last until the end of May. So we're going to try to stay up late and sleep in tomorrow. But since Ben's watching the Indians at 10:00, I'll probably be asleep by 10:15!
Anyway, here's some other reasons for celebration:
1. Ben WILL NOT have a lunch duty at school next year. We are moving from an 8 period day to a 7 period day, and since he teaches 6 different classes, he does not have room for lunch duty. He just found this out today - no other details on either of our schedules. Spring is in the air when teachers have to start worrying about their individual teaching duties for the next year. No teacher likes lunch duty, but Ben has had 5th graders this year and they are a really dysfunctional group - worse duty he's had in 15 years of teaching. This duty can sometimes cloud his entire day - in some ways I think it's put a black cloud over his entire year.
2. I saw the eye Dr. today and am seeing 20/20 in each eye - with both eyes I can read the 20/15 line. I knew about Tuesday that I could all of a sudden see much more clearly, so I wasn't surprised but so relieved that my eyes have healed well. I don't go back for a month.
3. I guess we were celebrating that Sam was not in the hospital with a concussion even though he had a fall today (on his head) that was worthy of a phone call to us in the middle of the school day. Apparently he was messing around on a bar stool at Ms. Jenny's when he was supposed to be sitting still eating his lunch, and fell a few seconds after Ms Jenny told him to stop. He fell backward off the stool and the stool fell on top of him and hit him in the head. She iced it and called us, went ahead and sent him to school, and warned them to keep an eye on it at school. By the time I saw him at 3:00 we couldn't even see a mark.
4. Tomorrow is the last Saturday morning we don't have to get up early and go freeze watching Sam play a soccer game - his games start next week and last until the end of May. So we're going to try to stay up late and sleep in tomorrow. But since Ben's watching the Indians at 10:00, I'll probably be asleep by 10:15!
Thursday, April 3, 2008
What's Up With Ben's Office?
Hi. My name is Ben. Remember me? *jk* I don't usually post here, but I thought I'd update you on what's happening in my swimming pool...er...office at Fairbanks. I'm kind of a displaced person, but I'm coping. I've got the full account at my blog, and you can check it out here.
The Inquisitor
Every night I read to Sam before bed. I did this with Maria for years too, only now she's old enough that she reads on her own. The last couple of years I couldn't wait for Sam to actually become interested in reading books, and the last several months he's been pretty into it.
Lately we have been reading a series from the library - Diary of a Worm, Diary of a Spider, and Dairy of a Fly. He loves them, and the more we read them the more interested he is in understanding EVERYTHING about the story. Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled that he is showing such interest and striving to learn more.
But it is REALLY trying my patience at story time.
Part of the problem is that we read right before bed time, when I am focused on getting him into bed so that I can begin to enjoy some adult time. Also, its the end of a very long day during which much of my patience was used up teaching freshmen how to balance chemical equations (today, at least). None of this is Sam's fault, so I try very hard to not let it show how exhausting his questions can be. But I do find myself trying to hurry and turn the page so he can't get another question in. It doesn't matter - if he has a question he will just go back to that page until he is satisfied.
And as usual, I don't always have the answers. The questions range from reading (Why does "thud" start with T if it doesn't sound like T?) to plot lines (Why is fly in time-out?) to things I don't know (Why do spiders have eight legs?) to the totally nit-picky I-don't-know-why-the-picture-looks-like-that questions (Why is worm's mouth so big?).
But I keep reminding myself that this time is important for him, and how hard I have been trying for years to encourage him to love books. So at 8:20 each night I sit down for stories knowing that when we're finished, he will have learned something and I can relax after he's in bed. And sometimes having a glass wine doesn't hurt either.
Lately we have been reading a series from the library - Diary of a Worm, Diary of a Spider, and Dairy of a Fly. He loves them, and the more we read them the more interested he is in understanding EVERYTHING about the story. Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled that he is showing such interest and striving to learn more.
But it is REALLY trying my patience at story time.
Part of the problem is that we read right before bed time, when I am focused on getting him into bed so that I can begin to enjoy some adult time. Also, its the end of a very long day during which much of my patience was used up teaching freshmen how to balance chemical equations (today, at least). None of this is Sam's fault, so I try very hard to not let it show how exhausting his questions can be. But I do find myself trying to hurry and turn the page so he can't get another question in. It doesn't matter - if he has a question he will just go back to that page until he is satisfied.
And as usual, I don't always have the answers. The questions range from reading (Why does "thud" start with T if it doesn't sound like T?) to plot lines (Why is fly in time-out?) to things I don't know (Why do spiders have eight legs?) to the totally nit-picky I-don't-know-why-the-picture-looks-like-that questions (Why is worm's mouth so big?).
But I keep reminding myself that this time is important for him, and how hard I have been trying for years to encourage him to love books. So at 8:20 each night I sit down for stories knowing that when we're finished, he will have learned something and I can relax after he's in bed. And sometimes having a glass wine doesn't hurt either.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
What's the deal with these erasers?
We are drowning in tiny erasers here. Let me explain.
Starting about a month ago, Sam started bringing home little erasers in the shape of animals. He loved these things and carried them around everywhere. Until he would put them down and not remember where, and then the whole family would have to search the house trying to find a wiener dog eraser about the size of a penny. I just figured he was getting them for good behavior at Kinderpaws - they frequently get to go to a "Treasure Box." But the last morning of school before spring break, he asked both Ben and I for a quarter to take to school. That's when we learned the whole story. Apparently there is an eraser vending type machine at school that takes quarters. Other kids have been putting quarters in this machine at lunch and then giving him one of their erasers. At least he wasn't using his milk money quarters, which is what I thought at first.
Ever since them, Sam is collecting quarters and couldn't wait to go back to school to buy his erasers. Every day of spring break he asked if it was a school night yet so he could take his quarters to school. We gave him 5 quarters for Easter and told him once they were gone he's done buying erasers out of the machine. Each morning before school he gets a quarter from his stash in his room and puts it in his backpack. Every afternoon he gets off the bus and lovingly shows me the erasers he's bought. (Apparently my suggestion about giving some to his friends who shared with him is being ignored.) And Maria assumed she must be missing out, so she started taking a quarter each day as well.
So all these erasers are piling up, and now once the thrill of buying the eraser is gone, they don't really pay much attention to them. But I know if I throw them out, Sam will ask for some eraser he hasn't played with in weeks.
This eraser mania will end next week when their quarters are gone, thank goodness. But I don't think Sam is going to let it go quietly.
And just in case you were wondering, I have yet to see either child actually use one of these things to erase something!
Starting about a month ago, Sam started bringing home little erasers in the shape of animals. He loved these things and carried them around everywhere. Until he would put them down and not remember where, and then the whole family would have to search the house trying to find a wiener dog eraser about the size of a penny. I just figured he was getting them for good behavior at Kinderpaws - they frequently get to go to a "Treasure Box." But the last morning of school before spring break, he asked both Ben and I for a quarter to take to school. That's when we learned the whole story. Apparently there is an eraser vending type machine at school that takes quarters. Other kids have been putting quarters in this machine at lunch and then giving him one of their erasers. At least he wasn't using his milk money quarters, which is what I thought at first.
Ever since them, Sam is collecting quarters and couldn't wait to go back to school to buy his erasers. Every day of spring break he asked if it was a school night yet so he could take his quarters to school. We gave him 5 quarters for Easter and told him once they were gone he's done buying erasers out of the machine. Each morning before school he gets a quarter from his stash in his room and puts it in his backpack. Every afternoon he gets off the bus and lovingly shows me the erasers he's bought. (Apparently my suggestion about giving some to his friends who shared with him is being ignored.) And Maria assumed she must be missing out, so she started taking a quarter each day as well.
So all these erasers are piling up, and now once the thrill of buying the eraser is gone, they don't really pay much attention to them. But I know if I throw them out, Sam will ask for some eraser he hasn't played with in weeks.
This eraser mania will end next week when their quarters are gone, thank goodness. But I don't think Sam is going to let it go quietly.
And just in case you were wondering, I have yet to see either child actually use one of these things to erase something!
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