A Very Schooly Day

3-18-11




Holly’s best friend since High School passed away yesterday. It certainly makes you stop and think. I am first off, incredibly jealous that she has been so tight with Laura for so long. That is a wonderful gift. Secondly, I admire her faith. It is always cool when you see someone who truly does believe in heaven and that they know, without a shadow of a doubt that they will some day be reunited. Laura, may you rest in peace, and my love goes out to Holly and Laura’s family for their loss.



My day was crazy yesterday. I went to work for a couple hours, and then went home to help Ken get the boys ready quickly so that we could get to the parent teacher conference on time.



Ok, overall, she is happy with Bobby. He needs improvement on a number of things, though. One of those is his numbers. He recognizes his numbers up to 30, but writing them is another thing. He keeps flipping numbers. They are often backwards. He does this with a handful of letters, too. So we need to have him write 1 through 10 at least once a day, I think. It may be good practice. I may toss in the alphabet in there, too. It will give him practice on penmanship, and just get him more familiar with routine.



The other big issue, aside from him rushing through work and it being messy, is that he is hyper. He has always been rather energetic. He has a hard time just sitting still. It is funny, since when he does get involved with something, he can focus like a laser. Ken and I are going to perhaps have some practice on that, too. I am thinking of making it a game. Maybe like a musical chairs type of thing where if they sit still for a certain amount of time, they get prizes. We can include Dax since it will be good for him, too. Although, my understanding is he is excellent in sitting still on the rug in his class.



Mrs. Fasheh knows Bobby is bright. She thinks he isn’t living up to potential. For some reason, those words make me cringe, but I understand that she isn’t being cruel. It is true that when Bobby puts his mind to something, he is amazing. If he colors a picture on a placemat, it looks awesome, and he is gobs proud of it. Yet in class, or even on homework, he slacks. He seems to respond well to praise and incentive, so I am thinking that we can work towards using those.



She seems quite pleased with our involvement as a family. Ms. Lira happened through the classroom at one point, and greeted us with, “It’s my favorite family!” I am happy that our kids’ teachers know we try very hard to be involved.



After the meeting, I took Dax to class, while Ken stayed with Bobby. I then went off to the parenting class. I have not been in a few weeks. It felt good for the other parents to greet me so happily. Even the instructor hugged me! Yay!



I have to say, there are some super nice moms there. I am really fortunate to have this opportunity to spend time with them since their kids will be in classes with Dax for a while. I could actually see spending time with them.



As much as I know a lot of the material that they go over, it is kind of like a live action Parenting magazine. It is cool to get input and give thought to different concepts. We discussed the kinds of games we played back when we were kids, and our assignment for the week is to teach our kids some games we did when we were little. I then get to write a paragraph or so on how it goes. I think the best part of that was when I was telling the boys that Ken and I had school yesterday. I also said we had homework. Dax did his patented, “What?” Bobby asked what the homework was. I told him that mine was like his, in where he had to write a sentence, but I had to write 100 sentences. He was amazed and impressed. LOL!



During class, Dax’s class came in singing, looking for a leprechaun. There had been clues put around in multiple classrooms that they were going to. So cute!!!



I am always amused when I tend to gravitate towards certain people. The substitute interpreter was a lady from West Hollywood. It seemed pretty clear that she was a chick I would totally hang out with. Even though she did do amazing work interpreting, she and I chit chatted a bit and I have to admit it is always a bummer to meet cool people that you probably will not see again.



I got to sew! Ken ended up going and helping set up all of the St Patrick’s Day fun in Dax’s class, which meant I did the class mostly solo. Our activity was to sew bean bags because we did some play with our kid in the classroom. I of course made Dax a green one, and I have to say, I did a pretty damn good job! I only poked myself once, and the beans did not come out. Woo hoo!!



Of course, Ken had the bean bag activities totally setup, which allowed Ms Lira and Miss Jeanette a breather. They both told me how indebted they were to Ken and his help. I will admit jealousy in the idea that I wanted to be the cool school parent. Ken gets this glory, though, because he is the one who is more visible. He said that they always ask about me, but I still wish I could be more involved. I can at least feel good that my boys still love the shit out of me and even though I may not be JFK, I am way Jackie.



After a quick errand (getting some supplies for both teachers), we got home where I got to work. It took a while to get logged on, but after some IT assistance, I got in. I got a bunch of work done. I only worked until 1:30. I would feel bad about things that were pressing, but sheesh, I kicked ass on a day I should not of had to worry about coming in at all. I will probably not attend class next week, but you better believe that I will be there on the last day. Besides, I am making food for the pot luck!



Ken gave me my Thursday break. I used it to just kick back and watch some old Glee episodes and attempt to nap. I think I could get used to this wonderful time for me.



I made Mac and Cheese, with the intend to St Patty it up for the boys. I was smart and did not do it before I asked them. Although, I think they were amused at the idea, they were not as keen on consumption. On the plus side, they loved my baked chicken that I made and even had multiple helpings. Always look at the bright side when you can!



I took a lot of time last night prepping Dax for Maria’s today. This is one of those days where he doesn’t get the choice to stay home, and he doesn’t even have school, so Fridays are tough. He and I packed his dinosaur buddies in his backpack, and I pulled out a cool looking shirt of his, explaining it was his special Friday shirt. I then explained that these things would make Maria’s bearable. I also said that if he was brave, that when I picked him up “early” that we would use the scooters to go get Bobby from school. Ken was quite concerned with me actually scooting, so I had to assure him that I would be careful. Dax seemed ok with the helpful tools, but the real test will be this morning. I hope he is ok.



One of the big reasons he has not enjoyed Maria’s is due to Zoe. This is a little girl he has practically grown up with. Her brother is Kenny, the little boy who was always a bit of a bully. It is no surprise that his little sister would be the same way. She mostly uses her words to hurt others. She has zeroed in on the fact that Dax only comes a couple days a week now, and is only there from about 11 on. She has told him that they are not friends anymore. When Dax was crying the other day, she called him a baby. My tough cookie was crumbling at her harsh words.



Ken and I advised Dax on how to handle her. I know it would be controversial, but honestly, I wanted Dax to have power.



I told Dax that the next time Zoe is a bitch to go ahead and tell her to piss off. I told him to use those exact words. Sure, we mentioned the idea of even using the F bomb, but we agree that Piss Off has just the right amount of edge, without being too offensive. I hope he uses it. I know, having your 4 year old essentially swear at some little kid seems wrong, but really, we are going for a shock factor. I don’t think violence is a good plan, and being a tattle tale will only get more mocking. So instead, I want Dax to be assertive and bold, and I am hoping it will put this chick in her place. Either way, I am counting down the days till Dax doesn’t have to be there anymore.



Tonight we are Lego hunting. Ken has two giant parties this weekend, which means I will be setting up kits tonight. Thank goodness we have gobs of tv to watch! LOL!



Oh! Side note to anyone looking for positively adorable little stuffed animals. JoAnne’s has some of the cutest I have seen in ages. Bobby’s favorite, Carson, came from there. As did Charles Emerson Pachyderm the 3rd. Yesterday, I got some positively adorable dinosaurs for Dax there. They were only $5 each. I may need to go back. LOL! Plus, I seem to be getting the crafting bug. Such a shame I am not so good at most of it. LOL!!!



Ok, my day should probably begin. Have a good weekend, folks!