Posts (page 2)
I haven't done such a great job with the boys about pointing and staring at people.....especially people that are different for some reason.....people in wheelchairs or blind people or people with special needs....I guess because there aren't that many teaching opportunities and when one presents itself, and my kids do point and stare I get embarrassed that they are doing this and I hush them away quickly....which is EXACTLY the wrong strategy.....I really need to work on this. Yesterday Josh and I went to pick up Jake and there is a boy there at Jake's school that is in a wheelchair and Josh saw him when we went into get Jake and he just stared at this boy....and I felt terrible for it.....I told him it wasn't polite to stare and we went and got Jake....when we were leaving, the boy was driving his wheelchair to his van and getting into the van and Josh said, quite loudly "Why doesn't he know how to walk? And why does he have funny glasses?"....Im pretty sure he said it loud enough for the boy to hear....andI feel terrible about this- that I haven't educated my kids yet in this.....So last night I sat them down and talked about the fact that not everyone in the world can walk, or have 2 arms or can see or can hear, and that these people are still people with feelings and pointing and staring at people is not something we should do because it makes them feel bad. I tried to use the example of Johnny or myself wearing glasses- I asked Josh is he would like it if someone pointed at Daddy or stared at Daddy because of his glasses- and he said no. So maybe its sinking in???? I find it hard to quantify to my kids why its ok to point at an object but why its not polite to point to a person. I know some of you have special needs kids, so if you have any advise on how to talk to my kids on taking into account feelings of your kids and yourself, I would love to hear it. Right now I can just reiterate weekly about this to them, but i wont know if it will sink in until we are in that situation again.....OK- thanks for listening to me! This is something I am desperate to correct and feel terrible that Im so delinquent in this.
"Pumpkin Pumpkin
Big and Fat
Turn into a Jack O' Lantern
JUST LIKE THAT!"
On Saturday morning we carved pumpkins....not because I particularly wanted to carve pumpkins but because Jake had an assignment to make an art project out of pumpkin seeds that he collected and cleaned from a pumpkin (nice huh)....so guess who got stuck with the disgusting job of gutting a pumpkin and cleaning the seeds? Yup- ME....when I was a kid and my Mum used to do this for us, I swore up and down that I would NEVER do this for anyone- no matter how much they asked or how much I loved them...The thought of sticking my hands into a slimy pumpkin that smelled like, well, like pumpkin, was just too gross for me to imagine.....but fast forward 30 years and its amazing what you will do for your kids....Here I am with my hands inside 2 slimy pumpkins! ughhhhh....I hated every slimy stinky disgusting minute of it, but I gutted 2 pumpkins, and I separated the seed from the goop and the boys helped me wash the seeds and we carved 2 really great pumpkins....At least I was proud of the designs. The boys came up with the ideas for their pumpkins, I did the cutting and they pushed out the pieces....a great team effort and here is a picture to show for it! But now Im glad that's over for another year.....ughhhhh...I really don't like pumpkins....
The Texas Tornado are back in Frisco after a 1 year forced hiatus (due to the fact that the city of Frisco wanted to remodel their brand new Arena to accommodate more seating for future graduation events). I'm SOOOO happy they are back too...but I don't think the word is out yet that they are back...for an area that probably holds 10,000 people, there MAY have been 1000 on hand- MAYBE.....Good for us in that we got to choose where we wanted to sit....bad for the team....but the season IS just starting, so I hope the word gets out because its just good entertainment. I think watching Jr Hockey is WAY more entertaining that the NHL- first of all, its in our city (vs. a 40 minute ride to downtown Dallas)....you get close tickets, the kids all play hard because they want to catch scouts eyes, and you don't have to pay $30 a ticket for nose bleed seats. We got 4 tickets for $14. And free parking! How can you beat that!
Besides all of those good reasons, the very best reason on all is that the kids LOVE the hockey game. They watch it and they ask questions, and they get upset if the tornado lose and they love the music and the cotton candy and the popcorn (can you blame them really?). Last night we stayed until the end of the game- that is a first for us. We normally leave after 2 periods, but the kids wanted to stay so we did. The Tornado lost in the end 2-1, and Josh was upset at that, but it was a good game- minimal fighting and good scoring chances. Definitely something we will do again and again this season.....please let us know if you go....we may join you!
Growing up, I never liked Tom and Jerry....Or any Hanna Barberra cartoons to be honest (Well- I LOVED Flintstones, but that's about it)......I preferred Looney Toons- Sylvester and Tweety, Coyote and Road Runner....they rocked.....But Looney Toons isn't on TV now a days...Tom and Jerry though, is on every day. And My kids LOVE Tom and Jerry! They will both stop what they are doing and just watch these 2 guys for hours on end if Id let them. I am now realizing what a good cartoon this is....so thank you to my boys for opening up my eyes to the goodness that is Tom and Jerry.....And if we cant find Tom and Jerry, the Pink Panther will do in a pinch.....yet another cartoon I never really watched when I was a kid.....
On a side note, isn't it amazing that my kids are enthralled with cartoons that don't speak?
We have been doing alot of practicing of spanish around our house.....Yesterday Josh said to me "Adios" and I said "Hasta Luego" (see you later)....he said "What does that mean" so I told him and he went on his way....about 5 minutes later, he was leaving for school and Josh beams at me and says "FROSTING DIEGO Mummy!"....FOSTING DIEGO! BAHAHA.....I love what comes out of his mouth sometimes....not all the time- just sometimes
I think reading is so important. I was never really a big fan of it growing up- Im still a very slow reader, but now I love to read. And its been something that we have done with the boys since they were each 6 months old. Now every night we cannot go to bed without at least a book- our usual routine is to go to bed at 7:30 and read 3 books to each of them....Johnny usually takes Jake and I go with Josh. If we are really late going to bed, the boys still demand 1 book each.
Anyways, I was really excited that the public schools started this reading program called the Texas 2X2. It's a list of 20 books recommended by the texas library association, and our school is making a game out of it. if you read all 20 books before Dec 17th, the child will get a special certificate and a prize. So I put all the books on hold at the library and we have just finished our last in the list (and now Jake cannot wait until Library day to claim his special prize). Jake loved doing this task. His favorite book was either "Duck Soup" or "What's Up Duck" (he coudl almost fully read that one himself).....his least favorite was "What can you do with a Rebozo?" (who can blame him really!). I found the list interesting- some of the books were just not good....some were challenging for me- like "Lets Eat...A Comer!" Which was written in both English and Spanish- so reading it was a bit of a challenge. Some of the books were old favorites, like "The Dog House" and some were just fun to read. I really look forward to next year's list.
And speaking of the library, I have to say that its just about one of my favorite places....In fact I need to go back today. See, with Josh in Spanish Schoolhouse now, he gets extra credit if he reads a Spanish Book or watches Spanish TV....so every week I try to go to the library to get 2 spanish books to read at nights (because I think its good for him, not for the extra credit really- the extra credit just gets him excited about the books). Now, Im not very good at spanish, so I need easy books so I can tell him what is going on. My favorite find so far though is "Buenos Noche, Luna"....and the reason it was my favorite is because "Goodnight Moon" was one of my favorite books to read to the kids when they were babies and I have the book memorized. So when I read it in Spanish, I can understand every word, even if I don't recognize the words....so when you hear me read it, you would think I was fluent! Im hoping to find Chick Chick Boom Boom today- or if not them maybe something like Runaway Bunny or On the Farm (3 more books I know by heart).
As for me, Im reading the new Phillippa Gregory book- The White Queen- and Im loving it. Reading is an adventure.....One I wish I had discovered earlier in life....I hope my kids always love to read.
My kids are loving gymnastics. On saturday night I signed the kids up for a parents night out at Eagle Gymnastics. I dropped them off and 5pm and they stayed for 4 hours and LOVED it. They did crafts and drills and games and at 9pm when I picked them up they were still having a great time. I've asked them if they want to start taking lessons and they have said no, but they do love to go play there.
Then on Sunday a friend of Jake's big sister had a gymnastics party at WOGA and the kids got to go there and play for 90 minutes, and to them that wasn't near enough time. That WOGA place is fantastic too....it's where Nastia Luikin trains I think and it just has so many things to do. Trampolines and foam pits and bars and rings and pommel horses and on and on....This is the location that Pink Elementary does parent night out at once a month- so next time they have one of those Im definitely signing the kids up.
I really wish the kids would want to take some structured instruction for gymnastics- but for now Im happy that they love to go to these kind of places....oh- and for parents night out Johnny and I got to go to Kobe steak house for Japanese hibatchi dinner......YUMMMMMMM...steak and scallops- you CANNOT get better than that!
It seems like this entire weekend was centered around pumpkins, and even though I don't like pumpkins (at least to eat) I still had a fabulous weekend!
On Friday night we went to the Celina pumpkin patch with Josh's friend Jack and his mom. The problem there though was the smell- they have a petting zoo there and the smell when you first arrive at the patch knocks you over. the kids were all grossed out by it all and poor Jack started gagging and actually threw up at the smell....I felt so bad for him! But we finally paid and got into the pumpkin patch and the smell got alot better once inside. The kids enjoyed feeding the animals - Josh took a particular liking to a little brown sheep and got pretty upset when this little brown sheep got full and walked away. After feeding the animals, we got on the longest hay ride in history. It started out fun, but it lasted about 20 minutes- which was about 15 minutes too long...it was soooo muddy out there that I was actually scared that the tractor was going to get stuck- thank goodness it didn't. The issue with hay-rides is the hay...for some reason my kids think its cool to pick up handfuls of it and throw it at each other.....and you know what that results in....hay in the eyes- and in the eyes of all the kids and people sitting around us..and then tears....now do you see why the hay ride was 15 minutes too long? Anyways, we got off the hay ride, took some pictures, spent some time picking out our free pumpkins, then we left the stinky farm for home and pizza.
Saturday the kids wanted to paint their pumpkins....actually Jake wanted to carve his pumpkin, but I told him it was too small to carve- he then started hitting me up about when we could go get big pumpkins to carve.....I held him off until Sunday.
On Sunday we decided to go down the street to Grace Avenue Church for their annual Pumpkins on the Prairie Pumpkin Patch. I always love going there. First off, its free (vs. the $7 each at the Celina patch). Secondly, they have a great selection of pumpkins and I know the proceeds go to the church, which I think is a good cause and third, they have a ton of things to do for kids- hay rides (that last 2 minutes), a hay maze, bounce houses and games. We spent an hour and $30 there and we ran into 2 of Josh's friends from school there....so win win win win win!
I have a feeling next weekend will be filled with pumpkins too- Jake asked me when he went to bed if we could carve the pumpkins next weekend.....Oh well- Halloween is only once a year.....
Jake's first big school fundraiser is now in the books. The FunRun Boosterthon happened this morning at 8:30am and Ms. Armstrong's Army made a great showing. Arriving on the field in army headbands, this class was ready to run this thing! There was so much excitement around it was electric. With music blaring and the announcers hyping the crowd up, and the sun shining (even though the wind was chilly), everyone was in high spirits. The object was for the kids to run around the track as many times as they could in 1 hour. Every-time they made a lap, they got a lap ticked off on their backs. Jake started running and never stopped. He quickly racked up him maximum 35 laps but kept running all the same. He looked like he was having a blast! I was so proud of him for taking it serious and putting his heart into it all. So for all you that sponsored Jake to run, thank you- you would have been very proud of him. I think it meant alot to Jake too that both Johnny and I were there cheering him on at every turn....well- maybe not every turn....with that many kids running, all in white shirts, it was VERY easy to lose him in the crowd.....but every other turn anyways. Here is a short video of the start/finish line where the kids got their marks on their backs for every lap they ran.....and the burst of speed that Jake put out everytime he went through the check point.
I seem to remember going through this last year with Jake but now its Josh's turn. Its been Community Helper month at the Spanish School House and on Tuesday they brought in some firemen and their truck (and their dalmatian too!). The kids loved touring the fire truck and the firemen gave them all a talk on fire safety and let them all pet Sparky (the dog) and Josh was so excited about it when he came home.....he told me all about how the firemen put on their uniforms and told them that even if they got all dressed up in their costume that kids shouldn't be afraid of them even if they sound funny- that they are there to help etc....he told me about stop drop and roll and told me that we needed to have an escape plan from the house. Now in fairness, we have done this before- we do have an escape plan....it's just that I haven't gone over it with them in some time- so add that to my to do list today!
Anyways, last night Josh got really scared about the smoke detectors....he didn't want to go to bed because he was worried about the smoke detectors and then he woke up terrified at 3am that there was going to be a fire in the house. I ended up going back to bed with him and at 4am I snuck back to my bed- at 4:15 he was in bed with us scared.....then this morning once he got up there was a billion questions on fire: "Why are matches bad?" "What happens when there is a fire and the fireman cant find me?" "Can stuffed animals catch fire? Plates? Plastic cups? Airplanes?" "How does a smoke detector work? Does smoke come out of it?" "What was that noise- I think its the smoke alarm!" (it was the coffee pot) "I can't go pee- what if the smoke detector goes off when Im in there?".....and on and on and on.....And they are all good questions- and I do need to walk the kids through the escape plan (tonight)....I just wish that I could ease his mind that we are taking all the necessary precautions to not have a fire in our house. I guess eventually he will stop worrying about this and start worrying about something else...Im sort of glad though in a way because he didn't ask me once today "What if I have an accident at school?"....so its not all bad.
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