Spring break week had just flown by!

We came back from a pleasant (though a bit wet) weekend from Anacortes on Monday. Anacortes was nice on Sunday, but we still kept busy on the rainy Saturday. Mike and I went to the St. Mary's rummage sale and filled up a bag full of stuff for $3.00 (by item count, everything turned out to under .10 Each.) Mike took the boys swimming with the Skoog family. I took the opportunity to let the dogs run a bit in the dog park, visit a second hand store on the hunt for books (note: cheaper prices than used bookstores, but hit and miss success if looking for something specific), and picked up a luxury coffee for Mike and I to warm ourselves up with because the cold is seeming to seep into our bones. The other highlight of the weekend, Thank you Peter and Lynda, was the indulgence in the seafood buffet on Friday night. The crab was delicious, firm and sweet, and quite a breed variety to sample. The kids were barely containable in their excitement the moment that they heard the words crab and casino. They are crab crazy, gee wonder where they get that from?!

Tuesday, Grammy treated the boys to a Pump it Up session in which they played with cousin Tessa. It was very fun, and worked well to get their wiggles out. We ate lunch (again thank you Grammy), and then met Mike for a bit of swimming at the club. Quite a full day!

Wednesday, I treated the boys to a playgroup that met at the Burger King. They needed to see their friends, get wiggles out, and it was raining... so where were we going to meet that didn't include cleaning up someone's house so that the kids can ransack it all over again? Worked well. And then I grocery shopped.

Thursday, I worked while Daddy watched the kids.

Friday, I worked while Daddy watched the kids. Then we scouted the prices of things for a MOPS craft that is coming in May.

Saturday, I worked and took the kids (isn't that nice), then we visited the Friends of the Library book sale and scored a few cheap books (probably could take them to the used bookstore and get trade in credit for more than I paid to get the book.) Then it was a quick bike ride in the neighborhood and then who knows....

Sunday, church.
Monday, back to the regular school, work, cleaning, grocery shopping, work, clean, routine.

The kids are enjoying more and more of the outdoors. And sigh, they have discovered the joys of MUD. A little mud never hurt anyone, well their theory... Alot of Mud is a laughing matter and results in an equally fun shower. They are trying their hand at baseball-esque activities, although occassionally they are misguided in their attempts to see how close they can aim the ball at Shooter Rabbit (who is equally excited by the out of the cage freedom that the nice weather brings.)

So that's a little catch up. Hope all it well with you.

(Carolina, if you're reading this, you are my new inspiration for positivity under stress. Book give-away contests to commemorate spinal taps, brillant and I'm in awe of your perspecitive and outlook. Still praying for good results on those tests for you.)

The weekend is here!

As soon as Caleb is out of school, we are going to head out to Anacortes (Washington Park) for the weekend. Well, more than the actual weekend, with Spring Break next week, we decided to stay through until Monday. So it will be like a mini-vacation. Mike is very excited for the first trip this year/season, and he's messed with the truck a bit and has to try it out.

Both boys are very excited to camp. Caleb has though we were leaving that day for the last 4 days. And they are fighting over who gets to sit in Wyatt's lap, since our friends are coming up to Anacortes too (although they are are not staying in the same campgrounds as us). The rain might come, but right now it's just overcast. So I'm planning on a dress warm, lucky if we get a fire, maybe a garage sale or two, hot cocoa with a good book kind of weekend. And MAYBE the boys will go swimming and/or bowling. I say boys because as of yesterday, I'm come down with the icks. I'm still trying to be optimistic that it is just allergies really bad... but a fever is kind of the defining difference and I had a low grade one yesterday. But at least we get to do something with Mike's long weekend. And I'm hoping that some daddy time will straighten out Jockey a bit, he has really been acting up this week, especially at school and Awana. Won't listen, won't obey, disruptive talking and even called something stupid. So hopefully we can get back on track with this weekend.

The rabbit stays here and should be fine. We are taking the dogs with us, but I have to watch Zuma carefully. One of the screws from her leg repair has started to move/shift and work it's way out. It's been doing so for the last 4 months. At first it was just a small lumpish look, now it's quite obvious that it is the head of the screw. The area is now pink and beginning to lose it's hair. I'm not sure if it will callous over, or whether it will break the skin and become a source of possible infection. Should the later happen we will forced to face some difficult choices: 1)euthanize, 2) amutation, or 3) another costly repair that we hope will last longer than a couple years. I've already had to start talking to the boys about maybe having to send Zuma to heaven and not to harass her in her small amount of time left here. It's sad to have to talk about this now when she would have had another 3-5 years to go minimum. But I've made the choice to begin preparing my sons for the eventual inevitable, rather than shock them later. I think it will ease the experience for them if they understand the circumstances and can slowly get used to the idea that our time left with Zuma is temporary and to slowly say good bye. I do worry about them, of course, and the best way to deal with this. The last time Jockey was too small, and Caleb was very small but still asked questions about the time we didn't think he even remembered Ike.

Sorry to end on a low note, but that's our life today. Rainy, gray camping and animal issues and a bit of illness. Maybe the weekend will give me a chance to rest up because next week I've got plenty booked to accomplish.
Have a good weekend.

Tuesday and all's well.

Caleb was blissfully ontime for school. In kid language that means he had time to run around crazy before the bell for class. And today, they are actually going to the Imagine Children's Museum in Everett for a field trip. He was really excited, which was a big rebound from thinking he wasn't going to go because he had forgotten to bring home and return the permission slip. I had the parent-teacher conference yesterday and it was brought up much to my surprise. So I got the paperwork taken care of then, but perhaps cruelly let him bring it up later so that he would understand the consequences of not bringing home work/papers. I hope that he learns his lesson with something like this before the issue is really big later. He was still tearful that neither Mike nor I could accompany him, but I explained that that was also a consequence of not bringing home the work he should have. He seemed to understand that he had made the choice and now he just has to stay close to his chaperone. So it's a 2pm pick up for him today.

As to the results of the parent-teacher conference... He has shown some areas of improvement, and some area's that are confusing as to why they slid back a bit. He went from being about to count to 21 to 43. His reading comprehension showed improvement, though the teacher admitted that the first test was taken in a group and the second was one-on-one which may mean more focus and better results. He can comprehend and complete patterns very well. His handwriting has improved and shifted to using the lower case letters; we are also working on this at home with the piano and stregnthening his hands. He knows his letters, though still turns a few of them backwards. At home however, it did take well over 30 minutes and help to get the lower case written out. I find that the Font that the paperwork chooses sometimes confuses Caleb, like the small t, with it's little tail... to him he starts thinking it's a j. The teacher seemed to say that Caleb wants to be right so badly, that often he chooses to copy other's rather than act independently. He also sees everything very black and white/right and wrong and tries to get others to follow along with what's right. (Gee, wonder where he got that???! :) ) He is caring for others and tries to adapt so the seat changes that occur every week now. Caleb has also discovered soccer, not that the teacher told us, it's just something he finally talks about. And of course, he has been discussing/planning/inviting (and dis-inviting Jockey each time he's mad) from his birthday party... for the last 2 months! I finally told him to stop talking about it until April 15th! Didn't work by the way.

Jockey, still 3 and crazy as ever. *TMI warning* I want him to learn to wipe, but NOOO, he just "assumes the position" most often leaning into the bathtub and waits for me and hollers until I get there. He's in love with showers. He wants to be a superhero. He's still whinny, but is also picked on a bunch. He's starting to put his socks on by himself, but WANTS us to do it... a battle every morning. He's still not such a great eater at the table... but would each 3-4 apples a day and a carrot too if I let him. This morning in the car, after dropping Caleb off, he saw the crossing guard and their flag... he says to me "S-T-O-P, stop." I'm thinking WOW, hello, WOW. Did you read that buddy? "No, it's just in my brain." Do you know why you go to school? No. To put more stuff in your brain. We were a bit early today, he joyfully played in their art/messy room. Water and a turkey baster were the focus catchers of the day.

Tonight we will be going to dinner at Grandpa Dahl and Grammy Dahl's house. We will see Cousin Tessa, Kristina (I don't know about Ryan). Jockey will spend the night with Grammy and Daddy will bring him home after work tomorrow. Should be good. He is so different by himself. He talks alot, and will also sit and draw by himself, and talk to himself. Very different from Caleb who wants to be entertained by others.

Have a great Tuesday!

So everyone is healthy. It is the start of a new week. It looks like it might be a really nice day out if a bit chilly. I know what's for dinner for the next three nights and so I don't NEED to drag the kids into a grocery store iminently. I work 2 days this week, Mike 4 and then we are off the Anacortes for camping this weekend. Because it's Caleb's spring break next week, we will most likely make it a long weekend and use the vacation time while Caleb has it.

We went to Jockey's preschool Easter Carnival/Egg Hunt/ Fundraiser. It was ok. PACKED with people, which is good for the school but hectic for us. The Egg hunt was poorly organized and suffered from a false start leading to my sons tearfully upset over only getting one egg each...(BUT the bright side is that for the first time in 4-6 years, Mike will have Easter weekend off work and we will be able to seek out other egg hunts for the kids and he will be there to manage the kids with me... after nearly loosing Caleb at one when I was by myself, I'm a little crowd shy.) Jockey did win the Cake Walk, and the fished for toys. The items we donated brought in decent money. The bouncy house was wet and being finicky, my boys didn't jump in it. Jockey loved the sand art, but chewed a hole in the cross and the sand started sifting out. Sometimes, I just don't get it.
Yesterday ended with dinner at Papa Bill's and Grandma Judy's. The boys are still unruly, even when we did bring things for them to do. But at least they harassed the dogs less than usual. And when asked, yes, they would like just ice cream for dinner next time. (rolling my eyes at the silly kids, of course, that is their preferrence, mine too right?)

Saturday we attended a choir concert for a friend of ours. It was good music, but making our sons sit for 1.5 hours in chairs was a test of creativity, endurance and patience. At one point, they tried to make and throw paper airplanes! Then, Joshy got to brush my hair to keep him quiet. It worked for the longest period of time. But Mike and I were both worn from trying to keep them contained and quiet for that long in a 4'x2' area.

So that's the update. Have a great week.

Thursday!

No fever, no hives, the barest of coughs... these kids will finally get out of the house and get to school. They have cabin fever really bad. But I couldn't let them out with fevers to play in the back yard, nor did I feel right about dragging feverish kids through stores infecting everyone. But today finally, they will get out among the short half of our population, run a little and laugh (hopefully) alot.

Caleb is growing so much. Most of his shirts are in Joshy's dresser in the place I put those things in limbo between the boys. He has grown 1 1/2" in the last few months! His pants are suddenly pulled on and look like Urkele (old TV show) pants without the suspenders. And just today, we discovered that his shoes no longer fit and had to move him up to the next size (fortunately, we had those on hand). He's still a little peanut comparatively with his peers, but he is progressing!

Joshy is growing in his own right. And he can't wait to be a big boy. It's hard to say good bye to the cute clothes as he grows out of them. BUT, after going through 2 boys and most often we bought them used or were given them... the clothes are looking their best, rag bin quality not donation quality. They play hard, what do I expect?

I have more to say, but I have to get the kids to school and myself to work. More later.

Wednesday...

Here we are, Caleb still hasn't been to school yet. Fever has kept him out for the last few days, but yesterday morning started with hives of a sort. And I thought that the antihistamine and hydrocortizone cream had taken care of it, but then this morning it was double the problem... 80-90% of his body is covered including his face. So I have given him another antihistamine, gave him a shower, fresh towel to dry off, fresh clothes, and slathered him in the hydrocortizone again. I'm in limbo now to see if that is going to work, or if I have to get him into the doctor.

He hasn't has any new foods, so the nearest guess Mike and I have come up with is 1) For Caleb's fever we've given him a new kind of children's Advil... a ocean blue one with Cool Berry Taste. It could be the food coloring in that, but he's never had a skin reaction to food coloring before. or 2) zuma is shedding and her little needle hairs can pierce the skin and if pollen is on it... instant reaction. This one I doubt. It does appear to be an allergy type thing to a untrained observer, but I really hope it's not some virus strain that is going around.

So in limbo I will be for a little bit more.

We did get word that the interested parties involved in the conference with Caleb could not make the rescheduled time, therefore, they went ahead and approved the paperwork for Caleb's retention. All Mike and I have to do is sign it, and it's done. I don't know quite what changed their minds from needing a conference to not needing a conference, but I'm glad; I hate red tape and hoops. So, hurray, it's Kindergarten again for Caleb. He'll be happy, know 1/2 the things already, on the brink or fully reading and thus at the top of his class, in a familiar environment hopefully we are still waiting to hear about the intradistrict transfer. I expect him to be more mature and stronger and able to deal with learning and even failure better.

With him being out now 4 days straight, I feel less pressure about trying to cram in and catch up on what he's missing since he'll see it all again next year.

Joshy is on the mend. He's down to maybe 6 coughs a day, and the nose down to a dull strickle. I think he can get to school tomorrow. Caleb, still not so sure about. I have to work tomorrow, and I have MOPS on Friday. And that's a snapshot at the rest of our week.

Monday---
Home and sick.
Jockey is congested, runny nose and coughing.
Caleb has a 101.2 temp last night at 6, so no school today. He's pale, coughing, and moving slower.
I've also had to cancel his parent/teacher conference and am waiting on the reschedule date. As it turns out (without telling me, so it feels like an ambush) there were going to be other people involved in the parent teacher conference, the principal &/or the school psychologist, maybe the school counselor too, with the intent of further discussing Caleb's retention for next year. I'm glad that the retention issue is going forward, but I hate ambushes, and there has been ample amounts of time to tell me who will be added to the parent-teacher conference. So perhaps I showed my cards a bit too much when I said that if this one lady that I've come in contact with before is the psychologist, then I don't want her there and prefer the principal. I didn't like the way she stood between my son and I; nearly an anti-family vibe from her. Perhaps this is a adversarial approach, but I view this as a battle. And as a strategy, I have to take out the opposition one by one and the "easy" way with a simple request first. I can deal with those people who don't force my hackles up on sight. So now the meeting will be rescheduled, and hopefully with people whom I've dealt pleasantly with in the past and feel truly have Caleb and his family's interests in their sights.
Caleb and I had to have a talk today about no adult at school gets to have a meeting/conference/talk with him without me knowing. Our family is a team, they aren't always on our side, especially if they don't understand Jesus and follow our Bible. Mom and Dad are going to be with him and on his team long after he leaves the 6th grade where as they are not. They will try to be sneaky in their questions and it is mom's job to fight for him and our team. It really was a revelation to him when I told him that Grandma Bishop had to have this same talk with mommy when she was little in school. Wow, for him; deja vu, for me. He is now to say "No meetings without my Mom, Call my Mom, I don't feel safe." (speak in their terminology and they might get it.)

My sick boys are playing Hungry Hippoes. I'm still fighting the getting of it with just a mild sore throat but I'm holding out hope that I won't get it full blown. We'll be staying close to home and resting trying to get better. So that's our day.

Caleb stayed home from school today. A bit of a fever on that one.
Joshy is acting normal, but occassionally still has a bit of a cough. We're keeping it under control with a natural honey based cough syrup.
Mike's recovered enough to spend the next three days off of work.
I get to go out with the MOPS ladies tonight, if I don't come down with the ick between now and 7pm.

Until then, we are enjoying a peaceful day at home in the sun. The boys (despite being sick) are in the back yard in the sun and fresh air doing their darnest to plant apple seeds in the hopes that one day they will have a tree that bursts with apples on which they would never have to ask permission to gorge. The rabbit is hopping blissfully around them enjoying an exploratory jaunt after being couped up the last few cold and snowy days. The dogs are blissfully hoping to get their chance at the rabbit or their turn in the yard. Mike has taken it into his head to cook something... what do I care, I'm going out tonight. And I'm going to take an easy day and scrapbook and read.

It's turned out to be a fine day despite the illnesses in the household. In fact, more days could be like this and it would be fine with me.

Still sick.

Mike's recovered. Last night was the first night he wasn't coughing up a lung and all his stomach contents.
Jockey though, his fever climbed to 101... hence, he did not go to school today. He's a little seal cougher right now too.
Caleb... well, he felt a little warm, but I'm going to check him in a little bit to determine about tomorrow.

I think we are going to skip Awana tonight. Joshy wouldn't be able to go, but dragging him back and forth in the cold/dark to drop off and pick up Caleb would be hard on him. Caleb's completed 97% of his book with 2 months to go anyways, so there is plenty of time to work on it.

This coming Monday, I have a regular progress teacher's conference with Caleb's teacher. I'm hoping that she'll report some improvement. However, it was discovered that he was 'copying' off his neighbors often in the attempt to 1-complete work on time and 2- correctly because he didn't want to be wrong or late. Of course if undetected, leads us to believe he's finishing on time, correct work when he truly isn't and needs attention/help or more time. Time to buckle down again and stand like a hawk over his shoulder and see what he can actually complete without help or prompting. And obviously, I have spoken with him about not looking at his neighbor's paper and instead raising his hand for help or saying when he didn't understand something. We'll see what the teacher has to say.

We are looking forward to a calm weekend with a bit of recovery for the sickies. And if we are recovered, dinner at Papa Bill's is scheduled for Sunday. So far, I'm not yet sick, and I'm still hoping I don't get it.

Have a great weekend.

Sick-ies again?

Mike is still sick. And now, Jockey appears to have gotten it. He's developed a cough and a low grade fever. So I guess it is a good thing that I don't have to work tomorrow since the chances are high that I'll have to keep him home from school. I haven't seen any sick signs from Caleb yet, and I'm holding out hope.

On the bright side.... the $74 of cough and cold meds that I bought for "Free" (ok, $7 of sales tax) is coming as a huge blessing and being put to use! The cough drops are natural, the child cold syrup, the Theraflu for Mike, the elderberry immunity booster that protected Caleb and Joshy last bout, etc.etc. I thought even I was a little excentric "buying" a whole lot of free cough/cold stuff in July/aug, but turns out to be a huge blessing brought on by a little wisdom from above coupled with opportunity, and the innate excentricity, of course. (Note to friends, read "Death of a Garage Sale Newbie" to truly understand my tangibly, physical, pathological inability to buy anything at regular retail cost.)

Caleb spent a nice weekend with Grandpa and Grammy Dahl. The weather was a bit cold (snowy) and wasn't cooperating with the bike riding plans. But, none the less, they had a good time, Caleb came home with thrift shop/garage sale treasures and the tale of eating a whole crab at the casino.

Jockey and I made the most of the weekend with attending a birthday party for not-so-baby Emily. And the of course we dragged out every artsy thing he had. Markers, crayons, finger painting, water color painting, play doh. He loved it. He spent hours doing these things. And watching Caillou. A near bliss weekend for him. (THANK YOU GRANDPA AND GRAMMY, of course he'd love to be the one to go camping next occurrence.)

So, that's the update. Enjoying the snow out there? We did, but now it's melted, dark and SO cold. But we'll all be cozy in warm blankets soon. Good night.

How did the meeting with Caleb's teacher go?

Well. I had filled out a questionaire, and so had his teacher. When the scores were within 5-6 points of each other and both scores fell into the "good candidate for retention (i.e. repeating kindergarten)". The counselor was there too. We discussed and wrote out the pros and cons, something that Mike and I had gone through at home, but they needed to know what we were thinking. There were dozens of pros, one maybe two cons that's it. Most importantly, this is 1) what we want as parents and 2) when asked, this is what Caleb says he wants. Those weigh heavily into the decision. Mrs. Gillespie fully supports our decision and can see the value in it based on her experience with Caleb. The counselor commended us as parents for looking at this decision so maturely and with such an open mind, most parents seem to think that a child's age mandates them into a school grade... you're going into kindergarten because your 5, come hell or high water, etc. She thought that it was great that we were trying to make a good Caleb decision. And that is our intent, not just to make a good '09-'10 decision, but a good decision that will give him a good footing for the next 15 years.
Thinking on the various points brought up at the meeting brought a dawning revelation to me: Caleb in his personality truly wishes to lead and be a role model to other kids. However, right now he lacks confidence and is so afraid to fail and face humiliation (points brought up by his teacher) that it is actually stunting that desire in his true personality. Thinking on that, coupled with the idea of not fighting my child's nature as lectured on at one of our MOPS meetings, I've developed the belief that maturity gains easier comprehension, full comprehension leads to confidence, confidence leads to leadership. I will be affirming Caleb's nature and personality by giving him the opportunity to mature and build into himself comprehension, success, and confidence.

So all in all the meeting went well. I have the teacher and counselor on board. The counselor has paperwork to fill out and to meet with the principal to make the final decision. I was told that at another school this might not be possible, but that our principal is in favor of retention when it is appropriate; this makes our intra-district transfer that much more critical... turned that paperwork in today too. And while I was at it, I told them I needed AM kindergarten for my job... I figured I'd get all my demands out on the table while I was in the building. So we are just waiting on paperwork and a meeting that should be pretty cut and dry because we (the parents and child) want this so strongly. I'll be praying and holding my breath in the meantime.

That's the results for today. I have to get the kids to Cubbies and Sparks.
Caleb has school tomorrow and then will be going camping with Grandpa and Grammy Dahl in Anacortes. Jockey and I will have some quality time (maybe slow bike rides and painting) while Daddy is working most of the weekend. So that's it in a nutshell.

"MOMMY, I dressed myself today!"

That was how I was greeted today (after a potty run) by Josh. This is the very first day that he had ever picked out his own clothes, put them on and came out ready for the day. Minus socks of course. But still. He did really good and totally independent! I keep staring at him some days because he is morphing into a big boy every day. It's happening right before my eyes and I'm amazed.

Caleb is on the big boy cruise. He's growing taller, 1/2" in the last 2 months or so... but he is about the same daily. He'll be on this big boy cruise phase for a while I think. We asked him again his thoughts on Kindergarten and he is sure he wants to do it again. I received the questionnaire that they have parents fill out to see if the child would be a good candidate for retention. The questionnaire only confirmed my decision to put him in Kindergarten again. Very few questions had any academic components, very reassuring. They had questions like: are there more than 3 grades difference between siblings. Yes. Is your child significantly, slightly smaller or significantly/slightly larger than most kids in his class... significantly smaller. Where is the child's birthday in the calendar year? What kind of interest does the child display in school? These things only reinforced my belief that this isn't an academic decision, but rather a maturity and developement decision. So now it's going through the red tape with the school.... Starting this Thursday, meeting with the teacher.

Mike's on his second week of working opening hours. I think he might be adjusting and hopefully that means more family time with the boys in the afternoons.
I have put in my request to be on the craft team again for MOPS next year. It was gladly/gratefully accepted. I'm working today. I received my meds and will embark on a hopefully life changing process at the end of this week/weekend... although it will probably be rough and a huge shock to my system. Patience to just wait it out and let the meds work and see what improvements come of it. I'm hopeful.
That's it for now. Time for school and the day to start.

A pretty smooth week.

Everything has clicked along as expected. With the exception of snow on the grass, roof and trees yesterday morning... followed by beautiful sun in the afternoon and this morning.
We are looking forward to the weekend. Mike is off for the next three days. Caleb has a birthday party to attend, his first birthday party for a classmate this year.

I have an appointment to speak with Caleb's teacher and discuss her observations about Caleb's development in comparasion to his peers. I hope to get a confirmation to the general decision we have made in terms of putting him in Kindergarten again. Everyone I've spoken with has confirmed the decision in various ways. But, the red tape starts with a teacher conference, therefore that's where I begin.

So that is all for right now. Have a great weekend.

Just a little catch up...

Friday was MOPS. Jockey loves going and eating the mommy's food. Mike picked up the boys so that I could pack everything away after the craft at MOPS.

Friday night we had "movie night" at Jockey's preschool. They wore pj's and watched some cartoon that had them entertained. Mostly it was just something to do and hang out with Jockey's buddies. The mommies got to talk a bit too.

Lots of "stuff" to do this week without anything major to report. Household chores etc. Sunday was church, nice. Grocery shopping, laundry, the usual.

Joshy had decided that he likes girl's bums and their long hair.... don't really know why.

Caleb's opinion is that he would like to be in Kindergarten again and learn everything fully, be the oldest and biggest and smartest in class and read... So I'm going to look into what it takes to re-register for Kindergarten. He can always take AP classes in High School, do running start, or be skipped ahead a grade, but it would be awful to endure being the smallest (too small sometimes) for sports, youngest to get his license etc, and too young to be mature enough for college.

So another week has begun and pretty much more of the usual.

Hello and happy Sunday.

Life is just clicking along here on President's Day weekend.

I passed another kidney stone (not as bad as Nov or July's, but not painless mind you.) In church, I was reminded once again of the blessing of the God-given/provided ways and tools to deal with this reoccurring event in my life. Sometimes God takes us around the same tree (aka, trial) because we didn't learn or didn't learn it all the first time, but sometimes we have to go around the same tree of blessing to be reminded of God's constantcy, renew our gratefulness, and see the depth of the blessing and provision for us. So another stone passed with a few bumps, and for those who are counting, that is 3 strained and caught in 8 months!

Mike and I have made a huge decision to register Joshy for a second year of Preschool rather than put him into Pre-K for the '09-'10 school year. He is chronologicially allowed to move forward, but after talking with other moms of boys with close to the cut off birthdays... and thinking ahead... It is our choice to give Joshy the advantage of being the oldest, more intellectually developed, probably still not ever going to be the tallest, most socially developed kid in his class. He'll be 16 when he starts his sophmore year (rather than just before Junior), he'll be 18 his entire senior year, and a full19 when he goes into college. We looked at all the advantages and there was just one disadvantage of having peer pressure to buy smokes in the senior year. He will be legally able to get a job, old enough to drive to it, he'll be able to get to more extra-cirricular activites/sports etc. I think we are making the right choice, although I had to face my selfishness in trying to get more time for me sooner and get him into Kindergarten in '10 rather than the pre-k he'll now go into that year. Once I swallowed my selfishness, I was able to see the advantages and started to feel objective about this choice. I do worry about putting that much more time between the boys in school/peers, but then again there's more time between having to pay for college for the boys now too. I do worry about Joshy sooo wanting to be a "big boy", but I really don't want him to be the runt in his class (more than just the inevitable physical). I think this is a good decision, and I'm hoping that the undeniable confidence in the decision will come the closer we get to it. If anything, I'll get to keep my "baby" with me longer, right? Does this mean I get to stay in MOPS longer too?!

So no school tomorrow, but lots of errands.... with both kids, sigh. Well, it can't all be sun and roses.
That's all for now, have a great week.

The boys both had their valentines day parties today. (No school until next Tuesday).
They are both delighted with the goodies that they received.
I think we have entered into a new phase though. Caleb promptly sorted out all of the girly valentines (pricess, dora, fairies) for disposal; thanks for the candy but, he didn't want them because they are girly. He kept the TMNT, Transformers, Spiderman, Batman, Power Rangers etc; these are all tucked away in his room. That's boys for ya. I know we are in a phase, I can only pray that it lasts until he's out of his teens for a less complicated life... and then swings definitely and inevitably back for his twenties. I was just surprised and humored by his opinion of girly valentines.

The snow stayed on the grass, lucky for us... I guess. So School is on a normal schedule. Maybe we'll get more tonight!

Well, It's SNOWING (and sticking at least in the grass).... we'll see what that means for tomorrow!

Another week has begun... with a little of the white stuff.

Yes, we have a trace amount of snow lining our grass this morning. Nothing on the roads fortunately, which meant that school was on schedule. The sky is now a crisp blue with just bit of white clouds beginning to roll in. I checked and we aren't forecasted for more snow, but we can always hope! Tuesday night/Wednesday is good for me.

Caleb and Joshy were excited about the snow, and I can be that this afternoon is going to be an outdoor, wet, cold and fun kind of day followed very closely with hot cocoa and naps... Sounds like a great day to me!

Joshy (unfortunately) is beginning to follow in his brother's footsteps. Since we began to take the pacifier away, he has begun to suck his thumb. sigh. Just when you think, hey we did ok with this one, we can ALWAYS take away a pacifier, he switches and gets ahead of us. Why don't these kids come with a rule book?!

Speaking of rule books....

Last Friday was MOPS. It was probably one of the most impactful topics (for me) to date. Basically it was on reinforcing/affirming the Nature of our Child. The nature of our child as defined by their gender. The long story short, reinforcing and stregnthening their gender defined role to increase self-awareness and self confidence. For me, I paid attention mostly to the boy specific details being as that is most applicable in my life. What I came away with has given me insight to boys, and a little bit of grace for their stupid actions.
Boys should be trained up in a manner that will form them into good men. Good men are Priests (spiritual leaders of the house), Providers (of more than just financial) and Protectors (of all aspects: emotional, social, psychological, physical, etc). Because of these future roles they will behave in ways meant to develope these aspects of their lives.
Jumping off the couch is not mere an attempt to disobey and annoy Mom (please note, mom is a girl and it isn't built into her the need to do this). Jumping off the couch is a way for boys to conquer and explore. Conquering the couch is a boy expression that developes them into courageous protectors. Understanding this, I can change my perspective and be a bit more graceful and less high strung. Boys will turn everything into a weapon, it is a natural expression of the wish to protect. Granted they need direction with in that activity that will prepare them for the role.
These boys will need to be trained to be "gentlemen", not because women are able to open a door or walk on the correct side of the sidewalk... but because it affirms, rather than contradicts, the boys nature to protect (and women will inherently feel protected by these actions).
As married men, my boys will have to be the leaders of the household and ensure the spiritual wellbeing and growth. This has to be modeled to them. HOW to do this role. Pray with the children to teach them HOW to pray, and often to teach them to be in the habit. I must pray for my children of course because I can't do this on my own. They will need to be taught HOW to study, How to pursue God's will, How to living in the morals the Bible teaches... and to be strong enough and wise enough to lead others in these skills too.
And Providers, obviously there is the financial, but it is so much more. They need to provide environments where others can express themselves. To provide information, skills for care-taking, finances, etc.
NOW, I know how to appeal to their boy nature in their discipline and training. Caleb hits Joshy, now I say... that doesn't follow God's law (golden rule), that doesn't follow God's command to be your brother's keeper, and as family Caleb need to protect Joshy not hurt him. And then later in the day, Joshy hit Caleb and we go around the tree again... different boy. I know that I will attempt to draw to one of these three roles into my disscussions and discipline of/with the boys. They need to be following God, they need to be responsible for the care of others, commitment to providing for the tangible needs of their family. And as a Mom (and Dad MUST help too as the BIGGEST role model), it's my job to get these boys trained. I'm not just trying to get them through childhood alive and eating with a fork while sitting at the table.... It's a bigger job than just making them civilized. I have mini-men that need to know how to do it right.

Like I said, the best MOPS to date.

That's all for now, have a great week.

Happy Friday!!!!!!!!!

The weekend gets to begin for a lot of us (not Mike unfortunately).

MOPS is this morning and Jockey is looking forward to his class. Caleb gets to go to school. And of course, I get to hang out with the Ladies of MOPS. And drum roll, I'm going to go to Snohomish for their annual city antique sale! Kind of excited to go. Still probably won't buy anything... but it's the idea that the dream is 10% off and therefore 10% closer. Like having 4 of the 6 numbers in the lottery insteal of just 3. (3 #'s in the lottery equals just going to the antique stores without children).

So the kids and I are going to kid back with a $5 pizza and hang out tonight. Should be mellow. Talk to you later.