Thursday, December 25, 2008
Making Other Peoples' Christmas Memories
I know that the boys aren't in this picture, but I'm the poster and I get to make the rules. We (me and four other family members) spent ALL DAY getting horses and carts to Fairview for the tree-lighting ceremony, giving rides (2 1/2 hours worth) to the public and then getting everyone back home. We had a longer line than Santa Claus. As one little kid said "I can see Santa any where, but I can't get a ride from Rocky anywhere." Horses and people were all quite tired at the end, but it will undoubtedly be the highlight of my Christmas season. I helped people make Christmas Memories.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Mommy Needs to Keep Her Day Job
I thought I was being so clever.
And Jack actually liked the turkey. But the eyeballs seriously freaked him out. Oh well. It was fun while it lasted.
Jack's Presentation
This was taken at school the evening of school celebration party for receiving $100,000 from Intel for being a terrific school. Jack and his Dad are standing by Jack's presentation on "How Knights Stop Dragons." I can't wait to watch the DVD of the actual presentation.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Halloween
This my friends, is why you have children. Yes, that's right, free labor to collect candy for you to eat after they've gone to bed.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Visit to the Pumpkin Patch
It was 70 degrees today with not one cloud in the sky. The pumpkins were blooming so we decided to go to our favorite farm. It has tree climbing pygmy goats(okay, ramp climbing, but still, they go 20 feet up), pigs, bunnies, and a nut house full of filberts (not hazelnuts - true Oregonians call them filberts). Plus, for those two year old boys among us, it has tractors. Life is good.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Frustrations
Charlie:
I've never seen a child have a pretty-much continuous temper tantrum for almost an hour. This was the second session with the OT at Shriners for Charlie. Everything she tried was met with not only resistance, but resistance with an added dash of red face, shaking arms, quivering chin, screaming, and stomping. I was torn between laughing, anger, and the extreme desire to insist that I'd never seen him before.
It was tough because there could be so many reasons for his reaction. Ride on cars and push toys have always been challenging for Charlie and he may have been trying to tell us that they were just too much. With his postural insecurity, it is natural that these types of activies be hard. (I guess on the brighter side of things I never have to worry about his wanting a motorcycle.)
On the other hand, Charlie is two. Towards the end of the session, even things that he might have normally been interested in, were horrible. The boy wanted to be left ALONE. It's amazing how well that comes across despite not having many words. Notwithstanding this (or maybe because of it), she wants to see him once a week for a while. I think that's good. Unfortunately, I have to go too.
Jack:
Jack's first school presentation is almost upon us and I'm already tired. He picked a research question "How do knights stop dragons" and it was approved by his teacher. The process is supposed to be fairly straight forward. At the age of 5, he is expected (with help) to come up with an idea, research the answer, and make a presentation to his class. He is also supposed to make a product. I was fairly suprised by his topic. He has been so passionately consumed with dinosaurs that I was sure that he would decide to learn about them. Much to my shock, his favorite dino (the T-rex), didn't even make his short list. I asked him about it, and he looked at me, smiled kindly, and explained like you would to a two-year old, that he already knew about t-rex's. Well, excuse me.
Any-ho, we have now reached the research phase of his work and he is supremely uninterested. Plus, I'm a little stymied. You see, dragons aren't real. I guess that means that whatever answer we come up with has to be right but I'm a bit more concrete than that. And, it's hard to find a book on the matter. We got books on knights and books on dragons. We've talked about making his presentation about how a knight could stop a dragon if they were real. We've talked about making a cardboard shield and sword. Now we just need to link his topic to the school-wide theme of "adaptation." Martini's anyone?
I've never seen a child have a pretty-much continuous temper tantrum for almost an hour. This was the second session with the OT at Shriners for Charlie. Everything she tried was met with not only resistance, but resistance with an added dash of red face, shaking arms, quivering chin, screaming, and stomping. I was torn between laughing, anger, and the extreme desire to insist that I'd never seen him before.
It was tough because there could be so many reasons for his reaction. Ride on cars and push toys have always been challenging for Charlie and he may have been trying to tell us that they were just too much. With his postural insecurity, it is natural that these types of activies be hard. (I guess on the brighter side of things I never have to worry about his wanting a motorcycle.)
On the other hand, Charlie is two. Towards the end of the session, even things that he might have normally been interested in, were horrible. The boy wanted to be left ALONE. It's amazing how well that comes across despite not having many words. Notwithstanding this (or maybe because of it), she wants to see him once a week for a while. I think that's good. Unfortunately, I have to go too.
Jack:
Jack's first school presentation is almost upon us and I'm already tired. He picked a research question "How do knights stop dragons" and it was approved by his teacher. The process is supposed to be fairly straight forward. At the age of 5, he is expected (with help) to come up with an idea, research the answer, and make a presentation to his class. He is also supposed to make a product. I was fairly suprised by his topic. He has been so passionately consumed with dinosaurs that I was sure that he would decide to learn about them. Much to my shock, his favorite dino (the T-rex), didn't even make his short list. I asked him about it, and he looked at me, smiled kindly, and explained like you would to a two-year old, that he already knew about t-rex's. Well, excuse me.
Any-ho, we have now reached the research phase of his work and he is supremely uninterested. Plus, I'm a little stymied. You see, dragons aren't real. I guess that means that whatever answer we come up with has to be right but I'm a bit more concrete than that. And, it's hard to find a book on the matter. We got books on knights and books on dragons. We've talked about making his presentation about how a knight could stop a dragon if they were real. We've talked about making a cardboard shield and sword. Now we just need to link his topic to the school-wide theme of "adaptation." Martini's anyone?
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Gym Class with Charlie
Charlie isn't sure if he's enjoying himself or not.
Jack entertains himself since it is school holiday.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Charlie's Cognitive Skills
When Charlie was first diagnosed with developmental dyspraxia or cerebral palsy or motor planning problems, (pick which flavor you like best), most of our experts thought that there may be a cognition problem as well. It was hard to tell, because despite what the experts say, the tests for determining cognitive ability rely largely on motor and speech skills- which he is very behind in.
Now at 2 1/2, the jury is in. Despite having probably 20 words or less, the boy can identify colors and shapes. He can count to three and tell us how many of a particular item we have (up to three - you gotta start somewhere...). He also can sing in tune (without the right words) the song "Twinkle twinkle Little Star." He also beats to the tempo- even if you change the tempo.
I've decided I get to brag about this because it makes me feel a lot better about the times we are around "normal" kids his age and they talk so much more and move their bodies so much better. The boy won't go near a sit and push with your legs scooter. Meanwhile other kids are riding tricycles. Even the ones with the crack-addicted mothers, who live on soda pop and white bread.
Now at 2 1/2, the jury is in. Despite having probably 20 words or less, the boy can identify colors and shapes. He can count to three and tell us how many of a particular item we have (up to three - you gotta start somewhere...). He also can sing in tune (without the right words) the song "Twinkle twinkle Little Star." He also beats to the tempo- even if you change the tempo.
I've decided I get to brag about this because it makes me feel a lot better about the times we are around "normal" kids his age and they talk so much more and move their bodies so much better. The boy won't go near a sit and push with your legs scooter. Meanwhile other kids are riding tricycles. Even the ones with the crack-addicted mothers, who live on soda pop and white bread.
Goal Setting
Jack was asked to make a goal for the upcoming year. Much to my surprise, he had no problem picking something. He wanted to learn about soccer. His teacher asked him where he would go to learn about soccer. He said "the internet." I pointed out that there was also this building with books that might be useful. The teacher asked him if there was anything he could practice. He said that he could practice kicking the ball and that we could do this at home on Saturdays. Later on when we were alone, he said that he picked Saturday "because there's not a whole lot else going on." What five year old talks like that and why did my mom laugh when I asked that question?
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
The First Day of Kindergarten
The first day of kindergarten was hard. I was mostly at peace with leaving him with strangers. We had met the principal and his teacher. They were both lovely. In fact, we were uncommonly pleased with his school. But still, I wasn't interviewing them for the position, they were interviewing us. And, they were strangers. Would they be kind to him? Would he feel left out? He's gotten quite good at handling civilized children, but what about the crazy ones?
The morning of, we both got dressed. I pulled out his lunch, feeling the weight of all the lunches I would make in the future. I took his picture on the front porch. He stood with his backpack next to him. It was almost as long as he was. We were both pretty quiet on the car-ride to the school. I thought of my own first days of school. I remembered feeling anxious and overwhelmed. What was he feeling? Did he understand the importance of this first day? Did I want him to?
I thought of how much influence these new friends and teachers would have on him. I thought to myself, "he is my boy and I'm not ready to share him with the world quite yet. Let me protect him a bit longer." I looked at him through the rear-view mirror and saw that his face mirrored my own; both of us with brave little smiles. We got to the school and I escorted him to the classroom. The room was full of tiny chairs and tables. He was asked to find his name at one of the seats. Seeing his name there in print, somehow made it so much more official. Jack was a kindergartner. I stared at the ceiling until the tears welling in my eyes dried up. The teacher greeted us and told us that we could explore the room, and then she would read us a story and after that it would be time for parents to leave.
The teacher started reading the book "The Kissing Hand." As I saw the cover, I knew that during the reading would be an excellent, no absolutely necessary time to check my Blackberry for messages. The book is one that talks about a mother leaving a child at school and the mother giving the child a kiss on the hand so that the child will not feel lonely.
After the book, parents were gently encouraged to leave. Jack and the other children barely noticed as the teacher started talking to them about organizing their Teddy Bear picnic. As the parents left, we were each handed a small card. I started to read it but had to stop. It was about the school staff being so grateful that we were entrusting them with our children. I got to work and called a friend. I started to read the card to her but had to stop.
All day long I wondered how he was doing. Was he feeling comfortable enough to talk to the other children? Did he get a healthy snack? Were any other children interested in dinosaurs? Did he make a friend? Would he find the bus okay? I waited for him at the bus stop. As the bus approached, I could feel myself welling up with excitement. The tiny figure of my child finally got off the bus. I gave him a big hug and asked him if he liked kindergarten. He said "Yeah, they have more dinosaurs than pre-school."
Dang. If only I had known that they had a lot of dinosaurs, I wouldn't have worried so much.
The morning of, we both got dressed. I pulled out his lunch, feeling the weight of all the lunches I would make in the future. I took his picture on the front porch. He stood with his backpack next to him. It was almost as long as he was. We were both pretty quiet on the car-ride to the school. I thought of my own first days of school. I remembered feeling anxious and overwhelmed. What was he feeling? Did he understand the importance of this first day? Did I want him to?
I thought of how much influence these new friends and teachers would have on him. I thought to myself, "he is my boy and I'm not ready to share him with the world quite yet. Let me protect him a bit longer." I looked at him through the rear-view mirror and saw that his face mirrored my own; both of us with brave little smiles. We got to the school and I escorted him to the classroom. The room was full of tiny chairs and tables. He was asked to find his name at one of the seats. Seeing his name there in print, somehow made it so much more official. Jack was a kindergartner. I stared at the ceiling until the tears welling in my eyes dried up. The teacher greeted us and told us that we could explore the room, and then she would read us a story and after that it would be time for parents to leave.
The teacher started reading the book "The Kissing Hand." As I saw the cover, I knew that during the reading would be an excellent, no absolutely necessary time to check my Blackberry for messages. The book is one that talks about a mother leaving a child at school and the mother giving the child a kiss on the hand so that the child will not feel lonely.
After the book, parents were gently encouraged to leave. Jack and the other children barely noticed as the teacher started talking to them about organizing their Teddy Bear picnic. As the parents left, we were each handed a small card. I started to read it but had to stop. It was about the school staff being so grateful that we were entrusting them with our children. I got to work and called a friend. I started to read the card to her but had to stop.
All day long I wondered how he was doing. Was he feeling comfortable enough to talk to the other children? Did he get a healthy snack? Were any other children interested in dinosaurs? Did he make a friend? Would he find the bus okay? I waited for him at the bus stop. As the bus approached, I could feel myself welling up with excitement. The tiny figure of my child finally got off the bus. I gave him a big hug and asked him if he liked kindergarten. He said "Yeah, they have more dinosaurs than pre-school."
Dang. If only I had known that they had a lot of dinosaurs, I wouldn't have worried so much.
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