Gratuitous bragging.

The weekend started with a triumph! Alex got off the bus and had a conversation with me. --Actually told me about portions of his day, without being paid!

Alex had news. Good news! GREAT news! He only missed four words out of 22 on his spelling test, and that resulted in a B! (Please don’t ask me if that’s mathematically possible. I don’t know.) A “B” as in you-are-performing-above-the-average-second-grader!

We were so thrilled we decided to go out to dinner and let him pick the place. Monical’s won and Alex surprised the waitress by asking for Blue Cheese dressing for his salad. He then proceeded to willingly converse with the waitress without being prodded. Big night!

Brandon and I secretly suspect Alex may have been flirting with the waitress, because he kept telling us how nice our waitress was and that she had really pretty eyes. He was all too eager to tell her how great the BBQ chicken pizza was. Brandon winked and nodded. I felt nauseous.

I’m not sure if I mentioned it or not, but Meredith has taken up light reading. I knew she knew all of her letters and the sounds they make. I noticed she was starting to sound out and recognize words. She sometimes spends an hour, just writing every word she can figure out how to spell. She then takes her finished works to my father in law’s house because he has a laminator. Her words must be preserved.

I remembered all of the “Hooked on Phonics” books we purchased when Alex was two and a half, just knowing he’d enter Kindergarten reading columns in the “WSJ.” Alex didn’t share our enthusiasm, so I wrote off the $295 we spent on the complete set as a failed investment.

When Meredith started asking me to find books she could read, I pulled down the yellow boxes that are still in mint condition and gave her the beginning readers. There are tapes and letter flashcards, but honestly it was a little late for those. She took out “Cat,” started sounding out the words and just like that her eyes were wild with the excitement that comes with figuring out you actually know how to do something.

Meredith is so enthusiastic about learning to read that she begs to read the next book in the series. There are 14 books at each level and they get progressively more difficult. I wanted to hold her at number 5 in order to prevent frustration.

That didn’t work. Meredith’s frustration with me was clear.

I finally said, “All right, go for it, but don’t get mad if you can’t read this one yet, because you’ve only been reading for a few days. This is a hard book!”

Merdi needed help sounding out some words…we had to discuss “bossy E.” But, by golly once I showed her “E” makes vowels say their name, she immediately sounded out “like,” and tore through the rest of “Pop Fox.”

She gets it! It’s not a fluke!

This morning as I was taking my first sips of coffee, Meredith was honing her skills. She had a book we bought Alex during a trip to Hawaii. It’s called “I went Diving in Hawaii.” It’s a counting book and numbers usually turn Meredith off, but when they are disguised as reading, it works!

Merdi looked at me and said, “Mom, what kind of fish is this?” “Oh wait, is it an “ah-nee” fish?

“What?! Let me see.”

Maybe that bossy E lesson wasn’t as effective as I thought!

R-o-l-a-i-d-s

Thursdays make my stomach churn.

Thursday is the day before Friday and Fridays mean one thing when you have an elementary school student: Spelling Test Day.

Here’s the thing. Alex cannot spell his way out of a paper bag. I meant it. He also has very little interest in learning to spell. So far this year, he’s earned two C’s and a D in spelling.

We had the conversation today on the way to school that a D means “below average--as in ‘you are performing under the ability of the average second grader.’”

I glanced in my rear view mirror to give Alex the arched-eyebrows-and-pursed-lip-face to let him know I was seriously irritated. He looked at me and said, “Well, what happens if I get one D on my report card? Because I’m sure it will be balanced out with A’s in math and science.”

I told him I expected nothing less than a B to show up on his report card. I told him the jig was up. I knew full well he wasn’t giving spelling (OR reading for that matter) his all. He didn’t even put up a fight. “Yeah, you’re probably right. See ya!,” and he was out of the car.

After school we had some errands to run. While we were out, we picked up our first Harry Potter book. I’m hoping Harry flips a switch or casts a spell, and Alex will magically want to improve his literacy skills.

On the way home, Alex asked if he could play outside. I reminded him he chose to wait until the last minute to study for his spelling test and there most likely wouldn’t be time. I white knuckled the steering wheel and took a deep breath in order to fill my lungs with the air that would surely have to deliver an angry lecture about preparation once again.

To my surprise, very little protest arose from the black Graco booster.

I don’t know what happened, but Alex willingly studied for his spelling test.

Wait. I do know what happened. I threatened to call Mrs. Small, his teacher if he didn’t. I e-mailed her last week and he went nuts as a cat on a hot plate.

I also bought each of the kids a miniature composition notebook. Like all kids, Alex and Meredith really like things that are far smaller than practical. He wrote all his words, without protest, on his tiny tablet. By the end of our two hour session, Alex could spell all the words except one. I’m hoping something sticks until the test. I hope it’s early in the day. We haven’t worked on retention.

A cup of sugar

When we moved into our house a couple of years ago, a fun family lived right behind us. It took awhile for our kids to warm to each other, but they were really nice neighbors. Before our sod was even laid, they moved. I remember saying, “Please don’t tell me you just received your tax assessment and decided to sell.”

That wasn’t the case. They built a new house on our street. Their old house sat lonely and empty. They had the yard kept immaculately and I didn’t worry about walking around in my pajamas without any window coverings.

A couple of weeks ago, I saw what looked to be an inspector walking around the perimeter of their old house with a clipboard. Did it sell?!

To our delight, two little blond girls came bounding out the backdoor and started swinging on the fabulous playset that sat idle for eighteen months. Meredith and the littlest one were instant friends. The kids confirmed that the house did sell and we were getting new neighbors.

Later that evening, I walked over to their backyard when I heard Meredith say, “Hey Lily! Let’s skip rocks in your pond!” I started running when I heard Lily say, “My dad says not to do that, it could kill the coy!!!”

I introduced myself to the mom while in my bare feet. She seems really nice and they moved from our old neighborhood, and even lived in the same model of home we did. Small world.

The kids have been back and forth on each others swingsets for the past few days. Their movers came yesterday, so I need to start baking. We officially have new neighbors…and we like them!

The gate is open!

As previously mentioned, 987 times, Meredith started Senior Preschool yesterday. I know it probably sounds silly for all of us to be so excited over a couple of teachers, but these women are ahhhhmazing.

Mrs. Judith and Mrs. Arleta are ageless, but if I had to guess, I’d say they’re in the early 60’s. The amount of energy these two have should be bottled and sold. I’ve literally prayed for three years they would delay their retirement until after Meredith “graduated.” I couldn’t bare the thought of Meredith not getting to experience their magical classroom after Alex did.

I don’t devote as much thought to fairness as Alex and Meredith do, but I want to give them equal experiences as often as possible.

Our preschool is play-based, meaning they teach through imaginative play, crafts, sensory experience, and song. While not academically rigorous, the children absorb so much without even realizing they are learning. Most importantly to me, they learn about a God who loves them no matter what and how to live their lives according to His principles.

Mrs. Judith and Mrs. Arleta give so much of themselves in helping prepare these little people for life that it just amazes me. They teach them attention to detail and the value of hard work when they transform the classroom into a post office or a farm. They ignite a passion for science by taking the kids on a trip to the moon…the kids even eat pudding out of Ziploc bags. They encourage the kids to go barefoot and experience the beach in the middle of January when they haul in a ton of sand and scatter it on the tile floor. No detail is overlooked and it’s done strictly out of love for these children and wanting to see them grow into well rounded, wonderful Kindergarteners.

After orientation, Meredith happily told me there are no rules in their classroom, only responsibilities. The teachers told a room full of four year olds…with straight faces, that the children didn’t have any rules to follow; they just had a duty to be responsible. They are responsible for treating each other with kindness. They are responsible for treating the classroom and its supplies with respect. They are responsible for listening to their teachers. They are responsible for obeying The Word of God.

Guess what?! It works. Rarely do you hear of a discipline issue in Mrs. Judith and Mrs. Arleta’s room. Not only that, but the children gain so much confidence in learning self reliance that they become more sure of themselves. Which I firmly believe leads to treating others with kindness. It’s such a neat thing to watch!

So my excitement for Meredith isn’t just about Mrs. Judith and Mrs. Arleta creating a fantasy learning environment, it’s about what she’s learning and from whom she is learning. These women ooze warmth and honestly love each and every child. Alex still talks about them and they treat him like a celebrity every time he visits. The heartfelt letter they wrote him upon his “graduation” brought me to my knees. I cannot imagine knowing each child completely and fully giving of myself the way they do. There is no doubt God has given Mrs. Judith and Mrs. Arleta special gifts in working with children and I cannot believe we’re so blessed to have them as teachers.

Zootastic!

I’ve always wanted to be an animal lover. Animal lovers are usually easy going and friendly and everyone seems to like them. Try as I might, I am not an animal person.

Oh sure, I like dogs. I was even really enthusiastic about owning one several years ago. But, I like dogs that don’t shed, stink, or drool. Drooling is the worst!

I like dogs and most animals from afar. From a distance. That’s how I like my animals.

However, I always like the idea of taking my kids to the zoo. I picture us strolling along having brain-growth inducing conversations about habitats and taking smiling pictures in front of a lion that is mid yawn.

Our trips to the zoo never compliment my vision.

Ever.

Instead, we buy tickets that seem sky-high compared to the free admission of the St. Louis Zoo I grew up loving. We follow behind crowds of sweaty barefoot children. We approach animal enclosures only to have either myself or one of the children gag from the smell. We fight for a table to eat $4 hotdogs and fear swallowing the errant bee that wound up in our drink.

And yet, I come back for more!

This weekend our plans changed. We were going to visit the Burgin family in Springfield, but they were hit with a bug earlier in the week. The kids were disappointed and once I have it in my head we’re leaving town, it’s likely going to happen. I wasn’t sure where we were going, but we were going to go somewhere over the weekend.

Sunday morning it hit me. Why not go to Cincinnati? We could go to the zoo, which is supposedly one of the top five zoos in the nation. We could stop by IKEA and look for a desk for Alex. What else did we have to do? To my surprise, Brandon agreed without much prodding and we were out the door by 9:00 a.m. Look at the enthusiasm! It's written all over Brandon's face!

When we got to the zoo, I had high hopes!

BAM! First thing out of the gate, a woman demanding to speak with a manager because a zoo employee wouldn’t give her family seven maps. “We have five children! We NEED seven maps!” I wanted to point out I doubted the infant would be able to fold a map into its original form and that would cause hours of frustration.

Here we go!

Next, we were behind a family who was allowing their child to walk around the zoo barefoot. Barefoot! Through puddles...and it wasn’t raining.

First stop was the reptile house, which was the size of my kitchen and as loud as my kitchen on a busy morning. Alex doesn’t like a lot of noise. I don’t like reptiles.

We made our way to the rhinos, which were covered in mud and it was more than Meredith could handle. “All right. Moving on!”

Brandon forced us all into the cat house. It was indoors and I don’t think leopards are meant to live indoors in tiny glass enclosures. It was evident they do little aside from mark their territory in protest. Alex was breathing through his sleeve.

We could just leave the zoo after we realize we’ve made the same mistake again, but I’m not about to let $44 go to waste. No, we’re going to see it all!

A couple of hours later we left the zoo and drove to IKEA. Yes, IKEA on a Saturday. We’re idiots. The play area was full and our kids were livid. They wanted to spend time with strangers away from Mom and Dad. I was not thrilled about dragging them around the bemouth of a store.

My enthusiasm was further eroded when Brandon and I argued over a desk and would up getting separated. I had the kids. Of course, I had the kids. I did not however, have my cell phone. It was in the car.

Two hours later, I called the store service desk and had them call my lost husband. We were 30 feet from each other.

It was a quiet ride home.

Guess we should've put more into the medical savings account!

My trip to the ER on Monday was only the beginning…

Tuesday evening, as I was tucking Meredith into bed, she mentioned some things that lead me to believe she might have a urinary tract infection. The fourteen times she got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom was the club over the head.

Alex’s allergies set in before I had the foresight to begin his annual two month round of Claritin. Constant coughing and a wheezy chest rattle was my hint that Alex would be coming with us to the doctor in the morning.

Wednesday morning, we headed to the pediatrician during “sick hours.” Blech! I try to avoid that at all costs, especially when we’re in for something that isn’t viral or bacterial. I was pleasantly surprised to find the waiting room wasn’t at all crowded when we got there, but slowly they trickled in:

“Hi, we’re here for a strep test.”

“Yeah, I’ve got Nick. I called earlier about pink eye.”

“Ma’am, could you please ask your son to wear this mask in case he tests positive?”

Fantastic!

I used the time on the drive over to deliver the “don’t touch anything” lecture. A good mother would have brought along art supplies, their DS/Leapter, a book…something, but I had nothing. I raced out of the shower and into the car when they asked if we could come in in 30 minutes. I had my work cut out for me keeping Alex and Meredith on the chairs and away from the Bristle Blocks and fingerprinted splattered fish tank.

Of course, everyone was called in before us. When we finally got into the exam room we were in and out in 20 minutes. We even killed two birds with one stone and got Meredith vaccinated against the flu.

After a trip through the drive thru pharmacy and McDonald’s because Alex missed his lunch hour, we were in back in business and Alex was back at school.

Meredith and I met our friends Sally and Stella for lunch prior to preschool orientation. For those of you who do not know, this is THE YEAR, for which we’ve been waiting. This is the year of a classroom guinea pig, tiny leather couches, and Imagination Destinations! Meredith has Mrs. Judith and Mrs. Arleta!!!! The patron saints of preschool! This is the class for which I waited in a cold, dark parking lot at 4:00 a.m. They are worth it!

Meredith was nearly beside herself with excitement. She has flipped through the scrapbook Mrs. J and Mrs. A. made for Alex 1,000 times. She cannot wait to spend her days in Antartica, on a dude ranch, and in an inflatable room. So, when they opened the door, Meredith was the first one in. She told me later that Mrs. J and Mrs. A. must have been just as excited to see her because they gave her huge hugs. Ha!

Meredith also got to see, as reported by Meredith, her “BFF, Ava!” They squealed “hello” to each other from our cars and held hands all the way in.

I squealed when I realized I’ll have two full days to myself this year. I’m sure I’ll fill it with volunteering and photo shoots, but it’s fun to fantasize about going to the movies in the middle of the day.

Thursday, I had my follow up appointment with my OBGYN. The whole cyst situation checked out fine. While I was there, I asked her to recheck a lump she found in May. I had a diagnostic mammogram, but wasn’t 100% with their assessment.

My doctor checked it out and decided to send me to a breast surgeon for a biopsy. While it isn’t any fun to hear you need to have something further explored, I was eager to know one way or another. The surgeon scared me a little when her office called and asked if they could see me the following day at 9:30 a.m.

Brandon’s flight came in around the time of my appointment, so he went with me. However he had a conference call just as they took me back. Brandon took the call in the hospital lounge and I met with the surgeon. After discussing my case and doing another ultrasound and mammogram, Dr. Kennedy decided the lump should probably come out and be sent to the lab. She is not at all concerned; it’s just for peace of mind. I’ll just be glad to have it out as every time my fingers slide across the almond shaped lump in the shower, my stomach drops.

For all the medical mishaps we’ve had this week, we’re all still healthy and well for the most part. Whew! Now if I could only say the same for my house…

Life Lessons from a seven year old.

Alex is an anomaly. One minute he is wise beyond his years and helpful beyond necessary. The next he is stomping his way up the stairs and yelling he will never eat dinner with us again. As our friend Jeremy once told me, “Give the kid a break, he’s like 48 in a seven year old body. It can’t be easy.”

I try to remember that when he slams his door and rattles the kitchen chandelier.

Slowly, I’m starting to see an emergence of maturity.

Alex has yet to find his niche in team sports and Brandon and I think it’s really important he find one he enjoys.

Tennis and golf are great, but don’t really provide the experience of being on a team. Until you’re in high school and your 82 on nine holes kills the team score and causes your coach to withhold dinner on the long trip home.

One of the school newsletters mentioned try outs would be held for the Noblesville Swim Club. Anyone six years old and older was eligible. I held my breath and asked Alex if he had any interest. He has shunned summer swim teams because he is an activity commitment phobe like his mother. He didn’t want to be chained to a starting block each and every morning and I didn’t blame him. So, when he responded with an enthusiastic, “Yes!” I was slightly stunned.

After coming to terms with the fact we’d be surrendering three evenings a week for practice and a good chunk of our weekends, we went for it. Alex attended two evenings of practice and they seemed to go quite well. He had never done a proper backstroke and at first try looked something akin to a windmill. After a little coaching from Annie’s husband, Ryan, Alex “got it,” and did really well. Alex had never mastered side breathing during freestyle, but that came along nicely too.

Try outs were on Thursday and Alex was pumped. I was a nervous wreck. Turns out, I had good reason to be. During the freestyle, Alex stopped five or six times! I tried to mentally will him to keep going, but it didn’t work. The after report was that his goggles were leaking. I’m not sure I buy it since the phenomenon never occurred during practice. His backstroke however, was fantastic!

When he got out of the pool, I told him how proud of him I was for trying something, but explained to him that making it across the pool using proper strokes without stopping was a requisite. I braced myself for a meltdown, but instead he said, “Yeah, I know. I probably won’t make it, but it was fun and I learned a lot about how to do the strokes.

On the drive home he asked me if I ever didn’t make cheerleading when I tried out. I told him no, but that I always wanted to try out for swim team but wasn’t confident enough to go for it like he did. I really was proud, and quite surprised, that he had the moxie to take a risk.

I stayed up until near midnight to look for the swim team postings and sure enough Alex didn’t make the team. Neither did several of his other friends, who probably should have, which softened the blow.

Alex was a little teary when I told him in the morning, but didn’t loose it and instead said, “That’s fine. I didn’t expect to. I stopped. You weren’t supposed to stop. That’s only fair. Is there another opportunity for me to try out?” I told him there was and he said, “I’d like to take stroke lessons between now and then and give it another shot. If I don’t make it then, I can try next year too, right?”

For a brief moment, early in the morning, I saw a glimpse of who Alex might eventually grow up to be. Which got me through the rest of the day because…

As soon as Alex was off the bus that afternoon he was stomping around upstairs yelling at Meredith over her use of his colored pencils during the day. He also took off down the path on his bike when I specifically asked him to come inside; leaving me standing in our yard yelling like the neighborhood crazy who has lost control of her children.

We’re not out of the woods yet, but I can see the sun.