Halloween at School....

Simon as Steve.... HUGE hit. I kept cringing because all the kids wanted to touch it and this costume has to make it at least through trick or treating tonight! OMG STOP TOUCHING HIM!!!

Seriously though, it was like he was a movie star. He loved every minute of it. I loved when he whacked the cube head on the door on the way back into the school. TOO FUNNY. Apparently he also lost an arm along the parade route. The gym teacher reattached it while we was walking and said, "It's all fun and games until someone loses an arm!" LOL!

Ben as vampire minus the fangs which he left in his backback.  ;) He likes to blend in. Wanted nothing to do with any spray-painted hair or anything crazy.  I love how different they are. Cracks me up. 

And since we were kind of trapped at school for the morning (half day and parking at pickup would have been a nightmare), we hung out in the library and "beeped the books". Jonathan helped. ;)

Full Time....

Somewhere along the line recently, I realized that having kids in school is basically a full-time job. Maybe this is not true for everyone, but definitely having MY kids in school is a full-time job.

I'm not sure WHAT I thought school would be like when I started having kids. I guess I thought that eventually I'd send them to school, help with a little homework and some projects here and there and basically coast the rest of the way, attending some cute performances, science fairs, graduations....

After all, that's how it was when I was a kid, I think? Perhaps my mom would say otherwise... but as I remember it,  I  went to school, I didn't EVER get in trouble, I came home and did all my homework on my own... I hit a rocky patch with math in middle and high school, but for the most part, I managed it without much parental intervention.

But MY kids... SHEESH. Turns out, I can't just send them to school and expect things will go well. I thought I could for awhile... then, in what is now becoming an every few years tradition, the teachers start saying they don't focus very well and don't get their work finished in class. This is new to me.  Don't get work finished? WTH? Why not? What are you doing? And while we're on the topic, why is the answer to this question on your homework three words long and written in chicken scratch? What do you mean you have no idea what your homework is? Write it down! How do you NEVER REMEMBER TO WRITE IT DOWN? And YES, you will do the extra credit!

(I don't say these things aloud, of course... most of the time....)

High maintenance. These kids are HIGH MAINTENANCE. I can't let my guard down for a second.

Let's start with Ben. In his defense, I will say, he is mostly sorted out right now, I think.  He has actually been on autopilot entirely this year. He does his homework without being asked.  I sometimes check it, sometimes don't. He's really good about it. His binder is a total mess, as I'm sure his desk and locker are too, but he always seems to find what he needs. He generally knows what his homework is even if he rarely writes it in his agenda.  Only once this year have I had to track down an assignment in the online math textbook. He seems to be getting his work done in class. At least, I haven't heard from any complaints from teachers this year that he's not. I'm hoping they aren't just holding out on me until conferences in a couple of weeks.... I hope.  I'll feel like Charlie Brown when Lucy pulls the football away if he's not...

But I have a good feeling. His grades that come home are stellar. He he really WANTS to get good grades now, whereas before he didn't always care.  He REALLY REALLY likes school this year.

So I can relax with that one for awhile, at least... which is good, because I am getting slammed from the other side with one giant deja vu.

Dealing with Simon in school right now requires constant vigilance. I have to hover over the homework, lest he sprawl himself out on the table and crumple it up or just fall off the chair. It's like going to battle every afternoon. He never gets in trouble at school and his teacher likes him, but she is growing ever more frustrated by the day, and understandably so, with his lack of focus, black-hole desk and inability to complete work or even really function self-sufficiently in the classroom.

I hope we can turn Simon around and get him on a better trajectory soon, for all of our sakes....

Then there's the little one. Every morning, Jonathan asks when it's time to leave, "Is is a school day for me?" If the answer is yes, he immediately cries and cries on and off the whole time I'm dropping off Ben and Simon and then all the way to the preschool and down the stairs and through the door until I hand him off to his teacher and she pries his fingers off of my shirt.

Every. Single. School day.

The kicker? By the time I get out to the parking lot, he's completely happy. So WHY THE DRAMA, CHILD?! WHY?!   On the bright side, he is not crying all day, or hitting or biting his friends like he sometimes does his brothers... so for now, he's somewhere in the middle of the vigilance list.

Are there people who can just drop their kids off at school in the morning stress-free and be confident all will just go smoothly? If there are, I am insanely jealous, because I am three for three on high maintenance over here.

This is to say nothing of the massive amounts of paperwork, party treats, homework, projects etc that are constantly popping up like some real life game of whack-a-mole. I guess I'm as unorganized as my kids because I feel like these things always sneak up on me and I have to react and whack the metaphorical mole, but just as I hit it over the head with the hammer, three more moles pop up behind it.

I'm not complaining... maybe it sounds like it, but I'm really not. I love having the time to devote to the kids and to school.  But I did envision things going a little more smoothly and keeping everyone on track or from making their teachers crazy really does require a ridiculous amount of vigilance.

I guess it would be kind of boring if I had kids I just sent to school and picked them up  and there was no insanity sandwiched in between.  Sometimes I feel like I work in an ER though,  constantly triaging and reassessing situations. Which kid is at the top of the list today? This week? This month? This school year?

Right now, Simon wins.... but any day now, it could be one of the other ones.... just never know! No rest for the weary around here. Pass the coffee!

Minion....

Compare?

And parading at school this morning....

Rick Roll....

Somewhere along the way, Simon learned about Rick Rolling. I think it was a combination of his Uncle Brandon and Just Dance 4 for the Wii. Either way, he is obsessed. And so when "Rock Star Day" rolled around at school this year, he knew exactly who he wanted to be.

You may remember that last year, he dressed up at Psy ... the Gangnam Style guy.

It's weird because Simon is not exactly a ham... he does not like to be laughed at or the center of attention as SIMON.... but, and I'm quoting the school guidance counselor's words from yesterday, "You put a costume on him and he just comes to life!" She asked me for weeks before the rock concert what he was going do this year because he had been so hilariously funny the year before.  Several teachers did, including Ben's teacher from last year, who put a picture of him in his Psy getup right in the middle of the yearbook. LOL!

So this year, he was Rick Astley, pop star from about 1987. He picked out his outfit and tried to match it to the official video on YouTube. Then he asked me to make his hair "straight and brownish red". I nixed the brownish red because the hair color was a MESS last year. I did my best on the straight.... but ... yeah... not so easy. We blow dried it backwards and used a TON of product. He went out of here smelling like an over cologned teenager. But it did the job!

I'd guess about half the school population MAYBE knew what he was. But apparently the teachers googled it... and he sang. And then they got it.

The guidance counselor made him sing in her office and sent me a video.... though I can't seem to get it off of my phone... will try to post later. ;)


And then there was his dance performance yesterday morning before he left for school. I hear he did this during the rock concert too...

Ah this kid.... he is an interesting one, for sure!!! LOL!  What WILL he be?!

Simon's School Pic....

Love! :) Three for three on good school pics this year! Unheard of...

West Virginia Halloween....

Here are a few pictures from our Halloween party at my grandmother's house in West Virginia yesterday!

The boys had a blast... my aunts had put together an awesome spooky scavenger hunt and the decorations and food were amazing.  Ben spent hours playing football with his cousins and Tom. Simon explored every square inch of the yard and house. Jonathan flitted from place to place doing all sorts of things.

There was a giant bonfire, although we had to leave for bedtime not long after that got underway. Such is life with a three-year-old who has just given up his nap. The boys love adventures and staying in hotels, so they loved every minute!  It was a surprisingly smooth bedtime. Surprising because all three boys were in the same room with each other and somehow it all worked out okay.

Ben on the swings....

Jonathan and Simon checking out the decorations....

Jonathan on the swings!

Jonathan popping the fog bubbles

Checking out Grandmom's glow-in-the-dark shoelaces

Simon on the swings!

Simon being scary....

Creeper Simon and cousin Isabella....

Having some hot cider together....

School Pic 2013!

They came back in record time this year!
Only Ben's came home yesterday though. Simon's should come home Monday.

Ben's turned out cute! :)

Updates....

Ben --

Ben is kicking school's butt this year and actually enjoying it. Last year, he had this odd aversion to "seeming smart". (he actually articulated it that way... as in.... something to the effect of "Some people like to walk around school with their nose in a book looking smart but I don't want to seem that way... like a book nerd." ) THAT was like a knife to the heart....

Thankfully, it was just a passing thing because this year, he seems to have embraced being a "smart kid". Unfortunately, this also means he now talks out of his backside sometimes like his daddy does because he thinks he knows everything. But, I am enjoying every other aspect of it.

He LOVES doing well on his schoolwork now. He takes pride in the fact that he is understanding the ridiculous math they are doing up, down, and sideways. (seriously? Supposedly he's doing 5th grade math in 4th grade, which is fine and all... except I feel particularly stupid because it's math I didn't do until 6th and 7th, I'm fairly sure.... it's ridiculous... thank GOODNESS he understands it, that's all I can say.... there are x's and y's and the word algebra all over the place. I'm actually thinking about relearning it all with him so I can finally master it and not feel like a math idiot.)  

He is blossoming into a really great little writer too and must be getting positive reinforcement from the teachers on that because he writes CONSTANTLY now and really works hard at crafting his words thoughtfully and carefully. Even his handwriting is nice these days!!


Simon:

Simon has made some great strides. When assisted with his focusing, he does REALLY well. I have been "boot camping" the handwriting situation lately since homework now includes writing ten words on Mondays and three sentences on Tuesdays. We don't stop until it looks perfect and I'm not letting him get away with writing the letters wrong, doing the strokes in the wrong order, or not touching the lines. This, coupled with the teacher giving varying degrees of marks on homework papers (usually "Good", "Very Good", "Excellent, or "Perfect") has been working well. He REALLY wants the "Perfect", though he has yet to get it. Glad he wants it!

He took a math test last week and flaked out after problem #3 because he couldn't focus. Literally skipped half the rest of the problems and doodled on the other half. The teacher had him retake it one-on-one with an assistant because she knew he understood the concepts. He ended up getting a 100%.

So obviously, some interventional things are going to have to happen here for him to be successful... working on that.  I'm very happy with the progress he has made though.... the higher expectations of first grade have been good for him!

He is playing a LOT less Minecraft lately and is getting into CHESS, of all things. He found it on Tom's old computer and has been teaching himself to play. Ben has a little set and he sets up games and plays against Tom and Ben and even tries to teach Jonathan.

He has also gotten VERY into making movies lately. He makes movies on his phone (one of our old cell phones) and on the laptop. He desperately wants to know how to edit them and put them on YouTube. OMG... it's like I am raising my brother!!! Last weekend, he came down and asked me "Mommy, how do people make make believe movies? I want to do that." (face palm)  Actually considering getting him a little video camera for Christmas. I just hope this doesn't end with him becoming a YouTube star and moving to California when he's 20. LOL!

Jonathan:

Still crying when I drop him off at school, but it's quick and he is always happy when I pick him up. I do wish he'd stop it altogether, but that will come in time. I'm just happy he has good days now. He loves art, I'm told and music, of course. I think his interactions with the other kids are okay, although he did come home the other day and told me that Mrs. Poe told him he couldn't say, "NO!" to his friends. LOL.  He's also not allowed to yell at them for doing the Gangnam Style dance wrong, which apparently he was also doing.  I'm just happy he's not biting them, honestly, because he has been biting Ben and Simon here and there lately. SO scared he's going to chomp on a friend.... :\

He loves his teacher and quotes her often. Mrs. Poe says this, Mrs. Poe says that.... Mrs. Poe told me this... Mrs. Poe told me that. So cute and sweet. :)

He also adores his little friend Lillian, who he was with last year in the twos class. They seem to really click and enjoy one another's company. We have yet to set up a playdate, but it's on the to-do list.

I need to get better about setting up playdates for all the kids. It always seems like life gets in the way. Ben is constantly asking to have friends over and now Simon is too. Gah. It's just so hard to do it on school afternoons and the weekends are packed with swimming and family time.... gotta sacrifice something somewhere for the sake of their social well being, I guess! LOL!

10/10!

Check it out! Ben nailed his first ever perfect dive this morning at swimming lessons! Our new teacher is REALLY pushing him and today they worked hard on this and on flip-turns so he can be faster in races. He's doing SO well!!!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10153364173170541&l=9212957669434939063

Starting the Braces Fund NOW....

I noticed this morning that Simon's adult teeth are now poking through. I did a double, no TRIPLE take though when I saw how they are positioned. Lordy day.

I always sort of assumed he'd need braces because he definitely has Tom's mouth/teeth and HE needed braces. His baby teeth were perfectly lined up and right up against one another, a telltale sign of future necessary orthodontic work.  Ben's baby teeth had loads of gaps between them and his adult teeth have come in completely straight.

Behold. (excuse the cream cheese on his face. I took this picture at the bagel shop.)

Now, I did a little reading on the topic and it said not to panic YET. That the teeth most times will naturally move forward into a better position. But man, that one on the left is coming in at quite the interesting angle. I can't really tell what the right side is doing yet, as only one one nub has emerged.... time will tell, I suppose!! In the meantime, better start saving....

School Hiccup....

Jonathan's teacher sprained her ankle in she joked was her "first old lady fall". It was really bad and so she was out Friday. Against my better judgement, I took Jonathan in anyway. He freaked. Sigh. I left him, figuring there were enough familiar people that it would be okay. Nope. Had to go get him at 11:00 or so. He did kinda okay for part of the morning and then just lost it.

His regular teacher sent out an email later that said she would also be out Monday. I wrote and told her Friday was a disaster and I was worried both taking him that day and having picked him up early had set us back weeks and I'd ruined everything. She told me to just pretend Monday wasn't a school day. I HATE keeping the kids out of school when they aren't sick and disrupting routines, but it did seem necessary. I think another day with a sub would have really been detrimental right now.

I was actually prepared to keep him out the whole week, as it was sounding like the teacher's foot situation was not getting better very quickly. Pleasantly surprised when an email came on Tuesday that said she'd be back Wednesday! WAHOO!

He cried allllllll the way into school. I carried him into the classroom and he had to be pried off of me. It took an extra minute or two for me to extract my sweater sleeve from three fingers of his right hand, but I made my swift exit after that. I half expected a call.... but got a text from Beth that he was calm about ten minutes later! Went about my morning and no phone call!  SO maybe I didn't totally ruin everything!

He was happy when I picked him up too! :)

:)  Man, this kid is making preschool tough. Dreading the return to school after Christmas break with this one already!!!

"The Little Engine That Could....by Waaaaaatty Piper..."

The big boys know the book by heart. The little one is just getting introduced.... 

I kept seeing things come home in Ben's writing folder about a personal narrative. He could offer no specific details about when it was due or when they were working on it. The scoring rubric came home the other day and he just shrugged. I took his word for it that he was not supposed to be working on it at home.  Trying to be hands off with him this year. So far, so good... I think.

Imagine my surprise when a packet of take-home papers to be signed came home yesterday and THIS was in it. With a 15/16 grade! His spelling needs help, but his writing is seriously pretty decent for a 9-year-old. I joked that I did not appreciate how I was portrayed.... apparently I "explode" a lot. It's probably accurate actually, now that I think about it... especially on a day when we're having a giant party at our house and Ben asks me questions I've already answered... ;)  Should probably try to work on that. ;) 

Name-O...

I was putting Jonathan's school picture in his little school memory book a little while ago and there's a whole page to fill out his "favorites" of that particular school year. Filled in all the blanks and got to the bottom where it says: "This is how I write my name". I thought about just writing it for him or letting him scribble, but he has shown an interest in writing actual letters lately and has mastered a couple of the easier ones. He was in the right mood too, so I handed him a pen. "Can you write your name?" I asked.

"I don't know the letters in it!" he replied.

"Well, first comes a J. Do you know how to write a.... " and before I could finish the sentence he had written a not-so-terrible interpretation of a J. I knew he could write an O, so I called out that one, then said "N .... do up down up down." Not bad! "A" was a little more challenging and I held his hand steady, but he made the letter himself. "T" was all on his own, "H" is one of the letters he has mastered, another "A" (help with that one) and "N" again.

Not bad for a little guy who just turned three! :) Mommy was impressed! :)

Tooth #2!

Simon's on a roll!

Self Portrait, by Simon. ;)

Currently on exhibition in the first grade hallway at school. Makes me laugh every single time I walk by it. The hair!!! OMG! 

Picture Day....

Picture day was Wednesday. This is how they looked when I sent them to school. I'm sure the photos will look nothing like this, especially since i forgot to send in the photo forms and by the time I ran them up to school, Simon had just eaten lunch and was covered in pizza. (he had to be retaken WITH the form... they had already done his class)

Sigh.

Simon's Four Commandments....

Unearthed from Simon's backpack.... I believe (but am not entirely sure) that these are rules for his bedroom:

Here is the translation for those who can not interpret first grade boy handwriting/spelling...
1) Please beat up my brother. (I asked him which one and he just shrugged... I think it applies to both, but possibly more so to Ben, who often kicks Simon out of his room)

2) Do not play on the computer.

3) Do not toot.

4) Do not say bad words.

First Tooth! :)

The boys ran out of the parent pickup line yesterday and as Simon was talking, I noticed he was missing a bottom tooth!   I knew it was loose, but didn't think it was THAT loose.

"You lost your tooth!" 

"Oh! Yeah... I lost it at lunch. I couldn't find it!" Oh my... he was so casual about the whole thing. I guess I'm still traumatized about Ben's reaction to losing his first few teeth because I was bracing myself for craziness.  

So he actually LOST the tooth. Boo! 

He says it just fell out of his mouth onto the floor and went missing. SImon was very nonchalant about it all.  He came home and wrote a quick explanation to the tooth fairy that said, "I lost my tooth at lunch." 

The tooth fairy was NOT quite ready for that tooth to come out, but she was able to scrounge together some quarters! ;)

She better stock up though because the other bottom one is, apparently, also an "any day now" situation and he says the top ones are loose now too. OMG! WHen it rains, it pours with the loose teeth around here! 

Preschool Picture...

Jonathan wouldn't sit for the preschool photo last year in 2s, so this is his first school photo! And I think it turned out ridiculously super cute. The preschool photographer always nails it!

Pumpkins! :)

Here are the pumpkins the boys picked yesterday!

Simon wanted a big one....

Ben tried to find the "smallest cutest" pumpkin he could. He succeeded. 

Jonathan was handed a pumpkin mommy picked out, which he promptly put down gently and ran off to go do something else. 

Annual Fall Height Pictures!

Ben 2012, age 8

Ben 2013, age 9

Simon 2012, age 5

Simon 2013, age 6

Jonathan 2012, age 2

Jonathan 2013, age 3

Red....

So, Simon got on "red" at school yesterday... (this is, btw, our first experience EVER with "red" or the equivalent in our family... at least, as far as I know...)

The story went like this:

Simon: Mommy, I got on RED today because someone LIED.

Me: What happened?

Simon: Someone LIED and said I was pushing people in the boys' bathroom. He said I PUSHED him! I didn't!

Me: (restraining my inner mama bear) Well why did he lie?

Simon: I don't KNOW.

Me: Is there a reason he may have thought you were pushing?

Simon: NO. I don't know. Well, maybe I might have been standing next to him.

Me: (starting to get the picture) Okay... and what happened when you were standing next to him?

SImon: Well maybe I was standing next to him and what always happens when you are standing next to someone happened.

Me: And what's that?

Simon: Well, you move your hips back and forth and bump.

Me: So you pushed him with your hips.

SImon: I was just shaking my hips but that's what you do when you stand next to someone! You bump hips!

D'oh.

Update and a Half...

Where to start?

I guess Jonathan...

So he's basically given up his nap, except for the occasional car nap. It's kind of okay with me and makes things easier, though I'm not gonna lie, I miss the quiet time in the afternoon and he's not really the kind of kid who can be convinced to take "quiet time" in his room. I can, however, get him to lie on the couch with binky, ducky and Sesame Street or Super Why. So I guess I'll take it. He did fall asleep in the car on the way home from swimming today. I hope this is just ftom nap backlog and not that he's getting sick. :\

Potty training is still going. He's getting better about telling us. The weekends are hard because our routines are all different and Tom is not as on top of reminding him to go as I am, which kind of makes me crazy.  He tends to let him wander off and get distracted and that's when he always forgets and wets his pants. Frustrating... but it will come eventually. I'm just so happy for any progress at all! He has FILLED his star chart, which I seriously never thought he would do when I put it up. Time to print a new one and work toward a new prize. Not sure what this time though.... hrm....

He still hasn't worn underwear to school. School is going better, but he still gets teary in the morning until I hand him off to the teacher and then he's fine. I feel like I should probably not rock the boat by throwing pee demands on him at school and risk stressing him out. His teacher has enough on her plate with him in her class to be dealing with that.


Simon....

We stumbled upon a solution to his sad school mornings. He now hides one of his loveys in his backpack and it seriously turned him completely around and he is back to loving going to school again. I think it give shim security just to know it's there. Whatever works!

I was called in for a conference by his teacher last week. She has some concerns about his fine motor skills and his attention. He also doesn't participate in class very readily and she hasn't been able to figure out a way to motivate him on any of those things. We're looking into getting both evaluated and in the meantime, she's developing a checklist for him for the classroom that we will reward at home with "Minecraft Minutes". He will also get tickets for Minecraft Minutes at home when he practices writing or does a nice job on his homework. His teacher and I are completely on the same page and it's really fantastic. I loved not having to be the one to email and say, "Hey! I think something's up.... " Do I wish he would just coast along without the need for any conferences at all? Yes... but it's just nice to have the teacher be right there with me as far as what issues she sees and what he needs.

Interestingly, on my way out of the conference, she mentioned that he had done a really good job presenting his scrapbook page. (they had to make a scrapbook page of baby pictures and vacation pictures to show the class) She said he completely lit up and just talked and talked about all the photos... like a totally different kid. I had a lightbulb moment and said, "You know...  it's probably worth mentioning that he's a middle child and basically very stereotypically so... anytime something is all about him or special for him, he really gets excited."  She sent me an email yesterday morning that on Thursday and Friday she had experimented with that and that I was COMPLETELY RIGHT that when he's in the spotlight, he performs better and is way more motivated. So she is going to use that in her strategies... gotta love birth order psychology!!!


Ben....

Ben has decided that he hates swimming at the new place. He's anxious about some of the strokes and says the water is too cold. (it actually really REALLY is...he emerges all blue and shaking every week after an hour in there...  but I can't fix that!) He cries the entire time now. Last week, he wouldn't even get in. This SUCKS. Going to see if I can get a refund because it's kind of pointless. He is still all about doing swim team in the summer... so I guess I'll see if his swim teacher at our other place can just work with him on strokes. GAH.

School is going well, although we really seem to have hit a hiccup with math and this higher number multiplication. I may need to break my email silence and let the teacher know he needs some help. I have worked with him at home, but it sounds like he's not getting it in class...

Anyway so that's what's been going on! I have tons of pictures to share but they are trapped in my phone. It will no longer email pictures anywhere for some reason and they aren't showing up in my Photostream. Phone as camera is not working so well for me these days!!!

No More Naptime...

Jonathan has officially given up his nap...

That is all....

Sigh.