Fell of the wagon BIG TIME!
Almost 3 whole months have gone by and I've posted NOTHING.
*sigh*
I don't even have an excuse other than I haven't felt much like posting about family things. I've been completely absorbed with everything other than blogging about family stuff.
I've actually been thinking about posting for several days now and I decided that the 45 minutes I have right now until I pick Alex up from school was going to be used to catch up as briefly and quickly as possible.
Yeah, I'm going to try and summarize everything that has happened in the last 3 months. I've slept so many times since then I can barely recall every detail. So the big stuff will have to suffice and I'll just pick up life today and now and run with it.
*head desk*
Brain does not want to work today BUT here is what I remember:
AUGUST:
* We took photos of the boys. Like at a place called Kiddie Kandids. It's alright. I had a few issues with them but definitely better than Walmart photos. The boys were good smilers. When they smiled. I can't wait for them to be beyond this stage where everything requires mass amounts of energy and chipperness to get them focused on a camera. (Course, that is opposed to the stage where they won't smile and you have to bribe them with money stage? You just can't win??!!) But we got it done. This moment is immortalized forever. Check.
* A day or so after, Ethan was playing with Daddy in the kitchen and fell down, chipping his front tooth. ACK! No worries, the tooth is fine, it's just a Snaggle Tooth now. And believe me you don't want to get bit by him now. It hurts, ask Daddy who he chomped on recently. Not fun.
* Alex started school at Copper Creek Elementary. (Where we were able to get a variance.) He doesn't ride the bus unfortunately. We drop him off and pick him up every day. I am really getting this understanding about picking up and dropping off your kid now that I've done it a few months. But it is what it is.
SEPTEMBER:
* We went on Vacation to Disneyland! We met Nana, Papa, and my brother Kyle and his family there. We had a blast. It was fun, easy, and we will return and do it again! The kids stayed up late and saw TONS of stuff that I don't ever recall seeing when I was there as a kid. In June when we went Mike and I had a blast, this was a whole new type of blast again. We were there for 3 days?
OCTOBER:
* We went to Tucson the weekend before our anniversary and had an overnight to celebrate our 10 Year Anniversary. We went to a nice hacienda, saw a movie, a fight, and a fabulous dinner before coming home the next day. Nana and Papa watched the boys.
* I went to another Writing Retreat in Washington the following weekend. (During our real anniversary date. My husband rocks!) It was beautiful, it was cold. It was by myself with no children or husband for 4 days. It was heaven!
* Mike went the following weekend to the US Jiu-Jitsu Open and came home with the GOLD BABY! He won't brag about it but I WILL! (Yes, it was in his weight class and belt division. He was a white belt, now he's a blue belt because of his awesomeness!!) I think he may have even put his match on youtube? If I find it I'll link it. YAY!
* The following weekend I went camping with my BFF to Patagonia Lake, Arizona. Also a nice get away for a weekend.
* Halloween the FAMILY dressed up as Jedi together. We took pictures, which also need to be put on the blog site.
NOVEMBER:
So far...
* We went to Nana and Papa's yesterday because Alex didn't have school and I wanted out of the house for a little while.
I am glad that life has slowed down a bit since school started. I have been uber busy. If it isn't school related homework stuff, it's ANWA stuff, or writing stuff... OR church stuff. Or going to do stuff with friends. Whew! I'm burning out!!
Alex is doing okay in school. He is academically ahead. Socially way behind. We are coping. He is limping. (Not literally, but things could definitely be improved.) We take everyday one day at a time. He's biggest issue, he is an out-of-sync child, and he has it in his own head that he has this set way of doing things and no one else can stop him otherwise. New routines or things out of routine make it harder. But the school is slowly getting on board with whatever program they can offer him. It just takes time. And we just found out that there are some services at a local center we've been taking him to, that can help out a bit. So a class coming up in January will be very useful. And the rest is we follow whatever Alex is ready for. And a lot of patience.
He's a good kid, he just needs to mature and that isn't something you can just make happen. He's got to be there and doing it. So again with the patience thing.
Sometimes I get frustrated about it. Cause I don't have a kid that does all the customary kindergarden behavior BUT I am glad that academically the teacher thinks he's a brilliant and bright child, maybe even more than what we have been able to really see at this point. He's got his things to work on. I just keep reminding myself this isn't about me this is about him and how he does. I have another kid ya know... so nothing says he will be the same way if at all. So far, Ethan is his own person. He's done somethings the same but so much different that I'm confident when he gets into school, he will be totally different from Alex. No doubts there.
I mean this morning is a perfect example of their differences. Both boys were a little tired because we drove home a little late last night and everybody was dragging the wagon this morning. Ethan, who is normally this happy chipper child in the morning had a big meltdown over the littlest thing today. I had an appointment that I had to be too and he wasn't ready. In fact, I was running late because I was trying to get him to eat. Daddy said go and I'll get to work when you get back. So in a last ditch effort to get the pout off Ethan's face I tried to encourage a smile by peeking around his head one way and when he turned his face away so he couldn't see me, I'd peek around the other way.
What do you know... bad mood broken. He tried hard to keep a grumpy face on, but it was very obvious that he was failing as his grumpy pout lips tried to mask his delighted and lit up face.
Alex would have only gotten grumpier if I'd done the same thing to him. Cause that's just the kid he is. Ethan is the joker, he has a sense of humor and he's easy to cheer up. Alex takes a different approach entirely. He's so me it's scary. What he needs is the confidence building and the feeling validated and time to work out his own feelings for himself. Although I do have to say that I've developed the happy go lucky that Ethan has too, I was a lot like Alex when I was a little child. Ethan is a lot like Mike in the trickster sense. He appreciates everything that is meant to be playful and funny much more than Alex does and did at this age.
They are just different children. It's funny how they can cater to different parts of yourself that you try and express. I can see the value now of being less up tight like Ethan, but focused and serious like Alex. I guess my job is going to be to help them to learn to appreciate the same thing as they start to grow up. Help them to develop those things that they aren't naturally disposed to.
*sigh*
I've got my job cut out for me.
But at least I posted about it! I am proud of myself!!
*sigh*
I don't even have an excuse other than I haven't felt much like posting about family things. I've been completely absorbed with everything other than blogging about family stuff.
I've actually been thinking about posting for several days now and I decided that the 45 minutes I have right now until I pick Alex up from school was going to be used to catch up as briefly and quickly as possible.
Yeah, I'm going to try and summarize everything that has happened in the last 3 months. I've slept so many times since then I can barely recall every detail. So the big stuff will have to suffice and I'll just pick up life today and now and run with it.
*head desk*
Brain does not want to work today BUT here is what I remember:
AUGUST:
* We took photos of the boys. Like at a place called Kiddie Kandids. It's alright. I had a few issues with them but definitely better than Walmart photos. The boys were good smilers. When they smiled. I can't wait for them to be beyond this stage where everything requires mass amounts of energy and chipperness to get them focused on a camera. (Course, that is opposed to the stage where they won't smile and you have to bribe them with money stage? You just can't win??!!) But we got it done. This moment is immortalized forever. Check.
* A day or so after, Ethan was playing with Daddy in the kitchen and fell down, chipping his front tooth. ACK! No worries, the tooth is fine, it's just a Snaggle Tooth now. And believe me you don't want to get bit by him now. It hurts, ask Daddy who he chomped on recently. Not fun.
* Alex started school at Copper Creek Elementary. (Where we were able to get a variance.) He doesn't ride the bus unfortunately. We drop him off and pick him up every day. I am really getting this understanding about picking up and dropping off your kid now that I've done it a few months. But it is what it is.
SEPTEMBER:
* We went on Vacation to Disneyland! We met Nana, Papa, and my brother Kyle and his family there. We had a blast. It was fun, easy, and we will return and do it again! The kids stayed up late and saw TONS of stuff that I don't ever recall seeing when I was there as a kid. In June when we went Mike and I had a blast, this was a whole new type of blast again. We were there for 3 days?
OCTOBER:
* We went to Tucson the weekend before our anniversary and had an overnight to celebrate our 10 Year Anniversary. We went to a nice hacienda, saw a movie, a fight, and a fabulous dinner before coming home the next day. Nana and Papa watched the boys.
* I went to another Writing Retreat in Washington the following weekend. (During our real anniversary date. My husband rocks!) It was beautiful, it was cold. It was by myself with no children or husband for 4 days. It was heaven!
* Mike went the following weekend to the US Jiu-Jitsu Open and came home with the GOLD BABY! He won't brag about it but I WILL! (Yes, it was in his weight class and belt division. He was a white belt, now he's a blue belt because of his awesomeness!!) I think he may have even put his match on youtube? If I find it I'll link it. YAY!
* The following weekend I went camping with my BFF to Patagonia Lake, Arizona. Also a nice get away for a weekend.
* Halloween the FAMILY dressed up as Jedi together. We took pictures, which also need to be put on the blog site.
NOVEMBER:
So far...
* We went to Nana and Papa's yesterday because Alex didn't have school and I wanted out of the house for a little while.
I am glad that life has slowed down a bit since school started. I have been uber busy. If it isn't school related homework stuff, it's ANWA stuff, or writing stuff... OR church stuff. Or going to do stuff with friends. Whew! I'm burning out!!
Alex is doing okay in school. He is academically ahead. Socially way behind. We are coping. He is limping. (Not literally, but things could definitely be improved.) We take everyday one day at a time. He's biggest issue, he is an out-of-sync child, and he has it in his own head that he has this set way of doing things and no one else can stop him otherwise. New routines or things out of routine make it harder. But the school is slowly getting on board with whatever program they can offer him. It just takes time. And we just found out that there are some services at a local center we've been taking him to, that can help out a bit. So a class coming up in January will be very useful. And the rest is we follow whatever Alex is ready for. And a lot of patience.
He's a good kid, he just needs to mature and that isn't something you can just make happen. He's got to be there and doing it. So again with the patience thing.
Sometimes I get frustrated about it. Cause I don't have a kid that does all the customary kindergarden behavior BUT I am glad that academically the teacher thinks he's a brilliant and bright child, maybe even more than what we have been able to really see at this point. He's got his things to work on. I just keep reminding myself this isn't about me this is about him and how he does. I have another kid ya know... so nothing says he will be the same way if at all. So far, Ethan is his own person. He's done somethings the same but so much different that I'm confident when he gets into school, he will be totally different from Alex. No doubts there.
I mean this morning is a perfect example of their differences. Both boys were a little tired because we drove home a little late last night and everybody was dragging the wagon this morning. Ethan, who is normally this happy chipper child in the morning had a big meltdown over the littlest thing today. I had an appointment that I had to be too and he wasn't ready. In fact, I was running late because I was trying to get him to eat. Daddy said go and I'll get to work when you get back. So in a last ditch effort to get the pout off Ethan's face I tried to encourage a smile by peeking around his head one way and when he turned his face away so he couldn't see me, I'd peek around the other way.
What do you know... bad mood broken. He tried hard to keep a grumpy face on, but it was very obvious that he was failing as his grumpy pout lips tried to mask his delighted and lit up face.
Alex would have only gotten grumpier if I'd done the same thing to him. Cause that's just the kid he is. Ethan is the joker, he has a sense of humor and he's easy to cheer up. Alex takes a different approach entirely. He's so me it's scary. What he needs is the confidence building and the feeling validated and time to work out his own feelings for himself. Although I do have to say that I've developed the happy go lucky that Ethan has too, I was a lot like Alex when I was a little child. Ethan is a lot like Mike in the trickster sense. He appreciates everything that is meant to be playful and funny much more than Alex does and did at this age.
They are just different children. It's funny how they can cater to different parts of yourself that you try and express. I can see the value now of being less up tight like Ethan, but focused and serious like Alex. I guess my job is going to be to help them to learn to appreciate the same thing as they start to grow up. Help them to develop those things that they aren't naturally disposed to.
*sigh*
I've got my job cut out for me.
But at least I posted about it! I am proud of myself!!