The Last Few Days

Have been filled with making lots of fudge…

milk chocolate

white chocolate

mint chocolateand folding LOTS of little origami boxes and lining them with parchment paper(how do I talk myself into these things?!?!), and filling them with fudge.  And giving them to our friends and Owen’s school employees.  - This was me attempting to avoid the rush of Christmas goodies on the last few days of school before the holiday, where there is just too much to eat – but maybe November was a bit too early – since everyone looked a little confused…  The second batch will be put off a few days…

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Today was Jack’s day to celebrate his birthday at school.  He gets to bring snack (brownie bites iced in blue with little snowmen on them, and cheese sticks)  He will wear a tie for any occasion that he possibly can.  Doesn’t this look like an appropriate outfit to be worn to preschool where he will be … painting/crawling on the floor/eating chocolate/playing in a sandbox/riding bikes in the rain/using un-washable markers and crayons??

Jack proving that tough guys wear ties??

Black Friday

…started Thursday night at Toys R Us.  Eric and I got the one item we needed.  It took about an hour and we saved $40 off an $80 item.  Worth it?  We are not sure. 

Home again at 11PM, up at 3:30AM.  Shop.  Home at 6AM.  Sleep.  Back out shopping at 10AM.  Shop.  Back after 1.  Depending on the time of day, Eric and I alternated between thinking we were smart and thinking we were crazy.  We were happy with our purchases, but can’t say if we will Black Friday again next year.

Thanksgiving

The monkeys made all of the decorations on the table apart from the ship itself.  They made the nametags, the pilgrims, the turkey and Indian corn , and it made me so happy to see it.   I think they were pretty proud too.

I used brown packing paper for the tablecloth, and the monkeys decorated that with markers. 

Owen’s drawings: a turkey, Plymouth Rock, The Mayflower, two pilgrims. (thoughtfully repeated on both the left and right side of his section so that people who are sitting there each are able to see all of the drawings)

Jack’s drawings: a volcano, a very tall man, an oval, a carrot growing sideways with the stem coming out… (all drawn with a sly look while Owen protested from the other side of the paper that none of the items had anything to do with Thanksgiving,  Owen finally decided that the oval could be Plymouth rock – I think more to comfort himself than anything else…)

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Uncle Marc being particularly useful… (to be fair - he did ask if he could help several times, but I never let him.)

Daddy making his famous scratch gravy…

Mama doing dishes sporting Jack’s apron.

Mamau and Grandma were also there.  But no photos of them…  None of Mamau because she first called the ship on the table a pirate ship, then the Pinta, Nina, and finally the Santa Maria.  Then she failed to immediately recognize that the name tags were Indian corn! (or maybe I took very few photos and I am feeling too sleepy to upload her exciting video just now.)

Grandma’s photos were taken on a funny setting and I didn’t think she would like them.  It is a kindness to leave her out in this instance.

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Owen asked several times where everyone was.  We had also expected Great-grandma, and our Great-grandpi (who couldn’t come because of sickness) and my sister and her girls.  They were all very much missed! 

Pirate Day (Not a Snow Day)

School was canceled, and Owen and Jack were very excited about playing in the snow.  Unfortunately, Owen had a low-grade fever, and I wouldn’t let him go out.  He begged and begged all day, just in case.

I tried to make him feel better by setting up the pirate ship that I made for Jack’s party.  They put on costumes and swords and “aaarr”ed a lot.  Then they pretended to be swinging from the ship’s ropes for quite awhile – extending them all over the house. 

I laughed later when I saw this on the end of the ship.  Captain Sharky and his First Mate Owen added their own two mascots to the parrot mascot.  Extra points if you know which animal belongs to which boy…

We finished building our catapults for the party and tried them out.  They shoot well, but I made the targets way too small.  I am glad I started planning this party early – because there has been quite a few things that didn’t work out quite as easily as I thought they would.  (The catapult photos are hiding from me!)

One thing that didn’t turn out the way I wanted it to, was the treasure map.  I drew a new one last night, and ‘antiqued’ it tonight…

Soak in strong tea for thee minutes…

Bake in a 350 degree oven…

Iron carefully…

Now I feel much more like myself!!

My Jack?

Last week, I went to Jack’s conference for preschool.  He is only three, but since his class in an elementary school, they have conferences planned in.  I’ll take it!

I must say that I was quite curious and maybe a little nervous to hear about what his teachers had to say…

His teachers talked right away about how they loved having Jack in their class (“wait….for…it,”  I thought)  But they went on saying that he was “such a sweetheart” and was so polite. 

Me: Um, you do know that I am Jack ANDERSON’s mom, right?

The laughed and gave me examples of his “perfect” behavior.  He says, “Sure!” Or “Of course I can!” whenever they ask him to do something.  He is always polite, always follows directions, and uses the materials in an acceptable manner. “He reminds me so much of Owen when he was in this class,” one teacher said.

Me:  Well, that is really good to hear.  He really says, “Of course I can.” when you ask him to do something? – like, right away?  What is his response if you say something sternly, if you have to ask him to do something again?

His teachers furrowed their brows.  Finally one hesitantly started to speak.

Here is the “wait…for…it,” I thought.

Teacher: I can’t remember a time that I have ever had to ask him something twice.  How about you, Nancy?

Teacher Nancy:  (shaking head) I can’t either.

At this point, Jack, who has been quietly reading in the hall, wandered in and headed over to the blocks, peering into their tub.

Mama:  Your teachers say you are a polite boy, and you listen to them and are kind to the other kids.

Jack: Of course I am!  Excuse me Teacher Nancy and Jill, is it ok if I take out these blocks to play with them?

Right.

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I began to worry that there was something wrong with the way I interact with Jack that explains the inconsistencies in his classroom behavior and his home behavior.  But I have decided (for this waffling moment anyway) that Eric and I must have done something right because at least Jack knows how to behave well at school.

I do know from my own teaching that kids can behave very differently at home and school, but Jack’s behavior seems so stem so much from a natural part of his character that it seems hard for him to behave very differently at school. (Do his teachers just handle him differently?)  Certainly Jack has a lovely nature. He IS thoughtful, and kind, and polite and unbelievably loving.  But he is also very strong-willed, and impulsive, and out-side-the-box.   And he is all of those things in every environment and with every person I have seen him with. Hm.

For now, I will just be happy that school is going so well for him.  I never worried that his teachers would like Jack – just that he would be a handful.  I guess I won’t worry about that either.

Eye Drops

On Friday morning I realized that Owen wouldn’t get his antibiotic  eye drops if I didn’t give them to him in school.  He had spent the night with his grandma on Thursday and I had put the drops in his eyes before he left, and kept the medicine for Eric (aka- Collector of Germs).  Grandma was going to pick Owen up at school, and take the monkeys for the night as Eric and I were still quite sick.

I took the drops down to Owen’s school office and asked them to send Owen from class, for his drops.  Most teachers like to send students with a friend, and I idly wondered who Owen would show up with – probably Charlotte  (often listed as one of the best parts of his kindergarten class).  I was quite surprised to see Mrs. Perry walk in!  The kids don’t have library or PE or music on Fridays, so I wondered where the rest of the class could be…but then I saw Owen and forgot all about it.  He was terrified!  His eyes were huge , his brows furrowed, and when I made eye contact with him, tears began to stream.

Poor Owen had never been called to the office before, and he and I had never talked about that scenario ever coming up.  Owen doesn’t take well to new things and will often get quite nervous.  Mrs. Perry probably couldn’t explain why he was going to the office because the office had not told her when they requested Owen.  (Mrs. Perry later told me that on the way to the office,  Owen had even asked if she would stay with him in the office the whole time.)

I had been hugging Owen say, “You were nervous about why you were coming to the office – and what a good surprise – you’re Mama was there.”  He had a big smile on his face then, and uttered a small, “yeah,” but the tears didn’t stop, and he hugged me tighter.  We snuck into the nurse’s office to have a bit more privacy – and it still took awhile for him to feel settled.  I said something to Owen about him only being in the office for good things because he is a boy who tries to follow rules and be nice.  After all, he was a Kind Kid for the school. 

I wonder now if that was the right thing to say.  At the time, I just wanted him to feel better and not be afraid of the office.  But he is surely capable of making “bad” decisions, and of being unkind.  I would like to think that he will never be called to the principal’s office for something negative– and it is unlikely, but it isn’t completely unimaginable.  I guess I need to think about that a little more… then again, being afraid of being sent to the principal’s office can’t be all that bad – maybe Owen will pass the concept down to Jack…

I walked Owen back to class after I gave him the eye drops.  And I realized why Mrs. Perry had been able to walk to the office with Owen – it was recess.  Owen put his coat on, and ran up to the outside door, but came back immediately.  “Excuse me Mrs. Perry, but why are the kids lining up?!?”    Opps.  Luckily for me, Mrs. Perry allowed Owen the great honor of opening the outside door for the other students. 

Ower the weekend, I asked Owen about his day at school on Friday.  He informed me that it was completely worth missing recess to be allowed to open the outside door.  “Mrs. Perry never lets anyone do that.  Noone has ever EVER done that before.  Just me.”  I did not point out that all the kids are outside at recess and are thus unavailable to open the door under normal circumstances.  I was just glad that it got me off the hook for scaring Owen and making him miss recess!!

The Day After

What does one do when one feels better after being sick forever?  One makes crayons.  Well, only if one does not have the color one wants, of course.

I am  a fanatic about only having Crayola washable crayons in my house. They wash off everything.  And I happen to have a child that likes to test these things.   Crayola thinks that children who need washable crayons need only 16 colors.  And while that may be true, their parents need more…   

I needed light blue for the pirate ship for Jack’s party. So, I mixed navy and white.

  And I was super excited that it worked!

Here’s to accomplishing more things in the near future…

My Time

I have passed time today doing the following things:

Wondering when the ibuprofen would kick in.

Wondering when the antibiotics would kick in.

Staring off into space wondering what I was about to do.

Wondering when the weight loss would kick in. (I have eaten a very small amount for days – surely that should do the trick…)

Writing lists of things that need to be done for Jack’s birthday party.

Staring off into space wondering what I was about to do.

Listening the “This American Life” old podcasts.

Taking naps.

Making a  large pirate map.

Staring off into space wondering what I was about to do.

Spending an unreasonable amount of time wandering around Fred Meyer wondering why I had driven to the store. (bread)

Covering candy canes with tin foil to look like pirate hooks.

Staring off into space wondering what I was about to do.

Seeing if said hooks will actually hook pretzels.

Watching a movie with Eric in which I have no idea what happened.

Finishing making pirate hats.

Filling a Treasure Box with party favor treasures.

Staring off into space wondering what I was about to do.

The Winner

As Eric and I waited for the doctor to show up the other night, we discussed how annoying it was to see a doctor when you feel really sick, and have him/her tell you that you are fine – and just have to wait the sickness out.  It is much better to be validated by a named sickness.

Maybe I should add that both Eric and I might have competitive natures…

The doctor examined me first saying that I had a sinus infection.  I fist-pumped silently over my head while he looked the other way.  Eric laughed out loud and gave me away since the doctor looked to see what was so funny…hm

I was further encouraged when I was diagnosed with double ear infections, a fever of 100.5, and sores in my throat.  Vindication is quite nice.

The doctor then examined Eric and diagnosed him with a sinus infection too.  Eric glanced my way with a “bring it on” look and a pursed smile.

The doctor announced that Eric also had a fever.  Somehow Eric had missed that I also had one.  “I have a fever.” he smirked at me.

“Not as high as hers.” corrected the doctor.

Snicker-snicker…

Eric’s ears were in the same condition as mine.  His throat was fine, but he had been dealing with sickness for over two weeks and has a terrible cough.

The doctor wrote prescriptions for antibiotics for the both of us, and a cough syrup for Eric.

By the time the doctor left, we were too exhausted to tally up the results.  We both went to bed.

This morning I got the monkeys ready for school, and was about to leave when Eric came out of the bedroom.

“I won!” he announced.

Both his eyes were glowing pink.  He now also had pink-eye.

Owen and Eric letting their prescription eye-drops sink in.

Downhill

• The Good News: I felt great yesterday morning.
• The Bad News: I went downhill on Tuesday and am feel much worse now.

 

• The Good News: My kitchen looks great after Monday’s deep cleaning .
• The Bad News: Very little cleaning has been done since – the kitchen cleaning was done in the ‘eye of the storm.’

 

• The Good News: Microsoft sends doctors to your house so you don’t have to wait at the urgent care clinic.
• The Bad News: I had to have a doctor out to my house because I felt that bad.

 

• The Good News: I am not contagious.
• The Bad News: I have a sinus infection, probably an ear infection, and sores in my throat.

• The Good News: I have a loving husband who takes good care of me when I’m sick.
• The Bad News: He has almost the same diagnosis.

 

• The Good News: We have prescription for medicine that will make us better.
• The Bad News: I have to wait until tomorrow to get them because I am too tired to drive right now.

 

• The Good News: I took the time to write my blog today.
• The Bad News: My blog is a major downer.

 

(hm, so I better end on good news)

The Good News: My Mama is going to change her whole schedule around and help us with the monkeys tomorrow.

A Day’s Work

I went through some strange nesting thing after my four days in bed.  I laundered everything launderable in the house (hmm, it seems launderable is not a word – I shall ignore that).  Anyway, I  scrubbed my kitchen; the dishes, the cupboards, the fridge , the counters, the stove – including the inside… not sure what that was all about.  I am glad that my kitchen is clean – though not much else in the house is tidy…oh well.

Owen has had a viral eye infection for four days, which turned into a bacterial one this morning.  That means he needed antibiotics.  So we also gallivanted across the town to see the doctor, then to the pharmacy (which took forever at Costco so I had to buy some things I didn’t need – I am beginning to think the money you save at the Costco pharmacy is part of a conspiracy to get you in the door, so you will spend money…)

After cleaning and gallivanting, we were all tired.  Everyone was fed and in pajamas by 5.  By 5:30 Jack was asleep on the floor.  At 6:30 I finally carried him off to bed.  Owen and I read until 7:30.  I am not sure what happened between then and now, but I know it was not productive.  This seems to often happen to me despite the fact that I plan all day on being productive after the monkeys go to bed.  Hmm…

Oh, and do excuse the use of ‘shall’ and ‘gallivanting’ – I have been listening to Jane Austin’s Emma on my Zune.

Sleeping the Days Away

Yesterday, I slept and read blogs most of the day.  I did go out to dinner and had a great time, but my meds wore off just as we were leaving, and I was asleep the minute I got home (plus a few seconds to take some more meds…)

Today I have been in bed all day too. I didn’t wake up until after 10:30 – crazy!   Mary had the boys overnight at her house on Friday since we were supposed to have a super-late night.  They stayed there today and will tonight so that Eric and I can keep sleeping.  It is really nice to know they are taken care of.  It makes me feel less guilty about staying in bed.

I feel much better today, but am tired.  I got up to do a few loads of laundry and while I didn’t feel too sick, I did feel like I had been toiling all day.  That is probably due to eating nothing but a baked potato and drinking tea all day.  Hopefully tomorrow will be better!

Fading

I have been in bed much of the day today.  It is some kind of cold – sinus thing.  I am well taken care of.  Eric stayed home from work and has brought me food and an endless supply of tea.  Owen has read Star Wars books to me.  Jack has shown me random “fancy moves” that he can make and given lots of kisses.    ( I have tried to keep him away from my germs, but it is hard to do that and not totally offend him – I think he was probably already thoroughly exposed to the germs before as he is in a stay-by-mama’s-side phase just now anyway.)

I have been a little over-careful with trying to get better today and yesterday as I have dinner plans tomorrow and don’t want to miss them.  It is totally an un-adult thing to do, but I can’t help it…

Teenager

I got a little taste of teenager sassiness from Jack today in the car.  He had asked to look at(hold)  a cardboard cut-out of a child that I need to scan for a project.  I didn’t want him to bend it or otherwise damage it before I could scan it.

Mama: I need that still.  You can have it when we get home.

Jack: (in a teenager sneer) AAAAhh.  I want it in the car!

Mama: No, you need to wait until we get home.

Jack: (still teenager-y) I want it in the car!  It isn’t chocolate pudding!!

I laughed quite a bit at this comment, but I am not so sure I would have found it funny if Jack were really a teenager.  I guess I have a few good years to find out.

Hopefully they will be good, but really long years-  before I do.

Blocks

I worked in Owen’s classroom today.  I met with two small reading groups with about five kids each  The story we read was about a little boy who was building a tower with blocks.  He seemed mad on most the pages until the last page where he smiles and says he is happy.  On that page he is standing next to a completed tower of blocks.

As we talked about the book, I asked the kids about their experience with blocks.  One kid  in each of the groups said that they thought the boy in the story was mad at the people who got near the blocks because he was worried that the tower would get knocked down. (this was what I expected that a typical five-year-old would have experience with.)  But I was surprised by the number of students who gave me a dirty look when I suggested that they had blocks at home.   Their eyebrows furrowed, then their nose scrunched, and they said (quite disgustedly) that they didn’t have blocks at home.  Three students responded this way, and about half of the students said that they didn't have blocks at home at all.  It seemed so sad to think of that. 

I  love to play with blocks with my monkeys.  I must admit they they have not picked the blocks out on their own in a while, but they are very happy to play them  if that is what I pull out.  Blocks are so good for math skills – not to mention creativity and lots of other every-day skills.  It seems like such a shame that every kid hasn’t experienced the joys of blocks.

So Over Daylight Savings

Fall Daylight Savings used to be so great.  You wake up in the morning, and realize that you have another extra hour to doze.  Or you realize the time change in the afternoon, and you magically have another hour to read.  Or you remember in the evening as you set your alarm , and realize that you have another hour to sleep.  Occasionally you get an added benefit when your body wakes you up at its normal time in the morning, and you realize there is still another hour before you have to get up.

I realized that my added hour in the day yesterday was good for more play/clean/read time.  Unfortunately it  meant that the monkeys went to bed an hour later than they are used to (read: they were especially tired and tearful in the evening).  I also realized that they have no joy of going back to sleep when their bodies wake up at their usual time the next morning.  So they scampered downstairs and into Eric and my bed before 6:30.  I thought that the darkness might coax them back into sleep.  Yah, well, I was tired…

Approximately 4, then 5, then 8, then 11 minutes later, one of the monkeys asked me if it was time to get up.  It was 2 against 1, so I realized I lost.  

So I gained an hour with Daylight Savings, but I lost one to the monkeys in the morning.  I guess that would mean I break even – but what about tomorrow (and the following days?)  I know I will feel two little bodies nestling in sometime around 6:30.  Where do I get those hours from???

Art

Eric was able to go to the Seahawks game today, which left the monkeys and I wanting for something interesting to do.  I decided to work a little on Jack’s upcoming birthday party, a Captain Sharky pirate party.  I got out the paint and other art supplies for all of us.

I painted full-size pirate for a Pin the Parrot on the Pirate game.  (He’s not quite done.)

Owen very carefully drew and colored a huge rocket.

Jack mixed all of the paints, and painted the floor brown…

“ I tried mixing the colors, but they kept making brown.”

I’m not sure what that has to do with painting on the floor instead of the paper.  Let’s just say Jack thinks outside of the box – and leave it at that…

I

Will the Real ‘a” Please Stand Up?

The book I am using to teach Jack to read starts out with the letter  ‘a’ to represent the short ‘a’ sound like you hear in ‘mat.’ When the lessons begin to add in the long sounds for the vowels – like the ‘a’ in ‘lake’ -  a line is placed over the letter. 

This is not the typical way reading is taught in schools, but it works fine because the line over the letter is eventually faded out by the end of the book.  Owen didn’t even seem to notice when the line disappeared in the book – and he still read the words correctly.

Today Jack was introduced to one of these vowels with the line.  The page looked like this..

Mama:  This sound is “a.”                  (as in lake)

Jack “a'” (correct sound)

Mama: This sound is ‘a.’               (as in mat) 

Jack: “a” (correct sound)

Mama:  what is the difference between the way this sound looks and this sound looks (pointing)

Jack: This sound looks like this sound but it has a long line on the top.

Mama: That’s right!

Jack: But I don’t know which one of these sounds is telling me the truth!

Halloween Clearance

Target Halloween clearance has been great for our Christmas budget.  Last year, I bought a Darth Vader costume and knight costumes for both of the monkeys for $6 total.  Santa was a bargain shopper!

This year, I found another Darth Vader Costumes (What?!  You didn’t know they used twins to play that part in the movie?  Of course we need two…) A Jengo Fett costume, and several pirate costumes for Jack’s upcoming birthday party.

The pirate costumes (at $1.75) were quickly donned and the swashbucklers defended our house with gusto.  Thanks Captain Hook and Captain Sharky!

Owen’s school’s Book Swap was tonight, so the boys went as pirates. It was a great event where families from the school donated books, and then all of the students were able to take home two books from the Swap.  I knew the event was a real success when the monkeys were more excited about the books than the milk and cookies.

Missing

The only good thing about Eric being gone on a business trip…

Pumpkin Patch

My photos were hiding from me, so I had to wait until Eric could find them to post our Pumpkin Patch Photos.

Somehow, despite the fact that there were tons of sunny days, even several sunny weekend days, we never made it to the pumpkin patch for our annual Alteio/Anderson adventure.  Instead, we waited until the 30th, when there were no options left, and went in the pouring rain.

It was fun anyway, and made for photos with no annoying shadows or constantly squinty children.  See what a good “pumpkin patch is hall-full” attitude I had?!

There was a really nice hay maze that the kids loved.  It was also pouring and the maze was covered, so the grown-ups were all for letting the kids play…

I love this photo of Katie.  It just makes me smile for some reason.

And Sarah gets lots of points for being the only child that actually stopped to smile for the camera instead of just running away!!

And the grand finale – mud puddles! Jack and I love to see which puddle is the deepest.  It gives us a good excuse to use our boots to their full potential. (And my mom cannot say that I should not wear my blue boots in public – since I AM on a farm!)

Hooky

We played hooky today.

I am not fond of the morning routine, and am missing my slow morning with the boys.  The other day Owen said that he missed our “pajama days” when we never even bothered to get dressed.  When he said this, a plan started forming in my head…

Owen has been coughing in the night and mornings for several days now, so I decided that would be my excuse to keep him home.  I also convinced myself that school wouldn’t be particularly productive the day after Halloween with tired teachers and kids on sugar-crashes.  I didn’t really believe myself.  Neither did Owen.

He and Jack had climbed in bed with me in the morning and we were laying there for awhile.

Owen: Is today a school day, Mama?

Mama: Um, no.

Owen: (surprised) Is today Sunday?

I wonder if he will notice that I didn’t answer.  I really don’t want to lie to him.

Owen:  I know it’s not the weekend Mama because Daddy isn’t here.

Still no answer.  I wonder if Owen believes I fell back asleep.  After several minutes…

Owen: If you don’t want to send me to school, that is fine.  But I know it is not Sunday or the weekend.  (big sigh of acquiescence) But I will stay home if you want me to.

Mama: I think it is a good idea for us all to stay home today and just rest so our bodies are really healthy.

Owen: Ok.  Can I eat something out of my Halloween basket for breakfast?

Mama: (Can I plead the 5th here?)

We stayed in our pajamas and I cleaned out the laundry room.  The monkeys found it quite entertaining to play with the things that I dragged out of that room.  The first things were the air mattresses that have been in there since the summer waiting for me to blow them up and figure out which has a hole.  The monkeys made forts using these, the couch, dining room chairs, and blankets.  This lasted several hours.

Unfortunately, the laundry room was really messy (it is possible that I throw things in there when I don’t want to deal with them.  It is also possible that  it has been several years since I have wanted to deal with most things in there…)

The boys and I stopped for a reading break and each of them read to me.  An hour passed before we were done.  Jack can just not get enough reading and is learning a new sound every day!  He doesn’t know all of his letters so he can only call some by the sound.

When the boys started asking for candy, I initiated a cleaning routine and made the boys do two jobs for every piece of candy.

Soon the dishwasher was empty, Owen’s room was clean, the shoes were organized, the coat closet was organized, the toys were all put away, Jack’s bedding and all of the dirty laundry around the house was brought to the laundry room.  This took four pieces of candy per monkey and two episodes of Curious George.  Totally worth it!  They even asked to keep going, but I was out of ideas for jobs that the monkeys could do that would not create more work for myself.

It was such a great day.  I felt so relaxed and felt like I got so much done including several hours of time to play with the boys. There were no tears, no battles over getting something done quickly, no breakdowns for silly reasons.  It totally makes me want to pull Owen out of school and teach him myself.  I won’t because I do think Owen benefits quite a bit from being in school.  I do wonder, however.  How many days can one play hooky before the truancy officers show up at your door???