Here's something to rock out to this holiday weekend:
Friday, August 31, 2012
Thursday, August 30, 2012
The Art of Losing
Lem is through is second week of flag football. It's been a little rough for him (and me). He was so excited to play, and so happy to go that first practice. Then the flags were put on, and the minute his flag was pulled off by another kid, he lost it. And for the next three practices, it was the same. As soon as he'd get "tackled" (flag pulled off), he'd get mad and storm off the field and say, "I hate football!". Twice he sat out almost the entire practice. And let me tell you, this was really frustrating.
This football is a wake up call for him, because, unlike in soccer, he's not the fasted kid on the team. There are six-year-olds on his team that have played before. There are two kids who are a full head taller than him, and the coach's daughter (who's on the team) can outrun him. And he's new to the game, and doesn't always know exactly what he's supposed to do -- "What is offense?"
So I've been talking to him about losing. About how there are always winners and losers in a game, and sometimes you will be the loser. That sometimes you will not be the fastest. I explain that in NFL games, teams try over and over to get a touchdown and sometimes don't get one. I tell him that even if you lose, you need to be gracious and just try harder. I tell him that it is just a game, and the whole point is to have fun. I pass on Win's advice, that Flash doesn't always win, but he always gets up and tries harder. To that, Lem said, "Flash always wins."
Yesterday, he was in a good mood when we went to practice. We talked and talked about it, and he said he would try not to get mad. And to his credit, he did pretty well. He only stormed off once, but went back in. He scored a touchdown and even pulled a flag off a kid. And he had fun.
Hopefully, this will continue. Thankfully, his coaches have been patient with him. Now, I just have to be patient as well.
This football is a wake up call for him, because, unlike in soccer, he's not the fasted kid on the team. There are six-year-olds on his team that have played before. There are two kids who are a full head taller than him, and the coach's daughter (who's on the team) can outrun him. And he's new to the game, and doesn't always know exactly what he's supposed to do -- "What is offense?"
So I've been talking to him about losing. About how there are always winners and losers in a game, and sometimes you will be the loser. That sometimes you will not be the fastest. I explain that in NFL games, teams try over and over to get a touchdown and sometimes don't get one. I tell him that even if you lose, you need to be gracious and just try harder. I tell him that it is just a game, and the whole point is to have fun. I pass on Win's advice, that Flash doesn't always win, but he always gets up and tries harder. To that, Lem said, "Flash always wins."
Yesterday, he was in a good mood when we went to practice. We talked and talked about it, and he said he would try not to get mad. And to his credit, he did pretty well. He only stormed off once, but went back in. He scored a touchdown and even pulled a flag off a kid. And he had fun.
Hopefully, this will continue. Thankfully, his coaches have been patient with him. Now, I just have to be patient as well.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Young Love
Tomorrow is Ivy's birthday. I just finished wrapping her present. Lem chose for her a Justice League coloring book and some crazy colored pencils (crazy because they have multi-colored lead). He insisted that she will love the coloring book, because they "always talk about superheroes!" It was his choice, and he clearly knows Ivy better than me. (He also said he hopes she'll let him color in it when he goes over to her house.)
Three months of summer didn't change his feelings at all. After the first day of school, he told me that he was still going to marry Ivy, because, "I don't want to have to look for anyone else!" But he has assured me that they aren't getting married for a long time. And according to her mom, Ivy feels the same way about Lem.
Three months of summer didn't change his feelings at all. After the first day of school, he told me that he was still going to marry Ivy, because, "I don't want to have to look for anyone else!" But he has assured me that they aren't getting married for a long time. And according to her mom, Ivy feels the same way about Lem.
Monday, August 27, 2012
This Weekend ...
... I did my best to wear the kids out. On Saturday, we went swimming. G was so excited to wear her new pink swimsuit she got for her birthday. But she wouldn't let me take a picture of her! I'm a big fan of Lands End swimsuits ever since my friend Michelle gave Lem one for his second birthday. So when G said she wanted a new pink swimsuit just like Dora, I went online and got her two new ones, on sale.
We had new toys to play with this time, water wings and diving rings. I'd held off on getting the kids water wings, because I thought it would be better for them to learn to swim first, without any aids. I don't know what I was thinking. Gwyn loved hers, and she could float just fine with them, and also try swimming. Lem liked them alright, but he was much more excited to do the diving rings. He even jumped off the edge to me, and then swam back to the edge. He is a totally different boy in the water from the beginning of the summer. I'm so happy the swim lessons went well, and he loves the water again.
So we swam until they were ready to go home. Both almost fell asleep on the ride back home. So on Sunday, we did the same thing, only we went to Lem's favorite park instead, Rotary Park. I let them play until they had worn themselves out. There were kids there their own age, and Lem made a friend with a little girl who was also five years old.
We had new toys to play with this time, water wings and diving rings. I'd held off on getting the kids water wings, because I thought it would be better for them to learn to swim first, without any aids. I don't know what I was thinking. Gwyn loved hers, and she could float just fine with them, and also try swimming. Lem liked them alright, but he was much more excited to do the diving rings. He even jumped off the edge to me, and then swam back to the edge. He is a totally different boy in the water from the beginning of the summer. I'm so happy the swim lessons went well, and he loves the water again.
So we swam until they were ready to go home. Both almost fell asleep on the ride back home. So on Sunday, we did the same thing, only we went to Lem's favorite park instead, Rotary Park. I let them play until they had worn themselves out. There were kids there their own age, and Lem made a friend with a little girl who was also five years old.
The Things They Say
7/12 Lem's zombie joke:
Why were the zombies awake in the morning? Because they are zombie-urnal.
7/12 Gwyn: Mommy? I want a motorcycle. A pink one.
7/12 Gwyn's story: A rabbit went to the store and then he pooped. Do rabbits have toilets?
Me: No rabbits poop on the ground. People are the only ones who use toilets.
Gwyn: And kids. Boys have wieners. Girls have ginas (vaginas). ... I farted. It stinks.
Win, when I related the conversation to him: She's such a delicate little flower.
8/12 When I told Lem I was impressed that he remembered the names of his preschool teachers, he said, "Well, yeah, that thing in my head that's like a hippopotamus is huge!" He meant the hippocampus (which he learned about watching "Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman."
8/12 Gwyn: I want a skateboard. With a helmet. A pink skateboard.
Gwyn: I want to go to the moon, in a rocketship!
8/12 Lem: The clouds are in space. Is it always sunny in Philadelphia? (And it was a struggle to say Philadelphia!)
8/12 Lem: I'm going to marry Ivy when I grow up. I don't want to have to look for anyone else.
Why were the zombies awake in the morning? Because they are zombie-urnal.
7/12 Gwyn: Mommy? I want a motorcycle. A pink one.
7/12 Gwyn's story: A rabbit went to the store and then he pooped. Do rabbits have toilets?
Me: No rabbits poop on the ground. People are the only ones who use toilets.
Gwyn: And kids. Boys have wieners. Girls have ginas (vaginas). ... I farted. It stinks.
Win, when I related the conversation to him: She's such a delicate little flower.
8/12 When I told Lem I was impressed that he remembered the names of his preschool teachers, he said, "Well, yeah, that thing in my head that's like a hippopotamus is huge!" He meant the hippocampus (which he learned about watching "Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman."
8/12 Gwyn: I want a skateboard. With a helmet. A pink skateboard.
Gwyn: I want to go to the moon, in a rocketship!
8/12 Lem: The clouds are in space. Is it always sunny in Philadelphia? (And it was a struggle to say Philadelphia!)
8/12 Lem: I'm going to marry Ivy when I grow up. I don't want to have to look for anyone else.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
The First Day of Preschool
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| Ready to go but not happy |
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| So much happier when I picked her up. |
Monday, August 20, 2012
Today ...
... Was the second full day of school and first day of football practice. Yep, Lem chose to play flag football this fall. I really wanted him to play soccer, but it was his decision.
Anyway, the morning started out pretty rough, because he didn't get his usual TV time to wake up and drink his milk. (For the record, instead of watching TV, he finished his chess game with Oma.) It turned into a huge fight and ended with him losing TV for a week and both of us mad. He was still mad when he got on the bus, but at least he wasn't crying.
Fast forward to the afternoon. He gets off the bus in a fantastic mood. He's wearing a crown, awarded for being the star student the first week of school (which was only two days). He also has a slap bracelet and a flute, which he bought with his good behavior tickets. He's in such a great mood, saying he loves me and I can share his slap bracelet with him.
I was in a much better mood as well, and had already decided that no TV for a week was pretty harsh. I know, I know, you are supposed to follow through with your punishments, or your kid won't think you are serious. But I'd thought about it, and decided that perhaps that wasn't the best route this time. He's going through a lot right now -- dealing with starting school, Gwyn's birthday, and also Win leaving. It's a lot for a five-year-old to handle. He'd been doing well, but this past weekend was rough. As I expected he'd react to the deployment -- he's angry. (Gwyn is sad.)
So, it helped that he was in such a great mood. And it lasted the rest of the night. I think football will be fun, he pretty much just ran and ran for an hour. Gwyn did too, she does her laps across the field. And it was pretty awesome that the coach was wearing a Flash t-shirt. Lem introduced himself to the team as "My name is Lem, a.k.a., The Flash," and the coach was calling him Flash. And his team color is red, his favorite color.
Gwyn's first day of preschool is tomorrow. She is not excited about it. I hope that she is happy once she gets there. She has her Dora backpack and a Dora lunchbox, and it's only half a day.
So many changes these past couple weeks.
Anyway, the morning started out pretty rough, because he didn't get his usual TV time to wake up and drink his milk. (For the record, instead of watching TV, he finished his chess game with Oma.) It turned into a huge fight and ended with him losing TV for a week and both of us mad. He was still mad when he got on the bus, but at least he wasn't crying.
Fast forward to the afternoon. He gets off the bus in a fantastic mood. He's wearing a crown, awarded for being the star student the first week of school (which was only two days). He also has a slap bracelet and a flute, which he bought with his good behavior tickets. He's in such a great mood, saying he loves me and I can share his slap bracelet with him.
I was in a much better mood as well, and had already decided that no TV for a week was pretty harsh. I know, I know, you are supposed to follow through with your punishments, or your kid won't think you are serious. But I'd thought about it, and decided that perhaps that wasn't the best route this time. He's going through a lot right now -- dealing with starting school, Gwyn's birthday, and also Win leaving. It's a lot for a five-year-old to handle. He'd been doing well, but this past weekend was rough. As I expected he'd react to the deployment -- he's angry. (Gwyn is sad.)
So, it helped that he was in such a great mood. And it lasted the rest of the night. I think football will be fun, he pretty much just ran and ran for an hour. Gwyn did too, she does her laps across the field. And it was pretty awesome that the coach was wearing a Flash t-shirt. Lem introduced himself to the team as "My name is Lem, a.k.a., The Flash," and the coach was calling him Flash. And his team color is red, his favorite color.
Gwyn's first day of preschool is tomorrow. She is not excited about it. I hope that she is happy once she gets there. She has her Dora backpack and a Dora lunchbox, and it's only half a day.
So many changes these past couple weeks.
Friday, August 17, 2012
The First Day of Kindergarten
The first day of Kindergarten. He rode the bus. I had picked out nice clothes for him to wear, including his "wedding shirt," which is what he calls his latest polo shirt (he wore it to my cousin's wedding this summer). He picked this out instead.
Also, apparently this is his new facial expression whenever I ask him to smile for a picture.
Here's hoping to a great school year!
Saturday, August 11, 2012
The Dress
Gwyn has been wearing this outfit everywhere lately. She has been on a dress kick lately, but as of right now, this one is her favorite. She always wears it with her purple sandals, and sometimes adds her little purse as well. The girl has good taste.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Life
Life has gotten in the way of blogging. Lots has been going on in these last few official weeks of summer.
Swim lessons were a success. Lem is now swimming with his head under the water, but he hasn't figured out how to come up for air yet. He is more confident in the water, which is great and terrible at the same time. He thinks he can swim but really can't ... which means going to the pool has a whole new level of stress for me. Gwyn puts her face in the water now, and is really good at her kicks. But she only jumped off the side by herself once. But I'm OK with it, I read somewhere that kids really aren't ready to learn how to swim until age 5, which I'm seeing just by watching Lem. But I think the experience was great for her.
Lem missed the last swim class, because he got some mysterious illness that started with eye boogers and led to two doctor visits, eye drops and oral antibiotics, and several days of fever. He is fine now, but man, he is not a happy patient. He got so crabby and would bite your head off if you asked him how he was feeling.
Oh yeah, and Gwyn has a cold as well, different than Lem. Hers is just piles of boogers/snot and some coughing. Coughing that keeps us all up at night.
And then, this week, we have been busy with school preparations. We had Open House and Kindergarten Orientation for Lem. At open house, we found his classroom, met his teacher and saw that (thank the Lord) Ivy is in his class this year. At the orientation, Ivy and her dad sat next to us, and she and Lem were so happy to see each other. We never did get together over the summer, so they had lots to chat and giggle about. Ivy even had a card to give Lem, which her dad said had been on their fridge all summer. Two other kids from their pre-k class are in this year's class, and they all were happy to see each other. So even though Lem was mad about having to go to school (and miss Curious George), I know he was glad to see everyone. He has one day of testing next week and has his first day on Friday.
And on Tuesday, we had Gwyn's preschool orientation. She is going to a Lutheran preschool, two days a week for three hours each. The same as Lem did. She has been hot and cold about the whole idea, but she was excited to go play in the classroom with one of the teachers while I filled out paperwork. There are just two classes -- the three-year-olds and four-year-olds, and all the teachers and aides were very nice. The pastor was very nice too. I'm pretty happy with my choice; I just hope Gwyn is, too. She still has a couple weeks before she starts.
Swim lessons were a success. Lem is now swimming with his head under the water, but he hasn't figured out how to come up for air yet. He is more confident in the water, which is great and terrible at the same time. He thinks he can swim but really can't ... which means going to the pool has a whole new level of stress for me. Gwyn puts her face in the water now, and is really good at her kicks. But she only jumped off the side by herself once. But I'm OK with it, I read somewhere that kids really aren't ready to learn how to swim until age 5, which I'm seeing just by watching Lem. But I think the experience was great for her.
Lem missed the last swim class, because he got some mysterious illness that started with eye boogers and led to two doctor visits, eye drops and oral antibiotics, and several days of fever. He is fine now, but man, he is not a happy patient. He got so crabby and would bite your head off if you asked him how he was feeling.
Oh yeah, and Gwyn has a cold as well, different than Lem. Hers is just piles of boogers/snot and some coughing. Coughing that keeps us all up at night.
And then, this week, we have been busy with school preparations. We had Open House and Kindergarten Orientation for Lem. At open house, we found his classroom, met his teacher and saw that (thank the Lord) Ivy is in his class this year. At the orientation, Ivy and her dad sat next to us, and she and Lem were so happy to see each other. We never did get together over the summer, so they had lots to chat and giggle about. Ivy even had a card to give Lem, which her dad said had been on their fridge all summer. Two other kids from their pre-k class are in this year's class, and they all were happy to see each other. So even though Lem was mad about having to go to school (and miss Curious George), I know he was glad to see everyone. He has one day of testing next week and has his first day on Friday.
And on Tuesday, we had Gwyn's preschool orientation. She is going to a Lutheran preschool, two days a week for three hours each. The same as Lem did. She has been hot and cold about the whole idea, but she was excited to go play in the classroom with one of the teachers while I filled out paperwork. There are just two classes -- the three-year-olds and four-year-olds, and all the teachers and aides were very nice. The pastor was very nice too. I'm pretty happy with my choice; I just hope Gwyn is, too. She still has a couple weeks before she starts.
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