Preschool Christmas Program

First of all, hats off to my manager, who let me telecommute two days in a row so that I could participate in my children's lives.  Yesterday, Anna had her last day of her first session of gymnastics.  I'd like to post photos from this event, but the battery in my camera died right after I arrived at the gym.  To sum it up, preschool gymnastics is fun, but not amazing. 

Today, Anna had her preschool Christmas program at school (I arrived with camera battery fully-charged).  It's amazing what a difference a year can make.  As her teacher reminded me, "one year is a quarter of their life." She knew (loved) all her songs and was a joy to watch.  The funniest part was seeing her re-tucking her shirt into her skirt throughout the program.  Only a girl.

It's Going To Be a White Christmas

Remember those years when we felt sorry for the ski areas and we read headlines like, "Snowmobile Sales Stagnant, Polaris to Increase ATV Production"?  Maybe you know someone who was a kid in the late 90's or maybe you were one.  There were definitely a lot of years where we wondered if we were going to have a white Christmas.  Some of those kids may be thinking about moving south now that the real Minnesota has come roaring back.

It's that time of the year again...

This morning, as I flipped through the radio stations, I heard Katy Perry’s new song, Firework (yes, I’m 41 and I like Katy Perry).  I stopped and cranked it up.  I'm rockin' out to the song, "Baby you're a firework. Come on let your colors burst..." when all of a sudden the music fades, and a mother’s voice is saying, “She can’t do things the way other kids can, so it really made me proud when…”     

Ten minutes later on another station, “This kid … who has Aspergers and has trouble making friends…we're going to give him a new smile so he's not self conscious about it…” Another Christmas wish granted.

Arrived at work and went to get some coffee.  Yesterday’s newpaper is sitting out on the counter with a huge photo of a smiling down syndrome student from a local high school highlighting a story about a student mentoring program for special needs students.

At Christmas, it makes people feel good to take time out to talk about kids with special needs.  Grand and generous unless you're a mom of two kids on the spectrum who likes her 9 hours of denial time at work.

Recess!

When I awoke this morning, the thermometer read 0 degrees.  I thought to myself, "You picked a great one for your first day as parent recess volunteer at school."  By the time noon rolled around, the temperature was up to 15 degrees, and it was one of those bright, sunny, blue sky winter days that make me love winter in Minnesota.  Recess is glorious!  I forgot just how fun it used to be.  What could be better than sledding on a sunny winter day with 50 of your friends?

Earlier in the month, when I told the boys I was going to be a recess volunteer, they were so excited.  But when I got there, it was all about recess, not mom.  They said "hi" while running past me.  However, at the end of recess, I did get two funny tidbits to share. 

Earlier in the week, Christian and I filled out his "Star of the Week" questionaire.  One of the questions asked, "What is your favorite color?"  When he answered, "Pink," I said, "That's kind of a girly color.  I think the kids will laugh at you.  Do you really want to say 'pink'?"  He answered, "Mom, I'll tell you if anyone laughs."  Today, on the way in from recess, he stopped and said, "Mom, a few kids laughed."  It took me a few seconds to realize what he was talking about.  He was totally cool about it, and said the kids weren't really laughing at him, they just thought it was funny.  He definitely has a mind of his own.

My other funny moment was observing Christian and his good friend, who happens to be a girl, as they stood in line waiting to go back inside school.  They were quietly talking to one another, when I saw her reach out and start smoothing Christian's hair.  Christian has poor personal space boundaries, and much earlier in the year, the situation was reversed during the children's sermon at church.  Christian was sitting by the same friend (crowding her) and then he reached up to touch her shiny blond hair.  She looked so irritated, I thought flames might start shooting out of her eyes (not that I could blame her because I would have felt the same way).

Their Mouths are Identical

All the kids had dental checkups tonight.  After Christian and Ehren had finished, the dental hygenist came out to say, "Their mouths are so much alike, it's like looking at the same mouth twice.  They have the same cavity on the same side, and their baby teeth and emerging adult teeth are all exactly the same."  It's true.  So far they have lost the same baby teeth at almost the same time.  I never thought about it too much before the hygenist's comment.

Thanksgiving Feast

Today, the kids had an all-school Thanksgiving feast that was organized, supplied and served by parents. This was my first time at the feast. It was amazing! The first graders, paraded out in their paper grocery-bag Pilgrim and Indian costumes and lined up first at the buffet. They were the only ones dressed for the occasion. Feasting together with parents, teachers, and kids was a rich experience.

My contribution:



That's 10 lbs of peeled potatoes in case you wondered.



Can't wait until next year!

Homework

First grade means Math homework Monday through Thursday.





In an ideal world, there is "unwind" time from 4-4:30 pm, then homework, then dinner, then freedom. However, Mondays have been interupted by LTS (Learn to Skate), so eating dinner, getting changed and getting out the door pre-empts homework. Tuesday is the marathon day because the boys miss religion and spelling while they're receiving speech and social skills group at the nearby public school. This work needs to be made up at home.