Halloween fun

Halloween is fun when there is a toddler in the house. It's also fun when said toddler decides, on a whim, to dress up as a super hero. In her brother's old Darth Vader costume. With a tu-tu. And her velvet cape. Because, really, that is just awesome.

Princess Vader, the super hero

Our first outing in the costume was to the grocery store. She was quite a hit. Then we went to big brother's "Mad Science" party at the elementary school.

I was a little worried about bringing her to the party with a classroom full of tweens, but the kids were great with her. She went to each station with her brother and all the other kids doted on her. After all the activities were done, while the kids were "cleaning up," the teacher put on some music (Thriller) and they all cheered as the toddler did a goofy little dance for them.

Can you say sugar high? And missed nap time?

Later in the evening my niece and nephews came over to create the chaos that must accompany any Halloween night. To counteract the madness, the adults in the house enjoyed some hot chocolate with a choice of Rumpleminz or Baileys.

And then they were off to beg for candy, while I held down the fort at home and enjoyed the quiet house.

Happy Halloween from Princess Vader, Yoda, Thomas the Train, the Leopard and the Football Star.

It's a scary world out there

There was a stabbing this week at my former high school (video news story). I'm having a hard time moving on from it.

Monday afternoon, I logged in to facebook to find my feed filled with different links and updates about the story of the stabbing. I have friends with kids that attend the school. I have a high school senior at a different school, and two more that will be there someday. I have multiple friends who, like me, are former graduates that just can't believe this happened in our quiet little home town. This freaks me out.

Over the week I've read pretty much everything I can get my hands on about this story. I've read about the victims, one who almost died. I've read about the suspect, who had been planning to stab someone all weekend; she didn't care who. She said the victims were just "in the wrong place at the wrong time."

That's a tough one to swallow.

I read about the boys who heard the screams and ran into the bathroom to help. I can't get one of their comments out of my head; "I just don't ever want to hear a girl scream like that again." That makes me want to cry. This is a kid. He's only 17. That's just too much reality for someone that age. Well, for anyone really.

But I'm trying to push through the fear and the anguish and see the good things that have happened as a result of this tragedy. I found stories of other neighboring high schools dressing up in red, black and white (the high school colors) in a show of love and support.

 I found this video and story, about a playoff game that happened Friday night between Snohomish and Jackson high schools. All the students, from both schools, wore pink in honor of the victims. T-shirts were sold to raise money for the families. The cheerleaders, from both schools, wore pink to cheer their teams on, instead of their own school colors. I'm proud and overwhelmed.

And I read the letter from the Sheriff to the students and staff at the high school.

"Instead of anger and rage, I witnessed genuine concern for all involved."

That he took the time to write this, to tell them all how impressed he was with their strength and composure during the crisis, makes me proud to be part of this little town with the big heart. 

It gives me some hope, knowing that the students and are coming together to heal, that the families of the victims are together and trying to get back to normal. That they will all be able to grow and move on and be better people. That they have all learned to survive, and to keep moving forward.

It's a scary world for sure. But it is also a small world. As hard as this week has been for everyone in and surrounding this community, I'm so happy to see the silver lining. 

Most of all, I am happy to hear that April, the victim that almost died, is home with her family. Life will really go on. She's going to be okay. The community will be stronger. We will all move forward. And we will all stand just a little closer together.

Pumpkin Patch

Today, the preschool class got to go on their first field trip; to the pumpkin patch at a local farm. The toddler was sooo excited. Daddy got to come too, which made it extra special.

First point of business, a class picture. Trying to gather multiple toddlers together to pose for a group photo is pretty much like herding cats. We couldn't even get them all next to the truck, let alone standing still and looking at the camera.

The solo photo worked out much better.

 
After checking out the cute animals (including one very loud goose), we set off to find her perfect pumpkin. We spent lots of time wandering up and down the pumpkin patch with her saying "nope, that's not the right one." And also splashing in every puddle she could find.

First field trip was a success!

Sleep issues with the tween

The tween has been having a battle with sleep as of late. It goes back to almost infancy, when he was diagnosed with night terrors (not fun!). He's not having the terrors again, but he wakes up some mornings with big, dark bags under his eyes. He already has issues focusing, but with this lack of sleep it makes it so much harder for him during the day. We've been troubleshooting different ideas, but to no avail. He has trouble falling asleep and he has trouble staying asleep. We finally broke down and went to the doctor yesterday.

The first thing they did was test him for anemia (negative). Then we talked about his sleep patterns and how to watch for the signs that he is tired. We are supposed to watch for the time when he is engaging and conversational, but not silly or overly emotional (is there such a time?).

At that point, we should give him another 20-30 minutes and then start the bedtime routine (apparently, if he is already yawning and acting tired, he should already be in bed).  The doctor  also  recommended we give him Melatonin supplements every night for at least two weeks, to see if that helps him fall asleep. (Note, he was much more refreshed this morning)

We chatted a bit about other ideas (shower before bed, move bedtime a bit earlier, bedtime and wake time should be the same every day, etc) . Then she did a quick exam.

As she was feeling around his throat, she asked if thyroid issues ran in our family (no). Apparently his are slightly enlarged. She ordered a blood test to check his thyroid level, and his Vitamin D level for good measure. This was his first blood draw (that he can remember) so it was a little exciting for him.

We should get the results today.

Side note: I googled 'thyroid problems in kids' so I could put a link over that word up above. Doing medical research online, based on scary words your doctor uses, is never EVER a good idea. I am now in a total panic over the possibilities. I've also just realized my doctor said she will be out today. I think I will go call the nurses line. And pace the house until I hear back. I'll post an update as soon as I hear.

**UPDATE 2:00pm: Thyroid tests came back completely normal. Whew.

Proud mama

And for the latest in the teenagers accomplishments: he came home from school yesterday telling us that his principal had nominated him for a leadership award and a national scholarship. He didn't have a lot of information (they are going to tell him more on Tuesday), but we did learn that the principal can only nominate one senior student from the school. He's obviously impressed the administration, which pretty much rocks!

I'll keep you posted!

Nice words from the teenager

It's time to take down the teenagers Mother's Day message on my bedroom wall.

I do it with mixed feelings, but it needs to be done. But I don't want to forget it, because it warms my heart, so I am going to memorialize it here on the blog.


The message on the wall:

THIS MOTHERS DAY

I'd like to take a moment to thank you for everything.

Thank you so much. Thank you for accepting us and thank you for being there.

You've done so much for this family: keeping it together, chasing after the toddler, cleaning up lipstick and nail polish stains, listening to my rants and dealing with my solitude. And all without requiring gratitude.

Today, I hope, can be a day where we show you that gratitude that we oftentimes do not; show just how much you matter!

I hope you have a fantastic day.

Love, *the teenager*

National Merit Commendation for the teen

‎"Oh, by the way mom, I'm a National Merit Commended Student" the teen says, as he's eating dinner and working on his laptop. Because it's not such a big deal or anything.

We are thankful that he at least thought to tell us.

Here is a bit more info on what this means, exactly:

In late September, more than two-thirds (about 34,000) of the approximately 50,000 high scorers on the PSAT/NMSQT® receive Letters of Commendation in recognition of their outstanding academic promise. Commended Students are named on the basis of a nationally applied Selection Index score that may vary from year to year and is below the level required for participants to be named Semifinalists in their respective states. Although Commended Students do not continue in the competition for National Merit® Scholarships, some of these students do become candidates for Special Scholarships sponsored by corporations and businesses.

And just in case the teen is reading this:

Special Scholarships
Every year some 1,300 National Merit® Program participants, who are outstanding but not Finalists, are awarded Special Scholarships provided by corporations and business organizations. To be considered for a Special Scholarship, students must meet the sponsor's criteria and entry requirements of the National Merit Scholarship Program. They also must submit an entry form to the sponsor organization. Subsequently, NMSC contacts a pool of high-scoring candidates through their respective high schools. These students and their school officials submit detailed scholarship applications. A committee of NMSC professional staff evaluates information about candidates' abilities, skills, and accomplishments and chooses winners of the sponsor's Special Scholarships. These scholarships may either be renewable for four years of undergraduate study or one-time awards.

Good job honey! All that hard work, those sleepless nights, the stress and frustration of this IB program, this makes it all worth it, right?


Right?

Toddler going on teenager

Because this is too damn cute not to share ...

The toddler found my lipstick in the car (we were waiting for the teenager to get done with an appointment), so I showed her the mirror to help her put it on. This girl is SOOOO ready to be a teenager.

Sigh.

Bullying in the tween world

The tween is having a bit of a problem with one of his classmates at school. Most days, when I pick him up from school, the first ten minutes or so are spent listening to him vent about one particular classmate. It's frustrating and heartbreaking and reminds me why I absolutely hate recess at the older elementary ages. The politics of 4th, 5th and 6th grade kids ... oy. It makes my heart hurt. Both of my boys were/are always way more stressed about the social complexities of recess than about school work.

Mostly the current issues revolve around the daily football or soccer game. Said kid won't pass the ball to my tween, tells the others not to pass him the ball because he's not very good. He "can't catch", he "can't score", "don't pick him for your team" or "don't let him play with us, he sucks."

I really don't like this kid.

I don't really think that whether my son is a good athlete or not should even be relevant in this story.

He is a good person, he loves sports and he wants to play them with his friends. This kid is taking the fun out of it. I mean come on; it's recess.

So today, during the daily football game, this kid told all the other kids that he'd seen my son at soccer try-outs last spring and that he didn't make the team because he sucked at soccer.

The mama bear in me just about lost it when I heard this, especially listening to him try to choke the words out without giving in to the frustrated tears. I gave him a hug. A big bear hug that I didn't want to let go.

Because he was embarrassed.

For not making a select team.

He's ten, for crying out loud!

I asked him, again, why he continues to play with this kid. But the answer never changes. "Mom, I'm not trying to play with him, but we all want to play football/soccer and there is only one ball. The recess teachers say we have to let everyone play."

We hugged some more, because I just needed to keep him close. We talked about a lot of things, about how proud I am of the person he is today. About what a good sport he is with his own soccer team and how proud we are that he is out there giving so much effort trying to better his skills. Eventually I got him smiling. He even laughed a couple times, and he shifted gears a bit, felt better about things.

But I still can't let it go.

This is my sweet, empathetic child, the one who feels everyone else's emotional pain as much as his own. He is getting a rough lesson right now, and I want it to stop.

But I know I can't fix it. I know that I can only give him the tools, then he has to figure out how to apply them. This is part of growing up.

I hate it.

It sucks.

I know there are bigger things at stake here, on all sides. This other kid is turning in to a bit of a bully. At some point, I might have to start chatting with some teachers. More importantly though, I need to make sure my son can hold his head up at school, be proud of himself and the things that he has achieved. And I need to help him understand that he cannot let anyone else define him, that he needs to respect himself and love himself and find the strength from within to deal with this, or any, adversity.

That's heavy stuff for the end of the night.

Thankfully, though, there is twitter. I just saw this tweet and it made me laugh. And shift my own gears a bit.

@christine_gibbs: Life is tough. I recommend getting a manicure and a really cute helmet.

So now I will go to bed, perhaps pondering what sort of helmet I need. Because tomorrow is a new day and we're going to kick some ass.


And maybe get a pedicure.