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Thoughts of Disney, Spring and being outside

Posted on April 20, 2010 8:21 pm by TheAngelForever

This spring has been wild and wacky, weather wise and beyond. So many things going on here there and everywhere. One minute, we are outside in shorts, the next, bundling up to stay warm. Of course, the cooler days allowed me to finally break out the coat that I got while attending the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration. I love this since it reminds me of all of the amazing people that I met and the good times at Disney World. It will be actually be sad to put it away until the fall. Here I am enjoying a cooler day outside. Please excuse the frizzy, wind blown hair.

When you look around outside, the flowers are coming up and trees are showing their glorious spring colors. This one was taken outside of NHL’s school. Not the best picture, but like the rest, taken on the fly with my cell phone.

Like the insects, my kiddos are confused. One day they are able to play outside in the sun without a jacket, the next it is rainy or windy and time to stay inside. JSL is definitely antsy. At almost three years old, he begs to spend time outside. Once the laundry was done today, I took my allergy medicine and we played before going to pick up big brother. We bought some new chairs and I sat and did this while soaking up some much needed vitamin D:

I was able to finish another knitted cloth all while watch this:

Days like this make me thankful for the time at home with my boys and the simple things in life.

Categories:
allergies DisneySMMoms flowers and plants fun jsl knitting photos sahm weather

Fight to save our school

Posted on April 1, 2010 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Tuesday evening, when we went to the Passover Seder, I knew that many parents, teachers and students from my son’s school were at a very important board meeting. As I have mentioned before, our school was put on the chopping block because of major budget cuts. We have rallied as a school community, signed petitions and written letters. Still, this was the first board meeting since the announcement and many ups and downs along the way. The district scheduled this meeting on the night of the second Passover seder. It made me upset the minute I realized this. Of course, it made me even more upset when they rescheduled a meeting that was to be held today. Why? It is Holy Thursday and this was not acceptable to the board. I opted to keep my mouth shut and pick my battles, but made it known that I was not happy. I am not looking into religious discrimination because of this matter.

Last night, when we got home from the Seder, I tried to find news about the meeting. There was nothing, not even e-mails from other parents. I figured that was good news. This morning, I called NHL in from school and the school nurse asked if I had heard the news. No, I knew nothing. She told me that they brought up closing the schools again last night. In fact, this time they wanted to do a vote, but the members would not do it at the time.

Wednesday morning and afternoon, I spent a lot of time on the telephone and at my computer. I talked with several of the other parents that have been making the rounds to important people in our community. I heard more about statements that were said at the board meeting and got pretty angry at the blatant disrespect some members had toward our school. From that second on, I was a Mommy on a mission. I made called to the mayor’s office, assemblyman’s office, senator’s office, district communications director and several school board members. I managed to get to one of the school board members and talked with her for quite a while. Information was given to me that started phone calls to members of the school to get the word out about an emergency meeting. Several mothers made fliers and I stood outside in the rain handing them out to other parents and teachers in the school. This was news to everyone.

We all know times are tough, cuts will be made and jobs will be lost. What bothers me is that schools were picked randomly and not based on anything. Rather than close a school with enrollment that was declining and testing not meeting state standards, they picked on us. Our school has met state testing standards consistently and has a budding enrollment. Something was not right here and it needs to change. I am not backing down even though they claim we are safe for this year. I am going to keep battling along with others in our school to make sure we are a role model of things that are done right. We will be getting the word out to everyone about our successes and fabulous teachers, kids, community and parents. This is the least we can do for our kids. We MAY be safe this year, but I have been warned that next year may only be worse. We are in for a long fight.

The last few weeks have taught me lessons and made me feel like more of an adult than ever before. I have now had to fight for my child’s school to stay open, something my parents never had to do for me. Have you had to do this before? If you have, what has your school done to show the powers that be you are not going to give up for your kids?

Categories:
bad news decisions losing my mind nhl photos sahm school stupidity vent

A tale of many tantrums

Posted on February 22, 2010 10:04 pm by TheAngelForever

Today, NHL went back to school after two weeks off. This meant that JSL’s entertainment system was gone. Of course, this was made worse by the fact that JSL woke up after Daddy and NHL had left for the day. The reality of time with only Mommy was harsh. Sure we have fun, but I am not his six year old brother who is in constant motion.

After breakfast, I asked JSL if he wanted to head out to the post office and grocery store. He liked the idea of going out. Much to my surprise, he was really good about getting help putting on his shoes and coat. Recently, meltdowns are possible at this time because Mr. Independent wants to do everything on his own. Love that he wants to do this, but not when we are late to get NHL from school or on the way out to an appointment.

We had a nice ride to the post office. When I stopped in the car after to check things from the PO Box. the little guy let me know that this was not acceptable. When we pulled into the grocery store just down the street, there were protests. Mr. Independent was not happy that he was sitting in the cart. This is the face that I saw:

Of course, that should have been a sign to turn around and leave. I did not and we continued into the store. JSL helped me to hold onto the coupons that printed out with my store card. He was content with that. We found some items in produce (new Tempeh to try) and continued on. When we got a few more aisles into the store, JSL wanted out. He kept saying "Let me out! I want to walk." I told him that I needed his help to look for items.

This was about the point that I went back toward the front of the store and was greeted with the following:

It was right about that point that I was ready to sit on the floor with JSL and have a tantrum. I like the concept of Passover, but the stress involved in the planning and the expense of the specialty foods that are Kosher for Passover makes it too much.

Luckily, the rest of the trip was not too eventful. We skipped actually looking in the Passover section, got the rest of the items we needed and went home. JSL was so excited to go and pick big brother up from school a few hours later that he fell asleep a block away from school!

Any ideas on how to combat independent toddlers that can not wander around the grocery store?

This is something new to me since NHL never did anything like this until he was older. Of course, I know the best solution is to simply shop without him – LOL! I will spare you details about the tantrum in the car later while going home from NHL’s swim lessons. Let’s just say it involved kicking and screaming since The Wiggles were not put on the CD.

Categories:
holidays jsl photos sahm vent

Potty time and preschool preparations

Posted on January 4, 2010 8:37 pm by TheAngelForever

NHL went back to school today and I began my mission. No, not the potty training of my two year old. That one is on hold for this minute, Over break, big brother NHL and JSL were both given potty charts in the bathroom. Stickers were rewarded each time they used they potty. Care to guess what happened?

Here’s a quick rundown:

Both of the boys received a Sesame Street chart to fill with stickers.
The little guy saw NHL use the potty and get a sticker.
JSL immediately begged to get onto his Diego potty seat. Within a few minutes of concentration, he had a sticker on his chart.
NHL knew that if he filled up his chart he would get a prize from us.
The 6 year old learned to exploit the system. He went to the potty to pee more times in one day than I can remember. I finally had to set a rule that he could not simply have 2 drops count for a sticker – OY!
2 year old went onto the potty another time. This time he sat there for over 30 minutes (allowing my laundry ready to come out to wrinkle) and did nothing. He got off and wanted a sticker. Mean Mommy told him you need to pee or poop for a sticker.
NHL continued to use the potty and filled over half of his chart in a day.
By day two, NHL was doing potty math. He figured out how many variations of peeing and pooping were required to finish his chart. *sigh*
This weekend, we bought NHL something special for helping out with the potty training Olympics.
JSL’s chart still remains at 1 sticker and new plastic potty training pants are ready for when he expresses a little more interest.

Back to today. While NHL was off in first grade learning more about subtractions, how animals grow and digraphs, I decided it was time to look into preschool for JSL. Denial is rough, but the reality is that September is coming quickly and spots fill up. I made a phone call to a local organization that has lists of preschools in the area with contact information. Less than a half hour after my call, I had an e-mail with the names of about 20 places. When I narrowed the list down, I had five places to call (being Jewish church based schools are not an option).

The locations are all close to us. Still, we need a little more information to compare all of the options. I know that two are 2 1/2 hours 3 days a week. One has a lot of options on days and the other is 3 days a week for 4 hours a day. Two of the locations are higher on my list from prior experiences there. The only issue with one is that we would have an additional membership fee to pay. Of course, then we would have pool access along with a gym and other options. The front runner is the place that I loved last year when we went to see their 2 year old program. The only reason I passed was the price tag for a 2 year old. They also mentioned that they had early drop off option and flexability for extended day. This would be fabulous IF I could line up substitute teaching. You know, keep my foot in the door in some districts/schools while paying for nursery school at the same time.

Wednesday, we are going to see one of the locations, another on Friday. Both of these are my "favorites" and I like their potty training philosophy. The third told me to call back when I can secure a place for JSL (why he can’t go kind of bothers me) and the last has to call me back.

So, do you have any items that you think I should ask when I visit these locations? This is new to me since NHL went to a daycare center that had a preschool program built into the day. Thanks in advance.

Now I am off to hug my baby and try to forget that he will be going to school in the fall along with his big brother. . . even if it is only preschool for now.

Categories:
jsl milestone nhl photos sahm school

My homage to the Doof

Posted on December 29, 2009 8:49 pm by TheAngelForever

Some of you may have seen the title of my post and had no clue what it means. Guess you do not recognize the crew below.

This is my six year old son’s Phineas and Ferb shirt, along with the Phineas and Ferb soundtrack. Recently, NHL has really taken to Phineas and Ferb on the Disney Channel. The show has a lot of catchy tunes and even adults can laugh along with it.

The other day, a childhood friend left a message on Facebook to see if anyone would know what he was talking about. His wife thought it was pretty obscure and nobody would recognize it. The status message simply stated, "My name if Doof and you’ll do what I say!"

I vaguely recalled it, but said it outloud to TechyDad expecting a reply from him. Before I knew it, NHL said the following, "My name is Doof and you’ll do what I say. Woot! Woot!" He kept on going singing the entire song that Dr. Doofenshmirtz sings from Phineas and Ferb.

While visiting my mother today, I had a weak parenting moment. I channeled my inner Dr. Doofenshmirtz and said the following to JSL:

Me: My name is Mama and you’ll do what I say. Woot! Woot!

Without missing a beat, the little guy replied back to me.

JSL: My name is JSL pup-pup you do whah I. Woot! Woot!

I immediately wanted to be able to share this with hubby since it had backfired, but in a really cute way. Here is the little guy doing it several more times with me.