It's been a year since I started an adult swimming class at the Y to prep for a team triathlon event. I remembered it being hard, and frustrating, but something I wanted to work on with real accountability, so it was a positive experience overall. My blog indicates early on that I could only swim 40-50 yards before needing a 1-2 minute breather. After the class, I remember working up to 60-75 yards at a time.
I've had another intensive swim clinic, a series of small breakthroughs and many, many laps in the pool since then to the point that today I swam 600 yards, all freestyle, with only 30-second breaks every 200 yards. I just can't believe it.
The most recent breakthrough was using my arms. Like, REALLY using my arms. Like, not kicking my feet at all and army-crawling across the length of the pool. It's an exaggerated illustration, but that's kinda what it feels like. When I pretend I'm a paraplegic climbing a rock wall, then I do better. Don't know exactly how. And I can get enough air. Somehow. Finally. Crazy awesome.
Monday, February 26, 2018
Wednesday, February 21, 2018
Wibbly skin
I was swimming laps this morning and something caught my eye under the water:
My wibbly arm skin was rippling against the water like a person's cheeks in a freakishly strong air blast. It made me laugh.
This body. Sheesh. Cracks me up.
My wibbly arm skin was rippling against the water like a person's cheeks in a freakishly strong air blast. It made me laugh.
This body. Sheesh. Cracks me up.
Tuesday, February 20, 2018
President's Day
What a day! I learned some stuff.
Took the whole family to the YMCA for my usual workout, but Bobby joined me because of the holiday. We got to whine about spin class together ;) then run a mile right after. We ran into some friends also enjoying the day off from work and school, which reminded me that James had wanted to play with their son. By name. Twice. Which is a LOT coming from James, so I immediately asked for a play date that afternoon.
But before James could party with his buddy, we had a whole lot going on first.
I took Alice and her friend to go ice skating while Bobby took Robert home for a play date with his friend. It turns out James wanted to try ice skating, too, so I let him come with us. I'm glad I did. He really, really liked it. He went from total, stumbling wall flower to holding my hand in the main flow of traffic in less than an hour. By the end, he wanted to race and see how fast we could go together. Alice, too, found the experience thrilling and would like to do it again for her birthday. We shall see.
Meanwhile, Robert and his friend were having a great time at home. They even included Matthew in their play.
It was a 4-day weekend for the kids, so Robert had remembered our 1000-piece puzzles in the closet and asked earlier if we could FINALLY get another one out to do. We did. Puzzles have a methodical orderliness to them that sucks me in. One piece at a time. A hunt for the perfect color. A find. And then it fits perfectly. Ahhhhh. And it's something Robert enjoys doing with us. Bobby and I have worked on the puzzle instead of the computer for many hours this weekend and it's improved my happiness. A lot.
Anyway, I brought the girls and James home from ice skating just long enough to finish lunch before delivering Alice and her friend to a movie planning meeting. Her school friends want to make a movie based on the graphic novel "Princess X."
Then Robert's friend went home.
James' friend arrived.
Robert, Matthew and I went grocery shopping so James could play unfettered by sibling rivalry :)
We got home just in time to pick up Alice and her friend from the movie planning meeting. Bobby had made dinner. James' friend went home. We ate. We read a few stories and then watched The Gruffalo's Child before Alice's friend went home and we started the bedtime routine.
It was a busy day, but the kids didn't fight. Bobby and I both got breaks here and there and personal time with different kids now and then. Each child got to do something special with a friend...minus Matthew...but he doesn't mind playing with other peoples' friends yet ;) We were all really tired, but happy, in the end.
I guess I wanted to note it here because it set the day apart from the rest of the weekend, even if we didn't mention a single president's name. And it just fell together nicely. And both the adults and kids were happy with their experiences. For once in our lives, our vacation happiness was not a zero-sum equation. That's notable.
Took the whole family to the YMCA for my usual workout, but Bobby joined me because of the holiday. We got to whine about spin class together ;) then run a mile right after. We ran into some friends also enjoying the day off from work and school, which reminded me that James had wanted to play with their son. By name. Twice. Which is a LOT coming from James, so I immediately asked for a play date that afternoon.
But before James could party with his buddy, we had a whole lot going on first.
I took Alice and her friend to go ice skating while Bobby took Robert home for a play date with his friend. It turns out James wanted to try ice skating, too, so I let him come with us. I'm glad I did. He really, really liked it. He went from total, stumbling wall flower to holding my hand in the main flow of traffic in less than an hour. By the end, he wanted to race and see how fast we could go together. Alice, too, found the experience thrilling and would like to do it again for her birthday. We shall see.
Meanwhile, Robert and his friend were having a great time at home. They even included Matthew in their play.
It was a 4-day weekend for the kids, so Robert had remembered our 1000-piece puzzles in the closet and asked earlier if we could FINALLY get another one out to do. We did. Puzzles have a methodical orderliness to them that sucks me in. One piece at a time. A hunt for the perfect color. A find. And then it fits perfectly. Ahhhhh. And it's something Robert enjoys doing with us. Bobby and I have worked on the puzzle instead of the computer for many hours this weekend and it's improved my happiness. A lot.
Anyway, I brought the girls and James home from ice skating just long enough to finish lunch before delivering Alice and her friend to a movie planning meeting. Her school friends want to make a movie based on the graphic novel "Princess X."
Then Robert's friend went home.
James' friend arrived.
Robert, Matthew and I went grocery shopping so James could play unfettered by sibling rivalry :)
We got home just in time to pick up Alice and her friend from the movie planning meeting. Bobby had made dinner. James' friend went home. We ate. We read a few stories and then watched The Gruffalo's Child before Alice's friend went home and we started the bedtime routine.
It was a busy day, but the kids didn't fight. Bobby and I both got breaks here and there and personal time with different kids now and then. Each child got to do something special with a friend...minus Matthew...but he doesn't mind playing with other peoples' friends yet ;) We were all really tired, but happy, in the end.
I guess I wanted to note it here because it set the day apart from the rest of the weekend, even if we didn't mention a single president's name. And it just fell together nicely. And both the adults and kids were happy with their experiences. For once in our lives, our vacation happiness was not a zero-sum equation. That's notable.
Friday, February 16, 2018
Drying Rack
A long time ago, when I had a Pinterest account, I was looking up ways to air dry laundry indoors and came across someone who had repurposed their old baby crib into a snazzy jig. It sat flat against the wall when not in use, and she just propped it up when she hung clothes on it. The idea stuck.
My laundry bathroom is so small that I couldn't mount anything on the wall without rendering other critical bathroom components useless...like the toilet. So, I mounted the first rack to the ceiling. Complete with hinge feature for what I perceived would be "easy loading". One load later, I realized it was much easier to load the rack when it was flat on the ceiling. Oh well, sweet hinge design, it was good while it lasted.
I used the drying rack off and on as the mood struck. Then, one day recently, I was using one of those online calculators to figure out our household's carbon footprint. This was a really detailed calculator where I put in actual gas and electric usage, car mileage, and inches of insulation in the attic. The whole shebang. It turns out, I could cut our carbon dioxide output by 10% or more simply by line-drying our 5-6 loads of laundry a week (electric dryer, coal burning power plant). I dilly-dallied no more and put up a second rack. Ta daaaaaaa!
I've had a bit of a learning curve, but I think we're in a good place now. I still machine-dry one load a week of bath towels, washcloths, and cloth napkins. Much less than before. And I like the smell of clean, wet laundry in that room. With dry winter air, it's a quick process. We'll see how it goes with the warm, humid climate of summer.
My laundry bathroom is so small that I couldn't mount anything on the wall without rendering other critical bathroom components useless...like the toilet. So, I mounted the first rack to the ceiling. Complete with hinge feature for what I perceived would be "easy loading". One load later, I realized it was much easier to load the rack when it was flat on the ceiling. Oh well, sweet hinge design, it was good while it lasted.
I used the drying rack off and on as the mood struck. Then, one day recently, I was using one of those online calculators to figure out our household's carbon footprint. This was a really detailed calculator where I put in actual gas and electric usage, car mileage, and inches of insulation in the attic. The whole shebang. It turns out, I could cut our carbon dioxide output by 10% or more simply by line-drying our 5-6 loads of laundry a week (electric dryer, coal burning power plant). I dilly-dallied no more and put up a second rack. Ta daaaaaaa!
 |
| One load drying, room for three more :) |
I've had a bit of a learning curve, but I think we're in a good place now. I still machine-dry one load a week of bath towels, washcloths, and cloth napkins. Much less than before. And I like the smell of clean, wet laundry in that room. With dry winter air, it's a quick process. We'll see how it goes with the warm, humid climate of summer.
Thursday, February 15, 2018
Matthew Stories
Matthew tells stories, as you may remember from an earlier post. They
are so short, though, and I'm so distracted most of the time that the
stories never make it to the blog. He tells me about his dreams, too.
And as we ask him questions about them, he builds a larger stories
around them.
He cracks me up with some of his observations. His moods. His sweet little voice with the speech impediments and creative grammar. It's maybe twice a day I look at him and think, "Man, I should blog about this so I can tell him about it when he's older." And yet, it gets recorded so rarely.
This morning, he and I were watching James' swim lesson. I was in a regular chair and he was sitting higher on a bar-height chair so he could see through the pool area window. He turned to me and wrapped his arms around my head, squeezing tightly, then pulled away with his squinty but genuine smile. I laughed and thanked him for the hug. Then he held up three fingers and said, "I gonna gif you dith many!" And he proceeded to hug and squeeze my head over and over, adding another finger to the count every time.
He doesn't like the wind.
He says all his "fway-ens ah goils, but Jaymth ith my fway-en, too, an heeth a bo-ee"
His hand friends came out this morning, too. He had them jumping and fighting on his lap, then falling off his knees into a deep, deep pool, which he thought was so funny that he had to tell me about it specially.
He told me yesterday, as we walked into his room to change clothes, "I don' like myee-seff." I got a little concerned and asked a few follow-up questions. It turns out he doesn't like to be by himself. He said, "Win I wake up, I look awoun and go out uh my woom and find evee-wun out deh-uh! Den I happy."
He cracks me up with some of his observations. His moods. His sweet little voice with the speech impediments and creative grammar. It's maybe twice a day I look at him and think, "Man, I should blog about this so I can tell him about it when he's older." And yet, it gets recorded so rarely.
This morning, he and I were watching James' swim lesson. I was in a regular chair and he was sitting higher on a bar-height chair so he could see through the pool area window. He turned to me and wrapped his arms around my head, squeezing tightly, then pulled away with his squinty but genuine smile. I laughed and thanked him for the hug. Then he held up three fingers and said, "I gonna gif you dith many!" And he proceeded to hug and squeeze my head over and over, adding another finger to the count every time.
He doesn't like the wind.
He says all his "fway-ens ah goils, but Jaymth ith my fway-en, too, an heeth a bo-ee"
His hand friends came out this morning, too. He had them jumping and fighting on his lap, then falling off his knees into a deep, deep pool, which he thought was so funny that he had to tell me about it specially.
He told me yesterday, as we walked into his room to change clothes, "I don' like myee-seff." I got a little concerned and asked a few follow-up questions. It turns out he doesn't like to be by himself. He said, "Win I wake up, I look awoun and go out uh my woom and find evee-wun out deh-uh! Den I happy."
Monday, February 12, 2018
Steam
I was riding my bike in the cold garage this morning. I bought a "trainer" that suspends the back tire and puts resistance on it so I can ride my bike even when it's too cold outside. Or, say, when a kid is staying home from school sick with a fever *ahem*. Like today. Robert is a tough kid, so when he says he's too tired to eat breakfast and he drags himself back to bed for an hour, we pay attention.
Anyway, I was working hard biking in the chilly garage when something in my peripheral vision started to shimmer. I turned and saw steam floating off my arm. Both arms.
WHAT?! How cool is that?! That totally made my day. Sick kid and all.
I have a few pictures to share, too.
Anyway, I was working hard biking in the chilly garage when something in my peripheral vision started to shimmer. I turned and saw steam floating off my arm. Both arms.
WHAT?! How cool is that?! That totally made my day. Sick kid and all.
I have a few pictures to share, too.
 |
| Robert has taken a break from colorful symmetry to explore impossibly ugly characters. This was the most interesting of his most recent series. He mostly draws them on the back of his school work. |
 |
| Matthew's delightfully flat foot. He is almost too old for cute baby feet. He hates being called cute. If you call him cute, he'll tell/yell you in no uncertain terms that he is Matthew! Only Matthew. So, now when he does something cute we just say, "Oh, that's so Matthew!" He's cool with that. |
 |
| James helped me peel some carrots for dinner. He was especially pleased with this pointy spear shape he had honed to perfection. |
 |
| Alice rallied the boys around the Duplo to build a zoo. The animals are on the right, and the cafe is on the left. Just as much cafe as zoo. |
Sunday, February 4, 2018
A Song for Erin
Alice recently rediscovered this Irish folk song entitled "A Song for Erin" and she wanted me to record her playing it for her own Erin :)
Friday, February 2, 2018
Fever
There's a 5-day fever making the rounds in our neighborhood. It finally came to our house :) Well, I don't know how long it will stay yet, since Matthew just barely came down with a fever this morning, and his fever seems to be much hotter than the ones we've been hearing about. Maybe this is something entirely different? Don't know yet.
Anyway, my plans for today came to a screeching halt once I saw "103.0" on the thermometer. Matthew stayed home from preschool and James was forced to go alone. Both boys were miserable about it. Instead of hitting the gym, I popped in a DVD for my semi-conscious boy and enjoyed some European chocolate from our very generous house guests. It was a bit of a pity party, I confess.
When Matthew got hot enough to start panting and his hands were too shaky to drink, it scared me a bit and I gave him ibuprofen. Just 30 minutes later he was sitting up and asking for food and water. By the time James came home, Matthew's temperature measured normal and he was acting fine. They're currently in quiet time together laughing their heads off (it's probably something naughty). Modern medicine is a miracle. I don't take that for granted.
So, now, I'm assessing my project load and getting caught up.
CURRENT PROJECTS
Triathlon
Training, researching and gathering equipment (road bike, biking shoes, running shoes), organizing a group to participate with me.
Sola Gratia Farm
Waiting for the growing season to begin, preparing to attend a seminar on Illinois food sale law, waiting for the director to get back to me about how best I can help.
Battle of the Books
Gotta read a couple more books and write quiz questions for the kids at Yankee Ridge. Note to self: don't sign up for this next year.
Alice
Upcoming open house for a local private middle school for girls, Alice undecided about her desires and needs, me uncomfortable talking to her about it too much because I can tell she will choose whatever she thinks will make ME happiest. I go back and forth on it, honestly, seeing fantastic benefits and serious disadvantages to each middle school (public vs. private). I struggle with the unfair reality that our income gives us more choices.
Her personal schedule is ramping up significantly. That's a little stressful for me.
Robert
He wants to build a better relationship with me right now. I love it. I wish I had more to give him. I wish I could read Harry Potter to him 30 minutes a night without having to do something similar again, again, and again for the other three kids. It's exhausting being equal. It's exhausting deciding what's fair all the time.
He is turning eight in a couple months and I want him to make a personal, spiritual decision on his own whether or not to be baptized. I ask him about it in private and he always shyly smiles and shrugs, "Of course I'm going to do it, why are you asking me this?" And then there's the issue of Cub Scouts once he's eight. Am I ready for his personal schedule to get a lot busier?
Then there's piano lessons. He's happy again, sort of. He's happy as he sees himself getting better at it, but it's not something he's happy to work on. Does that make sense?
James and Matthew
These guys are a lot of work for me, but there aren't any big concerns or projects I'm working on with them right now. Just Matthew's fever.
Relationships
So many relationships to maintain. Some waxing, some waning. So, so, so much time and energy spent on this.
Calling
I teach a class in church every month on varying topics. It's only stressful the two weeks right before I teach. And the day of. I almost barf every time.
Upcoming talk in church
I've been asked to prepare a 10 minute talk/sermon for our church services in a couple weeks. The bishopric has asked me to speak on reaching out to people...something I am terrifically insecure about. I guess it's an opportunity to study the gospel and make some changes in my life :) or suddenly come down with a fever of 103. Giving a sermon is very different from my usual teaching routine. I don't like to lecture. I'm not an expert on anything. I prefer to ask genuine, heartfelt questions about applying the gospel in our lives and then learn from the other people in the room. A sermon doesn't include questions to the audience. No feedback. No chalk board to record comments and punctuate the thought process. Just my notes and a microphone. Erk.
Now I'm out of quiet time. I'll have to return to this later.
Anyway, my plans for today came to a screeching halt once I saw "103.0" on the thermometer. Matthew stayed home from preschool and James was forced to go alone. Both boys were miserable about it. Instead of hitting the gym, I popped in a DVD for my semi-conscious boy and enjoyed some European chocolate from our very generous house guests. It was a bit of a pity party, I confess.
When Matthew got hot enough to start panting and his hands were too shaky to drink, it scared me a bit and I gave him ibuprofen. Just 30 minutes later he was sitting up and asking for food and water. By the time James came home, Matthew's temperature measured normal and he was acting fine. They're currently in quiet time together laughing their heads off (it's probably something naughty). Modern medicine is a miracle. I don't take that for granted.
So, now, I'm assessing my project load and getting caught up.
CURRENT PROJECTS
Triathlon
Training, researching and gathering equipment (road bike, biking shoes, running shoes), organizing a group to participate with me.
Sola Gratia Farm
Waiting for the growing season to begin, preparing to attend a seminar on Illinois food sale law, waiting for the director to get back to me about how best I can help.
Battle of the Books
Gotta read a couple more books and write quiz questions for the kids at Yankee Ridge. Note to self: don't sign up for this next year.
Alice
Upcoming open house for a local private middle school for girls, Alice undecided about her desires and needs, me uncomfortable talking to her about it too much because I can tell she will choose whatever she thinks will make ME happiest. I go back and forth on it, honestly, seeing fantastic benefits and serious disadvantages to each middle school (public vs. private). I struggle with the unfair reality that our income gives us more choices.
Her personal schedule is ramping up significantly. That's a little stressful for me.
Robert
He wants to build a better relationship with me right now. I love it. I wish I had more to give him. I wish I could read Harry Potter to him 30 minutes a night without having to do something similar again, again, and again for the other three kids. It's exhausting being equal. It's exhausting deciding what's fair all the time.
He is turning eight in a couple months and I want him to make a personal, spiritual decision on his own whether or not to be baptized. I ask him about it in private and he always shyly smiles and shrugs, "Of course I'm going to do it, why are you asking me this?" And then there's the issue of Cub Scouts once he's eight. Am I ready for his personal schedule to get a lot busier?
Then there's piano lessons. He's happy again, sort of. He's happy as he sees himself getting better at it, but it's not something he's happy to work on. Does that make sense?
James and Matthew
These guys are a lot of work for me, but there aren't any big concerns or projects I'm working on with them right now. Just Matthew's fever.
Relationships
So many relationships to maintain. Some waxing, some waning. So, so, so much time and energy spent on this.
Calling
I teach a class in church every month on varying topics. It's only stressful the two weeks right before I teach. And the day of. I almost barf every time.
Upcoming talk in church
I've been asked to prepare a 10 minute talk/sermon for our church services in a couple weeks. The bishopric has asked me to speak on reaching out to people...something I am terrifically insecure about. I guess it's an opportunity to study the gospel and make some changes in my life :) or suddenly come down with a fever of 103. Giving a sermon is very different from my usual teaching routine. I don't like to lecture. I'm not an expert on anything. I prefer to ask genuine, heartfelt questions about applying the gospel in our lives and then learn from the other people in the room. A sermon doesn't include questions to the audience. No feedback. No chalk board to record comments and punctuate the thought process. Just my notes and a microphone. Erk.
Now I'm out of quiet time. I'll have to return to this later.
Thursday, February 1, 2018
Snippets
James ran into my room in a hurry, telling me I should come right away...and bring my phone. I walked into the living room and saw Matthew lying perfectly, awkwardly still. James smiled and opened his arms wide with a "Ta-daaaaaaaaa! Take a picture!"
Was he dead?
No. James had composed a face on the floor with some preschool spin art and a little brother. They were very, very proud of this discovery. So much so, that Matthew needed some convincing before he would move in any way.
A couple days later, out of the blue, Matthew asked to take pictures of himself with Photo Booth on my computer. He snapped this one completely on his own:
Then Robert came over to play, too, and helped him with these:
We had some friends stay with us for a few days with their kids B, J, and S while they waited for their new place to be available. It had been a long time since Matthew and J had been together, but it was funny to see how much they still had in common. Three-year-olds have their own way of doing things, y'know? Even their voices were similar. J is still a mover and a shaker. She can almost out-jump James!
It turns out James and B get along crazy well. I'm pretty sure B gets along with everyone, but James doesn't. It was thrilling to see him make such a quick connection on every level that means anything to him: digging in the dirt, running around the house, making silly sounds, more running, shooting pretend weapons, playing hide and seek, hiding from invisible monsters, and more playing outside. We'll need to get these boys together a little more over the next few months :)
Our friends moved in to their new place today. Alice and Robert got to spend the afternoon with Erin, so they came home in a terribly good mood. Alice was practically punchy. I was standing on top of the toilet hanging some laundry to dry (pictures of my setup to come, if you're interested) when I got a text from a friend that I decided to reply to right away. Alice walked in and looked at me a little funny, "Mom, are you standing on the toilet and texting?!" Then she somehow turned it into a song "My mom was texting on the toilet." Ugh. I promised her that any embarrassment she caused me now would be repaid tenfold when she was a teenager. She looked at me funny, "You're going to embarrass me?" as if she couldn't comprehend a single situation where that was possible. "Oh, Alice, in a few years, I won't have to do ANYTHING but be myself and you'll be embarrassed. No worries about that."
She looked completely befuddled.
Then, somehow, she and Robert started a screaming contest in the bathroom. It was all in good fun. Alice was just plain goofy. She was happy for doing so well on the PACER test in P.E., beating her previous record! She said some kids were chanting her name during her run and that felt awesome.
Here's a clip of the screamtastic craziness. I love, love LOVE that Robert picked up on one of the first things I ever noticed about parenting when I was a little kid. Such an analytic fellow:
Alice had some serious range, no doubt, but Robert won hands-down on volume and ear-splitting pitch. James and Matthew kept popping in and out trying to participate, but it was just too loud for them. Crazy funny.
I noticed this week that Robert often gets the short end of the stick in this family. He made a case for it himself, actually, just a few days ago. He was the last to get special outings with Erin. He was the last to have his picture on my phone background. He doesn't get play dates and one-on-one time as much as Alice or the smaller boys (mostly because he doesn't ask for it...ever), but I agreed there was a pattern and I'm willing to change that. We've instituted a regular "Mom Time" when it's just me and him and no other kids around (the other kids get this time, too). I'm looking for a few of his friends and their moms to form a mother-son group that gets together every so often and does something fun (kinda like the mother-daughter book club I've got with Alice). With the smaller boys in preschool 3 days a week, I have a little more patience and energy in the afternoon that I can spend on Robert while he does homework or music practice. He will never stop being the middle kid. I can't change that. But hopefully we can find a way to keep him from slipping through the cracks too often.
Was he dead?
No. James had composed a face on the floor with some preschool spin art and a little brother. They were very, very proud of this discovery. So much so, that Matthew needed some convincing before he would move in any way.
A couple days later, out of the blue, Matthew asked to take pictures of himself with Photo Booth on my computer. He snapped this one completely on his own:
Then Robert came over to play, too, and helped him with these:
We had some friends stay with us for a few days with their kids B, J, and S while they waited for their new place to be available. It had been a long time since Matthew and J had been together, but it was funny to see how much they still had in common. Three-year-olds have their own way of doing things, y'know? Even their voices were similar. J is still a mover and a shaker. She can almost out-jump James!
 |
| Matthew and J at 4 months old |
 |
| James, Matthew, and J scaling the climbing walls today |
It turns out James and B get along crazy well. I'm pretty sure B gets along with everyone, but James doesn't. It was thrilling to see him make such a quick connection on every level that means anything to him: digging in the dirt, running around the house, making silly sounds, more running, shooting pretend weapons, playing hide and seek, hiding from invisible monsters, and more playing outside. We'll need to get these boys together a little more over the next few months :)
Our friends moved in to their new place today. Alice and Robert got to spend the afternoon with Erin, so they came home in a terribly good mood. Alice was practically punchy. I was standing on top of the toilet hanging some laundry to dry (pictures of my setup to come, if you're interested) when I got a text from a friend that I decided to reply to right away. Alice walked in and looked at me a little funny, "Mom, are you standing on the toilet and texting?!" Then she somehow turned it into a song "My mom was texting on the toilet." Ugh. I promised her that any embarrassment she caused me now would be repaid tenfold when she was a teenager. She looked at me funny, "You're going to embarrass me?" as if she couldn't comprehend a single situation where that was possible. "Oh, Alice, in a few years, I won't have to do ANYTHING but be myself and you'll be embarrassed. No worries about that."
She looked completely befuddled.
Then, somehow, she and Robert started a screaming contest in the bathroom. It was all in good fun. Alice was just plain goofy. She was happy for doing so well on the PACER test in P.E., beating her previous record! She said some kids were chanting her name during her run and that felt awesome.
Here's a clip of the screamtastic craziness. I love, love LOVE that Robert picked up on one of the first things I ever noticed about parenting when I was a little kid. Such an analytic fellow:
Alice had some serious range, no doubt, but Robert won hands-down on volume and ear-splitting pitch. James and Matthew kept popping in and out trying to participate, but it was just too loud for them. Crazy funny.
I noticed this week that Robert often gets the short end of the stick in this family. He made a case for it himself, actually, just a few days ago. He was the last to get special outings with Erin. He was the last to have his picture on my phone background. He doesn't get play dates and one-on-one time as much as Alice or the smaller boys (mostly because he doesn't ask for it...ever), but I agreed there was a pattern and I'm willing to change that. We've instituted a regular "Mom Time" when it's just me and him and no other kids around (the other kids get this time, too). I'm looking for a few of his friends and their moms to form a mother-son group that gets together every so often and does something fun (kinda like the mother-daughter book club I've got with Alice). With the smaller boys in preschool 3 days a week, I have a little more patience and energy in the afternoon that I can spend on Robert while he does homework or music practice. He will never stop being the middle kid. I can't change that. But hopefully we can find a way to keep him from slipping through the cracks too often.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
