Excellence and Swim Lessons

It's the fourth week of the fourth quarter already, and Two's teacher refers to this as the Quarter of Excellence. She had the kids write a bit about this topic. I will share what my sweet and lovable second son wrote. This just totally tickles me.

THE QUARTER OF EXCELLENCE!!!

What is excellence?

Siding kwiit (sitting quiet)

being kind

helping pepel (people)

What are some things that you are excellent at?

losing teth

reeding

runing

nice frend

being nice

What are some things that you need to practice more during the QOE?

1. being nice

2. no shooting

3. reses (recess)

4. being nice to (my little brother)

What is your QOE resolution?

not being silly at work time

Why did you pick this resolution?

thin I whont get moch work don.

What is the QOE resolution that Ellen (his wonderful teacher) picked for you?

writing at writers workshop

Why do you think Ellen picked this resolution for you?

because I have slopey hande wriding

What do you think should be Ellen's QOE resolution?

more! MATH!

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I love how my little guy views himself. He recognizes that being kind is part of being excellent, and he sees himself as being a nice friend. Yet he also vows to work on being nice, no shooting (good choice there), and being nice to his little bro, which honestly is a work in progress. (He could add working on being nice to his big bro too, but I guess, why push it.) His hand writing is pretty atrocious - I agree with Ellen completely there. I was surprised to see that he views himself as silly during work time. I haven't heard that about him from either teacher. Interestingly enough, that is the same goal number one son had during his QOE in first grade.

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In other news, Two and Three started swimming lessons today at the YMCA. One and I snuck into the pool too (we aren't members there, so I suppose technically we aren't supposed to be using their facilities), and it felt good to swim a couple of laps. Three's lessons were first, and, let's just say he wasn't the most willing participant in the beginning. Let's get this straight though -- these swimming lessons where HIS idea. Even though I love to swim and feel very comfortable in the water, I'm not a pusher of swimming lessons. We've sporadically taken a lesson here and there in their little lives, as they've expressed interest. So, although I want my kids to know how to swim, I figure that bringing them to the pool on most days during the summer (which I do) teaches them a lot. They will pick up actual strokes when they want to. So, a few weeks ago, Three started asking, begging really, for swim lessons with his friend E, who takes them at the Y. Two chimed in that he would like them too, and, as it turns out, E's brother S takes them also at the Y. I called on sign-up day, and got the last spots in both classes.

Fast forward to this afternoon, and I became one of those parents I am typically disdainful of. Three was refusing to go in, I shoved him off on one of the teachers, and I ran and hid so he couldn't see me. He continued to scream, yelling, "I don't want to! I don't want to!" I felt very guilty hiding, while another Y teacher told me I was "doing the right thing". I don't know about that -- I just know that I signed the kid up for lessons, plunked down a good chunk of change for the lessons, walked a very happy and excited boy into the Y, and saw him transform into a nervous, scared little guy.

As it turns out, once he realized he was going to have this experience after all, he settled on in and seemed to love it. He got the swim belt in and paddled back and forth across the pool several times. He was all smiles at the end of class and declared that he would definitely come back next week for his class.

This all made me think about how my role as a parent is changing. I don't need to be the Protector anymore and micro-manage every aspect of their lives. I suppose I'm more of a Guide (and, even, a Follower, as they guide me places too!). I was observing Three with some same age friends last week and there was some (minor) conflict between the kids. I purposefully didn't intervene and try to solve the problem. Instead, I watched what happened. And the problem resolved just fine. Friend wanted Three to play something. Three ignored the requests and finally said, "no, I don't want to." Friend wasn't too happy at first but quickly came around, and they figured out something they both wanted to play. I'm so glad I let them work that out, just like I'm glad I let him work through today's crisis. He learned today that he can be scared to do something new, and he can find success when he is pushed a bit to try it.

I am also reminded to not be so judgy about "those parents" who appear to force their children to do things before they are ready. For a moment today, I thought maybe Three wasn't ready for these lessons, but now I disagree. He asked for the lessons, he was excited to go, and, at the end of the class, he was excited about doing it!

All of today's success not withstanding, I am wary of next week's lesson. I sorta expect it to go like today's, at least in the beginning.

week review

• Funeral and post-funeral stuff from last week was very, very nice, actually. As with any family event, there is the possibility of drama, but it was almost completely drama-free, and, most importantly, a very sweet tribute to Uncle Gary.
• Gary left Bobby (what most of his relatives still call him, which I find totally adorable) all of his cookbooks. I'm talking like 12 boxes of them - probably over 100 in all. We found out at the funeral that, next to his bible, his cookbooks were his most prized possessions. In yet another example of how you don't always realize how important you are to someone until it's too late, when I was sorting through the books over the weekend, I found Gary's high school yearbook. I opened it up, and Bob and my * wedding announcement from the newspaper was cut out and placed in there. Finding that made me cry, and now thinking about it, I'm getting all choked up. Certainly, I feel some guilt for not making more time for Gary in recent years, especially since having kids.
• Part of this week's business is to continue to sort through these cookbooks. Anyone need anything? We probably have it now, perhaps in several versions. Gary was apparently very fond of Rachel Ray and other food network stars. I'm serious. Let me know. We can't absorb 100 more cookbooks into our household, and there's some good stuff here.
• Gary also had a camcorder that it looks like he bought back in 1993. One received this (as well as a bunch of Packers' memorabilia, which all of the kids are thrilled with), but it appears that the battery for the camcorder no longer works. I doubt they even sell batteries for it anymore. Any ideas of what to do with this? The camera is in pristine condition (in fact, I doubt it was ever used). But, back to my story, so this prompted me to get out OUR camcorder, which has been used very, very sporadically and unpredictably in our children's lives. As I was excitingly looking at some of the videos on the small screen, I decided we needed to have a family movie night to watch these. I realized that I could not find the cord that connected the camcorder to the tv. Looked and looked and searched (and swore) and looked some more. I called Radio Shack, and they said they sold cords like that for $30. I was resigned to spending that, but I quickly called American TV (where we bought it 8 or 9 years ago) to see if they sold replacements. Chris, the manager there, said, "c'mon on in. I have an extra one in the drawer that we aren't using. I'll just give it to you for free." And I did, and it works! This, along with the amazing service to my broken refrigerator last month, makes me a big fan of American TV. Yeah for them!
• I've been trying slow cooker recipes and haven't had much success. I am not deterred and am trying another one today (chicken stew with apples, potatoes and carrots). My hands smell now of nutmeg, lemon juice and cayenne pepper. I have hope that today's recipe is better than Saturday's debacle (advice - don't try steak in a slow cooker - yuck!).
• We have had lots of campfires in the front yard lately. Kids love it and want one every night. I'm sure the s'mores have something to do with their requests.
• I ran today, against the advice of my PT. Just about 1/2 mile on the walk home from school, but darn it! I wanted to run a little and test out the knee! If I let pain be my guide, I probably shouldn't run yet for a while. ouch.
• Speaking of PT, One got released from PT for his shoulder (!!!) and has full approval to resume regular life - JUST IN TIME for flag football, which started on Saturday. We have a very happy boy around here.
• Two is participating in a wrestling clinic at one of the high schools and he loves it. We also got report cards a week or so ago and he is reading AT grade level! Yippee and Hooray for him!!!!!!
• In the spirit of equal air time, Three is just as cute and exuberant as ever. He's been very kissy and huggy today, which I'll take. So far, four has been a lovely age.
• I think our birthday party run is finally over. We have had at least one, if not multiple, birthday parties on our calendar every weekend since mid-February (except for Easter weekend). Takes a bit of a toll on the birthday gift budget, so I'm glad to get a break.
• Off now to make some cinnamon bread (Gary had the King Arthur flour Whole Grains cookbook, so I'm having fun using more wheat flour).
• Hope you have a great day!

* If I were on The Bachelor On The Wings of Love (or whatever that dreck is called), I would probably say "Bob and I's announcement". I can grit my teeth through the "me and so-and-so" errors, but what is up with "So-and-so and I's such-and-such"? ***Shudder***

bad news and bald eagles

Thanks, all, for your kind words. Unfortunately the news we were awaiting is Bad. Stage 4 cancer. We are very, very sad about our sick loved one. We were able to see her yesterday (she's back for Uncle Gary's funeral) and it was sweet to see her dote on her beloved grandsons. I wiped away a few of my tears when (I hope) no one was looking. This is going to be a tough loss for us all.

So, I'm a little stressed out. I had previously agreed to make meals for two friends (one for the friend with the husband with the heart transplant and the other for a friend who's husband has cancer), and those two meal obligations are due today and tomorrow. Of course, when I scheduled them I had no idea we'd be in Janesville all day yesterday or all day tomorrow for funeral/family stuff, so now I'm running around like a crazy woman. I know - whoa is me. I've gotten used to my (fairly predictable and slow) pace of life since having kids, so I'm out of practice with the stress of deadlines.

In other news (Mark, I know how you love that phrase), I saw a bald eagle yesterday when walking Dashy-dog. I have heard rumors that one has been hanging out down at Monona Bay (2 blocks away from our house) all winter long, scooping up fish from the ice fisherpeople, and yesterday I saw it. It was nothing short of magnificent. It swooped up from the water with a fish in its beak and landed on a tree 20 feet or so above me. I stopped in amazement and looked around for someone, ANYONE, to tell. There was a neighbor girl skipping along the bay with a friend, so I whispered, "Anna! Look! Bald Eagle!" She ran into her house to get her dad (aka my kids' phy ed teacher) and the crowd started assembling. People doubled back on their bikes, other neighbors came to look at it. I ran home to get my kids and gathered some other neighbor kids along the way. At one point, there were probably 30 or so people gathered around watching it. It sat there with the fish in its talons, looking very regal and mighty. In my spare time this week (ha!), I want to walk along the bay with the kids and look for its nest. It's gotta be huge. Unfortunately, my camera batteries died awhile ago and I haven't bothered to charge them, so no pictures. You'll just have to trust me. It was quite a sight.

OK, off to Trader Joe's for some meal prep stuff for the friends. Oh, remind me to tell you about some books I've gotten from the library lately.

sad news

We've had some sadness chez mooncrawl that I haven't posted about. The sadness hit another peak yesterday. A family member and VERY important person to all of us has recently been diagnosed with cancer, and we feel like we've been hit with a truck since hearing the news. We are awaiting more information to get a complete picture, but our days have certainly been twinged with sadness and worry.

Yesterday, the family news worsened. We found out one of Bob's uncles died unexpectedly at home. Bob had a very unique and fun relationship with this uncle, and while he was closer with him many years ago, Uncle Gary always had a fond place in our hearts. I am sad for everyone, but especially I am sad for Bob's cousin A, who received the news first and was the point person to tell the rest of the family. This is A's first adult experience with the death of someone he was close to, and he seems a bit shaken (understandably). Such a hard thing to experience.

rainy tuesday morning

hello my peeps,

It's been a while. Spring break is over and it was a good one! Our Wisconsin Dells trip did not disappoint. It's a good group we're with -- great kids, fun parents. I'm so pleased at how well the kids gel. Some extras came and left throughout our stay, but of our core 3 families, mine were the only boys, and, guess what? It was a non-issue. Girls played with boys. Older kids played with younger kids. Lots of lovely interactions all the way around.

And the weather! Fuggetaboutit! Yes, we were at an INDOOR water park, but the kids escaped to the great outdoors one evening to play a spirited game of tag on the grass next to the parking lot. I sat outside on the balcony and read my book. I know! In March! On the way home, we stopped at Devil's Lake for a picnic and wandered up and down the beach, picking up shells and rocks. Then, with windows down, we drove over to Merrimac and took the ferry across. Beautiful weather. Great moods all the way around. Best vacation evah!

And if that wasn't enough good stuff for spring break, we had a cousin sleep-over on Sunday night! Boy cousins, ages 12 and 8, stayed here. They watched the Night at the Museum marathon and slept in a pile on the floor of the family room. In the morning, they played football outside, chased our escapee-doggie, and then piled into the car to go to the Fitchburg dream park. At the park, I ran into a neighbor, who complimented me by saying I am a "great" mom to boys. "Ha! fooled her!" I thought, but I simply replied, "great is an overstatement, but thanks for the kind words."

And so today - back to the routine. It's good to have everyone back in their assigned places. When we drove past Two's school during break, he sighed and wistfully said, "I love my school..." This from the boy who had such anxiety during preschool that I pulled him out. Happy mama here.

Off to do my morning exercises. My appointment with the PT was cancelled on Friday, so tomorrow is the day I get to go in and show off my amazing recovery. Enjoy your Tuesday, and if you're in the area - stay dry!