Political Rallies

This past Monday, Oct. 13th, Sarah Palin was in Richmond for a rally at the Richmond International Raceway. I decided to go and take the kids (daycare closed that day and school let out early) so that they could experience a political rally. To be totally honest, I also wanted to hear Sarah Palin in person. We got there a little late because I spent too much time trying to find our "ticket" which we really didn't need. There were so many people there that we had to stand behind the main area where others were seated. It was okay, though. I could see the podium and could see her when she came out. The kids did so well in the heat and with a 40 minute wait for anything at all to happen. When she began speaking, I held each child up for a few seconds so that he or she could see her, and then the kids resumed picking grass or walking in circles around me while I was listening to the speech. While it was hot and tiring, I was glad we went and the kids experienced that type of event. I tried to explain in simple terms about the election and why it is important for us to understand each candidate's ideas before we vote. It probably went way over their heads.

The most fun part, though, was when we were trying to leave. The kids were hungry and thirsty and happened to see an ice cream truck so I let them get frozen treats since they really had behaved well. We got to the parking area and I really had no idea where I parked, so I told them to sit on the grass and just eat their ice cream (and I drank a bottled water). As the cars thinned out, I found where I had parked. After we got in the car and got in the line to leave, the traffic just stopped, so I parked again and asked what was happening. The police had blocked all other traffic so that the campaign motorcade could leave. So, we got out of the car and walked to the side of the road. About 15 or 20 minutes later, the motorcade came by and we waved to Gov. Palin. She was in a bus and the windows were tinted, but I'm certain she saw us. It was so cute watching my kids waving furiously not really knowing who they were waving to!

The best part in my kids' minds was the ice cream followed in close second by a trip to CiCi's. That was negotiated by Marcie who felt like they deserved that since they had behaved so well and I deserved it since she was sure I wouldn't feel like cooking. Smart girl!

She Did It Again

Joanna swallowed her conformer again (the porcelain piece that fits in her right eye socket). It had been in for 11 days without problems. When I picked her up from daycare, it was gone. This time no one knew about it. I think it happened right before I picked them up (the kids were on the playground). This time, also, she admitted she had put it in her mouth, though, she could not tell me why she had put it in her mouth. I asked her if it tasted good and she replied, "no." I asked her if it were supposed to be in her mouth -- again, "no" and then I asked what does go in your mouth -- "food." So, then I asked why she would put it in her mouth if it doesn't belong there and she said, "because it doesn't taste good." Who knows what goes through her head but I know one thing -- after this time, I'm not digging it out of poop again. I will ask the ocularist if he has any ideas but I know that most people do not expect a nearly 5 year old child to have trouble with swallowing small objects! Maybe we'll just have to wait a few more years before we start this process again, which isn't good because that side of her face won't grow. More later.

Student of the Month

Guess which little kindergartener in my family has an award already? You guessed it -- Marcie! My little fiesty, spunky girl is the first "Student of the Month" in her classroom (for September). This is what her teacher wrote:

"Marcie is a wonderful young lady and is an excellent student in my class. She works hard to follow the rules and sets a good example for her classmates to follow. She is kind and helpful and always respectful to those around her. I am so proud of Marcie!"

I knew she would distinguish herself early on in school. Look out world, here she comes!

Reasonably Good Weekend

Okay, I promise this post won't be a "vent-fest" since my last one seems to have done that! We actually had a fairly nice weekend after all the madness at the end of the week. Joanna seems none the worse for the wear and actually told me on Friday afternoon that she had told her preschool teacher what happened to her eye. So, I told her that was good and that we didn't have to talk about it anymore; that it was over. Of course, on Saturday, Kyle wanted to bring it up again but I wouldn't let him. I told all of the kids that we were done talking about it; that Joanna had made a mistake and she was sorry and we don't need to bring it up again. So far, everyone has complied.

On Saturday, Charlie played soccer and then we went to a birthday party at Pump-It-Up in Chesterfield. Charlie played really well even getting a few good kicks in. All of the kids had a ball at the birthday party and after that we went to Wal-Mart to pick up Charlie's sport glasses, get a new lense for Joanna's glasses and do some grocery shopping. They were pretty good during that time. (Hard to believe, I know, but they really were!). They were tired out so after baths and shampoos, everyone fell asleep as soon as his or her head hit the pillow. Yay for me!

After church on Sunday, Kyle's preschool teacher came over to continue working on her project that involves Kyle and so all of the kids had a great afternoon playing with her. Since they really did a nice job behaving this weekend, we went to CiCi's Sunday evening and met a friend and her daughter. We stayed a bit late, but I still managed to get the kids in bed by 9:15pm. I also let them have "floats" -- ice cream in caffeine-free coke. I had been promising to make ice cream floats and actually wanted the kids to go ahead and go to bed when we got home, but they remembered that I had promised floats. So, to keep the peace, I said they could have small ones but then they had to brush their teeth and go to bed! They actually did just that. (Yes, I know, still hard to believe!).

After a weekend of fairly good behavior, Marcie needed to act out a little (I guess) so she did that when getting ready for school today. But, at least the other 3 were very cooperative, so we got out of the house on time. Phewww!

Is Livid Worse Than Rage?

I came awfully close to figuring that out this week. At the beginning of the week, I received a call from the daycare that Joanna had lost the conformer in her right eye (it is the piece that will make the space for her eye bigger). She had walked over to the teacher during naptime because she wasn't behaving and the teacher wanted to talk to her. The conformer was in at that time. Joanna then walked back to her cot and continued tossing, turning and meddling with the shelves next to her for about the next 10 minutes. When the teacher went over to Joanna's cot, she noticed the conformer was gone. Needless to say, the whole classroom was turned upside down to find that little white porcelain piece and even the 3 year old classroom got involved in case the conformer had rolled under the door into that room. Joanna was repeatedly asked by several people what had happened and she had no answer. When directly asked if she had played with it, put it in her mouth or her clothes or swallowed it, she consistently said "no." Now, remember this child is chronologically almost 5 years old....she should be able to relate an event that has happened within the past 15 minutes. She simply refused to say what had happened to the conformer despite reassurances that she was not in trouble. The assistant director called me in the hope that I could talk to Joanna and she would tell me what happened. I knew that was pointless so I declined to talk to her. I could already feel my blood pressure rising!

Over the next 2 days, we continued to press her for more information and she continued to repeatedly deny that she knew what had happened, or simply refused to answer the question. This is her usual style -- this stone-faced silence that she often displays regardless of the situation and whether or not there is any risk of punishment. I have to say that I have never met a child that young that could put up such a barrier and simply refuse to communicate, even non-verbally. I tried several ways of asking her or getting her to open up, and I even said that I just wanted to know what happened to it. I asked again on Wednesday night if she had put it in her mouth and swallowed it. She looked me directly in the eye and said, "No." I suggested to her teacher that perhaps they could engage in some puppet play and see if she would talk through the puppets. They did try that on Wednesday, and the teacher thought she had gotten a very small nod that Joanna had swallowed the conformer. On Thursday morning about 10 minutes before we had to leave for the bus stop, Joanna told me she had to go poop. When she called out that she was done, I went in and guess what was mixed in....you guessed it, this shiny white conformer. My blood pressure immediately went through the roof and I was absolutely livid. I don't think I have ever been that angry. I fussed at her for not admitting to swallowing it and let her know in no uncertain terms that I was exceedingly angry that she had not told the truth. I made her tell the people at daycare where I had found it and that seemed to be a good consequence for her because she seemed genuinely upset. Anyway, I drove to work angry, but by the late afternoon, that anger had dissipated somewhat. Last night, I noticed some soreness over my breastbone which has continued through today. I think I was so angry that I tensed up and must've remained that way all day. Needless to say, I am paying the price for that today. I can't imagine being any angrier. I think rage probably just doesn't even describe the emotion, that's why I chose livid. But, I'm not sure that describes it, either. Fortunately, the emotion fades and other than threatening to send her packing and fussing a lot, I didn't act on the anger. Boy, though, I was sure tempted....

One of the daycare teachers has graciously offered to give me a break from the kids for a few hours this weekend. I can sure use that!

I Have Your Eyes

At the end of last week, we had gotten in the car and Charlie commented that eyes are shaped like footballs. He asked to look at my eyes and when I looked at him, he said, "yes, like footballs." I told him that I thought his eyes looked like footballs, too, and then said, "Just like mine!" It always pleases Charlie to think that he is like me in some way. During this time, Kyle had walked up to my other side in the car, and I heard this little voice saying, "Do you have my eyes, Mom?" I looked into those sweet little Asian eyes and did what every mother would do in a similar circumstance, and said, "Yes, Kyle, I have your eyes." How could I have said anything else?

Sometimes They Surprise You

After dinner last night, we went to the grocery store so that I could get ice cream, my favorite toppings for it, and bread. While we were walking through the store, Charlie said, "mentos." I stopped and said, "what," and he repeated it. I said, "where did you see that," knowing that he doesn't know about that kind of candy (I've never given it to him). He said, "Right here," and pointing to a sign, said, "see, Mom, Mentos," and then underscoring the word with his finger, said, "Men - tos." I was so proud of him...you see, reading is difficult for him and he prefers not to even try to read aloud, so for him to read the word on a box was amazing....and it's not even a word wall word! That just made my whole day and I needed something to do that because Marcie had been a bear at dinner and I had made my nieces cry, so I wasn't a happy camper going into the grocery store. Then, later on after the kids were in bed, I had some of my ice cream and felt even better!

This morning after putting Charlie and Marcie on the bus, one of my neighbors walked by with her dog (retriever type dog). Kyle just stood there and Joanna kept backing up trying to get away from the dog. The dog was not close to her nor interested in her at all but she was terrified. Kyle, who is also scared of animals, decided that the dog must be okay and followed my neighbor's lead in extending his hand to pet the dog. Then, he got brave and allowed the dog to lick his hand. Well, Kyle was won over and then started talking to my neighbor about the dog and was really interested in her. Then, the dog licked Kyle's face and he started giggling. When the dog licked him again (on the nose), he was really enthralled. By this time Joanna was crying and my neighbor and I were both trying to help her understand that the dog wouldn't hurt her. I asked her if the dog had bitten her ("No," she says), if the dog had hurt her ("no") or if the dog was even close to her (again, "no"). I told her that the dog was friendly and liked Kyle and that I would not allow her to be around the dog if I were afraid she would get hurt. (By the way, she never saw animals as pets when she was in China and she has never been hurt by a dog or cat since she's been in the U.S., so I have no idea why this fear is so extreme). Then, Kyle took her by the hand and said, "It's okay, Joanna, the dog is nice," and at one point, he was holding both of her hands. It was so sweet! She just cried harder so we left. I praised Kyle for being brave and for figuring out how to make friends with a dog. I told him that I was so proud of him, and he, of course, being a true child, asked if that meant he could have a special treat after supper tonight. I think he has earned that! :) As for Joanna, she cried again at daycare and I made her sit in the classroom by herself for a minute to regain her composure (I was with her), then reminded her again that she wasn't hurt. After that on the way to work, I wondered why I spent so much time trying to rationalize with a 4 year old!

All is not lost for Joanna, though. Last night at Wendy's she did order her own kid size Frosty and remembered to tell the waiter that she wanted chocolate. Kyle then paid for his and Joanna's Frosties while I sat at the table. Maybe I shouldn't expect 2 new positive behaviors that close together. Of course, I may find out in the future that she will need therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder because I wouldn't allow her to run away from the dog. Guess I better save some money for that. Sigh.