Pre-School Melt-down

Today was Josh’s first day of pre-school. I dropped him off (no problems there) and then hurried over to the elementary school with Jaiden for her kindergarten SEP. When it was time to pick up Josh, I headed back over to Mrs. Kathy's with Jaiden and Jenna. Several parents were waiting for their pre-schoolers to emerge, video cameras in hand, proudly documenting their child’s first day of pre-school.

I looked around for Josh but my anticipation was soon squelched. There he was collapsing to the ground in a fit of screams and tears. Oh no! Mrs. Kathy, trying to comfort him, retorted, “He was fine until just a minute ago!” He was screaming because he apparently couldn’t find his “rainbow picture.” Mrs. Kathy said, “It is in your backpack.” I tried to show Josh his two pictures but he just howled louder screaming, “the other one!” Well, there was no other one.

Then I started to panic because I could no longer see the other little child I was also driving home. I started to shout her name in a frenzy. With all those cars leaving at the same time, it isn’t a safe place for missing children to be running around. I got Mrs. Kathy's help but then noticed Josh's little friend had just gone in my car to wait for me like a good little girl. Josh was still screaming as I heaved him over to the car feeling very frustrated. He screeched all the way home that I needed to go back and get his picture. What am I going to do with him? Will he ever get over these sudden tantrums that appear out of no-where? Will he survive pre-school? And when will he finally be completely potty trained?

Perhaps he was extra tired or maybe he knew I was more frustrated than usual with him because he actually took a nap today. Wow. I am upstairs in the little computer nook and I just noticed that it is awfully quiet. I peeked over the wall into the main level family room below to find Jaiden sound asleep too -- on the couch! Double wow! All three little ones asleep at the same time?

Maybe there is hope for this day yet!

Middle School Dance

Janika was pretty nervous about her first Middle School dance. She kept saying that she really did not want to go. But after numerous questioning from her friends as to whether or not she would participate in this rite of passage, she decided to give in and give it a go. She felt pretty safe armed with the company of two cute girlfriends. They all had a great time. She said that they maintained a big group of girls, all bouncing (literally) up and down on the dance floor -- not getting anywhere near any boys, except for a couple of strays who dared join their group.

Sounds good to me! I'm not in any hurry to close that distance between boys and girls -- not quite yet! So not only is she surviving Middle School, she is loving it! Whew, what a relief!

ASL Class

I am teaching at the college again this semester and tonight was my first class! I think it will be a good class. I have about 20 students who registered which is actually quite big for this class. There were a few no shows though. I like small classes (especially for a class like this one) and so I wouldn't mind if a few drop. I am looking forward to the class though. It is a nice little diversion from my own kids and teaching sign language helps me to stay current in the field. I'd better go prep some lessons now!

Oquirrh Mountain Temple Dedication

This morning Rick and I went to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple Dedication broadcast at our Stake Center along with our three oldest. There was a peaceful, serene spirit that could be immediately felt upon entering the chapel. Pictures of the new temple were being shown while the tabernacle choir sang in the background. I enjoyed every one of the talks and could sense the urgency in recognizing the critical importance of temples in Heavenly Father's plan for His children.

I am paraphrasing, but I think it was Elder Bednar that explained how the temple is the intersection between earth and eternity. He explained that the temple brings us "protection and direction." I like that. "Protection and Direction." That is something I pray for! I left with a strong desire to attend the temple more frequently. We are so blessed to live only ten minutes away from the temple. I feel a prickling of guilt when I think about saints who sacrifice so much to travel to the temple and here we have one practically in our back yard. I don't take advantage of that amazing opportunity as much as I should.

Last week I enjoyed a wonderful session with our Deaf Branch. I love watching the temple ceremony in American Sign Language. It helps me find additional focus and meaning when I can "watch" the words, as well as listen to them. I had been a little disappointed that Rick and I couldn't go through together since he was to be one of the ordinance workers that night. I didn't see him until after the session. When I saw him come walking into the Celestial Room dressed in his white suit I thought my heart would jump right out of my chest. He looked so handsome and celestial! I thought, "Wow -- and he is all mine!" I think I will always remember that moment and the way I felt. I hope so. Because of temples we can be together forever. It just doesn't get any better than that! I am grateful for temples!

Detention?

Jase hadn't returned home from school yet when I got a phone call from one of my friends. She said that her son came home really upset because of what happened with Jase at school and the way things were handled. I thought, "Uh oh! What happened?"

She explained that her son (Jase's friend) has last period with him. Their teacher let their class out a few minutes early because she was on bus-duty and just told them to walk quietly from their classroom to the outside. Her son said that they were walking and there was this little gap in the line in front of Jase. A teacher came out of nowhere and snapped at Jase, "don't you know how to walk in a straight line?" He and Jase thought she was kidding and Jase didn't seem to be sure what to say. Then she asked Jase what his name was and he didn't answer at first and so she asked someone else and then they both answered. Then the teacher was demanding that Jase go to the principal's office on Monday and that he would be put in detention. He said, "Mom, you know how good Jase is. He wasn't even doing anything." My friend said, "He just came home so upset because he felt that Jase was being treated very unfairly."

Well, I was glad that she called me because while I was still on the line with her, the vice principal called. So I thanked her and hung up. The vice principal said, "A teacher saw Jase twirling around in line, knocking another student and when she told him to settle down he wagged his finger at her (I am thinking...what?) and then she asked his name and he refused to answer. He was acting like a smart alec and mouthing off at her...." Whoa! This was definitely a different story! Because of the head's up from my friend I was a little defensive and explained to the vice principal what my friend had just told me.

While I was talking to him Jase walked through the door in tears. I hugged him while he cried. The vice principal was very nice and listened to both stories and was very fair. He said that he would talk to the teacher again and that they had video surveillance and that he would talk to a couple other students on Monday as witnesses. I have always loved this school and the faculty there. This is the first time anything like this has happened with any of my kids. I have never met this particular teacher, although I have heard that she has a loud voice and can be quite intimidating. My daughter had all sorts of things to say, but I won't go there.

I then hung up and asked Jase what happened. He said he walking (and admitted that he was turned part way around talking to the boy behind him) when the teacher said, "Don't you know how to walk in a straight line?" He said he thought she was kidding, but they were supposed to be quiet and so he did the sign for "yes" (which is a fist going up and down) while shaking your head up and down. And then she did the sign back at him as if she were making fun of him. Aaaaah...I can see the possible misunderstanding here. Perhaps she didn't know that he was doing the sign for "yes," and certainly she didn't know that at our house we go back and forth from English to American Sign Language all of the time.

She apparently thought he was being disrespectful (when he had no intention of being so). Jase said he asked him his name and he did pause (because he was scared) but then he did say it at the same time the person behind him said it. Jase also said that she chided, "Do you need to go back to fifth grade?" He claims that he didn't hear her say that she was the one over lunch detention and he definitely denies saying, "That's fine." He said that he didn't say anything at all. She was angry and demanded that he see the principal on Monday and go to detention.

This whole thing just ruffles my feathers. I mean Jase is a model student and has NEVER gotten into any trouble at school (at least that I am aware of). Of course he can act silly and was he "twirling in line?" I don't know, but it wouldn't surprise me -- but to say he was "mouthing off at a teacher?" Definitely not. That would be sooo out of character for him.

I called the vice principal back and explained about the sign language and how she may have taken that wrong. I said that Jase was very worried about what to do or where to go if he has detention. (He is also worried about possible lunch detention since he is a lunch worker and supposed to work during lunch, but I didn't mention that). He told Jase not to worry and to have a good weekend and he would let him know if he had to do anything on Monday.

Man -- here I have tried so hard to teach my kids sign language and then when my son uses it at school he gets sent to detention!! I tried to lighten things up with Jase saying, "at least you won't have to write 'I will not tell lies' on your hand with your own blood, right?'" He chuckled. (We just finished a Harry Potter marathon last summer). After all, any "difficult" teachers pale in comparison to Snape and Umbridge, right?

I just feel bad about the incident. Jase has been so excited about school. He checks his "powerschool" grades literally every ten minutes (just to make sure that he still has 100% in every class).

Acting silly -- yes. Talking? probably. But mouthing off? Definitely not.

Janika

Where's Jenna?

Jenna has been mobile (crawling) for over a month now. Suddenly she is everywhere! The other day I found her stuck underneath her brother's bed!

A couple of times I have panicked because I couldn't find her right away. I ran around the house like a crazy woman shouting, "where's the baby?" only to find her outside with Jared swinging on the on the porch swing (see next post).


Soon she will be walking...and running!!!

Big Brothers

These big boys are so cute with their baby sister. The other day Jared rocked Jenna on the porch swing until she fell right asleep. It was so sweet!

Princess Jack Sparrow?

We still had a bunch of princess pull-ups left after Jaiden was potty trained a couple of years ago and so we saved them for our next baby -- which of course was a boy. Josh didn't seem to mind. In fact he seemed pretty excited about them.

Right now he is mostly running around in big boy dinosaur underwear. I purposely keep his shorts off so that I remember to put him on the potty. A few days ago I thought, "maybe he is potty trained!" We had the big "potty party" for him which got him off to a good start. Then a couple of days later, after more efforts on our part, he finally told me when he needed to go -- and then actually went -- three times in a row (which was a major breakthrough).

But now he has regressed! Today he threw a huge tantrum, kicking and screaming, "I don't wanna go on the potty!" when I tried to put him there. Sigh! He is almost 3 1/2. I kept putting it off but now that I have started I really don't want to give up and put him back in diapers. Especially with pre-school starting in one week! I am starting to get discouraged!

Tonight I told him and his sisters a bed-time story. It was about a little bunny who was learning to use the potty. I explained how he was trying really hard but how he accidentally went all over the floor and was left standing in a big puddle. (Taken from today's earlier events). Then I said, "...and the bunny was really sad." Then Josh said, "I wasn't sad!" Hmmph! Well, the bunny's mommy was! Of course I ended the story on a happy note -- he learned to use the potty and everyone was happy.

Let's hope that story comes true soon! Patience is a virtue, patience is a virtue, patience is a virtue!!!!

Pucker Up Baby!

Back to School!

This year is a lot of "Firsts" for our kids! It is Janika's first time at Middle School (which unfortunately brought back every unpleasant memory of Junior High that I could think of), Jase's first day of Intermediate School (he now has seven class periods), Janelle's first day of ALL DAY school (since she is in first grade this year), Jaiden's first year of kindergarten, and Josh's first year of pre-school. WHEW!! And of course it is Jenna's first time of actually being without all of her siblings during the day. 

Well, the kids survived their first day of school. Jase's response was the most enthusiastic. When I asked, "Well, how was it?" He replied, "Awesome!" He said that with so many different classes and teachers the day just flew by! He liked all of his teachers. He also applied and was accepted to be one of the lunch workers at his school. That saves us some money since he gets free lunch (I also pay him a weekly allowance for doing it which is less than what paying school lunch would be and so it still saves us money and also allows him to earn some money ). Jase is the one I was least worried about because he handles change just fine. He is a pretty confident kid, and he is out-going, and bright. He loves to learn and challenge himself. He could care less about fashion and wears basketball shorts and a t-shirt everyday. I was more worried about Janika just because she is a little timid (reminds me so much of myself at that age) and those middle school years are difficult ones. But she is very bright and has strong values and a good head on her shoulders. She also has a good fashion sense, conservative and simple, but also stylish -- and being pretty certainly doesn't hurt either. I am sure she will have her ups and downs but I am confident that she will do just fine. She is worried about one of her teachers that she has heard lots of negative things about but we will play that out for a couple of weeks and see what happens.

Jared has a difficult time with change and it a bit of a worrier (also reminds me of me at that age -- poor kid!) So his first day was a little tough. He says that all of his good friends moved to another school and that he doesn't really know anyone in his class. But Jared makes friends pretty easily. He is outgoing and has a great personality. He is also very smart although he sometimes underestimates his abilities. And of course he is cute (only don't tell him that or he will probably growl at you!) Janelle seemed to do just fine although she was tired after being at school all day. 

Janelle is very out-going and talkative and so I think she will do fine socially. I just hope she cooperates with what she is asked to do. At home it is like pulling teeth trying to get her to do her jobs! But sometimes kids are better for a teacher than they are for their parents. Jaiden just met her teacher today and went on a treasure hunt to get acquainted with the classroom. Jaiden is very friendly and social and so I am sure she will have plenty of friends. She is a leader. My only concern is that she can be a bit hyper at home and so hopefully she will not get into any trouble at school. And academically? I guess that just waits to be seen. 

Josh hasn't started pre-school yet but can't wait! He definitely WON'T be one of those kids hanging on to their mother's leg. He has seen me bring Jared, Janelle, and Jaiden to Mrs. Kathy's pre-school for years and he loves to go and play there when I go visiting teaching. So Josh will probably run to the door shouting "Bye mom!" My only concern is potty accidents. We are still working on that one. But he is doing well. And last, but not least, Jenna finally gets a little alone time with her mommy. She loves being around all of her brothers and sisters, but a little quiet/snuggle time will be nice too!

School Starts Tomorrow!

At the end of the school year last Spring the teachers sent us home with instructions:

Have your child practice his/her multiplication tables.
Have your in-coming kindergartener practice writing her name over and over until she can do it in the lines with a capital letter for the first letter and small letters for the other letters.
Read to your child everyday.
Fill out a reading chart with all of the books your child read over the summer.
Review math concepts learned last year... and so on.

Well, we were just SO BUSY that we didn't get any of those things done. OOPS. In the meantime, our boys were able to find hours upon hours in which to play with their friends. They had time to play video, computer, or the Wii. Janika found time to chat with all of her friends over facebook (and to her credit she read several huge books cover over the summer). And the big kids did manage to watch a movie almost every night after the little kids were in bed. Our little kids always found time to play dress up, babies, and mermaids for hours on end. And all of the kids always found time to made nachos -- at any hour of the day or night.

Yeah, we were pretty lazy this summer. We really do place an emphasis on education and academics around here...at least nine months out of the year. And the beginning of that nine months starts tomorrow. No more staying up late watching movies every night, no more sleeping in, no more hours of unstructured activities. And no more helping mom out with baby-sitting, chores, doing girls' hair, laundry, and cooking during the day. Boo hoo!

But a little structure is always nice too. And good teachers to help mold and teach young minds -- and resources to expand learning and increase social development. And new activities, new friends, and new ideas. And a couple of hours of quiet time for mom (hopefully). Hooray for school!

Yogurt Recipe

Mix the following:

20 cups of water

5 cups powdered milk (must be 100% milk product like the kind you get at the cannery.)

2-3 cups sugar

Mix in big pan on stove and heat to 180 degrees (we had to go out and buy a candy thermometer for this). Stir continually. (On our stove it took about 20 minutes to get to 180 degrees.)

Then turn off heat and cool to 115 degrees. This took over an hour for it to cool down to 115, stirring every once in awhile. (I found that you can speed up the cooling down process by putting the whole pan into a bigger pan or bowl of ice water).

When it gets down to 115 degrees add:

1 cup of Dannon plain yogurt (for the “start”) and

2 tsp. Vanilla

Pour into 6 different quart jars and 1 pint jar. Place jars in Styrofoam cooler (we didn’t have one so I just used a regular cooler) and put in fleece blankets. We only had two little fleece blankets so I used other blankets to stuff around the sides, bottom, top etc. and it still turned out fine). Leave in cooler with lid on for 7-9 hours. Then refrigerate and serve when cold. You can pour out the little bit of excess liquid.

When your yogurt is finished save one cup of it to use as the “start” for the next batch. (You can continue to do that for about six batches and then it starts to weaken and so you start over with a new start from another Dannon plain yogurt again.)

We tried some different flavorings (bought from a kitchen store used to make candy) but the plain vanilla is great too and yummy with added fruit. We also added some food coloring to some of them just for fun.

It is also yummy frozen! We have made this several times now and love it!

Home-made Yogurt!

A couple of weeks ago a friend of ours taught Janika and I how to make yogurt. I was surprised by how simple it is! One batch fills six quart jars and one pint jar (used for the start of the next batch). We have been making it twice a week since our family goes through it so quickly. We freeze some of it in little containers with lids for snacks. It is a lot cheaper than the store-bought variety and we love it!

Splash Pad

Last Saturday we started Josh's Potty Training and so during his big "Potty Party" I took all of the rest of the kids to the Splash Pad for a few hours. They enjoyed it!

Cub Scouts

For Jared's Pack Meeting today they played "water baseball" with little pools for each base and a slip-n-slide to slide into home base. Fun idea!

Forts

Our kids love making elaborate forts in the basement. They made this huge one and they all slept in it. It was out of the way and so it was fine with me. Until we went to eat dinner the next day and there were no kitchen chairs to eat on. They were all in the basement holding up the fort!

Baby in a Bucket

Tomatoes and Chicken Eggs

A neighbor hired Jase to water their plants/yard and feed their chicken for four days while they were gone on vacation. They paid him some cash each day plus all of the tomatoes he could pick and any chicken eggs that were hatched. They also surprised Jase with a giant king-sized candy-bar and a bag of cookies.

Jase was in heaven! I think the favorite thing for him was picking the tomatoes and getting the eggs.

Every morning he was up and taking care of their yard before I was even out of bed. (And as a side note, a month or so ago Rick put Jase in charge of our yard and he has done a good job. He has completely taken over mowing the lawn, much to Rick's delight!)

Anyway, Jase was only required to go to our neighbors once a day but he kept wanting to go more. He kept begging me to let him go back over so that he could see if any more eggs had hatched. This afternoon I was worried because he went to check on things and was gone a very long time. I drove over to see if he was okay. He said he had pulled some weeds and then was in the chicken coop waiting... That's right. He was sitting there waiting for an egg to hatch...for like and hour and a half!

Honestly! I think we need to get Jase chickens for Christmas!