Maceism of the Day - 10/29/09

Parent-Teacher conferences were today, and of course the fabulous Mrs. O and I had lots to talk about. Apparently Mace has been having more tantrums since moving to the afternoon class, but she thinks it's ok - gives her more to work out with him before he moves on to his next poor teacher.

Anyway, last week, she had asked the kids to quietly recite the rules, then line up for recess. Eventually, only Mace and two other girls (one of whom was sitting next to Mace - poor girl) remained in their seats, having failed to follow directions yet. So, she sends everyone else out for recess. Once Mace realizes what has happened, he starts to get ticked, and when she explains why he doesn't get to go out yet, he says, "Hel-LO?! She has her hands in my underpants!" (Picture this with him standing, arms spread wide, totally indignant.) (ETA: We still haven't been able to figure out if she did have her hands in his pants or not.....)

Mrs. O said she had to work very hard to keep her "Teacher Face" on - I can only imagine - that kid can be unintentionally and inappropriately hilarious.

Maceism of the Day - 10/28/09

Yes, it's been a while - the boy's been at school, apparently sharing his little pearls there. But here's what he came home saying yesterday.

Mace: "How come when they answer all my questions, I can't talk anymore?"
Mom: "Huh? Who? What?"
Mace: "At school. My teachers. When they answer my questions, they say I can't talk anymore."
Mom: "Well, it's probably time for the teacher to talk then."
Mace: "Oh." (Pause) "But I want to talk!"

Those poor, poor teachers.

Oh, and the only thing Mace says he doesn't like about school? "Sitting criss-cross applesauce (Indian-style, if you are my age). It hurts my back!" (Plus, there's the whole thing about having to sit in one spot, not flop, or roll, or jump, or.....)

My children.......just ate their dinner

An actual dinner, consumed by all with zero incidences of me shrieking, "Eat! Just eat!" Monster had to have her onions and celery removed, but with the prospect of bread looming ahead, she actually ate most all of her chicken noodle soup. And T ate his whole bowl practically before I'd started, wanting his bread.

I know it's just a fluke, I know tomorrow night we'll be back to the regular script of kids hopping around, playing and saying, "I want chicken nuggets! Why can't we just have chicken nuggets?!", but for tonight, it's bliss.

Hair Today.....Gone For A While

I got so tired of Monster having her hair in her face all the time, but didn't want to cut full bangs again, so I tried to just give her a little fringe swept to the side, and it was going great........until she moved. Oh, well. I guess it'll grow back.

Soccer Time!

With the end of summer comes the start of school and soccer season! It's Mace's first year, so Dad will be his coach this year and next, and both seem to be having a great time. We were thinking at first that Mace might be a bit like T was his first couple of years - mostly running around the field, just having fun being a dude. But Mace has really gotten into it, and as of last practice, was even being aggressive and focused. Wow! Mace, focused on something!!

We switched leagues this year to actually get into the boys' school area, so Tristen goes to school with over half his team now, which he seems to really enjoy (probably doesn't hurt that his lady-love is on the team, too). He has really improved this year! He's one of the more aggressive players, constantly going after that ball, even if it's buried in defenders.

Having 2 in sports at the same time is a challenge, especially with just one car, but I knew it would be. Somehow, the small detail that escaped me was the fact that I'd be sitting for 2 games each Saturday. Duh. It's only going to get crazier when Monster starts some activity in Kindergarten. But hey, keeps things interesting, right?

Here's some footage of the MaceMace scoring a goal! (You might me trying hard to stay out of the mother/daughter debate going on next to me: those two bicker every single game/practice they're together - it's real fun.)

Big Girl, Big Girl!

I always stress about Potty Training, even though I know, and have seen it happen over and over, that children aren't ready until they're ready. (Caveat: unless you're the kind of person who is really motivated and dedicated to staying on top of it until the kid gets it - I am not that kind of person.) We'd tried various times over the past year to get Monster interested, with varying levels of frustration resulting.

But last week (as it always happens), after being wet one time, she said, "I want to go pee in the potty." OK! And her enthusiasm has stayed pretty consistent since. Of course, she has times where she doesn't want to, or potties/bathrooms that are more intimidating, and accidents - but overall, she's doing great! She has little problem pooping in the potty (the boys resisted that more), and even went without problem in the Kohl's bathroom - yippee! (Oh, and the Dora and Princess underpants have helped a bit.)

So no, none of my kids are "early" potty-ers. But they all get it done in due time and - when left to decide for themselves - with little drama.

The value of a buck....

We're out shopping and Tristen finds Lego Batman for the Wii, which he wants desperately, on sale for $15. So PJ tells him he can get it if he pays for it out of his piggy bank. Totally excited, he buys it and we go home. Then we tell him to pay up, so he brings his bank out and empties it out, saying, "I've got $50!" Turns out, he has roughly $10, plus we owe him $5 for September's allowance. So we give him $.50 for his tithing and take the rest - then PJ takes pity on him and gives him $1 to put back in. Tristen is beside himself - he just can't believe it's all gone! We explain several times about how he wanted the game, and this is what $15 looks like, and you have to save up to buy things you want, etc., etc. He sobs all the way to bed, and in there for awhile. But I believe he's thinking more about his money now and what he wants to do with it. And he does love that game.