The Bully and The Tooth

So my post yesterday was prophetic in a way, since there was a LOT of action with Kieran.

He lost his first tooth at school. They gave him a certificate, made sure it was in a bag and he got a sticker. He was the first one in his class to lose a tooth. He's very proud. So proud, in fact, that he required me to write a note to the tooth fairy apologizing, but saying he wanted to keep his tooth to remember. The tooth fairy thought that was a very nice thing, so she gave him $5. Hey, it's a first tooth.

After school, as many of you know, Kieran goes to an aftercare program called Fitness Fun and Games. He'd been having a lot of trouble keeping his hands to himself and showing off his martial arts skills (inciting others to not keep their hands to themselves) but that had mostly gone after a new director took over.

There is another after-care program that runs from the recreational center attached to the school. Yesterday on the playground one of the rec center kids came over to where Kieran and his friends were playing. This kid began stating that while "everybody else likes Gracie, I don't." (Gracie is one of Kieran's best friends) Kieran and his friends walked away but this kid followed them and then started saying "Stop following me." but Kieran retorted "You're following us." It sounds like the kid came over and bothered them off and on for awhile. Finally, the kid was looking at the friends and said "I could beat you and you and you.." pointing at each one. Kieran got up and basically told him to prove it, because he did not think that the kid could beat him.

The director told me she had to 'pull Kieran off' the other kid. She was not angry about the incident, stating that if someone had bothered her that much she'd probably react in a similar manner. After talking with Kieran about it the only thing I asked he do differently next time is to talk to an adult. He did everything else right. He tried ignoring the kid, he tried walking away, and finally he stood up for himself. He said he blocked the other boy's kicks and was able to kick him (from the description it was a front kick about waist high on the other boy).

Kieran originally told me the other boy 'started it' but while talking with me, he realized that he was the one who began the physical confrontation, however, I'm not entirely sure I blame him for the way he reacted. He had done everything (mostly) we asked of him and he was really just trying to get the kid to leave him and his friends alone.

The director has promised to keep an eye out for this kid and asked Kieran to come find her or another adult if that kid bothers him again.

A Break in the Action

We've been going non-stop since February with activity after activity. From tournaments in March to a piano recital this past weekend. Kieran has been crazy busy and when we're not at his activities we're enjoying the benefits of living downtown - walking to the Science Center, enjoying the Urban Beach days (DJ, toys for the kids, food trucks, etc), festivals, and whatever else we can find to entertain ourselves (for FREE) on the weekends.

This weekend is the first in a looooong time that we have no real planned activities. Kieran has a baseball game on Saturday and Kendo on Sunday but there is no tournament, recital or family event to attend. I am hopeful this means we can get some of the house cleaned up since my mother-in-law is coming in a few weeks and the house is a complete disaster. Mostly that means picking up things and putting them away, recycling the five tons of paper we have from Kieran's worksheets from this school year and general cleaning. Oh, and giving the dog a bath. DEFINITELY giving the dog a bath.

Not much is new since my last post. Amelia is surprisingly slow at talking. She's got a lot of words but only recently started putting a few words together (Mommy, sit! Up, please!). I admit we've been bad about forcing her to use her words and Kieran just wants to help so he gets what she wants when she points or uses only one word. Now that I realize it, we'll fix that. I expect that she'll be quite talkative once she's got it down.

Her birthday is at the end of the month and I still don't know what I'm going to do. Ken will be out of town on her actual birthday and the weekend after that most folk are out of town for the fourth of July holiday. Don't know if I'll need to do two parties (one when Ken is here and one when he's out) or if we'll forge forward with the 6th knowing most folk won't make it. But I have to figure that out pretty quickly.

Kieran is looking forward to summer camp and we've got to get him set up quick too. I think he needs new shoes and possibly some swimsuits. I need to have him try those on this weekend. Hm. My weekend isn't looking so 'free' anymore...

After this weekend we have another crazy busy one next weekend, one more 'restful' weekend before true summer craziness sets in.

But I don't know that I'd trade the craziness of being busy for having nothing to do. While it can be frustrating to not have the time to get things done around the house, it is wonderful to be able to enjoy time with the family each and every weekend.

Endings and Beginnings

This school year is winding down for Kieran. He has 14 days left - including today. It's been a very bumpy year for all of us with Kieran's boredom and physical aggression.

Since we met with the school and implemented our new rules, it's been much better. Kieran's had majority green days (with a few yellows) and lots of 'double green' days where he gets dessert. I think I'm going to have to buy stock in Afters.

I've been trying to schedule some time to go do something either just me and Ken or me and my mom and realized that we don't have a real 'free' weekend until nearly mid-July. On the one hand it's nice to be popular and have things to do, on the other hand it is exhausting and one of the many reasons I won't have people over to my house. I hope to be able to devote some time to scrubbing down the first floor this coming long weekend. Kieran now has a "Help with Indoor Chores" magnet and I've tasked him with sweeping every night and mopping every other night (something he actually likes to do). He forgets most nights because he's home so late from Tae Kwan Do, or karate, or piano or base ball (have I mentioned being busy?). But he tries to remember, and I try to remind him.

Kieran has decided he likes to be busy. Not sure how things will change when Ken starts his new job week after next. He's had some flexibility up until now to leave early to go to Tae Kwan Do with Kieran a few days a week and then make that time up in the evenings or on weekends. We'll see how it goes with the new place.

Amelia continues to surprise me. Her hair is starting to curl - a lot - which concerns me because I didn't want her to have the hair I do, but she's still beautiful and amazing so I guess I'll deal. Her language is coming along though it's weird as I believe I've forgotten how long it takes for kids to really develop communication. She's good at small things (like saying when she's hungry or thirsty) less so at others (like asking for specific items to be handed to her). Words right now include "Book, eat, more, all done, mine, car, bye, hello, hi, Kieran, Mommy, Daddy, brother, puppy, cat, dog, Elmo, Fresh Beat, cookie". I'm sure I'm missing a few.

Her favorite person at daycare isn't there anymore (Miss Thelma) and she's looked for her a few times though Mia probably thinks she'll turn up eventually. She'll be moving to the bigger toddler room sometime next month and from there over to the two year old room.

That's about it. Like I said very busy. We'll have some new photos up soon from our time at the Art Outside event we went to last weekend and from Kieran and Ken's Tae Kwan Do yellow belt test and from Kieran's karate tournament this weekend and from our time at the Sunday Beach party.... um yeah. This is my life now. And I love it.

It Gets Easier, It Gets Harder

The kids grow so quickly and sometimes things seem so much easier than they did just a year ago. Then they seem harder. Then it seems about the same.

We had a really nice weekend with family. On Saturday Kieran and Ken got haircuts (and the stylist checked Mia's hair to see if it was time to cut - I have been worried about split ends) then we got new shoes for Amelia. After that we went over to my brother's house to celebrate my mom's birthday.

The kids had a great time and Amelia and Becca bonded. Becca does not mind that her only girl cousin is 9 years younger than her. She only cares that she finally got a girl cousin. Which is awesome. Becca and Mia spent a lot of time together playing drums, running back and forth between the kitchen and the living room and laughing. Kieran and Pete are like two peas in the pod and Kieran idolizes Pete (who I think enjoys not being the youngest kid and having a cousin who looks up to him so much). They talked about science and played a lot of Wii U.

Sunday was slightly crazy. Because we didn't get grocery shopping or anything else done on Saturday, I had to run to out Sunday morning. Ken had a small amount of work he needed to do. Amelia slept VERY poorly the night before (she went to bed at 9 PM and woke up nearly every hour all night long) so she stayed home with him to get a nap. Kieran did great for me at the store (which he hates going but was told that it was Mother's Day so he HAD to behave for me), we got back, unpacked groceries, then ran out to pick up my grandmother.

We had a wonderful brunch/lunch at Roy's in Baltimore (it's becoming our go-to place for large gatherings) with all the moms (my 2 moms, grandmother, sister-in-law, and her mom - oh, and me). Because we came before dinner they did not have dessert set and after dropping my grandmother back at home we went out for dessert at Afters (a frozen yogurt place). It was a very nice way to end our mother's day festivities.

Some funny things from the weekend.

Amelia is obsessed with shoes. After trying on a pair that fit fine, we asked her if she liked the shoes. She was emphatic in her "no!" We then had her try on another pair that she did like but then she refused to let go of her previous pair of shoes. Running around with them in her hands stating "My shoes!" to anyone who would listen. We are doomed when she's older and will demand multiple pairs (right now she's got one pair, which is all she really needs).

At brunch Ken ordered a Pina Colada. Kieran asked him if he was drinking a sundae. I responded that it was not, it was an alcoholic beverage. Kieran said "That sounds good!" Um, no.

That's all for now. Blog again eventually. Hope you had a wonderful mothers day as well.

It's Been a Long Week... and it's Tuesday

Yesterday we had the big meeting with Kieran's school about his behavior this year. It has definitely deteriorated over the past few weeks, and then his incident with the older gentleman that he kicked.

So, the psychologist thinks he's doing this for attention (I'm not sold on this theory entirely but I do get it), but also agrees he is acting from boredom, frustration, etc. The teacher will try a new tactic with him - if he gets 3 'green' days in a row (no hitting, etc) he can dip into the toy jar she has in her classroom or he can do a short karate or tae kwan do demonstration to his class.

I made sure he understood that some of the best things to show would be block drills and before he showed anyone anything he should talk about how you're not supposed to use the moves at all on anyone else (somewhat ironic coming from him, I know).

At home for every 'double green' day he has (good at school and his after-care program) he gets dessert. We're also re-focused on his magnet board with rewards at the end of the week and motivating him to do things around the house, practice his piano, etc. If he gets 34 magnets in a week, he can get into the Bag of Mystery.

I also told him that if he was on green all week he could get a book from the book fair. He's pretty excited about that as his reading has taken off to the point where he now is responsible for turning his own light off at 8:30 (we put him to bed around 8 and he gets 1/2 an hour to read to himself). He is addicted to the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books even though I know he can't really read all the words, he's doing a good job of trying.

Devin had knee surgery today. He is OK and resting now, recuperation will take 12 weeks, which will be very rough. Ken was beside himself until the vet said he was out of surgery and doing OK.

Amelia continues to amaze, she pooped on the potty once and then shunned the potty for awhile. Last night she sat on the potty before bath and peed right away (and when I told her she was going on the potty, she said "yay!"). Still not as verbal as I would like for her to be, but I know that's because we baby her so much.

OK back to work for me. Love to all, blog again eventually.

Take the Good with the Bad

And when it's bad, it's really really bad.

Kieran was OK this weekend, not great. He's been having some issues with listening (again) but overall did well. He also had a moment with another kid (who kicked him) where he lashed out instead of leaving or getting an adult. But then he played beautifully with his sister. He practiced his piano. He read books to other kids.

Then this morning, I don't know what got into him. He was fine with me though again not listening as he should have. He got dressed, brushed teeth and went potty quickly and was downstairs in a reasonable amount of time. Ken took him to school and reported all was well.

I saw on my caller ID that it was Baltimore City calling. I knew that could only be his school. He had kicked and hit (with his umbrella) an adult. Because the adult smelled bad (in Kieran's words 'he stinks'). This person did nothing to him, did not hurt him, talk to him or look at him. I'm so unbelievably disappointed in him at this moment. I really thought I had raised him better than this. At a complete loss, we'll be taking things away (again), discussing with his martial arts teachers and taking away any and all electronic devices. He's going to have this on his permanent school record, he's getting 2 days of after-school detention. I don't know why after a spate of good behavior, he's starting back up again. I'm not sure what's setting him off. All I know is that right now I want to throttle him, whup his butt - none of which I will actually do. I will keep on the path of rewards and punishment we've done before. I'll readdress (and keep up with) his magnet chart.

Beyond disappointed and trying to keep the picture of the child who protected his little sister and helped her climb up the slide over the weekend in my mind as I battle with what he's doing at school.

Bedtime Nightmares (and photos - not of the nightmares or bedtime, just photos)

Kieran's active imagination is great, except at bedtime. He tells amazing stories, but also is always thinking 'what's that noise' or 'why did the curtain move'? (The answer to the first is typically something outside and the second is usually cat-related). Most nights are great but every now and again something will upset him. He had a nightmare where someone's nose grew (not in relation to lying, just kept growing) and now he's upset by the story of Pinocchio they have been listening to/watching in music class. I told him to close his eyes, but he said the music freaks him out too. *sigh*

Amelia, on the other hand, had been doing much better. She had been sleeping through the night, putting herself to sleep and all that gloriousness. Did you notice my past-tense there? Yep. She got a cold and is cutting her molars so it's been a huge pain keeping her ass asleep. Last night she finally fell asleep on her own (something she hasn't done in about 2 weeks) and was doing great but then woke up at 2:45 AM. I went down and quieted her. Then Ken went down. Then I went down again and sat in her room for 20 minutes until she was finally back asleep. Looking forward to this phase being over.

Mia's words are getting clearer, but she's not doing much by way of sentences. We keep working on it but I think she knows she can get away with fewer words, so she does.

With the weather warmer, we moved Kieran to a new bike (and removed his training wheels). He loves it but the lack of training wheels scares him. Soon he'll love it. Ken also took him to the Orioles this past weekend and we did the DBFA's first playground crawl. I'm looking forward to the others.
OK, enough blathering on, here are some photos. If you've been on Facebook, you've probably seen them.

 Kieran doing a reading of the four questions at Passover.

 Kieran and his friend at the playground crawl.

 Kieran and Amelia at the egg hunt.

Me and Amelia at Passover.