3rd grade

He's in 3rd grade.

and in Mississippi it is 9 week exam time.  Third grade is huge.  It is the benchmark grade where you MUST meet certain criteria to move on.  Apparently this is made clear at school because Ryker is very aware of it.  Anyway, comprehensive exams covering the last 9 weeks of material in spelling, math, reading, and science all happen this week.  As Ryker has been complaining that he has, "test every single day, hard ones, all in the same freaking week!"

So I made the choice to go to the park today.  Because he needed it.  His "I hate school, my teacher is the worst" attitude, which is very atypical for him, needed the mental break.

Park date delivered.  A surprise afternoon as a family of 6, on an abnormally hot, sunny October day.  My test stressed 8 year old, was nothing but snuggles and smiles.  He mastered the monkey bars a few times, but told Paul "don't talk to me I have to concentrate!"  He doesn't mess around when monkeying around.  Then he helped Hartley on the slide.  Cutest, most lovable kid ever.

After showers they played less than 15 minutes of Mario Kart, their only screen time of the day.

 Also note my priorities in life are correct: Halloween decorations up, but laundry basket full of clean clothes that need folded and put away.

Then 7pm rolled around, and I figured we could just do his spelling words quickly before bed.  He always gets 100%.  I'd say the word, he'd spell it out loud while bouncing a ball around the room.  He missed a few words when we were going over them, and got all in a fit, because if he misses a few he won't get 100% A+ on his graded test paper.  My type A, perfection driven, firstborn.  He's so hard on himself.  So, very, hard.  I hate it for him, and I hate that I don't know how to help him to understand that it is okay to not be perfect.  We moved onto studying the math study guide, he said "I didn't hear anything you were trying to say."  Which was my cue to say "that is fine, we've still got tomorrow, you've done great studying tonight."  And apparently that was just the worst thing to say, ever.  He got all worked up, and it was just melt down central.

"I don't want to do homework tomorrow.  I want to play basketball after school with dad.  School is stupid, I hate school.  My teacher is so mean for giving so much homework…yadayadayada."  He stormed up to his room, and hated me for the rest of the night and would only speak to Paul.  Paul had him in smiles before bed, and had to reassure me that I wasn't being hard on him at all, or a crappy parent while I was trying to help him study tonight.  This parenting gig is the best, hardest thing ever, and I am just so very thankful I've got him to help me!

Anyway, so that was my parenting fail.  Apparently attempting spelling words, then his least favorite subject…math... after a long day of school then evening out at the park was just a wash.  But the real fail I think is having a bunch of 3rd graders take comprehensive exams like they expect high schoolers to do.  I wonder the rational behind doing exams all in the same week, and not spreading it over 2 weeks at least?  It sure would make life a bit less stressful for my guy, who told me "I'm not going to school tomorrow" when I attempted to kiss him goodnight.

From one sad mama, and a stressed out test-dreading 8 year old I'm hoping for a better next two days of  school for my favorite firstborn.

Saturday night with R

I was budgeted from work tonight.  I used flextime and essentially got paid to spend a night, one-on-one with my sweet R.

Paul had to be at some freshman orientation thing for work late, so I tucked K and J into bed.  As I went to tuck R into bed, I decided that spending time late into the evening with just him would be worth the cranky 6 year old the next day.  When I proposed this idea, he was just so over the moon excited.

I let him decide what to do.

His choice of fun for the evening, a s'more fest.

Mr. Bones ate 2, which was probably good for him.  Little man just doesn't eat very much, and his recent growth spurt has him looking like...well Mr. Bones.

He wanted to know what I did when I was 6 years old.  I told him how I use to dance, and he belly giggled so hard in disbelief.  It was a moment that made the distance between my parents house and mine so very far away...a moment when I would have loved to be able to get a picture or a video of me dancing when I was 6 to show R I wasn't kidding around.  

 I asked him what he thought of our s'more fest.  He gave me a thumbs up, and said "this is the best night ever.  EVER!  I so lucky you are my mom."

 Little man knows what to say to melt his mama into letting him stay up way, way, way past his bedtime.  So we watched the sunset together.

 and then jumped on the trampoline in the dark.


And after a quick shower to wash away the smell of fire pit, he spied on his little brother and took a picture of him with my phone.  Which was one of the most adorable things I have seen.  I only wish I could have taken a picture of R while he was taking a pic of sleeping K.

 After the sneek-attack picture, we made it into his room finally, over two hours past his normal bedtime.  We snuggled up in bed, read a quick book, and while I was getting ready to leave Mr. chatterbox just couldn't stop.  So I soaked him up, learning what goes on in his growing 6 year old mind.  We talked about pirates, his special girlfriend H, how he is on the verge of needing a haircut, that the sunsets out of R's window and rises from K's, how it is really only 6 in Oregon when it is 9 here and he wondered what all his family in Oregon were doing while he was getting tucked in.

Then he had to take a picture of himself being a pirate...

 and of his Skylander tag from his new shirt.

He told me "your the greatest mom ever."

His love language is quality time.  I am sure of this.  

                                                                                                                                                     

First grade

He was all smiles for school this morning.  I went in to wake him up, and found a little tiny bundle of 6 year old boy.  So tiny in his queen size bed.  While I feel like he is growing up so much, seeing him this way was a reminder that he is still so very young...which was so very good for my mama heart.  It is a tough thing, the first day back at school for both kiddo and mama.

I walked him to the bus stop, which was quite the happening place this morning.  Every school aged child had a parent nearby.  This first day of school is not just a right of passage for child, but parents as well.  Some parents are tearful (like me), bummed to send their kiddo off trusting that they will have a good day, and steer clear of mean kids.  Some parents, are eager to have their solitude, jumping with joy the second the school bus door closes - a guarantee that the next 7 hours are child-free time.  Some apprehensive about the empty-nest feeling.  This mama, however, I totally felt a piece of my heart leave when he took those three steps onto the bus.  While it makes me so happy to see him independent of me, it also is a sore reminder that he is mine for such a short time.

He came home from his first day tired, and cranky.  Expected.  But as soon as we made that 4 minute walk home from the bus stop, his mood changed.  A promise of trampoline jumping after eating snack did the trick.  Then we watched a Redbox DVD I rented with the intention of getting my tired school aged kiddo to sit still for a bit.  The Batman Lego movie wasn't a big hit.  But my boys sat still for a total of 30 minutes - which is a win in my book.

He said he likes his teacher, and that "she is kinda like you mom, your age and size, has glasses like you wear, and she smiles a lot too."

Back to school blues

My favorite firstborn goes back to school tomorrow.  His first day of first grade, and this was his response when I asked him how he felt about it.

Here is to hoping he wakes up more chipper in the morning.

A "ticky" situation

I was tucking R into bed yesterday night after listening to him read.  He said his eye hurt.  I looked at it, and said "we'll take you to the doctor in the morning."  Surely it is conjunctivitis (pink eye) - nothing that required an ER visit at 6:30pm on a Sunday.  As I go to kiss him goodnight I spot something dark inside his ear.

"Ryk does your ear hurt?" questioning if he had a ruptured ear drum or something.

He denies any pain.  I get a Q-tip to clean it out, and nothing comes out...still dark inside his ear.

I go downstairs to get my otoscope - finally making good use of the $600 spent on the stinking thing.  I piece it together and get ready to peer inside and spot...

a watermelon seed?  Nope.  It looked like one though.

It was a...TICK!

At this point it is just after 7:00pm on a Sunday, so I call the pediatrician to see what to do, I am calm and collected about the situation, omitting the whole "OMG you have a BUG in your EAR part to Ryk because the last thing I need is a spazzing out, bug eared six year old on my hands.

I calmly explain to Paul, and he flips.the.heck.out.

"TAKE HIM TO THE ER.  GET THE BUG BIOPSIED.  TAKE CARE OF IT."

Overreacting...just a bit.

I tell him I called the pediatrician and am waiting for them to call back.

15 minutes pass.

Paul's eyes are about ready to pop out of his head at this point.  Seriously.  He is getting irritated at me for not handling this buggy situation, I am calmly waiting for the phone call back...

After 20 minutes, and right as I was getting R into the van to take him to the closest children's hospital, I get a phone call back.  The on-call pediatrician tells me because of the location of the tick (inside his ear canal) I need to bring him in to get it removed just incase it gets stuck...

Great.

So I drive there, and make small talk with R, telling him we are just going in because he "might have an ear infection" leaving out the whole - oh hey son, just taking you to the ER to get a bug removed from your ear.

We get there, watch a movie in the waiting room, get banded with matching bracelets, and wait to be called back.




The pediatrician comes in before the nurse does, tweezers and specimen cup in hand.  She quickly removes the tick (which takes along a piece of my sweet R with him, darn bug!), asks R if he wants to take it home and R, who is horrified, says



"what if it gets my brother or sister?"

They seal that sucker up in the specimen cup for proper disposal, never to suck blood from another human.

I was told to do daily tick checks on this kiddos because we had a mild winter so ticks are rampant this year.  Now I know how to remove a tick, and to watch for fever, rash, and joint pain (signs of lyme disease).

He was diagnosed with "tick bite" and "conjunctivitis" the remedy for this...a dipped cone at DQ (and some not so pleasant eye drops).

Such a stud.

Kindergarten 2012-2013

This morning I sent my favorite firstborn off on his very last day of kindergarten.

Such a big change he's made over this year.  He can:

•  read, like really read.  He picked up my book that I am reading for grad school (Fast Food Nation) and read almost an entire page!
• writes (legible, and not just legible according to his mama either, he got an award at the last assembly for "Best Writer") in sentences using commas, periods, question marks, and exclamation marks (though not always used appropriately yet)
• knows how to count to 1000
• can skip count by 10's and 5's
• knows his colors and how to spell them
• is proud of his perfect score on all of his sight words!
• discusses how to write a story with a beginning, middle and end
• Has a mad repertoire of kindergarten silly songs that he's been enticing us with.
• Can tell a silly knock-knock joke (or at least he thinks) 

I am so very impressed with his teacher this year, and couldn't be more thankful.  She has done an amazing job instilling a passion for learning in my little man.  We are so very proud of his amazing accomplishments!

Anyway, a first day/last day of school comparison because I am sappy.

His first day of school he couldn't hide his anxiousness as he waited for the bus, giving me a half smile to try and hide his fear.  He stood super close to my side, dreading the moment we'd be separated for an entire school day.

He waited at the very back of the line to get on the bus.

I'll never forget the way he looked, so tiny on that big bus his first day of kindergarten.  Afraid to say goodbye to his mama, and be away all day.

and then 9 months later...

Today, on his last day of kindergarten while I walked to the bus stop with my three little loves, R made a comment about how "the babies are walking to slow, I want to get there first mom!"

 He looked more of a little man this morning to me, standing there taller and more independent than 9 months ago.

Instead of a half smile to hide anxiousness like on his first day, he flashed an annoyed face, embarrassed his mama still kisses him at the bus stop, and takes pictures to celebrate momentous occasions like the last day of kindergarten.

And finally, a picture to remember one of my favorite parts of our morning-off-to-school-routine...his tiny little head peaking out from window #1 of the buss, his spastic hand waving until he can no longer see me, and a smile as big as can be.

 So bittersweet.  I can't believe he's done with kindergarten!

My favorite firstborn

The school year is drawing to an end.  Next Tuesday is his last day as a Kindergartener, and then I have him to myself for an entire summer.  I'm not sure who is more excited.

 Isn't he seriously the cutest 6 year old ever?

Mini relay

Ryk had his last and final mini relay of his kindergarten school year.  He was looking forward to it for weeks.  I am totally biased, but he is absolutely the most adorable little kindergarten boy around.  In the history of ever.

Last mini relay he ran 9 laps, and had the most laps in the Kindergarten classes - he was beaming as he told me about running more laps than the neighborhood kids (who are all older than him).  He had big goals this time to "beat last time."  I reminded him that last time when he ran 9, the next day he could barely walk.  He says "I'm bigger and stronger this time, so I won't have any trouble"

This time K, J and I went to run a few laps with him, and cheer him on.

(I hate that this picture isn't in focus, but it is still one of my favorites to date.  Look how sweet R's little hand is placed on K's back).  R was much too speedy for J to keep up, so K just went on ahead and ran a couple of laps with R.  I think that only in Kentucky do schools have farm like fences and pasture like fields to run a mini-relay on...we always used a track in Oregon.

When K and J got bored, they played on the playground.

While K and J played, I watched my little runner keep running, when all the kindergarteners had halted to a slow walk.  He informed me "since I slowed down a little bit to run with Kip, I didn't stop for a water break cause I didn't want to waste time."  Such a little competitive guy.  It is such a disappointment that track and field/cross country doesn't start until 2nd grade here, cause this little guy would LOVE to do it now.

R boldly announced the moment I picked him up from the bus stop " 12 laps, 3 more than last time!"

and perhaps he might follow in our foot steps and enjoy running the way P and I do.  Either way, it is such a thrill to see him enjoy doing healthy, active things with such a smile on his face.

and the next day, he wasn't even sore.  I guess he was right, he is getting stronger :).

coin counting

Kindergarten has transformed my little man into a boy.

The things he has learned this past year amaze me.

He's been doing chores and saving his money to purchase "the angry bird mega fling toy."

Not just that, but he google searched (all by himself) where he could go to buy it, and learned about how much money he needed to save up in order to buy it.

Then he went to his money, and counted his change.

He counted his nickels by 5's.  Perfectly.  He was so proud of himself.  "hey mom, I could count the nickels by 5's or else I could just count 20 nickels, because that is how many makes one dollar."

Then he went on to count the dimes by 10's.  Perfectly.

He learned that "there are 4 quarters to make a dollar, but the nickels and quarters are sometimes tricky to tell apart."

Ahalf dollar didn't trick him, as he seamlessly transitions from counting that then back to pennies, then a dime snuck in... "50, 51, 52, 62, 63...ONE DOLLAR"

He looks at me with a cheese ball smile, so proud of his counting skills.  I have that same cheese ball smile right back at him, beaming with pride about how much he is learning.

And so he finally saved enough to spend eighteen dollars.  That is a lot of chores...

He went to the store and told the cashier all about how he saved his money, counted it all up, and then chose to buy this with it.

He is a rad kid.