Learning Different

I am really worried about A2.  We are less than 15 days away from sending her off to kindergarten and I don't think she is ready.  Socially, she is ready, but academically she is behind.

I am still fighting an internal struggle with the fact that someone could be behind academically before they even start their real academic career. I am not saying that preschool isn't real, but in my opinion preschool should be about playing and getting along in the world without their parents hovering.  But that is for another day...

Back to A2

When A1 went to kindergarten she knew all the letters by name and sound, she could write her first and last name, she could read the first 50 Frye Sight Words, she was able to count to 100 and identify all of her numbers.  She knew our address, my phone number, her birthday, and the birthday of A2. She was beyond ready for school. She didn't struggle with anything academically. School has been a breeze for her.

I know I shouldn't compare the two girls, but I haven't ever been one to always do only what I am supposed to do. A2 shows very little interest in learning memorizing these little facts.  She sometimes can write her name and remember to include all of the letters.  Some days she can identify uppercase letters. We have worked every day this summer on identifying numbers.  She has mastered all 0-10 except that tricky 8.  She doesn't recognize any sight words. She doesn't know my phone number.  We have been working on that, as well as our address, since last March. 

A2 learns different than A1. This special education teacher mommy picked up on that many years ago. Our entire family has gotten behind A2's learning differences. We have created songs and chants to help her remember things. A1 even came up with a trick for our address.  She told her to picture a boat floating in clean water with one of our babysitters sitting in the boat.  This caused a lot of giggles, but my goodness it worked! She could at least remember our street name.

Even with all of the extra help we have given her, nothing seems to stick.  I worry that she is going to struggle the entire time she is in school.  I don't want things to be hard for her.  I don't want her to hate school.  These are all the things I worry about when I am not sleeping. I have already diagnosed her with a learning disability and ADD. I can't be the only special education teacher to diagnose her own children, right!?!

Last night, she wanted to sleep in my room. Usually I would have her sleep on the floor, but since the floor is covered with laundry baskets filled clean laundry, I knew it wasn't an option. I told her she could sleep in my room, if she answered one question correct; "What is our address?" At first she pouted.  Then she started tapping out the beat of our chant.  Then she closed her eyes, she was picturing Lane in a boat in clean water. Then she smiled and she proudly recited our address.  Not only was excited about getting to sleep in my room, but she was also proud of herself. She got to experience the thrill of working hard at something and then seeing all the hard work pay off. I was proud of her too, even if it meant Mac was sent to the couch and I was sentenced to a night of getting kicked in the back. No matter the pain I had to endure during the night I was so happy for A2.

Maybe next year, if she is still struggling we can arrange a sleepover at her teacher's house.  That isn't unreasonable is it?

Unhappy Birthday To You!

It is funny to think that in this super musical family we have girl who hates hearing people sing. *Now, I am not bragging by saying that our family is super musically talented.  All I am saying is that someone is always singing, dancing, or banging on the piano.  I just had to add that disclaimer, in case you have every had the... pleasure of being entertained by one of our daily concerts. 

We have made a lot of progress in A3's hatred of all things live vocal music.  She can now sit through and enjoy a musical at the Muni. She will tolerate and join in singing with her sisters. She demands requests special friends sing songs like, "Twinkle, Twinkle."  She will even ask me to sing songs to her.  

For some reason, we haven't made any progress with one song. A3 HATES "Happy Birthday." It doesn't matter who's birthday it is or who is singing; A3 becomes an angry agitated tiny terror.  She screams and cries while the serenading is taking place. As soon as the singing is over, she calms down and returns to a happy-ish 2 year old.

Hopefully, she learns to get over this or she will have problems at school when kids in her class have birthdays!

Thanks for capturing this special moment Crystal!

Hostage Situation

Hostage negotiations are not going well; however, I see our hostage standoff coming to an end very soon. 

This summer our family has been held hostage by a tiny abductor. Upon first glance she doesn't fit the stereotypical description of a criminal, but once you get past her cute looks and beautiful blue eyes you will encounter a criminal mastermind. 

Our entire summer has been dictated by multitude of mood swings of this explosive toddler. In a matter of seconds, she can go from a happy giggling curly haired girl to an angry fire breathing dragon. Her anger triggers aren't predictable, with the exception of our singing, we never know what will make her spin out of control. 

Last night's dinner conversation went something like this:

Me: "Do you like your chicken?"

A3: "I like chicken. Yummy chicken. I like chicken."

Me: "Eat your chicken."

A3: "Like chicken no! I not eat! No chicken!"

Me: "Eat your chicken."

A3: (in a growling voice) "I not eat chicken! Like chicken no!"

Me: (ignore tantrum. Talk to A1 and A2)

A3: (Eats chicken) "Yummy. No like."

These events happen daily, therefore we stay home. No restaurants or visits with friends, if it involves meals. 

She also thinks she needs her way. All. The. Time. When she doesn't get her way she will either grab the side of your face and pull you nose to nose to hypnotize you into getting what she wants or she will yell. Although, it isn't just a yell. It is more of a bellow. It is a deep husky demonic demand that starts down in her toes and doesn't stop until it has reached every ear within a mile radius. 

This bellowing happens hourly; therefore we stay home. No trips to the store or park. 

Our little captor has held us prisoner in our house all summer. 

Today I had enough. I was no longer the submissive prisoner she was accustomed to controlling. The tables were turned on her today. 

As soon as I heard, "I no like p jelly!" The food was removed from table, as was A3. I did allow her to return to the table as soon as she apologized, which happened faster than I thought. As soon as her demonic bellow escaped her mouth, she was sent to time out. After the third yelling episode, she apologized immediately. 

Tonight we played a game I picked and she didn't even argue. I think we are making progress. She was unwilling to negotiate, but the hostage situation is almost over, as soon as I'm ready to transition out of the house. 

Check out who is in charge here...

And here...

And here...

Ready to get this sweet girl back! 

*photo credit to the amazing Jill Gum, who, even though she was 9 months pregnant, followed the girls up and down the hill at the Muni and kept a smile the ENTIRE time! 

Staycation

Summer 2014 is the summer of the Staycation for the A Team. We originally planned on taking a trip with the girls, BUT the more we got to know the 2 year-old A3 the less we wanted to spend multiple hours in the car with her. 

I know this sounds awful, but seriously I have my reasons:

1. She WILL not sleep in the car. She will stay awake all night if she has to, but she won't sleep in the car. 

2. She hates listening to anyone sing, unless it is her. When we do sing she screams and cries. It is funny and entertaining for a little bit, but several hours of her yelling at us? No thanks!

3. Potty Training: she isn't ready to be without diapers, but she wants to be changed as soon as she goes in her diaper, even if it is every 5 minutes. 

4. I think she uses her free time to plot against us. A road trip would give her WAY too much time to plan!

See, I have my reasons. 

We have been taking the girls to their favorite places and trying new places in Springfield. Today we went to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum. A1 went when she was a baby, but that doesn't count, so this was a new place for the girls. 

We had fun, but are all exhausted. A1 had the best time, because she is a history buff like her dad. She enjoyed being able to read all of the signs. A2 and A3 were both a little scared. A2 didn't like how all the eyes followed her. She said the eyes were creepy. A3 just wanted to walk, be carried, and walk all at the same time. It really created an internal conflict that was displayed externally. BTW... Thanks fellow museum patrons who decided to stare every time she screamed, cried, or threw herself on the ground. I have a hard time believing A3 is the first 2 year old you have ever meet in public. 

When A3 wasn't angry, she was mostly interested in the shoes all of the people in the displays were wearing. 

We will go back, but A3 will have to be older, much older!

A3 checking out the shoes. A2 keeping her distance. 

A2 doesn't trust that boy. 

Playing dress up, our favorite thing to do! 

Zucchini. Again.

This morning I told the girls we would be making the last zucchini recipes for awhile, because the 3 that are still in the garden were too small to use yet. They celebrated with chant of "Woo hoos" and high fives. 

Today we made zucchini bread and zucchini chips. Mac and I thought both were delicious, but the girls didn't agree. 

A1 helped with the bread. She grated the zucchini like a champ. She told me it was her favorite job in the kitchen, because she felt like she was hurting the zucchini. Great, my attempt at making my family try new foods is turning A1 into a psycho. 

When the bread was finished, A1 and A2 swarmed the kitchen. The smell over powered their desire to hate zucchini, almost. A1 loved the bread! She said it was one of the best things she had ever had in her whole life. A2 didn't feel the same. My little foodie rejected another recipe. She said it would taste good if I would have left the zucchini out...

The zucchini chips came highly recommended from Arizona. The recipe had been approved by several nonzucchini lovers and it even converted a few. The girls loved the smell once again, BUT none of them like it. Our dinner music has become a chorus of gagging. The girls will at least try a bite without us begging or threatening first. I'm making progress. It is just a very slow process. 

I went to the garden to check on our cucumbers. I was surprised to find a hidden zucchini. I was really excited since a friend sent me a recipe that I wanted to try. The girls didn't share my excitement. 

I just hope this doesn't make A1 want to hurt the farmer...

A Team's take on Zucchini

This summer I have been continuing my on going battle of feeding my family healthy food. It has been difficult breaking 8 years of bad habits. I have implemented all the suggestions of the "experts".  I have included the girls in all aspects of the meal from planting, planning, and preparing. Nothing is helping improve the attitudes of these fast food lovers. BUT I'm going to keep trying, because it is important. 

This week our zucchini was ready to eat. I knew this squash, which made A2 gag last year, because she thought she was eating two piece swimwear, was going to be even harder to pass of as delicious this year.  I had the girls help me pick the zucchini from our garden. I tried to have them help me select recipes. They didn't have the attention span for that... I even had the girls help with the cooking. 

Dish #1:

The girls hated this recipe! A1 cried. A2 smiled as she chewed, but spit the food into her napkin when she thought I wasn't looking. A3 didn't try to hide her disgust for the zucchini as she stood up in her chair looked me in the eyes and spit her partially chewed right back onto her plate. Mac and I loved it, so we will have it at least one more time this summer. 

Dish #2:

Tonight's dinner was another zucchini creation. We had Stuffed Zucchini Boats. It was either the fun name or the fact that the zucchini was drowning in marinara and cheese that convinced the girls to try the meal. A1 was my biggest cheerleader. She took a bite and said, "Hey, this isn't as bad tonight." A2 decided to try it because A1. She ate the entire serving and asked for seconds. Then she told me it was disgusting. A3 returned to the standard chew and spit method. I also saw her swallow 3 pieces of zucchini, so I will count that as a win. 

As the girls were getting ready for bed, A2 asked if she could tell me the truth. There is no good way to prepare yourself for any thing that will follow that question, especially when it is from A2.

"Mom, the zucchini didn't taste disgusting. It was good tonight. I just think thinking about zucchini is disgusting. It grows outside in the garden. It is from the dirt. That is disgusting. What if I just ate dirt?  Disgusting!" 

I am so thankful for all those experts who suggested having the kids help plant. :D 

Duderant

I have been trying to ignore all the signs and symptoms of the girls getting old. Most days I am successful at denying the fact that my girls are no longer babies. This summer the task has been a little bit more difficult.  Every time I turn around A1 is throwing it in my face.  She is getting older whether I am ready for it or not.

Today as the most undeniable proof that A1 was no longer a baby.  I had to buy her first deodorant; or as A2 calls it, "Duderant." My sweet little girl all of a sudden has become a stinky little beast.  No longer does Johnson's Head to Toe Baby Wash keep her smelling fresh all day long. SHE IS GETTING OLDER AND HAS OLDER KID SMELLS.

Luckily I had the A team with me while I made the saddest purchase of my entire life. A1 danced and pranced down the aisle. Her excitement for first grownup purchase was contagious. Everyone who passed us couldn't help but smile and laugh at her. A2 continuously sang, "Duderant, we are buying duderant." A3 held the deodorant, cuddled it like a baby, and talked to it. How could I be upset with the purchase of this tiny item when it was clearly making the entire A Team so happy?

I have always had a difficult time with the changing of stages of the girls.  It is hard to watch them grow up and feel like they no longer need you.  A1 is leading the charge and well on her way to becoming a tween. I will just need to slow down, take in changes, and let the girls guide me through this.  Growing up stinks, but they know what they are doing...

"Duderant, we are buying duderant!"