A few weeks ago they sent home a student council form. Fifth and sixth graders were allowed to run for the four main positions (president-sixth grade only, vice-president, secretary and treasurer). The whole process was really fast and kind of crazy. On Friday they sent home the form. Kids who wanted to run had to fill it out and answer a bunch of questions about themselves and why they wanted to run and then turn it in first thing Tuesday morning (there wasn't any school on Monday). The forms went to a teacher committee that picked four kids to run for each position.
Andy wanted to run for vice-president so he typed up all his answers and turned them in. Forms were due on Tuesday and they told the kids who would move on that Friday. We were so proud that he made it to the next round. Except that meant he had to make up to five posters that could go up as early as Monday (yes, the next school day after he found out), had to come down on Thursday (three days later) and voting was on Friday. Holy whirlwind Batman!
I took him shopping for poster supplies and was trying to help him come up with all these great ideas for posters but then I remembered that it was elementary school and I should try to let him do the majority of it himself. So I took a step back, which is very hard for my type-A self, and let him plan out how he wanted his posters. In the end it took us a long time to make them and vice-president is a really long word and doesn't fit on anything so not only did I only make one poster but even Sarah got to make one. I didn't think he would even use hers but again, it's elementary school so they didn't have to be anything fancy.
He wrote a speech with a tiny bit of help from Charlie and me (but really more organization help and maybe you should talk about this help instead of us writing it for him) and decided he would also play his saxophone during his speech time. I didn't really understand his desire to play the saxophone, but he thought he needed something to stand out and it was way better than his first idea to sing a song. Apparently some kid did that last year and won and another kid did it this year and won so it works.
Unfortunately he didn't win and the kid he lost to was the only person he did not want to lose to. He lost to the same kid for class rep last year and he still has a sour taste in his mouth from it. This is one part of the move that's been tough. The kid who won has lots of friends and has been going to school here since kindergarten and knows a lot of people. Andy does not. He's working on it and getting better, but not a lot of people know him. Plus he's not always the most patient or calm person (yes he takes after me) so I'm not sure how the people that do know him feel about him. He is always talking about how he needs to make more friends. But he did get some really nice notes from kids in his class telling him he did a great job with his speech which was nice to see, and two different parents also told Charlie and me how wonderful he was.
Unfortunately he couldn't even run for class rep because the class rep forms were due the morning of the election, and to fill that out and turn it in would have been admitting defeat before the vice-president election was even over. I'm not sure why they rushed through everything, you would think if someone didn't get an elected position they might still want to run for class rep, but I don't understand a lot of things they do at the schools, I just try to go along with it. Sometimes that's how life is and I'd like to teach my kid to roll with the punches instead of complaining about how unfair or unjust everything is.
Though I was sad for him that he didn't win, and we both came to the conclusion separately that going out for frozen yogurt would help that sting a little bit, I was so proud of him for trying and putting himself out there in front of the whole school. He is really coming into his own and figuring out what he wants to do with band, student council, scouts and even his hair. Charlie and I are trying to guide him and help him along the way, but I am amazed at how confident he is in himself and how he does what he wants to do regardless of what his classmates think. I really hope he stays this way and continues to create his own path and not just follow along with everybody else. My little man is growing up way too fast.
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Thursday, September 19, 2013
I Don't Even Get To Go To The Ball
Sometimes I feel like Cinderella. I'm not talking about the part where she gets whisked off to the castle to marry the prince after she fits in the glass slipper, although Charlie is amazing and often makes me feel like a princess (no complaints there), or the part about having to do all the deep cleaning (I do pick up around the house but luckily the cleaning lady does the deep stuff), or having mice for companions (although Sarah and Amanda are quite whiny and squeak a lot). No, I'm referring to the part in the movie where the step-mother and two step-sisters are all calling for Cinderella at the same time to do the most mundane things that all three of them could do themselves if they would just get off their lazy asses.
I'm not sure how you raise independent kids or if eventually they have to be independent because they live by themselves and they finally don't have anyone else to do things for them, but I cannot begin to tell you how much and how often the kids ask me to do things for them. I'll be in the middle of making dinner and Andy will walk up and ask me if I can get him a glass of milk. Not because he can't do it, but because he wants me to do it for him. At least once a day I am asked to wipe someone's butt (hopefully this is coming to an end but I see at least another six months in it's future), get someone a glass of ice water (not just water, ICE water - God forbid the water is just slightly cool), pick up three pairs of sock, put on somebody's shoes, get me a snack, turn on the light, blah blah blah blah blah. Most of those things they can do themselves, they just don't.
Plus, they all ask at the same time for three different things and get mad when they don't get theirs first. My neighbor laughs when we walk home from school because all three kids are talking to me at the same time and I can actually have a conversation with each of them at the same time. A gift I would prefer not to have.
I have tried to empower the kids by putting the things they need where they can reach them. They have plates, cups, bowls and silverware within their reach. They have access to their snacks, can get the cereal and know how to use the toaster (except Amanda). Andy can reach everything in the fridge and Sarah comes pretty close. But they still keep asking me to do everything. And the socks? They all take their shoes and socks off as soon as they get home from anywhere and leave them wherever they feel like taking them off. Charlie and I are convinced that if we just picked up all the socks and stuck them in a bag each time after two weeks they would have no socks in their drawers whatsoever because they NEVER put them in the hamper. I swear one of those days I'm going to do that and it's going to be soon.
If I was gorgeous, blond and could sing like Cinderella it might all be worth it, but I am not. So here I sit, trying to figure out how to make my kids grow up without them actually growing up and just take a little responsibility for themselves. I'm pretty sure this one is going to be a marathon.
I'm not sure how you raise independent kids or if eventually they have to be independent because they live by themselves and they finally don't have anyone else to do things for them, but I cannot begin to tell you how much and how often the kids ask me to do things for them. I'll be in the middle of making dinner and Andy will walk up and ask me if I can get him a glass of milk. Not because he can't do it, but because he wants me to do it for him. At least once a day I am asked to wipe someone's butt (hopefully this is coming to an end but I see at least another six months in it's future), get someone a glass of ice water (not just water, ICE water - God forbid the water is just slightly cool), pick up three pairs of sock, put on somebody's shoes, get me a snack, turn on the light, blah blah blah blah blah. Most of those things they can do themselves, they just don't.
Plus, they all ask at the same time for three different things and get mad when they don't get theirs first. My neighbor laughs when we walk home from school because all three kids are talking to me at the same time and I can actually have a conversation with each of them at the same time. A gift I would prefer not to have.
I have tried to empower the kids by putting the things they need where they can reach them. They have plates, cups, bowls and silverware within their reach. They have access to their snacks, can get the cereal and know how to use the toaster (except Amanda). Andy can reach everything in the fridge and Sarah comes pretty close. But they still keep asking me to do everything. And the socks? They all take their shoes and socks off as soon as they get home from anywhere and leave them wherever they feel like taking them off. Charlie and I are convinced that if we just picked up all the socks and stuck them in a bag each time after two weeks they would have no socks in their drawers whatsoever because they NEVER put them in the hamper. I swear one of those days I'm going to do that and it's going to be soon.
If I was gorgeous, blond and could sing like Cinderella it might all be worth it, but I am not. So here I sit, trying to figure out how to make my kids grow up without them actually growing up and just take a little responsibility for themselves. I'm pretty sure this one is going to be a marathon.
Friday, September 13, 2013
Rain, Rain Go Away
My neighbor, Kaley, lied to me. In a huge way. She didn't do it on purpose, but still, she lied. Last year around the time school started I asked her if we needed to get rain boots. We walk to school and I knew that rainy days would be tough if we walked and the kids' feet got wet and then they had to wear those wet shoes all day. She told me that we did not need to get rain boots because it never rains here. Really? Never? Well, occasionally, but not much. She said we sort of live in the desert, which I don't know if I agree with or not, but she's a smart lady and has lived here her whole life so I felt the need to believe her.
Anyway, everything that Kaley has told me about the weather over the last year has been wrong. Even she admits it. I don't know if it is as much Kaley being wrong or the weather just taking a really weird turn since we've moved here. The last two summers have been atypical for Colorado, this one being that there has been a crazy amount of rain.
In some ways, the weather here is like Miami. Yes, Florida. In Miami there are certain times of the year where it rains everyday. Only for about 30 minutes, but everyday it rains so that the clouds can release some of the humidity in the air. Denver is kind of like that, but it's not due to humidity. Every afternoon the winds blow down from the mountains and it starts to get cloudy and looks like it's going to rain. Apparently it used to rain everyday, but last summer it just looked like it was going to rain everyday but never did. This year that rain is back.
In the spring at the end of the school year, especially during the last two weeks of school, it rained a lot, and several times there was lightening. The school didn't have a inclement weather plan in place because it rarely happened, but for some reason there was lightening during pick-up like four times in a two week period. The school was in mass chaos, at least as far as their walkers were considered, which we are. My neighbor, Brittan, told me that a couple of the teachers let the kids out when the bell rang and then yelled to them, "run home as fast as you can so you don't get hit by lightening and die." I'm not sure that's exactly what was said, but the liability of it all is probably why they implemented and inclement weather plan for this school year.
We had to give permission for up to three other people to pick up our kids, because if they can't find you they don't want your kids there forever after school. We also have to pick the kids up in the gym and sign them out from their teacher. Once they are signed out and in our possession the school could care less if we get home okay, they just don't want it to be their fault. They even have a red flag they raise with a big white lightening strike on it to let you know when it is an inclement weather day and you have to sign your kid out. It's kind of hilarious.
On a not so funny note that goes along with three days of rain in a city where it doesn't rain is that one of the windows in the front of our house is leaking. It's not leaking because there is something wrong with the window but more because there is something wrong with the roof over the porch and water is leaking down the walls and ceiling and then down the window. We saw this problem once about a month after we moved in but we couldn't pinpoint it and had no idea where the water was coming from. Now we do. I took pictures, Charlie took video and we have an insurance appraiser coming on Monday. Yuck. However, it could be tons worse as some of the people in our neighborhood had flooding in their basement and have to deal with that.
All this being said, the sun came out for a little bit today and boy when it does this place is gorgeous. You kind of forget how annoyed you are with the rain because the sky is so blue and the sun feels so good. I just hope it stays that way.
Anyway, everything that Kaley has told me about the weather over the last year has been wrong. Even she admits it. I don't know if it is as much Kaley being wrong or the weather just taking a really weird turn since we've moved here. The last two summers have been atypical for Colorado, this one being that there has been a crazy amount of rain.
In some ways, the weather here is like Miami. Yes, Florida. In Miami there are certain times of the year where it rains everyday. Only for about 30 minutes, but everyday it rains so that the clouds can release some of the humidity in the air. Denver is kind of like that, but it's not due to humidity. Every afternoon the winds blow down from the mountains and it starts to get cloudy and looks like it's going to rain. Apparently it used to rain everyday, but last summer it just looked like it was going to rain everyday but never did. This year that rain is back.
In the spring at the end of the school year, especially during the last two weeks of school, it rained a lot, and several times there was lightening. The school didn't have a inclement weather plan in place because it rarely happened, but for some reason there was lightening during pick-up like four times in a two week period. The school was in mass chaos, at least as far as their walkers were considered, which we are. My neighbor, Brittan, told me that a couple of the teachers let the kids out when the bell rang and then yelled to them, "run home as fast as you can so you don't get hit by lightening and die." I'm not sure that's exactly what was said, but the liability of it all is probably why they implemented and inclement weather plan for this school year.
We had to give permission for up to three other people to pick up our kids, because if they can't find you they don't want your kids there forever after school. We also have to pick the kids up in the gym and sign them out from their teacher. Once they are signed out and in our possession the school could care less if we get home okay, they just don't want it to be their fault. They even have a red flag they raise with a big white lightening strike on it to let you know when it is an inclement weather day and you have to sign your kid out. It's kind of hilarious.
On a not so funny note that goes along with three days of rain in a city where it doesn't rain is that one of the windows in the front of our house is leaking. It's not leaking because there is something wrong with the window but more because there is something wrong with the roof over the porch and water is leaking down the walls and ceiling and then down the window. We saw this problem once about a month after we moved in but we couldn't pinpoint it and had no idea where the water was coming from. Now we do. I took pictures, Charlie took video and we have an insurance appraiser coming on Monday. Yuck. However, it could be tons worse as some of the people in our neighborhood had flooding in their basement and have to deal with that.
All this being said, the sun came out for a little bit today and boy when it does this place is gorgeous. You kind of forget how annoyed you are with the rain because the sky is so blue and the sun feels so good. I just hope it stays that way.
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Picture of the Day
Amanda's Unicorn, Wishes. She grabbed the camera off the desk today and refused to give it back until she took a picture of Wishes. Not to bad considering I just told her to look through the view finder and push the button.
Kid Quote of the Day
Me: Wow, there is a big package on the front porch.
Amanda: Yes, I tried to tell you but you wouldn't come to the door.
Me: I was on the phone.
Amanda: The GPS man brought it.
Amanda: Yes, I tried to tell you but you wouldn't come to the door.
Me: I was on the phone.
Amanda: The GPS man brought it.
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Crazy Saturday
Yesterday was a crazy busy day. Amanda had soccer, which she of course hates but I'll have to get into that later, Andy had football pictures, Amanda had soccer pictures and then Andy had two flag football games. When we were finally done with sports for the day we headed to the cabin of one of Andy's fellow cub scouts for the evening. His parents have a cabin that belonged to his great-great-great-grandfather and has been in their family since the 1920s.
There were 5-6 scouts from Andy's den at the cabin, which was almost in it's original state from the 1920s, and their families. The boys shot bb guns, played in the creek across the road and went canoeing on the lake. Plus they lit a fire and had s'mores and did a few skits for the adults. Some of the people decided to stay for the night but the girls had swimming today and there were too many logistics to spend the night so we stayed until the kids couldn't take it anymore, put them in their pajamas and then drove home.
It was a really quaint place and a beautiful area and as we were walking back to the cabin from dinner at the lodge Charlie and I looked around and realized this was exactly the kind of things we should be doing now that we live in Colorado. We don't know how long we'll be here so we might as well take advantage of the mountains and the wilderness and any chance we have to do the "outdoor thing". This doesn't mean that we're going to start camping every weekend, especially after our last wet camping weekend, but we will try to see more of the state and experience Colorado.
There were 5-6 scouts from Andy's den at the cabin, which was almost in it's original state from the 1920s, and their families. The boys shot bb guns, played in the creek across the road and went canoeing on the lake. Plus they lit a fire and had s'mores and did a few skits for the adults. Some of the people decided to stay for the night but the girls had swimming today and there were too many logistics to spend the night so we stayed until the kids couldn't take it anymore, put them in their pajamas and then drove home.
It was a really quaint place and a beautiful area and as we were walking back to the cabin from dinner at the lodge Charlie and I looked around and realized this was exactly the kind of things we should be doing now that we live in Colorado. We don't know how long we'll be here so we might as well take advantage of the mountains and the wilderness and any chance we have to do the "outdoor thing". This doesn't mean that we're going to start camping every weekend, especially after our last wet camping weekend, but we will try to see more of the state and experience Colorado.
Kid Quote of the Day
Amanda: Want to hear a story?
Andy: No more stories that have anything to do with unicorns.
Amanda: I have a story that doesn't have a unicorn in it.
Andy: Okay, great.
Amanda: Once upon a time there was a unicorn...
Andy: No more stories that have anything to do with unicorns.
Amanda: I have a story that doesn't have a unicorn in it.
Andy: Okay, great.
Amanda: Once upon a time there was a unicorn...
Unicorns Part II
More interesting unicorn fact per Sarah. Unicorns:
-Eat rainbows
-Burp butterflies
-Fart ladybugs
-Poop Skittles
-Pee pink lemonade
All stuff I'm sure you were dying to know.
-Eat rainbows
-Burp butterflies
-Fart ladybugs
-Poop Skittles
-Pee pink lemonade
All stuff I'm sure you were dying to know.
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