Whatever I Feel LikeGosh!

My kids are so radically different, it is mind-blowing. Aric is having a really hard time in school and is close to failing 4th grade. School is just such a struggle for him. Tonight he brought home yet another test he failed that needed to be signed and returned to school. Ugh.

And Connor? He brought home a letter of recognition, a certificate and a newsletter spotlighting the kids with outstanding achievements from the school superintendent. Yeah, just a bit of a contrast between the two boys, wouldn’t you say? And it’s not just with schoolwork that they differ. Their personalities, character traits, and code of ethics seem to be radically different, too. We have to work so hard at not comparing the two of them. It’s not easy!

Connor is 12 1/2 and is mostly a joy to have around. His teenage moments are starting to rear their ugly head, but that is to be expected. Today he had a field trip to Medieval Times and he was texting me the whole way there and back. I loved that! He even sent me a picture of one of his friends and his friend sent me a message, too. Connor definitely has my sense of humor. While attending the show at Medieval Times, the King called out to see who wanted to marry his daughter. A bunch of people stood up and/or raised their hands, Connor being one of them. The king called on Connor and asked him why did he want to marry his daughter. Connor responded, “Call me!”, and did the whole phone on ear hand motion thing. LMAO!! He said everyone cracked up. I know I would have! Gotta love that kid.

Aric is just as lovable, he’s just more challenging than Connor is. Second child syndrome, for sure!

[tags]parenting, siblings, sibling rivalry, Medieval Times[/tags]

I heard this story about the shortest maternity leave ever on the radio yesterday on the way to work and just had to go online to read more about it. The basketball coach for the University of Nebraska-Kearney gave birth Monday night. Five hours later, she was at the game!

Granted, her team was playing in the NCAA II regional championships, and she wasn’t coaching. But she did attend the game to lend moral support and cheer on the team from the sidelines. So this is more a case of just loving what she does, and not wanting to miss a big moment in her team’s history. I can understand the sentiment behind it. After I gave birth to Aric, I was raring to go in just a few hours, too, so it’s not unheard of to be out and about so soon after delivering a baby. You don’t hear about it every day, though, that’s for sure! Now if this chick had gone back to say, an office job, after 5 hours of giving birth, I’d have to wonder about her mental state.

[tags]NCAA championships, pregnancy, maternity leave[/tags]

I read an article about childhood obesity posted on Fark.com today, as well as the ensuing Fark thread about the article that really piqued my interest. This article states that most parents with obese children aren’t aware their children are obese. What do you think about that statement? Think there’s truth to it? I do. I know a few people who have overweight children who seem completely oblivious to that fact. They will say their kids are “stocky” or “sturdy”, but will never acknowledge the truth: their kids are overweight to the point of obesity. The thing that I wonder is if these people’s pediatricians are mentioning the weight issue to them.

Now, not all parents are clueless, of course. Take us, for instance. We know that Aric is a little overweight. He’s not obese, and the doctors have never mentioned anything about having to watch his weight. But, he has a little belly on him. I do worry about his tendency to be heavy, which I feel is directly tied to his eating habits. As parents, we’re responsible for providing our children with proper nutrition, obviously. But, I struggle with the balance of being too strict and being too lenient. I don’t want the food to be a free-for-all for the kids, but I don’t want to be watching over them with an eagle’s eye, either. I know that ultimately, if they’re going to have food and/or eating issues, there’s nothing I can do about it in the long run. While they’re under my roof, though, I’d like to provide them with as much guidance as I can. We’re also guilty of being lazy and letting the kids eat a lot of frozen meals - just because it’s easier and we work long hours. I’d like to change that, but it’s a hard habit to get out of once you get into it.

I do notice that kids in general tend to be a lot heavier than they ever were just a generation ago. When I see pictures of “the fat kid” from school, I’m struck at how they were mostly just chubby in today’s world. Sad.

What are your experiences? Do you know parents who are in denial about their overweight and obese children? Do your kids have a weight problem? What are you doing about it, if anything?

[tags]obesity, childhood obesity, fat kids, overweight children, nutrition[/tags]

Connor won an award for Outstanding Citizenship today at school. Actually he won the award a few weeks ago, but today was the awards breakfast. They held it at 7:15 in the morning. Umm. Yeah, Rob went while I stayed home to get Aric off to school. I was sad to miss the event, but glad to not have to be up and out of the house by 7am.

This award is given to 2 students in each grade at the middle school, so it’s an honor to win. I am especially proud of Connor for winning since he is new to this school district. I love that he has not let a new school hold him back or change him in any way. He is very outgoing and works hard to keep up his grades. It’s nice that he’s being recognized for his all-around greatness. I can say that as his mother, right?

Connor said the principal made an announcement about the winners and noted that these students were role models. He got a big kick out of that, and we made a joke out of it all night. When Connor spilled 1/2 of a huge bottle of apple juice all over the floor, I said, “See, you’re no role model at home!” hahaha! I’m such a great mother. So I was giving him a hard time all night about the role model thing, because I know he’s got a great sense of humor and can take it. At one point, he got down on the floor, rolled around and said, “But I am a role model! I am!” We laughed and laughed. Man, I dig this kid.

[tags]parenting, school awards, role model[/tags]

We had Aric’s parent-teacher conference this afternoon. I wasn’t looking forward to going because we’ve been getting some troublesome notes home from the teachers lately. Aric is in another dry spell where school work is concerned. It’s so frustrating trying to figure out how to motivate this kid where school is concerned. I’m pretty sure there’s not a whole lot that can be done to motivate him and we’re just going to need to get through this as best we can. Sounds like a blast, no?

The conference was actually not awful, though. I just love this new school district. The teachers we’ve encountered so far at the elementary and junior high levels have been a cut above what we were used to from the old district. The teachers in Aric school are especially positive and really helped Rob and I feel better about Aric’s school situation today. It’s nice to have a teacher who totally gets it. In Aric’s school, the kids have three different teachers: a main teacher, a math teacher and a science teacher. This way the kids get a little taste of what it’s like to switch classes to prepare them for later years. Aric’s math teacher is just an angel sent from Heaven for us. She told us today that she understands Aric and realizes he’s an old soul who just needs to “get through” childhood because his mind is already past it. The validation she provided was much needed, and we left feeling like we will get through these school years and we’ll all be okay when they’re done.

It also felt great to be reassured that Aric is extremely bright and does know and comprehend the work - he just doesn’t like to do the work. After thinking he possibly has a learning disability for so many years, it’s weird to think that it’s just been sheer laziness and unwillingness on Aric’s part that’s led me to believe there was a problem with cognition. When we explained how Aric is a manual worker - he likes to mow lawns, shovel snow, use snow blowers, work on his bike and skateboard with tools, etc. - we all decided that Aric will probably own his own business one day and most likely won’t be a traditional Joe Worker. It will be interesting to see what the future brings.

As Rob and I were walking out, we were looking for artwork by Aric on the walls or in display cases, but didn’t find any. Then I noticed Rob went back to look at something in the cafeteria. I thought he had finally found something, but it turns out he was admiring their hardwood floors and wanted to know how we could get our floors to look as nice. Ha! So I’m pretty sure we’ll be renting a buffer in the near future to polish our floors at home. Hey, maybe that’s something we can give to Aric, the handy-man!