Kindergarten SUCKS!: Leaving on a Jet Plane! Aloha!

Kindergarten SUCKS!: Leaving on a Jet Plane! Aloha!: Some of my favorite lyrics were recorded by the great, John Denver..."I'm leaving on a jet plane." I am. Tomorrow I will travel a grea...

Leaving on a Jet Plane! Aloha!

Some of my favorite lyrics were recorded by the great, John Denver..."I'm leaving on a jet plane."  I am.  


Tomorrow I will travel a great distance to the island of Molokai, Hawaii for the second time in my life to participate in a silent meditation retreat.  


From past experience, I know I will be putting away the technology of my life (including my blog) and changing the patterns of language in my world to be completely alone with my thoughts for seven days.  


Everyone keeps asking, "Why would you want to do that?"


"Cause kindergarten SUCKS!"

Kindergarten SUCKS!: Stuffed Silky Missles

Kindergarten SUCKS!: Stuffed Silky Missles: A couple weeks ago O had slept in our bed. after waking up for the third time she stood straight up. I told her, "be careful of the fan ab...

Stuffed Silky Missles

A couple weeks ago O had slept in our bed. after waking up for the third time she stood straight up.  I told her, "be careful of the fan above our bed. After your recent growth spurt I don't want you to get caught in the blades."  She rolled her eyes and said, "Mommy, I'm still too short to do so."  I replied, "Ok, well just be aware of it because as you grow older you will get taller."  She put her hands on her hips, wrinkled up her face with a questioning look and said, "Mommy, I'm NOT going to sleep with you when I'm ten!"

Then last night, O started out again in her own bed.  However, just after midnight she came into our room with her Knuffle Bunny, her maimie (blanket) and her Jesus Pillow (a recent gift from her Nana).  Each one individually flew threw the air only to land in between us.  O crawled in the bed following the stuffed and silky missles.  She said she had woken up in the dark and was scared.  I obliged since it was me who forgot to turn her nightlight on when I tucked her into bed earlier.    

Since she's been fighting a cold like the rest of the world, around 1:00 am she started kicking the covers off, sat up and with her eyes closed, started to cry saying, "my nose, I can't get it."  She was referring to the mucus that drains into one side of the nose and can become very uncomfortable (aka snot).  My husband went and got a tissue while I asked her to lay on her side so the nose could drain.  She did so.  Once the mucus was balanced she blew her nose, only for her to wake up a half hour later to say, "My nose, I can't get it again."  

Around 3:00 am I took O back to her bed.  In preparation for me to sleep with her I grabbed my pillow, her maimie, Knuffle Bunny and her Jesus pillow.  She went right back to sleep and I laid there in the dark, eyes wide opened.  I finally fell asleep at 4:00 am.  It didn't last long as O, with tears in her eyes, woke me again around 4:30 am to tell me she couldn't find her Jesus pillow.  I got out of bed and retraced my steps to find the Jesus pillow.  I checked her bed, our bed and finally found it on the floor in the hallway right outside my bedroom door.  She went back to sleep only to awaken again around 5:00 am to tell me she needed to use the bathroom.  She did so.  A couple hours later we were up getting ready for school.  

Over breakfast this morning, I mentioned to my husband that I feel a bit like I'm failing at this motherhood thing.  He reassured me that I wasn't.  

O must have heard him because a few minutes later, while I was helping her with her shoes she said, "Mommy, is being a mother hard?"  I contemplated whether I should tell her the truth or white lie it until she was older.  I said, "It can be. Yes."  She said, "Oh I get it.  You just have to practice at it, right?"  I responded, "I guess so.  What's that mean?"  She said, "Because practice makes perfect mommy, and the older I get, the better you will be."

I sent her to school and went straight to the bank where I started her a "therapy" bank account.  Kindergarten SUCKS!

Kindergarten SUCKS!: 100th Day of Kindergarten

Kindergarten SUCKS!: 100th Day of Kindergarten: Today was the 100th day of kindergarten. O finished her 100th day project last night. I woke her up 100 minutes before school started. ...

100th Day of Kindergarten

Today was the 100th day of kindergarten.  O finished her 100th day project last night.  

I woke her up 100 minutes before school started.  She opened her eyes and said, "Mommy, I have the 100th day worries.  I'm not sure what to expect."  I said, "It's OK to feel that way.  When I taught school the 100th day was always my favorite day of kindergarten.  It's a celebration.  It's as though the number 100 is celebrating a birthday."  She decided that would be all right.

She had 100 Golden Grahams for breakfast.  At the bus stop her friend Dee-Dee said, "Today would be a great day to lose a tooth because the tooth fairy would bring you 100 dollars."  Mmmm...would it be silly to yank my teeth out for those Jimmy Choo shoes I've been eyeing?  Probably.

When the bus came, O and I said our goodbyes and I wished her a happy 100th day.  She smiled and appeared excited to see what the day had in store for her.  

At 1:35 pm I walked to the bus stop excited to hear all about O's 100th day of Kindergarten.  She ran off the bus.  As soon as she saw me she began to cry.  She seemed really warm.  Once we got home I took her temperature in her ear.  Of course, it was 100 degrees and she complained that her ear hurt.  After a visit to the doctor's office, it was confirmed O has an ear infection.  Due to her 100 degree fever, she can't go to school tomorrow.  Kindergarten SUCKS!

Kindergarten SUCKS!: Valentine Morning Chaos

Kindergarten SUCKS!: Valentine Morning Chaos: Today is Valentines day . O did all 21 classmate valentines while we were in Kansas. She really wanted to make the ones for her teachers ...

Valentine Morning Chaos

Today is Valentines day.  O did all 21 classmate valentines while we were in Kansas.  She really wanted to make the ones for her teachers when she got home.  However, ever since we got home, she has put off the production assembly line until 8:00 o'clock this morning after she spent a half an hour deciding what to wear.  

Mind you, I bought her a darling outfit for Valentine's day.  However when she opened it up, it was not what she desired.  Everything needed hearts and everything needed to be purple, pink or red.  After trying to put together three different heart outfits, she finally chose a skirt with hearts given to her by her good friend and neighbor, a heart tee shirt that is three sizes too small for her and every time she lifts her arms one can see her belly button, hot pink long underwear, heart socks, Twinkle Toes sneakers and a bright red rose hair clip.  Yesterday O asked me to define the word picky.  Yesterday, I gave her a standard definition.  Today, I would define it more succinctly” "YOU"!

We had 25 minutes to make valentine's for her teachers, eat breakfast, pack her lunch and make it to the bus stop.  I began multi-tasking.  We finished our chores and headed to the bus.  As we were running, all her neighborhood school friends who saw us coming were cheering her on, "Come on, O!  You can make it." We did.

I was so proud of her.  She seemed so happy as she waved good-bye from her seat on the bus.  

O's kindergarten valentine party is at 2:30 today.  I get to spend the afternoon with 21 kids all sugared up!  Kindergarten SUCKS!

American Idol Auditions

Our family are big fans of American Idol.  It started almost seven years ago when I was pregnant with O and it has become a tradition. Each season becomes a five-month dancing, judging and voting craze.  My husband has never been a fan until a couple of years ago when at age four, O looked up at him with her big blue eyes and said, "Daddy, who are you going to vote for Crystal Bowersox or Lee DeWyze?".   Since then he watches it with us when he is home.

This year when the new season began we all couldn't wait to see the season premier.  In fact, O stayed up past her bedtime because it was such a big event.  

Now in order to keep her bedtime in check, we race home from the bus stop and eat an after school snack while we watch the previous night's taping.  I don't even think we hang up our coats.  

Spending this week at her Nana and Bapa's house, we had a lot of time at the house so O clued her Nana and Bapa in to her favorite TV show.  She even went a step further to pretend she was a contestant.  Each time she auditioned she had a different name, occupation and song.  

The first day Nana was the judge and O was the contestant, and after O made it to Hollywood, they switched.  

However, when Nana tried out for American Idol O told her that, "You look very nice.  You just sing a little too loud."  She then asked the other judges (Randy and Steven) if they agreed and then she looked back at Nana and said, "I'm really sorry. You're not going to Hollywood this year."

The next day she brought Bapa into her production.  This time Nana and Bapa were the judges.  

The first three times she auditioned, she made it to Hollywood. The fourth audition she was a thirteen year old named Anna who was in school.  She told them she was shy and after singing Nana and Bapa told her she had "potential", but that she needed to wait another year.  Surprisingly, she didn't ask for one more chance, cry big tears or flip off any cameras.  Instead, she handled it all with grace and class!  

Never thought I'd believe it, but American Idol has taught her some valuable lesson.  Life has disappointments, winners, losers and people who can't handle  criticism.  True talent is true talent and one can't get by on looks alone.  Beauty comes from within.  

If only bedtime came after American Idol.  Kindergarten SUCKS!

Kindergarten SUCKS!: Cancer in Kansas

Kindergarten SUCKS!: Cancer in Kansas: O and I flew out to Kansas this past weekend. After talking with her teachers, my husband and I decided to take O out of Kindergarten for t...

Cancer in Kansas

O and I flew out to Kansas this past weekend.  After talking with her teachers, my husband and I decided to take O out of Kindergarten for the week so that she and I could be there to support her Nana  in Kansas during her first chemotherapy treatment.

The nurses and doctors were wonderful.  There were comfy recliners and snacks for the patients receiving treatment.  O asked lots of questions and learned a lot about ports, medicine and IV's.  Her Nana remained brave and strong throughout the day.  Other than being tired, the effects of the chemo have been minimal.  Regardless, kindergarten SUCKS and so does CHEMO!

Kindergarten SUCKS!: Lite Brite's of the 1970's

Kindergarten SUCKS!: Lite Brite's of the 1970's: This morning when O woke up she said, "Mommy, for my birthday (two months away) I want a Lite Brite just like the one Meme and Lina have. ...

Lite Brite's of the 1970's

This morning when O woke up she said, "Mommy, for my birthday (two months away) I want a Lite Brite just like the one Meme and Lina have.  We played with it at their house yesterday and it was so cool.  There's these little colored plastic pointy things that you have to put inside the holes.  It was so much fun.  But mommy, I want a different Lite Brite than theirs.  I want it to look exactly the same but I want it to come with the 'turn on' batteries."  

I waited to see if she had more to say before responding with all of my own personal experiences about Lite Brite's.  She didn't.  I told her about the coveted Lite Brite my friend, Sheri had.  I wanted one so badly.  Of course, my mom always told me they were nothing but a fire starter.  

I remember being five and wondering why anyone would ever make a toy that started a fire.  Of course, I never questioned the real Christmas tree we wrapped with electric lights that we put up before Christmas and left up until January 13, King Knut's Day, a Swedish tradition.  Oh but that wasn't a fire starter, nah!  Be as it may, I never got a Lite Brite or an  Easy Bake oven for that matter.  My little brother did though and if there's one kid that shouldn't have had "fire starters" as a child it would have been that kid.  This is the same kid who somehow managed to set off his whole bag of fireworks "accidently" three years in a row!

  

I told O that there is a strong possiblity that Nana might have my brother's Lite Brite in her basement.  O asked if that Lite Brite would have batteries that "turned on".  It was about that time that I realized our 1970-ish Lite Brite plugged into an electrical outlet, no batteries needed.  I shuttered at the thought that children of the 1970's were plugging in Lite Brites at a young age.  Maybe my mom had a point.  

If my mom did have one in her basement, I could always cut the cord and O could still use the pointy things to make a picture.  So I said, "But O, even though Lina and Meme's Lite Brite didn't turn on, didn't you still have fun with their Lite Brite?"  She nodded, rolled her eyes and said, "That doesn't matter, mommy.  I can have more fun with one that really works."  Kindergarten SUCKS!

Kindergarten SUCKS!: It's just NOT fair!

Kindergarten SUCKS!: It's just NOT fair!: This morning O decided to take a stand. She tried to convince me that play dates should happen daily during the week and more times than on...

It's just NOT fair!

This morning O decided to take a stand.  She tried to convince me that play dates should happen daily during the week and more times than once a day on the weekends including sleepovers.  She said,  "Mommy, do you know why I need more play dates?  I need more play dates because I don't have a sister or brother.  Do you realize how hard it is to not have a little sister or brother?  Do you really understand?  It is SO hard not to have a sibling!  It is SO hard!  I mean every time I play with my American Girl Dolls I HAVE to be the mother!  I have NO choice.  NONE.  It's not fair!  IT'S JUST NOT FAIR!  And YOU don't understand!"


Kindergarten SUCKS!