My family cracks me up.

I always get a kick out of the in-laws especially when they step into the 20th century. I know you thought I made a mistake about the century. Right? It's okay you can admit it. It's not a mistake. If they happen to have gotten cell phones then I would have said the 21st century, but they called me to try out their new cordless phones. They were so surprised how clear they were. Then they go on about how they don't have to hold the phones to talk anymore. I just about died laughing and responded, "that would be called speaker phone." This stuff entertains the hell out of me. A lot of times things are only funny to me, but they were entertained too.

Sensitivity

Sensitivity doesn't make sense to me.

Too many what if's

Wow what a week. We came back from Vegas, I had child number one’s parent teacher conference, bought a new car and James just had an appendectomy. I was never meant to handle this much drama in one week. And to top it all off Friday ends with a 13. I always wonder when its okay to eat cookies in the middle of the night. Would this be an okay time?

Who decided?

It’s been a few days, so my initial emotional rawness has worn off slightly so I am able to write about this. A few days ago I had a parent teacher conference with child number one’s teacher. It doesn’t matter who or what situation you are in when someone says something critical about your child the mama bear defenses come flying out and a wave of emotional blustering is uncontrollable even if you are already aware of the issues at hand. Nothing can bring me to my knees more than my children. To tell you the truth, nothing can bring me to my knees except my children. It can be something as simple as a silly comment about my child or as big as my child physically getting hurt. I have gone through some emotionally challenging times defending my children over the years (this is definitely scary since my oldest is only five). But it has always been an outside source harming my child so I was able to protect my children by putting a stop to the physical harm. This is an entirely different kind of beast that I have to tackle. It doesn’t matter what level your child is at, as a mother, it emotionally breaks your heart knowing your child is struggling.

Basically, child number one is a little behind in the reading comprehension part of Kindergarten, which hinders her writing capabilities (I know who would have thought Kindergartners would be expected to write sentences). The teacher is concerned that if she doesn’t catch on quicker she will fall behind in first grade. I want to make it completely clear that her teacher is the most wonderful, sensitive and understanding teacher I have ever met. I am sooooo glad the principal was able to place my child in the Kindergarten class I chose. (Yes, I am that mom, but there were underlining circumstances for me to request her to be in a certain classroom or at least away from another child that is at her school). It’s not that she’s not getting it, but it’s the rate she is moving along. This is where I’m a little frustrated. I want to scream at all of society “SHE’S ONLY FIVE YEARS OLD! IT’S KINDERGARTEN!” Why do we have to put so much pressure on these poor kids? Yes some kids get it and move along and others move along a little slower. Why can’t we accommodate all learning styles? Why does this have to be a problem?

Now that I am done yelling at society, I will put some of the blame on myself. I have been resisting this higher level of Kindergarten. The level they are teaching Kindergarten at is the same level as second grade was for me. I want my kids to stay kids as long as possible. I want them to be able to play and enjoy being a kid. Allowing them to be kids for a little longer, I have hindered them somehow. Of course, I constantly read to them, talk and listen to them. Apparently, this doesn’t help in the comprehension area. For some kids it might, but mine no such luck. Oh, but she gets an A+ in socializing. So for the next three months, the Hansen household will be living, breathing, eating, sleeping site words and comprehension games. Yay!

Another thing about Vegas

This city completely exhausts me. The back of my calves feel like a charley horse that has never gone away (too much walking). I think I could sleep for a week. I need a vacation from the vacation.