Unringing the Bell

Thirty-One!; 31 for 21

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I said "Happy Birthday, Rainer!" when Rainer emerged from his bedroom this morning. His reply was "No! I don't like that!" He also insists that he is still two. I suppose he is...until 6:22pm this evening. Or, as he insists "Not until my BIGGER birthday!" Maybe after we have cake and sing? I'm not sure if that means later this evening when Alex gets home and we do a little family celebration, Thursday when I bring cakepops into school for his school party, or next Saturday when we do the kids' joint birthday party at the farm (assuming we don't have a blizzard!! Sheesh!)

Rest assured, whatever happens there will be photos.

And if either my boo-y or ghoul can muster up the courage to actually trick-or-treat later there will be pictures of that, too. (Even though we are officially on the last day of 31 for 21!! Thanks for all who "came out"!)

Until then. The little goblins...

 

Faces of Rainer; 31 for 21

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Rainer has drawn a face once or twice before, but it wasn't until today that they REALLY looked like faces--you know, without squinting and saying "ooooooh, yeah...I guess I can see that." Before today he drew a lot of "rocks" and "beanstalks" (circles and lines straight up), and more recently he's been combing his circle-esque shapes with lines straight up and calling them "pears". But now today, day before his third birthday, and he drew a coupla' faces (a whole body in one). Kinda' cool!

I'd been waiting for him to draw more things that are representational. Process, you say? When he drew these, first he drew the round(ish) faces, then he drew a line across the forehead saying, "eyebrow" before continuing on with the rest.

HIGHlarious. It's as if one of his parents has a unibrow or something! ;)

In other news, the kids got new beds (well, one new bed and one re-arranged bed), so tonight might suck in the sleep department. However, many nights lately have. So. Whatcha' gonna' do?

Nightmare Scenario; 31 for 21

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This afternoon our local DS parent group had a Welcome Social for new parents. You know, a sort of "welcome to the club" dealio that I am sure most groups put on. It was a fun one and well-attended. The kids dressed in their costumes and there was pizza and pie. The whole she-bang.

Why am I going on about all that though? I don't know. Because really, the nightmare? It was what happened less than an hour after we arrived.

Georgia got away.

Like, out the door, frantic "Where's Georgia???!?!?," down the (MAIN) street, carried back in by someone who ran out to look for her while Alex and I were looking elsewhere. A.WAY!!!

I will definitely be losing some sleep over this. And feeling like a terrible mom.

I mean, in my defense, it was crowded, I had some "official" stuff I was doing (greeting new parents, making sure everyone had what they needed), there were lots of kids dressed similarly to Georgia and several rooms in which she could (and was) playing. So it was easy to lose a kid. I also didn't know they had propped a door open (so people could find us).

But the thing is, I let my guard down. Even if just for a couple moments. And she left. She LEFT! My four-year-old, more-or-less helpless (in traffic anyway), little girl LEFT THE BUILDING!!!

And on THAT ROAD. In THAT AREA.

I still feel like I am going to throw-up.

The thing is, too, that because Alex was also there and keeping an eye on the kids, I almost DIDN'T panic, or take a second look for her at first. CERTAIN that he must have her eye on her. But then. HE was probably certain that I did. You know?

It's nobody's fault. And both of ours.

And she LEFT THE FREAKING BUILDING!! Was found by someone else and carried back to me.

When I realized she was really gone, I ran. There were SO many places she could be. And she was OUTSIDE. UNATTENDED. NEAR A BUSY STREET!

I have a feeling those are the words that are going to continue going through my mind. And I am SURE I am going to only be that much more paranoid. I have considered this type of thing with terror before.

My baby! Alone in the big bad world.

It could have all gone so terribly wrong.

Of course, it didn't, thank everything good and holy and decent and protective in this universe.

But it could've.

And I am now off to research GPS devices for kids.

It can all go very badly in an instant.

Rainer's First Halloween in School; 31 for 21

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Rainer is a different kid at school. Shy, a little unsure, sticks his hands in his mouth a lot. I am not entirely surprised. He definitely fits the "slow to warm" description, though it's getting better and he always says something along the lines of "I had a great day!!" when he gets home.

Skeptical Skeleton

Yesterday was his Halloween party. I happened to be the classroom helper so he got to be the "special helper," too. (read: Line leader and weather wheel spinner.)

It's funny to see him in the school setting because while so sparkly and bright at home, he dulls a little at school. All the witches and goblins songs he sings at home and he keeps mum when asked to sing in the class setting.

I'm not worried so much as noting. Though look at that not-so-fearless line leader!

I am glad he's getting more comfortable though. He tries so hard to play with Georgia, but she's not always quite up to his speed with the imaginative play and turn taking. He's finally got a regular chance to interact with other kids his age and his play is really fun lately. His hands become characters "I want the ball, no I want the ball," and the laundry in the back of the Tonka truck "is dirt." (little does he know how true that is!)

Anyhoodle. Halloween!

Behavior Plan; 31 for 21

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This is what's on my mind tonight:

How behavior is learned and unlearned; Preventing challenging behavior; Replacement behaviors; Reinforcement techniques; Pros & cons of reinforcement vs. punishment; Interventions tailored to the function of the problem behavior; Collecting and graphing data; Writing behavior intervention plans; Troubleshooting and Positive Behavior Supports.

It's far from dry, but far from reading the funny pages, too. I wish I could say more about it. And it's not that I can't, it's just that my brain is so full it can't process much. Suffice it to say we had a team meeting to talk about establishing an FBA for G yesterday and I feel like I have my work cut out for me in terms of learning.

By the time G gets to 3rd grade I ought to have my PhD in this sheisse. Fer realz. Of course, no diploma means no work means no money. And given the state of (and amount of) the car repair bills lately means....

SOL, Baby!

You Should See the Other Guy; 31 for 21

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Mister Man fell down the steps. Face first on the concrete yesterday.

Footloose; 31 for 21

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I am sitting here watching an Italian animated children's movie with Rainer called "The Dolphin." You can find all sorts of things on Netflix. Currently, two kid-dolphins are talking about their farts (yes, they used that word) and pretty much basting in their fart bubbles until one passes out. It is REALLY bizarre. I'll blame it on the translation!

Aren't you glad you came here to read this?

We're cycling through sickness in the house (not just the kind described above), but the actual germy kind. Rainer was sick all weekend and is getting better today. Just in time for Georgia to wake up croupy this morning. I have been feeling lousy since about mid-morning. As a result, there has been a lot of tv in this house today. Oh, the joys of being stuck in the house!

Thankfully, R slept for a long nap. G, though she was exhausted, refused, which meant I didn't get a chance at any Zzzzs either. I am pooped, but now R is wide-eyed and bushy-tailed. Much of parenting is scheduling!

Thankfully Rainer is thoroughly entertaining tonight. He put on a show for us. Tonight I put Pandora on a kids rock station and he showed us all his moves. He is sort of a breakdancer/acrobat in style and does these leg kicks he calls "One hundreds." He's a regular riot.

At one time the song "Bird, bird. bird, bird is the word," came on and he asked, dumbfounded, "What does that even MEAN, Bird is the Word????!!!!!"

That kid.

Sunday Beat; 31 for 21

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1. I need some new dinner ideas. I find it's kind of hard to cook for picky kids and parents who are...not picky, but watching caloric intake. R is NOT a veggie lover. G loves a lot of different veggies, but with her it's a texture issue. I am watching what I eat. And while Alex will eat just about anything so long as it's in front of him, you know, if he had it his way his dinners would be of a different--more experimental and exciting--genre than the kids (and sometimes me). I've gotten some great recipes from Skinny Taste, but I need more. (FYI, ST's pasta fagioli is da' bomba.)

2. We eat a lot of soup. I love soup. Alex loves soup. Georgia LURVES soup. Rainer is, well...he's sort of lukewarm on soup.

3. Any ideas?

4. Rainer would eat carbs and cheese from here to Kingdom Come if we let him.

5. And apples.

6. Speaking of food, I am working on my first batch of cake pops. I plan to send them in to school with Rainer for his birthday.

7. I am also planning a joint birthday party for the kids in November.

8. I can feel the holidays breathing down my neck. I feel SORT of prepared because we got a jump start on the kids' gifts, but you know how it is.

9. We are not going hog-wild this year anyway, so I am honestly just going to try to take it all as it comes. Relax your slacks and all that.

10. This weekend went by WAY too quickly.

11. Oh, Rainer. Rainer, Rainer, Rainer. That boy!

12. I am going to try to write better posts just in general throughout the year.

13. (Too make up for my awful job this month!)

Always the Bridesmaid; 31 for 21

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We had our Bull, Shrimp & Oyster Roast fundraiser today for the local DS parent group. 50/50 raffle was up to $900 (prize was $450). I was holding a friend's ticket b/c she had to leave early. She won! That's awesome, right? But also...not the funnest. You go up to get the prize, everyone cheers for you. And the money? It's not yours. Boooooooooo....

For the record, nobody in our family won the iPad either.

But! It was a fun time. And I am exhausted!

What sorts of fundraisers do your local DS groups put on?

List-o-rine; 31 for 21

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1. Barely getting this post in.

2. Went to MD Coilition for Inclusive Ed meeting tonight. Left with an action plan (to research what is going into the search for a new county superintendent. It's good to have a plan (even if I did wake up telling myself I am already over-extended and need to start saying no). This immediately effects my children as long as we live here though, so....whaderya' gonna' do? Since a super is pretty much a super until s/he quits (or gets hit by a bus....), here's hopin' for an inclusion-friendly one.

3. I have been feeling sick-to-my-stomach for over a week.

4. G has hockey in the morning. Even with the assistance of sedatives she was unable to have her neck x-rays done, so tomorrow's going to be yet another "getting familiar with the rink and trying out the equipment" sort of day. To be perfectly honest? I don't have high hopes. Mainly--only??--because of the equipment. I will have to take a picture of what she is supposed to wear. As Alex asked, "Couldn't there be a sport that didn't require a duffle bag full of equipment larger than her?"

5. Suddenly Rainer has lost all his manners.

6. And 1-2-3- Magic has little effect.

7. Maybe because he doesn't give a rat's ass if I put him in time-out?

8. I need "worse" consequences.

9. Every morning Georgia runs in our room and says "Hi, Mommy!" And then turns on Alex's clock radio.

10. IEP meeting this week.

11. And hopefully Alex gets the stitiches out of his toe.

12. ENT (again! Do we live there???) for G. And it's dawned on me that we have about a billion routine things we need to get to. (i.e. eyes/teeth)

13. Why can't I find skeleton PJs anywhere?

14 It's Halloween season for Christmas' sake!

15. Have I mentioned I need a vacation?

16. And a maid.

17. And a massage.

18. And a winter jacket.

19. No, really.