Vicarious Rocky

I know it's growing old as a topic, but since I'm always bitching about the problems Indy is having at school, I feel it's only fair to also make note of when it's going well. Things really seem to be clicking for him this week. It's like he finally gets it. Why he's there, why it's fun, and how it works. I have noticed that ever since he brought in a huge bag of awesome stuff for the "beautiful stuff" project (think show and tell with sorting of old pretty broken and unloved things), he's been into school. The kids really loved the stuff he brought in. He had this monkey head in a space helmet that the boys thought was cool and a plastic ballerina off a cake and gorgeous rhinestone jewelry from Clayde that the girls loved. And I think he noticed what it was like finally to be a key and appreciated part of a peer group.

Then he started talking at circle time and Tuesday he led the whole class in a discussion on Monster trucks: why they are loud, why they are called "Monsters" and what they do. Also this week, he is starting to understand why he needs to respond to friends. I have been coaching the hell out of him about saying "Hi" to friends and answering their requests to play and interact. He has gotten the timing wrong each time and says "Hi" or "Yes" as kids walked away or only got it right after I give him the cue, "Now, say Hi now!" This morning, Callia (his favorite little girl), said "Hi Indiana" in the parking lot on the way in and he said, "Hi!" right on time and so she could hear it. And she smiled! Eureka!

And finally, he did all his morning tasks with very little guidance from me and then showed me how he likes to play in the castle (very new, we always just look at the turtle). He and one of his friends cast spells on me with their magic wands. Then he said it was time to say goodbye, walked me to the door, and said, "Bye" and ran off. No kiss, no hug, no big deal because he's too damn busy to care.

Insert chorus of angels here.

We spent the weekend painting cupboard doors and trim, walls, and the ceiling. We got rid of some shelves and the hanging pot thing that Sage hit his head on once a week. And it's definitely better, but still a work in progress. Last night we got the appliances which come next week already! Unfortunately, we've got a strange range hood/microwave snafu we need a "guy" to look into. But we're well on our way and the new counter top measuring folk should call in a day or two to setup the measurement appointment. It's coming along . . .

Here's some pictures. If you get a sense that you cannot see the whole kitchen you're right. Taking pictures of these old timey galley kitchens is near impossible.

Old Kitchen


Stage 1 New Kitchen

Sage and I are a weird lot. First off, we have low expectations and settle easily into contentment. Perhaps that's why were so happily married. ;)

It's certainly why our house deteriorates around us. We kept a broken front screen door that wouldn't latch for 3 years because, well, who cares and who wants to spend $500 on that when you could spend a weekend traveling instead?

Anyway, our kitchen is pretty shitty. We have to light our stove with those butane clicker things and the housing on our fridge was cracked and if I want clean dishes I run the dishwasher twice. And the cream (why Lord did they put in cream?) colored laminate is all chipped and stained. We've been talking about a new kitchen for 2 years and decided on Thursday night that it was time. Poof!

My point is, once we do get off our ass, we're kind of nutty about brisk implementation. But still have a "good enough" attitude that keeps us here on Dick Avenue in the first place. So, "good enough" means painting kitchen cupboards and getting sparkly new laminate. (Oooo. Laminate). And then some low end stainless appliances that work. TAH DAH! New kitchen. Before and After Pictures to come soon.

Christmas is not my Holiday to shine. Too crowded and I don't have the energy and drive to make my mark on such a saturated and expectation-laden holiday. So, I leave Xmas to Barbie and Clayde. Thanksgiving is no good for me either. It involves large amounts of proper dishes and double gravy boats, butter dishes and serving utensils and chargers and an array of matching cloth napkins. Not to mention an understanding of cooking a huge turkey and other traditional food. So, I'll leave that to Barbie and Leslie. Summer parties are no good for me either. My back yard is too small and my Marcs outdoor furniture can barely even stand any longer. Besides, I hate bees and am always obsessed with repelling insects at my outdoor events. So I'll leave picnics and outside parties to Barbie and Nikki. Nikki can have Easter too because 1) she loves church 2) believes in Jesus (I am assuming, see #1) and 3) celebrates 2 Easters - one for Protestants and one for Orthodox.

This leaves me two decent remaining holidays -- Valentines Day and Halloween. So I have decided these are mine to shine. And I started this year and had a blast. Our family went on a "staycation" up in the TV room. I had two little parties. I was all involved in the school nonsense. I sent out V-Day cards (not X-mas). And I helped Indy rock out his classmate cards and he gave his teacher's personal video messages. I decorated the house a bit, but plan to really build on that here over the years.

Next up Halloween . . . :)

Four experts came to my house this morning to evaluate Indy's language processing, play skills, and general intelligence. What prompted me to call in this free troupe of psychologists, teacher, and language therapist, was the need for a second opinion about his "delays" as noted at his fancy-ass preschool. And I am glad I got this second opinion because what it reveals is that my son is as bright and normal as I think he is, and his current school has an agenda -- a good one -- but an agenda nonetheless.

According to the people who came this morning, Indy is an "extremely bright" little boy who only scored average in one category and above average in all others. So high in one, in fact, that she ran out of test materials since he was easily scoring well on the 6 yr old skill tests.

Of course, I am thrilled. And I am glad to better understand his current school's goals and know that his skills are in no way under age appropriate levels. Sage is more excited about Old Trail now than ever. He loves the idea that they are challenging our son to be as good as his very bright peers. I appreciate that too, but also have a little more resentment. Unfortunately, the uber-child agenda is communicated as him “not meeting expectations” and needing psych evaluations and language therapy. Perhaps I am just too sensitive, but it all gives me a nice distinct feeling of anxiety, guilt, and failure. And if I ever get a whiff that their agenda makes my son feel any of that, I’ll yank him out of their pressure-cooker culture faster than you can say, “illuminati.”

I talk tough, but obviously I don’t have too much resentment, because I sent in the contract today for another year of their preschool.

He looks happy in this picture watching the new Ford trucks drive around. He also liked looking at parked Monster Trucks. But he could not hang with the noise of an operating monster truck. I felt the noise itself was the main point of excitement. Without the noise, this whole venue lacks a bit of uummph. Better to just watch them tip over on YouTube with cool music in the background.

All of us in attendance, Indy included, seemed to have the same thought about the event -- we were glad to have experienced it, but had no reason to ever return. The way I know this is Indy's opinion was his desire to later play "Monster Truck" with us. But when asked if he wanted to return to see them again soon, he instantly said, "No."

We had our 15 minutes with the teachers this morning. Indy is progressing, slowly, but surely. Language seems to be his issue, but no one can tell if he also is just slow in other developmental areas. For example, he is still mostly in parallel play, but is that because he is too unsure to speak to the kids and interact/make suggestions? Or is he just only motivated to be "near" them and not "with" them? He talks under his breath at circle time. Why not share? Confidence or does he not understand the concept of circle time?

I am his mother, so you can guess which I think. :) I am anxious to see how the city school evaluation goes to get some clarity on his level of delay overall.

Meanwhile, they say they see no hitting going on, but that the children do reject and walk away from him a fair amount. They say they also push him away when he's in their personal space.

I am SO glad he's got another year of preschool to help figure all this out, but I do wish I'd caught the language thing earlier (insert motherly guilt here).

My cousin Kaye is a super cool gal and she has her own Etsy shop now -- Kaye! It's filled with adorable crocheted earrings. Check it out!

She's in the orange, making me laugh at Christmas.

We have a teacher conference on Tuesday morning about Indy's peer anxiety -- specifically mentioning things about "mean" kids that "hit me" and a general reluctance to go to school two weeks back. Then there was a mention Wednesday that he had to be "brave" at school. That said, he was happy as a clam when I dropped him off yesterday and has liked school this whole week. In fact, yesterday he said: "I LOVE Old Trail School."

Honestly, kid, you're kill'n me here.

The economy continues to be a giant crap sandwich. I keep hoping to come out of this personally unscathed, but it's continuing to hit the bottom line and those close to me. Yesterday, it got a bit too close for comfort when someone in my family got laid off from a longtime job and a good job where they did good work. And there's lots of ways to Rosy it all up with talk of life changing opportunity, but the fact is, it sucks.

And while my kin heads for the unemployment line and the want ads, these two are running around completely out of their minds. This couple featured on CNN, is selling their fancy home to prop up the wife's one-year-old women's boutique in this seriously crap economy. Wow and . . . duh. Her husband is a realtor. I am unsure how they ever afforded a lakefront home, so selling it probably was a good move. The story was, in my opinion, a perfect look at what's wrong with the American mindset. The "sacrifices" they're making include ditching the Nanny in favor of Daycare, cutting back on flights to fancy places and driving, and cutting back on eating at chic restaurants.

Honestly, people of my generation, including me AND these two have NO concept of sacrifice. But at least I can use my imagination and not claim the above mentioned cuts as "sacrifice." I imagine gratitude in times of sacrifice goes something like this:
"What's for dinner?"
"Soup."
"Again?"
"Yes."
"Is there meat in it?"
"Yes! AND we have bread!!"
"Yippeee!!"

If this Recession turns into a Depression they are both screwed -- A realtor and a boutique operator? I'd start looking for jobs now.

On a lighter note, want to hear my backup plan? Bar tending . . . and affiliate marketing for porn. No matter how bad things get, people drink and well . . . you know.

So, I ordered it, saw shipping costs, thought they'd be magically taken off, hit Checkout, realized I was charged, and THEN bothered to start reading. I emailed customer service about my error and at first I got a blanket response that was all like, "We cannot help you with your recent request." So I wrote again and explained how it happened and how I really super duper wanted and deserved my $24 back and they wrote back and said they looked into it and were more than happy to credit my card.

Thank you Macy's! I appreciated it and will shop with you online again soon!

I don't know why I can't lose these 7 pounds I've gained since summer. But who wouldn't love doing this on a sunny Saturday morning? The rule was, eat 1 chip, put 1 scoop of chips in the bowl.

After much research and some value check ins, we're not moving. You were moving, you ask? Well, I had seriously considered it. Rates are low and there's a lot of "inventory," AKA gorgeous well priced houses here in Akron. But in the end, the potential "opportunity" just wasn't enough to overcome my objections including an aversion to packing up my life, fear about the market and its effects on the business, and the abundant taffy I've had in my pockets since childhood.

Besides, we have more than enough space right now and lots of more interesting ways to leverage loot in a Recessed market. So, you'll be able to find us on "Dick" for quite a while still. :)