Some Nice Things About Michael

To balance out my previous post about Michael's bad week, I am going to post a bit about what Michael IS doing right. Hope this doesn't come across as bragging!

It's so bizarre to look at the little person he is and wonder if he's going to end up ok. You never know what life experiences/people/pressures will come their way and change who you see now, as a child. All you can do is pray for them and do your best as a parent.

• Michael can add and subtract. He can write his numbers. They're not perfect, but they are legible.
• Michael cannot read - but he is starting to understand phonics and can recognize some words.
• He can do most of the Pre-K going into Kindergarten workbooks and some of the Kindergarten workbooks. But no, we are not skipping him ahead. Brian and I were both older kids in our years and we liked it. And for those of you who know Michael - his social skills really do need another year in Preschool before advancing to real school.
• Michael can almost play on beat at the piano and knows the value of whole notes, half notes, and quarter notes and can play them correctly when reading a song.
• He is pretty decent at Super Mario Brothers, Mario Kart, and Hot Wheels Track Attack.
• He wants Donkey Kong so so so so badly on Wii for his birthday.
• He seems to need attention. A LOT.
• He can play games designated for ages 6+ and up. He can play Carcassonne and that is designated for 10 years and up.
• He plays chess and knows what each piece can do - and to be honest, I'm such a bad chess player that it won't be long before he's beating me.
• He is not terribly social in large groups. Not surprising considering his parents.
• He has started to make some friends and can play with other kids. So that's good!
• No surprise - he loves Magnums
• Michael loves to bowl.

I think that's enough for now. We are so very proud to see him learning, growing, and having fun. We love his zest for life, gaming, and doing things as a family. We hope that never changes.

P

Michael's Spring Sing

Michael had his Spring Sing last Thursday. Here are the clips we came up with.

I'm sure his school was SO excited to have an Asian person do this for the program this year:

A clip to demonstrate his Besancon musical genius:

And for those who feel like they have a lot of stamina:

Michael wanted to post on the blog as well. Here is his take on the evening:

jfjlhjjodfohnfdjkkgvdfxlikbgbdhbnjggushgfhhdjkfhfjdcjjcjspojncidddddddddddoifjmvmkkfmdx

cmkjvojfiojjjjjjjjj

jjlfnjbkgkoffgjijjoidfjjifiohuifgdhughiugiufhdiughjjoijdivdfihgbskfhdoigjfiijgjihfjhbbfbhgdujdh

jfvvhgvghdvuhdgbfguugfgdhjgfgfugsggyudgsuydufyggfguggdgfysgdgyfytsggtydgfyytgfytdyggyfy

ttdtdytgjhfbbmndjfjhhvhjchhjhgfghumnmjjnvnkjdjbjhjdsgbhdhhsdhhszhsdtsgayughcgdgtdsthfd

dgyytfsftdftzhcvbuugxchgc8uszhiuddbuohfuhiuglikfgfgjinnvncinjggdnnfuibf hugbghuub njfhdbh

jdfjf8hudgfjxiocjidfhuchuhfhudifnndifhddgufguhbuyhiuhf

Love to all,

P

Bargains! Calling Digital Scrapbookers

For those who knew me before Michael, you know I scrapbooked.

I thought I'd never go digital, but I am definitely there. I love photobooks (My Publisher specifically), and I love my pro lab's ultra slick fancyschmancy photo books and photo albums (yes, there is a big difference!).

BUT - the point of this post is to post a Bargain! This is the 2nd of my blog series, to post the bargains I come across. Not moneysavingmom style, but just every now and then!

If you are in the market for cool digital papers/album templates/etc, check out:

http://sassy-designs.net/shop

Right now, all of the items in the store are marked down to $1. AND, couple that with their birthday promotion code, you get 75% off your entire purchase.

So basically, I got about 95% off my purchase today. I paid $3.20 for a total retail value of well over $54.

This is a website that supplies digital papers mainly to photographers (for album/card design). However anyone can order. You just need Photoshop and knowledge on how to use it!

Bon soldes!

P

May Scripture Memory Verse

I'm not sure if I can post bi-monthly on this, but I will try!

Romans 12:12, NIV

"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."

Whew. I did it. Not only was it pretty parallel in structure, but the verse number and chapter number are exactly the same.

Until June!

P

Blog Series

Money Saving Mom recently posted a series on improving your blog. One of the suggestions was changing up your blog posts. The same one after the same one gets dull. She suggested having different blog series that you post about helps!

So I'm starting with:

Scripture Memory Verse

At the retreat I went to back in the spring, one of the talks suggested memorizing scripture twice a month. On the 1st and 15th, pick one verse, and memorize it. I get reminders to do it.

So I thought, why not post it on my blog? Let's see how me, as an undisciplined person, can really do this!

Michael's Accountability Chart

So Michael got 2 stickers/stars at school for good behavior. Kylee got 2 as well. I asked him if he behaved because he wanted to or because Kylee was behaving, and he told me HE wanted to behave - so I hope that's true!

YEA!

I wanted to share the accountability chart up there not because I feel like I am an amazing parent. That's far from the truth! But to share something that has worked for - oh, I don't know - 48 hours. :)

This chart developed from bottom to top. I started by using the bottom to preserve space on the board. Then, seeing how effective it was, I decided to keep going. I'll go into each in detail.

ADDRESSING DISOBEDIENCE

The last row of 3 square boxes are his "strikes" for the day. And "Wild Kratts" on the right is his "prize." It is his favorite show in PBS. He likes it more than Abbey. THAT'S saying somethin'.

Every time he is purposefully disobedient, is disrespectful to us (spitting/hitting/attitude), or argues with us about something we are not 'discussing' - he gets an X.

After 3 'X's (strikes), he's out. No Wild Kratts for the day.

ADDRESSING SCREEN TIME

The 2nd row of 4 square boxes represents his screen time. Each box represents 30 minutes. Every time he uses up 30 minutes of Wii/computer/TV, he gets a check. Once all 4 boxes are filled, do not ask me anymore for any Wii/computer/TV. You are done for the day.

POSITIVE INCENTIVES

The set of 8 square boxes represents workbook sheets completed. THIS I threw in for fun. I figured Michael loves to do workbooks so much that he should get a little treat for enjoying activities which foster learning and brain development.

I asked him how many workbook sheets he thinks he should finish to get a prize - and he yelled out "EIGHT!" Why, ok. I was thinking more like 5, but 8 is great.

This time, his prize is candy. But I told him the prize can change all the time. It could be going to get ice cream, or seeing a movie, or staying up an extra 30 minutes one night.

He can take as long as he like to fill up the squares. The longer he takes to fill out the squares, the longer he'll have to wait for his prize!

36 Days

Part of the fun initiative. 36 days until Cars 2 comes to theaters. We are doing a countdown!

WILL THIS WORK?

I have absolutely no idea. But I do know, this is a system that I, as a pretty undisciplined person, can keep up with. I've done it for 2 days now and it's working out well for me. I "reset" whatever squares need to reset in the morning with Michael.

Best part? We go through the day knowing what is expected of us, and the prizes/punishments are clearly spelled out.

I don't have to yell, feel upset and impatient, frustrated with my little 4 yr old and his attitude at times. I just ask him when we are nearing a bad place, "Michael, is this worth an X? Because you are on your way. It is your decision what you want to do."

So I thought I'd share in case anyone thought it might be useful. I'll give an update in a couple of weeks to see if it is!

Milburn Farms Egg Hunt

Ne need to check to see if you are on page 1 of this blog. I AM that late in blogging this and you ARE on the most recent entry for today, May 18.

On April 21, one of the few sunny days we had before Easter, I took Michael to Milburn for an egg hunt. They did not disappoint:

Egg hunts every half hour for the first 4 hours of the day.

In the mean time, lots of Easter corn hole for Michael:

Then lineup for the whistle:
To pick up empty plastic eggs. Michael was pretty saddened that there were no treats in the eggs:

Inspecting loot:
Then, we played on the farm. We love playing on the farm! We fed goats; we made a colored sand scooby doo; we played in the sandbox for a long time.

**Which leads me to a rant. I miss sandboxes. MICHAEL misses sandboxes. There was always sandboxes at the parks in Paris (Square Rene Legall's was HUGE). Here, not so much.**

Then, Michael decided to try his hand at this:

Perfect.

Afterwards, Michael insisted on lunch in the freezing cold. He ordered himself a grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup, which he gobbled all up.

It was a fun morning for us! After that, we met up for a playdate at Ashton/Ryan's house in Newark.

And where are the DC pictures?!?! I've edited about half of them. The other half, I am having trouble pinpointing exactly what I want them to look like. So I have a bit of photoshop block and that's why it's taking so long.

Slideshow

Et voila - a slideshow from the Longwood Gardens when I took Michael a couple of weeks back!

Do not click on the icon for "enlarge to full screen." The resolution is absolutely awful and you can tell more of what is going on with the pictures on the smaller screened version of it:

BAAAAD Michael

You know that angelic post of him that I just did. That is SO not what life has been like lately around here.

Just yesterday alone, Michael:

• Threw his dinosaur at me when we got to McDonald's (at his request of course)
• Hit his younger than him friend Ryan and caused him to cry.
• Rammed a car into his older than him friend and caused him to cry.
• Ran completely far away from me at the mall and I had to YELL at him to come back. I was THAT mom.
• Came home and sprayed water all over his Dad while he was wearing his dry clean only work clothes.

This all coupled with the fact that he's been not listening to his teacher at school and was placed in time out for making "bad choices" with this new little girl he's been hanging out with named Kylee (which I have found out regularly does not get a sticker for being well behaved). Michael has not gotten a good sticker for good behavior the last 3 days he's been to school.

Reactions to above bullets:

• Got back in the car and did not have lunch at McDonalds, but where I wanted to go.
• Got put in time out for hitting.
• Got put in time out for not being kind.
• Had to hold my hand the rest of the time we were in the mall and could not run around with his friends if he could not behave himself, stay close, and listen. No freedom for you buddy.
• Got sent to his room.

We were supposed to go see Rio today at the movies, but after his behavior at school, that was cancelled. And I told him there would be no Wii, no computer games, no TV until he went back to having good behavior at school and getting a sticker on his chart for doing so.

SIGH.

All this is definitely in correlation to 2 things: 1) Lack of sleep - he's been going to bed some nights at 10pm (You can thank Brian for that) and he hasn't been getting regular naps (you can thank Mom for that). 2) Increase in "screen" time - I've been a bit lax about TV/Computer games on weekdays.

All this definitely compounds to the behavior above. And while it is no excuse for it, we still discipline regardless.

Which brings me back to having to raise an accountable person now. And teaching him to choose his friends correctly. He asked to have Kylee over today and I said, most certainly not. And that he should be a good influence and example by behaving and not partaking in disobeying.

He had a stern lecture over all of this. I realize at 4.5, it seems a bit young, but I remember my parents being strict and hard on me - with high expectations of my behavior, manners, and school. I remember getting lectures about not "losing face" and making them look badly or embarrassing them. I remember getting into big trouble in public and having to come home and get on my knees and apologize for my disappointing behavior. And do I look back at that with disdain? Absolutely not. I look back at that and am glad my parents made me accountable and instilled a precedent for acceptable behavior.

I instill the same in Michael and if that's being "hard-assed," then so be it. Do I still love on him? Absolutely. Do I still spend time with him doing things he enjoys? Yes! I'm not taking away family fun time activities (games/etc) - I am taking away activities that aren't that beneficial to begin with and apparently are attributing to his poor behavior.

SIGH.

Longwood Gardens - Again

I am intending to put up a slideshow of the Longwood Gardens in the spring. Until I get it all together, I've been proofing. Here's the latest:

My little guy is just not so little any more!

Love,

P

Grocery Shopping and Hallmark

Money Saving Mom always posts her grocery shopping finds every week along with how much she spent on it. I decided to do the same this weekend since I got to go grocery shopping without Michael today:

TOTAL: 55.80

I'm sure in Texas, I would have netted a lot more for $55.80, but for up here in the NE - it's not a bad showing there! If you are wondering what is on the list:

Bananas

Rhubarb

Mushrooms

2 lbs of Strawberries

Apples

Kiwi

Blueberries

Mediterranean Olives

2 packages of hotdogs

A sunday paper

2 mayonnaises

1 swanson beef broth

skimpy butter (splurge, not on sale but Michael wants to make cookies today so there it is)

Dozen eggs (could have bought 2 dozen eggs for the price of that 1, but the ones on sale were out and we needed eggs for said cookies)

Bag of steamfresh mixed vegetables

Bag of steamfresh brown/wild rice with broccoli/carrots

24 frigo cheese sticks

2 roaster chickens (each 7 lbs)

12 pack of apple juice

2 packs of Materne squeezable applesauces (French and one of Michael's favorites)

Hallmark is next to my grocery store, so I popped in there.

I bought this game for Michael - an African animal quiz game along with a whole tube full of little African animals to play around with on the ground:
I also purchased 1 card to celebrate 1st communion, 1 small gift sac, Melissa and Doug's wooden fruit cutting tray, 5 Christian themed cards of various sentiments (birthday/sympathy/friendship), and a set of 10 thank you cards.

Grand total? $22 - AFTER taxes. Retail cost: $62

I was pretty proud of my deal finding. Brian thought that NO money should have been spent in the first place. Party pooper.

Target has some great grocery deals for my area this week. Milk at $2.96 (astronomically cheap for here - my milk normally costs me $4 a gallon). Plus some great $5 gift card deals, which when partnered with coupons basically ends up with some pretty great deals on personal care items. You can pretty much bet, I pay between $0.00 to $1 for each of our toiletries. Free for suave branded stuff - $1 for Aveeno/fancier brand stuff.

I don't think I have talked about how much I love couponing. It is really fun getting great deals on items I actually used. Like this week, I'll be getting 3 rolls of scotch tape for free at Walgreens when I partner printed coupons from 3M with the Walgreen coupons this week.

Money Saving Mom has changed my life and my spending habits and reintroduced to me the fact that I can get great deals on stuff and save a ton of money. :)

All - to buy paint for our rooms, nightstands, plants for the outside/etc. Oh yes - to pay for all the grownup things we need - like our water neutralization tank that busted. NICE.

How much are basic items in your area? Like a gallon of milk, a loaf of bread, a dozen eggs, 1 avocado, 2 lbs of strawberries, cost of bananas per lb. Let's see who answers this question!!!

Love,

P

I *heart* Longwood Gardens

I'm a big 'ole fan of the Longwood Gardens:

Spring is amazing there!

Pictures with No People

All of these pictures were taken on my deck - it gets a lot of use in the fall/spring times!

First up, Mother's Day! I had a great one! Went to church, had their brunch, was driven to Sephora to get face stuff I needed, then to Everything but the Kitchen Sink (closed, HRMPH), then Gateway nursery, then home to play baseball, piddle, organize myself for the week, then Brian made me this for dinner:

I'm a steak girl. It was DELICIOUS. Michael ate all of his sweet potatoes and squashes but he did not get filet mignon.

Next up, just pictures of things around my deck. I did a major rearrange today - because it is gorgeous outside and our deck/house needs some sprucing up.

Planted these guys myself! I love to garden florals. Absolutely shocking to me.

Planted these petunias too! Got the combo idea from Gateway garden center last weekend!

Spring has definitely sprung at the Besancon house!

Love,

P

Still Chugging Away

It takes a long time for me to proof things. First, there's the finding of the time to sit down at the computer. Michael's been taking 45 minute naps as of late = no time to proof then. But the real reason is because I'm pretty lazy. Oh yes, and I've been busy with this resale I'm helping to organize that is happening this Saturday.

But yes, still chugging away.

Michael at the Lincoln Memorial

Before the Family Picture

We always see the "good" family pictures on blogs. Here's what happened before our family picture at Camden Yards.

Mommy: "Michael, I am DONE asking nicely. Get over here for a picture."

Michael in his Head: "FiNE. I will come over there but I won't smile AND I'm going to put my mitt over my face."

Nilda's Easter Egg Hunt!

Yesterday, we went to a post Easter - Easter Egg hunt! It was originally supposed to happen before Easter, but it got rained out. This one was perfect:

Her backyard was amazing! Flat and full of grass. My favorite.

The kids had a great time playing in all the space and on all the toys.

Here's Michael helping Ms. Nilda distribute the eggs:
After the egg hunt, there was a bunny hop potato sack race:
And after that, water balloon time. Which then turned into: How many kids can you fit in a 10' diameter plastic pool:
Michael and I had a fantastic time and were thankful we were invited!

Still more posts - I guess we've been busy!

P

31 Days to Clean

For those who know me - I am not a "domestic diva." I hate to clean and can't say I am terribly good at it!

Well, here is a lady willing to help me.

Sarah Mae has written a book called: 31 Days to Clean

And she's giving a copy of her ebook for FREE if you post about it on your blog! So I am! I can't wait to see the tips she has to help people like me. Money Saving Mom posted about it and she's usually legit in her recommendations!

If you are interested in getting a free copy yourself, click on this link:

http://www.likeawarmcupofcoffee.com/home/2011/04/free-copy-of-31-days-to-clean/

You have until midnight!

P

Plumpton Park Zoo

On Monday, April 25, we met our friends (Tami - with Ashton/Ryan) at Plumpton Park Zoo to check it out. It was - different.

I think it was more of a farm than a zoo - however they had some of the big animals too. Here's a quick rundown:

• Black bear
• Tiger
• Various fast small cats.
• Giraffe
• Zebras.
• Donkeys
• Over half a dozen peacocks which roamed freely on top of cages and all over the "zoo"
• bison
• Cool chickens that look like they have wigs of hair. I didn't take a picture of it and can't even find a picture on google images! But they look like those chickens in cartoons/storybooks that have this huge mop of colored hair and you can't even see their eyes. SO funny!
• One smallish monkey
• An owl
• Lots of bamboo
• Some kind of small deer
• Cattle (somehow this made the zoo??)
• Llamas
• Camel
• Vocal turkeys

So seriously - it was built like a farm. With wire and wood and the paths were kind of muddy. But they had such a good variety of animals. I'm not sure they were in the best pens available and I'm sure PETA would have a field day at this zoo, but for how small it was, it sure did have a lot to look at and smell.

Some pictures from my phone:

Feeding the donkey with hay:

Michael has been dying to see a giraffe for months. Here he is with Ashton:

Ryan, Ashton's brother, gets in the picture too. Both Ryan and the giraffe did not cooperate:

It was hot. And by hot, I mean in the upper 70's and lower 80's! We packed a picnic and they had a great picnic area/park. The boys had a great time taking a bite of lunch and running to climb up something! Tami and I had a good time chatting it up!

It was a great way to spend a Monday out!

Ranger Baseball in Baltimore, MD

While I was away at my Christian Women's retreat, Brian planned us a vacation to Baltimore, MD! It was a fantastic idea. A great way to see the Bowmans (probably the last time before their move back to the big T-X) and also see a Rangers Ball game at Camden Yards against the Orioles!

Both families had sports activities in the AM on Sat 4/9 (Michael's first t-ball game) so we met in Baltimore in the afternoon. We started at the Maryland Science Center, which was great!

Charlie/Michael playing at the water display.

FACT: You are nothing as a children's museum in the USA if you don't have a water area:

Parents hanging out while children engage in independent play:
What Michael thinks of modern art, his playground:
After the Science center, we walked the Inner Harbor and our little guys made mischief of one kind and then another:
Dinner at Pizzeria Uno and then back to the hotel!

We had a pretty full day what with the t-ball, excitement about Baltimore leading to a non-nap, Science Center, eating out - Michael was a bit of a mess.

We checked into our hotel. I started arranging our stuff and turned around to find this:
Guess he was a little tired. Not too tired for pool time though! He went swimming with Charlie and the dads until 10pm. It is not a joke when you read that the vacation for kids is really the hotel pool.

We got adjoining hotel rooms, put the kids to bed in one room, and stayed up playing games in the other! I love AMERICA! It was a big slumber party and super fun!

Next day, breakfast at Caribou coffee after a "scenic" walk through downtown Baltimore. Then, off to see the Rangers play ball!
I love ball parks. So vintage americana - which I love for some reason:


Michael enjoyed his first foot long hotdog and foray into ball park food:
Best picture I could get of father and son after the game! Sorry!

And a picture of Michael's rug burn:
He was running too fast and lost control, fell, and skidded on his face. The "wound" in real life was a lot worse looking than in this picture! Poor kid. Only MY son would be the one to hurt himself while running in a hotel hallway.

We had a great time and were glad to spend some time with good friends from back home!

Can you tell which post had the most pictures to edit? Yea - the last post I am behind on! :)

Love,

P

YIPPEE!

So I've been staring at my baby grand piano wishing and hoping that one of two things would happen:

1) I'd get a spare moment when I could play and Michael wouldn't be banging on the keyboard next to me or yanking my arm down. This is rare as that would require Michael sleeping, at which point - I would not be practicing piano.

2) Michael would be interested in learning to play it.

He's had a passing interest and really only likes certain "lessons." I was feeling pretty dejected about the whole thing because I feel like the piano is wasting away.

Dramatic? Who? Me?

Today - Michael blew me away because he not only asked for a lesson - but he "played" a whole song. Not a real song. Like kid's memory of Mary had a little lamb.

But he flipped to a lesson that covered the value of a whole note. And he learned that in about 1/2 a second. Then, I covered a half note and a quarter note - and he learned that in about another half a second. Then I showed him a set of "measures," which in this preschool book - each measure is a section of a train. Each measure had different combinations of rhythms in it - quarter notes/half notes/whole notes.

And Michael played it. Right the first time. Values and everything. No melody though as it was always the same note, just at different values so kids could learn the values of each type of note.

We had the metronome going and while he wasn't exactly on the beat (Besancon in him coming through ) - he was pretty correct most of the time.

My son is sightreading!

I was so very impressed. He learned it so quickly and he was playing. And he got up and said, I'm going to practice that so I can show Daddy tonight!

Pretty happy for my little boy. When he wants to learn something - he's ON IT.

Now - reading - that's a different story. THAT has been like pulling teeth.

I'm not a mother to push things - when he's ready and interested - I'll be ready and waiting - because that's the best part about being a stay at home mom. I'm there. And I'll be ready to teach him/show him the next thing he wants to learn!

Until he starts asking me about moments diagrams in Civil engineering. THAT I have no idea about. I'll be refering him to his grandpa and his dad.

Yea - that's assuming he's going into a science or math field.

What? I'm asian aren't I?!?!