Filed under general

Just felt like doing a general update kinda thing. Or rather, just felt the need to clear my head.

My little monkey has been a bit under the weather lately. He has been extremely clingy and mommy-oriented. And while I am loving all the extra cuddle time, the whining and throwing monster temper tantrums has gotten a bit much. Today, I brought him in from the porch and he threw himself on the floor, kicking, flailing, screaming at the top of his lungs, and generally pitching the biggest tantrum I have ever personally experienced from one of my children. It was so not fun. I ended up holding him in my lap to calm him down. I begged, I pleaded, I sang, I tried everything I could think of to get him to stop (for the love of all that is right in the world, and my ears, oh my goodness, the screaming was loud) except the one thing I knew would work- taking him back outside. I refused to give in; I do have my standards after all.

But finally, when it occurred to me to sing a different song, he quieted. The song that worked for the king of all tantrum throwers? Larry Boy. Not the original theme song, but the one from the Bad Apple. It used to be Monkey's favorite movie. Now, he only likes the song. I had forgotten exactly how much. Once I started singing, only a few words in, he got completely still. It took singing it four times through before he was finally calm enough to actually get off my lap.

And then, after bath, he fell asleep in my arms, almost an hour before bedtime. Sigh, I guess I didn't realize how under the weather he's been feeling.

Isn't he precious?

Then, there's my stubborn middle son, Frog. Last night, I told him to go take a bath, and he said he wanted to take a shower. But I told him I already had the bath water so it was a bath night. He started crying like his world was falling apart. I took his clothes off and put him in the tub. Then I went and got my mother because I was at the end of my rope with him. He's really hit a stage of "I want to be in charge" and I don't like it so much. But then, he can be so very sweet. He gives me kisses and cuddles all the time. He is definitely my touchy-feely boy. He has a blanket, oh my, is it worn. But he loves it. That and his thumb. I'm trying to get better about not letting those two out of the bedroom. So far, I'm not winning. I'm thinking about trying one of those ointments that you put on the thumb that tastes bad, but I think Frog is too hard-headed. He'd probably just go wash it off.

He started soccer a few weeks ago. The first practice, he sat on the ground, leaning on Hub for the first half of practice. The second practice, my mom took him. She got her first taste of being the weird homeschooler. One of the moms was talking to her and school came up. Mom said we homeschooled, and she said that the other woman didn't reply and walked off. Niiiice.

Mom said he was slow to warm up to practicing that time, too. So, when he had his first game last Saturday, I wondered whether he would actually play. Imagine my surprise (and delight) when he turned out to be a ringer. This is the first time he has played any sports, and he played like he had been doing it all his 4 1/2 years. He scored two goals in the first 3 minutes of the game! He had a blast! Hub and I aren't sports people, so we wondered what the boys would be like in that respect. Dino is probably going to be like his parents but the other two, not so much. In any case, I am just glad Frog enjoyed himself.

We have been doing some schoolwork here and there. I have a pre-K curriculum for him from Sonlight. He likes it. We don't do it on a daily basis. Sometimes, we do several days at once, sometimes, we go a few weeks without doing anything. But he is eager to learn right now, though a perfectionist. He will sit and work on writing the alphabet and if a letter isn't perfect, he will try again and again. When he was first learning to write his name, he would get so frustrated because he couldn't make the S come out the way he wanted. Even now, the S is backwards, but he has learned to let that one slide.

And I am learning to let some things slide, too. I keep comparing Frog to Dino. Logically, I know they are different, but I keep saying (to myself and Hub) Dino could/couldn't do this at this age. I do it more with the school work because I remember doing some of the same worksheets with Dino and he was not as physically coordinated at this stage. And I am realizing even more that they are different and Monkey is, too, and that as their teacher (and especially as their mom) I have to remember and appreciate their differences, and learn what their strengths and weaknesses are in order to help them. I'm getting there.

Then there's my Dino. Oh my, how much that boy is growing up. And he's getting so independent. He wants to do so much for himself. Not always things I want him doing for himself, but wow! The fact that he wants to is so amazing! The thing that makes me nuts right now is going to the bathroom (in public) by himself. Ahhhhh!!!!! I only let him at church, and even then, I am right there. I'm not sure at what age I will feel like it's safe for him to go into a mens room all alone, (8, 10, 12, never?) but I don't think 6 is old enough. It is hard that he looks much older than six, but I still think of him as my little baby.

And goodness, he's not a baby anymore! Next week, he'll be taking his first year-end school test. Legally, I haven't even had to register as a homeschooler (will do that this summer), but I wanted to go ahead and test him to just see where we are. At the moment, I can't remember which tests we're using. A friend, who is our homeschool group's unofficial leader, ordered the tests and will be administering Dino's. I'm nervous for him, but I know that he will be fine. He is one smart little fella. I talked to a friend who teaches first grade in one of the local schools. From what she said, he is right on track, if not a bit ahead in some areas. Being that I am so new to homeschooling, I have been worried that I am not doing everything I need to, but I am starting to realize that sometimes, I just have to chill out. I need to trust that I am doing it right. I trust that God has let us know that this is the right decision for our family, so I have to trust that He knows I can do it.

And Dino is so bright! He wanted to read to us tonight. He got out his Bible Reader and went to the Resurrection story. (something we have not read yet) He didn't know every single word, but he has an amazing ability to get a word using context. Tonight, he read "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you." We had never gone over receive and he got it anyway, first time!

I'm telling you, I have three jenious jenius genious genius sons!!!