The older kid thread

[973beachbum]

Dec 21, 2012 11:28:09 GMT -5 Chocolate Lover said:

I don't do teacher gifts. Call me cheap or whatever, I just don't do it.

I don't do Teacher presents either. It just seems crazy considering how much they are paid. I do give gifts to the bus drivers and aides though.

My son did do cards for everyone.

[Wisconsin Beth]

For the love of God, Honey, I'm at work. What exactly do you want me to do about it? Come home and put the car seat in for you?

[kgb18]

I got Avery's preschool teachers gift cards to Starbucks. Judging by what I've seen of that class, bottles of vodka probably would have been more appropriate.

[sbcalimom]

This is the girls first year in daycare/preschool so I wasn't sure what to do but I decided to get their main teachers a Target gc and these cute little organizer tote things that I put chocolate inside of. I think combined it was about $25-30 per teacher but they each only have one main teacher. I probably won't do something so elaborate every year but this year I really wanted to let them know how much I appreciate everything they've done to help the girls transition to their preschool/daycare situations. My original plan was to make something but I never got around to finding a cake store in Albuquerque so I don't have what I need. Maybe for spring assuming I get my act together by then.

[Wisconsin Beth]

The kids had a blast, tearing open presents. We've got 1 more party with presents to go to, my family on Sunday. I'm glad I'm home today because the kids are overtired and overstimulated.

[kgb18]

Quick story: Christmas Eve mass at 5 p.m. Avery wouldn't be quiet, wouldn't sit still. She was as badly behaved as she's ever been in church. I had to take her to the potty once, and I explained (yet again) while we were in the bathroom that once we went back inside she had to be quiet, there's no talking in church, etc.

We're sitting there and all of the sudden she gets off of her chair and sits on the floor. I looked down and whispered, "Get off the floor and sit in your seat." She looked up at me and said, "Shhh. Be quiet. There's no talking in church." I wanted to ring her little neck.

[Wisconsin Beth]

I spent most of Christmas service in the crying/family room with the kids. The rest either in the nave or the bathroom. It was DH's church so I'm glad he got to listen to the sermon and stuff. I didn't make Midnight Mass. Too much wine and too tired.

[telephus44]

oh, kgb18, that's awful!

[Deleted]

We give DS' parents gift cards to a local shopping mall with theaters, book stores, restaurants, etc. They have been his teacher for three years now and keep him early or late if I have something personal going on. They've also invited me to dinner as a friend.

[Wisconsin Beth]

I was clipping tags off clothing the kids got for Christmas last night. I put the scissors down and the next thing I knew was that Cabe was yanking on my hair and I heard a snip. Yep, the little snot chopped off some of my hair. Between 4-6 inches. Thankfully he didn't get too much. But still!

Oh and BIL suggested that we get Cabe tested for ADHD, as he (BIL) is convinced FIL has/had it too. No one responded to him when he said it. Me, because I didn't want to go there and DH because of his personal views.

[Chocolate Lover]

Beth, I think you might get him diagnosed but at his age, there's not much else you're going to get to do. Most insurance won't pay for ADD meds until he's 6. DS was obviously ADD, you could tell but even though we saw someone and did all the testing all we really could do was read the recommended book and try that and wait.

DS really does need the meds, Cabe may or may not. I was thankful that DS got all the way through Kindergarten without getting kicked out of school. He threatened to shoot his PE coaches and hit the vice principal and had to be physically pulled out from under the table more than once. It was horrible.

[Wisconsin Beth]

Some days he seems like a normal kid, other times not. I think he had a developmental leap the last couple of months. He's listening better, it seems to me at least.

[Chocolate Lover]

That's good. DS listens halfway at best, even with his medicine, but it's leaps and bounds ahead of where he was. His behavior at school has improved 100%, so I'm really thankful for that. It could be so much worse.

Having a SIL who likes her head in the sand about her kid's issues, if you think he has one (of any kind); do what you need to do when he's younger and easier to handle. My nephew is going to be bigger than his mother one day and she'll have NO options left, you know?

I don't know what your DH's views are, I missed that. SIL makes me want to encourage everyone a little too much to make sure they deal with anything ASAP, so YMMV.

[NastyWoman]

Dec 26, 2012 14:10:22 GMT -5 kgb18 said:

Quick story: Christmas Eve mass at 5 p.m. Avery wouldn't be quiet, wouldn't sit still. She was as badly behaved as she's ever been in church. I had to take her to the potty once, and I explained (yet again) while we were in the bathroom that once we went back inside she had to be quiet, there's no talking in church, etc.

We're sitting there and all of the sudden she gets off of her chair and sits on the floor. I looked down and whispered, "Get off the floor and sit in your seat." She looked up at me and said, "Shhh. Be quiet. There's no talking in church." I wanted to ring her little neck.

this is what stories you'll recount for years are made off. believe me, it is times like this that are funny from the safe distance of time
Enjoy and remember --- after getting over po'd of course

[Wisconsin Beth]

Dec 27, 2012 16:48:55 GMT -5 Chocolate Lover said:

I don't know what your DH's views are, I missed that. SIL makes me want to encourage everyone a little too much to make sure they deal with anything ASAP, so YMMV.

His views are backward, wrong, insulting and lacking in science.

[Chocolate Lover]

Dec 28, 2012 8:17:57 GMT -5 Wisconsin Beth said:

Dec 27, 2012 16:48:55 GMT -5 Chocolate Lover said:

I don't know what your DH's views are, I missed that. SIL makes me want to encourage everyone a little too much to make sure they deal with anything ASAP, so YMMV.

His views are backward, wrong, insulting and lacking in science.

LOL! So, he doesn't "believe in ADD" like it's a religion or something?

[973beachbum]

Dec 27, 2012 16:48:55 GMT -5 Chocolate Lover said:

That's good. DS listens halfway at best, even with his medicine, but it's leaps and bounds ahead of where he was. His behavior at school has improved 100%, so I'm really thankful for that. It could be so much worse.

Having a SIL who likes her head in the sand about her kid's issues, if you think he has one (of any kind); do what you need to do when he's younger and easier to handle. My nephew is going to be bigger than his mother one day and she'll have NO options left, you know?

I don't know what your DH's views are, I missed that. SIL makes me want to encourage everyone a little too much to make sure they deal with anything ASAP, so YMMV.

DH absolutely refused to let DS go on meds. That is why we waited so long. DS is crazy smart but he gets so distracted he is a hazard to himself let alone fun to be around. It finally got to the point where I was always afriad he would get run over by a car because he forgot to look before running into traffic. And I don't mean at 4 years old either.

I finally got to the point where I told DH he had to come up with an actual plan to solve the problems or I was going ahead and taking him to the Dr's for the eval and possibly meds. He was literally the kid who blind Martians could tell he was ADHD but they did a full eval and pretty much laughed and asked why it took so long.

When I gave the report to DH he still said no kid of his was going to go on the meds. I was at the point where either DS went on the Dr's medication or I left him alone with DH. Refusing to let anything be done isn't a solution it is just childish IMO.

The funny thing now is that DH is the first to make sure DS takes his meds in the morning.

[Deleted]

I tell DH that all the time he's not going to dictate rules and then not be around (or willing) to carry them out. It's easy for HIM to try ground the kids for the weekend on a Friday afternoon just before he goes bowling. GRRRRR.....

[Wisconsin Beth]

my dad used to ground us and mom would pretty much unground us as soon as she realized why we staying in the house. she wasn't going to be stuck with US inside during summer or on weekends...

[kgb18]

Avery cracks me up. You can't get anything by her.

The other day she was eating lunch and said to me, "Is that my bedtime candy?" It was the melatonin we've been giving her at bedtime. We just told her she gets a candy at bedtime. It sits up on the counter. I said, "Yes." She said, "I only get it at bedtime, not in the daytime." I said, "Yes, just at bedtime." She said, "What does it do?" I didn't really answer her. I couldn't believe it would occur to her that it does something or there's a reason she's taking it.

Then, yesterday she saw our honey container was really low. For some reason this concerned her greatly. Why, I don't know because I can't get her to try honey. I told her I would put it on my grocery list. The next thing I know, Avery brought my my iPhone, had the "Notes" app open (which I use to keep my grocery list) and said, "Here's your grocery list, mommy. You can put the honey on it." She's such a funny kid.

[Chocolate Lover]

Dec 28, 2012 13:09:10 GMT -5 973beachbum said:

Dec 27, 2012 16:48:55 GMT -5 Chocolate Lover said:

That's good. DS listens halfway at best, even with his medicine, but it's leaps and bounds ahead of where he was. His behavior at school has improved 100%, so I'm really thankful for that. It could be so much worse.

Having a SIL who likes her head in the sand about her kid's issues, if you think he has one (of any kind); do what you need to do when he's younger and easier to handle. My nephew is going to be bigger than his mother one day and she'll have NO options left, you know?

I don't know what your DH's views are, I missed that. SIL makes me want to encourage everyone a little too much to make sure they deal with anything ASAP, so YMMV.

DH absolutely refused to let DS go on meds. That is why we waited so long. DS is crazy smart but he gets so distracted he is a hazard to himself let alone fun to be around. It finally got to the point where I was always afriad he would get run over by a car because he forgot to look before running into traffic. And I don't mean at 4 years old either.

I finally got to the point where I told DH he had to come up with an actual plan to solve the problems or I was going ahead and taking him to the Dr's for the eval and possibly meds. He was literally the kid who blind Martians could tell he was ADHD but they did a full eval and pretty much laughed and asked why it took so long.

When I gave the report to DH he still said no kid of his was going to go on the meds. I was at the point where either DS went on the Dr's medication or I left him alone with DH. Refusing to let anything be done isn't a solution it is just childish IMO.

The funny thing now is that DH is the first to make sure DS takes his meds in the morning.

Beach, my "joke" was medicate him or medicate me. One of us needs it.

[Chocolate Lover]

kgb, that's too cute about adding to the grocery list. Maybe she wanted to show you that she can run your phone too?

[Wisconsin Beth]

Dec 31, 2012 15:56:37 GMT -5 Chocolate Lover said:

kgb, that's too cute about adding to the grocery list. Maybe she wanted to show you that she can run your phone too?

Yeah. We do the grocery list on a white board in the kitchen, broken down by stores. If Keira asks me about something, I tell her we need to put it on the grocery list. And she remembers when we get home better than I do!

[kgb18]

Avery fell and slammed her forehead off of her bed yesterday. I saw it happen but couldn't stop it. Fortunately she's just got a big lump. But I was so worried all day yesterday. I didn't put her down for a nap. I kept asking her how many fingers I was holding up, which she seemed rather bemused about. She was really happy about the no nap thing. I'm just hoping she doesn't get it in her head that she can cry boo boo and get out of naps all the time.

[Chocolate Lover]

I take it all is well then kgb.

Once when my youngest was about 2, we lived in a 2 BR apartment with 3 kids. There was a toddler bed in the master bedroom, about 2 or 3 feet from the master bed. He decided it'd be a good idea to jump back and forth between them. The older kids came downstairs with a dishtowel stuck on the back of his head, he'd fallen and managed to catch the back of his head on the corner of the metal frame of our bed. I forget how many stitches that was. By the time he got the stitches, he'd stopped bleeding and was goofing around in the ER waiting room.

[Wisconsin Beth]

Keira got a cumulative total of 15 Princess Barbies for Christmas. Plus 2 Ken. And a boatload of hand-me-down Barbies and other odds and ends. I tossed about 1/2 of the bag. But the kid's got at least 30 Barbies now and I only bought her 2! lol.

[Chocolate Lover]

That's a lot of Barbies......

[kgb18]

She's fine today. I would have passed out if she had bled. I don't handle blood very well. I panic. She fell last year and bashed her mouth off of the floor. It didn't require a doctor's trip, but it was ugly looking. I was so glad DH was home to help.

ETA
LOL beth. Avery is so uninterested in dolls. She got a Thomas the Tank Engine. My grandmother gave Avery a collectible doll that my parents gave her 30 years ago. She likes her, but I also discourage her playing with her because she's a collectible, but soft, not glass.

[Wisconsin Beth]

Jan 2, 2013 15:12:28 GMT -5 Chocolate Lover said:

That's a lot of Barbies......

Yeah and my older nieces (18-20) were telling her that every Barbie needs her own Ken doll.

She got a 5 doll set from MIL and a 10 doll set from her godmother.

*-*-*-
KGB, I'm glad Avery's better.

[Wisconsin Beth]

Lately, Keira wants every stuffed toy in her bed. Cabe's not much better. And they notice if they're missing one so it's really hard to sneak one off the bed.