Tuesday, February 28, 2012

the cereal standoff

so the boy has graduated from the smaller bowls to regular size cereal bowls, the problem is he FILLS the bowl & then throws half of it away.  there is no pour 1/2 to 3/4 of a bowl & if he's still hungry pour more, no, no, no, it's all or none, don't want to waste that bowl space.

he's overfilled the bowl repeatedly & we have not been able to figure out a way to get him stop; no talk, no reasoning, no threats, nada.  finally one day i told him if he poured that much & put milk on it, he'd better eat it all, he continued on with is bowl of shredded wheat & so the day began.

he said he would eat it, but i knew it was too much.  i told him to put it in the fridge to keep in cold & to not let it sit very long bc the longer it sat the worse it would be.  i thought in an hour or so he would eat it, but he didn't.  lunch time came & went, the cereal was not eaten.  the day continued & it was time to get ready for a cub scout meeting but i told him he had to eat before we went, eat the cereal.  i was not going to let him gorge on snacks & treats without eating that darn bowl of cereal.

he refused, we didn't go to the meeting & the battle of the wills continued...
even B was impressed i hadn't folded by this time.

a couple of hours later he brought out the bowl, he tasted it & said it was gross.  surprise.  it took some time, but he did finally eat it.  i felt bad, but the line had been drawn in the sand & i had to stand my ground with him.  i know it seems harsh & ridiculous to have to do things this way, but honestly it made a difference.  he's gotten better with listening to me & he's definitely more mindful about wasting food.

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Z deoderant & the oh shit story

one day at the end of the school day Z's hair was jacked up.  it wasn't cut [been there, done that], but it was all a mess.  i asked him maybe the girls had been playing & fixing up each others' hair, then they got a hold of him; nope that wasn't it.  then he explained to me that he'd been hot the day before so this morning he'd put underarm deodorant on his head....

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the other day we went for one heck of a walk, actually it was a hike, 2 hours & miles do not equal a walk. anyways at the end of it B & I were in a heap, so we stopped at the park on the way home & Z ran into a couple of friends & played kickball.  [really, does he have to rub in all that darn energy?]

anyways, so Z kicks the ball & his shoe falls of & he says "oh shit!".  the were a ways of, so i asked B "did he just say that?" & B said "yes he did".  we let him play for a bit then we called the boy over & asked him about it.
B asked him where he heard it? - "from a movie/tv/whatever" [good answer]
Has he ever heard us say it? - "yes" [surprise]
Who says it more - "Poppa" [YES! & proof that he doesn't listen to a word i say....]

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the other day at target or walmart, Z & I were near the feminine hygiene area.  thankfully, i've managed to steer clear of this discussion for some time.  i always remember that was a signal of "it's time to no longer bring the boy into the lady's restroom with you" after the time he asked me about the tampon dispenser.  i told him it didn't have any candy btw.....

then there has been an occasional question at home but easily answered with "be happy you're a boy & you don't need to know anything about this."  however, this time at the store, he pointed to a box of pads & then he smiled funny so i asked him what that was about & he told me he knew what they were for & he pointed to the right area.  i left it at that.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Z updates bc we're so overdue for one....

well, let's see....right before christmas break, Z got in trouble at school & had it not been for that holiday, i'm pretty sure the teacher would have called us in for a talk.  luckily the break calmed & cleared everyone's head, i guess a 3 weeks will do that for you....thankfully.

Z got his 1st pair of glasses over the break, when he returned to school, his teacher even moved him from the front & center spot.  while i'm sure part of that was someone else was more deserving of her attn, it was good that it wasn't Z, even if only for a moment.

he did get a progress report; still not showing his work, not listening, not performing up to his abilities & behind in his AR testing.  [read child of B, not mine]

about week ago or so, the calls started up again.  i'm sure at least a part of it has something to do with B's new class schedule; 3 times a week Z goes to school before 8, when on regular days, he gets up at 8.  in this aspect the boy is like momma & he needs his sleep, lots & lots of it.  on the days B doesn't have school, he's had the chance to go in & talk with teacher, so we're working together.

again the boy is not showing his work, but one day when his teacher asked him why he didn't he told her "bc i don't want to" in front of the entire class, so he was sent to the principal's office.  he also went to the responsibility room where he did no work.  the spiral downward continued, bc that's what Z does.  i'm hoping he hit rock bottom & we're bouncing back, we'll see....

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

so we had an anniversary

yes, we did!

neighbor J watched the boy & although I wasn't feeling that great B had made reservations at that little french restaurant we used to go to a long time ago.  i was so glad considering recent economic times this place was still around.  B got the fish bc he's the chick & i got the beef wellington, cuz i'm the dude.  B wanted to go to the movies afterwards to watch "the vow" but i didn't want to rush dinner nor did i want to watch a sappy movie that was going to make me cry....[see chick/dude references].

it was nice to sit & have a relaxing dinner, the restaurant is not one to feed you & push you out the door.  B also noticed we were probably the youngest people in the restaurant & joked that we got the kiddie table.  we sat & talked for a bit after eating & although we'd decided to go to a coffeeshop, in my delirium i ordered tea so B got his espresso there.  I shouldn't be allowed to talk when i'm in that state.

B also got me some purdy roses, the yellow ones with the orange tips & a nice card.

the next evening Z asked if he could eat the left over b.wellington i brought home.  beings i wasn't feeling well the night before i didn't want to eat very much as it's quite rich.  Z didn't care for it, the meat was too rare, but beings it was there on the counter i tasted it again.  wow, was it ever good, yes, i had ordered it med-rare, but even re-heated it was still pretty red, so i understood why the boy didn't care for it.  however, it made me realize how off i was the night before.

i missed getting a card for B for our anniversary, but i got him one for valentine's day.  i didn't get a card for valentine's though, not that it was a big deal, more something we laughed about.  he did actually tell me when i was going to the store that if i wanted a card, i needed to buy one for myself.  i think i owe myself some valentine's day shoes or purse though...