Something To Smile About - The Sequel

The Tooth Fairy is awfully busy around here this week!

I was on the phone when Domino lost his latest tooth. I was shocked by the amount of blood that was pouring out of his mouth - considering just how loose that tooth was. It was hanging on by a thread!
Domino took it very well. We rinsed his mouth out with water for about 5 minutes and then I had him bite down on a cold wet wash cloth for about 10 more minutes. It still looks gnarly and slightly oozy if you ask me...


Rascal on the other hand did not handle the event well. He's aware now that the Tooth Fairy will not be delivering him any silver dollars and he's making it very clear he's pissed and he thinks "it's not fair". I told him if he should happen to lose a tooth between now and bedtime, I'm sure the Tooth Fairy would hook him up with a silver dollar too.


He's now holed up in his bedroom, probably pouting and wiggling all his teeth.

Something To Smile About

I can't believe it! Rascal has lost his first tooth!


Go figure - he waited until I went to pick Domino up from school and he was alone with Tonester. I can't believe I missed it...

I hear he was a trooper. Bit into a cookie at Safeway and out it popped. He was calm and happy, unlike when his brother lost his first tooth. Tonester said he just sort of spat it out and said "Daaadddd.... I lost a tooooooo-oooooooooth. Hello? Are you listening to me? I said I lost my toooooooo-ooooooooth!"

The tooth looks so tiny in the big red Tooth Fairy envelope.

My little baby is really growing up.


Now if Domino would just get that tooth that is dangling out of his mouth by the end of today then the Tooth Fairy could make just one trip...

Learning To Learn

Something's going on with Domino. His teacher pulled me aside again yesterday (this is the 3rd time since the winter break) to discuss some classroom observations and wanted my take on the situation.

1st grade is tough for him. The curriculum is still far too easy for his abilities, but the teacher is forcing him beyond and he's breaking down. We're discovering that Domino doesn't know "how to learn".

Most kids you teach "how to learn". They go through steps, they learn through a process, information is learned in pieces and that information gathering and sorting sets up a problem solving process they will use repeatedly to learn more things down the road in life. Domino has never really had that process. He somehow magically learned to read early in life but we never taught him. We never sat down and said "sound this word out". He just shocked us by reading a book to us when he was 3 - a book we had never read to him before - and has continued to do so. Math has come just as easy, noticing patterns in numbers, and with an ability to recognize 4+ digit numbers during his first year of preschool. Kindergarten was a breeze and I knew that his growth would be social and not academic, and that was certainly what he needed at that time.

Here we are struggling academically in first grade. He isn't struggling with the 1st grade curriculum, but the special projects his teacher has designed for him because of his advanced academic level. The projects aren't really anything out of the ordinary, but they do require him to plan, research, take notes, determine the best way to present his findings to his class and then give an oral report. This is torture for the boy who just wants to zip through a pile of dittos and go play with his dog. And it's rough on me because I'm struggling "teaching him how to learn". He can't seem to grasp the idea that his project won't be completed in 10 minutes - but in 10 days.

Day one of the project research usually goes ok, there's still an excitement level and an interest in the topic (he gets to pick what "he wants to be an expert on") and it's fun to talk about different ideas. But the nitty gritty of the project, the research, the taking notes, the transferring the notes into a more formal writing, the "creative" part creating posters or other visual aides - it's all hell all the time. We fight, he screams and cries, I yell - it's awful. The process continues for days and days while "he" works on the project. And I end up pretty much spoon feeding him what he needs to write and do, completely defeating the entire process.

The good news is, the teacher is not letting him (or me) off the hook and we're going to continue to work on this skill with him. We have to engage that part of his brain and personality to shift and grow. That's the goal anyway...

On a much happier note, the boys had a great night last night. Rascal's school had a fundraising "night out" and he and Domino had a blast. They both used to go to this school together a few years ago and it was so wonderful to see them dive in and and play together again. Domino was totally comfortable there and Rascal thrilled in showing him all the new stuff that has come to the school since Domino's time there. Mz. Lori commented that they boys were glued to each other all night - not out of insecurity but through excitement and wanting to share all of their wonderful discoveries with the other.

Mz. Lori raved about Domino, said how enthusiastic and postive he still is. She said his imagination was thrilling and it was wonderful for me to remember even though he's struggling a bit with his new challenges - he's still my little Domino who used to ride the fire truck bicycle for hours at a time, launch ping pong ball catapults yelling "kaboom!" and just "played to learn".

The Flip (Video) Side

It's hard to be cranky when you have this to end your day every night.

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Valentine's Day Savings

Convinced the kids to make cards out of our stash of pink construction paper: $8 saved
Convinced the kids to stay home and play Playstation instead of going to the movies: $40ish
Convinced Tonester that we should send the kids to Grandma's for the evening and we should have a quiet dinner at home with steaks from our freezer instead of going to Black Angus: $60+
Convinced Tonester to bypass the video rental and watch our DVRd shows: $5
Convinced Tonester that we shouldn't buy each other anything for Valentines day: $50+

Total savings? Well over $150. And the day? Awesome.

Vicious Circle

I have to say, Tonester's and my communication isn't what it used to be. The times we're together seem to be focused on our personal financial crisis. We're barking at each other for minor transgressions like - I have a light on in the kitchen while I'm at the laptop, he turns it off complaining about wasting electricity (aka $) but since I don't particularly enjoy squinting at handwritten faxes in the dark trying to read and type, we fight about it. A light. It's ridiculous. Neither of us can win.

This stress is now rubbing off on the boys. Rascal is constantly talking about money, how much things cost, can we buy that, do we have enough for that, "I'll share my piggy bank with you" (heartbreaker!). Domino's teacher pulled me aside and asked if I had noticed anything different with him at home. Yes. He's been a complete pain in the butt lately.

I think the stress levels at home have triggered a flare up of Domino's sensory intergration issues at school. He's distracted, can't focus and even though "he is one of the brightest in the class, he's struggling to complete his work". To help him with his sensory issues, I have been sending him to bed an hour earlier and sending him to school with his hat to cut out extra visual stimulation from above. Domino's classroom is beautiful, exciting and engaging - but total overload if you're a kid with SID. I spoke with the teacher yesterday and she has said he's making great improvements since I've implemented those changes. Hurray for that.

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Yesterday we had our taxes done (thanks for the IOU California! You suck!). I met Tonester there after dropping the boys off with his sister. After the taxes were done, I headed home solo to prepare for a school PTA meeting that night and assumed Tonester would follow shortly with the boys. But he didn't. I enjoyed the quiet of the house for a little while but I then realized that they wouldn't be home before I had to leave for my meeting at 6. And my "mom math" knows that was bad. There were dinners for them to eat, homework to do, baths to have, bedtime stories to tell - and it all needed to happen in less than 1 hour to keep in tune with Domino's new bedtime schedule. I left at 6 without a sight/sound of them.

Domino told me this morning that they all stayed up late watching Wipeout and he didn't go to bed until almost 9pm. 2 hours late on a school night. Didn't do his homework. Didn't do his daily independent reading. Didn't have a bath. Didn't brush his teeth. Tonester drove Domino to school this morning and because it's raining, Tonester decided that Domino didn't need his hat. Forget the fact that hat is to be worn INSIDE to eliminate the visual stimulation from above, he just blew it off.

I feel sabotaged. Tonester and I should be on the same team, but it feels like we're not.

Tonester really is the best husband I could have ever dreamed of, best father I could have hoped for. I know that his time with the boys (especially Domino) is few and far between these days and he wants to enjoy it as much as possible, but "checking out" for the night and ignoring your parental responsibilities so you can watch TV sucks. It perpetuates the ongoing "good cop bad cop" situation we've got going on in our house and it's not fair. To me. To the boys. It sets up 2 different sets of behavior standards and expectations and it's confusing.

Ok, so I don't know where this post is going. I guess it is sort of representative of what is going on here these days.... one stress leads to another, to another, to another - in a vicious circle.

Did I mention that Rascal has a very loose tooth?! The Tooth Fairy budget in the house has now doubled...