H1N1

In October:

Me: So, have you guys heard of the H1N1?

Jackson: Yeah, kids were talking about it at school.

Me: It's nothing to be afraid of. It's a flu where you feel really bad for a few days. We're going to get shots so we hopefully won't get it.

Jackson: How does a shot stop you from getting it?

Me [wishing I had medical research scientist Husband around for back up]: Well they put dead virus in the vaccine and they inject it into your body. You body creates antibodies to the H1N1 virus and thinks you've already had it [hoping that I am even close]

Jackson: What?

Me: You get injected with dead vaccine and it tricks you body into thinking you have already had it and then you won't get it.

Jackson: That would be SOOOOO cool. Sydney, we're going to have shots that trick our bodies!!

Sydney: I don't want a shot.

One Week Later:

Jackson: Mommy, guess what we learned about in Sunday School. There was this guy, and he was really sick with the H1N1 and Jesus healed him. [pause] Actually it may not have been the H1N1.

Me: Was it leprosy?

Jackson: Yeah! Which is worse, leprosy or H1N1?

Me: Leprosy.

Jackson [disappointed]: Oh.

Two Weeks Later:

Jackson: Mommy, I told everyone at school that you have the H1N1.

Me: I have the sniffles.

Jackosn [disappointed]: Oh.

Three Weeks Later:

Me: We're going to try and get you guys the H1N1 vaccine today.

Jackson [pumping fist]: YES!!! [chanting] we're-gonna-trick-our-bodies-we're gonna-trick-our-bodies

One Hour Later:

Jackson: why is there blood coming out of Sydney's arm?

Sydney: I'M NEVER GETING A SHOT AGAIN!!!!  EVER!!!!

Jackson: Sydney, it's not that bad, we tricked our bodies. I think I can feel my body being tricked.

Two Weeks Later:

Sydney [looking at our very sick fish in aquarium.]: I think Anna has the H1N1

Pet Peeve Alert

Today, I could write about how the kids are fraying my last nerve or how I need to get the house tidied or how Jackson simply cannot spell hospitalized in the traditional way as is required in grade 3 spelling tests.

But instead, I'll unload on something trivial. 

I got a notice from the school today that they are doing a food drive for the needy in our community.  While I do get a little tired of the school dictating making suggestions as to where my charitable dollars could go, I actually like this idea. 

It is a great opportunity to remind the kids that many kids don't have a proper meal every day. Kind of put the complaints about lack of computer games in perspective.  They call this the "10 Days of Christmas" and the kids bring something every day for 10 days with a grocery category assigned to each day. For example on any given day "breakfast foods" or "baby items" might be assigned. So each day the kids bring something for 10 days.

My pet peeve is that I swear this is the fourth year in a row they are giving us two days notice of this in the middle of the week.  It's a complete fallacy to think that I would have much food on hand that would fit into the categories (and I need it times 2) especially when this starts on Thursday and my normal shopping day is Friday.

I actually like to make a point of going shopping with the kids so that they can pick things out. Makes it more personal.  A 48 hour window does not give me much time to shop with the Bickersons (remember, last frayed nerve?).

Now, one might point out that the FOURTH year in a row, I might fairly be expected to remember.  I did, kind of.  In fact yesterday I thought to myself  "I guess they are not doing the food drive this year".  As soon as I saw the email I had flashbacks of mid week shopping trip to the closest and most expensive grocery store.

But I will get my eye back on the ball because I know that there are kids that are hungry and mothers and fathers who can't feed them and that is something that is hard to comprehend.  And that is the important non trivial thing.

Phase In, Phase Out

As I have mentioned before, I have a few parenting mantras that get me through the rough patches. One such phrase is "no phase lasts forever, it only feels like forever". 

Fortunately, with two kids, the odds are that  both of them aren't going through an extremely challenging phase at the same time.  The fall is usually our best time of year. Both kids like the newness of the new school year.  We often have brief late September lull when the longer school days catch up with them, but with birthdays and Halloween in this period, they seem to regain equilibrium.

This year, however, in about early November, Jackson seemed to become less interested in two things: listening to his parents and playing with his sister. It's a coin toss which was less popular around here.

It felt like every time we had a request, we were exasperated, going to the mat and threatening consequences. He lost computer, TV and his DS at different times and once he lost all of them together.  At one point I took away "everything fun you could ever want to do in the day".  He would taunt me "you still haven't taken away the one thing that is important to me!".  I think that might be oxygen because I took away everything else.  He was going to sleep ridiculously late and the resulting fatigue no doubt was not contributing to harmonious parent-child relations the next day.

Add to this Jackson wanted to play less with his sister. To be honest, we've always been impressed with how much they have played together and even how much Jackson would play games that Sydney wanted. But lately, it's like he matured in his play preferences and suddenly Sydney's suggestions, even when playing Star Wars games, were rejected.

Sydney, Ms. Sensitive, did not take well to this rejection.  We had tears, pouts, feet stomping and slammed doors.

We tried to help the kids find a happy medium, taking turns playing each others games.  But when Jackson is not listening to us and Sydney is in pout mode, productive things just don't happen.  So Husband and I played more games and did more crafts with Sydney, which seemed to fill her void.

We wondered if this was the end of our kids as each other's best play mates? We knew it would happen sometime, but we were unprepared for it.

Then suddenly, this past week Jackson has gone all reasonable on us. He's done his spelling homework without complaint, he's listened to our instructions (and obeyed at least some of the time).  He has shared the computer without going to code red. 

And this weekend, he started playing together with his sister.  A lot. They played spies, made documentaries, dressed up, had a dance contest, created movies on the computer and played board games.  When they needed a snack then went to the kitchen and helped themselves.  In a major freak of excellent timing, this coincided with Husband's last trip of the year, so I could actually enjoyed their being independant while I watched football. (Grey Cup, you know.)

As if to remind me of just how good I had it all Sunday, well after 11 last night,  I went to turn out the hall lights and saw Jackson, still fully clothed, climbing into his bed with a book.

"Um, it's kind of time to be sleeping." I said.

"But I need to read my book". He has a whole schedule where he reads one chapter of Harry Potter and then one chapter of Geronimo Stilton.  He had the latter in his hand.

"Well, maybe you could read that tomorrow? It's 11:20!"

"No it's not. It's 11:18."

"Point is, it's late! It's a school night."

Mr. Reasonable curled up into a ball and cried.  I rubbed his back and hoped he might just fall asleep.  He didn't. He insisted on reading his book and I left exasperated.

Perhaps not unrelated to the late night reading session, this morning he was far less than reasonable. In order to get him to the dentist, I resorted to the Angry Mommy Voice. I told him the dentist would charge if we were late and it would come out of his allowance.  I carried him downstairs and when he started to run back up,  I had to threaten no DS until 2010.

Here's to hoping for the good phase again.  Or else I will have to threaten deferral of putting up the Christmas lights. The J Boy is nothing if he's not into the seasonal decorating.

From the Mouth of the Girlie Goo

Me: [reading a book with Sydney] What do you think will happen to that puppy-- he is playing with the bag of flour?

Sydney: Mommy. Isn't it obvious?

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Me: May I help you with that?

Sydney: No, I think I'll persevere.

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Me: Who is your favourite princess?

Sydney: Cindarella. I like Sleeping Beauty too, but she's such a Wannabe.

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Me: I'll be right back to help you with the craft. I just have to go to the bathroom.

[5 minutes later I am checking email on the computer]

Sydney: Mommy, what took you so long?

Me: I got distracted.

Sydney: I get distracted by the TV sometimes.

Me: Everyone gets distracted sometimes.

Sydney: You're not setting a very good example for your kids when you get distracted.

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Sydney [playing Star Wars beside her brother with Storm Trooper in one hand and Luke Skywalker in the other]:  Hello Luke Skywalker. I remember you! I met you in dance class?

Consistency

I know one of the alpha rules of parenting is consistency. And about some things, we are very consistent. The kids  know that they ALWAYS wear seat belts, ALWAYS wash up afte eating before they resume their play activities and Mommy ALWAYS has coffee in the morning.  If they forget any of these cardinal rules, we remind them.

However, we have been less than consistent about the eating of vegetables and the brushing of teeth.  The vegetable thing may be the subject of a whole other confessional blog, but today I'm gonna talk about teeth.

Somehow we have had a hard time making this happen every evening and every night. The mornings can be rushed, the evenings can be wrestling matches and somehow the teeth cleaning thing didn't always happen.

We have toothbrushes in three bathrooms, including the noxious blue kid toothpaste, in the hopes that more opportunity would lead to more brushing of teeth. It worked for a while. 

When Jackson had two mini cavities a couple years ago, our dentist told us that with excellent dental hygiene, he wouldn't have to have them filled before the time those baby teeth fell out.  A year later we were at the pediatric dentist getting metal caps on two teeth.

We redoubled our efforts and made tooth brushing a family priority.  For a while. 

I wondered if we could ever instill better brushing habits in our offspring.

Then suddenly, this fall it happened. The kids are brushing their teeth twice a day. Every day.  And they are dong a good job of it.

I'm not sure why. It may be that I am on the a.m. before school routine 4 days a week instead of the 2 or 3 of the past few years, so it's easier for me. Or that Sydney is older and she remembers on her own sometimes. Or that Jackson has developed his own nighttime routine and has voluntarily put tooth brushing into it.  The more they were doing it, the more we remembered to remind them on the days they forgot.

And I just got home from the dentist and clean bill of tooth health for both of them. 

The only problem with the improved brushing is that  we are spending a lot more on toothpaste and I am now spending a lot more time cleaning bathrooms.  And because they brush their teeth in at least two bathrooms, you will see what I am up against:

Addendum:

Jackson was in the bathrom this evening and I asked if he had finished brushing his teeth.

"No" he responded "I had to clean the sink. Did you see how much tooth paste was all over the sink?"
I assured him I had.

"No really  Mommy. There was a ton."

Who knew he would notice.

Math Brain

I have always had a head for numbers. I always did well in math, it has served me well being a tax lawyer and most especially balancing my cheque book.

Yesterday I was in Jackson's class for "not-so-noisy-math". A few parents play math games with the kids with a view to increasing their facility with numbers.

The game of choice yesterday was rolling dice, making two digit numbers and adding them up. So eventually they are adding up a 3 digit number and a 2 digit number.

The grade three's had a white board to work out the answers or they could use a hundred's chart. I had to do it in my head. Generally this was not too hard for me as the grade three triple digit addition is emerging so I had time to work out the answer. But one girl in the class was pretty quick and did it in her head. She was adding 126 and 43.

"169" she said as the teacher watched on.

"Not quite" I said.

"159?" she tried.

"Yes!" I was impressed with this kid's skills.

But it didn't seem right. "I think that's right", I said, trying to remember what numbers she was adding so I could double check.

"Actually, I think it is 169" the teacher said.

Apparently my addition skills are also emerging.

The Perfect Number: 8

The J Boy has officially lived 8 years on the planet. Sydney and I began his day by singing happy birthday to him. He gave us both a warm hug tht melted my heart. He gave me a great gift in that he not only complied with all my unreasonable morning requests (get dressed, brush your teeth) but he failed to notice that we left his box of brand new Star Wars toys at Oma and Opa's last night so we had no extra curricular meltdowns.

He of course spent his day at school but I brought cookies for the class to celebrate and he received many well wishes from his classmates and teachers.

The birthday boy was most excited about our family dinner at Red Robin's tonight as he knew he was getting a new DS game for his birthday. The reason he knew this is that the last few weeks when he's been particularly obstinate about any number of issues I have threatened to take away his DS and added "I happen to know that you're getting a new game for your birthday and if would be a real shame if you couldn't play it for a whole week". I have milked that one significantly.

Yesterday he started a casual cross examination over which game it might be. After a dozen "no comments" I told him that it wasn't a game that he had talked about. Which was a blatant lie. It's one he talked about very much: Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story.

Today I could not resist the urge to wind him up further.

"Jackson, wouldn't it be cool to have a DS game where you could actually grow a garden? And then after you grew all the vegetables, you could make a salad?"

That gave him pause for concern. Fortunately for me Jackson had forgotten very similar hi jinx that I had pulled on Sydney's birthday.

Later I let it "slip" that the game was "Garden Mania", and then berated myself that I could not keep a secret. I lamented that I would never be a spy.

I did reassure him and Daddy and I checked out the game and it was a great one for 8 year olds.

"Do you know how the game works? Are you sure it's good for 8 year olds?" he queried.

Later he astutely asked me "did you read about the game from the people that made it or the interviewers?" The kid knows a thing about impartiality vs. self interested promotion.

"The reviewers", I reassured him.

All the subtrefuge was all worth it:

Dinner was quiet as Sydney tried to learn as much as she could:

A little birthday dessert:

The J Boy.
Then:

And now: