Mommathon

Both of the boys have had their first lesson with our new violin teacher. She does things a little differently and wasn’t shy about telling me that she thought her way was better and why she thought it was better. She has thirty steps she takes the kids through. I think she is going to start Colm back at the very beginning which is fine. I am not sure what she is going to do with Liam. I talked to Liam about how it might be kind of hard at first to do things differently, but that his teacher knows and I know that he is used to doing things a certain way and we will all just have to be patient with one another. I just don’t want him to get discouraged. We also went to one of the group lessons and these kids play much more quickly than he is used to. I don’t know if he is going to be playing with the older kids all the time, but I hope not. I was so proud of him for trying to keep up with them, but he wasn’t doing well and he isn’t going to learn if he is just trying to keep up…which he wasn’t…not even close. I did explain to him how they were able to play so quickly, so we have been working on that. He just isn’t there yet and that is okay. He’s five. His teacher also has a different way of practicing at home which has been a nice change of pace. After practicing the same way for
2 1/2 years, it is nice to do something a little different. I hope this teacher works out. There aren’t a lot of good ones out there. Our first one was great, but just wasn’t working out. Time will tell.

At the age of four Liam did not know what a gun was. Since the discovery of Star Wars that has definitely changed. All of the little Star Wars figures come with some sort of teeny tiny little weapon whether it be a light saber, gun or laser thingy. The boys don’t walk around acting like they’re randomly shooting people (usually), but if they (especially Colm) hear somebody make a sound that even remotely sounds like what their gunshooting sound sounds like…it’s all over. Perfect example. The other night the boys and I were standing outside preschool talking to two other moms and their boys. One of the boys made a gun sound and they all started in. What is that? Is it genetic?

Tonight we were eating dinner and I was explaining to Liam that the reason he was eating different fishsticks than normal was because of sustainable fishing practices and that the fishsticks he used to eat did not meet the guidelines for sustainable fishing. He thought about it for a bit and asked if farmers could use a gun to shoot the fish they want to eat so that they don’t hurt any of the other fish. He thought about it a little bit longer and decided that wouldn’t work…it would only make a big explosion in the water.

When I send Liam to kindergarten each morning he is flesh-colored. When I pick him up each day he is black and gray. Seriously! His toes and feet are filthy! His wrists and forearms are disgusting! How is he getting this way? Recess. He, Solomon and Jacob spend both of their recesses making volcanoes out of the playground mulch. I can just see them digging on their hands and knees up to their elbows in mulch. (Their playground mulch is the bouncy kind that is like shredded black rubber.) I can tell they wash their hands, because that is the only part of him that is not dingy. You should see his bath water!
Oh well, at least he is making friends and having a good time.

Liam has had a loose tooth since May. That’s three months! It FINALLY came out tonight. It took a little coaxing, but we finally got it to come out. It has been hanging by a thread for the last ten days or so, just laying on its side. It was kind of gross. Two weeks ago, Liam would never have tolerated the amount of coaxing it took for me to get that tooth out of his mouth. (I hardly had to do anything, he just likes to be dramatic about the whole thing.) But now he has some peer pressure. He has some fellow kinders who have also lost teeth and he wants to join the gang. Most importantly, his new friend, Solomon, has lost a tooth. So, I guess the tooth fairy will not be passing over our house tonight, but will be stopping in-finally.