Mommathon

I went to a self-defense class tonight. It was so empowering. We got to simulate kicking the crap out of an attacker. I don’t know if I would remember ANYTHING we were taught tonight in the event of a real attack, but I hope that I would. If you have not taken a class like this I highly recommend it. He taught us how to attack in a way that will throw the attacker off since most of them aren’t expecting someone to fight back. He also taught us when to play along with the attacker and do what they say and when to fight like crazy. Reader’s Digest version: go for the groin and poke out their eyeballs. If they want your purse, jewelry, etc.-give it to them and walk/run away.

Liam really, really, really wants me to write a note to his teacher so that she will use one of her special magnets and put it up on the doorframe. See, if you write her a note saying that someone else is going to pick your child up after school or you are going to be taking one of your child’s classmates home with you after school (for, let’s say, a playdate), she puts it by the door so she has it at the end of the day when they are walking out the door. Liam REALLY wants one of these notes! So, today as we are pulling into the school parking lot he asks me if I have some paper. No, I don’t, I tell him, but I know where this is going. (This is not the first time he has asked about this.) He wants to me to quickly find a piece of paper and write her a note telling her that we are going to pick Carson up after school. I explain to Liam that I would have to call Carson’s mom and make sure that is okay with her before I can write a note. I also explain to him that I probably wouldn’t have to pick Carson up since he lives right behind us and he could probably just walk over after school. By the silence coming from the back of the car I could tell that he realized his plan was foiled, for today….

Another thing I love about Liam’s school is that they don’t get grades on their grade cards until they are in fourth grade. Their grade cards are various continuums with certain skill levels within a discipline on each continuum. The child’s ability level on each continuum is marked. This is a good way to show progress. As the year progresses, the continuum stays the same, but the mark on the continuum should gradually move down the continuum to more advanced skills as the year goes on. If a child gets letter grades that does not tell the parent what their child can/can’t do it just gives them a letter.

Colm can’t get enough Curious George, Clifford or Arthur. If you go to the library and you are looking for one of those books and it’s not there, that’s because it is at our house. He does occassionaly let us read a different book to him. His current fave is Midsummer Knight. I think what he likes about it is that there aren’t any words, so every time we “read” the story to him it is a little bit different. He can also make up his own story to go along with the pics.

I was thinking yesterday about my ramblings last week about other people’s decisions about family size, housekeepers and schooling and I know I have jinxed myself. I am going to get pregnant, which will bring us up to three. The child will be born in the summer, which will mean we will probably decide to hold him/her back a year so they can have a “growth year” since everyone else is. Then, since I will have three kids and won’t have time to clean the house, I will have to hire a housekeeper. I should learn to keep my mouth shut, or in this case, my fingers still.

I miss my old grocery store. 🙁 I have had to find a new grocery store. It has taken me several weeks, but I think I have found one. It’s hard though. You have to figure out where everything is, which means it takes longer to actually shop. They also may not have the same brands which can be a bit difficult for the children to deal with. (Thank goodness they carry Liam’s cottage cheese or I would have a mutiny on my hands.) What I like about my new grocery store is that it seems that everyone I know or have ever known seems to shop there. In the two times I have been there I have run into several people from church, the parents of my roommate from freshman year, one of Liam’s former preschool teachers and a former coworker who I haven’t seen in about three years. Not only can I grocery shop, but I can be social and have a variety of different reunions all at the same time. Oh, yeah, and the food selection isn’t so bad either. 🙂

Along the same lines…I was at the grocery store near my grandma’s house, which is in a small town in Missouri, last week buying some ice cream for her birthday. Wow! Small town grocery stores suck. Seriously. Not only do they have zero selection and are on the small side…when I was walking around trying to find the ice cream, I walked past the meat section where the butcher was mopping the floor talking about how good squirrel meat is. Uh, huh. I will say, however, the lady at the checkout counter was exceptionally nice.

We went to go see this movie today. I think I liked it. It was great for the kids…there was no cussing, name calling, sex, etc. I think the worse thing that was said is that a child calls another child “weird”. The thing that was kind of weird about this movie is that it is being billed as a movie for kids, which I guess it kind of is since it is about a toy store. However, there are some pretty serious parts of the movie, too. It was not as light-hearted and whimsical as I thought it was going to be. The boys seemed to like it though, however, I think some of the seriousness went over their heads. So, I am not recommending that you run out and see this movie, but if you need something to do and have an hour and a half to spare…

The next movie Liam wants to see is The Water Horse and then there is the Veggie Tales movie which comes out in January.

I rarely just pick a book off the library shelf…a book I have never heard of written by an author I have never heard of…but I did and it paid off. This was a great coming of age story. I am going to definitely try out some of this author’s other books.

Two nights…three dinners…very full stomachs.

*Thanksgiving, Family, Friends (Irish Gaelic)

I am SO excited that d’Bronx has opened a location closer to our house! It is so good and makes you feel like you are in a real deli. The other two locations require a day trip or a special occasion, this one is comparatively just down the street AND happens to be on the way to violin lessons! 🙂
I have not been to the new location yet, but the pizzas are super yummy as are the sandwiches and the apple pie. You can’t go wrong.