Wrapped Right Around His Finger.

What kind of parent are you?  Are you the type to believe your child over everything else or the parent who knows your child well enough to know they are probably twisting the truth?

Josh, though not officially a parent (but close enough), is the type to always think Corbin is not telling us the truth.  He sees Corbin's stubborn streak as what it really is.

I, on the other hand, am wrapped right around my kids' fingers, and I think they know it.  If Corbin tells me it was someone else's fault, I'm all over it.

I think we need to meet in the middle somewhere.

Yesterday after work I asked Corbin how his day went.  He paused, thought, and replied, "It was kinda OK".

I stopped and said, "Spill."

Corbin started, "Well Ms. *** is a meanie!  She doesn't even give me a chance to do it before she writes my name on the board!!"

It took some prodding to get the actual story out but from what I can understand, this is what happened:

Class assignment was to do a poem.
Corbin copied Ms. *** poem rather than do his own.
Ms. *** told him, "No Corbin, that's not what you do.  You have to make your own."
Corbin sits and processes and can't think of what to do.
Ms. *** writes his name on the board because he is not cooperating and doing the task.
(In his class your name goes on the board in the green section for a warning, then yellow you miss part of recess, and then red a note goes home to parent- Corbin has been in the green a couple of times- never in the yellow and red thus far.)

So, Josh would look at this situation and say, "Corbin was just being his stubborn self and not trying."  I would look at this situation and say, "Corbin wasn't allowed the proper processing time he needs when doing new things."

And then Josh & I will argue until I say, "Hey, I don't want to hear anymore about it!".  End of conversation.

I did help Corbin make a poem using the format she wanted last night, so if it comes up again today maybe he'll get it.  Oh and I did talk to Corbin about respecting his teachers and not calling them "meanies", even if it is just to me (and even if I want to agree with him).

Corbinisms & Brian-Talk

Corbinisms:

I was practicing some reflex integration on Corbin (thank god he agrees to be my guinea pig) when he said, "Wow, I feel like a king."

Yesterday while we were waiting for Josh I asked Corbin why he already had his coat on- he looked at me and said "You said we wouldn't take LONG", while making air quotations when he said "long".  It was his first ever appropriate sarcastic air quotes.  It was a proud moment.

Brian-Talk:

Brianisms didn't seem to roll of my tongue like Corbinisms and up until now I didn't have too many funny language stories with Brian, but they are starting to pop up here and there.

Lately he has gone around the house saying "I'm crabby!" but he says it in this deep, growling voice all with a smile on his face.  It was hilarious the first 72 times.  Now he is starting to do a lot of his talking in the growling voice- I need to get it on camera.  However, every time I take the camera out he freezes and says "Cheese".

Yesterday he came home from school and stripped within seconds, as he does everyday.  We have been working on having to wear pajamas at home and he independently ran to his room and grabbed his favorite Thomas the Train pajamas.  He put the pajamas on, ran to the full-length mirror on the bathroom door, threw his arms out to the side and exclaimed, "TA-DA!".



How fun is it going to be to have TWO kids saying the "darndest" things on a daily basis?

B12 vs. Mom

Our B12 shots arrived at our door a few days ago.

I quickly put them in the fridge, trying to ignore that I had them.

I've heard lots of wonderful reports about kids on B12 (minus the ones that get extreme hyperactivity from them) but the idea of sticking my child with a needle was really freaking me out.

Our doctor had told me I could practice on myself- but I couldn't bring myself to do it.  I couldn't even stab myself but yet was going to have to stab Brian?

Our doctor also said I could try doing it while he was sleeping, as he had been successful doing it that way with his own son.  I thought that would be a good option, knowing how many people it takes to hold him down when we do blood draws.

The past couple of nights I would participate in some strong self-talk, get the needle, go to his room, see his peaceful, innocent, sweet self sleeping.....and back down.

Last night I laid in bed, almost falling asleep, when my inner monologue started again. "C'mon Heather, you have to do this.  Stop being a wimp.  You will never know if B12 could make a difference if you don't try!  Plus you had to pay for the stupid compounded shots out-of-pocket.  You know how much you hate to waste money." Okay so I think the money might have been a motivator.

I grabbed the shot, went to his room.  Pulled off the blankets ever so gently, pulled down the Thomas the Train pajamas, and slowly tried to jab him.  He jerked and rolled over.

I almost got up to leave.  However, I had came this far, I had to do it.  I knew I had to try to do it in one swift movement.  I stabbed and pushed the compound into his little bum.  He didn't wake up, but his hand did come to brush off that stabbing feel and knocked the needle out so half of the B12 ended up on the exterior of his skin, rather than under this skin.

So, it could've gone better.  But I did it!  And he didn't cry or fully wake up.  As long as I watch those hands next time, I think we can do this.

Blog Gems: Favorites

A fortnight has passed already since the last Blog Gems, can you believe it?  Jen's prompt this week is "favourite posts".  Never Thought is not really too old, but it's definitely one of my favorites, and seems to be a favorite of my readers as well.  Enjoy!

Spring? Are You There?

Last year in Maine we were spoiled with very little snow, a thaw in February, and flowers popping up in March.  This year we broke crazy snow records, had an obscene amount of snow days, and spent lots of time putting on our various layers of clothing every morning.  According to the calendar Spring is suppose to be here.  Yet we had a snow day just four days ago.  We're hanging out in those frigid 30s.  The boys and I are ready for Spring!  

We welcomed Spring a couple of weeks ago by making a stained-glass window on our door.  I told the boys they were only allowed to use Spring colors because I'm tired of the drab winter landscape out the door.

Would love to take credit for this idea.
Unfortunately, it is not so.
I have to thank The Artful Parent for that.

Trying to get the boys to pose.
All Brian cared about was that I let him
watch Monsters Vs. Aliens.

Then yesterday we decided to make caterpillars.  Egg-carton caterpillars: they never get old no matter how many times you make them.  Ours started to morph into some sort of other insect as long pipecleaner legs and antennas were attached.  

Brian REALLY got into this craft.  I never knew before, but he has a special affinity towards glitter.

Corbin and his "realistic" caterpillar.  He's so over my whimsical stuff, he wanted to have "realistic" colors.
"Realistic" was his word of the day.

Brian never looks pleased when I make him pose- but he really did have fun.  I promise!

Brian's masterpiece.

Corbin's insect.  A friend of mine pointed out his resemblance to Plankton.

Our three creations basking in the warm sun
(warm on this side of the window- not sure it ever reached 32 yesterday with the wind chill).

So there we go, we're working our hardest on making Spring feel welcome here.  We'll just have to keep waiting so (im)patiently.

Are you a Pusher?

Because I'm a pusher. I push people. 

Most of the time I push, push, push.  Our afternoons after school are filled with proprioceptive work, some vestibular thrown in, and some manual work to integrate reflexes.  Then we read the book he's brought home from school and we do writing practice each night.  Then we'll play- but playing is still pushing because I want him to do a puzzle or a board game- things that he doesn't always love.  I push when I force him to take his supplements (yes he's gone backward in that aspect again), eat a vegetable at dinner, and brush his teeth.

I push when I call the school and email the therapists.  I push when I tell them I want frequent updates.  I push when I ask for certain evaluations.

I'm definitely a pusher, but sometimes I'm tired of pushing.  Sometimes I think pushing isn't making for the happiest of boys.  Sometimes I just want to be normal and just enjoy a day with no pushing.

Someone mentioned to me recently that recess time would be the perfect time for someone to really push Brian to make peer connections.  I don't agree.  I have seen him at recess, he runs around in big looping circles and jumping in every puddle he can find.  All with the happiest, biggest smile on his face.  Does it make me feel a little sad that he isn't holding hands with peers and making up imaginary games?  Of course it does.  But he's happy at these moments.  In my opinion, he is working so hard at school with academics and the constant push to talk and interact with peers, that he deserves that outside time to just be.  To just be him.

School, talking, making friends, EVERYTHING is so much harder for him and really requires much more energy than we give him credit for. I think he deserves parts of his day to just do what he wants and do whatever it is that makes him happy.

So there I said it.  I'm not always a pusher, sometimes I'm just a slacker.

What about you?  Where do you draw the line of when to push and when to just let it be?

Cowboys

Browsing through the gift shops in Texas I asked Brian if we should buy Corbin a cowboy hat and he responded with "Yeehaw".

The first time Brian and I went down to Texas Corbin was very concerned about the outlaws in Texas and our safety.  He had it in his head that in Texas there was "no energy" (electricity) and there were rampant bulls everywhere that could hurt us.  I wasn't aware he had seen any old Westerns but I must've been wrong, as all his conclusions  about Texas seemed to mirror a classic John Wayne movie.

Since Corbin thought Texas was full of cowboys, what could be a better gift than cowboy hats?  Could they get any cuter?