School Picture Day

School picture day:  No one goes to school happy.  I vetted Thea's outfit with her last night, so the only thing she's annoyed about is that the top is a little longer ("It's almost a dress!") and she has gym today.  Micah didn't like his shirt, a long sleeve button-down but he was mom-handled into it.  Then he rebelled and said that his BAHA was too noisy, and trying out every possible twirl of the volume wheel did not improve things, so he was just being ornery.

It took much studying to figure out which package to buy - and between all the add-ons: different backgrounds, retouching, borders, CD or email delivery, it was annoying.  I chose the $13.00 package with standard grey background for each. 

Thea told me that her picture will also be used in the third grade yearbook.  I told her that "back when dinosaurs roamed the Earth and I was in school, yearbooks didn't start until 7th grade."  To which she responded, "Mommy, you weren't alive when dinosaurs were on the Earth."  I think she missed the message, but by that time we were at the door to Wicoff, so it was time for a quick kiss for each.

GoalFest 3v3 Tournament

Today was a great day!  Six weeks or so ago, I registered the children for a three-on-three soccer tournament.  Thea played in it last year and loved it, both are playing in the recreational league this year and doing well - so it made sense, until I realized that the date coincided with Steve being away.

Oops.

Particularly since the schedule wasn't published until several days before the event, so I didn't know if I would need to be in two places at once.

Which is how it turned out.  Both Micah's kindergarten boys team, the Goal Scorers, and Thea's third grade girls team played in the even-numbered time slots.

Until one of the three kindergarten boys teams came up short a player, so Micah was re-shirted as a Raptor, and played three games on their schedule, then after lunch he was back on the Goal Scorers. He was on the field in just about every time slot from 11 am until 1:30 pm.

So when the teams he played for came in second and third, he got trophies for both.  Not out of greed, I sent him up to get the third place trophy with his original team, but the mother of one of the Raptors took a second place trophy for Micah.  Thankfully Thea's team won first place, otherwise a major snit would have ensued.

Unlike last years small, somewhat unobtrusive trophies, this year we have huge trophies topped by shooting stars.

Yippee.

Thea got out of 30 minutes of Mandarin because the awards ceremony ran late, Micah went off with his cheering section, Tesh, Mary and Jesse while Thea and I went to Rider.  (He was so cute, announcing to all of his coaches that "My babysitter is coming to watch me play.") Then we all met up for dinner.

The kids, all four of them, had a blast, so watching them have such fun with each other more than makes up for having to dust those damn trophies.  Thea has taken her three soccer trophies (two from GoalFest, one for participation last year) and created a little shrine to her athleticism on top of a cardboard canister that previously housed all the sabers and swords.

I am in charge. . . .

. . . channeling a very Alexander Haig-like vibe.  In the Kingdom of Me for the next four days of my reign:

1. Guinea pigs will not have night lights. 

2.  The bed will be made EVERY day.

3.  Smart Rinse after tooth-brushing will be optional.

As I think of additional edicts, I will post them.  Husband is away, so the illusion of democracy is out the window.  Absolute dictatorship until Wednesday night.

4.  I can lock all the locks on the front door and put the chain on, and lock the door from the garage to the house before going upstairs for the night.

5.  I can have my car's rightful place in the driveway (i.e. where I parked the entire first year we lived in this house until someone thought he had a better idea; I don't give a flaming fart about a better idea, I just want the left spot in the driveway.)

6.   I can drive the kids to school every day rather than have them take the bus (and sit in the bus waiting for the buses to unload two at a time.)

Stand By Your Mom . . . .

This week at Wicoff School the nurse was doing blood pressure, hearing and vision screenings.  No matter that my children have both a physician and an ophthalmologist and have had appointments both providers in the past sixty days.  Parents are not consulted or asked permission; it bothers me that biometric data is being collected and used by the school district for whatever purposes.  It all just seems rather paternalistic and heavy-handed.

Anyway, my irritation on that issue aside, an envelope comes home informing us that Thea's vision is 20/40 in both eyes and advising us to seek the appropriate medical attention. 

Funny (in a very un-amusing sort of way), Dr. Amy Wexler of South Jersey Eye Physicians found Thea's vision to be in the 20/20 to 20/25 range at the end of August.  I did not feel particularly compelled to send the form to Dr. Wexler's office to waste someone's time completing it just so the school nurse could tick off a little box somewhere that justifies her existence.  So I wrote my own note back to the nurse informing her (in case she missed the annual physical examination forms submitted for both children on the first day of school) that Thea (and Micah) have health care providers so I would appreciate no further screenings carried out on either of them.  And then signed it with my name comma MSN, APN-C.  Which is my heavy-handed way of telling her, my credentials trump yours, butt out.

Particularly I want to spare Micah from whatever is involved in this. I am hoping that the nurse's screenings started with the third graders and she is working her way down to the kindergarteners.  Micah has an audiologist (and the school has copies of the reports) and he has an ENT surgeon/neurotologist.  If Ms. School Nurse puts an otoscope anywhere near Micah's after-market ear canals, I will not be responsible for my actions.  Our rule of thumb for Micah's ears is:  If you didn't make those ear canals, you don't get to examine them.  So that means if GOD wanted a look, tough beans.

But I digress yet again from the story behind the title of this blog post. After the school nurse found Thea's vision deficient, she handed Thea an envelope addressed to Mr. and Mrs. Steve Albin.  Thea handed it back to her and said, "That's not my Mommy's name, she doesn't like to be called Mrs. Albin" thus forcing the nurse to make up an new envelope addressed "To the Parents of Thea Albin."  Which Thea told me she likes better anyhow. 

I love, love, love that child, both for making sure the envelope was addressed appropriately and for giving grief to the school nurse, who I've disliked practically from my first interaction with her last year.  It more than makes up for Thea fighting like badgers in a sack with Micah almost the entire way home from EDP's Lights On program the following night.

Happy Birthday, Beautiful Girl

The Traditional Birthday Cake, Vanilla with Buttercream Frosting from Mainstreet Bakery

Thea preparing pita pizzas for her birthday dinner.

While having "Happy Birthday to You" sung to her.

Getting ready to blow out the candle.

Having a happy kid moment, prior to diving into her cake.

The intensely colored icing tinted her teeth in a rather disturbing blue.

Reading her birthday card from Oma.

Micah and Steve

Micah with lavender-colored plastic fangs:  Other people's birthdays BITE.

October Rolls In

Sunday, October 2, 2011 - Girl Scouts Bonfire at West Windsor Community Park

Thea in her Penn Nursing Science sweatshirt.

Waiting to roast marshmallows for S'mores.

Never pick the spot down wind from the fire ring unless you want to go home smelling like a smoked Virginia ham.

Happy 5th Birthday, cousin Elise!

You mean I can't keep it?

Back to the Same Old Routine . . .

. . .Sundays in the hallway at the Fine Arts building at Rider University.  Both kids' classrooms are on the third floor, so I can just plant myself in the corridor connecting the two halls and set up my laptop, iPad, etc.  Micah was a little nervous about going in, which is unusual for him and he's struggling to throw off his first cold of the year (yes, thank you to the parents of the little beast in Kindergarten Extension who sent their child to school sick).

We finished the second week of school, which means homework is starting and Back-to-School nights have been held.  Because the gym at Wicoff was getting its floor refinished, Kindergarten and 1st grade held their B-to-S night Wednesday, and the following night was for 2nd and 3rd.  Both teachers seem nice and are radiating enthusiasm.  Thea's teacher is just two years out of school, and this is her first class.

Soccer has started, and like Ying Hua, both kids' fields are on opposite side of the complex.  Micah's team only plays for an hour, so it's a drop Thea off, got over to Micah's practice and game then go back to watch the end of Thea's game.  Yesterday I had to work, and we were the snack family for Thea's team, so Thea made sure I was up early and we cut up oranges and put together a cooler with Capri Suns and water, and individual bags of chips, hand wipes and paper towels, loaded it with the soccer gear into Steve's car.  I had already put their uniforms out (depending on whether they are home or away, they wear white or green each week.)

Next week Brownies start off, and I am trying to finish autograph pillows using leftover fabric from the quilt I made for Mrs. Church at the end of last year.  The patchwork pattern Thea and I came up with (which someone has likely created years ago is cute and each pillow has something in common with the others and something unique.

Meanwhile the audiologist at Dr. Choe's office was supposed to send in whatever is needed for Micah to get a BP-100 BAHA from Cochlear.  I got a call from the principal because he wanted to check on it so that the school could order Micah's FM system.   She supposedly has sent the prescription in, but as Micah wears his BAHA on a softband, he's not in Cochlear's registry so when I called Cochlear I spent 30 minutes on hold while someone checked on it, nothing was found and I am still waiting for a call four days later.  It's hard to believe one of Micah's current BAHAs is four years old.

Last night while we were eating pizza and watching episodes of The Penguins of Madagascar, Micah asked why his ears weren't like Thea's, while pointing to his ear canals.  I told him that his ear canals were just like Thea's (I had to move her hair out of the way to show him), it's just that her 'holes' are in front of the cartilage and his are behind.  Which seems to satisfy him, for the moment.