Goober and the Piano

So, for the last 4 months Goober has been fighting practicing his piano... He's very good for the short amount of time he has been playing and I hated to see him quit so soon on something that I feel he will enjoy knowing how to do later. So I told him I would let him quit if he finished his recital and still didn't want to do it. I didn't want it to be a snap decision.

Anyways, last night was his recital. He did pretty well for a 9 year old that has only been playing for about a year. 

So this morning he says to me "Mom, I want to keep doing piano." when I asked him why he said "I want to be able to play like those last two kids!".

Color me happy.

Crazy Handy

Yesterday was a classic Monday... not only because it actually was Monday, but because it was Caaaaaaarrrraaaazy busy.

I bribed the children with a reward if they were good while I dragged them along on all of my errands and they were FANTASTIC!!! My kids really are good kids. I'm lucky to have them.

Goober has been asking for a new robot kit for a while now and since we were at the hobby store to get a gift for a friend I picked one up for him as well.

He built the whole thing by himself with me only helping him get some of the plastic burrs off of the pieces!

P.S. I know his hair is waaaaaaay long, I'm planning to get it trimmed up asap!

Nutters

I find it so amusing the things that people connect sometimes!

Example: "because President Obama has a Kenyan side of his family he can't be American."

Today I had someone try to convince me that Ayaan Hirsi Ali is pro banning the teaching of evolution in schools. When I asked for them to support their conclusion they sited the instance of the Discovery Institute (which supports the teaching of creationism in schools) sponsoring a speaker who later ended up becoming president of the American Enterprise Institute (which Ali is a fellow of) as proof that she supports all things Discovery Institute...

Ummm....

First, if you don't know who Ayaan Hirsi Ali is I suggest you look her up. She is an amazing woman in my opinion. She escaped an arranged marriage and the subjugation to the male members of her family and country of origin as well as (in her opinion) the oppression on the Muslim religion. She ended up being a highly influential Dutch politician and was targeted by Muslims who felt that her leaving of the Muslim religion and her open criticism of it as warranting death. She wrote a great book called "Infidel". Good book.

Anyways, she ended up as an atheist and continues to fight things like female genital mutilation to this day. She highly values education and choice and feels that many religions are openly hostile to those things.

She is a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (this is a conservative think tank).

The American Enterprise Institute is a notably conservative think tank but no where that I can find does it support suppression of science. If you can find it, let me know. Though I don't agree with it's stances generally, I don't find them openly hostile to science/evolution or any more religious that many other groups.

Now, you have to know what the Discovery Institute is to get where the connection comes in. The Discovery Institute is another think tank that is best known for it's advocacy of Intelligent Design. It is openly hostile to anything that doesn't support the Christian viewpoint.

So let me draw the lines this person was trying to convince me supported their stance. In 2006 the Discovery Institute sponsored a speaker who went to visit the American Enterprise Institute as a visiting fellow. This person, in 2008, became the president of the American Enterprise Institute.

So because Ali is a fellow at AEI she must support the stances of the Discovery Institute because at one time they sponsored the now president of AEI.

Anyone see a problem here?

First, just because you generally support an organization doesn't mean you support everything they do. Second, just because an organization sponsors a person doesn't mean that person supports everything that organization does.
and Third, even IF a president of an organization holds an opinion it does not mean that the whole organization holds that opinion.

It's just to far fetched for me... am I missing something or is this person seeing connections where their really aren't any?

Is Kevin Bacon a radical Jihadist because he can be linked to one??? Oh, poor Kevin... he's linked to a bunch of nutters!!!

Boating

Today my parents took us boating! Yay, I love boating... there is just something about the way that the water hits to side of the boat and the sound of the engine that is just completely relaxing. It's always been that way too! My mom says that when I was a baby a sure way to get me to sleep was to put me on their bed (they had a Bayliner at the time with a cabin that had a bed in the very front) and the motion of the boat would put me to sleep.

Today was perfect! We went to Palisades Lake which is near the Idaho/Wyoming boarder. No idea why it is called Palisades though... apparently a palisade is a cliff and (to me anyways) there wasn't much that qualified as a "cliff". Now Lake Powell? THAT has CLIFFS! Anyways, back to what I was getting at...It was just hot enough that getting in the water was enticing and the water was warm enough that your body would adjust to it fairly quickly. The water was smooth and clear enough that Turbo was concerned about "falling" when it was time to swim.

The kids had a blast tubing and each of them took a turn going "solo".

I love the fact that they are getting old enough to do that! Goober even asked to try wake boarding! Unfortunately a sneaky storm snuck in and started to make the water choppy so I had to tell him that next time he could try that. Now, you have to understand, of all of my children Goober is my cautious one. He hates the feel of butterflies in his stomach and freaks out a little when he gets that sensation, he is always the one that is most concerned with safety. While being brave has pros and cons - you learn new things but might break a few bones on the way, so does being cautious -you are less likely to hurt yourself but also less likely to have amazing experiences because you don't want to go out of your comfort zone. I was amazed at how brave he was on the tube (dad got going pretty fast and Goober even got outside the wake!) and it gives me a lot of hope that even though he is cautious he can still put that aside at times.

Overall, it was a really good day. :)

Well, That Helped!

Hi, I know a couple of posts ago I was frustrated and at my wits end with my eldest child. Thought I would update...

So before we would have the kids all bath and go through a big long bedtime routine (which helped them calm down when they were younger)... I decided that I would try having Goober do most of his daily maintenance in the morning instead and see if that worked. I also decided that I needed to start waking them up before 9:30am, not only to prep them for school (I KNOW!!! It's sneaking up on me!! one month away... meh!) but also to try to help Missy with her insomnia by getting her up and out in the light earlier - hopefully this will help reset her internal clock.

Holy crapola did it help! 

Now he gets up, get's breakfast, goes and practices piano (a huge frustration before) while waiting for his siblings to finish showering, then takes his shower and does all his other daily stuff. 

In the evening I simply have them go and get PJ's on and then a read a chapter of Harry Potter to them and off to bed they go. There is still a bit of talking, but if I hear them I simply open their bedroom door and leave it open. 

I was making this WAY WAY harder than it needed to be!!! 

I just started waking them up earlier today, mostly because my sister was at my parents house this morning and I wanted to be sure the kids saw their cousins etc... Besides, I just plane like hanging out with my sister! Anyways, tomorrow will be the second day of waking them up early, hopefully it will go like today - in that Missy was fairly cooperative - then again, she was excited to see her cousins and that is a good motivator!

I'm not nearly as frustrated as I was... hopefully this lasts! 

Expelliarmus!!!

P.S. the family councilor never called back... guess I will be calling a different one. I don't want one that doesn't return calls anyways (one of my pet peeves).

Why I have no issue with my son's fascination with all things Harry Potter.

So, anyone that has talked to my eldest in the last... oh, 2 years? Knows that he is a major Harry Potter fan. Major. 


While it can get annoying at times (Expellaramus!!!!) I'm very happy that if he was going to be enamored with a story it is at least one that has really good lessons in it. Many of them are even one liners! 


I love, love, LOVE what J.K. Rowling says about the books: "The Potter books in general are a prolonged argument for tolerance, a prolonged plea for an end to bigotry" 


Everyone has their favorite characters of course... and boy is it a hard choice! They were all so well created. I love Ms. Weasley's fierce defense of those she loves, and Neville Longbottom's amazing bravery and loyalty, Sirius Black's desparation yet undeniable goodness... then there is Tonks, Lupin, and Luna as well. My goodness... I have to say they are all my favorite! 


So on with the HP quotes! :)


You think the dead we loved ever truly leave us? You think that we don’t recall them more clearly than ever in times of great trouble? Your father is alive in you, Harry, and shows himself plainly when you have need of him.
- Quote by Albus Dumbledore


Indeed, your failure to understand that there are things much worse than death has always been your greatest weakness.
- Quote from Dumbledore to Voldermort


If you want to know what a man’s like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.
- Quote by Sirius Black


To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.
- Quote by Albus Dumbledore


We must try not to sink beneath our anguish, Harry, but battle on.
- Quote by Albus Dumbledore


It is the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more.
- Quote by Albus Dumbledore


People find it far easier to forgive others for being wrong than being right.
- Quote by Albus Dumbledore


It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.
- Quote by Albus Dumbledore


Age is foolish and forgetful when it underestimates youth.
- Quote from Dumbledore to Harry


When you have seen as much of life as I have, you will not underestimate the power of obsessive love.
- Quote by Albus Dumbledore


It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends.
- Quote by Albus Dumbledore


Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself.
- Quote by Albus Dumbledore


You sort of start thinking anything’s possible if you’ve got enough nerve.
- Quote by Ginny Weasley


It is our choices… that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.
- Quote by Albus Dumbledore


Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can’t see where it keeps its brain.
- Quote by Arthur Weasley


As much money and life as you could want! The two things most human beings would choose above all – the trouble is, humans do have a knack of choosing precisely those things that are worst for them.
- Quote by Albus Dumbledore

Indifference and neglect often do much more damage than outright dislike.
- Quote by Albus Dumbledore

Youth cannot know how age thinks and feels. But old men are guilty if they forget what it was to be young.
- Quote by Albus Dumbledore

Numbing the pain for a while will make it worse when you finally feel it. - Quote by Albus Dumbledore

Then there is my all-time favorite quote: 


"The world is not split into good people and Death Eaters. We've all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That's who we really are." - Sirius Black.


There are definitely more destructive things to be enthralled with! 

Maybe someone else can do better...

I don't know what to do anymore...

Here is tonight's scenario: Go through bedtime routine, Turbo gets a bath then I read a chapter of Harry Potter to the kids. Once that is done Missy hops in the bath and Turbo goes to bed. When Missy is done with her bath Goober has the option of getting in the shower or hanging out until I get Missy's hair combed and then off to bed for both of them.

All three kids share a bedroom. Not ideal, but it's what we have. We ask the kids to be quiet due to Turbo already being asleep and then head to our room.

Here we hope that everyone goes to sleep without too much trouble...

Soon we hear voices, so I go into their room and remove Goober (because he was talking the loudest) and tell Missy that it was not okay to be out of her bed (she was on Goobers bed and they were loudly pretending something.) Tell Goober to lay on couch in the hall (this is the only option we have for removing one of them outside of putting them in our room which would then leave us with no where to go).

Goober proceeds to complain about the blanket I gave him. So I tell him to pick another one, there are several already in the hallway. I go back to my room, but first turn on the Sentsy because I know that the dark really bugs my kids.

Soon after closing the door I hear something hitting the couch.

Jer goes out and asks Goober why he is hitting the couch, to which Goober refuses to respond. I ask Goober if he wants to be in trouble, to which he says no. I tell him that his actions say otherwise. He complains about the blanket again. Again we tell him to pick another one if he wants. We tell him to stop hitting the couch, and warn him that he will be in trouble if we have to come back out and then we go back to our room.

...

Goober starts hitting the couch again.

Both Jer and I go out. Both of us are significantly pissed by now, as this type of thing is not a rare occurrence. I had hope that an adjustment of his medication would help and it did seem to for a bit, but not long.

Jer informs Goober he is grounded from the train track toy (he is already grounded from video games etc for 3 more weeks due to his insistence to misbehave even after being grounded from them for a week etc....), I tell him he is grounded from TV. I also tell him that I don't believe him when he says he doesn't want to be in trouble because his actions say otherwise. We go back to our room.

...

Goober starts hitting the couch again.

Jer and I discuss and decide that Goober needs to go in the backyard for a little while (when he insists on misbehaving sometimes this works, he can come back in when he is ready to behave) and spanking him only ends up with a lot of yelling on his part and he STILL insists on being aggravating.  Goober states that going outside is fun on the way out (I'm sure trying to goad Jer and I).

Jer takes him outside.

I had kind of hoped it would be raining, it wasn't.

After a bit they come back inside and Goober lays down on the couch again.

...

That is where we are right now.

I'm so tired of this. I really don't know what to do. It wouldn't be such a big deal if it didn't happen so often (with slight variations). I'm so worried that he will end up not caring about anything in life, at the same time I need to teach him that his actions have consequences. I don't know why he wants us mad at him and it breaks my heart at the same time because I feel like a failure as a parent. I love him, but at the same time I don't want him when he acts like this and want to hand him off to someone else to raise. I feel incredibly guilty for feeling that way towards my own child, but again I feel like a failure so maybe someone else could do better with him? I have shed many tears over this.

I called a family councilor today to try to make an appointment but he was out to lunch and hasn't called back yet.

Like life isn't hard enough right now without this too.

I hate this.