Friday, June 6, 2014

Five for Friday: June 6, I think?

When I started out my post for today's Five for Friday, I wasn't sure about the exact date. Ah, the joys of a summer schedule.
While driving over to my mom's earlier today, my son heard the radio announcer say it was Friday, he responded by saying, "Is it really Friday, Mom?" Guess he has fully embraced the no-calendar days of summer as well! 
Regardless of the date or the day, Happy Day to you!
Since it is Friday, it is time to link up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five for Friday!
We kicked off our annual tradition of chilling at the movies this week. We saw Smurfs 2, a brand new movie for all of us. Kid critic review: 2 out of 3 liked it a lot. 
Can you guess which one says he did not like the movie?
I was analyzing it the whole time with a reading teacher mind - that was a foreshadowing moment, character development scene and character motivation, wow, they are leaving this wide open for a sequel movie. 
Guess the teacher's mind is never completely at rest, is it?
Want to know a little secret? The cheesy movie made me cry at one point. Weird, I know. Any movie that has child/parent issues especially involving a father leaving his child makes me tear up. Yes, totally related to my own childhood issues. 
Guess my analyzing/psychology background is never turned off either!
Ok, let's rewind to that picture from above. 
See Mr. Crankypants in the middle there? Well there is more to that sour face than just not liking the Smurfs movie. 
Turns out that he had/has a full-blown, nasty ear infection. 
He did not like the movie because the sounds hurt his aching ear. 
Prior to the movie I was aware, suspecting a bad infection, as a matter of fact our post movie plans entailed a trip to our pediatrician. 
I am worried about my little bug-loving, reptile-catching, scientist-reader-mathematician. He is way too old to still be dealing with chronic ear infections. As a matter of fact, he has already had 2 sets of ear tubes placed and still we are not released from the ENT. (Luckily Mr. Smiley was released from the doc's care, his ears look fabulous.)
I think we are heading towards another round of tubes/ear surgery. I worry mostly that all these infections are going to permanently impair his hearing. 
As a matter of fact, I think his infections have been so bad that he is so used to the pain that until it is really bad he does not say anything. He seems to be used to the chronic pain/hearing issues that he does not know it is not normal. 
We saw the ENT just last week and he was so patient with this anxious boy. Aware that he did not want to be touched or looked at, so he only did a quick exam. His parting words, "Call me if you need me, but at least come back in 6 months."
You think he knew he was on the verge of a full-blown infection? I do! 
So we will be heading back sooner than later and probably to talk about my mom-instinct concerns. Boo! 
Good news though, Mr. Crankypants has departed and my sweet boy is slowly returning because the antibiotics are kicking the bacteria out of his little ears! Other good news, he is not resisting wearing a wax ear block-thing in his ears so he can swim, whew, one less battle for me!
Oh, the fun life with boys! The injuries never end and the punches never stop. 
I love my 3 boys. Love, love, love them. But man, they make teaching look like an easy job! 
I will never lie and tell you my life as a mom is easy. It. IS. NOT! 
There are the wonderful perks. Loving hugs and kisses, and the sweet words of I love you being doled out regularly. But, it is not all butterflies and rainbows at my house. 
Lately I have heard, "I hate you," "You are so mean!" "That is not fair." a LOT!
I barely get the compliment out, and one is swinging at the other. 
I try to prepare them well and give out the traditional mom advice. 'Look both ways." "Hold my hand, the cars can't see you." And since it is pool season, "Be careful jumping, you don't want to hit your head."
Do you see what I see?
Well beyond those cute freckles. 
Yes, look at that slightly swollen bruised eye.
"You hit your head on the side of the pool!?!"
I would like to say, "I told you so!" but being a mature mom means I need to just love on this precious freckle face. 
Luckily he hit the eyebrow bone as he was coming up, after a jump, and the damage is temporary and minimal. 
But seriously, do boys really have to jump all of the time? 
Apparently, if they are mine, they do. 
So, my heart will continue to do leaps in my chest as I try not to hover too closely. Sheesh, talk about stress! 
Do you ever play Trivial Pursuit? 
I loved this game when it first came out. Yes, I am that old! Ha Ha
Well, we have been playing the Kid/Adult version a lot lately.

It is a great game to play to beat the dreadful summer boredom!
My oldest was so excited when he beat me. You would have thought he won a million dollars! Since he realized he can beat me fair and square, he really loves this game. 
I tell you what, some of the adult cards are tough. 
The kids cards have some tough ones too, some things my kids have never even heard of, but always leads to great discussions. 
Some of the questions are more current or are related to what they learned in school, so they are always pleased when they get the answer correct. 
My 4 year old can even answer some, and sometimes to my surprise. 
Need a boredom buster or a new game for Family Game Night, check it out. I guarantee your kids will love beating you!  
Today we went to my mom's to see her, my nephews, and my brother for a brief visit. 
My brother had to work, he manages a restaurant, so he works a lot! So my mom, brought my nephews up to our house for a trip to the pool. 
It was a lot of fun. Loud fun, with 5 boys ranging from 14-4. They all had a wonderful time swimming, sliding, splashing, and yes jumping! 









My oldest nephew is so sweet with my (crazy) boys, he will make a phenomenal Dad one day. I loved getting a chance to watch them in action while my mom and I chatted. 
These family times are important to me, and I am glad that my mom has the opportunity to spend time with her grandsons. Talk about love! 
All of the boys had a great time. They bonded. My oldest nephew encouraged my youngest son to walk in the "deep" part and showed him he could actually swim. Sean smiled non-stop. He kept climbing out to give me high-fives, and to tell me he knew I was proud of him. I was proud of both him and my nephew! 
I would say, it was a great way to end the week and a great way to kick off the weekend!
Thanks again, to Doodle Bugs for this fun weekly party! 
Hope you have had a great week filled with random smiles, love, high-fives, hugs, and kisses! 

1 comment:

  1. Looks like you're already having a lot of fun with your boys! And summer just started!
    Angela
    Southern Fried Teachin’

    ReplyDelete

I love to hear from my readers. Please leave your thoughts about the wonderful journey through teaching and life!