Mr. Empathy

One of my favorite things about Aiden is that he has a great sense of humor.  The kid is hilarious and never misses a chance to crack a joke.  We won't even talk about how sarcastic he can be sometimes.  I think his sense of humor has served him well in most instances, but sometimes it gets him into a little bit of trouble.  Today could have been one of those "getting in trouble" times, but I think he managed to get by with little or no beatings because he was in church at the time.

Apparently they were in Sharing Time at Primary and were talking about empathy and helping those who are suffering. The teacher was asking the kids to discuss things they could do to help others and gave the example of a friend who's parents have just gotten a divorce (or something like that).  The other children all called out answers like, "I can pray for them." or "I can listen and be their friend if they're sad".  My kid gets called on and says "I can get them a link to www.eharmony.com".  Very funny, Aiden. Way to show just how sweet and empathetic you can be.

More Than Just Monkeying Around

After a whole lot of excitement, a ridiculous amount of practice, and plenty of stage make-up, Aiden finally had his play last night. He worked so hard to prepare for the audition that I thought he was going for the role of Aladdin. Nope. The bad dude? Nope. Princess Jasmine? (I prayed he'd say no to that one). Nope. What then? The monkey. My kid worked his tail off to earn the part of Aladdin's monkey side-kick named Alakazaam.

The role itself required him to learn a total of about five lines, but had him on stage the whole time. Really, I think that was the genius behind his choice. He knew he could be in front of the audience a ton without having to remember much. And, let's be honest. Turning himself into a monkey isn't exactly a huge stretch.

What I didn't know was just how good he was. Oh. My. Gosh! The kid actually had some talent. Stranger after stranger told me how he'd stolen the show. He took the role of monkey and comic relief and brought that silly character to life. The whole play was very well-done, especially considering that they were fourth and fifth graders.

Aiden got to take pictures with dozens of adoring little fans who thought "the monkey was the funniest", sign autographs, and be Mr. Popularity at the local DQ that we all went to after the show. It's safe to say his head is a bit larger than it was yesterday and he is certainly riding a high. To be fair, though, he really did earn it. Well done, Aiden. And to think I thought he was just monkeying around all this time!

That's One Way to Get a Girl...Scout

A couple of weeks ago, a little girl in Aiden's grade came by selling girl scout cookies. I don't know about anyone else, but a I can not say no to a girl scout cookie. Ever. (I've tried, and just fail miserably). I took a few minutes to look over the order form full of over-priced confections to be sure I'd ordered everything I wanted. After the little girl left, Aiden happened to mention that she goes to his school and is in his grade.

Yesterday the cookies came in, and Aiden spotted her down the street preparing to deliver. He came running in and yelled to put some better pants on Drezden and make sure his glasses were straight. "Reese thinks Drezden is so cute and wants to meet Liam." Since when did Aiden care if anyone thought his little brothers were cute??

He kept her at the door for about ten minutes having Drezden do tricks like make fist, bump it into her fist, and then pretend to have it explode. He had Liam wave and play peek-a-boo. THEN he slyly turned to her and said, "They're available if you want to come play with them again sometime". She smiled and said she'd be coming back.

That's right, ladies and gentleman. My ten year old just pimped out his baby brothers in order to get a cute little blue-eyed, brown-haired, freckle-faced girl scout to come back over. AND IT WORKED! Later he asked me if I liked her and I casually said that I thought she seemed nice. "I kind of like her, too. She's sort of pretty." was his response. Yeah, dude. I already noticed that you like her when you gave your little brothers an ounce of attention because she was here. He promptly ran out the door to play with his other friends the minute she left. Liam and Drezden didn't seem to mind. They were just happy that he'd played with them for a while AND that some cute girl scout gave them attention.

Do you think having your kid on really good terms with a girl scout would qualify a mom to get cheaper cookies? Hmmmm....

Memo To Aiden

Dear Aiden:

While I understand that you know everything there is to know about life since you are a whopping ten years of age, allow me to share with you a few important tips for life. Consider it a little tool to help you survive until your 11th birthday.

First, let's talk about the "cool guy" grin you feel the need to put on your face every single time I take a picture of you. You're a handsome kid. Really. You are. Why do you need to do that weird grin that makes you look like half of your face is paralyzed? You know that saying that suggests that your face could potentially freeze when you're making a less than attractive look? Let's just assume that is the truth and not do that anymore.

Now let's move on to your hygeine habits. You are not allergic to water. Showers really are your friend. They make you feel all...well...clean. Clean is good. Really. It is. Dirty results in things like body odor, fleas, ticks, and the bubonic plague. I understand that you live a very busy life, but I'm going to need you to make room in your daily (or weekly at the very least) schedule for a shower. If not, I'll be forced to do what I did tonight and "help" you shower. I don't particularly care that you still have your clothes on. A little extra shampoo goes right through your clothes and causes you to get moderately clean. Also, showering with your clothes on leaves me with a warm fuzzy feeling because I know you're finally changing your underwear. (That's another thing we need to talk about later.)

Okay, I think those two big tips are probably a good start for now. I look forward to more attractive photos of a less stinky you.

Love,

Mom

Aiden's Project Runway

Aiden decided to help Rachel put together an eye-catching ensemble. What you see here is what he came up with. Really, I have no words. I'm just hoping he has a back-up plan because I'm not sure he's going to win Project Runway anytime soon.

School Has Started!

CJ ready and rearing to go on his first day of First Grade. I can't believe he's so old already.

Aiden trying to look "all cool and stuff" on his first day of Fifth Grade. He's such a little man.

All the kids at our bus stop. Well, almost. Rachel and Drezden don't ride the bus...though sometimes I'd like to send them.

School has started. Aiden and CJ are in a really amazing school, and seem to be loving it. Granted, they've only had three days of school so far, but neither of them has been arrested, so that's a very good sign.

CJ has Mrs. Lackey. She's young and pretty and enthusiastic and eager to learn how to teach him. I'm not sure I'd have chosen her to begin with because I have it in my head that only a really experienced teacher can handle him. I think I'm wrong about that. This teacher is more than likely a perfect match for him. She's patient and so open minded. It also helps that our new school district is really prepared for Deaf children. I loved the way our old school loved CJ. He was genuinely adored and cared for. While he still needs all that, right now he needs someone to take the bull by the horn and really help him. I think that's just what he'll get. I blogged more details about it here.

Aiden has Mr. Schultz. What an amazing teacher for Aiden!!! This guy is cut from the same cloth and hails from the same planet as Aiden. He's so outside the box and Aiden simply can't wait to learn from him. He's silly, has a goofy class website, and shows the children that he loves what he's doing. When a teacher loves what he's doing, children love learning from him.

I think this promises to be a good year. I'm excited to see what's in store for us. And, let's be honest, I'm also excited that they're in school giving me a break now and then.

Aiden's Big Announcement

Aiden has been bugging me for weeks about wanting new shoes. He goes through these weird phases where he gets an idea in his head and won't let it go. I told him we'd discuss it after he got his room cleaned. Apparently he REALLY wanted new shoes because his room is clean. Well, at least the parts I can see are clean. I didn't check under his bed or in his closet for fear of what would jump out and attack me.

I took him last night and we started at Payless. He found a pair of Converse hightops he wanted, but each one took no less than ten minutes to put on. This is a kid who never even unties his shoes. He just takes them off, dumps them where they are, and hopes to slip them on in the morning after going nuts trying to find them. Our mornings are crazy enough without adding another ten minutes per foot to it. So, I put my foot down. (Get it? Put my foot down. I know. I'm so punny.) I insisted that I would not pay for those, but he could use his own money to pay for them, and suggested we go to Target.

Praise Target, I tell you. They were having a Converse clearance. He found two pair he couldn't choose between and then a third pair that were more supportive, and he kind of liked. All three were on clearance and the total was still less than the cost of the one pair he'd originally chosen. So, I let him have all three. I'm not really sure who honestly won that battle. He didn't get the pair he wanted, but I somehow walked away having purchased him three pairs of shoes instead of the one we originally went for.

As we were walking through the store picking up the few other things we needed, Aiden decided completely out of the blue and in full voice to make an announcement. I mean it was totally out of the blue.

"Mom, I'm going to be hitting puberty soon, you know." Ummmm. Wow! Thanks for the heads up on that, son. I'll be sure to mark it on the calendar.

The Big Bully!

Aiden has been especially grumpy the past couple of days, particularly when talking about school. I knew something was probably up, but have learned from experience that it's best to let him bring it up. Finally this morning, while screaming that he just couldn't go to school anymore, he told me what has been going on.

"I'm being bullied, mom". Now my brain goes immediately to some big kid picking on my poor moderately scrawny kid. I'm picturing him being threatened within inches of his life or being given swirlies in the bathroom or having his lunch shoved up his nose when no one is looking. My blood is boiling that someone would bully my kid.

In my effort to be sympathetic, I ask "Can you tell me who is bullying you?". Big tears come. "It's Taylor." Taylor? Who the heck is Taylor? I've never heard of him before. I ask him to tell me more about Taylor. "SHE sits by me in class."

Great! He's being picked on by one of those mean girls. She's probably poking fun at his rather large ears (he gets that from my side of the family) or maybe it's about all of his freckles (also from me, and I LOVE them) or perhaps even his clothes. You know how girls can be. Just mean, right? Again, trying to be sympathetic, I ask "Well, what is she doing that is bullying you?". More big tears. "She's saying untrue things about me that are hurtful". I knew it! Mean girl, I tell you.

"Can you tell me what she says about you that are untrue?" I'm bracing myself for the worst. Maybe she'd say he lives in the ghetto, or his mama is so fat she buys new refrigerators so she can wear the boxes, or or or...well, something just awful.

He buried his head in his pillow and just yelled and yelled nothingness. I finally calmed him down and said, "I need to have you tell me what she is saying so I can help make it better". Finally, he told me what the bullying was about. Are you ready for this?

"She says I have poor penmanship". Yep. That's the bullying he's suffering.

I told him about the cruel stuff I endured as a kid. I grew up in a less conventional home and was always poor. I had Salvation Army glasses, tacky clothes, bad hair, teeth with a big gap in them, and a last name that was rather easy to make fun of.

He finally decided to suck it up and go to school. Crisis averted. But, really? Penmanship? Really? Here I was all ready to stick up for my kid for the long haul when all he really needs is a better pencil sharpener. Nice.