Sunday, February 15, 2015

From Superheroes to Star Wars

I know boys love super heroes, especially since they seem to come out with a movie about them every couple of years that then affects all things for sale. Everything from toothbrushes to water bottles to pads of paper and pencils is covered in whatever superhero is in season. My boys were obsessed for awhile, especially Aram, who would spend all day dressed up as superhero and even wear the costume out of the house when we would let him.

But recently my boys changed from superheroes to Star Wars. It was a real right of passage for Jasper when he was 4 years old. Dad had told stories or reacted moments from the original trilogy with him for months before. So it made sense that Aram then too made the switch to battling the dark force, following his brother's lead. Don't get me wrong, they still love Batman, Superman, and Flash Gordon, to name a few, but majority of the time they now adopt the Luke Skywalker persona complete with costume and light saber for battles against the dark side.


Even Olde gets into the mood of renacting Star Wars sometimes...



Understanding Gender

Aram is keenly aware of gender---He vs She. And has been since a VERY young age. First, partly due to his brother making sure that adults knew he was a brother not a sister. Later, one of his first statements of "Hey I am a HE not a SHE!" It is a confusion by adults from the hair and the fact that Aram loves to wear his pink Nike high tops (a pass-me-down from one of his girlfriends). He gets a little shy when younger kids get confused but for the most part he speaks up for himself. Recently while on a hike, a passing adult tried to tell him he was not a dude. Here was his response..


A Mini Vacation: Oregon Coast

 We love the Oregon Coast in all seasons of the year. The waves, the sand (not me---I HATE sand), wide open beaches, rocks to climb on, and tide pools to search. Whenever we feel like we need a break from city life, we head west 2 hours and revive our souls. It can be a day trip or an easy overnight trip. Everyone always comes home tired and happy!

Let's Go Ride Bikes


Olde and I have not been as dedicated (obsessed) to bike riding as some (most) parents are in this city, but we did get bikes for both boys last summer and plan to use them more. The bike that Aram is riding is Olde's bike from when he was a little guy. Grandpa-Bruce refurbished it for the boys including adding training wheels. It is missing all the overly safe requires of today's bikes, such as handle bars that spin all the way around and a cover over the chain but it is a solid bike. And Aram loves it!

Water

Our first time taking Aram to swim lessons was pure torture. He screamed and literally climbed on
top of our heads to get out of the water. He wouldn't follow directions and cried almost the entire time we were in the water. Now you might think, well duh, it was probably freezing, but no this was in a heated pool and all we did was play games and splash. Even TT, fun aunt TT, could not get Aram to appreciate nor enjoy swim lessons. We tried everything.
So when we enrolled him for his second lesson, we were a bit worried about the situation since this time he would have to perform without parents in the water. And of course, he did fine! He jumped in the water, blew bubbles (sometimes) in the water, waited his turn to do back floats, searched for rings underwater and seemed to enjoy it more.

If he was not having fun, I completely blame the swim instructor. I even wrote a letter to the Portland Parks and Rec-Aquatics Dept about it (but never heard back).
_____________________________________________________________________
August 29, 2014
Dear Nancy Roth,

I am writing to express concern about the aquatic class my son recently took. He was in the goldfish class at 6:40-7:10 pm in the last summer session at MT Scott Community Center. I was disappointed in the level of enthusiasm the teacher expressed, as well as the level of safety she took into her own hands while the students were in the water. Although I know not every one has a bubbly disposition, I was disappointed that she did not express enthusiasm with students, but had no problem showing that level of happiness to the other lifeguards. Furthermore, I had to redirect my son two times to not be in the "deep end" away from the class, which I would have hoped the instructor would have done for safe water practices.

With this being said, I am not writing to get the instructor in trouble but to allow some reflection on what can be improved upon.

If you would like to speak to me further about this situation, you can reach me at 503-------or ------------@gmail.com.

Thank for the consideration,
 _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 
Let's hope 3rd time's a charm as we will start swim lessons again this spring once his ear drum rupture heals completely.

Happy Love Day!

Happy Valentines Day everyone!


Saturday, February 14, 2015

Aram and Dada time: the video


Daddy interviewed Aram. Enough said.

  http://youtu.be/W0x5UWJQ-9A

 I couldn't get the video to load so I posted it youtube:)

Saturday, February 7, 2015

Traditions Are What Make a Family

I think the best part of being a family is being able to blend traditions or come up with your own that then become your families. We have lots of these...eggnog on Christmas Eve, Friday Family Film nights, and hot cross buns on Easter, some of these borrowed, and some of them our own. But this post is about a tradition that will make Nana really proud when she sees it. When I first met my future in-laws I thought this was a BRILLIANT Easter tradition and I am so happy that Olde and I are keeping it alive!
reading the clue
discovering the next clue
gold at the end of the rainbow
Instead of a traditional Easter basket finding in the living room upon morning wake up, there is a scavenger hunt for the basket- with clues set out by dad and mom.The boys love to solve the puzzle and are never unhappy when the next clue leads to the next to the next and so on. The baskets and clues of course change each year, and the excitement is had by all, even aunties and uncles as it is a bit of family history still alive!

To Education and Beyond...


walking his brother to school complete with his own back pack

Hanging at the "big" school as he calls it
For an entire year, Aram walked his brother to school, played on playground at brother's school, and then waited for him after school, all while patiently waiting his turn to go to school too. Well it has happened. After looking for a preschool (this time we were a bit more confident in what we wanted/looked for), knowing we wanted organic food, healthy boundaries, one in the neighborhood that is walking distance from our house and not religious, we found it!


Score! Growing Together Playschool has been Aram's school this year. He has made friends, of who he is sure everyone knows who he is talking about when he talks about his friends, as I found out today with "Do I have list them again for you mom, my friends are Nora, Henry, Leo, and Kippling." He has also enjoyed lots of dress up and creative outdoor exploratory play. He sings and reads and takes naps---sometimes. He has learned the power of negotiating for turns and getting our way according to the sweet write up we get everyday telling us what Aram has been up to during his school day.


On the first day he owned it, didn't even look back at us for reassurance. He was soooo ready for school in so many ways. And not just because brother did it before him. He already has set his sights set on going to THE big school too one day.

Recently we were alerted that Teacher Liz won't be continuing with the 4/5 year old group next year (wants to focus on younger ages), and therefore we start the process again searching for a new school. As a way to get Aram's input (he loves to have input) Olde interviewed him:
Olde: Do you want a big school or little school?
Aram: Big school like brother!
Olde: lots of kids or just a few?
Aram: Lots of kids!
Olde: Do you want to do reading and writing or just play?
Aram: I want to read too! and write! and do math!


Well Aram is ready for school that is for sure as he is already writing his name---with verbal coaching by parents. And recently exclaimed, "Dada when will I be able to read this[green eggs and ham] book like brother?" with a bit of a sad tone. All I can say as your mama, my little buggaboo, is don't grow up too fast. I will miss my baby!

Change, Sometimes, Is All You Need

As if last year wasn't full of enough of changes---selling/buying a house, Jas started kindie, etc-- this year (being the fall/school start time) was also a big change for us as a family. Aram started preschool (more on this in another blog soon) and I got a new job. After 7 years of working with students with disabilities ages 18-21 years of age (college age) I went back into a high school setting and in a new district too. For years I had poo pooed the biggest district in our region, calling it names as the Empire, the Dark Side, etc, but for several reason I ended up applying to this said school district.

I had lost the enthusiasm and love that had allowed me to pour all my dedication and admiration into teaching for reasons that have now been lost among my travels. So when my bestie said "lets leave together," I did not blink before I said yes. Although I left behind some of my closest allies, supporters, and colleagues (not to mention my beloved students), I could not be happier with my move.

There was a spark that had been lit growing in me for years, as I watched some of my favorite people make life altering changes in front of my eyes. One girlfriend went and taught in Indonesia. My old boss, who really "brought me up" in the world of special ed, moved to The Empire for her dream job. Another one retired and moved to the east coast. As I watched one by one, make a change to better themselves and not allow the hypocrisy of a district (and it's initiatives) stop them from doing it, I realized I to could do this. So when the time came, I swallowed and stepped forward to accept change.

Two things major came of this for me.

The first being that, I feel like I am a mom, for the first time really in 6 years. Not a mother, a mom. I come home and want to play...really get down...do art, get messy, sword fight, look-forward-to-bed-time-connecting and snuggling kind of mom. For years I had been struggling with the guilt of being a working mom since I would come home exhausted unable to really be present for anyone in my family. Kinda floating through the duties of motherhood. It wasn't really guilt over being a mom, I now realize, but a guilt that I constantly had to choose my job over my family in order to be successful. In my new job not only am I not over worked, I actually have time in my job to do it well with love and enthusiasm again, and BE A MOM!

The second is that I know I can now handle change, and those around me can too. Sure, it is uncomfortable, and sometimes really hard (cliche cliche cliche). I now know, it is worth it. And yeah, although I am still working in a broken dysfunctional system of inequality based on white privilege and socioeconomic status, the change was all I needed to renew my soul and keep fighting. So sometimes change is hard, easy, fun, whatever it is, really, it is all you truly need.