Take Your Kids to Work Day

I had a “Take Your Kids to Work” day last week. I wasn’t actually working, of course. But my kids haven’t seen my workplace in probably a year so I decided to bring them by to visit and introduce them to some people.

You never know how it’s going to go when you’re dealing with kids. One day they act like perfect little angels. Other days you’d swear they were demon spawn. My offspring split the difference – probably 80% sweetness and 20% rambunctiousness (and not a single bit demonish!) I can’t blame them, really. My workplace can be pretty dang fun.

I work in a call center environment. The job itself is not ideal. (That opinion surprises no one. I’ve mentioned to my supervisors my desire to find a position in the company that’s more suited to my style so no worries that I’m shooting myself in the foot here.) The workplace, however, is awesome. There’s a Wii, an Xbox 360 Kinect, and a plethora of Nerf guns. It’s not uncommon (especially on Saturdays) to be on the phone and have Nerf missiles flying overhead. You’d think it’d be distracting but you get used to it. And it keeps things light.

The people I work with are fun as well. In fact, most of them are pretty great. Especially my supervisors.

I had a talk with the kids before we got out of the car.

Me: LISTEN to me. Are you listening?

Them: Yeeeessss!

Me: We are going into my work. People are on the phone so there will be no shouting, no running, and no whining. When I say it’s time to go I do not want to hear any fussing about it. We are going into (pointing to the building I work in) THIS BUILDING ONLY. (Pointing to the other building) We are NOT going over there. Only over (pointing to the first building again) here. Is that understood?

Them: Yeeesss!

Me: [Monkey], are you listening?

Monkey: Yes.

Me: Is there to be any running or screaming or whining?

Monkey: No.

Me: Good. Let’s go.

Sighing a huge sigh to prepare myself, I led the troops into the building. They were very excited to see where I work. I think some of my co-workers are often delighted when kids come by because they tend to light up when they see miniature visitors.

The kids saw where I sit and met some of my team members. And then they discovered the box of Nerf guns. Honestly, I was a little worried about that. I thought for sure people would be annoyed that kids were playing in their workspace. But that’s kind of silly, if you think about it. Kids don’t need to be present for the dart guns to come out. Still, I was wary.

When I introduced them to one of the supervisors and he started chasing them around the center with a Nerf gun, I figured it was probably okay if they weren’t quiet as mice. And, as it turned out, they did great.

There’s some weird, random miniature shopping cart in the department. Who knows why. But they used it to go on a Nerf dart hunt, looking under desks and all over the floor for ammo to use against their newfound friend.  They played Wii and Monkey got introduced to Fruit Ninja on the Kinect. And, when it was time to go, they said their goodbyes and left without a fuss.

All in all, I think they had fun. And I’m actually not dreading taking them to work again. So my thanks goes out to my workplace and the people I work with. Maybe next time the kids will be armed with Nerf guns of their own.

Picky Eaters (Not-So) Anonymous

Some parents were blessed with children whose food pallets aren’t all that particular. Those are the kids who ate peas and carrots and meats from a jar as babies. They’re willing to try whatever you put in front of them and often enjoy whatever it is. This has got to be every parent’s dream. At least I assume so because it’s a phenomenon I’ve certainly never experienced.

Other (most) parents complain that their kids eat only a limited number of foods. Pizza, sandwiches, cereal…..usually there are a few staples that a kid will eat and they shun everything else. Experts say that what a kid eats is oftentimes the only thing they can control in their lives so, bygum, they are gonna control the heck out of it.

Unfortunately, all three of my children fall into the latter category. My oldest is just now getting to the point that we can use the Big Girl Argument to get her to try new stuff.

 

Sweetie, you’re eight years old. You’re a big girl, right? Big girls try new things. You don’t have to like it or eat the whole thing. You just need to try it.

 

Sometimes this works and sometimes not so much. But at least we have that “sometimes”.

My boys are different.

Place a new food in front of Monkey Man and he turns away forcefully, sticks out his tongue and pretends to gag.

Nice, right? Way to be overdramatic, little dude. Just say, “Oh, no thank you.” Ugh.

Of course Bubs does the exact same thing because baby brothers copy their siblings. It’s in their DNA. No sense trying to change it because it’s not happening.

For a while our boys’ previous OT was working with them on trying new foods using a method where each food is introduced by relating it to other foods they eat – by color, by shape, by texture, etc. Usually color worked well. We’d have a “red” plate – we’d start with strawberry yogurt (which they do eat) and then introduce other reddish foods like actual strawberries, hot dogs, or jell-o. (Not all together because, ew.)

For the “green and white” plate we introduced foods such as shredded cheese, pasta, peas, and green beans.

 

Trying green and white foods.

Monkey Man enjoys some peas.

 

Bubs touches, but doesn’t quite try, his bowtie pasta.

 

The goal was to get them to tolerate the food being on their plate first, then get them to touch it, then taste it, and, finally, eat it. Our success rate was moderate at best. Admittedly, I stopped trying for a while. It’s very time-consuming and can be rather exhausting and stressful when they don’t wish to cooperate. But I think it’s time to try again.

The boys have a new OT. Their previous therapist now lives in another town and works for a different company so she’s no longer in this area. It was absolutely heartbreaking for me when she left. She’d been with us for almost 2-½ years. That’s a long time for someone to come to your house multiple times a week to work with your children.

The new OT has been great so far. She’s going to start working with the boys and their feeding again and I’m both dreading and looking forward to it. I’m anxious for them to actually eat stuff other than yogurt and granola bars, but at the same time I don’t particularly care to go through the process again.

I long for the day when my kids will be in that first group – the ones who’ll try anything and everything. Realistically, it’s unlikely. But at the very least, I look forward to them getting some variety in their diet and maybe even discover some new favorites. Someday, boys. Someday.

Back to School Worries

The beginning of a school year can be tough for any kid. You’ve had all summer to just relax, sleep in, and do whatever during the day. But once school starts, it’s getting up early, resetting the school routine, meeting new classmates and a new teacher, and getting used to how things are different. For a kid like Monkey Man, it’s another experience altogether.

We’d requested a specific teacher for him. She knows him, he knows her, and she has a lot of experience teaching kids with autism. I can’t even count how many times I requested this teacher. The boy has an IEP and has special needs. I thought that’d count for something. So I was surprised and disappointed when I found out he’d have someone different.

I won’t go into how ridiculous it is that we don’t get the teacher assignments until 10 days before school starts. I’m sure I’ve bitched about that before. But that’s what led me to contact the principal last week and ask. I described the situation and she replied within a matter of hours, which I really appreciated. But I definitely had my reservations.

It goes without saying that I requested a meeting with the new teacher for a number of reasons. First of all, we wanted to get a feel for her and if she was familiar with our boy at all. She was a teacher in the Reading Lab last year so we weren’t sure if she’d taught him (and, of course, Monkey wouldn’t tell us). Secondly, I didn’t want her to be blindsided by the situation. I clearly remember the first day of kindergarten for our daughter three years ago. There was a parent who introduced her son to the teacher, then for the next few minutes proceeded to tell her all about his issues – how he’s never been in school of any kind (not that unusual, really), how he’s really only ever socialized with his brother and sister, how he has trouble paying attention and tends to get overly aggressive while playing. And then she followed it up with, “I just thought you should know”. Wow, ya think??? You cannot let a teacher know these things on the first day of school. It’s hectic enough. I’m a firm believer in being prepared and there is no way you can be prepared for something like that. So it was very important to me to talk with the teacher ahead of time.

We got to meet with her this morning and I have to say, I feel much more comfortable now. We told her a few things to expect and she asked questions about what strategies we use at home to address those issues and behaviors. That’s a big plus in my book. This teacher is going into her thirtieth year teaching. Not third, thirtieth. So she has experience. She didn’t know how many students she’d have or if there were any other special needs kids in her class this year. They won’t find out their classroom roster until tomorrow. But she’s definitely willing to give it a try and make sure Monkey has the best year possible. I could tell from speaking with her that she means it.

I’m big on communication. I’m a talker. I think that goes without saying since this post is already just shy of 600 words long. (Yes, I checked.) So I made sure she knew that if she had any concerns, questions, or problems with him, she shouldn’t hesitate to email or call. She felt the same way and said if I need to contact her to please do so. We can set up a parent/teacher conference if needed. Thank You.

Seriously. Isn’t this the sweetest little face ever?

We’re hoping that all this preparation is unnecessary. For all we know he could have zero problems in first grade. But we’re better safe than sorry.

While I’m still a little sad that he won’t have the teacher we were hoping for, I do feel confident that his new teacher is going to do her best to make this a good year for him. For the first time since the end of last year, I’m actually looking forward to the start of school. He is, too. And, really, that’s the most important part.

Back to School!

It’s Back-to-School time! Hooray! Hoorah! Hoorohhhh……crap. Back-to-School means Back-to-School shopping, specifically school supplies. The schools give us a list of what the kids need – and by “the kids” I unfortunately mean “the classroom”. The school budgets are so limited that it’s no longer sufficient to buy stuff just for your child. We also contribute to the general supplies for the classroom. Although it can be pricey – and, believe me, finances are always an issue for us – I’m all for contributing. Otherwise, it’s on the teachers. They’re already shafted when it comes to salary and benefits. To make them also pony up enough money to cover classroom supplies isn’t fair.

But that’s neither here nor there. The point is that it’s time once again for parents (and students) to descend upon stores like Target and Wal-Mart to take advantage of Tax-Free Weekend. What is Tax-Free Weekend, you ask? Why, it’s exactly what it sounds like. It’s the one weekend of the year where certain goods can be purchased tax-free. Critical school supplies such as paper, pencils, notebooks, clothing, computers…..It’s fantastic. Now that we have three kids in school we’re in for some significant savings this year.

Do you have any idea how much stuff we have to buy for these kids?

Here’s our list, condensed for all three:

2 – waterless soap/hand sanitizer

6 – boxes of Kleenex tissues

2 – boxes of quart size zip-lock bags

1 – box of gallon size zip-lock bags

12 – large glue sticks

2 – small glue sticks

6 – packs of #2 24 ct. pencils

2 – packs of washable markers

4 – boxes of 16 ct. crayons

1 – box of colored pencils

11 – pocket folders with prongs (2 red/2 blue/green/yellow/purple/orange)

2 – packs of large pearl erasers

3 – Fiskar student scissors

1 – pack 3×5 index cards

9 – Marble Composition books

1 – 3-subject spiral notebook

3 – packs wide-rule notebook paper

2 – red pens

2 – ultra-thin black Sharpie pens

1 – container baby wipes

5 – single-subject spiral notebooks

1 – pocket Dictionary

1 – pocket Thesarus

This is what elementary school supplies for three kids looks like.

That is a LOT of stuff.

So this morning we got our supplies. Now, normally my husband would be the one to venture to the store first thing in the morning, acquire everything we need, and be back home before 10am. Unfortunately, our daughter was sick last night so he didn’t get much sleep. Being the most awesomest wife ever, I offered to not only go to the store but to take the kids with me so he could get some more rest. Awhile back I shared a story about taking the children grocery shopping with me so clearly it’s a regular occurrence. But it was still a snooge stressful.

While it was nice to have a helper in the form of my daughter (who, by the way, isn’t actually sick – apparently she had a reaction to something she ate), it wasn’t so fun when she kept wandering off to look at all the cool stuff they had in the school supply section. Hollering her name repeatedly to find out where she was got old pretty fast.

And then it happened. Out of the blue, Monkey Man announced, “I HAVE TO GO TO THE BATHROOM!!” Hearing the urgency in his voice, a helpful Target employee told me where the closest bathroom was so we weren’t running up to the very front of the store. (Keep in mind that the school supply section is in the back corner of SuperTarget – as in, as far as humanly possible from the front of the store where the restrooms are located.) Thankfully, that particular restroom is a family restroom so we could all pile in without having to negotiate multiple kids in multiple stalls. And, of course, while Monkey Man was taking care of business, the other two both decided they had to go, too. As it turned out, they didn’t just have to pee, ifyouknowwhatImean (and I know that you do). So we were probably in there for a solid 10 minutes. Thankfully no one was waiting and we weren’t in much of a hurry. When everyone was done, we were finally able to finish our shopping.

Somehow I managed to get out of the store for just under $150, which is a miracle considering all the crap we had to buy. I guess it’s helpful that we didn’t need any new school clothes. Princess just got a ton of clothes that her cousins have outgrown and the boys are still the same sizes they were last year.

So hopefully we’re done. I cannot believe that school starts in three weeks (and we still don’t know who their teachers are. But that’s another post…) While it’s been a nice, mellow summer, I think the kids (and my husband!) are ready to get back into the school routine. Let’s just hope we don’t have to buy any more supplies.