Survival Mode

Middle school is going to do me in.   One of my sixth graders (to be left un-named) actually got into the car for school this morning without shoes.  We were a good mile from home, and he was casually playing the Rubik's cube in the back seat when I asked him why he hadn't put his shoes on yet. 

"I can't find them".  Like....No big deal.  SERIOUSLY ?!?!?!?  Stop the car, search the back seat, discover that there was not a pair of matching shoes to be found (two unmatched shoes floating around, but not a pair). 

"It's okay, Mom.  I'll wear two different shoes to school."  No.  No you will not.  So we turned around, drove all the way home, found some shoes, and were all subsequently "tardy" to our respective destinations. 

Then, tonight, after I get home at 7 pm after an 11 hour work day, I discover that no one has done their homework.  And all three kids have homework.  I check PowerSchool, and find out that the same shoe-forgetting child is flunking every single class, because he hasn't turned in any of his homework yet.  Even though he's done it all.  And he's SHOCKED!  SHOCKED because he did the work!  And the information wasn't transmitted by ESP to his teachers!  A quick check of his backpack found all the missing homework crumpled up in tiny balls under four books and an uneaten lunch.  We'll rely on the mercy of teachers to see if he can still get credit for it or not.  I have my doubts. 

At 9:30 pm tonight, after 2 solid hours of homework, wherein Mom had to nearly physically SIT on both boys to get them to focus, Quinn pops off with the following.

"Mom, we really need to set aside some time earlier in the day to do our homework.  This is just too late at night, and I can't think well because I'm tired."

Well, isn't THAT a great idea.  

"We need a homework schedule.  Let's say 5:00 to 6:00 pm every night.  Right before dinner.  Gives us a chance to relax a bit after school, but we're still fresh."

Another great idea, Quinn.  Does this new-found organization require Mom to nag incessantly over and over again to get homework to start?  Or sit there with you continuously to make sure you don't get up to stare at yourself in the mirror?  Or play footsies with your brother?  Or go to the bathroom twelve times?  Can we assume it will just  happen spontaneously?  Curious minds want to know.

((sigh))

From the time I got home, until right this moment - a full three hours  - my evening was spent preparing three children for school tomorrow.  Homework, emailing teachers, reviewing spelling words, packing backpacks, making lunches, scrounging the laundry for loose coins for a first grader's "Everyday Math" assignment. 

I'm going to ((sigh)) again. 

I really don't know if I'm going to survive this school year.   

 

Conversation In the Car

Quinn: "Mom, what's for dinner?"
Mom: "Roast Beef".
Quinn: "I don't like that."
Mom: "Now you don't like roast beef?  Since when?"
Quinn: "I'm a vegetarian now."
Mom: "But you won't eat your vegetables."
Quinn: "Uhhhhhhhh"
Mom: "That makes you a carbatarian, and that's not okay."
Colby (from the back seat): "Yeah.  And a dessertian."

Pretty much.  Bread and sweets.

How will I keep him alive???

 Quinn and Colby's Language teacher asked us to write a letter introducing them to her.  This is what I came up with.

Colby was born in Marquette, MI as a premature twin.  We had been transferred to Marquette General Hospital for the final two weeks of the pregnancy, after a total of 3 months on bedrest, as I went into pre-term labor at 20 weeks.  Colby and his brother Quinn spent a month in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit there, learning how to breathe, eat, and grow.  Bringing the boys home to Chassell after a total of 6 weeks in the hospital was such a relief!  At one year of age, both Quinn and Colby underwent nephrectomies (removal of a kidney) at the University of Michigan, secondary to severe kidney reflux.  Regardless of the bumpy beginning, Colby has thrived and grown into a healthy young man!

Colby lives with his Dad and I (Rob and Monica), his identical twin brother Quinn, and a little sister Reagan, who is in the 1^st grade.  He attended Chassell Elementary from preschool through 4^th grade.   He and Quinn are very close, and up until 4^th grade were virtually inseparable.   In 5^th grade, we decided to transfer just Colby to Houghton Elementary, while keeping his brother and sister in Chassell, so that the boys could develop their individual personalities and make individual friends.  It took Colby a little while to adjust to being without Quinn, but eventually he was able to make some really great friends and figure out that he’s not just half of a duo.

Colby is active in soccer, and snowboards all winter long.  He loves to swim, and conquered the high dive (the BIG one!!) at Michigan Tech’s pool when he was only six!  He’s a bit of a daredevil, and one of the bravest kids I’ve ever met.  Colby is also very musical, and plays the piano.  He will be starting band this school year, and he’s very excited about that.   Colby likes to act and perform: he’s had major roles in church plays, and gotten up in front of hundreds of people to speak before.   He’s traveled quite a bit in his young life, having visited Hawaii, Belize, Honduras, Mexico, the Cayman Islands, as well as many states in the U.S from coast to coast.  He enjoys flying with his Dad in our small, two-seater airplane.  They just got back from a week of camping on a small island in the middle of Lake Michigan, just the two of them. 

Colby loves to read, and is currently especially interested in mythology (Greek, Roman, Egyptian).  Calvin and Hobbes is also a favorite.  Colby is very interested in all forms of technology and electronics.  Over this past summer, he began learning how to program in HTML, and wants to one day be either a video game designer or a robotics engineer.  He’s hoping to attend Michigan Tech someday, just like his Dad. 

Colby struggles with organization, and often has sloppy handwriting because he rushes through his work.  He’s very capable of producing neat work when he slows down, and this is something that we’ve reminded him about his entire school career. 

He’s really excited about middle school and everything he’ll be able to learn and do!   Here’s hoping for a really great year!!  

------------------

Quinn was born in Marquette, MI as a premature twin.  We had been transferred to Marquette General Hospital for the final two weeks of the pregnancy, after a total of 3 months on bedrest, as I went into pre-term labor at 20 weeks.  Quinn and his brother Colby spent a month in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit there, learning how to breathe, eat, and grow.  Bringing the boys home to Chassell after a total of 6 weeks in the hospital was such a relief!  At one year of age, both Quinn and Colby underwent nephrectomies (removal of a kidney) at the University of Michigan, secondary to severe kidney reflux.  Quinn’s remaining kidney was also bad, and we were told to expect either another surgery or a kidney transplant when he was bigger, but the kidney was healed when Quinn turned two, which we regard as a true miracle. 

Quinn lives with his Dad and I (Rob and Monica), his identical twin brother Colby, and a little sister Reagan, who is in the 1^st grade.  He attended Chassell Elementary from preschool through 5^th grade.   He and Colby are very close, and up until 4^th grade were virtually inseparable.   In 5^th grade, we decided to transfer just Colby to Houghton Elementary, while keeping Quinn and Reagan in Chassell, so that the boys could develop their individual personalities and make individual friends.  Quinn really blossomed during this time “on his own”.  This is his first year at Houghton, and he’s nervous but excited to try something new.

Quinn is active in soccer and basketball, and snowboards all winter long.  He plays the piano and last year started the trumpet, which he took to very quickly.  He’s also learning to play the mandolin – something he’s wanted to do since kindergarten.    Quinn is a soft-hearted boy, and loves animals of all kinds.  He spends quite a bit of time at his cousins’ farm, with the turkeys, chickens, cows and horses.  He also loves rocks and minerals, and has a decent-sized collection in his bedroom.  Quinn enjoys doing tricks on his scooter, and has built a scooter ramp course off our front porch.   He’s traveled quite a bit in his young life, having visited Hawaii, Belize, Honduras, Mexico, the Cayman Islands, as well as many states in the U.S from coast to coast.  He enjoys flying with his Dad in our small, two-seater airplane.  This past summer, they spent a week in Canada near the arctic circle, just the two of them. 

Quinn loves to read, especially Calvin and Hobbes.  He’s a good student, and a hard worker, but prefers hands-on learning and lots of movement.  He’s really excited about middle school, but nervous about the transition to a new school, where he’ll know less people.  Houghton is so much bigger than Chassell!   Here’s hoping for a really great year!!  Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any concerns at all!

 

 

 

 

 

Middle School Craziness

SOOOOOOOOO.
The boys are in middle school.

This means that all.the.stuff. they've always wanted to do is now available to them. 

So they have joined everything.

EVERY.thing.

We now have two boys in band.  Trumpet and drums.  There is a piano, a mandolin, a drum, a set of bells, a guitar, and a trumpet currently in my living room.

And there's football.  They only have one complete set of kidneys between the two of them, and yet.... they're in football.  Not my choice, obviously.  And bribery  is alleged to have been involved in Colby's decision to join as well (Dad?  I'm looking at you). 

Piano lessons continue, but now Reagan has joined in, so I sit for 90 minutes a week in a dark basement with questionable ventilation.

Soccer.  There's still soccer, twice a week without fail.

Squires, with Colby as Sergeant at Arms and in charge of bringing "all the stuff" to every meeting.  We, as in me, are not good at keeping track of "all the stuff". 

Robotics League.  Which apparently is very involved, and includes out of area travel? 

Basketball.  Starts next week, but not yet (thank GOODNESS).

Faith Formation.  I'm sure the boys would be happy to ditch, but Mama won't let them.

And the school play.  I have a feeling at least one of the two will want to be involved. 

This on top of school with daily homework, and piano practice, and band practice, and robotics homework, and achievements for Squires... all of which is supposed to be done "at home", when it's suddenly apparent that they never ARE at home!!!  I might add that the motivator/nag/transporter/keep-track-of-thing-er (moi) is currently on a "9 days in a row" working stint, clocking overtime when I'm supposed to be PART time.  

I'm exhausted just thinking about it. My head is about to explode.   How long can we keep this up???? 

It's always my fault.

Quinn: "Mom, Colby got his name written on the board today at school."
Mom: "COLBY!  What for???"
Colby: "Because you didn't buy me a notebook for school.  I need a notebook for English."
Mom: "You didn't tell me you needed a notebook.  That's not my fault."
Quinn: "He's going to get detention, if he gets three more checks."
Mom: "You boys better not get detention.  I NEVER got detention in all my years of school."
Quinn: "That's because you were a goody two-shoes."
Colby: "And YOUR mother bought you notebooks when you needed them!"

Whatever.  Everything is always my fault. 

Spoiled Kids....

In what is HOPEFULLY the last time this happens for at least the next 9 months (school is starting!!!), I took all three kids with me to Walmart today.  For a solid 2 hours, they asked for all.the.things.  Without letting up.  "Mom can I have gum?"  "Mom, can I have a dollar?"  "Mom, can I buy some candy?"  "Mom, can I have this t-shirt?" 

Finally, in desperation, I cried out to the heavens...
"If one more person asks me to buy something for them, I am going to EXPLODE!!!!"

In response, each of my three innocent children smiled deviously, and asked "can we have a pop?"
("I just want to see you explode, Mom"  Colby said.  Thanks.)

On the way home, during which the kids were asking to have friends invited over, or go to the park, or stop by the video store for a movie, or or or or.... I just couldn't take it any more.

"You guys are driving me crazy.  You must be the most spoiled children in the entire world."

They denied this adamantly.

"We're not spoiled.  We just ask.  You always say no to everything we ask."
"Well, you must be spoiled, if you expect that every day is going to be like Disneyland. We must be spoiling you."

Quinn was introspective.

"No, Mom.  We're just optimists.  I have lots of high hopes."

Whatever.  They're driving me nuts.