One of the big, big things I work with Maddy on is money. This is a must as far as the hubby and I are concerned. When I first started working with her she could not tell you how many quarters in a dollar. She would love it if all money was just one dollar bills, dimes and pennies. A good friend of mine and his wife gave me a large bag of "school" money for Maddy to work with. The bills and coins are the same size and shape of real money. They probably gave us at least $150.00 in bills and change.
I still need to do basic review of money with Maddy once in a while, but we have worked up to money word problems and then she makes the change for me. Some days we just have her give me the amount I ask for. Knowing that she likes to use the bills she is familiar with I slowly work the majority of those bills and coins out of her stash.
Yesterday we were working on making change and I could see that Maddy was getting frustrated pretty quick. She declared that money was stupid and did not understand why I would torture her with this task. After I explained that she could not work at Hot Topic until she could properly make change she did attempt a little more effort.
I asked her to give me $17.47 and after a little eye rolling she started to work on this amount. Looking at her pile of coins and only seeing 3 pennies the following conversation occurred.
Maddy: This can not be done! I can't make the amount you want me to make!!!
Me: Sure you can.
Maddy: NO, I can't I don't have enough pennies!!!!!
Me: Well how many pennies do you need to make seven cents?
Maddy: *Looking at me like I am truly the dumbest person on the planet* I need seven..DUH
Me: Nope, you only need two pennies to make seven cents.
Maddy: Yeah right
Me: Ok, I tell you what, if I show you how you can make seven cents out of two pennies you have to say you are sorry for being a sassy pants.
Maddy: You are on! But..wait..when you are wrong, you have to pay me one real dollar!!
Me: Ok, fair enough
I proceed to show her how to use one nickel and two pennies to make seven cents. Crushed in defeat in her chair she quietly mumbles "I am sorry I was a sassy pants".
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
More than just a couple of badges
This past Saturday Maddy spent the whole day away from the hubby and I. She has joined a Girl Scout troop that a couple of her Church friends are in. I am excited that she went and earned the badges. I am more excited about the fact that she went and allowed herself to have fun.
Maddy even at almost 16 has separation anxiety. She is afraid she might have a seizure, she might get lost. She is afraid that something will happen and she will not know what to do. Since I have been homeschooling her, I am really working on independence and getting her to step out of her comfort zone. She does not even really feel totally comfortable spending the night with grandparents. However, this has gotten much better.
Maddy is a child that if I say "Oh WOW look at that!!". She will grab on to me like the boogie man is after her before she will chance taking a look. Currently the line of communication with her is that Mom and Dad would never let her get hurt or set her up to fail.
Today was a big first step, she went with friends and had a good time. She made a new friend and was able to ask for help from and adult when needed. It is my goal that next year she go to a 4 day sleep away camp. I think we are moving in the right direction.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Dinner with my nephew
I have started having dinner every other week with my nephew. When I was growing up my Aunts were a very big part of my life and I would like to have the same relationship with my nephew. He is a great kiddo and I love the fact that even though he is 15 he does not mind being seen in public with me!
The first time we had dinner as we were leaving the restaurant the person holding the door open for people to leave looked at us and said, "You two behave!". What??? My nephew and I both cracked up laughing. What did this person think we were gonna do? It was both a funny and creepy moment all at the same time.
This past week when we were having dinner (different restaurant) the server kept trying to get us to have margaritas and stay for the band. My nephew is clearly not 21 years old, but that did not seem to deter this server. They were gonna make their alcohol sales for the day, laws be damned.
Wondering what the next few weeks will bring.
The first time we had dinner as we were leaving the restaurant the person holding the door open for people to leave looked at us and said, "You two behave!". What??? My nephew and I both cracked up laughing. What did this person think we were gonna do? It was both a funny and creepy moment all at the same time.
This past week when we were having dinner (different restaurant) the server kept trying to get us to have margaritas and stay for the band. My nephew is clearly not 21 years old, but that did not seem to deter this server. They were gonna make their alcohol sales for the day, laws be damned.
Wondering what the next few weeks will bring.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Peeking
I have a friend who is about to have her first baby. They decided that they wanted the sex of the baby to be a surprise. This has thrown Maddy into a frenzy. When I told Maddy my friend was having a baby, she asked the question everyone does. Is it a boy or a girl? When I told her that I did not know, I had to explain that yes, I did understand the difference between a boy and girl. After we got that all cleared up I explained that they wanted the sex of the baby to be a surprise.
When it was time to go buy a gift for the baby, Maddy was most perplexed as to what we could buy that would not damage the baby's ego and self esteem. "Mom, we can't buy anything with pink in it!! It could be a boy!" We finally decided on a nice neutral piece of clothing for the baby.
During lunch where we gave my friend the present Maddy asked a lot of questions regarding why the did not want to know. My friend said they wanted it to be a surprise so they did not "peek" at the baby.
On the way home Maddy asked me if we "peeked" at her. When I said yes, you would have thought I had just gone through her room and shown all my friends anything that might embarrass her. She could not believe that the hubby and I could do something like that to her! After she regained some of her composure she wanted to know why we "peeked". I explained that we wanted to know so that we could decorate appropriately and have the right kind of baby clothes waiting for her. She decided this was a good point and forgave us for invading her fetal privacy.
When it was time to go buy a gift for the baby, Maddy was most perplexed as to what we could buy that would not damage the baby's ego and self esteem. "Mom, we can't buy anything with pink in it!! It could be a boy!" We finally decided on a nice neutral piece of clothing for the baby.
During lunch where we gave my friend the present Maddy asked a lot of questions regarding why the did not want to know. My friend said they wanted it to be a surprise so they did not "peek" at the baby.
On the way home Maddy asked me if we "peeked" at her. When I said yes, you would have thought I had just gone through her room and shown all my friends anything that might embarrass her. She could not believe that the hubby and I could do something like that to her! After she regained some of her composure she wanted to know why we "peeked". I explained that we wanted to know so that we could decorate appropriately and have the right kind of baby clothes waiting for her. She decided this was a good point and forgave us for invading her fetal privacy.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Talking in circles
During the math lesson today the following conversation took place.
Me: Ok, the question says which badge do you think was the most difficult to earn and why.
Maddy: The Nature one because 9 people had earned it, that is the highest number.
Me: Hmmm..ok, so you think the most people went for the hardest badge?
Maddy: Yes, well..no. But that has to be the answer because it is the highest number.
Me: What? Difficult means that the badge was hard to earn.
Maddy: I KNOW THAT MOM!
Me: Ok, so do you think that most people would go for the easiest badge to earn or the hardest badge to earn?
Maddy: I would go for the easiest first so I guess that one.
Me: Ok, so do you think that the most people would go for the easiest badge?
Maddy: *sighes* I guess so, but you are wrong Mom.
Me: What do you mean?
Maddy: The answer has to be Nature because it is the biggest number!
Me: Let's look at the question again, did you give a reason for your answer? You sure did. Good job, lets move on to Social Studies.
Sometimes you have to know when to throw in the towel. I was getting dizzy!
Me: Ok, the question says which badge do you think was the most difficult to earn and why.
Maddy: The Nature one because 9 people had earned it, that is the highest number.
Me: Hmmm..ok, so you think the most people went for the hardest badge?
Maddy: Yes, well..no. But that has to be the answer because it is the highest number.
Me: What? Difficult means that the badge was hard to earn.
Maddy: I KNOW THAT MOM!
Me: Ok, so do you think that most people would go for the easiest badge to earn or the hardest badge to earn?
Maddy: I would go for the easiest first so I guess that one.
Me: Ok, so do you think that the most people would go for the easiest badge?
Maddy: *sighes* I guess so, but you are wrong Mom.
Me: What do you mean?
Maddy: The answer has to be Nature because it is the biggest number!
Me: Let's look at the question again, did you give a reason for your answer? You sure did. Good job, lets move on to Social Studies.
Sometimes you have to know when to throw in the towel. I was getting dizzy!
Friday, September 11, 2009
Aaaargh!!!!!
I have had a hard couple of weeks and it is not my fault and it is all my fault! Typically I am a calm, rational person who could be described as having a level head. I am easy going and quick to laugh.
The past two weeks I have been a freaking mess inside. It seems that the "forty hormones" are reeking havoc with me. What makes it particularly trying is that I have a 15 year old daughter who is battling with her hormones. In doing some research I found this and it made me laugh out loud.
Midlife is not for sissies. So many changes can happen during the years after 40 that you may have trouble keeping up. Change is a source of anxiety during even the best of times and when it is a positive change. But add to that any hormone fluctuations, health problems and/or major life events and you have a recipe for feeling overwhelmed. Among the common changes and challenges that a woman faces during these years are:
* Children hitting their teens. This can cause “the perfect storm” of hormones in the household, as everyone struggles to manage the mood and behavior changes of their bodies.
For those who know me, know that we pretty much live in a constant state of change around here. We have and keep spending tons of money and time on our "money-pit" house. This means and endless stream of workers, dust, and schedule interruptions. I love havimg a nice routine and schedule, so does Maddy. Just as Maddy and I are recovering and getting our routine back, we had to take my Mom-in-law for her eye surgery at the last minute.(She is fine) It seems that the harder I try to get a routine and schedule set in place, the more things that keep it from happening.
Then I feel out of sync and the hormones see a chink in the armor and proceed to try to make me insane. As of this writing I am winning the war, but the idea of saying "fark off" to the world and sitting on the couch, watching Lifetime and eating a gallon of ice cream is very tempting!
I have found that being productive around the house helps. I feel like I have done a good thing and the husband is always quick with a nice word about how hard I work around the house. At this point I will probably work the hormones to death and they will just leave me alone.
I guess we will see if I have the cleanest house on the block or if I become an ice cream eating, lifetime watching pool of tears on the couch!
The past two weeks I have been a freaking mess inside. It seems that the "forty hormones" are reeking havoc with me. What makes it particularly trying is that I have a 15 year old daughter who is battling with her hormones. In doing some research I found this and it made me laugh out loud.
Midlife is not for sissies. So many changes can happen during the years after 40 that you may have trouble keeping up. Change is a source of anxiety during even the best of times and when it is a positive change. But add to that any hormone fluctuations, health problems and/or major life events and you have a recipe for feeling overwhelmed. Among the common changes and challenges that a woman faces during these years are:
* Children hitting their teens. This can cause “the perfect storm” of hormones in the household, as everyone struggles to manage the mood and behavior changes of their bodies.
For those who know me, know that we pretty much live in a constant state of change around here. We have and keep spending tons of money and time on our "money-pit" house. This means and endless stream of workers, dust, and schedule interruptions. I love havimg a nice routine and schedule, so does Maddy. Just as Maddy and I are recovering and getting our routine back, we had to take my Mom-in-law for her eye surgery at the last minute.(She is fine) It seems that the harder I try to get a routine and schedule set in place, the more things that keep it from happening.
Then I feel out of sync and the hormones see a chink in the armor and proceed to try to make me insane. As of this writing I am winning the war, but the idea of saying "fark off" to the world and sitting on the couch, watching Lifetime and eating a gallon of ice cream is very tempting!
I have found that being productive around the house helps. I feel like I have done a good thing and the husband is always quick with a nice word about how hard I work around the house. At this point I will probably work the hormones to death and they will just leave me alone.
I guess we will see if I have the cleanest house on the block or if I become an ice cream eating, lifetime watching pool of tears on the couch!
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Complete Randomness
We should be back to a somewhat normal routine here which means I hope to post again on a regular basis.
While I was gone we had almost the entire downstairs floor replaced. What fun..dust and more dust everywhere!
I discovered that the Yankee Candle I bought does not smell as good as I thought it would. Now that it has been used, I can't give as a gift and how do you give a candle to someone saying I hated the way it smells, maybe you will like it? The best course of action I have decided is to put it in the guest house and use it there. This way I don't waste it and it can help keep that little house spruced up.
Maddy has joined Girl Scouts so in addition to all our Church activities we have more places to be and things to do. She has a bigger social life now that she ever had in public school!
The husband is headed back out to LA at the end of the month for some meetings. He has some exciting stuff lined up and we hope it will bring some paying work and some great new contacts.
Our dog has taken over the bed. I need to find my backbone and re-train him to sleep on his bed. Last night I had to fight the dog for my freaking pillow!
The husband and I have been playing 1vs100. It has been a fun way to spend the evenings playing trivia and working the brain a little bit. I am amazed at what we know and things we should know. We are now waiting for the game to come out of Beta and start the new season. If we win big I will let you know.
While I was gone we had almost the entire downstairs floor replaced. What fun..dust and more dust everywhere!
I discovered that the Yankee Candle I bought does not smell as good as I thought it would. Now that it has been used, I can't give as a gift and how do you give a candle to someone saying I hated the way it smells, maybe you will like it? The best course of action I have decided is to put it in the guest house and use it there. This way I don't waste it and it can help keep that little house spruced up.
Maddy has joined Girl Scouts so in addition to all our Church activities we have more places to be and things to do. She has a bigger social life now that she ever had in public school!
The husband is headed back out to LA at the end of the month for some meetings. He has some exciting stuff lined up and we hope it will bring some paying work and some great new contacts.
Our dog has taken over the bed. I need to find my backbone and re-train him to sleep on his bed. Last night I had to fight the dog for my freaking pillow!
The husband and I have been playing 1vs100. It has been a fun way to spend the evenings playing trivia and working the brain a little bit. I am amazed at what we know and things we should know. We are now waiting for the game to come out of Beta and start the new season. If we win big I will let you know.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Car Conversation
Maddy and I were in the car today and the following conversation took place.
Maddy: Remember when there was that roach in my room and Uncle Larry killed it for me?
Me: Yep
Maddy: I said (very high pitched whiny voice) "Uncle Larry, come help me there is a roach in my room!".
Me: You sang opera to Uncle Larry about the bug in your room?
Maddy: No!! But I guess I could have.
Me: Would have been funny if you did.
Maddy: The bug in my room scared me, it sounded like someone was scratching on my wall.
Me: MMMM..OK
Maddy: Do you know the sound I am talking about? Did you ever have a roach in your room?
**Now I have to be careful how I answered this. If I say no, then every noise for the next 3 weeks that sounds remotely bug like I will have to stop and listen to see if I have ever heard that noise before. If I say yes, then at the worst time possible Maddy will say "Hey Mom why don't you tell them about having roaches in your room!".
Me: I guess I know what you are talking about, I suppose at some time I had a bug in my room making noise.
Maddy: Did you get Banma to come and kill it for you?
Me: Nope, I took care of it myself.
Maddy: Did Banma know you were killing bugs? Did she hear you kill it?
Me: I don't know! You are asking me questions about things that happened thirty years ago.
Maddy: Hmmmm...and you said you have a good memory!
Me: Hey girl, why are you in my car and who are you?????
Maddy: Mom, *sigh* it is me I am your daughter. *Silence* You are really weird Mom.
Maddy: Remember when there was that roach in my room and Uncle Larry killed it for me?
Me: Yep
Maddy: I said (very high pitched whiny voice) "Uncle Larry, come help me there is a roach in my room!".
Me: You sang opera to Uncle Larry about the bug in your room?
Maddy: No!! But I guess I could have.
Me: Would have been funny if you did.
Maddy: The bug in my room scared me, it sounded like someone was scratching on my wall.
Me: MMMM..OK
Maddy: Do you know the sound I am talking about? Did you ever have a roach in your room?
**Now I have to be careful how I answered this. If I say no, then every noise for the next 3 weeks that sounds remotely bug like I will have to stop and listen to see if I have ever heard that noise before. If I say yes, then at the worst time possible Maddy will say "Hey Mom why don't you tell them about having roaches in your room!".
Me: I guess I know what you are talking about, I suppose at some time I had a bug in my room making noise.
Maddy: Did you get Banma to come and kill it for you?
Me: Nope, I took care of it myself.
Maddy: Did Banma know you were killing bugs? Did she hear you kill it?
Me: I don't know! You are asking me questions about things that happened thirty years ago.
Maddy: Hmmmm...and you said you have a good memory!
Me: Hey girl, why are you in my car and who are you?????
Maddy: Mom, *sigh* it is me I am your daughter. *Silence* You are really weird Mom.
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