Parent/Teacher Conference

Today I had to go to Parent/Teacher Conferences with Trent and Kaela. Kaela's is always first and I usually know how that one will go. She is my easy child/over achiever/excels at just about everything and anything. Sure no one is perfect, but she is pretty dang close. Her teacher had nothing but really nice things to say about her. She is a great student, she has a great personality, she is really "with it" and gets her work done, she's a good friend to other people, she will help other kids in the classroom who need it...and on and on. At one point I looked over at Kaela and thought, "How in the hell did I raise this and Trent is the total opposite." I'm just confused by the whole thing. She is a laid back girl. She is sweet and kind and just a blast to be with. She is a very likeable person 99.9% of the time. There is that 1% where she is a brat, but it is rare. I'm sure I don't have to tell you, but of course, she got all A's. She always has gotten A's and her teachers past and present always brag about her. I can still remember going in for my first Fall P/T conference with her kindergarten teacher. I was in there for less than 5 minutes. Her teacher told me, "Well, there's not much to tell and this is going to be really easy. Kaela knows everything she needs to know in order to pass Kindergarten. She's a great kid and I'm glad she's in my class." That was it, and the end of the meeting. From that point on, they have all been like that. I'm hoping that it will never change.

Now, Trent....oh poor Trent. I don't know what to do with him. Like I said before, I don't know how I raised both of these kids because they are so totally different. Trent seems to go downhill as the years go by. I have noticed a little trend though. The first of the year, he will slack up until that first P/T conference. After the first conference he kicks his butt in gear and pulls up his grades. Which, I guess is fine, but he really needs to be doing well from the start. Trent is a smart kid. I tell him all the time. He is more than capable of doing the work. He is being lazy. He is also rushing through tests, which causes him to get a bad score. We went through this in 3rd grade. Once he slowed down and really took the time to think, he started to do better. So, we are back to square one again. On this report he got a D and an F. Totally unacceptable. It will most likely take all year of good scores to pull those up. I know it took all year to get his D in Math up to a B and that was with extra credit. He got a C, too, which is okay, but still unacceptable because I know he can do better. So, he is getting pretty much everything taken away from him. His teacher never said that he needed help in any subject. I really don't think he does. She showed me his score on the state test and he did really well, so that tells me he is just being lazy or something. Right now some of the work he does is writing his words 10 time and then 8 times. I remember having to do that and I hated it. It was so boring and seemed so pointless to me. To be honest, I think it is just busy work...for him anyway. He has always been a good speller and writing them 18 times a week isn't really helping him with anything. Spelling is just something he never had to work at. He could bring home a list of words, forget to study them, take the test at the end of the week and get 100%. I don't think he has missed more than two words on a test and that was rare...very rare. Trent is a stubborn child. Wonder where he gets that from...hmmm. Anyway, he has attitude and is a pain most of the time. I'm really getting sick of it and maybe it is puberty or something. Maybe there is no reason for it, I don't know. What I do know is, when he is good, I really treasure that time. He is capable of being nice and not running his mouth. He really needs to work on his behavior. Maybe I just need to give him more responsibilty. I don't know. He is constantly fighting with his sister, but when I drop them off at school, they walk in together like they actually like eachother. Then again, he could be calling her a moron and her calling him a jerk and I don't even know it.

Anyway, for the most part I guess I have pretty good kids. I'm sure they aren't doing anything any other normal child would be doing...I hope. I'm sure it seems like I am always bragging about Kaela and complaining about Trent, and that is because I am. I really can't help that one gives me no trouble and the other gives me nothing but trouble. I just hope one day he will grow out of it, but I'm not counting on it.

Lookin' Back

Guess what I found while going through our storage unit the other day? I found all of Dalan's old yearbooks. Now, you may be thinking why is this such a big deal because I have the same books. Well, yeah, I do but only for our high school years and truth be told, most of you still look about the same. No, I'm talking about the Middle School yearbooks. Oh, I had a laugh and not over the pictures. I laughed over the signatures. It's amazing what people will write in a yearbook. When in 8th grade, I was not a fan of Dalan's. In fact, I couldn't stand him right up til the time we started dating. I really don't have a memory of getting over my dislike of him because he was always so mean to me. I have read that he was mean to quite a few girls and spit spit wads at them and flicked rubber bands and staples at them, too. I do have them topped though. He was so mean to me he literally stabbed me in the hand with a pencil in 8th grade. Yeah, and I ended up marrying him. I must be crazy! He would constantly pick on me. I was free of him our freshman year, but then we had some classes together our Sophomore year and back to the same old crap. Then our Junior year, we all of a sudden started dating. Anyway, I'm off track here, in his middle school yearbook and even freshman year, there are signatures from girls calling him anything from cute to gorgeous to downright sexy. LOL! Seriously, I look at Dalan in 8th grade and just think UGH! Okay, I think the same about myself though. My picture in that 8th grade yearbook is HORRIBLE. I remember it being taken. I didn't know it was going to be taken and then they didn't know how to work the camera, so they didn't know how to focus it. Anyway, I obviously had my reasons for thinking that way about Dalan as mentioned before. My favorite school picture of him is his Junior year pic. I LOVE IT! Now, the guys who signed his yearbooks are just plain naughty. Seriously, in 7th and 8th grade you guys all thought about the same thing. I'm assuming most guys haven't changed that much in that respect. I know Dalan hasn't. I think it is crazy who these guys reference as far as girls. When I ask Dalan about it, he says he is totally clueless and has no memory of ever liking the girl that is mentioned. Then, when I read the signature of the girl, he is baffled. It's just funny! I don't know if he is being defensive about it or what because he is out of town at the moment and I am reading this stuff to him over the phone. I can't wait for him to get home to read this stuff for himself. I certainly don't care for an explanation or anything, so I hope he doesn't think I am expecting one. I certainly had my crushes on certain people when I was younger. However, he didn't go to school with any of them because they all lived in SoCal.

How do you fix a lazy child?

Today while waiting in my car for the kids to be excused from school, I see Trent and his teacher walking together in my direction. My immediate thought was "Great, now what?" I don't know why that was my initial thought because I knew why she was walking out with him. I knew what she was going to tell me. So, of course, she says that Trent has been unprepared all week. Go figure! I thought he was doing good because he wasn't giving me a hard time with his homework. He was doing it without hardly any arguements. She then said he is a smart kid and can do the work. To which I replied, "I know, he's just lazy!" I told her I honestly don't know what else I could possibly do other than come to school with him and babysit him and that is just not possible. I am glad she is keeping me updated as to what is going on. I like to know what is going on in school with my kids. I want to know what is going on with them. If for some reason they are having a hard time, I will do everything I can to help them out. There really is no excuse for him to be getting the grades he is getting. He is doing work he learned in the 3rd grade when we lived in California. Yeah, we did just find out he needs glasses for reading. We actually just got those today. So, next week will be his first time with them in school. I'm hoping it helps, but I just don't know. I really do think he is just lazy and I'm pretty sure there is no cure for that. I hear people say he'll learn and he will grow out of it. Well, they have been saying that about a few things he does for years now. He has yet to "grow out of it". So, if anyone has any suggestions, I would greatly appreciate it. We have done everything from take his games away from him to taking him out of sports. Taking him out of sports is the last thing we wanted to do. It really is good for him and he gets out there and plays. It really was a last resort. So, anyway, I've about just said forget it and just let him be lazy and suffer the consequences. I just feel like there is nothing else I can really do.

Bikinis & Glasses

This blog is about two separate subjects. I am sure you already know that being the smart reader that you are. I will first start out with my post in which I complain about something and will then go on to one that tells you what is new with Trent.



The above picture is from two summers ago. I have obviously slacked when it comes to taking pics of them in their suits during the summer. So, can you tell me what is so wrong about the suit Kaela is wearing in the above picture? She is showing just as much skin as Trent, but her suit is considered immodest. Every year when it comes time for the swimming program the school requires the kids to attend, I get annoyed for reasons that don't even apply to Trent and only apply to Kaela who will not attend the swimming program until she is in 3rd grade, which is next year. On the paper they distribute it states modest attire is required. Last I checked, bathing suits for boys and girls are not the most modest thing in the world, but they go so far as to say that bikinis are not allowed. We moved to California when I was in the 2nd grade. Not long after, I got my first bikini. Oh how I loved it! In fact, I loved it so much that I haven't bought any other type of swimsuit but a bikini since then. Not a one piece, not a tankini. I'm strictly a bikini girl! As for Kaela, she hasn't had a one piece since she was probably one, maybe two. She has owned two tankini's, but no one piece suits. So, why is the bikini so immodest? I would like to know. I have my guess which is one thing influencing another and that one thing really should be kept separate, but I won't go into that. I mean, when wearing a bikini all the parts you don't want the world to see are covered up. Why is it modest for boys to show off their bellies and immodest for girls to show off theirs? How dumb does that sound? I spoke to Dalan about this and he said he would prefer Kaela wear a full body wet suit. Not gonna happen. I asked him how is it okay for boys to show off their bodies but girls have to be covered up? He said, "Because they are boys." Obviously the wrong person to talk to about this because he likes to say things just to get a rise out of me. When I first moved here and was in 8th grade (this event could have possibly taken place in high school)a girl, and I wish I could remember who, said that they can't wear two piece swimsuits because the belly button is what turns a guy on.....HUH? She lost me there. Okay, obviously her parents were giving her some crazy far out excuse as to why she couldn't have one. I can tell you right now it's not my belly button that drives Dalan crazy. I just don't see what the big deal is. Are you considered a slut if you were a bikini or what? Why are boys not required to wear t-shirts? It's just stupid...plain stupid. Besides, like kids that age are going to have impure thoughts about the opposite sex. I mean, come on! So, basically what this means is I'm going to have to fork out an extra $20 for a swimsuit for Kaela just so she has the "appropriate" attire, which is total bs...and that's if I can even find a one piece. I will most likely just get her a tankini. If I don't get her something "appropriate", she will be forced to wear a rental suit. Yeah, over my dead body! That is just disgusting. UGH! If for some reason they force her to wear a rental when the time comes, I will be in the school complaining. That is unsanitary or something. I don't care if they bleach the damn things. She will not wear a rental. She's a good swimmer anyway and doesn't really need the class. They just make it sound like it's required. In SoCal, there weren't many rules as far as dress code. You could wear sandals, but they couldn't be slip ons. They had to be something that wouldn't just come off. No strappy tanks. Tanks could be worn, but the strap had to be at least one inch wide. That's about it. The kids could wear anything they wanted pretty much. I mean, obviously they couldn't wear anything with foul language on it or anything gang related, but that's common sense. Here, there's a lot of rules. I guess as far as clothing is concerned, it doesn't matter much because while they are in school, it's not warm enough for that type of clothing. In Cali, they were in school til mid June, so they were more lenient especially with the temp reaching 90 and up half the year. I'm still annoyed about the swimsuit issue though and will be forever annoyed about it. Anyway, I'm complaining about this about a year too early, but I just can't help that it bugs me now. A year from now, you will read me complaining about it.....again.

Now, an update on Trent. I took him to the eye doctor yesterday and he needs glasses. He only needs them for reading and doing homework or when he is on the computer. So, that's good. The way the eye doctor explained it is it is like his eye is too small. He is trying to focus past his eye instead of at the back of it. Something like that. He also has astigmatism. It's not too bad right now and nothing to be worried about I guess. While picking out glasses, I realized the selection pretty much sucked! All they had were the rectangle shaped lenses that I guess are very in right now. I really wanted him to be able to try different shapes and styles, but there wasn't much to try. Not one pair looked masculine on him, but we found a good pair that will work and he seemed to like them. I just didn't want him to have something where all you see when you look at him are the glasses. I think the frameless would be good. These have the frame on top and are frameless on the bottom. When we get them, I will take a picture. In a year, when he can get new glasses, I think I will take him up to Provo or Orem. Just somewhere that will have more of a selection.

Anyway, that is my rant for the day. I hope you enjoyed it. I need to go get ready to go out to lunch.

The dreaded day has come and gone....

Today was the 5th grade maturation program, and I was pretty nervous about it. In fact, I went back and forth trying to decide whether or not I should let Trent go. He is totally oblivious to anything regarding sex or puberty. We have never had a talk about anything like that. I will try to put off the sex talk for as long as possible because, I like him not knowing. Kids now know too much if you ask me.

Now, to the class, I was happy to see two other moms there with their boys. We sat there in a room full of men and their sons. A little awkward, but not as awkward as it would've been if I were the only one. They first showed a movie, which started out pretty mellow. It talked about personal hygiene and I thought, "Okay, I can totally handle this." Then came a scene where this boy is talking to his uncle and the discussion goes somewhat like this....

Boy: What if I'm not as big as everyone?

Uncle: Everyone grows at their own rate. You will eventually grow to be tall too.

Boy: I'm not talking about that kind of growing.

And, then it goes into talking about the penis size and off we go from there. They talk about erections, wet dreams, pubic hair....everything but sex. As I sit there in a room full of men and boys, I start to wonder if perhaps I may be in a room full of men and their daughters because there is so much giggling going on. I put my head down and start texting a friend because I'm afraid I will start to laugh. Now, call me immature if you want, but sometimes I tend to giggle when things get a little uncomfortable. As we sat there, I can see that most of this information might be going in one ear and out the other as far as Trent is concerned. I later found out that this is not true. During the PowerPoint presentation, the instructor was going over everything discussed. At one point he asked if anyone knew what deodorant was for. Of course Trent's arm shoots up and he is chosen to answer. His answer was, "So your armpits don't stink!" Of course all his friends laugh. After the program there were cookies and drinks and then they were allowed to go back to class to gather up their things. We made it through the program just fine. I made sure to tell Trent that everything he learned in there DOES NOT need to be repeated to Kaela or his younger cousins. This is something for older kids and he is only to discuss it with adults. I'm sure it will all be talked about on the playground tomorrow. We went to the car to sit and wait for Kaela to be excused. Trent said to me, "I bet the girls talked about shopping." And I thought, "If only." He then continued and said, "No, they probably talked about their bodies. Ya know, these." As he made gestures with his arms starting at his chest and moving them out in front of him.

Right now, he is downstairs watching the Dodgers kick some butt. GO DODGERS! I will treasure these days where all he is interested in is sports and his stupid DS and other video games. He is growing up way too fast and will soon be bringing a girl around. I, for one, will feel sorry for that poor girl and will do everything in my power to save her and talk her out of dating my handsome son.

And I said I would never have one of these IN my house.....

Boy was I wrong! The day we got home from our cruise really was a sad one. The second I stepped out of the car at home, I was ready to run, literally run to Florida and somehow get back on that ship. The flies are terrible! I can't even stand them anymore. I am going insane as I sit here at home during the day trying to get things done. If I try to sit down, they will buzz around and near my head and sometimes hover there as if they are taunting me. I'm sure I look like a crazy lady as I sit here and wave my arms all around my head at what looks like nothing to the person peeking in from the outside. Then as soon as I get the fly swatter, I can't find one damn fly to kill. I have gotten pretty good at killing them and am sometimes so frustrated with them that the kill isn't a very clean one. I told Dalan I really can't take it anymore. I just can't. No matter how many I kill, there's always more. So, his solution was these damn, ugly fly tape things that I swore I would never put in my house because they are disgusting. He hung one in the kitchen and I put one in the living room and our bedroom. Romantic, isn't it? One day I told him that the ones I put up have caught more flies. Now it's a one sided competition because he won't play fair and claims his fly tapes are the ones I put up. California has never really looked so good. We could leave our doors wide open and not one bug would come into the house. There weren't bugs there to come into the house. Well, not annoying ones like flies. This is quite possibly due to the air quality I am sure, then again, I really don't even know. Still, with the smog and crappy air, it's still totally worth it to not have to deal with annoying bugs.

Oh! An update on my illness in case anyone was wondering and if there is actually anyone who reads this besides Kelli. The cruise was my miracle cure!!! I was over it the second I got on the ship. Turns out, all that fun is exactly what I needed. Actually, I still do have a bit of a cough that is really no big deal. I'm functioning normally or what is normal for me....FINALLY!

You have got to be kidding me.....

So, Dalan is going out of town...AGAIN, and guess what is on October 2nd? The 5th grade maturation class. UGH! Seriously, I thought this would be the one embarrassing boy thing Dalan would do with Trent. Nope! I'm stuck going. I potty trained the kid when the deal was Dalan would do it because well, he's a boy and from my understanding, all boys, well most, all have basically the same parts unless they have at some point in their life decided they really should be girls...but anywho, I'm off the subject. Dalan seems to think it is no big deal. I beg to differ. I would like to see him take Kaela to this class when she is in 5th grade and sit in a classroom with a bunch of moms and their daughters as they talk about the changes a girls body goes through and then start to discuss what happens when they get their first period. Yeah, I'm sure he would be comfortable...very comfortable. I'm obviously not going to learn anything new in this class, then again I might. I really don't even know what they talk about in this class. I don't even remember a class like this when I was growing up. The first class I remember was 7th grade sex ed. I was living in California at the time. It was understandably memorable because in that class, they showed a video of a women giving birth and not from the over the shoulder angle. This was so right there and in your face you thought the baby would shoot through the t.v. It's amazing I even have kids after seeing that. This was shown to a class of both boys and girls...together. I will never forget that. I know this class won't be that graphic, but I don't want Trent to feel weird or uncomfortable with me having to take him. I'm hoping there will be other moms there. If not, that will be really awkward....for me.