Dermot: Mama, what's 100 plus 1 plus 1 plus 3?
Mama: 105
Dermot: So if I had 2 instead of 3 I would have 104.
Mama: Yep
Wow. Ethan also told me that one of the kindergarten teachers at Dermot's daycare saw what Dermot was working on and told him that he looks like he may be ready for kindergarten. I'm in no rush, but no kidding. They have no idea what this kid can do. They look at him with the same eyes they look at every kid. They look for typical, not strengths, talents, and gifts. Sigh. I hope public school is better, but I fear that it may not be. I feel like I may be doing a lot of advocating for Dermot in the future.
February 25, 2009
February 15, 2009
Finally - The Birthday Party
Fortunately, Dermot's birthday party was much better than the real day when he stayed home with us. I should point out, though, that Dermot's birthday party was on Saturday and the Friday before he was diagnosed with his very first case of strep throat. Antibiotics and Tylenol kept the boy going. We had the party at Little Gym, which I really like. The parties there are only for the kids invited. So many of the kids' parties around here involve going to some obnoxious place with tons of kids and then spending half an hour in a side room. At Little Gym, it was just us. We were supposed to have 12 kids including Dermot, but 2 kids got sick and couldn't come. That happened to me all the time with my December birthday. So I had talked about that to prepare Dermot for the possibility. He was fine with all of that.
We got there a little early and set up, but everything was really all ready for us. We just had to put the food in the party room and put the goodie bags behind the counter. This year, since the kids are older, some of the parents stayed outside of the gymnastics area. So I played host to them and Ethan went inside with the kids. There were two teachers there too to help the kids. They did a mixture of free play, dance, and organized games. Dermot had to sit out a couple of times because he just didn't have the energy. Poor guy, but he didn't let it get him down. He cuddled with Ethan for a little bit and then he took pictures of all of his friends having fun. The kids had a blast. Since it has been so cold here, the kids had been locked inside for over a week. They all took advantage of being able to run around like crazy people. They all followed directions and didn't bother each other too. It was really lovely.
After an hour of play, it was time for the party room. Everyone else always has pizza for the kids, but I refuse to spend my money on non-vegan items, and I knew the kids would freak out about cheeseless pizza. So instead we just brought snacks. We brought Tings, pita chips, and hummus. Tings were mostly what the kids ate. Little Gym provided juice boxes and we brought in bottled water. I didn't even think of soda until we were there since we don't really drink it. Dermot wanted his vanilla soy milk, but that would have been obnoxious to bring. They make juice boxes of it, but I can only find them at Whole Foods. I wasn't about to go to another store for all of this stuff.
After the snacks came cupcakes. We bought 30 cupcakes from the vegan bakery (sweet avenue bake shop). We bought a mixture of red velvet, vanilla, and chocolate. We had asked what the kids wanted ahead of time. The people at the store are so cool and they have gotten to know Ethan and Dermot a little bit. They made Dermot a special cupcake without us asking them too. They put a picture of Batman on top as a surprise for him. The owners are a young couple and the wife's sister. The husband is a total Star Wars and Batman fanatic. Dermot has a Batman hat and gloves and so the guy started talking to Dermot about them. That's why they knew the cupcake would make him happy.
After the cupcakes it was time to go. Goodie bags for everyone. Dermot wanted a Batman theme for the party and all of the goodie bags had a ton of Batman stuff - masks, rubber bracelets, blowouts, and I sent out Batman thank you cards. I also put in Swedish fish, ring pops, and now and laters. Everything was very Dermot and he wanted a goodie bag for himself. He even put his name on the bag after I made them. I'm such a sneaky mom that I went out and bought him some extra stuff for his bag that he had no idea about until we got into the car. I bought him a small Clone Wars Lego set, a Spiderman lollipop, and orange tic-tacs (since he's always eating mine). He was so surprised and happy.
The best part of the party was that all of the kids had a great time and then we all go to leave. It was really fantastic to just leave when it was over and not have to put anything away or clean up. That was totally worth the money.
The sweetest thing is that one of the girls who was at the party was talking about how much fun she had at the party when Ethan dropped Dermot off at daycare on the next Monday. She was also wearing her Batman rubber bracelet. That made me happy too.
Dermot got quite a haul with his presents. His friends really had an idea of what he wanted. He got a sticker maker (Disney), a Spiderman car, a Batman cape, two action figures that he didn't have, two sets of generic legos for him to create his own stuff, some stuff he did have, but we already went to Toys R us and turned them in along with his gift card and got more Legos.
After all of that, I still think that next year I don't want to do a party. I think I would rather have 2-3 friends over at our house. But we'll see maybe I'll change my mind by the end of this year. Dermot will have all new friends once he starts kindergarten, and that may change a lot of things.
We got there a little early and set up, but everything was really all ready for us. We just had to put the food in the party room and put the goodie bags behind the counter. This year, since the kids are older, some of the parents stayed outside of the gymnastics area. So I played host to them and Ethan went inside with the kids. There were two teachers there too to help the kids. They did a mixture of free play, dance, and organized games. Dermot had to sit out a couple of times because he just didn't have the energy. Poor guy, but he didn't let it get him down. He cuddled with Ethan for a little bit and then he took pictures of all of his friends having fun. The kids had a blast. Since it has been so cold here, the kids had been locked inside for over a week. They all took advantage of being able to run around like crazy people. They all followed directions and didn't bother each other too. It was really lovely.
After an hour of play, it was time for the party room. Everyone else always has pizza for the kids, but I refuse to spend my money on non-vegan items, and I knew the kids would freak out about cheeseless pizza. So instead we just brought snacks. We brought Tings, pita chips, and hummus. Tings were mostly what the kids ate. Little Gym provided juice boxes and we brought in bottled water. I didn't even think of soda until we were there since we don't really drink it. Dermot wanted his vanilla soy milk, but that would have been obnoxious to bring. They make juice boxes of it, but I can only find them at Whole Foods. I wasn't about to go to another store for all of this stuff.
After the snacks came cupcakes. We bought 30 cupcakes from the vegan bakery (sweet avenue bake shop). We bought a mixture of red velvet, vanilla, and chocolate. We had asked what the kids wanted ahead of time. The people at the store are so cool and they have gotten to know Ethan and Dermot a little bit. They made Dermot a special cupcake without us asking them too. They put a picture of Batman on top as a surprise for him. The owners are a young couple and the wife's sister. The husband is a total Star Wars and Batman fanatic. Dermot has a Batman hat and gloves and so the guy started talking to Dermot about them. That's why they knew the cupcake would make him happy.
After the cupcakes it was time to go. Goodie bags for everyone. Dermot wanted a Batman theme for the party and all of the goodie bags had a ton of Batman stuff - masks, rubber bracelets, blowouts, and I sent out Batman thank you cards. I also put in Swedish fish, ring pops, and now and laters. Everything was very Dermot and he wanted a goodie bag for himself. He even put his name on the bag after I made them. I'm such a sneaky mom that I went out and bought him some extra stuff for his bag that he had no idea about until we got into the car. I bought him a small Clone Wars Lego set, a Spiderman lollipop, and orange tic-tacs (since he's always eating mine). He was so surprised and happy.
The best part of the party was that all of the kids had a great time and then we all go to leave. It was really fantastic to just leave when it was over and not have to put anything away or clean up. That was totally worth the money.
The sweetest thing is that one of the girls who was at the party was talking about how much fun she had at the party when Ethan dropped Dermot off at daycare on the next Monday. She was also wearing her Batman rubber bracelet. That made me happy too.
Dermot got quite a haul with his presents. His friends really had an idea of what he wanted. He got a sticker maker (Disney), a Spiderman car, a Batman cape, two action figures that he didn't have, two sets of generic legos for him to create his own stuff, some stuff he did have, but we already went to Toys R us and turned them in along with his gift card and got more Legos.
After all of that, I still think that next year I don't want to do a party. I think I would rather have 2-3 friends over at our house. But we'll see maybe I'll change my mind by the end of this year. Dermot will have all new friends once he starts kindergarten, and that may change a lot of things.
February 14, 2009
That's Right
Dermot tonight in the car after talking about another kid who likes to bother Dermot.
"I'm not a copycat. I'm a normal kid who's five. I'm not a weirdo."
Call 'em how you see 'em kid. I wish I felt that way about myself at 5.
"I'm not a copycat. I'm a normal kid who's five. I'm not a weirdo."
Call 'em how you see 'em kid. I wish I felt that way about myself at 5.
February 12, 2009
Math
I didn't want to leave my whiny post at the top of the blog, so here's a quick one. I'll write about the birthday party later - I swear. I just don't have time right now.
Here are some quick examples of Dermot's burgeoning mathematics ability.
When Dermot's playing Lego Star Wars he needs to collect 10 "white things" on each level. Ethan and Dermot have found most of them, but Dermot is still looking for the few we don't have. A while ago, Dermot was playing and Ethan and I were just sitting in the living room with him. Dermot says to himself, "I have 7 white things so I need 3 more.". I was blown away. Now if I ask him what's 10 minus 7 he can't answer me, but the real life stuff is more useful anyway.
Two days ago when we were getting ready to bed, Dermot had Puppy and Bat with him (he now has two stuffed animals that are always with him). Dermot tells me that if he farts twice, Puppy farts twice, and Bat farts once that will be five farts. So my kid has already moved on to three addends, not just two. If he would just put any of this energy into reading, I would be so happy. He's still fighting me on that front.
I do want to point out, though, that Dermot has some sight words. They are not the normal ones like "the" or "at". No, not my boy. He knows "to be continued", "Save", and "continue". His words are mostly video game related or tied to the cartoon series we are renting through Netflix. In fact, when he creates his adventures with Ethan he has started telling me what disc they are in which season. For example, they just finished disc 2 of season 4 of their adventures. This side of Dermot makes me happy and laugh.
Here are some quick examples of Dermot's burgeoning mathematics ability.
When Dermot's playing Lego Star Wars he needs to collect 10 "white things" on each level. Ethan and Dermot have found most of them, but Dermot is still looking for the few we don't have. A while ago, Dermot was playing and Ethan and I were just sitting in the living room with him. Dermot says to himself, "I have 7 white things so I need 3 more.". I was blown away. Now if I ask him what's 10 minus 7 he can't answer me, but the real life stuff is more useful anyway.
Two days ago when we were getting ready to bed, Dermot had Puppy and Bat with him (he now has two stuffed animals that are always with him). Dermot tells me that if he farts twice, Puppy farts twice, and Bat farts once that will be five farts. So my kid has already moved on to three addends, not just two. If he would just put any of this energy into reading, I would be so happy. He's still fighting me on that front.
I do want to point out, though, that Dermot has some sight words. They are not the normal ones like "the" or "at". No, not my boy. He knows "to be continued", "Save", and "continue". His words are mostly video game related or tied to the cartoon series we are renting through Netflix. In fact, when he creates his adventures with Ethan he has started telling me what disc they are in which season. For example, they just finished disc 2 of season 4 of their adventures. This side of Dermot makes me happy and laugh.
February 10, 2009
Lousy Day
So, I was planning on writing some sweet, sappy post about Dermot's fifth birthday. 5 years and 22 minutes ago, he was pulled out of me quietly. But no, instead I am going to write about what an awful day I had today.
Dermot had requested that Ethan and I take off work and stay home with him. Sweet, right? So we did - especially since tonight's my night class and I wouldn't have seen Dermot except for about an hour this morning. Dermot woke up and ran downstairs to see his presents. We got him four Lego kits. So Ethan started building one while Dermot and I were eating breakfast. Dermot was just in a lousy mood. I don't even remember what happened. I just know that he was talking horribly to me, and that he was being a real jerk. So he got a birthday timeout. It's like he thought that since he was the birthday boy he could be an asshole. Not on my watch little kid.
Then Dermot realized it was video game day. So he and Ethan went to Blockbuster to rent some games and return the old ones. As usual, Dermot got frustrated when things got hard and he ended up yelling at Ethan who was just trying to help him. Then Dermot picked up the Lego kit that I had made (Count Dooku's Solar Sailer which is a piece of crap!) and he broke part of it. Granted, it was two pieces that I had had trouble keeping stick, but still - icing on the cake. This, of course, happened right before I was supposed to go to the knee doctor. So I said "Perfect" and then I left.
I get to the doctor's office and I realize that I only have four bucks on me and they don't take credit cards. I ask where the nearest ATM is. The receptionist tells me it's just down the street, but I couldn't find it. I ended up walking another way and seriously wasting a half an hour just to get ten bucks for my copay. Finally, I see the doctor and get some x-rays. My knees don't have anything wrong with them on the x-ray. I have to do exercises and take some prescription dose naprosyn for ten days to see if that helps. If not, it's an MRI. My knee isn't that bad, but it hurts by the end of the day and it's popping like crazy. It keeps feeling like it's going to give way. After this horrible experience, I was tempted to not go home for a while, but I did. Since I had to go to CVS to get my prescription, I called Ethan to see if he needed anything. He told me that he had given Dermot a time out because he never settled down after the Solar Sailer incident.
I forgot. Also, before I went to the doctor I made Dermot a cake. He had requested a fat-full vanilla cake unlike the usually fat free white cake I make. He wanted a yellow cake like when he turned 3. He also didn't want any frosting on it. So I made him one 9-inch round instead of two. After I got the cake out of the oven, I couldn't get it out of the well greased stupid pan. So the cake is in pieces. It tastes great, but it looks like shit. Dermot wouldn't eat it because it didn't look like the cake from the pictures of when he turned three. I told him that the cake in the picture looked that way because it had FROSTING on it - which he wouldn't eat. So he told me he wouldn't eat the cake.
Things mostly settled down before dinner, although dinner was really late because I just couldn't handle having to think of something to make, trying to make sure that it would make Ethan happy, and then actually also making it. It was that crappy of a day. Now I'm up still up at 11:03 when I should be sleeping because we'll all be up at 6 tomorrow. At least this day is almost over.
I'll write about Dermot's party another time.
Dermot had requested that Ethan and I take off work and stay home with him. Sweet, right? So we did - especially since tonight's my night class and I wouldn't have seen Dermot except for about an hour this morning. Dermot woke up and ran downstairs to see his presents. We got him four Lego kits. So Ethan started building one while Dermot and I were eating breakfast. Dermot was just in a lousy mood. I don't even remember what happened. I just know that he was talking horribly to me, and that he was being a real jerk. So he got a birthday timeout. It's like he thought that since he was the birthday boy he could be an asshole. Not on my watch little kid.
Then Dermot realized it was video game day. So he and Ethan went to Blockbuster to rent some games and return the old ones. As usual, Dermot got frustrated when things got hard and he ended up yelling at Ethan who was just trying to help him. Then Dermot picked up the Lego kit that I had made (Count Dooku's Solar Sailer which is a piece of crap!) and he broke part of it. Granted, it was two pieces that I had had trouble keeping stick, but still - icing on the cake. This, of course, happened right before I was supposed to go to the knee doctor. So I said "Perfect" and then I left.
I get to the doctor's office and I realize that I only have four bucks on me and they don't take credit cards. I ask where the nearest ATM is. The receptionist tells me it's just down the street, but I couldn't find it. I ended up walking another way and seriously wasting a half an hour just to get ten bucks for my copay. Finally, I see the doctor and get some x-rays. My knees don't have anything wrong with them on the x-ray. I have to do exercises and take some prescription dose naprosyn for ten days to see if that helps. If not, it's an MRI. My knee isn't that bad, but it hurts by the end of the day and it's popping like crazy. It keeps feeling like it's going to give way. After this horrible experience, I was tempted to not go home for a while, but I did. Since I had to go to CVS to get my prescription, I called Ethan to see if he needed anything. He told me that he had given Dermot a time out because he never settled down after the Solar Sailer incident.
I forgot. Also, before I went to the doctor I made Dermot a cake. He had requested a fat-full vanilla cake unlike the usually fat free white cake I make. He wanted a yellow cake like when he turned 3. He also didn't want any frosting on it. So I made him one 9-inch round instead of two. After I got the cake out of the oven, I couldn't get it out of the well greased stupid pan. So the cake is in pieces. It tastes great, but it looks like shit. Dermot wouldn't eat it because it didn't look like the cake from the pictures of when he turned three. I told him that the cake in the picture looked that way because it had FROSTING on it - which he wouldn't eat. So he told me he wouldn't eat the cake.
Things mostly settled down before dinner, although dinner was really late because I just couldn't handle having to think of something to make, trying to make sure that it would make Ethan happy, and then actually also making it. It was that crappy of a day. Now I'm up still up at 11:03 when I should be sleeping because we'll all be up at 6 tomorrow. At least this day is almost over.
I'll write about Dermot's party another time.
February 05, 2009
Car
I've been posting things on facebook, and I haven't been writing about them here. Just in case anyone is interested and doesn't see me on facebook our biggest news is that we bought a new car! I know crazy in this economy right? When Ethan and I met in 1998, we both still had our first cars. I had a 1988 Sundance I bought from my brother (piece of crap), and he had a used Escort that he bought in college. Around January of 2000 some lady went through a red light while I was turning left and she totalled my car. So Ethan and I had the Escort. Then his Escort's second transmission died. We figured it was a bad idea to put a third transmission into a car. So we were stuck needing a car. I must say that I married into the most marvelous family in the world. We were planning on asking Ethan's lovely aunt for a low interest loan, but before we got to that point, Ethan's parents offered to give us their 1996 Civic. They went down to one car so that we could have a car. To this day I am still blown away by that kind of generosity. My parents didn't even give me things they had promised me, much less anything extra.
When we had Dermot we put it off, but we needed a second car. That's when we got my 2004 CR-V, which I still love. We have been happy with both cars, but the Civic is 12 years old and the gas mileage was hovering around 20 miles to the gallon instead of 30 - even after being worked on. I don't believe in driving a car until it actually does die on you, if you are lucky enough to have a choice. We had been planning on buying a car this summer, but the deals just got to good for us. Ethan has had his eye on a hybrid for a while. We are not as "green" as we could be, who is?, but we certainly do try. Ethan is better at than I am because he was raised thinking this way - I was not. Anyway, we were looking at the Prius and the hybrid Civic. Ethan had decided on a Prius based on a bunch of research, and after driving them both he liked the Prius better too. I went and tried the Prius only, and I really liked it. It's totally space-age. He does not need a key to turn on the car. How Jetsons! He has an electric component that looks like my electric opener for the CR-V, but he only needs to have it in his pocket.
I haven't really driven our car yet because Ethan's still thoroughly enjoying it. As a passenger, though, the Prius is great. It has more room than the Civic did, and it rides more quietly. Which is funny because we chose the CR-V over the Rav-4 because the Honda had more room than the Toyota. Dermot loves having a new car. He kept talking about it when we first got it. He thinks it's cool that he gets to go to school in a brand new car. So now, Ethan and I have both had the pleasure of having our first, own, new cars.
When we had Dermot we put it off, but we needed a second car. That's when we got my 2004 CR-V, which I still love. We have been happy with both cars, but the Civic is 12 years old and the gas mileage was hovering around 20 miles to the gallon instead of 30 - even after being worked on. I don't believe in driving a car until it actually does die on you, if you are lucky enough to have a choice. We had been planning on buying a car this summer, but the deals just got to good for us. Ethan has had his eye on a hybrid for a while. We are not as "green" as we could be, who is?, but we certainly do try. Ethan is better at than I am because he was raised thinking this way - I was not. Anyway, we were looking at the Prius and the hybrid Civic. Ethan had decided on a Prius based on a bunch of research, and after driving them both he liked the Prius better too. I went and tried the Prius only, and I really liked it. It's totally space-age. He does not need a key to turn on the car. How Jetsons! He has an electric component that looks like my electric opener for the CR-V, but he only needs to have it in his pocket.
I haven't really driven our car yet because Ethan's still thoroughly enjoying it. As a passenger, though, the Prius is great. It has more room than the Civic did, and it rides more quietly. Which is funny because we chose the CR-V over the Rav-4 because the Honda had more room than the Toyota. Dermot loves having a new car. He kept talking about it when we first got it. He thinks it's cool that he gets to go to school in a brand new car. So now, Ethan and I have both had the pleasure of having our first, own, new cars.
February 03, 2009
Funny Story
So, I'm putting Dermot to bed last night. He wants to pretend that he's the dad and I'm the dad's son. I decide to go full force and pretend this is true.
Me: So you're my dad and I'm the kid, right?
D: Yes.
Me: Why are you trying to sleep with me? I want to sleep by myself. You should go sleep with Mama - your wife.
D: She's dead.
I'm not making this up. I was hoping he would see my point of how much Ethan and I hate helping him fall asleep. As soon as he said "she's dead." I just lost it.
Me: So you're my dad and I'm the kid, right?
D: Yes.
Me: Why are you trying to sleep with me? I want to sleep by myself. You should go sleep with Mama - your wife.
D: She's dead.
I'm not making this up. I was hoping he would see my point of how much Ethan and I hate helping him fall asleep. As soon as he said "she's dead." I just lost it.
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