catching up

I realized that lately I have not updated stories on the kids.  Their grandparents, I'm sure, are not pleased.  

 

Monkey:  Last week I got a call from the school nurse.  When you have caller ID and you see the school name on the list, your heart stops just a little bit.  Just so you know.  So, mine did.  I answer and Nurse Judy (no, that's not her real name) said that she just wanted to call and let me know that Monkey got stung by a bee.  Yes, again.  I could hear Monkey in the background.  She's a very fragile and dramatic little girl.  I think she'll be an actress when she grows up.  One of those melodramatic, over-the-top actresses.  Think Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween.  Don't get me wrong, I love Jamie Lee Curtis,  I think she's fantastic, but you can tell she's grown as an actress since Halloween.  

 

But I digress.

 

The bee sting.  I think what freaked her out the most is that the bee was still stuck to her when she was taken to the nurse.  That would freak me out, too.  Anyway, I got her on the phone (and only a mother could understand what she was saying between her sobs) but she didn't want to come home.  She just wanted me to come look at her.  So I did.  I asked the nurse if she could put baking soda on it, since it worked so well last time.  Then she sent Monkey to the clinic (the nurse's office and the clinic are two different places at our school) until I got there.  Luckily I needed to go to her school for something else anyway so it wasn't a big deal.  Monkey didn't want to miss out on the Library or Art, so I'm guessing the sting wasn't all that bad.

 

Little Man:  This week, I got the first "he's a handful" type of comment from his preschool teachers.  He has a friend and they play and fight and pick at each other like they were brothers.  And they're in the same class.  I tried warning the teachers the first day I met them, but I don't think they quite understood what I meant until this week.  Oh, and Little Man got in trouble for pushing down another, younger child.  Just because he was standing, I guess.  There were no toys involved or anything.  Little Man just pushed him down.  Great.  Bully in training.  They also commented on his temper.  He gets really frustrated sometimes and doesn't quite know how to express himself, so he screams and gets mad and throws things.  Well, he is two.

 

None of this is new to me.  I do work with him on sharing and being nice and not pushing or taking toys or throwing things or using his words to express himself.  I remember this to an extent with Monkey, but Little Man just seems a little more stubborn about it.  He goes in time out, the toys are put away, he's asked to give back the toy he takes, sometimes even gets his bottom popped, whatever.  And he's like, whatever mom.   I know it'll all pass, and he's a sweet, smart little guy, but it's hard being the mom of "that kid," you know?  

 

Maybe I need to re-read Parenting with Love and Logic; I think I need a refresher course.  Or better yet, I should read The Strong Willed Child, or Making Children Mind Without Losing Yours.  

 

I think a trip to the library is in order.  I need some new ideas...  Dear readers, do you have any?