Two big days

Today is party day. 30 kids in the pool. Thank goodness my sister is coming to my aid. I'm planning to let her manage the group of 7 year old girls. All kids under 6 have to have a parent in the pool with them and we have 10 lifeguards. One of the guests has CP, so his dad will have to be watching him - I will watch his brother and 5. We have been to these parties before - most kids just play in the shallow water. There aren't many real swimmers in the group. Still, I am sure I will feel a huge amount of relief when they are all safely out of the pool!

Yesterday, we spent hours putting together loot bags. I did not have time to visit dollar stores and put together an assortment of little things to be thrown out in a week. Instead, I bought one gift for each child and put it in a bag with some candies. The 7 year old boy's bags were plain, so 6 spent at least an hour choosing stickers to decorate their loot bags. She was careful to choose themes that each boy would like. (I find it interesting that the child with so little in the way of social skills could be so aware and considerate of each guests likes/dislikes!)

Tomorrow is Halloween. I have the day off. Costumes are done, anticipation is high. If I could figure out how to post pictures, I would do it!

Finally - just to add to the mix, the news Friday night reported that the company I work for is the target of a hostile takeover bid. I find the timing interesting. 3rd quarter results are due out next week - they will not be good. The takeover news has driven the stock prices up and rumours begin each time we have to report quarterly results. Who know if it is just media noise or for real. In any event, there is nothing I can do about it. We'll just have to see...

nothing is easy

All is well - or so I thought! Friday after school I received a note from 6's teacher.
"Thursday was not a good day." and so it begins again. More social difficulties - grabbing kids arms - and thinking it is a joke, 'borrowing' someone's toy at recess. Fighting with one of her friends. This kid does everything the hard way. If it is at all possible to alienate people, she can do it!

I was immediately angry. Then, thinking about this child, remembered it is best to speak calmly and find out what's behind the behaviour. There is always a story behind the behaviour - and I can usually count on the truth. Turns out she is feeling very left out and lonely. Has trouble joining in at recess and is suffering the verbal bullying of a child who would NEVER be thought of as a bully! We talked alot. Find something to take to school for recess to play with. (Pokemon cards or a soccer ball). Make a list of children you would like to have over for playdates. (and follow through Mom! - don't let the embarrassment of a disorderly house interfere with doing the right thing for your child!) Focus on being extra well behaved for the next week/month to lessen the perception of being a trouble-maker.

My mom says she could never handle this child. Doesn't make me feel any better. I wish I could teach her how to be more comfortable with who she is. She's really a great kid!

disjointed thoughts

For the moment, all is quiet here at work. Head down, steady pace, wait for new blow up.The way some people react, you'd think we were saving the world from disaster - this is retail! All we're doing is filling up stores with underwear - not exactly brain surgery!

Can't make a change at this time. Need 6 months in this job before I can ask for a transfer to something less political. Need the $, but more importantly, I need the hours provided. Leaving at 3 I can pick the kids up from school. More traditional work hours would mean more time in daycare - something I would like to avoid...

October is a killer month. Canadian Thanksgiving is in early Oct. - followed closely with 4's (now 5) birthday. Halloween 2 weeks later, and one week beyond that is 6's (soon to be 7) birthday.

In previous years, I have held 2 separate birthday parties. Both parties were at home, making it necessary to clean the house more thoroughly than usual, and board the dog for the day (she's old and can't handle the noise and chaos). Last year, we had 2 parties of 17 children each. Parents also chose to stay. It was insane!

This year, we are having one party. October 30th. We have rented a pool and are expecting 35 children and their parents. We have the pool (with 10 lifeguards) for an hour, and the party room for an additional hour. 2 cakes (Barbie and bugs), two themes (Princesses and science) all done in a couple of hours. All kids under 6 must have a parent accompany them into the pool, and a couple of the parents have agreed to watch groups of older children. I'm a bit nervous, but I think we'll be alright...

Halloween costumes are mostly finished. A few touches of decoration still necessary for Super S, and she has room for a couple more adventures in her comic book. Super S has a unique way of dealing with the bad guys - no shooting, no killing - she puts them in garbage cans and sends them off to jail. Red glitter shoes can make you "the best Mommy in the universe!"

School is amazing this year. 5 (formerly 4) has a wonderful Kindergarten teacher who recognizes that this is a kid who will hide behind cute to avoid doing work. This is a kid who can read, count by 1's, 2's, 5's and 10's to 100, add, subtract (and I caught her playing a game of her sisters -doing multiplication last week). At least she has a teacher who can see beyond cute.

6 is thriving in Grade 2. Her teacher is fantastic. Learning is fun again. The sparkle is back in 6's eyes. She loves her homework (all activity based choices). She is receiting stories from school (the unbelievable memory is back), finishing her work and losing the anxiety her 1st grade teacher cultivated so well.

6 has a theme for discussion recently. She is really trying to work out the 'God vs Darwin' stuff. She is adament that she does not believe in God. Adam and Eve is a ridiculous story - how could that happen - and why is everyone so bent on believing it? Evolution makes more sense. She will walk through the Dinosaur age, the Ice age when the dinosaurs became extinct, the beginnnings of life from single cell creatures evolving from apes to Neanderthal man to current day humans. She is a scientist. Logical and linear in her thoughts. Our discussions have mostly been centered around people having different beliefs, how important their beliefs are and the need to respect others. She is frustrated by the lack of meaningful conversation on this topic with her school friends (no wonder!).

I need to keep my brain cells active to keep up with these kids!

Oh, and we have 2 new pets - "Wooly" the wooly bear caterpillar who is spending the winter in the garage in a special habitat, and Jiminey the HUGE cricket we found on the road last week.

relay

Now that the boss-man is behaving like a human being, the baton has been passed to another Executive. It never ends! At a meeting yesterday morning, I was shot down, and decimated over a 90 minute period. It was bad enough that condolences were offered by other team members.

This was a public re-enactment of a one on one meeting on Friday - a lovely send off for Thanksgiving weekend...

Once again the thought of going to work makes my stomach roll. I sleep with clenched jaws and feel permanently on the verge of tears. Nightly dreams of being fired due to incompetence invade my sleep. Considered going to HR about stress leave yesterday. Feels weak to consider it, but I can barely manage through this. The atmosphere is heavy, oppressive and thick with anxiety.

My team will be in soon. Need to breathe, shake loose my jaw and try to make sure their days are not as grey as mine...

camping and karate

Went camping this past weekend. We were lucky - the weather was beautiful! The park was practically empty and we had pre-booked a great site. I have never dreamed of being a camper. In fact I joked that in preparation, I would throw all my shoes on the floor, cover them with a blanket, and sleep on them for a month. Thank goodness for air mattreses!

My friends have me pegged as a city girl. They were surprised that I could put up a tent (read the instructions), start a fire, bait a fishing rod and remove fish from the hook.

The kids had a blast! I took them out of school for one day so we would have a decent length of stay. Don't think the missed much. 6 came home with a wooly bear caterpillar, the upper jawbone of a pike, a collection of shells and handfuls of fossils she dug out of the sedimentaty rock on the shore of the lake.

The weather was warm enough for them to swim on Sunday!

And yesterday, I started karate classed. Not too sure this is my kind of thing. I like the katas, but am not comfortable kicking and punching into shields held by others. I was partnered with a woman about the same height as me, but substantially more solid. She nearly sent me flying into the wall! It's a one month free deal from by the kids karate school. I may survive one month, but doubt it will be longer! Still, it's good to get some exercise...