Halloween

Yes, we are two days away from the 'big day'. I have costumes ready, candy ready, but most of all, the buckets are found and put in a place that is easily accessible. Yes, I know it is weird, but they each have a bucket. Unfortunately, they are from last year (hey, I invested about $4 a pop on them, they have to last more than one year!) and match their last year's costume, except for middle boys'. Middle boys' bucket is a Darth Vader....his costume? Darth Vader. Oldest's bucket is a CARS-the movie (he was Lightening McQueen from the movie), but he is satisfied with it (this year's costume is Wall-E). They are both Pixar-right? Youngest is going to be the most random...he has a Thomas the Train bucket (he was Thomas last year). Much to my chagrin (I was THIS close to having him be Thomas again), he wanted a Diego (from "Go, Diego, Go") costume. He's happy though with his Thomas bucket.....

The Virtues of HSM

I know it has been awhile since I last posted (life is busy, you know!).

For something completely different, I thought I would post about HSM (for those of you who have been living under a rock, that is "High School Musical").

HSM is a story that was originally a Disney Channel movie aimed at the 'tweenies'. It has since been branched out to merchandise (dolls, clothes, etc), ice show, broadway play (yes, "HSM-The Musical") and many, many more forums. If Disney can dream it, it will be done.

It is the story of a boy (Troy, a basketball star) and a girl (Gabriella, the genius) who meet at a ski lodge new year's eve. Turns out (surprise) that Gabriella is moving to Albuquerque and is going to Troy's school after Winter Break. They reconnect and try out for the high school musical, but their friends all pooh-pooh them because Gabriella is a genius and Troy is the star basketball player and why would they ever want to do the drama thing? Bottom line is that they try to conform to peer pressure and not 'want' to be in the musical. In the end, they also 'fall in like" (they don't kiss until HSM 2 and that is all they do). The moral of the story is to do your own thing, without peer pressure.

Along the way, they unite their friends (of course). They also sing, dance, have amazing chorographed numbers and learn about what 'THEY" want.

Of course, there is the 'evil' character (although, Sharpay is not so 'evil' even by Disney standards, she does join in with them singing and dancing). She does try to undermine Gabriella because she wants the musical to herself (and Troy, too).

My question is...isn't the moral what we all want for our kids, to listen to their hearts and find their own way? In HSM-1, even my 6 year old picked up on the line that Troy's dad said (at the last moment of the state championship), "I want you to have fun". Isn't that what we all want for our kids? To find something that they enjoy and have fun?

Yes, it is cheesy, but who cares. There was not a single person (including myself and my mom) when I saw the musical (which was my introduction to HSM) that wasn't singing and clapping their hands. Yes, my husband did inopportune giggles during HSM 3, but it WAS full of cheese.

Final thought: Besides all of that cheese, the best part of HSM is that it brought my boys together with me. We watched HSM and HSM 3 together. We all enjoyed it. Oldest was singing and dancing during HSM 3 at the theater (he had seen the videos online and knew ALL of the words). It's something that has allowed him to be on the same level as his peers (okay, the girls, but that is fine). I wish I had had a videotape recorder and could have recorded it. I haven't seen him so happy and giggly like that in a long time. He had such a great time.

Middle boy growing up....

First, I must give you some background. Oldest boy is in cub scouts (primarily to help him with social skills with 'typical' kids), but we have found that cub scouts is a great organization and that middle boy would probably love it, too.

So, we signed up middle boy, too (so, now we have TWO boys in the same pack: oldest is a 'bear' and middle boy is a tiger cub). All I can say is that cub scouts is made for middle boy. He attended his first 'pack' (all levels of boys) meeting on Wednesday. He came home 'pumped' up for cub scouts. He is eager to earn as many badges as he can. If he could have slept with his tiger cub book, he would have (he took it to church today and read it during the service).

Yesterday was his first event. He and his den went to the World Forestry Center in Portland. They rode the MAX train in and visited the center. He had a blast. Afterwards, he went to lunch with his new friends (including a new friend in our development!). Then, he went to the cub scouts store and purchased his uniform.

Today, he went to our local Fred Meyer (a grocery store), suited up and sold popcorn (the fundraiser. I can't tell you how handsome he looked in his new uniform. I almost cried. He looked so grown up and handsome. He had a grin from ear to ear in his new uniform.

All we have heard for the past five days is, "how do I earn a patch?". He is so highly motivated to earn patches (I may be able to get him to do more chores for me, remember, a cub scout is a helper around the house!).

Oldest boy is also motivated. He saw middle boy in his uniform and really enjoyed it. This happened recently, when middle boy was learning the same stroke as oldest in swim lessons. It really motivated oldest to push himself a little further to achieve the goal.

Goin' back to school

Today, I had so much fun. I volunteered in Middle boy's 1st grade class. I got to be introduced by him (he couldn't remember my name and said, "Katie") AND I got an applause (shooting stars, his favorite). He loved having me in class (although, I was there and he was in another class for Reading, such as life). I did get to talk to his teacher and learned some things we can do at home to help him (she is pleased with him, so nothing major!).

Youngest

See, my best stories come in bunches.

This morning, I dropped youngest off at preschool and told his teacher that he was 'moody', which was true. One second he was fine, the next not so much. This has been happening a lot (I just read and article that this is common in 3 1/2 year olds). Anyway...his teacher was very understanding.

When I picked him up, I asked him (as I always do), "how was your day?". Today, he didn't miss a beat and said, "I was fussy". His teacher looked at me and said, 'he was fussy'. I could only contain myself from laughing.

Goose Egg

I just got a phone call from the school nurse (never a good sign). My first thought was "who's sick? (since both oldest and middle boy go to that school)".

Turns out middle boy ran into a pole at recess. Now, this doesn't suprise me since he is the quickest of them. He has a goose egg, but no dizziness, eye problems, stomach aches, etc. Again, does this suprise me? No. So, looks like I get to play "Florence Nightingale' when they come home. Poor Guy....

Catch up!

Yes, I have been remiss on keeping up on my blogging...things get busy, as I am sure you are aware....

Last Thursday was picture day for my older boys. They got to wear their favorite shirts. Yes, before I had children, I vowed that my children would never wear a screen print top for school pictures. What did they wear? Middle boy wore his green "Yoda" shirt and Oldest his blue Ratatouille shirt. Obviously, rules are meant to be broken...

Last Friday was a state-wide inservice day. Typically, those days I have an autism conference that I go to. However, this year, I did not have a conference. I planned on taking the boys to the library (which sounds boring, but the boys LOVE going to the library. They all got dressed and we went and they got a new book and a new movie (I have a rule that they can get a movie, as long as they get a book). As always, it was popular and then we had drive thru McDonald's (which was a new toy....always a thrill...)

Saturday, we all went to the pumpkin patch. We had a lot of fun at Palmeroy Farms in Yacolt, which is about a good half hour away. It is a 'working farm', run by volunteers. They saw farm animals (which they loved). They got to pick out a pumpkin and then take the hay ride through Pumpkin Lane, which is comprised of 'pumpkin people' with different themes. Middle boy loved the superheroes. Oldest loved it all. Youngest boy loved the whole thing, also.

I also wanted to tell you that I am "the best Mom ever'. Youngest son has told me twice (unprompted) that "You are the best Mom ever'. I guess it must be true.

My Middle boy, the Civil Rights activist!

Middle boy has been fascinated with Dr. Martin Luther King ever since he learned about him in preschool (Teacher Jessica to be precise). He has thought he was really cool. We talk a lot about Dr. King because it is because of Dr. King that Senator Obama can run for President. Middle boy LOVES Senator Obama....he is Senator Obama's youngest fan. He has a sticker on his door. If you stay in his room, you HAVE to vote for Senator Obama (this is middle boy's rule). I think middle boy likes saying "Obama"....

Anyway...a couple of weeks ago, he went to the school library and checked out a book. It was a book by Faith Ringgold who is a well-known African-American writer (she wrote "Tar Beach" to critical acclaim, including the Coretta Scott King Award for literature). This book was called, "If This Bus Could Talk" and it was about Rosa Parks. Now, I thought that Middle Boy would be bored (although the illustrations are amazing, just like they are in "Tar Beach"). It was a historical fiction book about a bus that once a year, on Rosa Parks' birthday allows a 'special person" to sit where Rosa sat and tells the story of Rosa Parks.

Middle boy was fascinated. He was interested and then it got into the part after Rosa Parks didn't give up her seat on the bus, she met with Dr. King and joined his 'movement'. We talked a lot about how African-Americans couldn't sit on the bus and then what they did, etc and how because of what Dr. King did, has allowed Senator Obama to run for President. He was very interested and sat and listened with wide eyes. It was really cool to see him think about it and process it. I am not sure how much he actually understood, but he did think about it.