I’m a-okay with profanity and some minor sexual content but I’m trying to avoid some of the more hardcore sexual stuff (i.e., Yeastie Girls are out, as are most songs by Peaches, sadly.)

Suggestions are totally welcome.

Here’s what I’ve got so far:

• Hole
• Bif Naked
• Britney Spears (new stuff)
• Pink
• Cyndi Lauper
• M.I.A.
• L7
• Avril Lavigne
• Metric
• Bjork
• Kelis
• DJ Sammy
• Meg Lee Chin
• Alannis Morissette
• Amy Winehouse
• Abba
• Blondie
• Lily Allen
• Lady Sovereign
• The Cardigans
• The Cranberries
• Rihanna

Any suggestions? What have I missed? And, if possible, name the BEST song by that artist so I can get a good feel for her/them…

This is not really a surprise.

We were told that, due to the high number of applicants, we probably shouldn’t expect to hear back before the deadline. I have no idea what the alternate deadline will be, though, so I don’t know how soon to start being impatient about my waiting.

Meh.

It’s been working nicely – the boys are generally polite to people, including to each other. Of course, a bit of frustration creeping in can totally nuke that “to each other” part, but that’s sort of expected.

I often hear from other parents that the boys were very polite and “great guests” and that makes me really, really happy.

(I am a bit of a stickler for manners. I admit it.)

And so it makes me giddy that Maymo will walk through an automatic door and shout, “THANK YOU DOOR!” every single time.

It cracks me up even more on the occasions when he forgets, or is distracted, when we walk through that door – - so he turns around, walks back to the doorway and clearly says, “I forgot! Thank you door!”

Y’know, just in case the door’s feelings were hurt by the slight.

(One of my all-time favourite songs. I think I still have a crush on Cyndi Lauper.)

When I expunged my soul to WNET, Hélène sent me this lovely YouTube link (can’t embed it, so you’ll have to go there) which totally – and I mean TOTALLY – sums up his behaviour.

For a true picture, though, you’ll have to re-watch the early part of the video again when the end comes, because he hasn’t fully shifted into teenage-hood yet (just lets out burst of it) and so he flips back and forth between the two.

My life is starting to feel like the Thunderdome: “Two [people] enter, one [person] leaves“.

The only good news? I’ve got 33 years of surly behaviour to draw on and he only has 11.

In the time that we’ve lived here, the dogs have done horrible, unspeakably things to the yard. The kids? Not much better.

And so I’ve decided to make it as low-maintenance as possible by chucking down landscaping cloth, mulch and rocks wherever I can – while keeping only the plants that I like.

When we lived in Hamilton, we’d pick up random rocks/stones from the beach and from the side of the road and from construction sites.

I have no idea where to look in the KW area for free rocks. The obligatory post has been put on Craigslist, of course, in the event that someone wants to rehome some rocks (?) but.. any other suggestions? I mean, beyond sneaking out at night and swiping the pretty rocks from other people’s yards?

I tend to make this very same statement every few months, at least, and it’s almost always followed by a complaint that there’s just SO MUCH to change that I don’t know where to start.

I then follow that with some weak statement, generally containing a bit of whining, about how haaaaaaaaaaaard it is.

And then I make some half-hearted commitment to one aspect that needs changing, do it for a bit, and flake out completely until the next time I start the process over again.

Every single time I do this I feel worse. Not physically, but mentally.

My reasons for flaking out are many but most come down to my need for instant gratification. When I don’t see any point to what I’m doing – a tangible point, I mean, rather than an intellectual point – I just.. stop.

The intellectual side of me knows what needs to be done on every single level that requires change. This is not about a lack of education or a lack of information.

With the kids, if I need them to do XYZ, I offer up stickers. Little star stickers work wonders on Maymo for nearly everything.

Why isn’t there an adult version of the “sticker chart” that works to motivate me?

Or, when buying any craft-related products, do you try to support small businesses in place of bigger companies?

Read this.

Buyer beware.

Thanks to Annika for the tip.

“Did anything interesting happen?”
“Nope.”

But I have ways of discovering what’s been going on – and that’s a fancy thing called “the power of observation”.

Maymo, in particular, gives away the lesson plan from the day by his actions and words.

A few days ago the kindergarten class was learning about environmental stuff – cleaning up after yourself, basically – and I learned this not because he told me, but because he repeatedly told me not to be a “litterbug”.

He said this while we were driving. When we got into the house. When I was making lunch. When he went upstairs to wash his face. And on and on. Just random reminders not to be a litterbug.

It was the same when he was learning how to interact nicely with people. I got a lot of interpersonal ‘tips’ that he picked up at school that had nothing to do with anything going on, but which he felt compelled to share anyway.

It was the same when he was learning about healthy foods. He asked me whether every single food on his plate was “healthy?” and then moved on to nearly every food he’s ever heard of or eaten. Repeat daily for a few days.

On and on.

Middle One is a bit different in his methods but he pretty much does the same thing – a frequent comment or statement that seems to have nothing whatsoever to do with anything. When I ask him, though, he’ll say, “Oh yeah, we learned about X a few days ago!”

So, when both Middle One and Maymo began miming that they were trapped in a box, I suspected that a presentation had happened at school within the past few days. And that it was a very good presentation as far as they were concerned.

I can handle manners and anti-littering lessons. I can handle social skills and new songs. But A MIME? The school has gone too far on this one. They’ve crossed a line that should never be crossed without express, written permission from parents.