Help Wanted

I'm at my wits end. I don't know what to do with Bodey. We are just now starting a VERY long uphill battle. And I fear we have about 20 more years of it ahead. I can't figure him out, don't know what to do, and need some serious help.

When Bodey was at Tots N Tales, we learned that he was a rule breaker. He pushes all limits. He opposes all authority. But he wasn't like this at home. I know his teachers didn't believe me when I told them, but it was true. But in a school setting, all hell broke loose. He never had good days. Only bad. I prayed about it, read books about it, but nothing helped. So I thought that the change of schools to his new preschool would be a good thing. That it might help.

Bodey was super excited to start his new school. And the first couple of weeks were great. But then I started getting notes from the teachers about his bad behavior. And then talks from the teachers. Bodey throwing fits when he doesn't get what he wants, threatening friends and teachers, talking back, throwing toys. You name it. My heart is broken. I don't know what to tell them, and they don't know what to tell me. He is the strong-willed child. And I feel like a failing mom.

My friends say that he is great for them when they watch him, he is typically good at home, he is great for Nana & Papa when he stays there. I have possibly figured out that 1) he doesn't like authority, 2) he seems to be worse when he is competing for full attention, and 3) no kind of discipline seems to work. We have tried grounding him, taking away all privileges, not letting him do the things he loves. Didn't work. We have switched that all the way around to telling him we are sad he had a bad day at school and we know next time will be better, so let's just have a positive rest of our day. And we have surrounded him with positive energy. Didn't work. We have started a reward system using dimes. Take them away for bad actions, earn them for good actions. Not really working.

Today was my last straw. I left him in child watch at the Y while I worked out. It was only 30 minutes. And the teacher had nothing good to say. Stealing toys from friends, throwing toys when he didn't get his way, telling his teacher to shut her mouth. Yes, that came out of my 4-yr old's mouth. And I was just purely embarrassed. I'm mentally exhausted from this. I went straight to the library to get yet another parenting book that probably won't work. I think I just need Super Nanny to come to the rescue.

Fall Photos

The boys were out of school on Friday, so I decided that it was time to take advantage of the beautiful weather and do a photo shoot. It was probably one of the most stressful days I've had in a long time. They just weren't cooperating all that well. Very fake, cheesy, forced smiles. Lots of whining. I was going crazy. Then we went and got flu shots. Strangely enough, I decided to chance taking more pictures after shots, and they went extremely well! So, even though you probably don't think I narrowed them down at all, I did. I took 310 pictures, and here are a few of my favorites.

Boy Stories

Yesterday, Booker came home from school and said, "Joe (not the kids real name) said 'you are fat'". I told Booker that he is clearly not fat, nowhere near being fat, and just to ignore that little mean boy. Then Booker said, "No, mom, he said you are fat. He said my mom is fat." OH NO HE DI-ENT! Are you kidding me? The Your Momma jokes are floating around in Kindergarten? Oh wow.

On to Bodey news, he decided yesterday that he is going to ride his bike with no training wheels. So he did. Once I got him going he was good... even turned around. But once he stopped I had to keep getting him going again. So then I started ignoring him when he would stop. And that little determined guy tried, and tried, and tried until he taught himself to get going my himself. Never once complained, never once got frustrated, never once asked for help. I was very impressed. He even went up and down the curb! He is a crazy little man, but I love his determination.

Last night Booker and Bodey were wrestling each other, like they do every chance they get, when one of them got hurt. Wrestling in our house always ends up in tears, so we tell them not to wrestle, and if they decide not to listen and one of them gets hurt, we don't care because we warned them. They always decide to wrestle anyway, and then come crying to us later. Anyways, last night when Bodey got hurt Dusty got mad and told them that if he catches them wrestling again, they would both be sent to their rooms. Booker said that Bodey always makes him wrestle. Dusty told him next time just to walk away and come stand next to him, that way Bodey will probably stop. And Booker said, "But, Daddy, how will I get away from him? Bodey has super strength!" I love that even the big brother looks up to his little brother every once in a while.

Hot and Cold

Thursday was picture day at Bodey's school. Whenever the boys wear a button up shirt, they complain, and wonder why they have to wear their "handsome" shirts. Well, Bodey didn't complain. He was quite proud to be in his "handsome" shirt. Booker kept coming up behind him and slapping him on the bottom and yelling, "You're hot!" Bodey was getting more and more upset about this until he finally broke down crying, "No, I'm not. I'm not hot." Don't know what he thought it meant, but he didn't like it! I had to explain that Booker was simply implying that Bodey looked handsome. Then tonight he came up to Dusty asking him if he was hot. Dusty kept feeling his forehead and saying no. Then Bodey finally said, "No, like handsome, daddy."

The other day we were eating ice cream and Bodey said, "Whoa, mom. This is cold. It's even colder than the 'cold'-de-sac!"

Worth the Pain?

In the middle of July as Jen, Cori and I were running along K32, out of the blue I have sudden, extreme, knee pain. I had no clue why, but this was only on mile 5 of our 14 mile run, and I had been feeling great (for once) and wanted to keep going. So, I did. I ran through to mile 8. Then it became too painful to push it, so I walked 4.5 more miles. And then my knee hurt for 2 weeks. After a sports medicine visit and two physical therapists, I learned, what I expected, that I have IT band problems. So I started the strengthening and stretching that the first PT told me to do. And it didn't really help. I couldn't go further than a mile without pain. So Cori talked me into going to the PT she went to last year - that fixed her! But, deep down inside, I knew how they fixed her, and didn't want to go. It's called Astym people, and it hurts. BAD! But, it also works. Basically, they use these little tools to do a very deep tissue rub (more like scrape) on your leg.

It breaks down scar tissue and then "reheals" any underlying injuries. After just one treatment I saw improvement in my pain level while running. I still had the pain, but I could go further each time without feeling pain. After 4 treatments I was able to run 3 miles, on hills, without pain. Tomorrow will be the true test - a 10-miler. Oye. Anyways, I have not been able to go in public in shorts for the last 3 weeks, because my legs look like this:

No, I don't have a skin disease, those are bruises. And they look worse in person, but I can honestly say, I think they are worth it!

Mischief

Lately, I've been letting the boys play unattended in our fenced back yard. They can't escape, and I don't have to sit and watch for traffic. Seems like a great plan... except they have been getting into a little mischief lately.

The other day Bodey came running in to tell me Booker is trapped in Avery's dog cage. Sure enough, here's what I found.

Another day, they both came running inside with very scared little voices. I asked them what is wrong and they admitted to breaking Avery's cage by sitting on it. HUH? So I went outside to find that they had climbed the chain link and sat on top of the mesh sunshade on the top of the cage! Really boys? I'm so glad they didn't get hurt.

The next day, Booker came in and asked if I wanted to come look at something. On the way out he happened to mention that that "something" was Avery all tied up. OH MY! I ran outside to find the poor dog bungee corded by her collar in between the swing set and a basketball hoop they had dragged over there. Good thing they didn't hang her! She just sat there, smiling and panting. Poor girl.

Busy With Buddies

We have been so busy lately, but in a really great way. The boys have been having the time of their lives enjoying this awesome weather and their friends! Every day we have been with friends, whether it's just neighbors hanging out, being at school, going on field trips, watching our friends while their mom is busy, or going to our friends' house when our mom is busy.

One day we watched Cooper for a little while and the boys had a picnic together outside while all the "big" kids were at school.

Then we had a whole crew of kiddos over during parent-teacher conferences. Isn't that the cutest bunch of kids you've ever seen?

Then, last Friday when the kids were out of school, Cori and I took the kids up to Shatto Farms. They sell their milk in glass bottles and have several different flavors, our favorite being Rootbeer milk. They also make cheese curds - that are to die for. We didn't pay for the tour, but took a self-guided tour for free, and had just as much fun.

I love all of their happy, excited faces in this picture!

And this one... :)

On Sunday, we attended our church's Fam Fest. Needless to say, they outdid themselves again this year and the kids had a BLAST!