Why do I have to know that?

Will is in kindergarten and is learning to read. He has been sounding out basic sound patterns for about a year. Words that rhyme with his name were the first ones he learned - pill, dill, bill, fill... you get the idea. His opinion was that his name was cool, and rhyming was cool, so therefore these words were worth learning. But he hasn't been very interested in the rest of the words, although he has slowly picked up most basic patterns. He loves books, and often brings me a book to read. He reads the first page himself, then gets frustrated and/or bored, and asks me to read the rest of it to him. Patience is not his strong suit.

So I was pleased when his teacher finally started sending home books for him to read for homework, knowing that she was now reinforcing what I had been working on with him at home.

Last week we sat down to read one such book, entitled I Like Noise. It featured Mr. N, who likes noise. (Riveting, I know, but he likes them so I am cool with it. Plus, I loved the Letter People when I was a kindergartner, thanks to Ms. Carolyn.) One page said, "I hear a telephone," and there was a picture of Mr. N and his telephone. When Will got to this page he said, "I hear a phone." I told him to back up and read the word again - sound out the first few letters. He sounded out "tele" and realized his mistake.

He then looked at me with a frown on his face and said (remember, you have say it without the R sound), "Why in the world do they think I need to know the word "telephone"? I am only in kindergarten!"

Apparently learning new things isn't a big priority right now. Just recess and the bus. We will have to work on that too.

A Wee Trip

I am once again behind on blogging and picture posting, but it is for a very good reason.

A few months ago Tim and I started talking about taking a little trip. We were thinking of a long weekend in New York or something because we hadn't been on a vacation alone since Kate NaNa has been home. We love love love to travel together, so we really were hoping to steal away, with a little (ok, a lot) of help from Mimi, Arlie, Daddy John, and Jee.

But the more we talked about it, we realized that it is cold in New York. And snowy. And that is what we are trying to escape here.

So we decided to go somewhere we have never been, and we went south instead. To the Caribbean. Eighty-five and sunny, baby. Oh yeah. We were on a cruise that stopped at Roatan, Honduras, and Cozumel, Mexico. We laid by the pool and ate like piggies (although not at the same time).

Roatan is this little island that the big hotels and chain stores haven't discovered yet. We rented a scooter and buzzed around the island, seeing sights like this.

And then we sat on a beach and looked at sights like this.

I totally wanted to just miss the boat and stay for a week.

But the next day we were in Mexico, although we never actually set foot on Cozumel. We got off the ship, got onto a ferry that took us to the mainland, and then a bus that went to the Tulum Mayan ruins.

I know I'm a big nerd, but I love stuff like this. Especially when there is a great beach on the other side of that temple, where we ate lunch and swam in the surf. I love vacation.

We also got to spend a little time with my grandmother in Florida, which was a total treat even if it was really cold there.

Now, we are back to reality. Snow and sleet (which means snow days for the kids), bad colds, and work. But that sunshine is keeping me going. Surely spring is just around the corner!

Booooooored

My kids have been out of school since Tuesday because of snow. This is on top of the week or so they missed before Christmas for snow. Our roads have been fairly clear (i.e., we aren't entirely trapped in our home), but I am still starting to go a little stir crazy, and I'm not the only one. Yesterday, if my children merely bumped into each other, it resulted in much weeping and gnashing of teeth. We are all pretty sick of looking at each other.

So this morning I called a dear friend who works in the school system. He and his wife don't have kids yet, and he offered to hang out with my kids in the event that I needed a little break. I am definitely there. Break, please!

While I was talking to him, he said that he was glad I had called because he was starting to get a little bored. When I hear people say this it always makes me smile a little.

Bored. I hear that word a lot from my kids, and it rarely produces a smile. Usually when they come in with that whiny voice, declaring, "I'm booooooored.....I don't know what to dooooooooo....." I just want to hit someone. But I refrain. Instead, I launch into my pre-manufactured speech:

Oh, you're bored? Poor thing. I feel like this is my fault. I let you watch entirely too much TV yesterday. If I hadn't let you watch television, you wouldn't have forgotten how to entertain yourself, and you wouldn't be bored now. So, tell you what, I won't let you watch TV anymore since it apparently steals your creativity. Also, feel free to go clean your room, fold the towels, or wash the dishes if you are out of things to do. And then we can bag up all of your "boring" toys and give them to a family whose kids would enjoy them more. What do you think about that?

You can imagine the eye rolling that occurs after this. I think Will was the youngest person I ever met capable of recognizing sarcasm. When he was about four years old he would cock his head to the side and say, "Mommy, was that a sarcasm?" Yes, baby, very good.

Anyway, I remember boredom. In college or when Tim and I were newlyweds, I can remember saying things like, I'm bored. Let's go into town and rent a movie or go out to eat or go the mall or whatever I thought sounded like a good solution to not having anything to do.

I don't think I have been bored one second since Ben was born. I'm not saying that my children are entertaining. They are, but that isn't my point. My point is that there is always something to do - change a diaper, prepare a meal, clean the floors... I could go on here, but you get the idea. When I actually do have a free moment, I am more than happy to sit with my nothingness and just veg. Not that I actually remember that happening in the last 8 years.

I wonder if boredom returns after the children fly the coop. (Today it feels more like a coop than a nest.) Not that I want to be bored again. I just want the freedom to be bored if I feel like it.