Soccer Mom? No Way!

I've decided it's time to introduce the world of organized sports to Alex & Tanner Wooden. Scary, I know. So, here's my plan of attack:

1. Join a gym with specific youth sports programs. Done in March. Boys absolutely love going. Being familiar with their physical surroundings for almost two months, hopefully they will be able to listen a little better and focus.

2. Divide and conquer. Enroll them in separate classes. That means double the classes/lessons/practices, but much more manageable for me to attend and re-direct them.

3. Ok - double the classes/lessons/practices? Divide and conquer again. Split shifts with Stacy (our nanny).

4. Send a brief note to each instructor prior to the start of classes (this week) advising them of the boys unique personalities and our intention to be present and actively involved to minimize disruption/re-direct.

5. Avoid any sport for which I have no interest or tolerance. That strikes soccer, tennis, golf, and hockey from the record. I know everyone loves soccer - and I even coached a middle school boys team for a few years. I can't stand it though.

6. Start with individual sports this session, then move into team sports that I can pre-coach. That means we'll start with swimming and gymnastics, and Coach Mom will try to make hoopsters out of them over the next 6 weeks. Right now we're working on 'bounce pass' and 'dribble, dribble, shoot!'. Counting by twos every time they score is rather fascinating thus far...so at least I've found a hook! (And by hook I mean 'something to peak their interest', not a 'hook shot'. Never did get that one down myself.)

7. Expect disaster, and be thrilled with anything better.

I'll keep you posted (and by posted I mean 'updated'...haven't worked on 'posting up' yet either with my little hoopsters...though that should be fun!).

Michigan Weather

Michigan's dramatic weather swings are confusing for adults...and even more so for my little guys. Seriously - I put away their boots in early April and the very same week had to go out and buy summer clothes. The next week we had to search out sandals. A slight diversion here - but I have to comment that finding 2 of the same size shoe is a real pain. Not just same size - but same shoe. I learned a few years back to get identical shoes or they end up fighting over the same favorite pair inevitably. Okay - so back to the real story - we went from snow/cold to summer like temperatures practically overnight.

Ironically, Friday was beach day at school. The dudes wore their swimsuits to school and it was sunny and 80 degrees outside. In fact, it was 80 degrees still at 8 o'clock last night! We've been playing with squirt guns, riding bikes, wearing sun screen - basically living outside for the past week or so. I did put my foot down when they wanted to haul out the sprinkler last week - it is only April after all!

So - fast forward 12 hours from 8pm last night when it was 80 degrees - to a high of 50 today. We had left the windows open last night and woke up FREEZING! Tanner started crying 'Oh no, summer is over and now it's winter again! We're never going to go camping now!'. I quickly assured him that summer wasn't even here yet and there would be plenty of time for camping.

Poor little buddy...mother nature is laughing down at us...and Tanner is crying. Michigan weather is so senseless and unpredictable, which just doesn't settle well with a little guy who likes predictability.

So, I think I'm going to put woodtv.com on his favorites on the computer and show him how to get to the weather forecast. That should help. Mother Nature will be off the hook...but I'm putting a lot of faith in the weatherman!

Toddlers No More

The birthday countdown is on! I can hug and squeeze my four year olds for one more day...and then they officially move from toddlerhood to little boyhood. Big 5 year olds...hard to believe.

Then again...the past few months they've been more and more independent...and more and more grown up. While the boys countdown to their birthday party tomorrow afternoon, I'll do a blog countdown of the Top 5 Reasons you know they are 'All Boy'. I'll update this post over the next 24 hours (because taking an hour to do it all now just isn't going to happen given their energy level).

Reason #5 - The fellas are sleeping in bunk beds! Totally a big boy move (especially for Alex who sleeps on the top bunk). As long as we're on the topic, my apologies to Brian who sleeps directly below them on the lower level of the house. The early morning jumps from the ladder and giggling I know is brutal for you!





Reason #4 - Watching football with Daddy and Uncle Brian on Sunday nights. Okay - watching football might be secondary to the number watching (i.e. jersey numbers, SPORTS TICKER at bottom of screen)...but it's still a 'big boy show' nonetheless. And let me tell you - they are all about categorizing things as 'a big boy show' or 'big boy thing to do' vs. a 'baby show' or 'baby thing to do'. Love it...Jim and I quickly classified all annoying shows as 'baby shows'...bye-bye Barney, Teletubbies, Doodlebops, Boobah!







Reason #3 - Garage Golf. One morning this winter I rolled over at 6:45am, noticed the lights were on and the boys were silent. Bad combo. I shook Jim awake and we started looking for them. After a trip down and back upstairs without finding them, my heart started to race. Then I felt the draft of cold air - and noted the door to the garage was open. Jim and I race out to the garage to find the little dude in PJs, a coat, bare feet and golf clubs in hand. They happily announced 'Look, we're playing golf! There is no snow in the garage!'. Jim's worried look turn to pure pride...I quickly jab him with my elbow as if to remind him that there are so many things wrong with this picture (no shoes...they left the house without an adult...they are swinging clubs in our garage with the cars parked in it!). Yes...this is big boy type of trouble.


Reason #2 - Growing Independence.

• They read to me as much as I read to them.
• They take the initiative to brush their teeth after lunch without even being asked.
• Diving in pools and swimming - no life jackets!
• Getting their own drinks (even if that sometime means drinking apple juice straight from the bottle...which is yet another sign they are getting big).
• Washing hands after going potty without being reminded.
• Knowing how to operate the DVD player, CD player, iPod, computer, Tivo, and microwave.
• Mastering the concept of time (clocks & calendars)

Reason #1 - Take a look!

Music in the Wooden House

The boys love music, and seem to come by it naturally based on talent for and love of music on Jimmy's side of the family. The boys CD player is in constant use. If they had their choice - so would Mommy's Ipod. In their perfect world, both would be playing simultaneously in different rooms and they would just hop back and forth from one room to the next.

Here's the scooop - based on my non-expert clinical and motherly opinion of course. Music feeds their need for routine/familiarity. They can memorize it, recognize it, and repeat it which can be very comforting (especially for Alex). Music is something they can hyperfocus on because it is complex in nature, but can interestingly feed their need for constant motion (through dancing, jumping, etc). Music tolerates their lacking attention span (they can skip from one CD or song to the next without finishing one completely). It's not a toy they can break. It's not a game that must be finished. It's not a building that the other is likely to knock over. It's not an imaginary play scheme in which they will lose interest. Music meets them wherever their mood (happy, sad, agitated, wiggly, giggly) and takes them to a calm place.

So - for you music lovers out there - this is no surprise. To their very non-music oriented mother, it's all a bit fascinating.

And then - even with their love of music - we see flashes of mommy. The athletic, super competitive, opinionated tendencies so rudely invade their peaceful happy music time. What happens when Little Boy #1 (guess who) wants to play the music on shuffle and Little Boy #2 (guess who) insists that it be played in order? Hint: Guessing which is which may be easy at first glance, but think hard before you answer. What intrigues one about the shuffle?

Anyhow - when love of shuffle meets love of repeat...it's an all out brawl. Wrestlemania Wooden Boy style. Tickets on sale daily...same fight...same cause...same sides of the ring. Come see the tackles, shirt grabbing, hair pulling, hip checking, yelling, screeching fun. Or better yet, post with a solution that does not require this non-music lover to tolerate childrens CDs in multiple rooms of the house. Ear buds or head phones not an option (for neither me nor the boys). Alcohol optional (for me). Oh yeah - and they are four years old. Uncle Jack???? Good luck.

They Get It From Dad

A love of music. Sensitive skin. Goofy sense of humor. Bigger ears (sorry Tan-man). Technical genious. Golf bug. Fascination with the computer. Dance moves (or lack thereof). Love of football. Grumpy with low blood sugar. Book worm. Big heart. Short fuse. Love their mom.

Double Trouble?

Plans are underway for kindergarten next year. The boys remain in need of the support of a special education classroom. In Forest Hills (our rather large school district), there is one "diagnostic kindergarten" (special ed) classroom. It runs only in the AM. I'm rather surprised that there is only one class of 12 kids for the whole district, but I guess it's a sign that kids with special needs are being included more and more into the 'normal' classrooms. Hopefully that will be a choice for Alex and Tanner someday.

Anyhow...back to the dilemma. Last year, the boys were in the same class of 6 kids. It was a center based classroom that served the children of Kent County with the most severe needs. This year, moving from the center based program back to our home district, was a big sign of improvement! Forest Hills wanted to separate the boys into 2 different classrooms. That was fine by me, as I thought they might be treated more as individuals.

As we near the end of this school year, Forest Hills feels the current placement in our home district is appropriate and moving back to a center based classroom is not necessary. Yeah! I know the boys are some of the more energetic and difficult to manage, but the staff has been wonderful.

So - for next year - it appears that the boys will be back in the same classroom by default. Staff has been rather concerned about the dynamic of putting them together in the same room and if the teacher and aide can handle both of them as well as the other special needs kids. I think they have in their mind that if you combine both boys in the same room that there will be some sort of spontaneous combustion of sorts! Honestly, I think they might be easier to manage in the same room because they will gravitate toward each other a bit. Also, Tanner loves to tattle on Alex which can be a big help ;)

Yesterday at school they decided to put the boys in the same room for a trial run for next year and it went really well. The teachers were pleasantly surprised...and I'm kind of excited to have them back in the same room this coming fall.

Snuggle Bugs

We're quickly approaching their 5th birthday...and these little dudes are as snuggly as they were when they came home from NICU! As tiny babies, they were little heat seeking munchkins. They shared a crib, and we'd put them at opposite ends. A few hours later we'd check on them and they'd be all cuddled up together.

Fast forward 5 years...and nothing has changed. We routinely find them sound asleep/all cuddled up together in the same bed or the same couch (naps). Each time I catch the little monsters snoozing together, my heart melts, I smile, and then grab a camera. What can I say...they work hard, play hard...tucker each other out (tucker me out)...and crash. Take a look...these pics are bound to embarrass them at some point down the road. By the way - they do have their own beds in case you were wondering...though I'm not sure why :)