Music, Ownership & Update

Yesterday morning Alex was getting ready for school and was singing:

"Schools out for-ever!"

Me: Alex, I think the song goes "Schools out for summer."

To which he looked at me with surprised eyes and asked,

"Mom how you know that song?"

Like I would never listen to such a rocking song. Please. That song is older than I am.

However, I'm always baffled that my kids don't know I'm not a hundred years old! I had one child ask me if I wore a poodle skirt to school. My MOM didn't even wear poodle skirts. (Although my brother-when very young-once asked my mom if she rode a dinosaur to school! Which is just slightly more of a dig than a poodle skirt wouldn't you say?)

I know time line's make very little sense to children. They probably at one time all thought I served tea and donuts while the Declaration of Independence was signed. (Sigh)

But back to Alex's music.

We put him in piano lessons at the start of school. We have the sweetest Hawaiian man that comes to our home once a week. He teaches Alex, Rylee and Devree. Alex at first was excited to learn but since the skills didn't come overnight, his enthusiasm has waned. He asked me a few weeks ago how long he has to take piano lessons?

Me: Until you can play FIVE hymns.

Alex: FIVE? But I not even learning Hymns.

Me: Well then tell your teacher to start!

(I figured if he can get this across to his teacher and his teacher agrees that's fine with me!)

But recently Alex has taken up playing the guitar. He wears his MP3 player (not to be mistaken with an I-pod-he always corrects me when I say I-pod "I no have I-pod Mom!") and plays it full blast and strums the guitar. He thinks he's playing exactly like the song in his ears when really he's just randomly strumming. I'm hoping to catch a picture of this and maybe some video. It's priceless.

He asked me how much a guitar costs. I told him. He looked disappointed. "Alex, you don't have to buy your own guitar. We have two guitars. You can use our family's guitar. You don't want to buy your own piano do you?"

"No!" and he laughed.

He still struggles with OWNING things. Although we have roller blades that fit him He doesn't have his OWN roller blades. I know it's silly, but to him I think owning things gives him value. It's not that he wants to own things to not share because he willing shares all his things it's just the sense of owning that makes him feel important. Unfortunately the things he wants to own are very expensive and his $5 allowance bi-weekly is just not allowing for him to own all these big ticket items.

Yesterday, we worked on the work owe and own. He had left candy wrappers in his pockets for the umpteenth time and they had gone through the laundry. I had already found a bottle of power bait (from fishing) in the bottom of the washer earlier in the day and after pulling out wrappers in the dryer that Alex said were his I told him he owed me a ten minute job! (Work is the threat that triggers Alex to remember what he should do.) In his journal he wrote:

Today I forgot to emty my bacats (pockets-he struggles with putting a b where a p should be) and I nid (need) to own my mom a tem (ten) miunat (minute) evera (extra) work.

Own and owe. Complete opposites when you think about it. Yet so close in sound and spelling.

Alex walked home with one of the two girls he's crushing on. He was so very happy about it. After his bath last night he asked me if he smelled good. Yes, I said and covered his cheeks and forehead with kisses.

"Mom, how come girls don't kiss me like that?" I was taken back. "Alex, do you want girls to kiss you like that?" He grinned, and nodded. Hum...I don't know if I can handle TWO hormonal boys in my house at the same time. Later we talked and he confessed that he really just wants a kiss on the cheek. Whew. I thought he really wanted a girl to smoother him with kisses.

This morning he was all good smelling and wearing a nice shirt to go to school. "Oh la la!" I said to him to which he just smiled. He's not even embarrassed about this crush thing! Heaven help me when he gets older!

He did so well on his homework yesterday it made my eyes water. We were reviewing when to use a vs an and he got every problem perfect and told me which words started with vowels. I told him how proud I was of him and how perfect he did and he grinned and threw his arms around me. So happy.

The blessing he recorded last night was:

I am grateful I have a nice mom and dad.

We re-read ALL his blessings last night. There is quite a list. I told him from here on out he can just write down things he's thankful for. It doesn't have to be better here than Ukraine, just things he's grateful for. Like a healthy body or indoor plumbing. I made him a new book and I'm going to type up all his previous blessings and stick them in his scrapbook. I think someday he'd like to look back on all these things he wrote.

Well, because I don't OWN a million dollars and we OWE money to orthodontist, utilities and have a never ending grocery bill etc.. I need to stop writing, stop blog reading and get working this morning!