Y3 - 189/365: Another Long Day

Today turned out to be an even longer day than previously planned due to the mix-up with my supply post. Matt was due to drive to Birmingham, Sheffield, and then Darby and back which meant he would need to start out early. Rather than being at work at his usual time, he was going to have to get there by 7am and that meant leaving the house by half-six -- usually the time we're just getting Ryan out of bed and dressed. Thankfully he was with Matt's parents today so there was a bit more flexibility with being able to take him a bit earlier.

I was at the train station with ample time to catch the train I needed and eventually arrived to the school with an extra five minutes to spare!

The Year 3 class I was covering was quite challenging -- par for inner-city Birmingham. I had morning play-time duty and on the small area of grass outside was a group of boys play-fighting -- something that wouldn't be tolerated in America. Still, I allowed them to carry on and a few times when it appeared to be getting out of hand I would step in and tell them they needed to calm down or go find another activity. Imagine my surprise when two boys actually squared up to me in an attempt to get in my face about it! These are CHILDREN and the attitude they give is like that of a hard-core gangster, no lie! The wannabe-thug mentality seems to be the norm with many of the boys and I was actually told once in my time of supply that it was due to MY country and the gang-culture there. I don't know how accurate that statement was, but it can't be ALL America's fault. This is also largely due to poor school-wide behaviour management and how children are not held 100% accountable for their actions.

A really good example of this was in the afternoon when I took my Year 3 group to join the other class to practice for an Easter play they had coming up the following day in assembly. That class teacher was working on getting the stage set up and asked me to keep an eye on the children...all 60 of them sitting and waiting. When I saw one boy from her class bothering another student, I called him over and asked him to move to another space. When he blatently refused and did a "diva" head shake at me I firmly instructed him to then come and sit by the door, away from the other children. He complied but only for about 1 minute and informed me his time was up and he was going back. By this time his teacher came over and asked what all the fuss was. I explained what happened and almost like she was begging and bargaining with him, she said, "Come on, please, sit there for two minutes...please...just two minutes."

As soon as she turned around he looked at me, stuck his tongue out and said, "See, MY teacher said I only have to sit there for 2 minutes...HA! You can't tell me to do ANYthing!"

I ignored him and continued watching the rest of the children. About a minute later he kept counting down from 10 seconds saying he was going back to where he was and he didn't care if I told him to go back because his teacher told him two minutes. Then he got up and started to wander back to his original seat mumbling that I was old and worked at McDonalds.

It's teachers like this who undermine supply teachers and contribute to the lack of respect! I just carried on for the rest of the day, made sure everything was in order before I left, and got the hell out of there.

Because Matt went in to work early, he was off earlier and thus able to pick me up from the train station rather than me having to walk home. When he pulled up, this (photo) is what I see in the back seat. Snug as a bug in a rug in his carseat and spark out. In fairness, he had a long day as well!

Y3 - 188/365: Wild Ride

Today started out crazy from the start. We all were up and out the door a bit later than intended as I unknowingly slept through my alarm, then I missed the second train I was going to catch into Birmingham and had to wait for another, the one in between was canceled so by the time I got to Snow Hill Rail Station it was already 8am! I was still due to walk from Snow Hill Station to New Street Station to catch a train to the Five Ways Station, but while trying to find my platform at New Street I decided to just walk to the school from there as it was only 2 extra tenths of a mile anyway and not worth waiting for a train.

I start out my trek, walking away from the Bullring and past the Cathedral...past Louis Vuitton and thinking that if I actually ENJOYED shopping and fashion I might be salivating just at that moment. I rang my agency to let them know I was running behind so they could notify the school and then JUST as I crossed a main road and began to enter the school gates 20 minutes later, my phone rang. It was my agency to tell me there was a mistake and I was due to work there TOMORROW and not today. I knew this wasn't my mistake because when I received the call for work last week, I remember being told Wednesday because I knew Ryan would be at the Childminder's on that day and I also rang Matt right away to tell him.

I was frustrated beyond belief that in a rush all morning I had come all this way for nothing, but also realised there was no way to fix it now so began my long walk back to the train stations. I made it all the way to New Street Station when my phone rang AGAIN asking if I'd be willing to accept a day's work in a nursery class in Kings Heath. Moments later I was given a lift to the school where I was warmly welcomed and thanked for getting there so quickly on such short notice -- little did they know the morning I just had, HA!

The day with the nursery children went well and at the end I had to walk to Yardley Wood Railway Station and purchase a ticket to Snow Hill Station just so my route would be covered and paid for along with my already purchased return fare from Snow Hill. Because this train was on my train line to Rowley Regis, thankfully I didn't even have to get off and was able to take it all the way home. Trains are fun like that.

Once I got home I was finally able to relax a bit and play with my little guy. How fitting that he got a wild horsey ride from Daddy that was a bit fitting for how the day went.

Y3 - 187/365: That'll Do, Thanks!

Last night was a bit rough for all of us in terms of sleep. Ryan went down, but was back up several times in the night. In fact, probably two or three times before Matt or myself even went to bed! So bearing this in mind, I knew getting him down for a nap this afternoon wasn't going to be easy.

Sometimes when Ryan has a hard time going down for a nap, he will sit up as soon as he feels my hand leave his back. So, when I noticed my plushie Bobcat close by, I decided to try something out. He has beans in his feet and belly so there is a bit of weight to it...meaning when placed on Ryan's back, still gives the sensation of pressure from someone's hand on his back.

It did the trick!

Well...until I got down the steps...then I heard the crying, so back up I went. He eventually went down and had a good 45 minutes, but it seems sleep is just not on the agenda for today.

Later in the afternoon we had a delivery a bit sooner than we expected. Ryan's new floaty, bath octopus pal with baby octopi (?). The babies have numbers 1-8, are squirters and they suction to the side of the bath. The main octopus head has holes for water to drain through so it sprinkles like a shower.

We decided to have a bit of a dry run with it and it seems so far he loves it!

Y3 - 186/365: The Reprieve

Little man isn't feeling too hot tonight. He was fine when Matt returned home from work, but within the hour seemed to be really clingy towards me and didn't want to play. I noticed then that his cheeks were bright red, which prompted me to take his temp. Just as expected...a low-grade fever, so we dosed him with some Calpol and got his tea ready first so he could get a bath and to bed soon after.

When Daddy brought in the bowl of scrambled eggs and plate of toast soldiers, we worried he may turn it away. Then again, this is Ryan we're talking about and it seems no poorly-ness is going to make him turn down scrambled egg and toast! So sad face and all...he devoured every last bite!

Once up in his bath I noticed his seahorse was squirting out little bits of grimy gunk when filled with water. Since Ryan likes to suck on this toy in the bath, Matt and I thought it would be best to quarantine Mr. Seahorse until he could be rinsed thoroughly inside with some anti-bacterial wash. Our initial response was to simply throw him out, but Ryan does like this toy a lot...so I suppose he won't be going down the bath toy green mile.

Lucky sea 'oss.

Y3 - 185/365: While You Were Out

Happy Mother's Day to all the UK Mommies out there!! Don't ask me why this country celebrates it on a different day than America...or why America, even, celebrates it on a different day than the UK (since Father's Day is the same day in each one), but let us all rejoice in the pleasantries this day brings...in the form of lie-ins and chocolates!

Mmmmmmmmm!

After dinner at Em & Daz's, Em and I decided to use my new Mecca Bingo "new member" voucher for a free session tonight where all mothers would receive...you guessed it...a box of chocolates!! This put my Thornton's counter on overload as this made my second box.

Meanwhile, as Emma and I were slaving away with our multi-coloured dabbers, Matt headed home with Ryan to get him into PJ's and to bed without a mommy-night-cap. The plan was a bit of porridge, 9 ounces of moo-juice, and then off to bed.

What REALLY happened??

Well, upon my return home I was shown a series of three pictures and asked, "Where did you leave the box of chocolates when we left today?" I explained how I left them on top of the fire guard but more forward thinking would have told me not to as husbands have a knack for unintentionally missing items that might otherwise need to be moved further out of reach of little hands.

Matt told me how he didn't even notice the box there and neither did Ryan, until he popped out of the room to get his bottle. When he returned he saw Ryan sat in the middle of the floor with the entire box in front of him, lid off...

He told me how he had one chocolate in his hand and was nomming on it before seeing Matt enter the room, where he quickly tried to put it back in the box as if he hadn't even touched it...as if the evidence around his mouth wasn't proof enough?!

Rather than keep it off him, Matt handed the chocolate, a Turkish Delight, back to Ryan to finish -- his very own little Mommy's Day treat. I didn't mind and actually found the photographic evidence pretty cute and funny, bless him.

Y3 - 184/365: A Good Time

Matt asked me recently, "Did you ever imagine that parenting would be THIS much fun?" I told him that I always knew I would enjoy it, but honestly no, I had no idea how much fun it would be.

Don't get me wrong, it's not all fun and games. There are sleepless nights, the mind-numbing crying that nothing seems to work on sometimes and it makes you want to scream, and the messy nappies that would make a burly man cringe...but all of that aside, when you see the delight on your child's face, and the pure happiness in their demeanour, it is SUCH a rewarding feeling that you are responsible for that and you created this beautiful blessing.

I think too often it's easy, for a new or young parent especially, to get caught up in all the negatives and for them to focus on how much it's affecting their life. No doubt this is increased when people have multiple children or other things weighing on their minds...it can be so overwhelming. But this little boy in my life has been the best therapy for Matt and me. However awful the day might be going and however much our little man may be trying our patience, one little hug or cheeky grin from him just makes it all so worth it and I understand when people say their children are their best accomplishments.

He's so entertaining  and clever and I cherish him more than anything!

Y3 - 183/365: Gok! Dock! Ock!

First and foremost, let me make the important announcement that we have discovered a very sneaky toothy peg number SEVEN!! We were playing a fun game of "Shh...Ryan, that's too loud" when he held my own "Shh" finger up to his mouth and took a cheeky nibble...THAT'S when I felt it!

I have a feeling this buddy has been around a good week or so, but the past couple of nights Ryan has woken up screaming, and before we get the chance to go in to soothe him, he's back to sleep...but I suspect this may have been our culprit. Well, this one, or the other 2-3 that look close to breaking skin as well.

It's odd, too, because it appears to be one of his bottom molars (could explain the night wakings), which means there is space for two more teeth between it and the front two central incisors. I've read that the lateral incisors on the bottom are supposed to come through around 7 months, but this is yet another one of those "every baby is different" mysteries, I suppose.

In other Ryan-related news...we have a new word! He's trying to say "sock" but it has been coming out as either 'gok,' 'dock,' or just plain 'ock.' This is after having purchased a new set of brightly-patterned socks this week. As soon as they go on his feet, all he wants to do is stare at them or touch them and chant 'ock' over and over.