Math has never been my strong point. Ever! I started having problems with it in elementary school and it has become worse the older I have got. I was always in the low group in school and never felt confident with my math scales. Although, I can figure out discounts and sales in a jiffy! I am the person to take with you if you ever need to figure out what you would get off that shirt you've been checking out.
So tonight I was doing math homework with Gavin. Poor thing is me but miniature. He is having the hardest time. He worked on a single page of math homeowrk for 45 minutes. It was 6 questions! I caught myself talking louder to "help" him unerstand and finally just reverted to leaving him at the table to figure it out. I had to walk away...several times. I even sent him to his room to clear his head. After the ordeal I have poured myself a glass of wine. I am sitting and enjoying it too.
The only thing I could figure out to do, is to write his teacher a note letting her know just how much help he needs to catch up to the other kids in his class. I hope I did the right thing. He tries but I can't help him how he needs. I don't have any expertise in math, in fact, I didn't get a four year degree for that reason. I failed elementary algebra in J.C. Horrible...I know.

Discipline

I have been having the hardest time with my boys in the area of discipline. Spanking works for one, the other with time outs. I hate having to do things different for each kid and was looking for something that works for both.
So I developed a new plan. I give each boy 60 minutes worth of a video game for the week starting on Sunday. The minutes are written on a whiteboard and displayed in the kitchen. Each time they do something "naughty" I take away five minutes. If it is really bad, I take away 10 minutes. But, get this, I also reward the boys by gifting them 5 minutes. Gavin was given 10 minutes from David last week because he did really well on his tests throughout the week. It worked so well that I wish I had thought about this two years ago! So on Saturday's the boys redeem their minutes for the video game of their choice. GENIUS!

Funny quote

This morning my boys let me sleep in. They play rather loud in their playroom and I was trying to ignore them, but I could keep my eyes closed until 8 o'clock, which is sleeping in for me. So I get up and make my coffee and they continue playing. All of a sudden I hear this horrible noise. I don't know if it was Gavin trying to make a gun noise or what but it was loud and made my skin crawl. I walked in the room and ask the boys to keep it down because Daddy is sleeping. Quinten turns to me and says, "Thank you for letting me know Momma. I was going to get really, really loud so it was nice of you to ask me to be quieter". Really? I didn't even know what to say to that!

School...finally!

School has started and the boys and I are almost used to it. We have been at it for two weeks now and although Quinten has adjusted well, Gavin has been having a difficult time.

Quinten loves going to afternoon Kindergarten. He gets to hang out all morning, play and watch cartoons. Then after having lunch he hangs out with his friends for a couple hours at school. Quinten has aways enjoyed learning and growing up to be just like his brother.

Gavin has been a challenge. He whines every morning and tells me how much he hates school, which translates to "I want to stay home and play with my toys". So after a good 45 minute argument, he figures he isn't going to win and gets his act together. I won't tell you the warm feelings that run thru my body every morning when he acts up, or is it the heated blood running thru my veins? Either way it is painful and obnoxious beyond words. I have given him a big responsibility daily. He is assigned to Quinten pick-up duty. He gets out of school and runs to Quinten's room to wait for us. He loves doing it!

A good thing this year is that parents are actually talking to me. David tells me I am unapproachable because I look like a snobby bitch, but I think it's because I usually don't look very excited to be standing in the hot sun. Either way, people have felt more comfortable to talk to me. I wish this would have happened two years ago when Gavin was in Kindergarten. I have made an effort to smile more and make more eye contact. It is a lot of work to make friends, that's for sure.

So hopefully my boys continue to look forward to school, or slowly get used to the new routine. I love to see them come home and show me what they have learned and tell me about what they played. I love school!