I Sincerely Hope This Does Not Indicate a Propensity to Always Take the Easy Way Out

This afternoon was Parent/Teacher Conferences. Matthew’s conference was accompanied by a walking report card. For those of you who may not know, a walking report card is when a parent guides their child through a variety of school related tasks so they can get a good idea of how well their child is doing. For the writing portion of Matthew’s report card, he had to write his name, his numbers through 10 and his favorite animal. He zipped through the first two portions and when I asked him what his favorite animal was, he said, “My favorite animal is a giraffe…no, I mean a cat.”

Now I know for a fact that he was lying. He hates cats. They scare him to death. In his defense, he really hasn’t had any experience with animals because he is allergic to dogs and his asthma means he has trouble with cats even though he isn’t technically allergic. But still, I was completely certain that he was fibbing. After all, he wrote an entire book about giraffes just last month. He even had me do a google search to find out what those little horn things on their heads are called. (FYI: they are ossicones.) So I rolled my eyes at him and asked him if he chose cat just because he knows how to spell it. He immediately ‘fessed up, not even a little bit ashamed of himself. And I had to snicker just a little under my breath because my just barely 6 year old is already working the system. I guess it’s a good thing I help him with his homework every day and already know exactly what he is capable of.

Never the Optimist

Today was Hundreds Day for Matthew. He celebrated his hundredth day of kindergarten by counting 100 objects, licking a sucker 100 times, making the number 100 with cookies, etc. After school he pulled his papers out of his backpack and said, “This is how I’ll look when I’m 100..." Then he flipped his picture around so I could see it, "...dead!”

I laughed out loud. I couldn’t help it. I’ve seen a number of hundreds day portraits before, but never one like this. He’s right, of course, but most kindergarteners just don’t think the way Matthew does!

Matthew-mus Prime

Today is Matthew’s birthday, but he has actually been celebrating all week. In addition to his birthday, Matthew was “The Big Cheese” at kindergarten this week. That is what his teacher calls the person in the spotlight each week. I commented that he was actually the big soy cheese, but he just rolled his eyes at me and said, “No! It’s just the big cheese!” Here’s a rundown of Matthew’s week long party:

Sunday:We celebrated with my family. Matthew had a cake with the Autobot and Decepticon logos on it, adorned with actual Transformers. He was nearly bursting for days because we wouldn’t let him have the Transformers until after the cake was created and consumed.

Monday: I took a poster, pictures, and a small treat to Matthew’s class to help him introduce himself as The Big Cheese.

Tuesday: As part of his Big Cheese week, Matthew created a paper that showed pictures of some of his favorite foods.

Wednesday: Favorite hobbies was the Big Cheese topic of the day.

Thursday: Not only did Matthew get to take one special item to show the class (he took Minkie, his favorite stuffed puppy), but it was Valentine’s Day. Due to the extreme popularity of Fun Dip with his classmates, he didn’t have to forgo many treats from his Valentine box. Paige, one of his school friends, chose to put Starburst in her Valentines just because she knew Matthew could have those. I cried a little bit when her mom told me. I was actually really surprised at how observant his classmates are. They pretty much know what he can and can’t have because they pay attention to what kinds of things he has in his safe food bin at school.

Friday: Matthew has a birthday party with his friends. Because several invitees could not come, the girl to boy ratio is 2:1. Matthew doesn’t care now, but in about ten years he will be mighty pleased with a similar ratio. As for me, it made for a pretty calm party. We played Tranformers bingo, Transformers memory and the hot and cold game with a mini “allspark.” (For those who don’t know, the allspark is what gives Transformers their power.) The most popular game was the Transformers bean bag toss. They could have played that one all day! Unfortunately, I completely forgot to take pictures of all that. I did get a picture of his Transformers cupcakes and the creative centerpiece that Nathan put together.

Most of the presents Matthew received were Transformers. Paige included a big package of Skittles in the bag with her gift for Matthew. What a thoughtful girl! Addie gave him an Optimus Prime helmet that makes Matthew’s voice sound like a Transformer. It was his absolute most favorite gift of the day. And although I thought it, I did not voice my opinion that the very last thing in the world I need is a toy that makes Matthew even louder than he already is. Addie picked it out herself and I think she was super pleased that Matthew loves it so much.

Saturday: Matthew’s actual birthday and the day we celebrate with Kevin’s parents. They joined us for lunch. Matthew got a couple more Transformers from Daniel and Nathan, an Avengers sweatshirt and some books from Kev’s parents, and a Transformer and an easel from Kev and I. We didn’t get our things wrapped, so Kev made Matthew close his eyes and hold out his hands. He didn’t know what the easel was until we got it all set up, but then he knew exactly what it was for. He draws and colors and cuts paper all the time, so I think he will get some good use out of this particular gift.

So it has made for a busy week, but I can’t think of anything that pleases my newly six year old more than being the center of attention for an entire week!

The Top four Reasons I’m Glad We Purchased a Microfiber Couch and Paid Extra for the Scotchgard Treatment:

1.Daniel and his propensity to vomit when he was younger.

2. Nathan and all his naughtiness.

3. Matthew and all his super creative naughtiness.

4. Malia and a purple crayon (two days in a row)...and all her future naughtiness. (Please let it be less than Matthew’s naughtiness!)

Pencil comes off with plain water. Crayon comes off with plain water and a bit of elbow grease. Pen takes Woolite Fabric and Upholstery Foam Cleaner and a couple of rinses. I guess that I’ve gotten lazy since there is such a big space between Matthew and Malia. I used to clean the couch every couple of weeks due to some incident or another. I’m really hoping we are not about to revisit that cleaning schedule.

Next up…a come to Jesus talk with my boys about leaving writing utensils lying around.

Pretty Please?!

Malia brought me Matthew’s hat and had me put it on her. Then she ran and grabbed a snowstick. I think she wants to go outside.