Doodlebops Live!

Yesterday my boys and I got to see the hottest show this season – among the toddler set! We were lucky enough to go see the Doodlebops Live!



They played in Cleveland yesterday and the boys and I were lucky enough to catch the 4:00 show. Our seats weren’t as good as I’d have liked, but we could see really well, and weren’t in the nosebleed section so we definitely can’t complain.

I haven’t seen many kids’ shows live, Blues Clues and Sesame Street when Jaben was little, so I don’t have much experience with these shows, but as far as I’m concerned, Doodlebops is totally worth the money! The show begins with Busdriver Bob coming on the stage for a “pre-show party” where they show other cartoon show commercials (think Handy Manny and Little Einsteins – Kyan screamed and giggled when they showed his beloved ‘Nine-nines) and pumped up the crowd. I knew beforehand that it was the REAL Doodlebops, but I’m pretty sure that was NOT Busdriver Bob. Unless he had a cold. And 15 extra lbs. Bob is Ky’s favorite, but being 1–3/4 I don’t think he noticed.

After Bob was finished, DeeDee, Rooney and Moe came on and it was so much like the tv show! Moe did his usual hiding trick, and in between songs they played and visited all the familiar places. We saw the Doodlebops clubhouse, the recording studio, and they even had a strange little version of the Doodlebops bus! That was pretty funny, actually!

At one point when DeeDee was singing, she brought some little kids on the stage – which in itself is sweet and cute, but before she went back to her seat one little girl ran over and gave DeeDee a hug and said something to her. DeeDee replied, right into her mike, “Ohhh… thank you! You’re very pretty too!” and giggled. It was absolutely the sweetest moment of the show.

All in all, it was such a great time! I love it when things go well and the boys and I are able to have a good time together. I wasn’t sure how Kyan would do (he threw a gigantic fit before we left and in trying to get him out the door I forgot my camera!!) but he loved it! He clapped and cheered and danced on my lap the whole time – it was great! And Jaben… lol… I never would’ve thought that at 10 he could be so into a kids’ show – let alone a concert! But he was great! He enjoyed every second of it! My mom sent some money to buy each boy a souvenir, and Jaben chose this weird rubber “Moe hair” thing to wear on his head – and he wore it the whole time. He loves Moe – and I really wish I’d had my camera because it was soooo funny to see him wearing it!! When I left this morning one of our pumpkins was wearing the “Moe wig.”

I really should get a picture of that!!

The only downer about the show was souvenirs. They were ridiculously expensive!! I’m sorry - $15 for a program of a KIDS SHOW?? Um… no, sorry, not gonna happen. And the little blinking, twirling light-up things? $25. I kid you not -- $25 for one of those little suckers. I wanted to get the boys one SO BAD, but that would’ve been $50 and it ain’t possible. Even if it was possible, it ain’t likely. Imagine the profit margin on those things!!!! Over 75% per unit, easily. I paid enough for the tickets, as long as my boys got something to take home (and $15 for a Moe wig is insane enough – Ky got a more reasonably priced $8 ‘Bops sippy cup) there’s no way I was paying that much for that stuff.

So that kinda sucked.

But for a few hours with your kids, and a fun time dancing, shouting and singing, the Doodlebops Live! is definitely worth the price of admission!! Just be prepared to say NO! to a few overpriced souvenirs that your kids (and possibly YOU) are gonna want.

I wanna go again!!!!!!

I kinda suck at this sometimes

Sorry, sometimes I get involved in life and the blog doesn’t get updated. For a week. Um, yeah. I’m not sure I’m very good at this. I’m sure I’d do a much better job if there was a way to make money at it… heh… but apparently there isn’t. At least not for me. Cuz I’m not very good at it. Unless you want to send donations. Um…. yeah, that’s it.

I had a meeting with Jabe’s school principal this week. On Friday, actually. The story is that on Weds Jabe cheated on a test a little. I say a little cuz he didn’t have a cheat sheet, didn’t write the answers on the bottom of his shoes, or have an earpiece with a kid in the tree outside the window feeding him the answers. What he did was when they were grading the tests – their own tests – he changed one of his answers. Not that that’s right to do, and yes, it’s cheating, but seriously, who hasn’t?? I was a * good * kid and I did it.

They gave him detention. Great, fine, well deserved. He got in trouble at home. Great, fine, well deserved.

He got taken to the principal’s office on Thurs where all 3 of his teachers and the principal sat around him to talk to him about it.

I don’t know about y’all, but that one seems like a bit of overkill to me. Not to mention that it scared the crap out of a basically good, if troubled kid. But, being who I am, I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt. Not, for a second, was I ever going to believe that bringing a child to the principal’s office and basically surrounding him with all the adults in charge of his day to confront him on an admittedly small cheat, is ever going to be okay with me. But, I needed to hear their side of the story. Especially after the meltdown he had over his homework that night – the details of which I am not at liberty to share, at his request.

On Friday, I had planned to call Principal, but instead found that Jaben was missing a notebook he needed and since I was bringing the notebook to him anyway, decided to drop in on Principal and have a chat. I told Principal I knew about what happened and I do agree that Jabe’s actions warranted detention and a trip to the Principal, but I wasn’t sure of the point of having all the teachers there and sitting around him like that, so, could he please tell me his side of the story?

The school’s take on this, from the mouth of Principal himself, is that they decided to bring Jaben in, with all the teachers, to show him that they were a team, working for his benefit, and that they were all supporting him. They talked about his grades from all his classes – which are all good, btw – and told him he didn’t need to cheat like that. Rah rah rah?

While this may very well be a case of right idea, executed badly, I’m not sure I forgive them. I can’t imagine thinking about this and coming to the conclusion that a meeting of this nature wouldn’t be absolutely terrifying to a 10-yr old boy. And based on Principal’s lack of eye contact, I can only conclude that he knew he was scaring my boy. I mean really, the other kids went to their 3rd period class, and Jaben was told to stay with the teacher. She then took him to the principal’s office where he and Jaben’s other 2 teachers were waiting. And this was * not * meant to scare this child?

There was something I didn’t like about Principal to begin with, and picking on a child with Jaben’s issues just makes me think he’s a bully. He might act like a great guy, and when I walked out of that meeting I couldn’t quite put my finger on what was off about him, but I think I’ve figured it out… he strikes me as an overgrown bully. Course I may be a bit sensitive because this is my child who is now afraid of his principal and teachers, but seriously, how is this * not* scary?

Ugh. Just ugh.

On the bright side, the last football game of the season was yesterday (we froze AND lost… good times), Cub Scouts will be starting on Tuesday, and the boys are officially moved into the room they are now sharing (even if Ky isn’t sleeping there yet). Thankfully we shouldn’t be as busy now, but I think I’d better reserve the right to have life get in the way of blogging about life every now and again.

PEE!!!!

Just thought I'd announce that Kyan went pee-pee on the potty tonight!!!! I'm so excited! He'd been sitting on it but not really doing much, but tonight he did it!! YAY KYAN!!!

Let the games begin!

Saturday morning

I read a lot of blogs. The ones on the sidebar are the ones I read the most, but occasionally, when I have time, I skim the blogrolls of other blogs or follow links to read new things. Today I found myself directed to Her Bad Mother. I've read her a bit, but not often. No reason for that, she's interesting and well written, but that's not the point. I mention her because of this post. Go read it, I'll wait.

All done? Excellent.

Right now, my 10-yr old is playing video games. My 1-1/2 yr old is crying. This is not an unusual situation in my house. The crying, that is. Kyan cries more than any child I've ever known. Not only does he cry a lot, but he doesn't sleep well. He cries in his sleep, he thrashes, he moans. He is firmly in the grip of toddler temper tantrums, he fights diaper changes to the point where I've started using pull-ups some of the time so I don't have to fight him into a clean diaper -- I can wiggle him into pull-ups much easier... while he's standing, and I don't get kicked. Oh and it's probably topping out at I'd guess 40 degrees outside right now and he just handed me his pajama top. And then screamed at me to put it on. And then screamed when I tried to. Spirited? You betcha. Ask whoever the person was at the Chinese restaurant we went to last night how spirited he is. I'm sure 1/2 (at least) his food ended up on the floor. And that was with me catching most of it. Does he know that's not okay? I like to think so, but who knows? He's one.

I can be very blase about this right now. It's morning, I actually slept some last night, I've got a million and one things to do today and am putting it off even tho I'm trying like hell to be cool about how much I can actually accomplish today. Clean house? No problem. Jaben needs a new winter coat because Mother Nature decided fall was expendable this year? Got it covered. Need Halloween costumes for both boys? Not to worry. And the Halloween decorations, play lines, cookies that are begging to be baked, switched bedrooms desperately needing organized and laundry needing to be done so nobody has to go nekkid in this frigid Ohio weather? Got it, got it, and got it. No problem.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME????

Motherhood is HARD. It just is. And the more kids and people you add into the mix, the harder it gets. I have nothing but the utmost respect for moms of many. I do not know how they do it. Single moms of 3 or more? Saints.

A spirited child - just one - can make you feel like the worst mom alive. I have a lot of days when I can't imagine how I'm going to get thru this, how I'm going to do it, what I did wrong that he can't tolerate a diaper change or won't eat a thing for me even tho I know his little tummy is growling. I've wondered - a lot - what I was thinking, raising 2 boys by myself. I know I didn't make the decision to have them by myself, but it's worked out that I'm raising them. Family help is invaluable and I don't know what I'd do without them. I couldn't. Plain and simple. My mother is amazing and we'd be lost without her. We tell her, but I don't think she really realizes how much we appreciate all she does.

And to do it 100%, completely on my own? That would be a nightmare.

Everyone gets overwhelmed with it sometimes. You gotta. It's the nature of the job. If you don't fumble or get frustrated sometimes then you're not really all that involved. You can't be perfect when your emotions are involved, and I can't think of anything more emotional than being a mom. It's hard, it sux, it's sleep deprivation and the entire world of these little people resting on your shoulders, it's oh-God-what-am-I-doing confusing, awful, puke-soaked, wouldn't change it for the world, morning hugs and bedtime kisses, amazing, rewarding and wonderful all at the same time.

And especially now, with 2 - one who's spirited and the other who has ADD - the hardest thing I've ever done.

But I love my boys with all my heart and soul and I would never, ever change anything that brought them to me for anything ever.

So Her Bad Mother... you're not alone. Sometimes we're all bad mothers. Sometimes we're all lost and wondering if anyone else feels this way or if we really just suck. We do suck. We're the best sucky moms there are. And your daughter is going to be amazing - even more amazing - as she grows. And you're the luckiest woman in the world because you get to watch the whole thing.

I promise you, from one bad mother to another, it gets better and it is worth every second.

Updates updates everywhere!

First – regarding the football incident. My sister went to practice with Jabe last night to see how things were handled and she said they did a great job – they actually impressed her. The head of the league separated Jaben’s team from the other boys and talked to them about how that kind of behavior is not acceptable, they don’t approve, etc – the coach and the parents involved all got suspended! Granted the season is almost over, but still. The coach involved apologized to the boys too! I wanted that, but didn’t expect it so it’s great that he did that. One of the boys whose parents (turns out it was his GRANDPARENTS) were involved had to quit the team – his parents didn’t want anything further to do with it. I feel 2 ways about that… on one hand, I don’t blame them, it wasn’t even me and I was very upset and still cannot respect the coach, apology or no. On the other hand… the boy doesn’t get to play. The adults in his life can’t behave decently so he has to pay for it? That stinks. That really stinks.

So. There’s that.

I should've posted this yesterday, but didn't get a chance - too much going on. I heard from Jaben’s doctor Monday and he thinks Jabe definitely has ADD! I know, weird cause for celebration, but I feel like we’re finally getting somewhere – like okay, now we can do something to make things easier for him. We have another appt with the doc on the 27th and will discuss strategy then, and the possibility of medication. I’m not sure about the medication… not that I’m personally so much opposed, but neither of us need to be hearing about how bad it is and how it’s a cop-out and what it does to kids, etc etc etc. I don’t need to hear that and I don’t want to. If he goes on meds it’ll be a low dose anyway – and I trust our Dr. If I didn’t, we wouldn’t still see him. Gee, I’m not defensive or anything, am I? ;-)

So anyway, they said to call the school and get the ball rolling to set up testing for him thru them. I did that Tuesday morning – talked to the counselor (who happens to be a friend of the Dr! bonus!) and he said he’d start things moving as soon as we hung up the phone. So yay! As far as I’m concerned, the sooner we can get this done, the better. Whatever will help my boy.


And so now have a letter from the doctor formally requesting testing for Jaben from the school! I didn’t have that when I talked to the counselor yesterday, so I emailed him today to let him know and that I can make sure he gets a copy if he would like. I think he should have one – we’ll see when I hear back. I don’t know what’s going to go on with testing, etc, but we’ll find out as we go along. I ventured over to an ADD/ADHD message board and got some good responses from people whose kids have used meds. Most were positive, even tho pretty much all of them needed a lot of adjustments before they found the right thing. I’m sure it’s like that with a lot of meds tho. I know meds are what Jaben wants… I think he figures he can take a pill and be able to concentrate just like everyone else. I’m not sure it’s so simple, but I’m willing to look at our options. I still think some kind of therapy would be useful even tho I keep hearing it does little for inattentive-type ADD. It can’t hurt to at least look into it. He has been informed, involved and had a say in every step of this process, and will continue to have a say since this is his mind and his life we’re talking about. He’s a very, very bright boy (even as his biased mom I know this to be true) and out of respect for that, and how hard he’s been trying, I owe it to him to let him have a say in how he’s treated. That’s not to say he’ll have the final say, but we’ll talk about it and decide together.

So. There’s that.

Oh and one little thing that’s not really an update but has me sitting in shock today… one of my favorite customers (one of our biggest accounts!!) came by today to tell us he’s been fired!! He’s been with them for 15 yrs and he’s really made it what it is. We’re not sure right now if we’ll be able to hang onto the account… we’ll see. I just can’t believe they fired him – and if we lose this account because of that we might be in big trouble. So yikes!!

Think good thoughts on that one. I think we’ll probably keep the account… but you never know. Whether we do or not, we’re going to miss our friend.

You think it only happens somewhere else....

I'm going to copy/paste this from elsewhere on the internet because it's just too tiring to re-type. This is just insane and I can't believe I witnessed it with my own eyes...

There we were, after the game - Jaben played more in this game than he had all season and I was so proud of him! The coach's wife had ordered pizza for the boys so we're all over at this park while the boys ate. Suddenly, this woman is screaming in the coach's face! I mean like, the f-word and all! Next thing I know, there's other parents getting involved, the coach's wife - like 5-6 people in this shouting-shoving match! F-word this and F-word that - IN FRONT OF THE BOYS!! I have never seen anything like this in my life - not at a kid's football game! I saw the COACH put his hands around a father's throat!! I mean seriously. You hear about this stuff and see it on tv, but you NEVER expect to see it happen right there in front of you at your kid's game.

Luckily, as soon as it started, Jabe took off for the car (my smart boy) and I did see other parents herding kids to their cars and telling them to roll the windows up, but there were boys just standing there watching! I'm like oh no you're not! I walked over to a group of them and told them to walk away - they do NOT need to see this. OMG you guys, just OMG. This is my kid's coach. I rely on coaches etc to be good role models for my boys since they don't have that in their daily lives - this is BEYOND unacceptable!!!

All the way home we were going "OMG! OMG! OMG!" and of course had to talk to Jaben about it. I can't respect this guy, how do I ask him to? What I told him was that he should not respect that behavior (he said he knew that) but he DID have to respect that man's position as his coach. IF he's still the coach. I would prefer he was relieved of his position, personally. You don't DO that in front of kids!!!!!

So when I got home I called the "head" coach - the guy who runs the league. (Un)Fortunately for me, I was the lucky first parent to call. All he'd heard was from one of the parent's involved, calling him from the police station (yay) to say there was an emergency and he didn't know what it was. So I told him what happened and everything I just said here. I also told him I think someone needs to separate his team from the other boys on Tues and talk to them about it - this cannot be swept under the rug. And he assured me that he would talk to the boys personally. I don't know if the coach will still be coach. He (understandably) told me he had to hear everyone's sides, but I can't see a single scenario where this wouldn't be addressed with these kids, or where this guy will still be coaching. I just can't get over it!! You hear about it but you NEVER think you'll see it at your own kid's game... ever! Completely unbelievable!!!

Okay - then after I wrote that...

OMG! I just got off the phone with the police dept of the city this happened in! The head coach gave them my name and wanted a statement!!! This is INSANE! I only called the head coach to make sure this was taken care of and now the officer is putting my name in the police report! This is just nuts. Nuts. Insane!!

What did I say about not liking this whole football thing? I can't believe any of this... just cannot believe it. And I don't know what's going to happen at practice on Tuesday, but I'm thinking of asking my sister to try to go with him so I know what goes on. Very strange, very surreal, never thought it'd happen here.

Wow - sorry!

I haven't updated in a whole week and didn't even realize! Sorry Kimberly - I saw your comment and that's what made me check my dates! Crazy how things get busy and everything gets away from you!

As it is, I owe a logo to a friend of mine, which is only about 1/2 finished (I know, I know, don't hate me!) but with things being as crazy as they have been I haven't had a chance to get it completely done! Hoping next week things are back to being more simple. Busy at work, busy at home, family from out of state moving here, football, still haven't got boy scouts straightened out, and now Kyan is about ready to potty train! YIKES!

I've been trying to put off the potty training thing, actually. But I don't think I can wait much longer. He's just ready. He's showing all the signs, I think he really wants to do it and I guess I've just got to get on board with him and help him figure it all out. I'm not totally sure how to do this since Jaben basically trained himself (and yay for Jaben!) but I guess it's time to figure it all out. Wish us luck!!!

As for Jaben, he's been doing better lately. I haven't gotten any nasty-grams from teachers lately, so that's good news. Y'know, no news is good news. They sent the evaluations home with him on Tuesday and I got them all faxed back to the Drs office. We were having trouble with our fax machine so I hope they went! Would it be obnoxious of me to call on Monday and make sure they got them? I did read them tho. Not sure if I was supposed to, but I did. And it sure does look, to my uneducated self, like he's definitely a candidate for inattentive ADD. So I'm pretty sure we'll go thru with the testing. We go see the Dr again on 10/27 so I'll know more then. I still need to call the mental health place (I hate the idea of taking him there!!) the Dr recommended to see if they do the testing, but I'll do that next week. One good thing, by the time he sees the Dr again, football will have ended and he'll have more free time to devote to his life. And that is very important!!!

Game today - ugh! But at least it's a home game so no long traveling!