Go to Chuck E Cheese and have cake.

Come home and play on the Wii with friends.

Go back to Chuck E Cheese and have more cake.

Come home and play on the Wii some more.

Go to the park and have a pinata.

Come home and have a triple sleepover (that’s 3 nights in a row…)

So, we made it to Chuck E Cheese, he played on the Wii with friends, he went to the park, he had cake. He even got to open presents, blow out candles and hang out at daddy’s office! We’ll do the pinata when we have a party in a couple weeks. Not bad!

But I have to admit I begged him not to turn 6. 6 is such a turning point. You’re not a little boy anymore. There’s not a trace of baby fat left. (Not that these kids ever had much of that.) You’re just a boy, well on your way toward awkward teeth, violent video games and less cuddling with mommy. *sigh*

He thought my begging was very funny and refused to accomodate me. I think he is quite pleased to be 6!

So I’m singing chorus in a small production of Pagliacci (with an amazing conductor!).

I rented it from Netflix. I was watching it with English subtitles while folding clothes the other day while the kids were playing with the Coadys. Erin comes in to pick up the kids so I put it on pause. Erin reads the subtitle and exclaims, ” ‘You cheap slut!!!’ … What are you watching!?!”

A little while later, at the end of the opera, the main character and his wife are acting in a play about a man and his unfaithful wife. The main character plays the cuckolded husband in the commedia - he has found out in the first act that he is indeed a cuckold in real life (see subtitle above) and he freaks out and kills his wife and her lover in the audience. Ethan and Jared were so captivated by this last scene - I mean, he kills them with a knife, it’s intense.

But I was surprised. I mean, it’s opera. It’s in italian with subtitles. They only saw the last scene. But they totally understood that it was a play within a play, even coming in at the last minute. And they were very excited and interested in that: “Did he kill her in real life or in the play? Was the guy he killed in the play or in the audience?”

Anyway, maybe it’s a good opera to introduce to OLDER children. We liked the Placido Domingo/Teresa Strata version performed with the La Scala Theatre Orchestra and Chorus under the baton of conductor Georges Prêtre. Released 2004. Recorded 1983 (I think).

Another time recently Ethan and I were watching a TV series in which the entire episode played on Alice in Wonderland symbolism. Ethan totally got it. He made the leap from the obvious visual symbols to the literary work and then started taking it further and seeing connections in the actions and words that I hadn’t picked up on. They are really paying attention around here! Glen and I have to be careful what we say!!!

Lately Matthew keeps opening up the refrigerator and pulling out the ketchup. I don’t even know why we have ketchup - probably for a brisket recipe I tried last year. The only time Matthew eats ketchup is when we go out to eat and he has french fries.

So he pulls out the ketchup bottle the other day:

Matthew: “Mama, can I have this?”

Mommy: “No.”

Matthew: “Mama, can I have this ketchup?”

Mommy: “No, we don’t have anything for you to eat it on.”

Matthew: “Pleeeeeeease.”

Mommy: “Matthew, there’s nothing to eat it on. You can’t eat it by itself!”

Matthew: “Toast! I want it on toast!”

Mmmmmmm! Ketchup sandwich!

The other day in the car Ethan, Matthew and I were listening to the part in the Magic Flute where Papageno has his mouth sealed shut by the Three Ladies. Ethan and I were laughing at how hilarious it is that it’s an opera and a main character can’t open his mouth to sing! Matthew asks why Papgeno can’t sing, and I explain that it was because he lied to Tamino - he told Tamino that he had saved him from the dragon, when really it was the Three Ladies.

Matthew: “Did the dragon want to FIRE Tamino Mommy?”

Mommy: “Ummm, the dragon was chasing Tamino.”

Matthew: “Did the dragon want to FIRE Tamino Mommy?”

Mommy: “Well, the dragon was going to GET him and he was scared.”

Matthew: “But the dragon was going to FIRE Tamino Mommy.”

Mommy: “Yes, the dragon was going to get him with his fire.”

Matthew: “And the dragon was going to FIRE him and EAT him!”

Mommy: “Yes, he was going to eat him up if the Three Ladies didn’t save him!”

Matthew: “The dragon was going to FIRE him and eat him with MARSHMELLOWS!”

Mmmmmm. Tamino S’mores!

If you are stumped and want some ideas, the boys would love:

. Light Sabers
. An electric pencil sharpener - DONE
. Wii games (yes, we’re taking the plunge - although apparently we’re not buying the game console until after Christmas)
. computer games are always popular - for all 3 ages an developmental stages. Preferably educational.
. gloves - their hands get cold
. Ethan can always use clothes
. Face paint and quality costume accessories (that won’t fall apart in a week) are always great gifts
. They still play with their knights and dragons. That collection can always be added to.
. Ethan and Jared are FINALLY getting into LEGOS. We have a modest collection. I was thinking of getting them the LEGO chess game.

More to come as I think of it!

I haven’t blogged in 4 months? Well, it’s not because all’s quiet on the western front. The kids are crazy busy.

Let’s see, we went to the mountains and had an amazing star party on top of one of the highest peaks in the Sierra Nevada and watched the Milky Way slowly dazzle us. Ethan stayed with Grandpa Jim until almost 2 a.m.!

I sang opera chorus in Opera San Jose’s Lucia di Lammermoor.

Glen started his book and then changed the concept about a dozen times.

We had a grand vacation with Bapu, Susu and Molly. 6 out of 8 people staying in our house threw up in less than 48 hours. I washed every linen in the house twice, including pillows. (I was one fo the people throwing up…)

I’ve reconditioned Jared out of some nasty habits using chocolate bribes. Highly effecive. I recommend bribing as an essential parenting skill now (Grandma Penny and Nana were right all along.) However, when speaking of it to others, just reference Pavlov and you’ll seem righteous. Otherwise they’ll whisper behind your back about what a bad paarent you are.

Matthew potty-trained in time for his 3rd birthday. The poor child still hasn’t had a birthday party!

There’s more. But I’ll blog individually about the boys. They’re thriving.

Aunt Darcie sent us a little tooth box. It’s very cute.

A week later, Jared’s tooth is wildly loose. It felt like it could come out any second. (He looked very surprised when I told him all of his teeth were going to come out.) Daddy finally yanked it last night.

It was the same tooth position that Ethan first lost. Although, Ethan’s wasn’t quite this easy. His adult teeth started growing in behind it before it was loose at all - we called these shark teeth, like sharks’ rows upon rows of teeth. Of course, that was after I found out it wasn’t unusual for that to happen. At first I was freaking out.

Anyway, Ethan’s tooth required an extraction by the dentist.

The same thing happened with Ethan’s top front two teeth. First the row of shark teeth. Then one of the baby teeth came out, but the grey one that had gotten discolored so long ago when he fell on it wasn’t budging. The dentist told him to wiggle it and twist it as much as possible, which Ethan had not been doing thinking it “wasn’t allowed.” When this didn’t work for more than 8 weeks, we were about to take him back to the dentist. He finally tripped and fell on his face and saved us a visit. (Do not tease him about this; he is very sensitive about it. ??)

So back to Jared. Wildly loose, for 3 days I thought it would come out at any moment. And I was giving him ibuprofen because it was hurting him. But I didn’t pull it too hard because it hurt him. Daddy wasn’t really worried about that. YANK! WaaaaAAAIIILLLL! And it was still there! But came out a few minutes later.

Jared graduated from preschool!

He was SO ready. So glad to be done with preschool. As much as I value this play-based free choice parent participation school with one of the best facilities on the peninsula, this year was a little rough. He had a very small class, only 14 and mostly boys. (As ALL their classes have been for the last 4 years… even at Laurel, Ethan’s public elementary???) In that group of 14 were 2 sets of inseparable best friends. This meant that 1/3 of the class spent all of their time exclusively with each other. I think this contributed to a serious class clown identity complex for several of the other boys, including Jared, as they struggled to fit in and get attention.

Additionally, Jared is advanced academically beyond his peers. He is reading, he can do addition (he’s worried about going to kindergarten because he doesn’t know multiplication and he’s “Not very good at minus!!!”), he understands chess and can execute strategy in tic tac toe (thanks to hours online with Nana!!!). Just as I remember Ethan struggling, Jared would want to play more rules-based disciplined games and have trouble finding playmates at that level. He would play Connect 4 with an adult for hours.

But this was a hard year for him emotionally. He is very sensitive physically and emotionally. I wonder how much this is nature vs nurture, but there’s definitely some nature there. Matthew is the opposite. Matty can scrape himself up so bad he’s bleeding and he’ll get up and keep playing. I think there are some pain receptors that aren’t working properly there. If Jared gets jostld slightly he cries in pain and takes it as a personal insult.

Anyway, the parents and teachers wrote down impressions of the children and this is what his comilation looked like:

Jared Lipka thinks out of the box, is thoughtful, humorous, has good leadership skills, is very agile, has good reading and math skills, is “taking it all in.”

This certifies that
Ethan Lipka
of Laurel Elementary School has demonstrated attributes of being
Inquisitive and Actively Involved

2006-2007
Sylvia Chinn, Principal
Janet Amato, Teacher

We are lucky there are so many options out there for education. At the elementary level we have a wonderful neighborhood school we can walk to, as well as many interesting magnet schools in our district: montessori, music and arts, math and technology, spanish immersion. Too many choices, however, can leave you overwhelmed!

Ethan has been achieving at a high level academically - above grade level, but we don’t want to skip him. Socially and emotionally he puts a lot of stress on himself and can’t always cope with strong feelings so in that respect he is in the correct grade. Unfortunately, the SMFCSD (San Mateo Foster City School District) GATE program is practically non-existent.

So, we had Ethan assessed by a psychologist this year. We just wanted to better understand what learning environment is best suited for him. Our assessment was a great comfort. The psychologist, Dr. Stephen Chou who specializes in working with gifted boys, assessed Ethan just the way we and his teachers do. It was a wonderful affirmation that Glen and I can trust our instincts and that Laurel is a great school for him.

Another affirmation of this was the certificate award above. At Laurel, they see Ethan for who he is and value him.

Funny note: Aunt Lindy attended Laurel Elementary School as a girl! And look how great she turned out!

School school school.

Some people think that No Child Left Behind, and the corresponding drop in gifted education, is a strategy to move toward vouchers. Illinois and Michigan eliminated all state funding for gifted programs. All resources are going into that bottom slice so that all children can read. Did we really have an illiteracy problem in this country before NCLB?

I recently made the decision to keep the children at our neighborhood elementary school Laurel (where Lindy went for 3 years!!!) instead of moving them to the Music and Arts Montessori Magnet school, North Shoreview, across town. A big part of that decision was the commute. Walking to school is good for family time, health, getting the boys’ brains ready to learn each day and the environment. NS had a fantastic curriculum with the creative art and commitment to music that Laurel is sorely lacking. But a 15 minute drive (minimum) each direction, when the 3 boys will still be on 3 different schedules next year was too much for mom.

On top of that, we don’t know when we’ll move again. We know we will move sometime in the next 5 years. Glen loves Burlingame, which does have great schools. We didn’t want to make Ethan change schools twice.

Ethan got his report card yesterday. He is performing at or above grade level on everything except penmanship. We’re working on those fine motor skills!

Jared, otoh, has been hating school. Every day he says he doesn’t want to go. He also says he has no friends (except Tait Hollis (Ethan’s school mate) who “cares about his feelings). His pre-k and regular nursery program teachers are taking this seriously with me. Teacher Nancy met with him outside of school on Wednesday to talk about how he’s feeling and why nursery school is important.

Jared gets the “academic” part of the curriculum very quickly. He’s a little obnoxious about it actually. He was the first to memorize his phone # while other children still had to read theirs off their cards. He would put his card in another room and then come and recite his to PROVE that he knew his and isn’t this EASY and so on.

But he is apparently the most sensitive child on the planet. If you so much as bump into him at school on your way past him, you might get screams and wails of - “you did that on purpose! you wanted to hurt me!”

More on this….

This is a test of the Picasa “Blog This” Function. I seem to be blogging INSIDE Picasa. And it made a small image for me to type around. Hmm.