Mini-Golf

Jason and I took Stella to play mini-golf for the first time on Independence Day. She was thrilled to get both parents to herself which rarely happens, and she was thrilled to play mini-golf, which she had never done before.

We tried to help her out with the rules and her form, but she wasn't having any of it.

She just wanted to do it her way. Her way included hitting the ball once, picking it up, placing it carefully next to the hole and hitting it in. Sideways.

I don't know if it is her inherited stubborn streak or her inherited love of croquet that renders her incapable of hitting a golf ball properly. Or maybe I should cut the kid some slack? I mean, she's only three.

She was very amusing, in any case.  In this house we spell diva with a capital D.

Family

Quiet

BFFs

June

The Naked Chef

I'm sorry I can't actually post any pictures of the chef in action. You'll just have to trust me that it was a sight to behold.

I told Violet today that she could make lunch. She could make whatever she wanted, and Stella and I would eat it. Her instantaneous reply? "We can have CAKE for LUNCH!!??"

"Yes, we can," I told her "but I don't think grabbing handfuls of frozen cake out of the freezer constitutes lunch. If you want cake, you have to bake it."

Apparently she didn't want to pay the high price of having cake for lunch, so she made soup instead.

The soup du jour turned out to be frozen corn, bananas, pineapple, pears, pear juice, and a single graham cracker. Mixed well and heated in the microwave for one minute.

After it passed her highly discriminating taste test, Violet served  each of us a bowl of soup.

Stella had seconds. I, however, did not.

I consider Violet's first foray into the culinary arts a success. A success in that I managed to swallow my soup with a smile on my face, and it left her with a good feeling about what she had done.

Later we made popsicles for and I took an active role in their making, but come to think of it - frozen soup would have made a rather nice popsicle.

Is it May? Really?

Stella with curly hair, two Stellas doing ballet.

A friend pointed out to me that I have not posted anything here in 3 months. How appalling. Things here have been crazy busy and it is hard to blog while you are on a rollercoaster.

It started with Violet's IEP. According to her school, she doesn't need any more special services. I have a very close friend who has had struggles with the school as well. Her son has ADHD and  impulse control issues, and has a hard time in the classroom. She summed it up perfectly when she said "Wow, I need to get my kid an IEP so they can make him perfect, too!" Which is kind of how it feels. And it makes me think the school doesn't really know our kid. Not like her preschool teacher, not like all her old therapists. But that is the way of school. Their goal is not to make her the best person she can be, but to make sure she is not disruptive, even if she is bored with her schoolwork and it is difficult for her to hold herself together for 6 hours a day managing peer interactions. So instead of trying to fight the system, we thought we could find an alternative. Enter Waynflete.

Waynflete is a private school with small class size and individually tailored curriculum. They have a strong focus on social skills, independence and respect. Jason and I thought it would be a perfect place for Violet.We had a tour, an interview, and they were talking scholarship and things, and then after Violet's visit, they called to tell us they couldn't handle her behavior issues. I admit I cried on the phone. Because somewhere between being not-a-problem-at-all and too-disruptive-for-us lies my child, who is not being adequately served. I don't think either school really knows her, and I wish Waynflete had spent more time with her, but I don't really blame them. Because it is true. Violet has moments of real struggle, and it is very, very difficult. Which is what I try to explain to her school. But more and more, she has really wonderful times where she is receptive and kind and rational and empathetic as well.

So this all leaves us Wises in a tough place. Public school will destroy her faster than it did either Jason or myself. And those wonderful, lucid, happy times I just mentioned? We have noticed that more and more they are coming during school breaks. Consistently, in fact. And just as consistently, when she goes back to school, she spends the afternoon at home falling apart. We are not certain by any means, but I personally am leaning heavily toward homeschooling her. It is a scary commitment, but I don't see any other options. I am really worried about ruining her. But in all honesty? I would rather undereducate her myself than let someone else ruin her with apathy. And at least I have this going for me: I think I will know when it is not working, or when she has exceeded my ability to educate her. I am not a scholar. I am smart enough, but certainly I don't store any extra facts in my brain. But I think that with creativity, which is my strong point, and Jason's scholarly ways and creativity, we can make it work for a few years. And it is my heart's utmost desire to have a family that loves each other and is close in a way that you can't be when everyone runs off in their own direction each day. I want our family to be a solid team.

So that's where I've been the past couple months. It has been a very circuitous route. Now for those pictures you have all been patiently waiting for.

Violet rides Dee. She has upwards of 60 positions she uses while riding. Hanging out crosslegged is just one.

Riding around the Back Cove in Portland.

Ignore the pasty white legs.

Enactment of "A Boy and his Blob". Guess who was thew blob? (No, not me.)