Monday, March 18, 2013

Lizard King Sheds His Skin

The Lizard King is becoming a chameleon.  Or maybe he is simply evolving.  Whatever is going on, he is growing up.  He is starting to care about his looks a bit.  Not so much his hair, etc.  But what he is now concerned with what he wears.  He appears to be hanging up his sweatpants for a different look.
     Caz went to school in jeans today.  That is a big step for him.  Even his friends commented.  So Demi went out and bought a few more pairs.  Personally, I am not sad to see this evolution.  He could do with a bit of style.  Oh, I don't mean to suggest that I know what constitutes style at DMS for adolescents in Duxbury.  But I like that he's taking an interest in his appearance.  He's the opposite of vain.  A little self interest is a good thing.  

Saturday, March 16, 2013

NFL Time

Coco started flag football today.  Sort of.  He is coming off another tough health week.  I think he had a double whammy going on.  He had a bit of the flu along with his continual intestinal issues.  I was hoping that football practice might perk him up a bit.
     And it did for a bit.  He lasted about 15 mins in practice.  But he did run around some.  A good step.  He gets so lethargic and just sitting around makes it worse.  He desperately needs to get back to school on Monday.  Maybe this was the catalyst.  He needs to get to school and be with his friends, get his work, and see his teachers.  Intellectually I have no worries about him. He's knocking out his school work with no issues.  But we know school is more than just the subjects being taught.  We will find out on Monday.

Friday, March 15, 2013

Bowling Night

I had flashbacks tonight.  As I was dropping off Caz at the Alley Kat Lanes, I couldn't help but recall when my parents dropped me off there to hang out with my friends.  I was exactly Caz's age and grade.  The circle of life goes on.
     I am happy that Caz is taking an interest in hanging out with friends, doing a bit of socializing.  You need that camaraderie growing up.  My little boy is taking steps towards adulthood.  Of course know I hope he has chosen the right group of friends.
     We had a talk on the way to Alley Kat.  I know Caz wanted to roll his eyes the whole time but he kept it together.  He accepted that he needed to pay attention.  I talked to him about making good decisions.  I talked to him about his friends making good decisions.  We discussed guilt by association.  We discussed how it only take a split second to make a bad decision that could have terrible consequences.
     As Caz left the car, I told him that he was not to leave the premises.  I didn't want him crossing a very buys road, wearing dark clothes, at night.  There is a McDonald's close by, but it is on the other side of that main street.
     Shortly after I got home, Demi and I received texts from the Lizard King.  He wanted to go with his friends to McDonald's.  He did a great thing by asking.  Of course we toyed with him a bit first.  We asked him with whom he was going.  He listed off the group, which did include a couple of girls.  And thus it begins.    We let him go and he conducted himself well.  A very successful night.

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Happy 39th Lex

Demi and I are going out with my brother and sister in-law to celebrate my brother's and Demi's birthday.  We have reservations at Oro in Scituate.  It's a great place.  The food is excellent.  The service was a bit suspect last time.  So it can only go up from there right?  Odds are, the waitress is not going to toss the limes into the drinks on the table again right?
     The boys are staying home on their own.  I have no doubt that they will be fine.  I just hope they go to bed when they should.  I fed them before we left, so really, they just have to stay out of trouble.  They have been really doing well with staying home at night, just the two of them.  It's a nice luxury to have.

Monday, March 4, 2013

Letting Go

Demi and I have been trying to let Caz be a bit more independent with this school work.  Not that we have been too involved.  And I don't want you to get the impression that we are involved in the quality of the homework.  We really just check that it is done on a nightly basis.  We check both the boys to make sure that whatever is due the next school day, is done.
    But Caz needs a bit more oversight.  His ADD is a challenge that we consistently work on.  He needs to do more on his own as time goes on.  He has a tendency to do his homework but not handing it in.  We hope that the balance of help is such that when he goes off to high school and it truly on his own, he can be successful.
     Right now it's not going as well as we had hoped.  His teachers aren't helping.  We try to be communicative, but not over bearing.  Lately, they have stopped getting back to us.  They are not living up to the discussion we had at the beginning of the school year.  I know they have lots of students but we agreed on a plan for Caz that is less administrative for them but we are not see them living up to their promises.  We are going to have to take steps to rectify that.

Friday, March 1, 2013

Family Style Birthday

We celebrated the birthdays of Coco, Demi, and Uncle Lex tonight.  Pizza, cake, brownie, and ice cream.  What else could you ask for?  All the family in one place, over at my brother's place.  I figured it was easier for my brother's family, with the little ones.  It is not far for Amah and Yaya, and they only have to get out once.
     I wanted to get flowers for Demi to surprise her.  Then I thought it would be cute to get some for my niece, the Bug.  But then my Sister in-law deserved some for hosting.  How do I exclude Amah after that? See how the snowball effect works?  Crazy.  That should be up there with Pythagoras and Boyle's Law.