Nothing important in the mail

At least that's what Bill told me when he handed me the pile from the mailbox.  Good thing I didn't just throw it away.  

Y's green card was in there!

Not that it's actually green, but it is a permanent resident card.  We even used it to show Y how his name is properly spelled.  He insists it is:

YRAslav

not

YAROslav.

We have alerted his teacher to this.  He usually accepts such things from her, but not from us.  Yet.  I'm thinking of asking her to give him a grade of "0" on any paper that he spells his name wrong if this persists.  Funny thing, he has no problem spelling our last name - which is oddly spelled.

Getting ready to go visit relatives tomorrow night.  Have to finish my laundry now.

Natalie

TX

A Day Without Sponge Bob

I didn't think it was possible, but we have survived a day without Sponge Bob.

Y also rode the bus home today for the very first time.  I dropped him off at school in the morning and told the front office that he needed to come home on the bus.  They were very obliging.  Last week when Bill talked to the afternoon bus driver, he said they would be by our house sometime a few minutes after 3pm.  So, at 3pm Goofy and I suited up and walked down the block to get Y.  At 3:05pm a school bus came from the opposite direction from where I was expecting it, dropped off some kids one door from my house (the other end of the block) and roared past Goofy and I.  I freaked out when I looked down and no Y!  The bus had a different number than I was expecting, so I rushed home and called the school.  They verified that Yarek had gotten on the bus I specified, but they could not verify it was the correct bus to come to our subdivision.  They did give me the number of the transportation department, so I hurriedly called them and they contacted the bus driver, verified again that Y was on the bus and told me that, yes, I did have the correct number and the bus would be there in a few mintues.  Not only that, since they drive down our street the bus driver would drop him off at the end of the driveway.  Apparently I saw the high school bus drive by.  In the mornings they pick up all kids from 6-12 grade, but in the afternoon they only bring the 6-8 graders home on Yarek's bus.  I guess more kids ride the afternoon bus than the morning buses.

So, I decided to suit everybody up in their collars and leashes and we all went to stand at the top of the driveway to wait for our baby's first bus ride.  The bus didn't come by until around 3:25pm (about 40 minutes after school let out).  Apparently Y is the last kid to be dropped off.  There didn't appear to be anyone else on the bus.  

I handed Y Goofy's leash, told him to put his backpack down in the front hall and we would take everyone for a nice little walk.  It was sunny, but windy and a little chilly this afternoon.  Y did an awesome job walking Goofy.  He had him heeling almost the entire walk, which is more than I can say for myself.  That little bum thinks he doesn't have to listen to me.  It didn't hurt that every minute or two Y took off at a run, with a very happy adoring Goofy at his side.  Goofy even sat every time Y stopped to wait for us.  None of the other dogs do that.  I am satisfied with no pulling and standing quietly, but they all were originally trained to sit when we stop walking.

We dropped Nala off at the house after a few minutes, and took Goofy, Miko & Squirty to the pond for some swimming.  As expected, only Goofy took us up on the offer.  About 8 sticks later, he was too pooped to pop, so we headed home.

It seems that Y is always hungry right after school.  I mean like eating a meal hungry, not an after school snack hungry.  He wanted mashed potatoes.  Not three days in a row, I told him.  Okay, then eggs.  I told him Mama doesn't cook very good eggs and tried to get him interested in an apple, pear, orange or something else while I cooked Velveeta shells & cheese in the microwave.  Y kept insisting he wanted eggs and told me he could cook them.  So, I got him the skillet, showed him how to turn on the stove and he went to town.  He got the butter out and tried pushing it around the skillet with a knife, but I told him to do it with a plastic spatula so he wouldn't gouge out the non-stick coating.  Then he carefully cracked a couple of eggs and perfectly cooked them sunny side up.  He did such a good job, I said, "Hey, cook me a couple of eggs."  He was happy to do something for me.  I did have to show him how to flip the eggs over since I like them over easy.  They didn't look pretty when they were done, but they tasted just great.  So, dinner was a couple of eggs, toast, and macaroni and cheese.

An all yellow day even without Sponge Bob.  I still can't believe I got him to watch some movies instead of Nickelodeon after dinner was over with.  I'm like all giddy now just thinking about not hearing that stupid Sponge Bob song.

Natalie

TX

International Phone Calls Day 2

Well, at least Y hasn't tried to make any international phone calls today.  He also knows what he did was wrong, but he thinks he can just charm his way out of it (way too much like my husband not to share DNA).  While I was talking to my mother this afternoon, Y overheard part of the conversation.  He asked if I was telling Babushka about last night.  I said yes, and told him that Babushka did not like him making calls to Ukraine either.  He smiled, giggled and tried to pour on the charm.  No, Mama, I won't do it again!  Right, like I believe that one.

Bill and I discussed it last night and Bill thinks we should come up with a chore chart for him where he can earn an allowance.  He can then use this allowance to buy an international calling card or time on our Skype phone.  I prefer the Skype phone because then I can more closely monitor the times of day/days of week that he makes the calls.  I think we should open a savings account for him to put his allowance money in.  That way he can decide if the new MP3 player is more important to him than calling overseas.

I want to also make up a chart for demerits, but Bill doesn't like that idea.  I say, if you get rewarded for doing things you should do, then you also need to get disciplined for things you shouldn't do.  I don't think all discipline has to be money deducted from his savings/allowance account.  It could be no TV for one day or no phone privileges for three days or a week's moratorium on earning an allowance - you still have to do your chores, but you don't get the cash credited to your account at the end of the week/month, etc.  I also think we should sometimes give him a choice as to what his discipline is:  three days without TV or $5 deducted from you allowance?  And, if he is caught watching TV during those three days, then he gets one extra day added to the no TV rule and the $5 gets deducted from his allowance.  Double whammy.

Then, we all sign it.  That way we can say, "Hey, we're not being the bad guys here - the contract is!  You signed it, you have to live by it."

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated from those who've been there, done that and even those who haven't.

Natalie

TX

International Phone Calls

Good thing our international rate to Ukraine is 15 cents per minute.  Y has asked occasionally to call a friend in Ukraine.  It is very difficult to get him to understand the time difference.  So far, we have only allowed one phone call on a school morning and the other two calls have been on Saturday mornings.  We figured this would be a nice routine, he could call anyone he wanted to in Ukraine for 30 minutes every Saturday morning.

He has just lost that privilege.

We specifically did not tell him how to dial the country code.  Unfortunately, he is a very smart boy.  I was snoozing in front of the TV tonight while Bill was on the computer in his office.  Y had been up since 7am, and at 9pm he said, "Spah-coy-noy-no-chee!"  (aka, goodnight) and went up to bed.  Or so we thought.  At about 9:30pm Bill noticed the phone in his office said 'line in use.'  He came into the living room and saw me nodding off with no phone in hand.  When I clicked the talk line, there was a dial tone.  I thought Bill was seeing things, but I was very tired, so I decided to go upstairs to sleep.  As I passed Y's room I could hear him talking inside.  I opened his door and he was lying in bed on the phone.  I asked as best I could in Russian (and pantomimed the rest), "Who is on the phone?"  He acted like he didn't understand, so I said, "Ukraine?" and pantomimed the phone again.  He said, "No."  So, I asked again, "Kto?"  Y said, "Nastia."  I told him to hang up and when he didn't do it immediately I took the phone and hung it up.  I thought he meant his friend Nastia who lives a few blocks away.  I couldn't believe her parents would let her talk on the phone at 9:30pm (she's only 11).

I then yelled down to Bill that Y said he was talking to Nastia, and Bill said to hit the redial button and verify that.  I clicked redial and to my dismay a Ukrainian number came up.  In fact the last five numbers dialed from that phone were Ukrainian.  He had apparently been talking on the phone internationally for over half an hour.  Without permission.  I told him phone calls to Ukraine were very expensive and that he had lost his privilege of calling Ukraine for the foreseeable future.  Actually what I said sounded more like "Call, Ukraine, expensive, you never!"

What really hurts me is that he outright lied to me.  He even hung up the phone when he heard us discussing things downstairs.  I know this because the same Ukrainian number was dialed the last four times, all with date stamps indicating tonight.  I know he misses his friends.  That is why we allowed him to call them in the first place.  However, he has overstepped his bounds.

Tomorrow morning I am going to look for the notebook where he keeps copies of all their cell phone numbers and confiscate it.  We will definitely not allow him to make phone calls for the next two Saturdays, at least.  Easter Saturday should be easy, we will be out of town.

I am also calling the phone company on Monday and ask if there is a way we can have all calls overseas restricted.  I don't want to drop the cheapo calling plan (just in case he disobeys us again), but I do want there to be some sort of message like, "International calls are not permitted from this number," whenever he tries to dial Ukraine.  We can keep the Skype phone for Ukraine calls.  It's more expensive at 25 cents per minute, but we can keep the cost to a minimum by only loading $5 - $10 on the account at any one time.

Natalie

TX

Easter visit

We have decided that we will probably be able to afford to visit Bill's family for Easter.  We will save a little bit of immediate money by taking Bill's truck instead of mine.  His just needs an oil change and a major bath, not an oil change and four new tires.  Total cost to get his car ready for travel should be about $100.

Dog sitting will most likely cost less than dog boarding.  Around $300 for sitting and $500 for boarding.  We may even decide to do a combination of both.  We really don't want Goofy to sit in a cage for 22 hours a day; so, we may board Goofy at $20/day ($100) and let the pet sitter take care of Nala Bear, Miko, Squirt, Tigger and Daisy at home $63/day for three visits ($345) or $42/day for two visits ($231).  If the kennel will accept our proposal of all four dogs for 5.5 days at $350, we may only have one cat sitting visit at $18.

Maximum pet care:  $500

Minimum pet care:  $350

I figure $500 - $600 for gas and food along the way.  It's about a 1000 mile trip give or take.  And, of course, Bill's cigarettes.  Can't wait till the price rises on them again.  Maybe this time he'll quit.

The big question is how to explain to Y that we'll be in the car for about 12 hours before we reach my father in law's house?  I guess I'll just compare it to the train in Ukraine, with less stretching room.

Natalie

TX

Scoliosis confirmed & Ya nee ha-choo!

Took Y to the chiropractor after school today.  He wasn't thrilled about more x-rays and a doctor's visit, but he did it anyway.  Didn't hurt that Mama was in major need of an adjustment, too.  They confirmed scoliosis but said he wouldn't need a brace, just some 'muscle retraining.'  I told them we would return this summer for his range of motion and follow up treatments.  Hopefully by then he will know enough English to understand why he needs to do this.

When we got home at 7pm, dinner was almost ready.  Pork chops, mashed potatoes, bread and a glass of milk.  (Yes, I know, no veggies - we fought over veggies last night.)  Well, tonight we fought over milk.  He accepted his plate of food with a "Thank you Mama," until he saw the glass of milk.  Nyet!  No way he was going to drink that milk.  So, he walked into the living room with the plate and glass in his hand, put both on the coffee table and sulked.  Oh, and he was watching Sponge Bob, too.  I came in to sit next to him (we often eat in the living room - maybe we should put a TV in the breakfast nook), and told him that he couldn't leave his plate there - the dogs will eat it.  So, he put his plate on the back of the couch.  A big no-no.  I told him to put it on his lap and eat his food and drink his milk.  That was followed by a chorus of "Ya nee ha-choo!" from him and, "I don't care!" from me.  After I turned off Sponge Bob, and told him he couldn't watch TV until he ate dinner, he ate the potatoes and then asked if he could go out to the kitchen.  I told him he could eat in the kitchen if he wanted to.  All he did was put the plate on the counter and come back into the living room.  Another no-no.  I realize he didn't understand exactly what I said, so I sat him at the breakfast table and put his plate and milk in front of him.  This was followed by even more vehement, "Ya nee ha-choo!"  I told him that was fine, he didn't have to eat it right now, but he was going to sit there until he ate his pork and drank his milk.  Thankfully, Bill came out from his office to back me up.

Five minutes later, Y turned the light off and tried to sneak upstairs.  I asked if he had eaten - another "Ya nee ha-choo!"  So, Bill came out again, sat him back down at the table and asked him to please eat his food and drink his milk.  Bill stayed in the hallway watching Y until he did as requested.  That took another 10 minutes or so.  As soon as Y was done, he went out on the back deck and sat down to sulk in the dark.  He stayed there for over 20 minutes until Bill went out and asked him to come back in and do his one chore of the day.  He did not feed the dogs and cats or give them fresh drinking water this morning before he went to school.  Almost all bowls were empty and the natives were getting a little restless.

Yes, I did go out and check on Y once while he was sulking outside, but I figured this was a minor enough issue.  He needs to learn how to handle such frustration on his own.  Not like the other night when he had a meltdown and really needed comforting.

BTW - Nickelodeon is back on TV right now.

Somehow we're going to have to teach him that if a two TV programs are recording and he gets the message "Confirm you wish to stop recording?" when he tries to change the channel - the answer is NO or CANCEL!!!  I had to miss my nightly Keith Olberman show because Y wanted to watch Sponge Bob.  If he would've asked first, I would've said yes, but he didn't.  Bill thinks he can put some sort of code lock on the TV so that you have to enter that code just to turn the TV on.

Oh, and Y most likely does not have mono.  He was just tired one day.  I asked him if his neck or head hurt and checked a couple of his glands.  They did not feel swollen to me, but I'm not a medical doctor.  Maybe we'll have him tested/checked when he has to go in for more vaccinations.

Natalie

TX

Sick?

Y said he was tired after school on Thursday, too.  But, when I asked him if he was too tired to go to gymnastics, the answer was a resounding, "No!"  So, off to gymnastics we went.  He kept making faces at me through the glass as the coaches made him do stretching and warm up exercises.  He has no patience for those things.  I think I'm going to have to do that kind of stuff with him, so that he thinks it is a contest he can win.  It doesn't help that he is the oldest and least limber of the boys in the class.  In that way he is very like Bill.  Y & Bill don't want to do anything that they cannot excel at.

I'm taking him with me to the chiropractor today if Bill doesn't get home from running business errands in time.  At least they can look at his scoliosis and give me a better idea of how bad it is than our general practitioner.  Maybe they can also test some of his stretching abilities, too.  Or at least show him more interesting things to do that facilitate stretching than the coaches at gymnastics.  They may also be able to tell me if his neck feels stiff.  I will go online to translate does your head hurt, too.  Is there a test that can be done to determine if he has mono?  Anybody?

Natalie

TX