So I was woken up around 6 am by my four year-old jumping around my bed looking for cuddles and entertainment from my wife and I. Besides having to pee, man I hate that, waking up early having to pee, because you know you have to get out of bed and you are not going to get back to sleep.
More importantly after spending yesterday doped up and a little giddy that the source of my anguish had been rooted out of my face I forgot what it's like to wake up in pain. Even these past couple of months with my sinus and tooth issues they would usually get worse as the day went on, peaking in the mid-afternoon, this morning however it was like the pain had been storing itself up for the six hours I was asleep just waiting to kick my ass as soon I awoke.
To me pain always feels worse after you've been using painkillers, of course constant pain is in reality worse than intermittent pain, with constant pain one kind of resigns themselves to the situation, the pain that comes after the painkillers wear off seems almost impetuous, like god didn't I deal with you already, then you have to figure out what painkiller to take, I haven't eaten yet, and I have to drive the kids, get the house ready for company, damn no hydrocodone until bedtime.
Also the term painkiller had to be created by a marketing department, they are really pain blockers, right? What happens to the pain while it's being blocked, where along the line is it blocked, is everything happening the same but I just don't feel it? I'm getting into old school Seinfeld territory here so I'll stop and try to remember to ask some of the Pharma Industry people that are in my family what the whole deal is with how painkillers work.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Thursday, July 09, 2009
The Source of the Problem
So this is what has been going on, about a month of face pain, was not sure if it was my teeth or sinuses, it wound up being a tooth that is adjacent to a sinus cavity, hence pain emanating from the upper left quadrant of my mouth would shoot through the sinus networks and through the root canal spiderwebbing pain all throughout my face.
I already had an appointment for a cleaning with my periodontist today, so a few weeks I tried to hold out until my appointment, but the pain got so bad that only hydrocodone could alleviate the pain. I also was not sure if the pain was a sinus infection, my family has bad allergies and my mother has had growths removed from her sinuses so that seemed like a possible cause, so I went to an allergist, he had me rinsing my sinuses and using a mediated spray, which helped a little, my guess is that the cleared sinuses caused less pressure in the area.
My wife had a week off of work and we did a lot of running around, going to the beach, which I spent laying down on a beach towel writhing in pain with a baseball cap over my face for two to three hours because I did not have any pain killers with me. We've been eating out a lot lately and that just made things worse, I could barely chew anything. Besides trying to zone out at the beach I had a few other black outs from the pain, I lost a little over a half an hour one day while watching the kids, it got to the point that the boys being loud would set off a serious head/tooth ache, you can image with a four and seven year-old that is a precarious state to be in. So the kids get loud, I'm on my knees I just put my head in my hands and plop face down in pain on the couch at 4pm, I pick my head up and it's 4:35. At first I was like wow I blacked out from pain, that's kind of cool in a weird way I've never done that before, then, oh shit where are my kids? They were fine but that was nerve racking.
I couldn't hold out any longer and saw my regular dentist, who said it looked like I might need a root canal, even though the tooth looked healthy, which would be only the third time in the 20 years of his career that he would have seen such an occurrence, golly gee, my uniqueness knows no bounds and just expresses it self in so many fascinating ways.
Saw my periodontist today and he pulled that huge tooth out, it's amazing how big they are underneath your gums. Still swallowing what tastes like a salty blood broth but hopefully this issue has passed it's crisis stage.
I handed my tooth to my four year-old thinking he would dig it's grossness, but he got freaked out by the blood, my seven year-old thought it was gross but liked it.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
"Why doesn't God tell you?"
It's always a great way to start the day 15 minutes late for dropping your seven year-old off at school with him yelling, "There is no God!"
Basically we were running late as usual, I had told my first grader to get his socks on, he can usually find a pair of socks on his own without any problems so I thought this was a safe task for him to embark on while I was accomplishing some other morning task. When I walk into his room he is still sockless in his bed sliding under the covers and tells his brother, "Hide!" It is pretty normal for my boys to hide when my wife or I come into an area that we have not been in a while, like when my wife gets home from work, or we have been on separate floors for a few minutes.
Anyway when I see that he has not put on socks or done anything to get himself any more ready to leave for school I start to yell that we do not have time to play we are suppose to leave in six minutes. He says I am not playing, I answer you told your brother to hide and you were starting to hide under the covers that is playing.
He starts to yell
7- I didn't tell my brother to hide!
40-Well it sounded like it, what did you say then something that rhymes with it?
7- I said "hi"
40-No you didn't now you're just lying
7- I'm not lying
40-Let's ask your brother, what did you big brother say?
4- He told me to hide, then ... (some other things that did not actually happen)
7 - He's lying, he lies
40- yeah he does lie a lot, but apparently so do you we both heard you tell him to hide
7- God knows the truth!
40- Yeah he does so you better not lie (If you are familiar with me at all you know my beliefs lay somewhere between Buddhism, Taoism, Jung's Collective Unconscious and Agnosticism but we are raising our boys to be Episcopalian which seems to be the most balanced way for them to come up understanding our culture and social mores and yet be open minded to other world views. Where they take things from there is their own decision.)
Then my son gets hysterical
7 - God knows the truth I didn't say that, why won't he tell you, why doesn't he come down and tell you?
40- That's not how it works
7-Why don't you help me, I don't know if you are even there
40 - That's not what this is about
7- I don't think you're even there, I don't think there is a God, why won't he help me, why won't he tell you, there is no God ...
FUCK, we are more late, my son still isn't dressed, he's hysterical and crying and using pretty sound logic to debunk the accepted Christian concept of God, I heard him say "hide" and so did his brother so I can't just give in. At points like this a parent needs to find a safe out for their kids.
1. Yeah there is no God now put your socks and let's go, quick and to the point but that doesn't work in this context and I don't fully believe that,
2. Okay I'm sorry I miss heard you, no that's not true and teaches him if he freaks out he can get away with anything. What's the middle path here?
3. This is a brief version of how I tried to smooth this out over the course of 15 minutes while getting him dressed for school.
I hugged him, his little brother tries to hug him and he says he's mad at his brother, I told him to not be because he heard the same thing that I did. I told him that the main point of this whole situation is that he was not getting ready for school and did not follow through on a direct order to put his socks on, the whole HIDE issue is secondary, and God does not do everything for us, he gave us free will which means we make our own choices and that means we make mistakes and have miscommunications, if he made us only do what's right and fixed everything for us we'd be like his action figures, all of our actions and interactions would be managed for us and we would not determine our own lives, so even though it is often tough would you want to be like one of your action figures or have free will like you do now? Would you want to be like your action figures?
7- No
40- Well there you go, see this has nothing to do with if there is a God or not, we either miss heard you or you are lying or maybe you do not even know what you said, nothing to do with God. Also sometimes in life people are not going to believe you or it seems like everyone disagrees with you, that does not mean that you are wrong, it is not something to be upset about don't let what other people think control what you think.
I should have also told him if everyone thinks he is wrong he should take another look at the issue because we all are wrong or mistaken sometimes but again do not let what other people think determine what you believe.
This seemed to put his head straight, but we were still super late.
------------------------------
My first grader recently told me that he sometimes misses me so much at school that he goes to the bathroom and cries.
I said you did not do this in kindergarten did you?
No.
Then why this year, what's different.
The day seems so long without nap time.
I can see that
I'm glad he misses me but I do not want him to be sad at school, it makes me wonder if the school environment is nurturing enough, in many cases it seems like they forget that these kids are six and seven years old and that they are just grooming them for the state testing in third grade.
I also wonder about kids who do not have an open dialog with their parents, does that help them to learn to deal with things own their own, make them more mature, or just makes them fucked up trying to understand a world that is complex and often harsh.
I believe I could have talked to my parents about anything when I was little but I for some reason chose not to, not sure if it was that I took the bus home and often did not see them for a few hours after school, so my mind had moved on to other things or if I did not want to bother them.
I have more to say but I am out of steam and do not have the ability to keep things coherent so I will do us both a favor and end here.
Basically we were running late as usual, I had told my first grader to get his socks on, he can usually find a pair of socks on his own without any problems so I thought this was a safe task for him to embark on while I was accomplishing some other morning task. When I walk into his room he is still sockless in his bed sliding under the covers and tells his brother, "Hide!" It is pretty normal for my boys to hide when my wife or I come into an area that we have not been in a while, like when my wife gets home from work, or we have been on separate floors for a few minutes.
Anyway when I see that he has not put on socks or done anything to get himself any more ready to leave for school I start to yell that we do not have time to play we are suppose to leave in six minutes. He says I am not playing, I answer you told your brother to hide and you were starting to hide under the covers that is playing.
He starts to yell
7- I didn't tell my brother to hide!
40-Well it sounded like it, what did you say then something that rhymes with it?
7- I said "hi"
40-No you didn't now you're just lying
7- I'm not lying
40-Let's ask your brother, what did you big brother say?
4- He told me to hide, then ... (some other things that did not actually happen)
7 - He's lying, he lies
40- yeah he does lie a lot, but apparently so do you we both heard you tell him to hide
7- God knows the truth!
40- Yeah he does so you better not lie (If you are familiar with me at all you know my beliefs lay somewhere between Buddhism, Taoism, Jung's Collective Unconscious and Agnosticism but we are raising our boys to be Episcopalian which seems to be the most balanced way for them to come up understanding our culture and social mores and yet be open minded to other world views. Where they take things from there is their own decision.)
Then my son gets hysterical
7 - God knows the truth I didn't say that, why won't he tell you, why doesn't he come down and tell you?
40- That's not how it works
7-Why don't you help me, I don't know if you are even there
40 - That's not what this is about
7- I don't think you're even there, I don't think there is a God, why won't he help me, why won't he tell you, there is no God ...
FUCK, we are more late, my son still isn't dressed, he's hysterical and crying and using pretty sound logic to debunk the accepted Christian concept of God, I heard him say "hide" and so did his brother so I can't just give in. At points like this a parent needs to find a safe out for their kids.
1. Yeah there is no God now put your socks and let's go, quick and to the point but that doesn't work in this context and I don't fully believe that,
2. Okay I'm sorry I miss heard you, no that's not true and teaches him if he freaks out he can get away with anything. What's the middle path here?
3. This is a brief version of how I tried to smooth this out over the course of 15 minutes while getting him dressed for school.
I hugged him, his little brother tries to hug him and he says he's mad at his brother, I told him to not be because he heard the same thing that I did. I told him that the main point of this whole situation is that he was not getting ready for school and did not follow through on a direct order to put his socks on, the whole HIDE issue is secondary, and God does not do everything for us, he gave us free will which means we make our own choices and that means we make mistakes and have miscommunications, if he made us only do what's right and fixed everything for us we'd be like his action figures, all of our actions and interactions would be managed for us and we would not determine our own lives, so even though it is often tough would you want to be like one of your action figures or have free will like you do now? Would you want to be like your action figures?
7- No
40- Well there you go, see this has nothing to do with if there is a God or not, we either miss heard you or you are lying or maybe you do not even know what you said, nothing to do with God. Also sometimes in life people are not going to believe you or it seems like everyone disagrees with you, that does not mean that you are wrong, it is not something to be upset about don't let what other people think control what you think.
I should have also told him if everyone thinks he is wrong he should take another look at the issue because we all are wrong or mistaken sometimes but again do not let what other people think determine what you believe.
This seemed to put his head straight, but we were still super late.
------------------------------
My first grader recently told me that he sometimes misses me so much at school that he goes to the bathroom and cries.
I said you did not do this in kindergarten did you?
No.
Then why this year, what's different.
The day seems so long without nap time.
I can see that
I'm glad he misses me but I do not want him to be sad at school, it makes me wonder if the school environment is nurturing enough, in many cases it seems like they forget that these kids are six and seven years old and that they are just grooming them for the state testing in third grade.
I also wonder about kids who do not have an open dialog with their parents, does that help them to learn to deal with things own their own, make them more mature, or just makes them fucked up trying to understand a world that is complex and often harsh.
I believe I could have talked to my parents about anything when I was little but I for some reason chose not to, not sure if it was that I took the bus home and often did not see them for a few hours after school, so my mind had moved on to other things or if I did not want to bother them.
I have more to say but I am out of steam and do not have the ability to keep things coherent so I will do us both a favor and end here.
Monday, June 08, 2009
Thursday, May 28, 2009
THIS IS WHAT I HAVE TO LOOK FORWARD TO
Drug-laced brownies send prom-goers to hospital
Five students who attended the ... High School Junior Prom last week became ill after consuming marijuana-laced brownies on the way to the dance, and four of them needed to be hospitalized, police said.
The students ate the tainted brownies in their rented limousine en route to the dance, held last Wednesday, May 20, according to a letter Assistant Principal ... sent home to the students’ parents on the day after the incident.
Two of the students, who were 16-year-old females, showed "obvious signs of distress," said Montclair Police Lt. James. Both of them vomited and "one girl was completely incoherent and unable to communicate," while the other teen complained of a headache and stomachache, ... said.
Three other students, two boys and a girl who were around the same age, also were sickened by the brownies. The latter female called someone for a ride, while the other four students were all taken to the ... Hospital Emergency Room.
Five students who attended the ... High School Junior Prom last week became ill after consuming marijuana-laced brownies on the way to the dance, and four of them needed to be hospitalized, police said.
The students ate the tainted brownies in their rented limousine en route to the dance, held last Wednesday, May 20, according to a letter Assistant Principal ... sent home to the students’ parents on the day after the incident.
Two of the students, who were 16-year-old females, showed "obvious signs of distress," said Montclair Police Lt. James. Both of them vomited and "one girl was completely incoherent and unable to communicate," while the other teen complained of a headache and stomachache, ... said.
Three other students, two boys and a girl who were around the same age, also were sickened by the brownies. The latter female called someone for a ride, while the other four students were all taken to the ... Hospital Emergency Room.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Little Comedian
My four year-old made me laugh a couple of time last week.
He asked what I was doing I said emailing your Great Aunt Coco and he replied, "She's called hot coco so you can drink her."
He asked what I was doing I said emailing your Great Aunt Coco and he replied, "She's called hot coco so you can drink her."
His older brother is really into Godzilla now and was commenting on how lucky the people in Tokyo are because they have access to more Godzilla toys than we do in the USA, and he said they must really love Godzilla, the four year-old replied:
THEN WHY ARE THEY ALWAYS RUNNING AWAY FROM HIM?!?
And then bust out laughing. I know parents are unduly impressed with their kids, but I thought that was very quick witted.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Various music notes
A few things I have just not gotten around to posting about music.
After hearing the first riff of the Who's "I Can't Explain" my four year-old asks,
"Is this the Clash?"
No son, but the Clash totally did Who style riffs like that, they definitely were influenced by them.
I was playing a mix of my favorite tracks from 2008 and my 6 year-old correctly asked asked, "Dad is this Tricky?"
Yes son, good ear.
It's funny I do not know how many people in the world under 20 could recognize as song as being made by Tricky. Probably not that many over 20 as well, but that is besides the point.
1st grader, "Dad am I goth?"
Dad, "A little bit, son a little bit."
His favorite TV show, Phineas and Ferb has a goth character on it, who is actually shown in a positive and non-stereotypical manner. He also likes some Bauhaus songs and always asks what kind of music a song is when he recognizes that it as a new style to him.
After hearing the first riff of the Who's "I Can't Explain" my four year-old asks,
"Is this the Clash?"
No son, but the Clash totally did Who style riffs like that, they definitely were influenced by them.
I was playing a mix of my favorite tracks from 2008 and my 6 year-old correctly asked asked, "Dad is this Tricky?"
Yes son, good ear.
It's funny I do not know how many people in the world under 20 could recognize as song as being made by Tricky. Probably not that many over 20 as well, but that is besides the point.
1st grader, "Dad am I goth?"
Dad, "A little bit, son a little bit."
His favorite TV show, Phineas and Ferb has a goth character on it, who is actually shown in a positive and non-stereotypical manner. He also likes some Bauhaus songs and always asks what kind of music a song is when he recognizes that it as a new style to him.
Hamster Update
The hamster is doing much better, the wound which once covered a space larger than a nickel, is now about 1/10 that size, so all the trouble and money have been worth it, even if she does not live out a full two years, having her die after one having her for a month would have been traumatic to our 1st grader, so we are very glad that her meds are working and her life has been extended.
Side note from the twice daily steroids she's on our hamster looks like she's ready for lucrative contract with the Yankees, she's all bulked up and muscular now.
Side note from the twice daily steroids she's on our hamster looks like she's ready for lucrative contract with the Yankees, she's all bulked up and muscular now.
Dreams imitating art
My first grader was very upset this morning and cried a bit, mostly about not wanting to go to school because as I've mentioned here before he does not understand why "he spends more time at school than at home."
He also said he has had dreams about his hand being cut off and bleeding to death.
So as I was brushing his hair and trying to sooth his nerves I tried to put on my dream interpretation hat and figure out what that dream might mean.
After dropping him off at school, late as usual, I remembered that we have been watching the whole Star Wars saga in the story's chronological order (as opposed to the movies release date order), and both Luke and Anakin Skywalker have their hands cut off at different points so there probably is no deep psychological meaning to the dream, more of a being freaked out factor, which made me rethink what we are letting him watch and listen to for that matter. He is still six, for a few more weeks at least, and I fear I've allowed him to become use to entertainment that is not age appropriate.
He also said he has had dreams about his hand being cut off and bleeding to death.
So as I was brushing his hair and trying to sooth his nerves I tried to put on my dream interpretation hat and figure out what that dream might mean.
After dropping him off at school, late as usual, I remembered that we have been watching the whole Star Wars saga in the story's chronological order (as opposed to the movies release date order), and both Luke and Anakin Skywalker have their hands cut off at different points so there probably is no deep psychological meaning to the dream, more of a being freaked out factor, which made me rethink what we are letting him watch and listen to for that matter. He is still six, for a few more weeks at least, and I fear I've allowed him to become use to entertainment that is not age appropriate.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
self recognition
I went guitar shopping today and it reminded me that there are a few activities while participating in, I feel like myself.
Before I had kids and I usually felt like myself it was usually work that put my sense of self well being out of alignment, sometimes a nice vacation would snap me back into place, it might take two or three days but be it lounging in wine country, record shopping in Paris, or getting loaded with friends in NYC, the though crosses my mind, this is me, this is who I really am.
Now with kids, even though I don't work out side of the home, I rarely feel that sense of self recognition, I guess because I need time to shed off whatever daily stress is on my plate, and then in a relaxed unhurried manner, without any person vying for my attention, enter into some activity that I enjoy which touches on those things which I perceive are the foundation of who I am.
I love record shopping, but having a quickly bored and often hungry family in toe is a kin to the kids repeatedly trying the master bedroom door knob while you are trying to have sex, you can work through it, but it is not what you were hoping for.
One way I can reach this state is in my monthly massage if I meditate rather than chatting with my massage therapist, the hour seems like it is endless until it ends and then it seems like only 15 minutes have passed.
Before I had kids and I usually felt like myself it was usually work that put my sense of self well being out of alignment, sometimes a nice vacation would snap me back into place, it might take two or three days but be it lounging in wine country, record shopping in Paris, or getting loaded with friends in NYC, the though crosses my mind, this is me, this is who I really am.
Now with kids, even though I don't work out side of the home, I rarely feel that sense of self recognition, I guess because I need time to shed off whatever daily stress is on my plate, and then in a relaxed unhurried manner, without any person vying for my attention, enter into some activity that I enjoy which touches on those things which I perceive are the foundation of who I am.
I love record shopping, but having a quickly bored and often hungry family in toe is a kin to the kids repeatedly trying the master bedroom door knob while you are trying to have sex, you can work through it, but it is not what you were hoping for.
One way I can reach this state is in my monthly massage if I meditate rather than chatting with my massage therapist, the hour seems like it is endless until it ends and then it seems like only 15 minutes have passed.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
75% Chance of Hamster Cancer
Poor Miss Fuzzy, so I did wind up taking her to the specialist, bumping up our total vet costs to around $400 for our $12 pet. When I went to the exotic pet specialist last week they found that our hamster most likely has skin cancer, about a 50% chance, which is basically untreatable, 25% chance of lymphoma, which can be treated, 25% of some other type of infection which would be curable.
We've been giving her two medicines twice a day and her wound hasn't been openly bleeding anymore, but it is not looking much better either.
We've been giving her two medicines twice a day and her wound hasn't been openly bleeding anymore, but it is not looking much better either.
Monday, April 06, 2009
99 Problems and a Hamster is one!
We've had a new hamster for about a month, a couple of weeks ago she chewed her tail off, why we don't know, maybe neurotic, maybe a tumor or something at the base of her spine, anyway after taking her to the vet and getting some antibiotics and a bill well north of a hundred bucks, the problem seemed to get better, though we never took her back for her follow up visit.
Of course that was not the end of it, her butt is all bloody again and I, who I only agreed to get if I had nothing to do with it's up keep, am taking her back and forth to vets across the northern part of the state.
My email to my wife on the topic, who of course is in meetings all day so she's not answering her phone:
"Just came back from the Vet, made an appointment with the specialist, they wanted to make one for today at 11:30 but that was cutting it too close since I don't know where they are it's thunderstorming, it would be a little hard to pick up lunch on the road with miss fuzzy in toe and honestly their fee of $160 to see her is quite outrageous and I honestly would rather cancel the appointment than pay that much for visit for a $12 pet, when my gut tells me with an animal this small they aren't going to be able to do much. Also I doubt that visit will include the cost of the X-ray they are going to do to look at her tail bone area.
Dr. Roberto didn't see anything that look like a tumor but did say at the last visit Fuzzy had a little tail stub which is now gone. She links that maybe there is a crack in her spine maybe that is giving her trouble, or perhaps that she needed to be on her medicine longer.
Please get back to me ASAP about whether or not you want to pay $160 for this specialist, since the sooner we cancel the appointment the more likely it is they won't try to get us to pay some kind of fee."
Of course that was not the end of it, her butt is all bloody again and I, who I only agreed to get if I had nothing to do with it's up keep, am taking her back and forth to vets across the northern part of the state.
My email to my wife on the topic, who of course is in meetings all day so she's not answering her phone:
"Just came back from the Vet, made an appointment with the specialist, they wanted to make one for today at 11:30 but that was cutting it too close since I don't know where they are it's thunderstorming, it would be a little hard to pick up lunch on the road with miss fuzzy in toe and honestly their fee of $160 to see her is quite outrageous and I honestly would rather cancel the appointment than pay that much for visit for a $12 pet, when my gut tells me with an animal this small they aren't going to be able to do much. Also I doubt that visit will include the cost of the X-ray they are going to do to look at her tail bone area.
Dr. Roberto didn't see anything that look like a tumor but did say at the last visit Fuzzy had a little tail stub which is now gone. She links that maybe there is a crack in her spine maybe that is giving her trouble, or perhaps that she needed to be on her medicine longer.
Please get back to me ASAP about whether or not you want to pay $160 for this specialist, since the sooner we cancel the appointment the more likely it is they won't try to get us to pay some kind of fee."
Great ... Just what a parent loves to hear
ALERT ALERT ALERT ALERT
April 1, 2009
Dear Parent/ Caregiver/ Guardian:
We have been informed through the Police Department (and through parent notifications of reports filed with the police department), of three separate incidents of attempted luring over the weekend, and as late as yesterday afternoon.
There were three different incidents and descriptions of suspect(s) and vehicles:
· Sunday, March 29th: Identified as a white male in his early 40’s wearing a plaid shirt and possibly driving a green Chevy Suburban. Girls were asked for local directions and offered money to go with the stranger.
· Sunday, March 29th: Identified as a white male with brown hair and blue eyes, driving a black car, possibly a Mercedes Benz, with a “fake” license plate # K13-5E9. Two young girls were followed from the Public Library – main branch, towards Willow Street.
· Tuesday, March 31st: Identified as a white male with a white mustache and a lot of white and grey hair, driving a “beat up” red convertible. He spoke with a slur, and asked the students (speaking only to the girls) to give him directions to “the salon”, and then further asked the girls to give him directions to “the church”. This occurred at the corner of North Fullerton and Garden Street in front of the house across from the playground (by ______ School). The parent of one of the middle school students was in close proximity, at the time of the incident.
· We are reminding students – DO NOT TALK OR GO NEAR STRANGERS. REPORT ANY UNUSUAL SITUATIONS IMMEDIATELY TO AN ADULT. REMEMBER TO BE AWARE OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS AND DO NOT WALK ALONE, IF POSSIBLE.
· We are reminding parents – PLEASE PROVIDE SUPERVISION OF YOUR CHILDREN BEFORE AND AFTER SCHOOL, AND ON THE WEEKENDS, GOING TO AND FROM VARIOUS ACTIVITIES, EVENTS, ETC. PLEASE STAY IN CONSTANT COMMUNICATION AND CONTACT WITH YOUR CHILDREN.
We will keep the community informed of any occurrences as they are reported and confirmed by the Police Department.
April 1, 2009
Dear Parent/ Caregiver/ Guardian:
We have been informed through the Police Department (and through parent notifications of reports filed with the police department), of three separate incidents of attempted luring over the weekend, and as late as yesterday afternoon.
There were three different incidents and descriptions of suspect(s) and vehicles:
· Sunday, March 29th: Identified as a white male in his early 40’s wearing a plaid shirt and possibly driving a green Chevy Suburban. Girls were asked for local directions and offered money to go with the stranger.
· Sunday, March 29th: Identified as a white male with brown hair and blue eyes, driving a black car, possibly a Mercedes Benz, with a “fake” license plate # K13-5E9. Two young girls were followed from the Public Library – main branch, towards Willow Street.
· Tuesday, March 31st: Identified as a white male with a white mustache and a lot of white and grey hair, driving a “beat up” red convertible. He spoke with a slur, and asked the students (speaking only to the girls) to give him directions to “the salon”, and then further asked the girls to give him directions to “the church”. This occurred at the corner of North Fullerton and Garden Street in front of the house across from the playground (by ______ School). The parent of one of the middle school students was in close proximity, at the time of the incident.
· We are reminding students – DO NOT TALK OR GO NEAR STRANGERS. REPORT ANY UNUSUAL SITUATIONS IMMEDIATELY TO AN ADULT. REMEMBER TO BE AWARE OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS AND DO NOT WALK ALONE, IF POSSIBLE.
· We are reminding parents – PLEASE PROVIDE SUPERVISION OF YOUR CHILDREN BEFORE AND AFTER SCHOOL, AND ON THE WEEKENDS, GOING TO AND FROM VARIOUS ACTIVITIES, EVENTS, ETC. PLEASE STAY IN CONSTANT COMMUNICATION AND CONTACT WITH YOUR CHILDREN.
We will keep the community informed of any occurrences as they are reported and confirmed by the Police Department.
Friday, April 03, 2009
Party Attire
What to dress the kids in when going to a party, of course you usually want them to wear their finest gear too accentuate how damn cute they are and to express to the world what a good job you are doing in manufacturing presentable future world leaders, HOWEVER there are three things at parties that run counter to risking your children's best outfits;
1) FOOD: self serve buffets, bowls of snacks and dips, cheap disposable adult size plastic cups, colorful cakes and other messy desserts. Kids have access to all of these things without full parental supervision and the persistent cajoling party hosts and relatives long in years to try this or that.
2) PARENTAL DISTRACTION: depending on the gathering the parent will either be super busy hosting or helping the host, or doing the yak-yak dance with long lost friends and relatives, leaving your child free to double dip their cuff sleeves into the oozing fudge fountain.
3) HYPER-ACTIONS: Mix the free flowing sugar products, Mom's focus on recounting a family vacation from 1979 and we have Hyper-Actions, kids playing out door sports in their finest indoor clothes, well intentioned horse-play evolving into a back alley brawl resulting punch to the head and a retaliatory kick in the gut, and the party's crowning moment a rainbow of vomit being spewed from the little guest of honor's digestive system recapping the afternoon in wide palette of food dyes. This last example actually happened, my boy was the kicker not the vomiter, not sure which would have been worse?
1) FOOD: self serve buffets, bowls of snacks and dips, cheap disposable adult size plastic cups, colorful cakes and other messy desserts. Kids have access to all of these things without full parental supervision and the persistent cajoling party hosts and relatives long in years to try this or that.
2) PARENTAL DISTRACTION: depending on the gathering the parent will either be super busy hosting or helping the host, or doing the yak-yak dance with long lost friends and relatives, leaving your child free to double dip their cuff sleeves into the oozing fudge fountain.
3) HYPER-ACTIONS: Mix the free flowing sugar products, Mom's focus on recounting a family vacation from 1979 and we have Hyper-Actions, kids playing out door sports in their finest indoor clothes, well intentioned horse-play evolving into a back alley brawl resulting punch to the head and a retaliatory kick in the gut, and the party's crowning moment a rainbow of vomit being spewed from the little guest of honor's digestive system recapping the afternoon in wide palette of food dyes. This last example actually happened, my boy was the kicker not the vomiter, not sure which would have been worse?
2nd Son, 3rd Person
I guess my pre-schooler is destine to become a professional athlete because as of a few months ago he started referring to himself in the third person, "'Othello' doesn't like asparagus, 'Othello' likes soft broccoli."
(I just asked him to name a food he doesn't like and he named asparagus which I'm sure will thrill his mother who has been trying to get it into our regular vegetable rotation. He then started to name foods he does like and hasn't stopped talking since and is trying to sit on my lap and is doing everything possible to separate me from the computer, unless of course I let him play Papa Louie, Batman the Brave and the Bold or some other free online video game, then the computer is great!)
(I just asked him to name a food he doesn't like and he named asparagus which I'm sure will thrill his mother who has been trying to get it into our regular vegetable rotation. He then started to name foods he does like and hasn't stopped talking since and is trying to sit on my lap and is doing everything possible to separate me from the computer, unless of course I let him play Papa Louie, Batman the Brave and the Bold or some other free online video game, then the computer is great!)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
