Koalaty Kid

Lily's school has a koala for a mascot and they have a bi-annual assembly to give out "koalaty kid" awards. Lily won the citizenship award in kindergarten and the math award in first grade. Yesterday she got one for reading. I took the afternoon off and really enjoyed seeing her sing in the "choir" and receive her major award (she's more or less in the middle of this video).

We also got her report card. She got a 3* in every subject except writing. For those of you who don't know the way they grade now, I'm not sure if Stephen Hawking could get a 4 in science. It seems like 3* is pretty much the ceiling for most kids, so we're very happy about this. She managed to get a 4 in PE for "Content." We have no idea what that means and I think I may email the PE teacher just to ask. It's hard to imagine Lily getting a 4 in PE.


Anyhow, we're very proud of this. Her teacher loves having her in her class. I think we're going to celebrate with a lunch at the Japanese steak house. It's a fun time with the kids and Lily loves it. Hopefully Noah won't be quite as scared this time.

Nanny 911

Amanda and Lily have been watching a lot of Nanny 911 thanks to Netflix. For the most part, we compare very favorably next to these homes. The problem with the majority of them is that mom and dad are not on the same page. Also, it often seems that either mom or dad is completely clueless. We like to think that we're past that, for the most part.

But what Amanda has gleaned from it is a solution to some of the chaos that reigns in the mornings and afternoons. The nannies often implement schedules for these households that are completely out of control. While our household is rarely out of control, Amanda decided that some scheduling would help in the afternoons.

Now when Lily comes home from school there is a time for homework and chores. Then she and Noah can play, but there is no tolerance for fighting. Of course, this all met with some resistance at first because the structure was a little uncomfortable.

We're a couple of weeks into this now and things could hardly be better. Thursday afternoon was particularly good. Lily tried to teach Noah how to add. He ate it right up. They're both doing their jobs around dinner too. And, perhaps most importantly, they are picking up the living room and their bedrooms every day.

It's amazing what an extra helping of structure can do. The house is tidier and everyone is happier.

Play date

We're having a play date with some friends from the bus stop. Lily went to their house and their 3 year-old came to our house. Here is Amanda reading them a story.

This is a bit tricky because Noah wants to play things like foosball and Hungry Hungry Hippos. Marin is not amused by such games.

I think we can hold out for another hour though. If not, I will take them to the park. We are expecting beautiful weather today.

Brave Boy

It took a lot of coaxing, but we finally got Noah to go down the water slide at Uncle Art and Aunt Carol's house. He got a new DS game for his trouble. We don't have video of the first time, but this gives you a good sense of what it was all about.