Scenes From The First Day of School

Observations from Simi's school:

A little boy holding his even littler sister's hand and taking her to her first day of class. He gets near the class and gives her a little push to the door ... then walks away to get to his own class.

A little girl taking her little brother to his first day of school. She gets him to the door of his classroom, kisses the top of his head, then pushes him into the room and walks away to get to her own class.

A mom trying to push a stroller (with an infant in it) and hold the hand of a toddler - in the mad crush of kids and parents - while taking another young 'un to the first day of class.

A little girl carrying a backpack which was bigger and wider than she. By the looks of it, the backpack must have been REALLY heavy.

The gym teacher helping a little girl find her classroom.

Energy!

For the third continous week, Asher's energy level and health remains GREAT. I'm on cloud 9! Something as simple as my child's good health makes me the happiest person on the planet. Woo hoo!

As Asher's energy level soars, so does his naughtiness. I guess that's to be expected. It's nice to have "normal" problems for a change.

Asher still struggles with cognitive stuff. It is my hope that as we balance his body nutritionally, this part, too, will improve. I'll keep you posted.

In other news, Leila is doing great in her potty training. She's got a lot of personality, that one. And Simi is having a ton of fun at science camp (in the morning) and native american indian pottery (in the afternoon). At science camp, they are exploding mentos in Coke, creating paste using corn starch and water, and making pennies rust with vinegar. It sounds very messy. He loves it. In pottery camp, they are making clay pots, clay snakes, and weaving baskets. I ask him which of the two camps he likes best. He likes both equally. Cool.

Bananas

Asher started a new food trial last week. He is currently trialing bananas. While he's happy to be eating a new food, he's not that thrilled with bananas. He's tried bananas before with last year's failed food trial. We didn't see any overt reaction then, so my thought was that it is a safe food to try. Plus, bananas is filled with wonderful potassium and other nutrients. If he passes a trial of bananas, he will have one food from every food group. Not too shabby.

He can begin a new food trial next Tuesday. Right now he chooses cauliflower. Of course he's welcome to change his mind before we begin.

We've been giving him vitamins too. Multi-vitamin, co-enzyme Q10, zinc, and carnitine. Oh, and probiotic and yeast-killer to heal the gut. I have noticed a BIG difference in his energy level since he's been taking the vitamins. It makes me wonder if he's not getting complete nutrition in his nutritionally complete elemental formula.

In other news, Simi's doing great in soccer and gymnastics. He's quite the athlete. And he beats me handily in Wii games. Harumpf!

Leila doesn't play the Wii, but she loves Go Diego Go. She picks things up very quickly. She uses the Spanish words in regular conversation and she uses them in context. For example, she'll need help with something and she'll say, Mommy, ayudame! Way to go Leily! She's also doing great with her letters. She loves doing her letters.

A New Addition...

While growing up, I constantly heard how bad it was to spend time playing video games. "They suck the life blood out of you", was what I heard. "They turn you into a couch potato", was another common statement. "They take time away from your studies", was another common message. Those messages made sense to me and I avoided the video game culture that others enjoyed. It also kept me from buying video games for my children.

Asher, in particular, LOVES video games. Whenever we go to the movies or Chuck E. Cheese or anywhere where there is a video game, he runs to it and he'll play for as long as we let him. Asher especially loves the "shoot 'em up" games, which I find particularly disdainful. Asher's love for video games and his physical developmental issues have strengthened my resolve to keep video games out of the house.

Raj and I have been researching elementary school programs for Asher. We identified three excellent possibilities and we have taken Asher to each of the three, to see which is the best fit for Asher -- and the family.

During these elementary school visits, we brought Asher's early intervention evaluation and results which identify his areas of strengths and weaknesses. In one of them, we asked the principal, someone who I respect greatly, to give us ideas on how to help Asher develop his areas of weakness. Imagine my surprise when he suggested getting Asher some video games, the Leapster and the Wii in particular. He even pointed out the "shoot 'em up" games are GREAT for strengthening some of Asher's areas of weakness. My jaw hit the floor.

In hearing what the principal said, my sweet brother, Uncle Peter, sent Simi, Asher, and Leila a present: A Wii system with the sports bundle. The kids now play tennis, bowling, boxing, golf, and some other games. The boxing, in particular, is GREAT exercise. Asher spent 30 minutes yesterday boxing a digital opponent and worked up a sweat. Asher NEVER exercises hard enough to work up a sweat! My jaw, once again, hit the floor.

Another positive is that the boys are playing the Wii instead of watching mindless cartoons. I like that.

Thank you, Uncle Peter and Aunt Karen, for bringing my children to "the dark side" and introducing them to the world of video games. Their muscles and hand-eye coordination thank you, too. Perhaps, with the help of these games, we can help Asher rise out of the 9th percentile in gross motor skills.

TV Time

When Simi was a baby, he used to love watching the Wiggles. He was between the ages of 1 and 2 and he'd watch the television screen in a mesmerized state while watching the four Australian men performing their show. When they sang, Simi would dance/bounce along -- with a great big smile on his face. He loved it.

He also watched Barney. Simi LOVED that purple dinosaur.

Asher was also a HUGE fan of the Wiggles and Barney. At the end of each Barney episode, Barney sings the same song and Asher would come up to me and say, "he's singing our song, mommy!" Then Asher and I would sing the song along with Barney and hug and kiss and cuddle. OK, so I'm a big fan of that dancing purple dinosaur too!

Leila would love to watch the Wiggles and Barney if she got the chance. Thing is, Simi and Asher control the television's remote control. The poor girl is growing up watching Ben 10 Alien Force, Transformers Animated, and Go Diego Go! Rather than learn what foods are the most nutritious or how to treat your friends, Leila runs around the house with her hand shaped like a gun, yelling "bam! bam! bam!" while shooting her brothers and imaginary bad guys - just as she sees her big brothers doing.

I wonder how this will affect her personality...

And While We're Waiting...

While we're waiting for the results of the biopsies, here's a short update of each of the three children:

Simi
Is having a great time in soccer these days. Although he hasn't played it in over two years (and he's six), he's picked it up and is playing like an old pro. Maybe my opinion is skewed, but he seems to be quite the athlete. He is, by far, more advanced in gymnastics than his kindergarten classmates. We should really move him up to the more advanced level - for both his and his classmates sake. I just wish those classes weren't full.

With all the household talk about Asher visiting the hospital for his endoscopy, Simi began talking about when he was in the hospital to have his heart fixed. It's amazing how much he remembers - and the items he remembers - considering that it happened two-and-a-half years ago and that it happened before his fourth birthday. And he remembers it with distinct clarity!

He remembers the nurse removing the Foley the day after his heart surgery - and how it burned and made him feel like he had to pee. And he remembers getting out of bed and trying to pee. After Simi told me that memory, I too, remembered it - just like he did. I guess it left a significant impression on him for him to remember it that distinctly!

He also remembers how terrible the macaroni and cheese tasted in the hospital. It must have been really bad!

I wish I could remember all the other memories he mentioned. Gosh, I wish I had his memory!


Leila
Is our head-strong, super high maintenance child. Good golly, this girl is STUBBORN! She just doesn't quit until she gets what she wants! She is also as sweet as honey - when she wants to be. Here is a conversation we have frequently:

me: "Leila, you are absolutely adorable!"
Leila: "I'm not adorable, Asher's adorable."
me: "You're adorable too, you know."
Leila: "No, I'm not adorable. Simi's adorable." (says with a grin...)


Asher
Has started vomiting regularly after meals since the endoscopy. That's not a good sign. He either vomits - or wants to vomit - while eating every day since the endoscopy. Yesterday I telephoned the GI doctor on call to see if it was endoscopy related. Before I could even get the full sentence out, he tells me that the vomiting is not endoscopy-related (why do they put it on the release sheet then, to call if vomiting?), and that it's probably related to the reason why he was scoped. He asked why Asher was scoped. "He has eosinophilic esophagitis", was my reply. "Oh, well that explains it", says the ped. GI Doctor on call. "That's the reason he's vomiting." Shucks.

So, we're expecting poor biopsy results. Which may explain why Asher is always tired. And has low energy. And poor cognitive skills. Deep, deep, deep sigh.

Easter in the HinJew Household

It's true: here in the HinJew household, we celebrate Easter. Better said, we celebrate the Easter Bunny and everything that comes with him - coloring eggs, going on egg hunts, and getting Easter baskets. Frankly, I don't see the connection between the Easter Bunny and Christ. For the children, it's a way for them to have fun, do some artwork (coloring eggs), get some exercise (running, searching, and reaching for the eggs during the hunt), have fun with friends (at the neighborhood egg hunt) and get a couple of pressies too. Gotta love that.

We also don't celebrate Easter with food. Nope, none of that chocolate shaped like a rabbit or pink or yellow edible chicks for us. Instead, our Easter baskets are filled with bunny shaped tiddly winks, plastic eggs filled with small toys, bunny temporary tatoos, and straws shaped like Easter bunnies. The children loved them.

'Bout the only complain we heard was when it was over. The children wanted to do it all over again.

Bison

Asher continues to be healthy. I can't believe what I'm about to say: for the first time EVER, all children are HEALTHY! Woo hoo!!!

Asher has had a nine-day stretch of feeling good...well, except for Thursday and Friday when he battled strep throat. But I don't really count that as sick because...it's treatable! Now he's back to feeling great again.

With three healthy children, I'm on cloud nine.

I can't believe that I may possibly, willingly, mess things up now. It's time to try a new food. Asher wants a bit of variety in his diet. Eating the same four foods three times a day, every day, gets a bit boring. But what's a good, safe food? BISON!

Beginning today, Asher and Leila are eating Bison. They both love it. Leila just can't get enough of it; she easily eats more than double what Asher eats. Needless to say, they're very happily enjoying their new food.

I tried to find rabbit, because rabbit is the least allergenic meat. Unfortunately, Whole Foods doesn't have a rabbit supplier who meets their rigorous standards. They tell me it'll take some time to find one. Lamb is next on the bottom of the allergenic list. Thing is, I just can't bring myself to buy that. Thankfully, the chap at Whole Foods talked me out of buying lamb and into buying bison when he told me that people either love or hate lamb and that the taste isn't one children generally like. Which led us to bison.

Which leads me to a different topic:

People who don't eat meat shouldn't cook it. I really have no clue how to cook any of this stuff and I don't taste it to see if it's cooked enough, so I think I overcook things quite a bit. Asher and Leila get rubberized pork burgers all the time. Luckily, they don't seem to mind. And although I'll do ANYTHING for my children, cooking this bison is kinda gross to me. I think it's because the meat is so RED. Or maybe it's the texture. Whatever the reason, I struggle not to lose my lunch while cooking theirs. Thankfully, they really seem to enjoy it and are blissfully ignorant that I have such a difficult time with it.

Let's hope that Bison is good to Asher. And next time we go to the zoo, we can show him what he's been eating.

Tea Party

Leila received a tea set from her aunties this year. So of course we had a tea party! Among the invitees were brother Simi, cabbage patch baby, Simi's puppy, Simi's baby sister doll (which we got him before Asher was born to prepare him for Asher's impending arrival), and me.

I poured the tea. Leila drank rice milk in her tea cup and ate potato chips. I drank make-believe tea from my tea cup. Simi drank orange juice from his tea cup and used the saucer as a tiddly wink. Leila fed her milk to the dollies. I cleaned up the mess. Asher joined us for the last bit of tea, then they all got up, threw their tea cups on the floor, and walked away to watch a movie.

I can't wait until the next tea party!

Twas a Jolly Good Christmas

For me, the best part of Christmas is seeing the children's faces on Christmas morning. The past few years, it's been the same: Simi and Asher run down the stairs and into the living room to look to see if Santa left them presents. The looks on their faces when they see the presents under the tree says it all. Then, Simi runs into the kitchen to see if Santa ate any of the cookies we put out for him (he always does, that Santa) and then immediately runs over to the window to check on the carrots we leave out for the reindeer. Excitedly, Simi jumps up and down that all the carrots are gone too! The reindeer ate them all! This is my favorite part of Christmas.

This Christmas, I barely managed to keep Simi and Asher from ripping open their pressies until Raj had a chance to wake up and join us all... Then, they were quickly into their task at hand...

Without a doubt, Asher's favorite Christmas present is the violin Santa brought, followed closely by the Orange Power Ranger transformer sword (he transforms into a sword AND an orange power ranger!). Asher takes out his violin and plays and plays and plays. It doesn't matter to him at all that he doesn't know how to play it. I'm impressed with how well he holds it and handles the bow.

Simi hasn't shown a distinct attachment to any one present. He loves the LeapFrog Leapster games he received, especially the Spiderman game. Both boys love the Hot Wheels 4-Way Racetrack toy.

Leila was very happy with all her toys. She got really into it and ripped the wrapping off her presents. Nobody seemed to notice that most of her toys were toys given to her brothers in Christmases past. She did get a few new things, like the cabbage patch baby which she seems to love. Her affection to the doll surprised me; she has shown only disdain for dolls in the past.

This year, it was harder to get the children to stop playing with their new toys long enough to sit down for breakfast than it has been in the past. Then, the little ones go upstairs for their nap, then off to visit the grandparents...for more Christmas fun....

Christmas is over way too fast...

Letters to Santa

The boys wrote their letters to Santa this week-end. You know the letters; the ones with the wish list of toys they want to receive. I need to make a mental note to myself for next year to get them to write their letters to Santa BEFORE I do their Christmas shopping!

Simi can write his own letters now, without any help. For Asher, I wrote the word in dashed lines and he traced them.

The interesting thing about the letters is that Simi asked Santa for items for Asher. He wanted Asher to have a dinosaur.

Later in the day, while they were in the car, Asher asked Simi to ask Santa for a violin for him. He wants it so bad that, even though it's on his own list, he hopes Simi's second request clinches the deal. Too cute. We better get that violin!

Simi wrote a separate note, reminding Santa not to forget the wrapping paper. I'm grateful for that note, because I HAVE forgotten to get some. Doh!

Happy Chanukah

Chanukah snuck up on the HinJew household this year. Luckily, we realised it was the holiday BEFORE it actually began - phew! We've been lighting the candles and reading the story of Chanukah each night. The boys are crazy about the dreidle game.

Now, if someone could suggest a good way to explain G-d to the children. Good golly, that's a difficult one!

Like the good HinJews we are, the children get one present for Chanukah, and then Santa puts the rest under the Christmas tree. Many years ago, some friends of ours from Boston turned us onto the holiday Hess vehicles. These things are the best toys around; our children just love them. This year, the Hess Monster Truck was the Chanukah present - for all three children. Simi proclaimed it was the best pressie - EVER! Leila had a great big smile on her face as she vroomed her truck around the kitchen. Asher was equally happy playing with his.

Hopefully soon we'll get a chance to buy and decorate the Christmas tree...

Tough Week

This has been a tough week in the HinJew household. First issue, of course, is Leila being so sick. The ITP thing is bad enough, but now she's pretty much stopped eating solid foods. It's way too reminiscent of Asher's eating habits pre-ee diagnosis and it has me absolutely terrified. And I can't help but think they're related. I mean, ITP is the body's immune system attacking the platelets. EE is the body's immune system attacking food particles in the body. The body's immune system thinks this food is the enemy, just like it thinks the platelets are the enemy.

Leila's not the only one who has had a tough week. Simi has had a very difficult week in track-out camp. It's really hard seeing your child in difficult situations and it broke my heart watching what he's been going through the first part of this week. He's a trooper, though, and has come through it phenomenally well. He's quite the resilient kid. I'm proud of him. Next week he goes to a different track-out camp. We'll see how things go there.

Asher's feeling ignored with all the commotion around him. Thankfully, he's not suffering any sort of thing! Phew!

Although we're ready for another food trial, we've held off to make sure he's healthy for his birthday celebration. It would really stink to have to miss one's own birthday party due to illness. Plus, we're in the midst of allergy season here and don't want any sort of problem due to environmental allergies messing up the food trials. Best to be patient and wait for the ragweed and grass allergies to wane a bit before introducing another food.

Thankfully, this week is nearly over. Let's hope next week is a better one.

School of Choice

When I was a child, there was no doubt which school I was going to attend. I went to the public school which was located closest to my house. End of discussion.

Here in North Carolina, we have choices. There is the base school option, which is the school closest to one's house which operates on the traditional calendar year (September to June). Then there are the year-round schools. Those schools have sessions which last for nine weeks, then everyone gets a three week break. Next are the magnet schools. Those are generally schools in "low performing" areas. The magnet schools are generally renovated VERY nicely and pumped full of resources and given a theme to entice folks to send their children to that school. For example, here in Durham, we have a gifted and talented magnet school, an arts and humanities magnet school, one for languages, and several more which I can't think of right now. And then there are the charter schools. They are free for all residents of North Carolina but operate like a private school. And, of course, there are private schools, but students' families have to pay for those.

So last year was the start of the search for the proper elementary school for our children in preparation for Simi's transition to Kindergarten. After a lot of research and attending each school's open house sessions, I narrowed down the choices to five and applied to those. Simi was accepted to the second choice school and wait listed for the first choice school.

As you know, he started the year at the second choice school. It's an excellent school and we all love his teachers, his fellow students, and are very satisfied with the education he's getting there.

And then we get the call from the first choice school: we have a spot there if we're interested. Of course, we have to let them know in 24 hours otherwise they will offer the spot to the next child on the list.

Raj and I went to visit the school. It's absolutely a phenomenal school. It has Spanish instruction, amazing art program, excellent music program, a Montessori approach to learning, and very close to our offices. One of his best friends from pre-school is also in Kindergarten there. Plus, it goes through middle school. Most of the children there are learning two or three grade levels above their age. But, we like where he's at too. So...which do we choose?

This decision is one which will affect all three of our children's elementary and middle school education. It's one which will influence their education, friends and environment for nine years of their lives. It doesn't get more important that this.

Durham public schools generally have a bad reputation. Can it be possible that we would choose a Durham public school over one of the most coveted public schools in the area?

It was an agonizing decision, but we chose to keep Simi at the school he is currently in. While we'll never know the impact of the decision, I just hope we made the right choice.

Circus

The whole family went to the circus. The boys had a blast, especially watching the motorcycles spinning around in a big sphere without running into each other. But I think the best part was before the show started, when they let people onto the floor and see the animals and clowns putting on little shows up close.

A Visit To Santa

For the past several weeks, toy catalogs have been coming in the mail to the house. The boys get so excited about them and read them from cover to cover. At nearly every toy, either Simi or Asher exclaims, "Can we buy this toy?" The canned response is, "You can ask Santa for it."

So now, with Santa's visit nearly here, I asked Simi and Asher to make a list of the things they want, so that they can visit Santa and tell him personally. They both sat down with pencil and paper and make a list: trains, race track, race cars, Ramone (from the Cars movie), and many other types of race cars. Cars, cars, and more cars. (Those folks at Pixar know what boys like.) Simi wrote down all the words and letters. Asher did too, in three-year-old style. Then, we took those lists and headed down to the mall to visit Santa and deliver the lists.

Asher has always been afraid of Santa Claus. In fact, he's afraid of sports mascots and other huge fake animals. I was hoping with the hype of toys and stuff that he'd overcome his fear enough to be able to sit on Santa's lap for a photograph. He did, but it was a really hard for him. I am really proud of him that he managed to overcome his fear enough to sit near Santa. He BARELY sat near him, though, and leaned SOOO far away from Santa - with a great big frown on his face.

Leila, who has the normal 10-month-old stranger anxiety, did GREAT! She let Santa hold her and smiled and laughed. She's the one who looks the happiest in the photo. Simi was the first to go up to Santa, list in hand, and spoke to Santa about what he wants for Christmas. It was adorably cute.

Now we need to find the stuff on their lists.

Simi, Asher, and Leila

When Asher was born, Simi was 23 months old. While Simi was thrilled to hear that he had a baby brother, he didn't interact much with Asher until Asher was about 2 - old enough to be a playmate. Of course, now, the two are inseparable.

Asher was the same with Leila. He was 28 months old when Leila was born. The way that Leila's birth really affected Asher is that there was less parental supervision, which means that he could get away with more stuff. He hasn't really interacted with her or even noticed that she was around.

Simi, on the other hand, absolutely LOVES Leila. In fact, the challenge is to keep Leila safe from Simi, since he doesn't exactly understand the meaning of "Please be gentle, Simi". He hugs her and plays with her and makes silly faces at her to get her to laugh and brings her toys. They have a special bond and it's entirely because of Simi's efforts.

But now, it's almost like a lightbulb went on in Asher's head. It's like his eyes opened and he noticed that Leila is in the room. Now, the past week or so, Asher has noticed Leila and gone to hug her and touch her and bring her toys. Now that he's three, perhaps, developmentally he's ready to interact with her.