Toothless Grin

Second grade appears to be the year for Jay to lose his teeth. He lost his first tooth the summer before first grade but lately, it seems he loses a tooth once a month. Jay officially lost his two front teeth last night. Since Christmas is around the corner, the song that comes to mind is, "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth, my two front teeth, yeah, my two front teeth," although, Jay would be singing it with his lisp, due to his lack of teeth.
The picture above is right before Jay lost his tooth. As you can see, it's literally hanging there. Gross!

All smiles after it comes out! What a relief! Once Jay figures out a tooth is lose, he's bound and determined to get it out!

Pumpkin carving

The boys drew their own faces this year and Jay carved his pumpkin entirely by himself! Jay's pumpkin looked like a cheerful one to me.

Nick had some help but he said he wanted his pumpkin to be creepy. Notice the eyes........Nick's pumpkin looks like the lead singer of "Kiss."

Even Mike got in on the action and carved out a silly pumpkin.

Football

I took this picture of Mike and Jay a few weeks ago, right before one of Jay's football games. It is one of my all time favorite pictures of the two of them.
Yesterday, we wrapped up Jay's first season of football and what a great season of football we have had! Jay has played soccer, baseball and now football and hands down, football has been his favorite. It's been the first time where Jay has told me he's looking forward to playing again next year and I was able to see him progress through the season. He even scored a few touchdowns!
Jay played football for a church-run athletic team so I liked the religious focus he received both at practices and games. And although I don't think Jay could necessarily articulate this, I think he enjoyed playing with different boys (other than who he goes to school with). I think he could just be himself, without any pressure. Our good friend, Mike Ausili, coached the team and Jay got to play with Curtis, both positives. It was an all around good time and I'm looking forward to next year.

Nick's first day of Prek

Here is Nick giving off that smile that he is excited to get on the school bus with his brother and go to a big boy Prek.

Once the bus shows up, here is Nick's look, one of "I'm not so sure about this, mom." He did great though. No tears and according to his prek teacher, he had a good morning with no tears and he fit in great with the rest of the kids. I couldn't ask for more. Nick's transition to his new daycare and Prek has been a piece of cake.

The Verdict is in

I did not get the job I interviewed for, how it was communicated to me that I did not get it is "interesting" but that is not something I'm going to advertise on the internet. That being said, I knew deep down in my gut that perhaps it wasn't the right position for me. The lord works in mysterious ways. In the last 7 months I met some really wonderful people, I developed a skill and did something way out of my comfort zone, all things I can be really proud of. I will be heading back to the wonderful world of workers compensation in the next 5 weeks.
I kind of see this as the person who has had the same lover for 10 years and decides she wants to expand her wings and try someone new. When she does, she realizes that in fact, the lover she's had for 10 years suited her just fine and she returns to him and he greets her with open arms with the song, "I Told You So," by Carrie Underwood playing in the background.

What's going on?

I don't have anything insightful to write about tonight, other than what is going on with the Siebert crew. Mike continues to get up in "the middle of the night" to go to work. He gets up at 3:45 and is out the door by 4:15. He loves it, I would hate it. On days that he has to travel he is usually out the door by 3:00. Crazy!
I interviewed for a permanent position in the department where I started my developmental opportunity in April. This opportunity will be over at the end of November. All interviews concluded on Oct. 9 so we'll see. I don't think I'll get the position. I think that during the course of the interviews a better candidate probably presented themselves but I do know that sometimes the jobs you think you won't get, you end up getting.
Jay is fairly challenging these days. I remember we pretty much sailed through first grade. Sure, he had trouble learning but I don't remember clashing with him as much. There are so many days when he reminds me so much of Mike. He works physically hard, he's reserved and he likes the comfort of his immediate family, all very strong characteristics of Mike but there are days when he reminds me so much of myself when I was his age, especially the attitude he gives off. Part of it too, I think is just the fact that we are mother and son. I am certainly feeling that difference lately.
Nick started at a new daycare provider's house on Monday and he's doing great. He is transitioning much better than he did when he transitioned to the public daycare. It has been a relief for me. He will start Prek next week and will be taking the bus to school with Jay. It is working out well and we are all pleased.

Impulsivity

Lately, I feel like my blog has centered around Jay stories. He has provided me with a lot to write about lately and some of it, not so good but the whole reason for this blog is for me to document the growth and experiences my children have and my experiences with them.
Jay has always been impulsive but perhaps I may be at some fault for that. I was very impulsive growing up and Mike would say I was still fairly impulsive through my 20's. My impulsivity was something I was aware of, at least once I met Mike I was really aware of it and it's something I've really tried to improve upon. Turns out, Jay has the same "gene."
Picture this....I was dressed for church yesterday. My hair and make-up were freshly done. I was bent over the bath-tub giving Nick a bath when Jay walked by me and gave me a gentle push and I went face first into the bath tub. To say I was angry is an understatement. Jay and all his impulsivity thought it would be funny to push me face first into the tub, he just didn't think of how angry it would make me but I made that very clear once I was able to regain my composure. I know that Jay was just trying to be funny but his impulsivity gets him everytime.
This is a character trait of Jay's that Mike and I as his parents will continually try to improve upon and make him aware of. Again, I go back to my mother's words.........."Amy, they are still under construction, keep plugging away."

Sneaky

Jay's school had a "book-drive" this week. Kids could bring in their spare change and dump it in a tub in their classroom. At the end of the week, the money was to be collected and used to purchase new books for their brand new library.
I happily sent Jay with some spare change. That night, when I got home from work, Jay was waiting for me in the garage (not something I'm use to). I didn't even have a chance for my foot to hit the pavement and he was right up next to me confessing what he had done. He admitted that instead of putting all the change in the tub, he had taken some and kept it for himself. Obviously, I was disappointed and my first thought was why he was confessing this to me. Had he gotten caught by someone? I asked Jay if his dad had found out about his sneakiness and Jay said that Yes, his dad was aware of it. I told Jay I needed time to think about what the consequence would be.
After dinner, in private, I asked Mike how he had figured out what Jay had done. Mike said he didn't figure it out. He said as soon as school was out and Jay saw Mike, he confessed what he had done. Secretly, Mike and I high-fived each other over this accomplishment. Sure, what Jay did was wrong but he knew it was wrong and confessed it to the two people who love him most and are trying to shape him into the man we want him to be.
That night I asked Jay how he felt about what he had done and he said, "Bad." His consequence was to dig into his own money. The next morning I walked Jay into his classroom just to watch him dump the change into the tub. I told him what he had done was sneaky and I needed to see for myself he was delivering the money to its proper place but I also told him I was proud of him to being honest and telling the truth.

Brothers getting along

Mike and I have noticed in the last several weeks that the boys are getting along better. The picture above is proof! They posed for a picture without pinching each other. What progress!

Here is Nick walking around withhis hedge apples. He walked around with the two of them clutched to him so it looked like two big boobies.

Reading progress

What progress Jay is making with his reading. I've actually seen him start to enjoy it, which is so important. I don't care if he reads slower than anyone in his class and I don't care if it takes him 1 hour to read an entire chapter, I just want him to get some enjoyment from what he reads. Tonight, he grabbed his glasses, his "Frog and Toad" book and plopped himself in the laundry basket (again, wherever he is comfortable reading is fine with me) and started reading out loud to himself. What an accomplishment! Way to go, Jay, I'm so proud of you.

"Risky" Preschool

Recently, I had Nick "tested" for preschool program at our public school (The school Jay goes to). This is the same Pre-K program that Jay went through and I really liked it. The program is free but you have to be at "risk" to get into it. However, keep in mind, I live in a small town and this particular preschool program needs to have a full class to get their grant money from the state. Because I live in a small town, there are more openings for this program. My sister is always quick to point out to me that Jay and Nick would have never qualified for the preschool programs in her district, as it's a big district and there are plenty of kids who are truly at "risk".
My friend, Jenna and I did have a good laugh over this the other day at Jay's football game. I was telling her that Nick, just like his brother, qualified for the preschool program. I jokingly told her that I didn't know what it was about the Siebert boys that got them into this program. About that time we turned and Nick is on the side-lines dancing like Chris Farley when he danced and sang to "Maniac" in Tommy Boy. That picture was explanation enough.

Always Do Your Best

I've been in a developmental role in a new department for six months now, being a writer. I hope everyone has seen an improvement in my blog with my writing style. Ha. Today, I interviewed for a permanent position in the department. For about a week leading up to the interview I was a nervous wreck. I feel much today, knowing the interview is behind me. The rest is now up to the management, as to who they hire. My only goal was to walk out of the interview knowing I had done my best and I feel like I did. Could I have answered a few questions differently or even stronger, absolutely but what's done is done. Even Jay gave me great advice today. He asked me how the interview went, I told him I was just so glad it was over and that regardless of the outcome, I did my best. Jay said, "Yes mom, you just went in there, did your best and got it done." Those are Mike's words. He tells Jay all the time in regards to his homework to just do your best and get it done. But it was a good lesson for Jay to see that his mother did something way out of her comfort zone and was able to express to Jay that no matter what the outcome is, I know I did the best job that I could do.