A Day in a Year in a Life / Day 256

13/September/2015, Day 256.  Sunday.

The day started early ..... too early!  Kuya woke up Grump at 5:00 am, saying he was hungry.  (No wonder - Kuya did NOT eat his dinner last night.)  Grump snarled, and told him to go back to bed.  He did, at least until 6:30 am, at which point he was once again proclaiming his hunger to everyone in the bedroom, only louder this time, waking up Dodong in the process.

So much for sleeping in late on the weekend!

Sweetie decided that since we were all awake anyway, we may as well go to Panera for breakfast, which we did.  Both Kuya and Dodong were ravenous, and gobbled up their food, while Lola was pleased that she could get a cup of coffee.

After breakfast we headed off to church, during which Grump did his best not to fall asleep.  Back home after church, Sweetie attended a birthday party "with the ladies" for one of her friends, while the rest of us ate leftovers.  (Grump, ever obstinate, insisted on going to Taco Bell.)  After lunch Grump cut the grass in the midday sun, turning into "Boiled Shrimp Man" in the process!

"Normal" skin on the left; "Boiled Shrimp" skin on
the right.

It's not even that hot out anymore!  I guess Grump's pasty white skin just can't take the slightest hint of sunshine.

After Sweetie got back from the birthday party, we went ..... <take a guess> ........ to the Riverside Mall, of course!  Sweetie bought a few things while we were there, (at a heavy discount!), then we drove over to the local Vietnamese restaurant, where we planned on having a quick dinner.  But -- alas! -- they were closed!  So we went next door to the Longhorn Steakhouse where we had a great, but admittedly more expensive, dinner.

Now it's late, and we should all be sleeping.  I don't know if Grump or Sweetie will get much sleep tonight, since tomorrow they will be going to Tattnall to transfer Kuya out of that school.  Wish them luck, particularly with respect to getting their money back!

Goodnight all!

A Day in a Year in a Life / Day 255

12/September/2015, Day 255.  Saturday.

It's been several days since the "shock of the 8th", but to be honest Grump and Sweetie are still upset about it.  Yeah, progress has been made: Kuya was accepted into the local Montessori school, and Grump scheduled Monday off so we can go cancel his enrollment at Tattnall, (and hopefully get some of his tuition back!), but honestly we won't really be settled down until Kuya starts at his new school, which unfortunately isn't until October 5th.

I just mention this in case our recent posts seem more tense or negative than normal.

It was a rainy Saturday, so we spent a good part of the morning just putzing around doing plenty of nothing.  The boys helped Grump with his computer work:

Kuya and Dodong helping Grump get things done on the PC

After lunch Grump and Sweetie went to the gym to work out a bit.  It was the first time for BOTH of them to set foot in Planet Fitness this month!  They both got on the treadmills, and walked a mile.  (Yep - only 1 mile!  Sad, huh?)

Sweetie outside Planet Fitness

In the late afternoon we drove over to the Riverside Mall to do some shopping.  Sweetie got some bargains at Gap and Belk, then we came home and had takeout from the wonderful Mandarin restaurant for dinner.

Goodnight all!

A Day in a Year in a Life / Day 254

11/September/2015, Day 254.  Friday.

Poor Grump!  Sweetie dragged him off to Bible study again tonight.  Now he is even more tired and grumpy than normal.

Kuya was back at Tattnall for what may be his last day there, as he was accepted into the Montessori school via a phone call this morning.  We still need to fill out some paperwork we won't receive until next week, and classes there don't start up again until October 5th.  Regardless, Kuya's time at Tattnall is now limited.

Our condo back in Columbia hasn't been officially rented yet.  Some folks have shown interest, but we are waiting for their employment verification to clear before letting them lease it.  If this rental agreement comes to fruition, it will be a HUGE help to us, as when the condo is vacant we lose $600.00 a month in rental income.

No other news at the moment, which is a good thing, I suppose.  Hopefully we won't have any more "surprises" regarding Kuya's, (or Dodong's) education.

Goodnight all!

A Day in a Year in a Life / Day 253

10/September/2015, Day 253.  Thursday.

Today was a big day for Kuya!  He attended the "other school" for the day, where he is being evaluated for placement.  We hope we can get him enrolled there quickly, so we can take him out of Tattnall sooner rather than later.

This school excitement has taken a toll of Grump and Sweetie, both of whom are very tired at the moment.  In fact, it's probably best if we just cut this entry short and go to bed!

Oh ..... by the way, Sweetie made Chicken Adobo for dinner tonight.  She hadn't made adobo in a long, long time, and let me tell you something: it was delicious!

Dodong and Lola are doing fine too.  (I don't want to neglect them!)

Goodnight all!!

A Day in a Year in a Life / Day 252

09/September/2015, Day 252.  Wednesday.

With disappointing thoughts of Kuya's school still on our mind, we decided that the best thing to do would be for Grump to take, (another!), early-and-long lunch, and go sign Kuya up at the public school right down the road.  After all, if he is going to be treated like a public school student, then why pay private school tuition?

But before Grump came home Sweetie asked if they could check the Montessori school nearby.  Grump agreed, and so over lunch Grump and Sweetie met with the head of the Montessori school here, and toured an active class.

Now Montessori is weird!  The students are free to roam about a large room, and to figure out how, using whatever tools and resources they have at their disposal, they will best finish their assignments.  But the good thing for Kuya is that each student can progress at his or her own pace.  Being the youngest in his class at Tattnall, but also being one of the top kids in his Kindergarten class, (although from his 1st grade teachers comments, namely that, "His work is very much behind that of other children his age", you would never guess it), he is kinda stuck in a situation where he may not be emotionally ready for 1st grade, but would be bored to be back in Kindergarten.  Hopefully a Montessori education can be tailored to fit his needs better than a traditional classroom education.

Anyway ..... Sweetie and Kuya are going to the Montessori school tomorrow, and Kuya will spend the day there.  Tomorrow evening we will decide whether Kuya will transfer to the Montessori school, stay at Tattnall, (doubtful!), or maybe we'll come up with some third option.

It will be an exciting day!

A Day in a Year in a Life / Day 251

08/September/2015, Day 251.  Tuesday.

I suppose I ought to just go ahead and dive straight into it: Grump and Sweetie went to parent-teacher conference with Kuya's teacher today, and Kuya is NOT doing well in school so far this year.

We don't know what the problem is, because Kuya was a start student last year.  But this year is very different!  He has flunked multiple spelling tests, and his teacher says he is often distracted or daydreaming during class.  It's as if he just doesn't care about school anymore.

He may just not be emotionally mature enough for first grade yet.  He certainly has the intellect; he proved that last year.  But his inability to concentrate on tasks the teacher gives him, and really to listen to her at all, is not promising.

He seems permanently distracted.  On one of his spelling tests he spelled the word "win" as "Wiiiiinng", with each "i" decreasing in size, and "pig" was spelled "poog"!

To be fair to Kuya, there may be some issues between him and his teacher.  But such is life, and it would be invaluable for him to learn how to get along, or at least coexist, with a person whose personality is a bad match for his.  Easier said than done, I know.  (Grump is almost 60 years old now, and he has yet to learn how to do this!)

The recommendation has been given to us to have Kuya placed back in Kindergarten for the year.  Sweetie is adamantly opposed to this, and Grump isn't too keen on it either, because he is afraid Kuya may be bored going through Kindergarten again.

So what to do?  Sweetie is of the opinion we should pull him out of his school and place him somewhere else.  That doesn't perturb Grump too much, because we are paying a ton of money for this private school, and if it ain't working, we should stop throwing our money away on it.  But then the question becomes where should Kuya be sent to school?

Any suggestions?

Goodnight all!

A Day in a Year in a Life / Day 250

07/September/2015, Day 250.  Monday.

Today was "Labor Day" in the United States, which is a holiday.  So Grump didn't go to work, and Kuya didn't go to school.

We woke up early-ish, (7:30 am or so), and after a quick breakfast drove out to Lake Juliette, specifically the public use area.  To be honest, unless you have a small boat and plan on fishing, or want to camp on the shoreline, there isn't much to do here.  We admired the scenery, then drove home.

After a quick donut stop, (Dunkin' Donuts, of course!), we were home for awhile.  We lay about, shopped a bit, bickered a lot, then finally in the late afternoon went to attend Kuya's piano lesson.

Kuya being taught to play the piano, while Sweetie watches.
Lola in the foreground.

Dodong wanted to learn how to play the piano too!

After the lessons were over, we decided to go out to eat.  Now since available money is a challenge at the moment, (isn't it always?), we bypassed "fine dining" and went to a very good family restaurant, Cheddars.  (Technically, "Cheddar's Casual Cafe", I believe, if things like that interest you.)  We had a very good meal for a reasonable cost, so we all left happy, especially Grump.

Kuya is ready for dinner!

Dodong is ready for dinner!

...... and poor Grump is overwhelmed!

Sweetie and Grump being sweet after a good, relaxing meal.

Goodnight all!  If you must go back to your job after a three day weekend tomorrow, may your return to work be as stressless as possible.