Happy Day to My First Baby!

Today was a big day. He turned twelve, and he finally got the green light to end "restricted activity" since breaking his clavicle in May. He wanted to go right out and get a new helmet to replace the damaged one from the accident so that he could get back on that blasted rip stick of his. And he did. His legs will be hurting tomorrow, but I'm proud of him for getting right back on it after such a painful injury.

As the birthday boy, he also got to pick dinner and we dined on Jamie Oliver's Chili Beef Nachos. His new favorite.

I never could have guessed back when he was born what a great kid he would be today. I think I'll keep him. Happy Birthday!

The clavicle

By now I'm sure most of my friends and family have heard the story of Noah breaking his clavicle two weeks ago. He was on a ripstick and tried to jump off when he got going to fast at the top of a hill. The xray says it all. It was my first broken bone ever as a parent and I won't go into all the details. Instead, a few things I'm thankful for.

• The Helmet. Noah insisted he didn't hit his head, but a few days after the accident I went and looked at it. Sure enough there was evidence that he hit his head. I only hope my kids continue to wear their helmets because they know it's the right thing to do, not because we said so. Just this evening my mother in law called to tell me that a 26 year old family friend of hers died in a skateboard accident yesterday. No helmet.
• It was the Left. Noah writes with his right hand so his transition back to school wasn't so difficult. The worst part was having to use a new rolling backpack, according to him. But the left hand is getting use even with his sling. I have caught him using his PSP, playing wii and balancing a laptop on his lap.
• Health Insurance. Since the fall less than two weeks ago he has had three doctor's appointments and two sets of xrays and we are just getting started. Cha ching. Health insurance is a beautiful thing when you need it.
• The Timing. No time is a good time, but I realize this is a good time of year for this to happen. School is winding down, he doesn't need to wear a heavy coat, he can't slip and fall on the ice... Ok, maybe I'm reaching now.

He'll be ok, and eventually be well enough to get back on that wretched ripstick of his, which he was getting very good at actually. Ironically, I sort of enjoy seeing him slow down for a little bit. We talk in the car when I drive him to and from school. We hang out together before the little ones get home. He lets me cuddle and smooch him a little more than normal. I better take it while I can get it before the sling comes off and he's too cool for his mom again.

My renaissance man

At 5:55 this evening, Noah was one of the last to wrestle at his match. He got through all three minutes which is a great match for someone who stepped on a wrestling mat for the first time a few weeks ago. Right now, not getting pinned in the first minute is the goal. After he finished, we raced off so he could shower, change, eat and get to church by 6:30 to sing in the Christmas Music program with Ben and the rest of the children's choir. Quite the renaissance man for an 11 year old. Enjoy the videos of his triumphs.

The boys and their tools

Around the same time the new motorcycle appeared in our garage, Noah got a new bike and all of a sudden our garage has become an accident waiting to happen. My gut reaction was a shed, but trying to find a solution that didn’t cost quite so much, we decided a bike rack was in order. Did you know bike’s these days often don’t have kickstands? So take a bike with no kickstand, a lazy kid who just wants to leave their bike anywhere and a messy garage in need of cleaning… you can imagine the chaos.

Weighing the options, Jason looked online and found a few bike racks we could buy, but then found plans to make a simple rack out of 2x4’s and 2x2’s. Last Christmas Noah got a tool set and he has been dying for some kind of project other than tightening drawer knobs, so we decided $25 spent on wood and hardware was a small price to pay to give Noah and Jason a fun project.

First step was to review the plans and determine what they needed followed by a trip to Home Depot. They then shut themselves in the hot garage for two nights. There were various lessons learned such as “righty, tighty, lefty, loosy” and “measure twice, cut once.” But the end result was well worth it... a new bike rack that was exactly what we needed, as well as some quality guy time with wood and tools. What is it with boys and their tools? I’ll never understand it.

Congratulations Noah!

My handsome son had a promotion ceremony today as he leaves elementary school. He was one of about a dozen kids to receive a presidential award for academic excellence, all A's for both fourth and fifth grades. We are so very proud of him.

I didn't know if I would get emotional, but when all the kids stood up and sang the class song, The Climb by Miley Cyrus, Noah was looking right at me and singing and I lost it.

I know, this picture of him in catching gear has absolutely nothing to do with his promotion... but isn't he handsome? No, I'm not proud.

A sucker for some challah

About three weeks ago Noah came home excited about an assignment at school. He had to pick a country, write a short paper, find a piece of literature from that country, find a recipe and then make the recipe and bring it in for their Cultural Buffet. From day one he said he would do Israel, his literature was a Hebrew song/poem that Jason used to sing to him when he was a baby, and his recipe was challah. Not any challah. My challah.

I do not claim to be a master of this delightful, eggy Jewish bread and I only make it rarely. A local grocery store makes a wonderful challah and I often buy it there. The problem comes during Roshashana when challah is supposed to be circular. Every year I go to the bakery and ask them if they will make it circular, with no success. I've ordered and bought circular challah from fancy bakeries and it was expensive and not very good. So we started making our own challah.

Noah describes himself as a "bread-itarian" and challah is probably his favorite. He even says his favorite holiday is Roshashana because he can eat all the challah he wants with butter and honey all over it. The boy is in heaven. So I shouldn't have been too surprised when he announced he would bring challah into the Cultural Buffet. The thought of making enough bread for the entire fifth grade to try didn't excite me, and to be honest, I tried my best to get him to change to anything else. He insisted. The approach I then took was to convince him I should buy it. He wasn't thrilled about that option.

Last night I asked Noah if he was upset I wasn't going to make the bread. He said "no, just disappointed." Mother guilt promptly kicked in. He loves my bread so much and thinks it's so good he wants to share it, and I can't find the time to make it? Guess what I did today? All day? You guessed it. The third and fourth loaf are just finishing up now. I'm a push-over.

Mr. Noah goes to Concord... Part 2!

Earlier this week I wrote about Noah and I going up to Concord to present his school as one of the best in New Hampshire. (Read about it here) Well, there is good news to report! The principal was called the very next day by the selection committee and was told that our presentation had been one of the best, and we were moving on to the next phase. A site visit at the school is scheduled in a few weeks. At this point, our school is considered a finalist, and this is a big deal, regardless of the final outcome.

Noah was a minor celebrity at school this week. His name was announced over the speaker during daily announcements, and he was thanked for his hard work. He also got an official school district commendation. What I think is so exciting about this is he really gets it. He understands why this is a big deal for the school, the teachers, the principal, the PTO and the city. He took it all very seriously, and is excited at the prospect of actually winning this distinction. Stay tuned!

Mr. Noah goes to Concord

A few weeks ago, the principal from school approached me and explained that they had applied for a special state-wide award given out by the state Board of Education for excellence. One school in the whole state gets chosen and is held up as this superior example of how to run an excellent school. Well, our school made it through the initial application and had been invited to present to the selection committee up in Concord. There would be a half hour presentation and 15 minutes of Q and A. As a parent, the co-president of the PTO, and a former student, I was asked if I would be part of the presentation committee.

A week later, the principal called me and said that the committee wants a student representative to present also... a student who best represents everything that is great about our school... one who is confident... involved... well-spoken and mature... they were hoping Noah would be willing to do it. She said his name kept coming up during their meetings as a great choice out of 620+ students, and did I think he'd be comfortable doing that?? I of course was thrilled, but then was more worried about how Noah would do instead of how I would do!

Noah and I had to go to school early twice last week for meetings to prepare. He was very serious about his role, and made suggestions on how he could participate and what he could talk about. We sat down and wrote up some note cards just in case he wanted them, but we knew it would really be spontaneous questions we would have to respond to.

This morning was the big day, and this picture was taken on my cell phone shortly before going in to face the selection committee. There were six of us, the principal, Noah's teacher, myself, a guidance counselor and the school reading specialist. I immediately could tell we scored points by bringing a student, as neither the school before us or after us had a child with their group. The person in charge came over and chatted with Noah and took him to get something to eat. He came back with a chocolate croissant with powdered sugar all over it. Right as we were about to start Noah is ready to start chomping on it! I leaned over and had to whisper to him to wait until the dvd presentation began, then he'd have twenty minutes, but as soon as it was done he wasn't allowed to take another bite! Then halfway through the dvd, he starts sneezing... big juicy wet ones. I had given him two tissues in advance, but had to go digging for more in my purse. It made me smile because he is so confident and mature... but he's only a kid. A kid that wants to wolf down a chocolate croissant and wipe his nose on his sleeve!

After the dvd, the questions started and the second one was for Noah! "Noah, my daughter is about your age, if I brought her to your school, what would you say to her to convince her that your school is the best school to go to in New Hampshire?" I held my breath. I have never felt it more difficult to bite my tongue, not prompt, and let him speak for himself. I was hoping his answer would be something about the after-school academic enrichment opportunities available, or any of the other great answers we had worked on. Instead he came up with his own. "I'd tell her that the relationships between the students and the teachers is really great. We all get along really well... well, most of the time (chuckles from the grown-ups here). And I'd tell her about all the fun stuff we do at school like Pizza Night, that's my favorite." Phew! He did it. Pressure off a bit.

I got my opening when a question about getting parents involved with the school came up and I gave my schpiel. All in all, everyone had a chance to spin our own specialties, and why we were picked to participate in the first place. Near the end, Noah's teacher made an opening for Noah to talk a little bit about student opportunities, and he did well again. Before I knew it, we were packing up. They thanked us for involving a student and commended him on how well he did. I commented I was more worried than he was. "You should be very proud of him, he did a great job." That he did. And I'm glad it's over!