So What Happened, Son?

On our way to bowling practice yesterday, I asked Maddy my standard set of questions when I pick him up from the bus stop.

1. How was school son?
2. Did you get any disciplinary notes from your teacher?
3. Did you get any homework?
4. Did you get any tests back today?

 His reply was as follows:

1. Good.
2. No.
3. Yes.
4. Yes.

Ever the conversationalist (it's like looking into a mirror for me), Maddy thought his responses were good enough and thought our conversation was over and done with.

This is what followed.

Dad: So what test did you get back today?
Maddy: My science one, Dad.
Dad: Aha. How much did you get for it?
Maddy: I got a 5 out of 5 and a 3 out of 5.
Dad: 3 out of 5???
Maddy: I'm quite happy about the 5 out 5 Dad. That's pretty good aye?

At this point I'm thinking that I shouldn't dwell on the negatives and I should give him some positive reinforcement.

Dad: Yeah, son. I'm proud of you for getting 100% on your test.
Maddy: Smiles
Dad: Uhhh but what happened to the other test?
Maddy: Well, I got confused about 2 of the questions so I asked Ms. Peworchik to explain them to me but she said she couldn't, so I just guessed.
Dad: Ok, fair enough.

We went over the questions that he got wrong and after I explained what the questions meant, he got both answers right. He said, Dad, you're really good at breaking it down so I can understand things. Thanks!

"You're welcome, son", I said. "Next time talk less with your friends while the teacher is teaching, ok?"

The Next Generation

Maddy's new high score of 171

Maddy and I went for some bowling practice this afternoon. He said he was a little tired from school but decided to throw a few with his old man anyway.

He ended up playing 5 games, 2 more than me.

After his first 3 games (141, 124, 171) he was so pumped from besting his previous high of 142 that he wanted to bowl 2 more. His last 2 games were 148 and 103, giving him a 5 game average of 137.4. If you discount the last game where he was clearly tired, it adds up to a 4 game average of 146!

A little history before I go on; 4 months ago Maddy's PB was 86. I told him that if he ever broke 100 I would buy him his own bowling ball. Not long after that he shot a 104 so off to the pro shop we went. He got a cheap 8 lb plastic ball with a conventional grip. After playing with it for a month or so he declared that it was too light so he used his own money to buy himself a 10 lb hook ball with fingertip grips.

Almost immediately his scores improved. His personal bests went from 104 to 108 to 124 to 142 and now it stands at 171. He was happy about the new high score but even happier that he finally beat his daddy in a game.

I didn't expect Maddy to improve this fast but if he keeps this up we might have to put him on our  league team next season. We have signed up for a Adult/Youth league that starts next month so hopefully he will stay interested.

Mommy watch out, Maddy is coming up fast!

At Work With Mommy

I also had to take Madison to work with me one day of this week. We spent the first day of Spring break with Annie, then the second and third day with Dillon.

We did a lot of fun things including movies 2x, games, swimming, walks, parks but the most interesting time the boys had was when we went to the gym. They have a kiddies play area which Maddy absolutely loves. Not only does he get to run around and play, he gets to make new friends too!!

Star Wars X-Wing Fighter

He completed this in less than an hour - a total of 437 peices

Doesn't it look awesome?!? :)

At Work With Dad

Maddy is spending his final spring break day with me at work today.

He has been well behaved and quiet, which comes as no surprise.

Last time he was here, he drew me several nice pictures, which I have hanging in my cubical. But this time he has been too busy on the computer to break out the drawing tools.

We have stocked up on all the necessary tools for a successful day at work, namely, Oreos, graham crackers, Sprite Zero and Mentos.

We'll be heading home soon, perhaps stopping by the bowling center for a few practice games to get the weekend started right.

Happy weekend all!

Hanging With Dillon

Maddy has the entire week off school thanks to Spring Break. Lucky for him, he gets to spend it with his good friend Dillon, who is staying with us for most of the week. Dillon (9) is a friend that Maddy met during his swimming classes a few years ago.

Horseplay with Dillon

At the play center at Golds Gym

Enjoying the pasta at Noodles & Co.

Time warp: Space Invaders at the movie theater

More arcade fun

At the fish pond

Today, Mommy took the boys to see a movie and afterward they will make their way to the local rec center for a swim in the pools.

Why, oh why, am I stuck at work on a nice sunny spring day like today?

If you're reading about the tornadoes in Virginia in the news...

This is just to let our family overseas know that we are all fine and that we were unaffected by the storms that raged across the southern part of the state.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families that were affected and lost loved ones.

Maddy, The Gentle Giant

4 feet, 11 inches at 8 years old

Our Maddy is a growing boy, he is almost 5 feet tall at only 8 years of age. To put it into perspective, it took my mom 16 years to get to that height.

He towers over the kids in his age group at school and I can tell that he takes a measure of pride being the tallest.

I keep telling him that it's better to be the smartest but I have a feeling that kids value height more at his age than they do smarts, so my sermons largely fall on deaf ears.

We get weird "are you sure?" looks when we get asked how old he is and we answer "8". Especially in those all-you-can-eat buffets that charge according to how old your child is.

His feet are huge, which means he's got more growing ahead but it also means he is heavy footed and has not quite grown accustomed to them yet.

The next time we see the crew in NZ, he should be taller than his paternal grandparents and seeing eye to eye with a couple of his aunties.

Testing posting from phone via email

This is a test.