The Mayfair Community School Family Tree

Early in the school year, the staff at Mayfair Community School invited students and their families to come in and have their picture taken by a fauxtographer at no charge.  Normally, we wouldn’t have been interested.  However, this particular set of photos was going to be used for a special project – and we definitely wanted the girl to be able to be involved.

Since I have such a HUGE aversion (and rightly so) to posed studio portraiture, we dressed in a corny theme.  I figure if we’re going to have it done, let’s poke a little fun at the whole process while we do it.  So we each put on our Blue Jays jerseys – and headed off to the girl’s school.

It was everything I hate about studio shots by folks who really don’t know what they’re doing as far as composition goes (which is about what I expected).  Sit here.  Lean this way.  Turn your head towards the camera.  No, not that much.  Tilt your face to the right.  Put your arm here.  Now hold it….  There you have it!  The world’s worst family photo!  BUT!  It’s for such a cool project, so I suck it up, smile, and say nothing – until I blog all about it, and then I can rip on the entire process and mock the whole thing – ’cause that’s just how I roll.  heh heh

So, what was so cool that I felt the need to force us to endure such torture?  Well, it was the Mayfair Family Tree:

I couldn’t fit it all into the frame on my little iPhone…  but I think it gives you a good idea of what we’re looking at.    And it’s pretty darn cool!  Even better?  They put our family photo near the bottom, where the kid can actually reach it to show people.

Very much worth the humiliation of a terrible family photo, don’t cha think?

Chihuahua with a Mustache

Today there was a book fair at the girl’s school.  She and I spent a great deal of time checking out all the titles on the tables.  Very honestly, there wasn’t much there that was even worth a second glance.  It was highly disappointing.  I knew we had to find something though.  The fair helps support the school, and a portion of the proceeds goes towards getting new books for their classrooms.  That, and the kid knew she was allowed to get a book.

Back and forth between the chapter book tables.  One mundane sounding description after another.  Then we wandered back to where we started – with the picture books.  We don’t read that many of them any more.  We read for a half hour (sometimes more) a day, but that’s almost all devoted to novels.  That’s when I saw it!

It was hidden beneath scores of boring paperback children’s stories…  a hard cover, only one letter of the title peeking out – but I recognized the font instantly.  “Lily-Ann!  What’s this???”  I slide the book out just a titch, so that two letters are now revealed.

“SKIPPYJON JONES!!!!”

I’m sure her animated shout could be heard throughout the main floor of the school.

Yep.  We found a copy of Skippyjon Jones; Class Action.

We love Skippyjon.  We read a lot about him at wegivebooks.org.  I remember the first time she saw the cover of the original Skippyjon Jones, she said “Momma, that cat looks like a Chihuahua.”  This sticks with me because I poo poohed her, assuming it was just the illustrators style… but very quickly found out I was wrong.  And yes, I made sure to apologize for it.

We’re Chihuahua nuts around here (as I’m sure you’ve guessed).  So these absolutely adorable books, with their smart stories, and rich characters?  We <3 them in a big way.

So yay!  The kid now has her very own Skippyjon Jones book…  and we popped the CD in to listen to it being read while we drove to get her Daddy from work (it was interesting to hear someone else’s take on the characters voices and the songs – her mom voice and my mom voice are VASTLY different, and curiously enough we were pretty dead on for every other character and the songs).  We’ve now heard it six times.  And it’s no less charming on it’s sixth than on it’s first, though I’m not sure her Daddy would agree.  LMAO

Anyway…  instead of sharing a book cover as I often do when I’m writing about a book we enjoy, I’m going to share a picture the girl did up yesterday.  She took a photo (using the iPad) of Deedee, and then proceeded to edit it.  So here’s Deedee, or as the girlie put it – giggling hysterically:  “She’s a Chihuahua with a Mustache!”

Spring is Here!

Well folks, I think it’s official.  Spring has come early to Saskatchewan.  And well, let’s be honest.  I’m not sure Winter ever fully arrived.  LOL  It was an odd, odd season.

It’s even more wonderful coming outside to discover Spring has arrived when you’ve been cooped up indoors for days on end with a cold.    So after her first afternoon back at pre-k, the girl took the opportunity to jump, and splash, and just breathe in the awesome Spring air.

One pricey book order

I loved the scholastic book orders when I was a kid.  Mom and Dad always made sure I could get a new book (sometimes two or three) every month.  I looked forward to going through the brightly coloured pages of the order, searching for the right one.  Something that piqued my interest:  often it would be something about unicorns, or wizards, or fairies.  So You Want to be a Wizard was one of my very favourite books, and I remember with fondness the Unicorn Queen series as well.

I absolutely love that the kid being in school means we once again get the excitement and joy of a monthly book order.  She loves looking through the pages as much as I did.  And her teacher always makes sure to find us a copy of the “big kids” book order sheets too.  After all, the pre-k book order is all picture books and board books – and we generally like to order chapter books.

Normally we get a book or two, or if there’s a really good deal on a pack of books we’ll get that.  This last one though?  Eeeps.  I don’t think I’ve ever spent that much on a book order.  But honestly?  It was something we couldn’t pass up.

The best time to teach a child about ANY topic is when they are passionate about it.  And right now, thanks to first reading a book about Odysseus and now reading the Goddess Girls books, the girl LOVES learning about Greek myth.  So when a four piece children’s encyclopedias all about mythology showed up in the last book order, what else could we do?  We figured out the money, because one doesn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. 

So soon, we’ll be sitting down with the girl’s very first encyclopedias.  And she couldn’t be more excited about them.  It’s going to be really cool, and I love that this is a topic that enlivens her.  Learning can be so much fun – especially when you are allowed to follow your passions!

Teaching about Sex and Gender in the Classroom

Shortly I’ll be presenting at a few high schools as well as at Breaking the Silence.  I’ll be talking about sex, gender, identity and the labels that can help or hinder us as we discover ourselves and how we fit on the spectrum.  I have a pretty good idea of what I’ll be covering, but I really would love to hear from you on the subject.

I’m sure many of you are familiar with the gingerbread man diagrams that have been floating around the net for the last couple of years.  There have been several different incarnations of the drawing, and I’ll be creating my own for my presentations too.  Basically it just maps out the differences between sex, gender, expression, and orientation.  By having this type of illustration handy I hope to equip everyone who is there with the proper language – as that will go a long way to facilitate discussion.

What I’d like to know from anyone who’d be kind enough to reply is this:

If you were, or are, a high school student what would you like to know but might be afraid to ask in a classroom setting?  What would you want to know about sex?  about gender?  about gender expression?  about sexual orientation?  Is there something you wish you knew?  Is there something you do know that you wish others knew?  What would you want discussed that you might be to embarrassed to bring up with a room full of people watching?

I want to ensure that those who need the information, get it.  But if I don’t know what questions people have, I may miss something important.  This is basic information that schools haven’t often given students a chance to learn – information that people often have to discover on their own – feeling alone and insecure.  I want to arm youth with the power that comes with knowledge, and knowing that no matter where we fall on the spectrum, that we’re all totally normal with the potential to be awesome!

Go the F to Sleep…. please?

ACK!!!!

Child will not sleep.

We finished our usual nighttime routine and laid down in the dark at 8:20.  It’s now 9:40 and she is still awake.  If I didn’t log on to blog anyway, I’d have lost my mind.  It’s bad enough when I lay in bed at night unable to sleep, but laying in bed waiting for my night to start for over an hour???  Holy crap.  Talk about wanting to bang ones head into a wall.  Jeepers.

Neither the girl nor I sleep without melatonin.  We just can’t slow our brains down enough, so we just lie awake for hours.  Thankfully, with melatonin it’s usually no more than six – eight minutes in the dark for the kid and equal for me.  Of course, she takes less than a third of the dose that I take.  Well…  usually.  Tonight she’s had twice her regular dose which is about half my regular dose (don’t even ask how much of the stuff I take when I’m away at a dog show, YIKES!).

I think the excitement over the Valentine’s Day party her pre-k class is having has got her too wound up.  This girl, like her mommy, loves to give.  Even Yule and Christmas don’t get her wound up enough that she can’t sleep.  But the excitement over giving everyone in her class a home made bookmark and individually wrapped and decorated cupcakes?  Too awesome for sleep.  Of course, I’ve now had to pull out the big guns and told her that if she doesn’t sleep she will be too tired to actually go to school tomorrow.  So no sleep means no Valetine’s party.

Well. I thought we almost had her there.  A couple minutes remaining still…  but nope.  She’s thrashing all over the place again.  Ugh.  Wish me luck.  Got to get this kid to sleep and no idea how the heck I’m going to do it.  Pretty quick I’m going to be forced to tag out and get her Dad in here to double team her.  Good freakin’ grief.  Oy!

Too sick to party? Hope not. :(

I’m afraid that after all of her hard work, kid-kid may just be coming down with something in time for her class’s Valentines Day party.    Today she has a runny nose, and is a little extra wrangy…  Hopefully with lots of fluids and healthy foods we’ll have her on the mend before then.  Poor kid.

On Friday we spend the early afternoon baking and decorating:  cupcakes, of course.  Confetti cupcakes with chocolate icing, and covered in sprinkles, sparkles, and red, white, and pink candy hearts.  We then popped one tray into the freezer and one into the fridge.  We still have to make the cupcake toppers and slide them into their individual bags – but then they’ll be all set.  We’re also planning to do up bookmarks for all of her classmates.  She’s super excited about them, and I know they’ll turn out adorable.  After everything she’ll have put together it would be awful for her to miss out on the festivities.

Damon and I don’t usually exchange anything on Valentines Day.  Instead we buy something for the girl.  After all, we have our anniversary to celebrate one another…  Valentines is about celebrating love, so it only makes sense that we’d celebrate our baby.    And went out shopping yesterday and again today in search of the right gift (while Lily-Ann was having her weekly sleep-over at her Pop Pop and Grams’ place).  I think we’ve got something she’ll absolutely love.  And thanks to an error at the store, we got it for half price – which is what brought it into our price range.  LOL  Gotta love an error (of course, we didn’t realize it was an error until the price came up differently at the register – but Toys R’ Us honored the price marked on the shelf, so YAY).

Even if the girlie ends up out sick, I’ll make sure that her things are delivered to her class, and she’ll still get a present…  but after all her efforts I’d hate for her to miss out on the class party.  Lots of good vibes, healing energy, and white light her way, if you have any to spare, we’d appreciate it.

My poor baby.  Crashed out on top of the comforter…  We didn’t even make it three pages into our current chapter before she was out like a light.

And yes!  She has a fuzzy red heart-shaped pillow (it’s a total coincidence, we didn’t start reading the Goddess Girls books until after she’d had it for several months, she giggles every time we read about Aphrodite’s pillows).

And again, yes.  She’s wearing a frog prince sleeping mask – which I slipped down over her face after I snapped this shot.

And one further yes.  Like any good Canadian kid should have, she’s got on her Toopy and Binoo jamies. 

Poor kid, just wiped right out.

Unpacking boxes from 1983 – 1987.

I’ve spent the last couple of evenings sitting on the floor in my parent’s basement, going through old boxes of my things deciding what to keep and what to toss.  So far I’ve sorted through everything packed away in grades two, three, four, and five (and a box of miscellaneous stuff).  I was an interesting kid.  LMAO

Going through the boxes from grades two and three had me laughing…  a lot.  The artwork was so demented.  LOL  Pictures of animals stabbing other animals, people being eaten by sharks, Mr. T made several appearances – always in action saving someone.  And then there were the pretty pictures of My Little Ponies and unicorns (that helped to balance out the crazier killing spree illustrations).  And reading my school work it was evident that I was completely content and at ease there.  I’d written letters to my teachers and the principal telling them how awesome I thought they were and how I was going to “tell my mom to buy them anything they wanted.”  It was great.

Tonight things weren’t quite so entertaining.  There were still moments that brought a grin to my face – like discovering an old MASH game paper that had me married to Micheal Jackson, poor, and living in Hawaii…  but hey!  It did get the “one kid” prediction right.  But generally there had been a shift.  My school work went from marks of 96 to 100 percent down to a lot of sixties and seventies with a few nineties in language arts.  Many assignments handed in unfinished.  And the tone of my short stories changed, a lot of the hope that was there in grades two and three weren’t there in grade five.  My art work stared a lot of “pretty” girls with big lips and big hair…  but there was still a good measure of My Little Ponies, as well as unicorns and flying horses.  As I discovered gender more so to did my interest in it.  Grade four saw a host of characters there were described as “half boy, half girl”.

Over all it’s been an interesting couple of nights.  Still lots of boxes to go.  I have a box for every year of school I attended – from grades one to twelve anyway.  If I can cut things down, even by half, I’ll be happy.  We’re gonna get a big tub that can hold everything.  It’s time to find a place here to store it all, time to get it out of my parent’s place.  Sitting on the floor has my body a little upset with me but it’s easier to be down with all the boxes and piles (keep, toss, and undecided).  I may have to bring a camera along next time…  so I can capture anything worth sharing. 

And hey!  Know anyone who collects Dallas trading cards, Micheal Jackson trading cards, or any other cards from the mid-80′s?  I may have some they need.  LOL

Pride Rainbow

If you are not sure what you can do to help send the message that you believe in equality, and want to help make safe spaces for gender variant and sexual minority youth, I have one thing to say to you:

Yep.  It’s that easy.  Wear a pride rainbow pin, put up a rainbow flag in your classroom, stick up a pride window decal at your place of business.  Be visible!  It may seem like a really small thing – but when people see that rainbow, they know they are in a space that is welcoming and safe.  Many won’t understand it’ significance, but those who need it will.

A proud, proud day in the Smith house.

So today I arrive to pick up my daughter from pre-k as the children and their parents are all making their way outside.  When Rhonda catches my attention and says “I have one for you today.”  From her tone, I knew I was in for a doozie.

When Rhonda was no longer busy with another family she told me how the class had been playing with play doh.  Then she continued on.

…informing me that my daughter, of all the things in the world she could have created, that my daughter made a penis.

Yep.  A penis.

Instinctively my hands flew to my mouth.

Of course, it had to be MY daughter.

I then picked my eyeballs up off the floor and returned them to their sockets.

Rhonda laughed, and very soon it was just she, Tracy (my daughter’s pre-k teacher heard us out in the hall and came to join our discussion), and myself.  Oh the story…  the details…  the visuals…

When Lily-Ann had explained what she was crafting:  “It’s a penis!”  They had looked back and forth at one another, neither willing to touch what she’d shared with a ten foot poll.  And Rhonda’s use of her hands while telling the story just about had me peeing myself.  She showed how the kid had been rolling it out on the table with vigor, how big and thick a piece of play doh she’d used.  Oh my.

Yep.

Now for a bit of back story for clarity:

I am very open.  I’ll talk about anything.  I believe in being honest and I don’t sugar coat things.  So when my daughter was one and a half and began having questions we talked about where babies come from.  We talked about how flowers produce seeds, how birds lay eggs, how puppies come to be born, and how she (and other babies) are also born… and how all these things are alike, yet very different.  And how even from family to family, everyone has a different birth story.

By the time the kid was two she knew the difference (and proper names) for her parts.  And if you ask her, she’ll happily tell you the difference between many different (for some folk, uncomfortable to mention) body parts and whether they are male organs or female organs, where they can be found, and what they’re for.  So, I suppose it was only a matter of time before she began sharing her education.

Back to today:

Later, after returning home and settling into our late afternoon routine, I asked the girlie what she made with her play doh.  She was completely open and nonchalant about the whole thing.  With a shrug, she replied “a penis”.  No big deal.  Then I heard her Dad walk in the front door, and before we could get any further, she ran off to welcome him home.

So what does my husband get greeted with as soon as he arrives home?  Her story, told rather proudly (because it must be important if so many people feel the need to talk about it), about how she made a penis at school.  But it was okay since “it didn’t look like a real one because I made it orange.”

If nothing else, the girlie now knows that just like we shouldn’t talk about our vulva at the grocery store we also shouldn’t make a play doh penis at school.  Valuable lessons that we wish we’d thought to teach PRIOR to it becoming very evident that we needed to teach them.

Lesson learned.

I wonder what she’ll teach me I should have taught her next.

Yikes!