Sugarcoated

OK Wendy's comment made me feel a little guilty, she said that I tell it like it is and don't sugarcoat things. Well the last post WAS sugarcoated. I left out some details that I should probably mention so that someone else doesn't think that there is something wrong with THEIR child. Yes, the boys have made tremendous progress in English and they do act a LITTLE more civilized than when we first adopted them, but they still cannot match their clothes for school and seem to show up in the worst possible outfit ready to walk out the door. I have made "matches" of clothes for them but they just mix them in with the other clothes and find the pair of pants that they (mostly Spencer) has torn the knee out of and the most wrinkled shirt and think that they are just fine. I have tried MANY tactics to get this issue resolved but it is simply not sinking in. It is more than a little frustrating.

We STILL have to remind Spencer to shower and wash his hair with SHAMPOO and spell the whole procedure out so he doesn't think that splashing his shoulders with water from the tap will be just fine. We still deal with tattling, lack of responsibilty and immaturity on a grand scale. They STILL have orphanage behavior popping out whenever it wants to, like yesterday when Vitaliy got called to the principals office because he got involved in a fight that 2 other boys were having and I am anxiously waiting the phone call on that one. We have heard from each of his teachers about how his behavior is disruptive and they are all sick of his lack of respect. I am trying to muster my courage and enough humility to go to parent/teacher conferences tonight. I explained to him that when a teacher has to call the parents it is a pretty serious thing. Maybe we have just had pretty perfect kids up to this point. Maybe we needed to be humbled in a big way. Maybe we needed to have our parenting questioned on every level and our lives turned upside down for some reason. I will be sure and blog when we get all the answers but I have a feeling that I will grow old and leave this life with plenty of questions still in my mind (if I even have a mind left, that is :)