Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Christmas 2012
We came. We saw. We Christmassed.
Also? on Sunday, Jonathan stepped on a stuffed Clifford in the basement and sprained his ankle, so we spent some time in urgent care. Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas without a visit to some kind of medical facility and waiting hours upon hours with hideously sick people.
He still can't walk, but we think he's starting to put a little weight on it here and there. (sigh)
Anyway, so Christmas.
Ben, Simon, and gimpy Jonathan coming down the stairs with help from Daddy.
Simon got the Lego set he's wanted forever!
Also? on Sunday, Jonathan stepped on a stuffed Clifford in the basement and sprained his ankle, so we spent some time in urgent care. Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas without a visit to some kind of medical facility and waiting hours upon hours with hideously sick people.
He still can't walk, but we think he's starting to put a little weight on it here and there. (sigh)
Anyway, so Christmas.
Ben, Simon, and gimpy Jonathan coming down the stairs with help from Daddy.
The boys got right to it. Jonathan played us a little Kenny G.
Simon got the Lego set he's wanted forever!
Ben and Simon both got Dreamlites Pillow Pets, which I thought were sort of goofy but lit up last night at bedtime? They were super cool. I sort of want one for MY room! LOL!
Jonathan found the potty in the dollhouse.
The furbies... UGH. Jonathan was SO ticked off that he didn't get one too. Also? They have no off switch. Seriously.
Air hockey fun!
Simon and Uncle B building Legos!
Biggest and littlest playing Mario Kart.
Later, we went over to Nanee and Pap's. Then we came home to a quiet afternoon/evening of playing and being lazy and we got indian food for dinner! :) YAY! Love low-key Christmasses...
Now, it's Wednesday and I realize the giant ripoff of Christmas on a Tuesday. Tom is right back to work and I am home with the kids and the Christmas mess. This hardly seems fair... but, I guess we'll build a lot of Legos today!
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Christmas Breakdown...
My friend Beth complained that I hadn't posted a list of links about what the kids are getting for Christmas this year. LOL! I could swear I posted a general summary... but anyway... here goes. :)
Simon has been asking for this Destiny's Bounty Lego set since his birthday. NO I did NOT pay $139 for it. LOL! It was the first present I bought and I got it way back in October for much cheaper! $139... seriously?!
He is also getting:
This cute magic set (my SIL got him one last year? year before? Can't remember... he has played with it so much that he has worn out all but the sturdiest of props!)
These castle blocks (found them on an endcap at Michaels for $29 one day while we were out with the boys and I snuck them into the cart when they weren't paying attention. Simon is going to LOVE these)
He is also getting a box crammed full of pencils, crayons, paper, tape, paper clips, rubber bands, envelopes, index cards, etc... I think I may be most excited about this one. He is going to go bananas! We have art supplies aplenty around here, but he is big into having his very own things and, like me, he LOVES "kits". LOL.
Ben is getting:
This chemistry set. He didn't ask for it, but he was crazy hard to shop for this year and I know he'll love it. It's not something that will get any attention on Christmas morning... but give us a good couple of snow days and it will be a HUGE hit.
Long sleeve Under Amour shirts. THis is literally the only style of shirt he is happy to wear these days. We have a bunch from Target, but they haven't lasted very long. I figured he could use a couple decent ones.
These miniature football pennants. -- last year's big hit gift was a set of miniature football helmets. He still plays with them every. single. day. These are going to be a winner!
Tabletop football field - (I found a generic, non-team one) It's the cheesiest little thing, but he's really into the paper footballs these days.
Plasma Ball
Minecraft Periodic Elements Table T-Shirt
Both big boys are getting:
Furbies -- like the other things, I got these WAY early at Target before they hiked the price by $30. LOL.
Ravens Dreamlites Pillow Pets (gag... but they were on the lists....)
Possibly the 3DSs... I bought them... but may save them for bdays. They were on sale as part of Amazon's last-minute Christmas push, so I snagged them. But yeah, they may be held for a few months. We'll see how generous Santa is feeling.
Jonathan is getting this dollhouse. He's getting a couple other little silly things in his stocking... but I kept him to the one thing this year so he wouldn't get overwhelmed... and frankly, with three boys, we own basically every 2-3-year-old age appropriate toy there is.
And lastly, their big shared gift this year is a SMALL air-hockey table. (hence why the DSs might get held off for bdays)
I'm excited for Santa to come!! :) :) :)
Simon has been asking for this Destiny's Bounty Lego set since his birthday. NO I did NOT pay $139 for it. LOL! It was the first present I bought and I got it way back in October for much cheaper! $139... seriously?!
He is also getting:
This cute magic set (my SIL got him one last year? year before? Can't remember... he has played with it so much that he has worn out all but the sturdiest of props!)
These castle blocks (found them on an endcap at Michaels for $29 one day while we were out with the boys and I snuck them into the cart when they weren't paying attention. Simon is going to LOVE these)
He is also getting a box crammed full of pencils, crayons, paper, tape, paper clips, rubber bands, envelopes, index cards, etc... I think I may be most excited about this one. He is going to go bananas! We have art supplies aplenty around here, but he is big into having his very own things and, like me, he LOVES "kits". LOL.
Ben is getting:
This chemistry set. He didn't ask for it, but he was crazy hard to shop for this year and I know he'll love it. It's not something that will get any attention on Christmas morning... but give us a good couple of snow days and it will be a HUGE hit.
Long sleeve Under Amour shirts. THis is literally the only style of shirt he is happy to wear these days. We have a bunch from Target, but they haven't lasted very long. I figured he could use a couple decent ones.
These miniature football pennants. -- last year's big hit gift was a set of miniature football helmets. He still plays with them every. single. day. These are going to be a winner!
Tabletop football field - (I found a generic, non-team one) It's the cheesiest little thing, but he's really into the paper footballs these days.
Plasma Ball
Minecraft Periodic Elements Table T-Shirt
Both big boys are getting:
Furbies -- like the other things, I got these WAY early at Target before they hiked the price by $30. LOL.
Ravens Dreamlites Pillow Pets (gag... but they were on the lists....)
Possibly the 3DSs... I bought them... but may save them for bdays. They were on sale as part of Amazon's last-minute Christmas push, so I snagged them. But yeah, they may be held for a few months. We'll see how generous Santa is feeling.
Jonathan is getting this dollhouse. He's getting a couple other little silly things in his stocking... but I kept him to the one thing this year so he wouldn't get overwhelmed... and frankly, with three boys, we own basically every 2-3-year-old age appropriate toy there is.
And lastly, their big shared gift this year is a SMALL air-hockey table. (hence why the DSs might get held off for bdays)
I'm excited for Santa to come!! :) :) :)
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Fishie....
I was at swim lessons with the big boys a couple weeks ago and happened to notice a very small girl taking lessons with another teacher. She looked to be about three or so. She was diving down to get things off the bottom and swimming all over the place.
"How old is she?" I asked her teacher.
"She just turned three, " she replied. "But I've had her since she was one... she's ALWAYS been fearless though!"
Later that week, I texted the boys' teacher. "When can Jonathan start lessons with you?"
Generally with the little ones, they do a mommy and me class or a private lesson with mommy in the water to help out, so I wasn't optimistic that she would take him without me and I have ZERO desire to get in the pool right now and deal with getting Jonathan and myself dressed and dried off enough to go back out into the cold winter air.
She replied that we could try it and see how it went. The next week, Ben couldn't take his lesson because basketball conflicted (the time moves around every week), so I asked if we could sub in Jonathan to swim with Simon. She was okay with that, so off we went.
Now, in stark contrast to Ben at this age, who freaked his freak out upon even ENTERING a building with an indoor pool, Jonathan was PSYCHED. "Do you want to swim today?" "YES!!!" was his enthusiastic reply. He waited patiently (kinda) for his turn.
When it was his turn, he didn't even look back. He went right with Miss Tara. She looked over and asked, "Is he going to get upset about going under water?"
"Uh... no." I answered, laughing... thinking back to summertime and all the "More! More!" when he would jump in and go under.
She promptly dunked him and up he popped, giggling.
Then she put him on the little step in the shallow and backed up so he could jump and "swim" to her. I'm pretty sure she didn't even get to three before he lunged forward and went under... she pulled him up and he giggled some more.
"I think this will work!" she yelled from across the pool.
I did have to sit on the side and hold him while he sat on the wall when it was Simon's turn. (she alternates the kids' turns during their lesson. But I'll certainly take getting my jeans a little wet over getting completely in!)
I'm hoping to have a tiny swimmer by June. Do'able? We'll see. LOL!
Today was a banner day for my kiddos! :)
Simon came bounding out of the parent pickup line:
"Mommy! I got this! And I heard my name on the announcements!!! I got it because I did a random act of kindness and cleaned up things people left on the floor in the bathroom."
Of course, this begs the question... why can't he do this at home... but whatever. ;) He was excited.
"Ben, did you hear Simon's name read on the announcements?"
"Yeeeeees...." Ben sighed, rolling his eyes.
He was none too pleased. ;)
However, when I was going through his folder, I discovered something that me proud too!
His mid-term reading progress report! He has an "A"! This is big news because he is in a REALLY tough class. He brought home a solid B on his last report card and I was thrilled about that because he had been struggling with following directions well, finishing work, and giving complete answers (just didn't feel like writing them... sigh.... ) Very excited about this progress so far, as is his teacher! :)
So proud of my big boys. :)
Oh, and they had an assembly yesterday -- a concert for the 4th and 5th grade chorus, band and orchestra. Simon announced in the car, "*I* would like to be in an assembly someday!!" LOL. Not surprised. Ben said, "Not me! Never!" Love that they are so predictable. ;)
Simon came bounding out of the parent pickup line:
"Mommy! I got this! And I heard my name on the announcements!!! I got it because I did a random act of kindness and cleaned up things people left on the floor in the bathroom."
Of course, this begs the question... why can't he do this at home... but whatever. ;) He was excited.
"Ben, did you hear Simon's name read on the announcements?"
"Yeeeeees...." Ben sighed, rolling his eyes.
He was none too pleased. ;)
However, when I was going through his folder, I discovered something that me proud too!
So proud of my big boys. :)
Oh, and they had an assembly yesterday -- a concert for the 4th and 5th grade chorus, band and orchestra. Simon announced in the car, "*I* would like to be in an assembly someday!!" LOL. Not surprised. Ben said, "Not me! Never!" Love that they are so predictable. ;)
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Saturday, December 08, 2012
Whistling While I Work....
I am having the most fun baking this Christmas season! I enjoy baking for Christmas, but usually, things get backed up and I get too stressed out toward the end to really have fun with it. This year, I decided to take a step back, break it down and knock out only one thing at a time, a little at a time, starting way early and putting things in the freezer as I go.
Can't argue with the results.
I'm making a TON of things this year for various groups of people. Truffles, Chocolate Chips, mini bundt cakes, scones, marshmallows, no bake oatmeals, and sugar cookies. (if I have the time, I am going to attempt the ones I have always wanted to make... the fancy ones with the thick royal icing... here's hoping... it's something I've wanted to do for years!)
So far, I'm finished with the truffles (all total, I made 300 over about four days). I'm finished with the chocolate chips (140 dough balls now in the freezer, waiting to be baked the night before I stuff them into bags), and I'm halfway done the bundt bakes. (2 dozen or so) The marshmallows are probably going to be saved for last because they have the shortest shelf life and I can't freeze them. So next up are probably the scones.
I've just been doing a batch a day of something during most nap times. It's amazing what just a little a day can add up to!
So happy I have figured out how to make it a more leisurely experience because it is really something I enjoy, but in years past, the stress has sucked all the joy out of it.
The other thing that has helped is that I have embraced the fact that my kitchen will not be completely clean and clutter-free until after Christmas. I just leave all the non-perishable ingredients, measuring cups and trays out in a pile on one of the counter and it's so much easier.
I'm excited too because with my new system, I have enough this year to give out to people I never had time to bake for before.... some neighbors and friends... that kind of thing. :) YAY!
Can't argue with the results.
I'm making a TON of things this year for various groups of people. Truffles, Chocolate Chips, mini bundt cakes, scones, marshmallows, no bake oatmeals, and sugar cookies. (if I have the time, I am going to attempt the ones I have always wanted to make... the fancy ones with the thick royal icing... here's hoping... it's something I've wanted to do for years!)
So far, I'm finished with the truffles (all total, I made 300 over about four days). I'm finished with the chocolate chips (140 dough balls now in the freezer, waiting to be baked the night before I stuff them into bags), and I'm halfway done the bundt bakes. (2 dozen or so) The marshmallows are probably going to be saved for last because they have the shortest shelf life and I can't freeze them. So next up are probably the scones.
I've just been doing a batch a day of something during most nap times. It's amazing what just a little a day can add up to!
So happy I have figured out how to make it a more leisurely experience because it is really something I enjoy, but in years past, the stress has sucked all the joy out of it.
The other thing that has helped is that I have embraced the fact that my kitchen will not be completely clean and clutter-free until after Christmas. I just leave all the non-perishable ingredients, measuring cups and trays out in a pile on one of the counter and it's so much easier.
I'm excited too because with my new system, I have enough this year to give out to people I never had time to bake for before.... some neighbors and friends... that kind of thing. :) YAY!
Friday, December 07, 2012
That Moment....
...when your five-year-old realizes he has enough sight words/sound-out skills to read part of one of his very own books. Oh and yes, it's painfully slow and tedious and he quickly tires of the huge mental effort of the whole thing. But there is no mistaking the proud look on his face. :)
This moment brought to you by the cover and first three pages of One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. :)
I think this is one of my all-time favorite milestones.
This moment brought to you by the cover and first three pages of One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. :)
I think this is one of my all-time favorite milestones.
Sunday, December 02, 2012
Christmas is Coming....and more random updates!
December already? Really? I feel like it was just July and I was sitting at the pool dreading the dead of winter... LOL.
Ah well. Here it is...
Our Elf has been busy... although some nights he is lazy and doesn't move. Drives the kids nuts, especially Simon who is the one who is really into it this year. Ben would like for the Elf to sleep in HIS room so he can see for sure if he moves in the middle of the night. That's my little skeptic!
The boys' presents are all bought and wrapped... my big ideas for an 8, 5 and two-year-old include a chemistry set, castle shaped blocks, and a dollhouse, respectively. I also got the big boys a tabletop air-hockey table to share that I think will get a LOT of use.
Ben got suddenly much more difficult to buy for this year as I realized he doesn't really have any TOYS he wants. He got a few "cool" Under Armour shirts and some other random things...
Still working on the Christmas card. That's proving ultra-challenging this year. Ben hates dressing up and smiling for pictures, Jonathan is NEVER cooperative. The only one I can ever get a good photo of these days is Simon, who turns on his winning catalog smile and pose almost every single time.
In other goings on... we're just BUSY!
Ben and Simon are still taking swim lessons on Saturdays and they are doing so well. I am encouraging Ben to do swim team at our pool club this year. He's SUPER fast, plus, I think it would be so good for him and such a confidence booster. Simon is holding his own and is now learning real strokes and can go just about all the way across the pool. I told the swim teacher to just keep us on permanent renewal for the foreseeable future. LOL. There was a three-year-old there yesterday with another teacher who was swimming like a fish and diving down to get things off the bottom. I asked about her and the teacher told me she had had her since she was younger than 2 and that she'd always been fearless. Which means, my NEXT move is to see if OUR teacher will take on Jonathan so he doesn't give me grey hair at the pool this summer.
Here's a little video snippet from their lesson two weeks ago. They've come even farther since this one!
Simon finished up soccer awhile back. I doubt he'll play again... he just wasn't into it. Even less so than Ben was at that age. I suspect his interests may lie in more creative pursuits. Tom still wants him to try another sport, but honestly, I'd like to find him a drama class or something.
Here he is dancing on the field. ;) (I think I posted this before, but it just makes me laugh... it's SO Simon...)
Ben just started basketball on Saturday and Tom and his dad are coaching. They are seriously the BEST kid coaches I have ever seen. (when Tom and I were dating they were still coaching Tom's youngest brother's teams) So it will be fun to see how they do this season. I think it's going to be exciting! Amazingly, Ben is their second-best player! He'll be playing point-guard all season. Really, to see him play, you'd be amazed. He really has found his sport! It's just nice to see him REALLY working to be good at something... that doesn't often happen with him.
In other news. I had conferences for both boys a couple weeks ago. Can't remember if I posted about this or not, but both are doing beautifully.
Simon is doing a lot better than I thought he was! I think this is because he is SO quiet about what he knows that neither of us really knew WHAT to expect. I knew he knew his letters, sounds, numbers, shapes...all the kindergarten screening stuff. That was all pretty solid. But it turns out, he's going great with all the reading too! He's actually fairly close, if not exactly where Ben was in kindergarten at this point and I would never have guessed that. I need to keep reminding myself that he shows it differently than Ben does and just because his interests don't lie in things that are particularly "bookish", he's still a really smart little kiddo in his own right. Add to that he's SO creative and has such a good attitude about school and everything that goes on there... just throws his WHOLE being into it all. He's just really fun. :) We are proud of him for doing so well. :)
Ben doing some really challenging work these days. We have really gotten a handle on his attention issues and all of a sudden, he's acing everything he brings home. I get emails from his teachers all the time now about how amazed they are and what fantastic answers he comes up with. I knew he had it in him... he still complains about school and says it's boring. But I think successes are starting to build up his confidence some and that he is feeling less overwhelmed and perhaps liking it a little more. They told me at the conference that he'll be officially GT in January. (the school's system for gifted and talented is a little screwy... they don't actually determine it officially until the middle of third grade) I had asked honestly at the conference if he needed to go down a notch to feel less overwhelmed and be happier and less anxious. But the teachers assured me he was placed correctly and was absolutely holding his own. This was good to hear! I was prepared to sacrifice some of the academic challenge for a happier kid... but they say he's happy and thriving when he's with them so... for now, that's where we are!
He has the most wonderful teachers this year. I just adore both of them. Both are my age, which is different for me and fun.... they send out cell phone picture updates from their classrooms sometimes. This one came from the math teacher last Wednesday. THey were doing a lesson on surveys and graphs, so they did an activity called "I Moustache You a Question". Hilarious.
It just all sounds like so much fun and they seem to really enjoy the things they do with the kids. Makes me want to be in third grade again!
The little one... OHHHHH the little one. (sigh) He is so hard. He's so defiant sometimes. He thinks everything is a game. He got out of his bed 47 times yesterday afternoon at naptime. Every time I told him to go back to bed he would just laugh and laugh. I have NEVER in my years of parenting experienced this. I have to up my discipline level for sure... I don't think he is ever going to be easy. He's great at school... listens well, so maybe there is hope. But sometimes at home, I am just at the end of my rope.
On the bright side, he is sweet and cute and so funny. (which probably doesn't help)
Speech is coming along by leaps and bounds. We had the speech pathologist here on Thursday, who only comes once a month, and she is just amazed every time she comes at the progress he has made since her last visit. The OT, who is coming now and again for a little while, even said he is basically caught up. The day she visited him to observe at school, she thought he was right there with the rest of the class, and was amazed he sat happily at the table and patiently did the cooking activity. She said that's not really typical of a child his age to sustain their attention that long on something like that. She told me to be sure to keep pushing and fostering this side of him because it's a strength and obviously something he enjoys. He does love his art/creative time, for sure... I think I have another free-spirited artsy one here! (oh and we're 90% sure he's another lefty!!!) So maybe when he grows up, in between jumping off cliffs and out of airplanes, he'll be my little artist. ;)
Here he is with his feather headband he made for Thanksgiving. (and Simon with a crown he made here at home... they are so funny together these days!) He sat at the table and carefully chose every single feather and where to put it. He was SO proud it and wore it for two straight days.
So there's my monster update... which I got typed because Jonathan slept until the late hour of 6:50 this morning. LOL. That never happens. He's almost always up by 6 these days. (yawn)
Anyway, onward to Sunday and a Christmas photo and possibly a Santa visit... or maybe just laying around the house. We'll see where the day takes us. :)
Ah well. Here it is...
Our Elf has been busy... although some nights he is lazy and doesn't move. Drives the kids nuts, especially Simon who is the one who is really into it this year. Ben would like for the Elf to sleep in HIS room so he can see for sure if he moves in the middle of the night. That's my little skeptic!
The boys' presents are all bought and wrapped... my big ideas for an 8, 5 and two-year-old include a chemistry set, castle shaped blocks, and a dollhouse, respectively. I also got the big boys a tabletop air-hockey table to share that I think will get a LOT of use.
Ben got suddenly much more difficult to buy for this year as I realized he doesn't really have any TOYS he wants. He got a few "cool" Under Armour shirts and some other random things...
Still working on the Christmas card. That's proving ultra-challenging this year. Ben hates dressing up and smiling for pictures, Jonathan is NEVER cooperative. The only one I can ever get a good photo of these days is Simon, who turns on his winning catalog smile and pose almost every single time.
In other goings on... we're just BUSY!
Ben and Simon are still taking swim lessons on Saturdays and they are doing so well. I am encouraging Ben to do swim team at our pool club this year. He's SUPER fast, plus, I think it would be so good for him and such a confidence booster. Simon is holding his own and is now learning real strokes and can go just about all the way across the pool. I told the swim teacher to just keep us on permanent renewal for the foreseeable future. LOL. There was a three-year-old there yesterday with another teacher who was swimming like a fish and diving down to get things off the bottom. I asked about her and the teacher told me she had had her since she was younger than 2 and that she'd always been fearless. Which means, my NEXT move is to see if OUR teacher will take on Jonathan so he doesn't give me grey hair at the pool this summer.
Here's a little video snippet from their lesson two weeks ago. They've come even farther since this one!
Simon finished up soccer awhile back. I doubt he'll play again... he just wasn't into it. Even less so than Ben was at that age. I suspect his interests may lie in more creative pursuits. Tom still wants him to try another sport, but honestly, I'd like to find him a drama class or something.
Here he is dancing on the field. ;) (I think I posted this before, but it just makes me laugh... it's SO Simon...)
Ben just started basketball on Saturday and Tom and his dad are coaching. They are seriously the BEST kid coaches I have ever seen. (when Tom and I were dating they were still coaching Tom's youngest brother's teams) So it will be fun to see how they do this season. I think it's going to be exciting! Amazingly, Ben is their second-best player! He'll be playing point-guard all season. Really, to see him play, you'd be amazed. He really has found his sport! It's just nice to see him REALLY working to be good at something... that doesn't often happen with him.
In other news. I had conferences for both boys a couple weeks ago. Can't remember if I posted about this or not, but both are doing beautifully.
Simon is doing a lot better than I thought he was! I think this is because he is SO quiet about what he knows that neither of us really knew WHAT to expect. I knew he knew his letters, sounds, numbers, shapes...all the kindergarten screening stuff. That was all pretty solid. But it turns out, he's going great with all the reading too! He's actually fairly close, if not exactly where Ben was in kindergarten at this point and I would never have guessed that. I need to keep reminding myself that he shows it differently than Ben does and just because his interests don't lie in things that are particularly "bookish", he's still a really smart little kiddo in his own right. Add to that he's SO creative and has such a good attitude about school and everything that goes on there... just throws his WHOLE being into it all. He's just really fun. :) We are proud of him for doing so well. :)
Ben doing some really challenging work these days. We have really gotten a handle on his attention issues and all of a sudden, he's acing everything he brings home. I get emails from his teachers all the time now about how amazed they are and what fantastic answers he comes up with. I knew he had it in him... he still complains about school and says it's boring. But I think successes are starting to build up his confidence some and that he is feeling less overwhelmed and perhaps liking it a little more. They told me at the conference that he'll be officially GT in January. (the school's system for gifted and talented is a little screwy... they don't actually determine it officially until the middle of third grade) I had asked honestly at the conference if he needed to go down a notch to feel less overwhelmed and be happier and less anxious. But the teachers assured me he was placed correctly and was absolutely holding his own. This was good to hear! I was prepared to sacrifice some of the academic challenge for a happier kid... but they say he's happy and thriving when he's with them so... for now, that's where we are!
He has the most wonderful teachers this year. I just adore both of them. Both are my age, which is different for me and fun.... they send out cell phone picture updates from their classrooms sometimes. This one came from the math teacher last Wednesday. THey were doing a lesson on surveys and graphs, so they did an activity called "I Moustache You a Question". Hilarious.
The reading teacher sent out a cell phone picture on Friday of a Wizard of Oz board game they played. (they are currently reading that book) The playing pieces were a shoe, green spectacles, a giant lollipop etc...
The little one... OHHHHH the little one. (sigh) He is so hard. He's so defiant sometimes. He thinks everything is a game. He got out of his bed 47 times yesterday afternoon at naptime. Every time I told him to go back to bed he would just laugh and laugh. I have NEVER in my years of parenting experienced this. I have to up my discipline level for sure... I don't think he is ever going to be easy. He's great at school... listens well, so maybe there is hope. But sometimes at home, I am just at the end of my rope.
On the bright side, he is sweet and cute and so funny. (which probably doesn't help)
Speech is coming along by leaps and bounds. We had the speech pathologist here on Thursday, who only comes once a month, and she is just amazed every time she comes at the progress he has made since her last visit. The OT, who is coming now and again for a little while, even said he is basically caught up. The day she visited him to observe at school, she thought he was right there with the rest of the class, and was amazed he sat happily at the table and patiently did the cooking activity. She said that's not really typical of a child his age to sustain their attention that long on something like that. She told me to be sure to keep pushing and fostering this side of him because it's a strength and obviously something he enjoys. He does love his art/creative time, for sure... I think I have another free-spirited artsy one here! (oh and we're 90% sure he's another lefty!!!) So maybe when he grows up, in between jumping off cliffs and out of airplanes, he'll be my little artist. ;)
Here he is with his feather headband he made for Thanksgiving. (and Simon with a crown he made here at home... they are so funny together these days!) He sat at the table and carefully chose every single feather and where to put it. He was SO proud it and wore it for two straight days.
So there's my monster update... which I got typed because Jonathan slept until the late hour of 6:50 this morning. LOL. That never happens. He's almost always up by 6 these days. (yawn)
Anyway, onward to Sunday and a Christmas photo and possibly a Santa visit... or maybe just laying around the house. We'll see where the day takes us. :)
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Germs. Ick.
Simon brought home some respiratory loveliness two weeks ago. Sore throat, headache, low-grade fever all of which finished off with a lovely, wet cough. He came home from school with it, missed the next day, (his first so far!) and was back the next day feeling fine. Kicked the cough in five days days or so. My little asthmatic sickly one has finally grown an immune system!
Jonathan fell next.. I think it was last Friday? Sore throat, which hurt him badly enough that he gagged himself and threw up all over me. (briefly panicked and saw Thanksgiving and whole-family stomach virus flash before my eyes until I realized what had actually happened) Low-grade fever for a day. Bounced back well enough that he never even missed a day of school over it. Then the cough kicked in... fine... figured it would work its way out like it did with Simon.
Somewhere in there, Ben complained of a sore throat one day, but never had any of the rest of it.
Non-event there.
Anyway, so it has been 8? 9 days? Jonathan is still hacking and it's still the same. Now he's all tired and cranky. No fever. Eating fine. Drinking fine. Sleeping all night. (except for one random night in there where he wasn't tired at all EVER) So I was trying to be nice and non alarmist and wait it out. But for the second day in a row now, he has taken his nap starting at 10:45. Cranky and hacking. We had to leave school this morning because he was just WIPED. He even asked to go home. Poor thing. :(
Guess we're all to the germ incubation center in the morning to have his chest listened to. Joy! Hope we do not pick up anything else while we are there!
Jonathan fell next.. I think it was last Friday? Sore throat, which hurt him badly enough that he gagged himself and threw up all over me. (briefly panicked and saw Thanksgiving and whole-family stomach virus flash before my eyes until I realized what had actually happened) Low-grade fever for a day. Bounced back well enough that he never even missed a day of school over it. Then the cough kicked in... fine... figured it would work its way out like it did with Simon.
Somewhere in there, Ben complained of a sore throat one day, but never had any of the rest of it.
Non-event there.
Anyway, so it has been 8? 9 days? Jonathan is still hacking and it's still the same. Now he's all tired and cranky. No fever. Eating fine. Drinking fine. Sleeping all night. (except for one random night in there where he wasn't tired at all EVER) So I was trying to be nice and non alarmist and wait it out. But for the second day in a row now, he has taken his nap starting at 10:45. Cranky and hacking. We had to leave school this morning because he was just WIPED. He even asked to go home. Poor thing. :(
Guess we're all to the germ incubation center in the morning to have his chest listened to. Joy! Hope we do not pick up anything else while we are there!
Jonathan is 27 Months Old...
Dear Jonathan,
Yesterday you turned 27 months old! Forgive me for missing it. It was a busy weekend and a busy week all around!
Not much to report this month, actually. Your words continue to grow by leaps and bounds. Miss Cindy says you are more or less caught up to where you should be. We are just working now helping you speak more clearly. (and frankly, I don't know a single two-year-old who speaks all that clearly... so, I'm happy to call you basically caught up) ;)
We're working with on OT this month too to develop some playtime ideas that will make you have to stop and think about what your body is doing before you throw yourself forward headfirst into things... this is pretty much how you go through life and I don't expect a whole lot to change. Basically you have the perfect storm of ZERO fear and not a whole lot of grace. But, the playtime ideas sounds like fun! So, onward!
This month, you've really started playing well with Simon and vice versa. You actually seek each other out for entertainment. We've come a long way from Simon not even wanting to acknowledge your existence to this. You really PLAY together now and he is practicing his patience when he teaches you things. It's been fun to watch this new and unexpected friendship blossom.
You can still throw a good tantrum for what appears to be no reason at all... but they are less frequent. So that's something.
You love school. Interestingly, I think your favorite part, aside from going outside or riding bikes in the big room, seems to be craft time. You LOVE all things glue and paint related and you also love cooking days! What you do NOT like so much, however, is getting your hands dirty, which sometimes makes things a little high maintenance during craft time. You'll glue or paint a little and then squeal with your hands up in the hair over the smallest speck of anything sticky or wet on them. I'm usually ready with a baby wipe and then off you go again all willy nilly with the paint and glue. You were VERY into the thanksgiving indian headband project, carefully deciding which color feathers to put on it and where. You wore it proudly for two solid days after that too. SO cute. I'm very excited for when we make the official Two and You glittery Christmas ornament. You spotted Simon's on the Christmas tree two days ago and keep pointing to it. I can't wait to see your face when you realize you get to make one too. :) You are going really enjoy the glitter part!!!
Speaking of Christmas, we put our tree up yesterday and I realized you are still not at the age to be able to resist touching it. You looked at us as if to say, "WOW! Thanks for the tree full of toys for me!!!" (sigh) It's going to be a long December. You do love it though and are mesmerized by all the little Disney and Fisher Price ornaments that light up or play music... your favorite is a Beaker (the muppet) that sings Ode to Joy when you press the button. You stand in front of the tree singing along with it, "Mee mee mee mee meee meee mee mee mee!!!" LOL!
You are such a fun and pleasant (if not still a bit challenging at times) kiddo.... my favorite part? You are still generous with hugs and kisses. :) I love your hugs and kisses. :)
Happy 27 months!
Love,
Mommy :)
Yesterday you turned 27 months old! Forgive me for missing it. It was a busy weekend and a busy week all around!
Not much to report this month, actually. Your words continue to grow by leaps and bounds. Miss Cindy says you are more or less caught up to where you should be. We are just working now helping you speak more clearly. (and frankly, I don't know a single two-year-old who speaks all that clearly... so, I'm happy to call you basically caught up) ;)
We're working with on OT this month too to develop some playtime ideas that will make you have to stop and think about what your body is doing before you throw yourself forward headfirst into things... this is pretty much how you go through life and I don't expect a whole lot to change. Basically you have the perfect storm of ZERO fear and not a whole lot of grace. But, the playtime ideas sounds like fun! So, onward!
This month, you've really started playing well with Simon and vice versa. You actually seek each other out for entertainment. We've come a long way from Simon not even wanting to acknowledge your existence to this. You really PLAY together now and he is practicing his patience when he teaches you things. It's been fun to watch this new and unexpected friendship blossom.
You can still throw a good tantrum for what appears to be no reason at all... but they are less frequent. So that's something.
You love school. Interestingly, I think your favorite part, aside from going outside or riding bikes in the big room, seems to be craft time. You LOVE all things glue and paint related and you also love cooking days! What you do NOT like so much, however, is getting your hands dirty, which sometimes makes things a little high maintenance during craft time. You'll glue or paint a little and then squeal with your hands up in the hair over the smallest speck of anything sticky or wet on them. I'm usually ready with a baby wipe and then off you go again all willy nilly with the paint and glue. You were VERY into the thanksgiving indian headband project, carefully deciding which color feathers to put on it and where. You wore it proudly for two solid days after that too. SO cute. I'm very excited for when we make the official Two and You glittery Christmas ornament. You spotted Simon's on the Christmas tree two days ago and keep pointing to it. I can't wait to see your face when you realize you get to make one too. :) You are going really enjoy the glitter part!!!
Speaking of Christmas, we put our tree up yesterday and I realized you are still not at the age to be able to resist touching it. You looked at us as if to say, "WOW! Thanks for the tree full of toys for me!!!" (sigh) It's going to be a long December. You do love it though and are mesmerized by all the little Disney and Fisher Price ornaments that light up or play music... your favorite is a Beaker (the muppet) that sings Ode to Joy when you press the button. You stand in front of the tree singing along with it, "Mee mee mee mee meee meee mee mee mee!!!" LOL!
You are such a fun and pleasant (if not still a bit challenging at times) kiddo.... my favorite part? You are still generous with hugs and kisses. :) I love your hugs and kisses. :)
Happy 27 months!
Love,
Mommy :)
Monday, November 26, 2012
Monday, November 19, 2012
Graff Family Lab Rats...
Just got an email that Simon has now qualified for a study at Johns Hopkins. LOL. So that's two out of three now. LOL! Not sure if we'll do it or not. Simon is the one of my three who would be weirded out by something like this. But, we'll talk it over and see.... ;)
"In this study we use a remote eye-tracker to investigate how children
understand questions. In order to investigate this, we'll present short
cartoon stories followed by a question about what happened in the story.
By looking at how your child answers the question in addition to his/her
eye movement patterns, we can see whether children comprehend questions in
the same way as adults do. This study will last about 20 minutes, and your
entire stay should last about 45 minutes."
"In this study we use a remote eye-tracker to investigate how children
understand questions. In order to investigate this, we'll present short
cartoon stories followed by a question about what happened in the story.
By looking at how your child answers the question in addition to his/her
eye movement patterns, we can see whether children comprehend questions in
the same way as adults do. This study will last about 20 minutes, and your
entire stay should last about 45 minutes."
Friday, November 16, 2012
Success!
The homemade laundry detergent is a success. I did throw a scoop of Oxy in with every load, but yeah, the clothes are as clean as they were with Tide. Winner! I did the cooked one btw... just had to melt the soap down. The whole process took about 15 minutes. I have enough to last me for what seems like forever. LOL.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Cool!
Ben just got recruited at Kennedy Krieger for a study on reading, processing speed, attention, and genetics. He gets a $25 Target gift card for an hour of his time to take a couple reading assessments and to give a swab of his saliva. Tom and I have to give a sample too. It sounds very, very cool! (especially since we are well aware that there is genetic component to the issues we all have around here... LOL!)
So excited! Ben probably won't be as excited initially, but when he gets the gift card he will be!
In other news, I mixed up my laundry detergent today. Laundry day is tomorrow, so I'll put it to the test!
Thanksgiving table is all set (thanks, Mom!). Just have to start cleaning a little and grocery shopping. Amusingly, after being rejected by a McCormick research study screening about Thanksgiving shopping, I got a phone call the other day that they wanted me. Of course, I couldn't do it because I'd already planned other things for the day I had told them I would be available. Bummer. That would have been $50 just to have people shadow me while I shopped!
I wonder if anyone else in our family will get recruited for a study soon? We seem to be on a roll. Jonathan actually has his name in for a bunch at Johns Hopkins that he qualified for because of his speech delay. Just waiting to hear ! LOL!
So excited! Ben probably won't be as excited initially, but when he gets the gift card he will be!
In other news, I mixed up my laundry detergent today. Laundry day is tomorrow, so I'll put it to the test!
Thanksgiving table is all set (thanks, Mom!). Just have to start cleaning a little and grocery shopping. Amusingly, after being rejected by a McCormick research study screening about Thanksgiving shopping, I got a phone call the other day that they wanted me. Of course, I couldn't do it because I'd already planned other things for the day I had told them I would be available. Bummer. That would have been $50 just to have people shadow me while I shopped!
I wonder if anyone else in our family will get recruited for a study soon? We seem to be on a roll. Jonathan actually has his name in for a bunch at Johns Hopkins that he qualified for because of his speech delay. Just waiting to hear ! LOL!
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Random....
* The ingredients for my laundry detergent came today. Hope to have a minute to mix it all up soon! Krystyna, I bought the Purex crystals to make a batch with those too. I like the idea of soft towels that smell good. ;)
* Simon is home sick. It's his first missed day of kindergarten.
He had complained that his head felt "weird" two days ago when he got home. I asked him if that meant it hurt, he said no, just "weird". Later that night, he asked for some Motrin because he said it hurt. When he woke up yesterday though, he seemed totally fine. I checked his temp just in case and sent him off to school. When I got to go in and observe for American Education week around 2p.m., he was a little out of it. He didn't raise his hand or even read along with the story they were doing. At center time, he was dazed and looked like he was going to fall asleep. The teacher and I decided something must be up, but he didn't feel warm. I offered to take him home but he said, "I just have a cold!" and the teacher said he was fine to stay. However, by the time I came for pickup at 4, he was tanking and QUICKLY. When we got home, he wanted to put jammies on and lay on the couch. I felt his head and he was on fire. *sigh*
Today it mostly seems like a head cold with a cough, and he stayed home, but he's still tired, so we'll see what tomorrow brings, I guess. :(
* Jonathan got into some cake yesterday while I was in the office scanning the boys' school photos.
* The school pictures came home yesterday and were BAD, so bad, so. very. bad. I'm not even posting them here because I'm having them retaken. I just don't understand how those photographers manage to make them SO very bad. All you have to say to Simon is "Smile!" and his eyes get big and his smile lights up his face. His photo looked like he was wincing in pain. Ben's was just bad... I can almost forgive that though because he's a hard kid to take a picture of... he just doesn't smile naturally for photos. So between that and Lifetouch's awkward posing and lack of hair combing, yeah, his is bad too.
I think that's all for now... I'm a little overwhelmed at the moment. The holidays are bearing down on us all already (seriously?!) and I am hosting Thanksgiving this year, which I swore I wouldn't do until I absolutely had to. Turns out, that came sooner than later. So yeah... busy!
* Simon is home sick. It's his first missed day of kindergarten.
He had complained that his head felt "weird" two days ago when he got home. I asked him if that meant it hurt, he said no, just "weird". Later that night, he asked for some Motrin because he said it hurt. When he woke up yesterday though, he seemed totally fine. I checked his temp just in case and sent him off to school. When I got to go in and observe for American Education week around 2p.m., he was a little out of it. He didn't raise his hand or even read along with the story they were doing. At center time, he was dazed and looked like he was going to fall asleep. The teacher and I decided something must be up, but he didn't feel warm. I offered to take him home but he said, "I just have a cold!" and the teacher said he was fine to stay. However, by the time I came for pickup at 4, he was tanking and QUICKLY. When we got home, he wanted to put jammies on and lay on the couch. I felt his head and he was on fire. *sigh*
Today it mostly seems like a head cold with a cough, and he stayed home, but he's still tired, so we'll see what tomorrow brings, I guess. :(
* Jonathan got into some cake yesterday while I was in the office scanning the boys' school photos.
* The school pictures came home yesterday and were BAD, so bad, so. very. bad. I'm not even posting them here because I'm having them retaken. I just don't understand how those photographers manage to make them SO very bad. All you have to say to Simon is "Smile!" and his eyes get big and his smile lights up his face. His photo looked like he was wincing in pain. Ben's was just bad... I can almost forgive that though because he's a hard kid to take a picture of... he just doesn't smile naturally for photos. So between that and Lifetouch's awkward posing and lack of hair combing, yeah, his is bad too.
I think that's all for now... I'm a little overwhelmed at the moment. The holidays are bearing down on us all already (seriously?!) and I am hosting Thanksgiving this year, which I swore I wouldn't do until I absolutely had to. Turns out, that came sooner than later. So yeah... busy!
Monday, November 12, 2012
Experimental Erin Strikes Again...
I watched a documentary yesterday called Chemerical about all the chemicals that are in the things we use to clean our houses. Granted, it was a touch leftist/crunchy and I can't get on board with some of it. (sorry, I like my shampoo and lotions!) But the cleaners stuff made a LOT of sense and I am one who is guilty of using every fancy cleaner under the sun. The air in my house is probably crazy toxic. LOL. So I got a bug to experiment...
I thought I'd start small, one thing at a time. So I got the ingredients to make my own laundry detergent. This one is a no brainer for me because I have at least one kid with horribly sensitive skin, one who has occasional sensitive skin and one for whom the verdict is still out, but genes are, frankly, not on his side.
Anyway, it looks easy. I found all the ingredients on Amazon... and I already had the Borax anyway.
I went to Safeway to see if they had any of it and all they have is Borax.
Of all the things the family in the documentary tried, this was, by far, the most quickly accepted and adopted and, apparently, effective. (That's is the issue I am going to have... if a natural alternative doesn't seem to get things as clean, I'm going to have a hard time adopting it 100%.)
After this, I might try the wood floor cleaner. I use Mr. Clean on my floors... it smells great, but who knows what's in it. And my kids and the cat spend a lot of time on the floor. So that would be another good one to start with.
We'll see... I'm so ADD with this kind of thing. There was a statistic in the documentary that struck me though.... stay at home moms are 54% more likely to develop cancer than moms who work outside the home. That's kind of scary.
Anyway, stay tuned... ;)
I thought I'd start small, one thing at a time. So I got the ingredients to make my own laundry detergent. This one is a no brainer for me because I have at least one kid with horribly sensitive skin, one who has occasional sensitive skin and one for whom the verdict is still out, but genes are, frankly, not on his side.
Anyway, it looks easy. I found all the ingredients on Amazon... and I already had the Borax anyway.
I went to Safeway to see if they had any of it and all they have is Borax.
Of all the things the family in the documentary tried, this was, by far, the most quickly accepted and adopted and, apparently, effective. (That's is the issue I am going to have... if a natural alternative doesn't seem to get things as clean, I'm going to have a hard time adopting it 100%.)
After this, I might try the wood floor cleaner. I use Mr. Clean on my floors... it smells great, but who knows what's in it. And my kids and the cat spend a lot of time on the floor. So that would be another good one to start with.
We'll see... I'm so ADD with this kind of thing. There was a statistic in the documentary that struck me though.... stay at home moms are 54% more likely to develop cancer than moms who work outside the home. That's kind of scary.
Anyway, stay tuned... ;)
Tuesday, November 06, 2012
My Tax Dollars at Work...
Jonathan's speech teacher has wanted to bring in an occupational therapist to look at him for months now, claiming he has low tone, a weak core, he doesn't always protect himself when he falls and he lacks the motor planning to be able to stop himself when he runs.
If he were not already working with Cindy, I honestly never would have done anything about this because I never would have known. It's really subtle and until you know what to look for, you really wouldn't notice. Yes, I had my doubts... but I've started to see what she means.
So the OT came out yesterday to join us for Jonathan's regular speech session. Her name is Joanne. She's really sweet and Jonathan took to her right away too, which is always nice.
It wasn't more than a couple minutes before she saw all the things Cindy has observed and explained them to me in further detail and what we can do to work with him. She said he's interesting because all of his issues are easy to miss because he has such great gross motor skills and is such an adept climber. But when you look closely, he'll do things like still support himself with one hand when he is playing on the floor, or fall over when pushed gently instead of tensing up his middle to stay upright.
Interesting stuff. Sooooo, she'll be joining us for school in a couple weeks to work with him on the playground one day. Fun!
We have her enlisted for six sessions total to work with him and give us strategies for things we can do when we play with him to strengthen his core and teach him how to play less impulsively (always assuming someone will be there to catch him) and more safely.
Anyway, so she was working on her paperwork and getting ready to leave when Jonathan wandered off and picked up my phone. He pulled up Gangnam Style on YouTube and started dancing. Now, I haven't gotten this on video yet because he always quits on me, but he dances every bit as well as Simon. And it's not just that song either. He knows the choreography so all his favorite songs on the Wii game Just Dance. It's very, VERY funny. So he was doing this -- lasso-ing, galloping... all completely in rhythm. She OT put her pen down, stopped what she was doing and just watched. "Does he do this all the time? This is amazing!"
Her biggest observation was that some of the developmental motor milestones he doesn't seem like he has hit under normal circumstances (doing separate things with his hands was one.... getting both sides of the brain working together), he DOES while he's dancing.
She told me I should see if I could find a dance class that would take him... and to let him play the Wii Dance game lots because it's really good for the issues he has.
Once again, music is the thing that is the way to get him to progress.... I have to think this is going to play into his future somehow. LOL!
If he were not already working with Cindy, I honestly never would have done anything about this because I never would have known. It's really subtle and until you know what to look for, you really wouldn't notice. Yes, I had my doubts... but I've started to see what she means.
So the OT came out yesterday to join us for Jonathan's regular speech session. Her name is Joanne. She's really sweet and Jonathan took to her right away too, which is always nice.
It wasn't more than a couple minutes before she saw all the things Cindy has observed and explained them to me in further detail and what we can do to work with him. She said he's interesting because all of his issues are easy to miss because he has such great gross motor skills and is such an adept climber. But when you look closely, he'll do things like still support himself with one hand when he is playing on the floor, or fall over when pushed gently instead of tensing up his middle to stay upright.
Interesting stuff. Sooooo, she'll be joining us for school in a couple weeks to work with him on the playground one day. Fun!
We have her enlisted for six sessions total to work with him and give us strategies for things we can do when we play with him to strengthen his core and teach him how to play less impulsively (always assuming someone will be there to catch him) and more safely.
Anyway, so she was working on her paperwork and getting ready to leave when Jonathan wandered off and picked up my phone. He pulled up Gangnam Style on YouTube and started dancing. Now, I haven't gotten this on video yet because he always quits on me, but he dances every bit as well as Simon. And it's not just that song either. He knows the choreography so all his favorite songs on the Wii game Just Dance. It's very, VERY funny. So he was doing this -- lasso-ing, galloping... all completely in rhythm. She OT put her pen down, stopped what she was doing and just watched. "Does he do this all the time? This is amazing!"
Her biggest observation was that some of the developmental motor milestones he doesn't seem like he has hit under normal circumstances (doing separate things with his hands was one.... getting both sides of the brain working together), he DOES while he's dancing.
She told me I should see if I could find a dance class that would take him... and to let him play the Wii Dance game lots because it's really good for the issues he has.
Once again, music is the thing that is the way to get him to progress.... I have to think this is going to play into his future somehow. LOL!
Friday, November 02, 2012
Half Day....
Today is a weird day.
I'm not feeling fantastically wonderful... annoying cold thing that has left me more tired than anything else... otherwise just a little sniffly. But I don't have time for tired and more than I have time for being sick.
Jonathan had school, which is normal. There were only three kids in his class though because everyone else was out sick. So, it was quiet, but nice. He had a great day and enjoyed every bit of it.
Usually, right after school, he goes right home for a nap, but the big boys got out at 12:50 today, so we went over to the bagel shop and grabbed a quick bit to eat then headed over to get Ben and Simon.
The elementary school was a madhouse today. My head was pounding from lack of coffee, Jonathan was tired, kids were everywhere, parents who don't usually pick up were also everywhere. Simon brought home a painted pumpkin, in addition to all of his usual stuff, so I got to lug that to the car along with Jonathan.
Home now, thank goodness. Jonathan went down happily for his nap and I can finally take a motrin and some DayQuil. I have so much to do and no energy with which to do it.
Thank goodness it's Friday!
I'm not feeling fantastically wonderful... annoying cold thing that has left me more tired than anything else... otherwise just a little sniffly. But I don't have time for tired and more than I have time for being sick.
Jonathan had school, which is normal. There were only three kids in his class though because everyone else was out sick. So, it was quiet, but nice. He had a great day and enjoyed every bit of it.
Usually, right after school, he goes right home for a nap, but the big boys got out at 12:50 today, so we went over to the bagel shop and grabbed a quick bit to eat then headed over to get Ben and Simon.
The elementary school was a madhouse today. My head was pounding from lack of coffee, Jonathan was tired, kids were everywhere, parents who don't usually pick up were also everywhere. Simon brought home a painted pumpkin, in addition to all of his usual stuff, so I got to lug that to the car along with Jonathan.
Home now, thank goodness. Jonathan went down happily for his nap and I can finally take a motrin and some DayQuil. I have so much to do and no energy with which to do it.
Thank goodness it's Friday!
Thursday, November 01, 2012
THis, This, This, This, and This...
So, since last I updated, we weathered a hurricane and didn't lose our power. (yay!)
The kids were off for two days from school but life has now gone back to its regularly scheduled programming. Well, except for the fact that they have a half day on Friday because it's the end of the marking period, and then Monday and Tuesday off for teacher work day and then the election. Serenity now!
We had the pleasure of hurricane house guests Uncle Taylor, Aunt Sarah and cousin Audim. They lose power at the drop of a hat so preemptively took refuge at our house at the last minute. It was nice to have company for those long two days!
This is a photo of our Davey Jones, who has, in recent months, become a part-time outdoor cat. He was NOT happy about having to stay inside. He sat for hours just gazing sadly out of the kitchen window.
This is a picture of my husband and his brother, who, thanks to the magic of telecommuting, were able to work from here during the two days their downtown office was closed. I sort of wish this was a permanent situation! (note, I said "sort of". I told Tom if this ever did become a possibility, he needed to move the office somewhere else in the house where the kids would forget he was here and he also needs his own small kitchen set-up so he would stay out from under my feet all day with his tea-making and lunching and just random wandering)
This is how Simon occupied himself for a good chunk of our first day stuck inside. He made the box jail from Toy Story. What you can't see is that on the other side of this box, he wrote "Toe Store". I was like, "Toe Store?" and he said, "TOY STORY! I spelled it myself!" LOL.
THere was a Halloween parade at the elementary school yesterday. Simon went as Darth Vader. So did two of his classmates. Here he is with one of them. LOL.
Ben went as random undead guy....
Then, on Halloween night, Simon switched it up and went with the regular ninja, Ben went with the x-ray skeleton and Jonathan went as the purple dragon (which Ben wore when he was either 2 or 3, I can't remember)
The kids were off for two days from school but life has now gone back to its regularly scheduled programming. Well, except for the fact that they have a half day on Friday because it's the end of the marking period, and then Monday and Tuesday off for teacher work day and then the election. Serenity now!
We had the pleasure of hurricane house guests Uncle Taylor, Aunt Sarah and cousin Audim. They lose power at the drop of a hat so preemptively took refuge at our house at the last minute. It was nice to have company for those long two days!
This is a photo of our Davey Jones, who has, in recent months, become a part-time outdoor cat. He was NOT happy about having to stay inside. He sat for hours just gazing sadly out of the kitchen window.
This is a picture of my husband and his brother, who, thanks to the magic of telecommuting, were able to work from here during the two days their downtown office was closed. I sort of wish this was a permanent situation! (note, I said "sort of". I told Tom if this ever did become a possibility, he needed to move the office somewhere else in the house where the kids would forget he was here and he also needs his own small kitchen set-up so he would stay out from under my feet all day with his tea-making and lunching and just random wandering)
This is how Simon occupied himself for a good chunk of our first day stuck inside. He made the box jail from Toy Story. What you can't see is that on the other side of this box, he wrote "Toe Store". I was like, "Toe Store?" and he said, "TOY STORY! I spelled it myself!" LOL.
Jonathan was happy daddy's Ipad was home. He found himself a box and got comfortable.
Ben got addicted to Minecraft. We call it a "gateway" game... you know, to Civilization and other such nerdiness. Actually quite thrilled about this development! Beats Pokemon hands down!
Prior to all the weather insanity, we had trick or treating at the local shopping center. THis was the one and only time Simon wore his homemade Ninjago costume. He was Darth Vader at school and a regular ninja on Halloween. Sigh. Here he is with his buddy Quinn. The other picture is the boys with their cousins Alek and Anastasia who met us there to trick or treat!
Simon had his last soccer game of the season, danced on the field and got his first participation trophy. Mommy is glad soccer season is over. It was a bit much overlapping with every other Saturday swimming lessons for Ben at the same time and Jonathan's naptime. Yikes. Must plan that better next year.
There was THIS.
And then THIS.
To explain, the school had a rock concert for the kids last Friday to wrap up their "Being Drug Free ROCKS" week. The kids were supposed to dress like rock stars. Simon went as the guy from the Gangnam Style YouTube video. This was all his idea. Like, completely. All I helped with was spraying his hair black. He performed this for me before leaving for school that morning. Apparently he also got up on stage and opened the rock concert for the whole school with this routine (sans the song). This kid is just hilarious. He just keeps us laughing ALL the time.
Ben got a haircut by someone new. (We finally got around to finding a hair place near our house) It's super short now and we all love it!
Ben went as random undead guy....
Then, on Halloween night, Simon switched it up and went with the regular ninja, Ben went with the x-ray skeleton and Jonathan went as the purple dragon (which Ben wore when he was either 2 or 3, I can't remember)
It only took one house for Jonathan to get the idea. He ran up to every house after that right behind the big boys and said "Tick Teat" and "Dankoo" and then brought me the candy and said things like "Open. Dis one. Pwease? Candy. More. Again!" TOO funny. Love his newfound words. :)
And that about sums up the last few days... :) Whew!
I'm tired!
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Batten Down the Hatches!
So.... we are in hunkered down mode waiting for Hurricane Sandy to blow through. The boys are already off school for tomorrow and I'm hoping Tom's office follows suit. They've already sent out a text message putting everyone on alert. And the city is shutting down some of the roads around the office this evening. So I'm optimistic.
We have water. We have flashlights. We have our gas stove and lots of canned soup. LOL. Not sure what else we can do except hang around and wait.
One of the teachers at the kids' school has already speculated that school is going to be closed for several days. I'm still in wishful thinking mode that everything returns to normal by Wednesday. I do so love my routine.
Waiting.... waiting... waiting.
We have water. We have flashlights. We have our gas stove and lots of canned soup. LOL. Not sure what else we can do except hang around and wait.
One of the teachers at the kids' school has already speculated that school is going to be closed for several days. I'm still in wishful thinking mode that everything returns to normal by Wednesday. I do so love my routine.
Waiting.... waiting... waiting.
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Jonathan is 26 Months Old...
Dear Jonathan,
You are now 26 months old!
About six months ago, when you started speech and weren't talking much (at all?), I reconnected with an old friend from Ben's preschool class who now has a kiddo six months older than you. He had just started speech too. She told me your friend Brady had a handful of words but was just starting to really get it and have that verbal explosion all of us moms wait and wait for. I found it unfathomable that you might be there in six months... and yet, here, at 26 months you are.
You TALK now. You talk a LOT. You say anything and everything and are stringing words together. Verbs and adjectives! It's wonderful!
You are just now starting to demonstrate this for people other than daddy and me and Ms. Cindy. At school on Friday, Miss Sally was delighted when you answered "yes!" when she asked you a question. You've also started singing and sometimes calling out answers during story time. So sweet and fun.
You have names for all of us. "Mom" "Daddy" "Ben" "Iam" (Simon), and "Kitty". You can name all of your cousins and aunts and uncles and grandparents. YAY! We exist to you!
You've picked up your letters, numbers, colors, shapes and animal sounds and are also starting to count, which is super cute because you skip all kinds of numbers... "one, two, FOUR".
You still love music and you love to dance. You study dance moves on YouTube videos and recreate them. Your favorites right now are "Eye of the Tiger", "Gangnam Style" and (I'm ashamed of this) "Sexy and I Know It". Songs you love to sing are mostly your preschool songs -- Wheels on the Bus, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Five Little Pumpkins...." You love them all. :)
You can still throw a tantrum with the best of them and little things can set you off... when you don't want to do something, you act like you are VERY tired and just lay on the floor and whine and ask for "Inky" (Binky) This happens a lot at school. LOL. Usually getting to paint or go outside though perks you up.
My favorite new skill this month, other than the talking, is that you have learned to safely go down stairs. Hallejuah! You also spend time in the basement playroom unsupervised, which means you are happy because you are doing what you want to do and I get to make dinner. It's win win. :)
You don't like to sit still and watch tv or movies, which is good I guess, because you get plenty of screen time playing on YouTube and the PBS website. But you do like your Curious George when you get up in the morning.
Outside, you love to ride your little purple bike, write with sidewalk chalk and kick balls all over the yard. You still know no fear, and I'm sure you never will.
If that much can happen in six months, I'm excited to see what changes the next half year brings. Can't wait!
Love,
Mommy
You are now 26 months old!
About six months ago, when you started speech and weren't talking much (at all?), I reconnected with an old friend from Ben's preschool class who now has a kiddo six months older than you. He had just started speech too. She told me your friend Brady had a handful of words but was just starting to really get it and have that verbal explosion all of us moms wait and wait for. I found it unfathomable that you might be there in six months... and yet, here, at 26 months you are.
You TALK now. You talk a LOT. You say anything and everything and are stringing words together. Verbs and adjectives! It's wonderful!
You are just now starting to demonstrate this for people other than daddy and me and Ms. Cindy. At school on Friday, Miss Sally was delighted when you answered "yes!" when she asked you a question. You've also started singing and sometimes calling out answers during story time. So sweet and fun.
You have names for all of us. "Mom" "Daddy" "Ben" "Iam" (Simon), and "Kitty". You can name all of your cousins and aunts and uncles and grandparents. YAY! We exist to you!
You've picked up your letters, numbers, colors, shapes and animal sounds and are also starting to count, which is super cute because you skip all kinds of numbers... "one, two, FOUR".
You still love music and you love to dance. You study dance moves on YouTube videos and recreate them. Your favorites right now are "Eye of the Tiger", "Gangnam Style" and (I'm ashamed of this) "Sexy and I Know It". Songs you love to sing are mostly your preschool songs -- Wheels on the Bus, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Five Little Pumpkins...." You love them all. :)
You can still throw a tantrum with the best of them and little things can set you off... when you don't want to do something, you act like you are VERY tired and just lay on the floor and whine and ask for "Inky" (Binky) This happens a lot at school. LOL. Usually getting to paint or go outside though perks you up.
My favorite new skill this month, other than the talking, is that you have learned to safely go down stairs. Hallejuah! You also spend time in the basement playroom unsupervised, which means you are happy because you are doing what you want to do and I get to make dinner. It's win win. :)
You don't like to sit still and watch tv or movies, which is good I guess, because you get plenty of screen time playing on YouTube and the PBS website. But you do like your Curious George when you get up in the morning.
Outside, you love to ride your little purple bike, write with sidewalk chalk and kick balls all over the yard. You still know no fear, and I'm sure you never will.
If that much can happen in six months, I'm excited to see what changes the next half year brings. Can't wait!
Love,
Mommy
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Pleasantly Surprised....
The speech pathologist paid Jonathan her monthly visit this afternoon. I had been dreading this because the LAST time she came, he was NOT at all cooperative. He tried to dive out of his highchair and run away... there was tons of screaming and lots of tears. Ultimately, she worked with him on the kitchen floor with his regular teacher holding him. That day, he used a handful of words with her... I think "pop" "bubble", "more" and "my turn", if I remember correctly.
I felt like the SLP was just NOT as forceful as she needed to be. Our regular teacher takes charge and Jonathan knows now that she ALWAYS wins. The SLP is a little bit timid... Jonathan steamrolls over timid and he can smell it a mile away like a dog smells fear.
Anyway, so I had my concerns about how today would go and I was prepared to play the role of our regular teacher and keep things on track. As it turned out though, I didn't really need to.
I waved her into the house from the front door. Jonathan and I were already playing on the family room floor. This is a trick we have discovered works for the regular weekly visits from the other teacher. Something about not having the transition of getting up to answer the door and then start playing seems to help. Anyway, so he actually smiled at her and shared what he was coloring. Then she jumped into her routines with him -- a dog puppet who eats various kinds of foods he has to name, a couple turn-taking games, some wind-up toys he had to command to do things and a few other activities. He was happy and cooperative the ENTIRE time.
He used words and phrases and asked for things on his own. He did everything she said to do.
She looked at me at one point and said, "Wow. He's like a different kid!"
I know, this is what WE keep saying too! Amazing....
Seriously a-Freaking-MAZING. The combination of weekly visits plus TIME has made a world of difference.
Today he even started using even longer phrases than before... "Kitty, come back here! Pet kitty!!!" "Daddy is HOME. Hi, Daddy!" "Mom move. Want computer!"
It's all very exciting! :) :)
I felt like the SLP was just NOT as forceful as she needed to be. Our regular teacher takes charge and Jonathan knows now that she ALWAYS wins. The SLP is a little bit timid... Jonathan steamrolls over timid and he can smell it a mile away like a dog smells fear.
Anyway, so I had my concerns about how today would go and I was prepared to play the role of our regular teacher and keep things on track. As it turned out though, I didn't really need to.
I waved her into the house from the front door. Jonathan and I were already playing on the family room floor. This is a trick we have discovered works for the regular weekly visits from the other teacher. Something about not having the transition of getting up to answer the door and then start playing seems to help. Anyway, so he actually smiled at her and shared what he was coloring. Then she jumped into her routines with him -- a dog puppet who eats various kinds of foods he has to name, a couple turn-taking games, some wind-up toys he had to command to do things and a few other activities. He was happy and cooperative the ENTIRE time.
He used words and phrases and asked for things on his own. He did everything she said to do.
She looked at me at one point and said, "Wow. He's like a different kid!"
I know, this is what WE keep saying too! Amazing....
Seriously a-Freaking-MAZING. The combination of weekly visits plus TIME has made a world of difference.
Today he even started using even longer phrases than before... "Kitty, come back here! Pet kitty!!!" "Daddy is HOME. Hi, Daddy!" "Mom move. Want computer!"
It's all very exciting! :) :)
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
An Assortment of School Updates....
SO... the first quarter is drawing to a close.
My first bit of exciting news (and I hope I don't jinx it) -- the quarter ends next Friday and they have perfect attendance so far! I'm not sure that has ever happened. :)
On to Simon -- the "I want to replicate everything from school at home" phase has kicked in. It's funny, it took exactly the same amount of time as it did with Ben. (I have pictures of him doing all the same things from Thanksgiving of his kindergarten year) Last weekend, Simon was writing months and dates on little scraps of paper and shoving them into a pocket chart we have to create a calendar like at school. Then he kept asking us to sit down so he could tell us the date. LOL. Yesterday, after we went over his sight words, he wanted to go off and write them himself so he could then test ME. HA!
He's working really hard on his handwriting, but it still doesn't come easily. The teacher told me she referred him (along with a bunch of other kids, apparently) to the school OT just to see if she could help him. That's awesome and wonderful because heck yeah, extra help and attention in a crazy busy school? Yes, please! But I laughed when she told me, replying, "Really? I hadn't even really given his handwriting a second thought... probably because my older one just NOW has somewhat legible handwriting." LOL! All good though. He has been struggling with making some letters backwards and replicating letters he has just traced. (both issues Ben had in kindergarten too). Add to that, he's left-handed and is also writing entire words backwards -- see below. (I did this when I was little too... lefties unite!) ;)
He is doing a great job learning sight words and now recognizing them in books. :) I'm proud of him and so happy he loves school.
He's just Mr. Happy in general. I think he truly might be the happiest, most easy-going child I know right now. Makes the rough patch we hit between 2-1/2 and 4-1/2 seem like a distant memory. Whew. :)
Oh, and he apparently thinks his cousin is his sister... so, there's that... LOL!
Ben.
Ben is not always so positive about school, but I do know deep down he likes it most of the time. Organization is still not so great, but his teachers are helping a ton.
He brought home a 91% on a pretty tough math test yesterday. We gushed all over it and hung it on the fridge, especially because a couple weeks ago, he brought home a math test with a very, VERY low B, which would have been fine, but all the problems he missed were because he forgot to do them. D'oh. So we made it pretty clear that was completely unacceptable. It's one thing to get things wrong because you don't understand... but to just be rushing so much that you forget to do entire problems? NOT COOL.
He also brought this writing assignment home yesterday which I was pretty impressed by! (although I later found out he didn't follow the directions AT ALL... sigh)
It's great writing though, don't you think? This was also good to see because the last few writing things he has brought home have been a little disjointed and nonsensical. One was a video that had come from a writing assignment. It truly made NO sense whatsoever. When I asked him about it, he said he had actually written much more, but ran out of time to type it all. Ah-ha! Anyway, this was a pleasant surprise!
All in all, a good year so far. :o) Conferences are coming up and should be interesting and enlightening.... ;)
On to Simon -- the "I want to replicate everything from school at home" phase has kicked in. It's funny, it took exactly the same amount of time as it did with Ben. (I have pictures of him doing all the same things from Thanksgiving of his kindergarten year) Last weekend, Simon was writing months and dates on little scraps of paper and shoving them into a pocket chart we have to create a calendar like at school. Then he kept asking us to sit down so he could tell us the date. LOL. Yesterday, after we went over his sight words, he wanted to go off and write them himself so he could then test ME. HA!
He's just Mr. Happy in general. I think he truly might be the happiest, most easy-going child I know right now. Makes the rough patch we hit between 2-1/2 and 4-1/2 seem like a distant memory. Whew. :)
Oh, and he apparently thinks his cousin is his sister... so, there's that... LOL!
Ben.
Ben is not always so positive about school, but I do know deep down he likes it most of the time. Organization is still not so great, but his teachers are helping a ton.
He brought home a 91% on a pretty tough math test yesterday. We gushed all over it and hung it on the fridge, especially because a couple weeks ago, he brought home a math test with a very, VERY low B, which would have been fine, but all the problems he missed were because he forgot to do them. D'oh. So we made it pretty clear that was completely unacceptable. It's one thing to get things wrong because you don't understand... but to just be rushing so much that you forget to do entire problems? NOT COOL.
He also brought this writing assignment home yesterday which I was pretty impressed by! (although I later found out he didn't follow the directions AT ALL... sigh)
It's great writing though, don't you think? This was also good to see because the last few writing things he has brought home have been a little disjointed and nonsensical. One was a video that had come from a writing assignment. It truly made NO sense whatsoever. When I asked him about it, he said he had actually written much more, but ran out of time to type it all. Ah-ha! Anyway, this was a pleasant surprise!
All in all, a good year so far. :o) Conferences are coming up and should be interesting and enlightening.... ;)
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Friday, October 19, 2012
P-U-R-P-L-E....
I was vaguely aware of Simon's class learning a purple song a couple weeks ago to sing on their school's Live News show that airs on Fridays because the teacher asked us to make sure they all wore purple that day. Had never heard the song though ... until this afternoon when Simon spontaneously belted it out in the driveway. LOL.
Numbers Man...
Simon is very into writing his numbers right now. (I'm assuming numbers were the project last week at school, in addition to the letters F,G, and H. LOL. ) Anyway, his favorite thing is to write one number HUGE on a sheet of paper. He must have gone through 40 sheets of paper yesterday morning, all of which he stuffed into his kindergarten folder to take to school and give out to friends. He told me he specifically created several of them for his teacher to use when she says, "1,2,3 eyes on me!" He also drew a set of eyes.
I briefly considered emailing the teacher to let her know he was doing this so she didn't wonder why he came to school with a folder stuffed full of paper.
Then I remembered, this is Simon, not Ben.... he won't be shy about it.
I briefly considered emailing the teacher to let her know he was doing this so she didn't wonder why he came to school with a folder stuffed full of paper.
Then I remembered, this is Simon, not Ben.... he won't be shy about it.
When she came over to me at pickup time, she informed me that Simon had "let her" use his numbers during "1,2,3" AND, bonus, he told her "he would allow her" (LOL!) to keep the number 2 and the eyes.
Too funny. I am counting down the days to American Education week... can't wait to see that child in action at school. He's a hoot!
Too funny. I am counting down the days to American Education week... can't wait to see that child in action at school. He's a hoot!
Sunday, October 14, 2012
A Plethora of Updates....
J had such a good day at school on Friday. Participated in everything and only went out of the room once to go find his binky. LOL. He was sneaky about it too and tricked Miss Sally! He told her he wanted to go paint and she said she'd take him. When she opened the door, he immediately ran right instead of left and grabbed it from my bag outside. She REALLY wants me to start leaving it in the car... thinking I'll try next Friday.
The playground is one of his favorite parts of school, and understandably. :) He watches the pictures on the door and keeps checking to see if it's outside time yet. As soon as Miss Sally closes the book after reading time, he leaps into action and takes off toward the door. After that, it's a beeline to the playground.
In other news, Simon shocked the heck out of me Friday afternoon. He came home from school talking about a video about the 100th day they watched. (though I think the actual 100th day is a ways away?) Anyway, so he was obsessed with 100s. He disappeared into the family room with paper and crayons. At one point, he was trying to stretch spell the word "Learning", which ultimately came out "LRN", so I told him that was awesome (first time he's really tried to spell anything on his own at home, I think!) and then showed him how to spell it correctly underneath, the way the teachers do. He then insisted on writing it out correctly himself. I went back into the kitchen. A few minutes later, he set this up on the ledge in the kitchen.
Okay, so first off... This is bad, but I really didn't know he could write his numbers. We have never worked on that and they haven't gotten that far in class, from what I've seen in the papers that come home. (I also like the mirror writing for the 200 one... my little lefty... so cute) ;)
Secondly, I also was not aware he could add. He's never had any interest in math, at least not that he's made us aware of.... but apparently he's absorbed a thing or two. I was SHOCKED and pleasantly surprised. Though he's compliant, happily does his homework and enjoys kindergarten, I wasn't really sure that this one had embraced learning yet, honestly... that'll teach me! LOL! I was also amused to see that ge later added a page that said "Maf". Hee. ;) (it's not pictured)
Next topic -- Halloween....
This is the most unprepared I have ever been. My kids forced my hand though with their constant mind changing every year. Ben finally settled on "some kind of skeleton", so I picked up a couple options ... one at the Goodwill ($5!), and another at Target. He opted for the Target one because the mask has glowing red eyes. (sigh) He has entered "big kid costume" land and I'm sad. His costume this year had to be scary and evil and gross. Bleh... I did NOT, however, purchase the scythe to go with it... just couldn't do it.
Simon wanted to be a Ninjago guy. This costume doesn't exist for purchase. Go ahead, do a Google search. I'll wait. There are a handful, but they are all on Ebay for a ridiculous amount of money. There are also some regular ninja costumes billing themselves as Ninjago. Simon is WAY into authenticity and would never go for that. Oh, but wait... they wouldn't do anyway because Simon wants to ACTUALLY look like a Lego.
D'oh.
Thank GOODness for the internet.
I give you, the beginnings of Lego Ninjago Cole. We have a lot of work to do still... but Simon is pleased thusfar. I'm thinking I need to cover the torso with posterboard because the black spray paint failed to cover the Home Depot Logo. Probably should have primed first. Ah well, live and learn. So, it's back out for supplies later. We still have to embellish the front with ropes and Ninjago Cole's icon thingie, plus figure out the mask, and maybe shoe covers. But, so far, so good...
What's Ben been up to? Eh. Big kid stuff, mostly. Complaining about school. Playing DS. Kicking Simon out of his room. Drawing Pokemon maps. LOL. I really do owe the blog some good new pictures of him. I think it's been awhile. ;) He's my hardest to photograph, by a longshot... even with Jonathan, who never stops moving.
We are headed to Tom's company's "Pumpkin Fest" this afternoon, so hoping to get some nice fall pics. :)
And that's all that's been going on around here. I never thought I'd be this busy! My days fly by lately... it's kind of nice... but then again, it's eating into my blog and photo obsession time. LOL!
The playground is one of his favorite parts of school, and understandably. :) He watches the pictures on the door and keeps checking to see if it's outside time yet. As soon as Miss Sally closes the book after reading time, he leaps into action and takes off toward the door. After that, it's a beeline to the playground.
He immediately heads to the wooden house to play for awhile, circles around to some of the climby stuff and slides, the firetruck, a few turns on the circle bikes and then.... the SWINGS. Ohhhhh the swings. He's too little to stay on by himself, so I have to hold him the whole time and run forward and backward to make him "swing" but BOY does he love it. He says, "Fass?" for fast and truly, can not go high enough or fast enough. Yep. Disney's Tower of Terror is definitely in his future. ;)
Sometimes he'll still sit on my lap to swing and I LOVE that. But now that he has discovered sitting on the swing on his own, he won't do that much anymore. :(
In other news, Simon shocked the heck out of me Friday afternoon. He came home from school talking about a video about the 100th day they watched. (though I think the actual 100th day is a ways away?) Anyway, so he was obsessed with 100s. He disappeared into the family room with paper and crayons. At one point, he was trying to stretch spell the word "Learning", which ultimately came out "LRN", so I told him that was awesome (first time he's really tried to spell anything on his own at home, I think!) and then showed him how to spell it correctly underneath, the way the teachers do. He then insisted on writing it out correctly himself. I went back into the kitchen. A few minutes later, he set this up on the ledge in the kitchen.
Okay, so first off... This is bad, but I really didn't know he could write his numbers. We have never worked on that and they haven't gotten that far in class, from what I've seen in the papers that come home. (I also like the mirror writing for the 200 one... my little lefty... so cute) ;)
Secondly, I also was not aware he could add. He's never had any interest in math, at least not that he's made us aware of.... but apparently he's absorbed a thing or two. I was SHOCKED and pleasantly surprised. Though he's compliant, happily does his homework and enjoys kindergarten, I wasn't really sure that this one had embraced learning yet, honestly... that'll teach me! LOL! I was also amused to see that ge later added a page that said "Maf". Hee. ;) (it's not pictured)
Next topic -- Halloween....
This is the most unprepared I have ever been. My kids forced my hand though with their constant mind changing every year. Ben finally settled on "some kind of skeleton", so I picked up a couple options ... one at the Goodwill ($5!), and another at Target. He opted for the Target one because the mask has glowing red eyes. (sigh) He has entered "big kid costume" land and I'm sad. His costume this year had to be scary and evil and gross. Bleh... I did NOT, however, purchase the scythe to go with it... just couldn't do it.
Simon wanted to be a Ninjago guy. This costume doesn't exist for purchase. Go ahead, do a Google search. I'll wait. There are a handful, but they are all on Ebay for a ridiculous amount of money. There are also some regular ninja costumes billing themselves as Ninjago. Simon is WAY into authenticity and would never go for that. Oh, but wait... they wouldn't do anyway because Simon wants to ACTUALLY look like a Lego.
D'oh.
Thank GOODness for the internet.
I give you, the beginnings of Lego Ninjago Cole. We have a lot of work to do still... but Simon is pleased thusfar. I'm thinking I need to cover the torso with posterboard because the black spray paint failed to cover the Home Depot Logo. Probably should have primed first. Ah well, live and learn. So, it's back out for supplies later. We still have to embellish the front with ropes and Ninjago Cole's icon thingie, plus figure out the mask, and maybe shoe covers. But, so far, so good...
What's Ben been up to? Eh. Big kid stuff, mostly. Complaining about school. Playing DS. Kicking Simon out of his room. Drawing Pokemon maps. LOL. I really do owe the blog some good new pictures of him. I think it's been awhile. ;) He's my hardest to photograph, by a longshot... even with Jonathan, who never stops moving.
We are headed to Tom's company's "Pumpkin Fest" this afternoon, so hoping to get some nice fall pics. :)
And that's all that's been going on around here. I never thought I'd be this busy! My days fly by lately... it's kind of nice... but then again, it's eating into my blog and photo obsession time. LOL!