Other updates

So either my fever, which hit 102 overnight, finally burned itself out, or the Excedrin I took at 3 a.m. is just making me feel 100 times better for a little while.  Either way, so glad to not have the fever/chills right now.  The coughing, sneezing, congestion, and blocked ears are all just annoying.

In my haste to get up a blog post yesterday I neglected a few important details.

1) Nicholas struck out twice at yesterday's game... and hit a double.  It. Was. Awesome.  I still don't care one bit about baseball, except when something like that happens and I see my kid just light up.  Add to that he was switched to first base (from left field) due to the first baseman out sick, and he got two runners out.  This whole baseball thing is teaching my kid that good sportsmanship exists (after basketball and football in Virginia I don't think he believed it was true, here the other kids on his team are all helpful and supportive, high fives go around even for a strikeout), but it's also teaching him that speaking up can yield results.  When the first baseman didn't show to practice, he asked the coach who would fill the spot, then volunteered himself.  He tried the same thing when he did football a couple years ago and was so readily dismissed he gave up.  This coach listens and encourages.  Nicholas was moved to center field near the end of the game to give another kid a chance at first base and that's just the way it goes.  Good stuff.

2) Jonathon had a private riding lesson.  Rebecca had alternate plans and the other kids from his class didn't show (which is a good thing since one of them clearly is terrified of being on a horse which means the instructor spends a good deal of time cajoling her into doing anything while everyone else just walks in circles).  So with plenty of space and the full attention of the instructor, Jonathon was cantering on purpose around the ring.  He's done it a couple times before when the horses freak out about something, but to do it on purpose is a nice change of pace.  Hah.  Punny.

There's Too Much to Catch Up On

So here's everything from the past week in one post, from this side of the Mediterranean.  Ian was in Germany this week for a conference and I'm assuming there will be some photos shared on FB.

Nicholas had his birthday last Saturday.  He's officially our 3rd teen in the house.

We took him to Magic Planet.

He opened gifts.

And loved the popcorn bucket from gma and gpa.

A cookie cake for school, a baseball cake for home.

I started work on Sunday as a CLO at the Embassy.  The person I'm replacing is still there for a few weeks which is awesome.  Sorry, no photos.  There was a Local Staff Breakfast on Thursday morning, the Easter Egg Hunt on Friday morning, on top of all the regular stuff like housing visits and meetings, Mgt meetings, a Cyber Security Awareness seminar, etc etc etc.  I signed up for part-time.... I'm not feeling very part-time at the moment.

I received the box from my FS exchange partner.  I sent her a box of items from Jordan, she sent me a box of items from Thailand.  When she asked if there was anything in particular I'd like I asked for a frog.  Not only did she send a frog, she sent a friend for the frog, which is totally awesome.

Wooden pig!

Nicholas got braces.  He chose dark blue and now gets to eat a lot of pudding, jello-o, and ice cream.

Wednesday afternoon were parent/teacher conferences for the high school girls, and student-led conferences for the middle school boys. Student-led conference entailed the boys creating presentations on their laptops for showcasing highlights from each of their classes and talking about them.  Sorry, no pictures. Rebecca's teachers all raved about her.  Katherine is still struggling some.  The boys have been challenged this year, which is great since they'll be better prepare for starting high school with its increased demands.

And Jonathon and I participated in the Embassy Peep-o-rama contest at Easter Brunch.

The Peep-C-S.

The traveler with his pet.

The x-ray guy.

The luggage scanner guy.

Waiting for arrivals... mail bag... lost luggage.

Dead Sea poster.

With the arrival board.

Outside the airport.

Lost luggage office.

Overview.

Second place ribbon.. out of 2 adult entries ;)

The winner!

Marines at Post One.

 And now I have a nearly 100F fever, feel lousy, and will go to bed.  It was a crazy long and busy week. The kids and cats don't quite know what's hit them.

Good Adrenaline vs. Bad Adrenaline

Good Adrenaline

Playing his first baseball game in his entire life, Nicholas walked twice, got two runs, and nearly caught a ball in left field.  Nerves got him there, he's usually an awesome thrower and catcher.  Today we had our first experience with Amman Little League.

Baseball food is not peanuts, crackerjacks, hot dogs, or nachos.  It is wraps with freshly baked bread (baked right then while you wait) with labneh, zataar, tomatoes, and olives.  As well as whatever snacks we bring along.  There are so many teams playing between 8:30-2:30 each Friday, from T-ball to Seniors, and it seems like every other person is an Embassy person.

Warming up, next at bat. Awesome uniform, Kid.

Needs a little work on his stance, but he can determine if
a pitch is a ball or a strike.

Across the street is Amman Waves, one of the
water parks.  It's not open and it looks iffy.

The Reese's played as visitor.  

There are rules to Little League I never knew.  They play through 6 innings or 1 hour and 45 minutes, whichever comes first.  There's also a run maximum per inning, 10 runs scored and you're turn is done.  Our game managed 4 innings until time ran out, and the Reese's won 15-1.  Nicholas was excited about playing on a team that not only does well, but that he participates in fully, and where all the teammates are encouraging and friendly.  High 5s were everywhere, even for strike outs, for a job well-attempted.  And there are snacks at the end.  You know where we will be spending Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays for a while.   I never wanted to be a baseball person, I don't care about baseball, but I'll be the first to admit that watching my kid play, the good attitude of the other players, and the way his self-confidence is improving makes it all worth it.

Bad Adrenaline

Today was a rough day at riding.  Above you see Rebecca on Sandy.  Below you see Jonathon on Cheyenne.  Sandy and Cheyenne don't get along.  When Cheyenne gets a little too close to Sandy, Sandy starts to shy, and when Sandy starts to shy Cheyenne turns around, and when Cheyenne turns around Cheyenne kicks.

When Cheyenne kicks out, Jonathon falls forward and tries not to fall off, while frantically trying to get Cheyenne to move to the other side of the ring, which doesn't work because he's not that in control yet, and instead gets frightened and mad.  When Cheyenne kicks, Sandy jerks away and freaks out, and Rebecca jumps off the horse to avoid getting kicked or getting thrown.  Wash, rinse, repeat.  Rebecca ended up on the ground twice, and Cheyenne ended up on the lunge and walked around the ring while the others did their exercises.  After the other students were done and Jonathon had the ring alone he was given about 15 minutes of private lesson to make up for Cheyenne not behaving with the other horses.

Rebecca was shaken, Jonathon was shaken, I tried not to watch too much.

The main stables, home to privately
owned horses.

Sandy is a good little horse with
moments of attitude.

The kids are given some horse care chores.

They both were completely wiped out at the end.  Stress, anxiety, frustration, it all took a toll.  The important thing is that they both want to go back next Friday.  Get back on the horse, kids.  It's the only way to know that it's all OK.

Today was the Dead Sea Marathon.

No, we didn't participate.  But we saw kids who did, and Rebecca said "I should have done that."  So looks like next year we'll be heading out to the Dead Sea Marathon, and hope that the weather is as overcast and cool as it was today.

Instead we went to the baseball field for Nicholas's first baseball game.  This has been a whirlwind week with regards to baseball.  Last Friday Nicholas watched his friends play with the Amman Little League.  He came home raving about how he wanted to join.

Let me remind you that we are not a baseball family.  It's right on par with golf, as far as I'm concerned.

But all week, baseball baseball baseball.

So we did what all good parents do, we inquired.  Was it too late to register, was there room on a team, etc.    From the game he went to, and threw a ball around, and swung a bat a few times, all it took was a phone call and he was on a team.

I don't do baseball.

But this morning, the first day of Spring Break I might add, I and most of the family were up and out the door at 8 a.m. to stop at Starbucks and head to the field.

No one else was there.  It rained overnight and was overcast and drippy, no one thought to check email or the website.  Fabulous.  Friday here is Sunday at home, so nothing aside from some coffee shops are open at that hour.

We went home, spent some time with the xBox Kinect, before packing up again and heading to horseback riding where J and R are doing awesome.  I am so impressed with how well Jonathon listens and follows directions when he's on a horse.  Nicholas brought his glove and a ball and they tossed that around for a bit as well.

Looks like the game might be rescheduled for later this week.  Or not.  We're on Spring Break so getting everyone together could be a challenge even though not all the kids are ACSers.  I guess we just wait and see.

Honestly, Nicholas could use another practice before an actual game, if for nothing else than to just settle in with the team.

I'm actually pretty proud of him for finding something that caught his interest and being pushy about it.  Nicholas is very mellow, laid back, and a homebody.  This is so out of his comfort zone, but he went with it.

I guess there will be more of that to come with my nearly 13 year old.

Happy Saint Nicholas Day!

Or as we've told Nicholas... Happy Saint ME Day!

Were your stockings hung by the chimney with care last night? Did you leave hay and apples for St. Nick's donkey? Did he trade for gold covered chocolate coins, fruit, and nuts?

Nope, we didn't either. We don't have a chimney, laid four of daddy's tube socks out, forgot about the donkey, and received candy, toys and the traditional new tree ornament. Each of the kids brought a bag of goodies to share with their classmates, the girls each had a bag of shiney gold Werther's Originals to represent the gold coins Nicholas of Myra gave to those in need. The boys had bag of smarties to remember St. Nicholas, Patron Saint of Children. St. Nicholas is also the Patron Saint of Bakers and Travelers. We thank him for watching over us as we wander the world. And tonight, perhaps we'll do some family baking to celebrate, even though Mercy is already baking some chocolate bar cookies.
Today is the day we usually kick off the start of the season. Traditionally we'd put the tree and decorations up today though the lighting of the tree waits until Christmas Eve, listen to carols and get serious about wrapping gifts. We don't "do" Santa (which is a trial this year as several little friends -do- believe in Santa and Ian is wondering how that will affect our presents-under-the-tree bit), so the tree slowly fills up over the next couple weeks and the anticipation mounts. Rebecca has already gotten her siblings gifts. Katherine has started. The boys, well, they're still a little clueless for some reason.
And it's funny. While Nicholas understands that Santa isn't real (but we have to not say that around other kids! Shhh!) he's not so sure about St. Nicholas. Last year we had the whole "ghost of St. Nicholas wandering through our house" giving our little Nicholas the shivers, but this year he's just trying to make sense of it all, and I think he -wants- to believe. We've never kept alive the Easter Bunny or the Tooth Fairy, but St. Nicholas is special to him and I'm glad for it.

Trucking Along with Reading

It's been going on for a while, the steps towards fluid, clear reading. Nicholas has been asking for a year to stay up at night to "read" like his sisters do and since moving to India we have obliged a couple nights per week as his ability has skyrocketed. Some days I tiptoe in to find him asleep with a book tossed on his nightstand and the light shining bright, but last night he took a huge step forward. He read through 2/3 of a "Nate the Great," came out to tell us about it, borrow a book mark from his sister and then go to sleep. This morning there are Saturday morning cartoons and Nicholas fetched his book. I am SO excited!

To balance the depressing stuff...

Parent teacher conferences are Thursday. Third quarter has come and gone. It's the same old thing with Katherine's class, but I did want to say how well the boys are doing. Nicholas is now reading simple books. Not just the ones he's read a hundred times in class, or ones we've read dozens of times at home, but ones he hasn't heard before. He's doing great.

Over the weekend Jonathon was spelling and reading 3-letter short vowel words, which took me completely by surprise.

Oh, and Katherine has begun cooking dinner once a week. Actually, this being her first week she has made two dinners. The first night was a pasta dish, the second was eggs baked in sliced chicken cups. Both meals turned out very well. She's already picked her menu for next week. Sloppy joes!

Another unscheduled day at home

I've been home with a sick Katherine and a sick Jonathon, now it's Nicholas's turn. This morning he came in moaning around 4:30 a.m. By 6:30 he was feeling warm, had a headache, a tummy ache and a cough. I asked if he wanted to stay home, but today is karate day and he really wanted to go to school. As his eyes watered and he lay like a lump on the couch, Rebecca convinced him it was OK to miss karate so he could get better at home. So, I'm hear finishing up Christmas cards, while he slept until 9 and is now snacking on some graham crackers and watching cartoons. Later on I'll have him take another nap.

Ok, who does that leave? Rebecca? Earlier this week she had a headache and felt bad but she didn't tell me until after she came home from school. Maybe that was her day? Let's hope we're done with this cycle.

Just put the boys down for a rest.

Periodically I get fed up with the boys and their boyish behaviour (jumping off the back of the couch, needling each other, generally being unpleasant) so I call for a rest-time. Nicholas goes to the girls' room and Jonathon goes to the boys' room, and the timer keeps track of a random length of time. Today, it's 55 minutes, because I felt like it. And because I wanted to catch up here and 20 minutes wouldn't cut it. Call me selfish, go ahead. I can take it.

This week's topic is Math. There are some fabulous books, a TIME-Life series for Children, called I Love Math. Clever title, I know. But each book has a different focus (say, the body or a zoo) and over about 60 pages it covers multiple math facts with that topic. For example, the Zoo Math book has pages on estimating a large number of flamigoes, measuring lengths of animals that are all curled by up using a string and ruler, solving a mystery that asks time questions, and a story about a mouse in a rainforest who solves math word problems to escape various creatures trying to eat him. Inside the front and back covers are board games to play that teach odd/even and addition.
Another series we're using this week is called MathSmart. They are short books that each cover a single topic in a story form. The one I have in front of me is about counting to 100 and guides kids with a number line along the top of the pages. This series is broken up into levels of difficulty but they're all for the K and under crowd.
What's nice about both series are the adult guidance portions either at the bottom of the pages or at the back of the book. They outline what the kids should be getting out of each page along with supplimental activities.
On-line, the site primarygames.com has a section of math games rated for different levels. The boys have spent a good deal of time this morning moving from one page to the next for counting, adding, completing patterns and matching shapes. If you prefer printable materials, enchantedlearning.com has a large section wth printable number lines, subtraction worksheets, sorting activities and many others. I'll probably head there when we finally get around to doing money. Just a warning, many resources there are for site members only. If you're a homeschooler, it's probably worth the minimal yearly fee to have access to everything though.
Most of what we're covering this week is reinforcement for the boys. They are familiar with the concepts but need regular daily practice with telling time, remembering left from right, using a ruler, patterns, recognizing a hexagon and all the other aspects of Math. It's fun though and they enjoy it quite a bit.

The third kid has attained school age

Happy Birthday, Nicholas!

Yesterday the big guy turned 5. He's been waiting for this day since Katherine had her birthday and last week we made up a countdown chart for the wall. He crossed off each passing day, picked out his birthday cake, chose paper plates and wondered every day what he would receive as gifts. OK, the last one I'm not so proud of, but what can you do? The boxes arrived a week ago and since then they've been on top of the TV cabinet. This place isn't big enough for us to really hide anything so he had to deal with being teased by their presence every day.
Finally, the dawn of the 20th arrived. Shortly after 6 I shooed him back to his room. For a kid that wakes up around 7 these days, 6 was way early for him to be wandering. Besides, we'd set up a preschool scavenger hunt (an idea I stole from elsewhere) to find his gifts and I didn't want him moving things around. Around 7 when everyone was awake, he was allowed to move the cereal box from blocking his bedroom door. In fact, he put it back on the kitchen counter where a DVD was waiting. Looking confused, he put that back on the movie shelf where one of my shoes was sitting. The shoe went in the pile, Katherine's reading light went back on her nightstand, the pot moved back to its cupboard and the bug vaccum returned to the bug house. And in the cupboard under the bug house were his gifts. The night before the girls disappeared off to Target with daddy to purchase gifts as well so he had quite a pile. An action figure of Anakin Skywalker, a big bouncy Spiderman ball, a toy Spiderman camera, a Spiderman game joystick and a tape player. Somehow I completely missed on the Amazon site that the camera wasn't real! How did that happen? It doesn't seem to bother him though, it flashes and makes noise and what else does a little kid really want?
A quick breakfast and we dropped the girls off school. The playground across the street has finally opened so I promised that we'd pick the girls up from early release and play there for a bit in the afternoon. Dropped Ian off at FSI then picked up the birthday cake at Heidelburg Pastry Shop on Lee Hwy. It looks and smells so good in there, but does anyone really pay $4 for a cookie? Granted it's a lovely cookie, but $4? I don't even ask how much the chocolates are. They don't have prices on them.
We dropped the cake off in the fridge then attended storytime at B&N. It was held outdoors because most of the county was out of power which made intersections interesting. Generators kept the construction going so it was difficult to hear over all the noise, but we listened and then hopped right into the car (for the first time, we drove to B&N and I did miss the nice walk) to go to Annandale. Nicholas had asked for McDs for his birthday lunch and who better to have it with than grandma? She even splurged on fudge sundaes. Nicholas did say several times "I don't feel 5". As mom, I can definitely say he looks 5. He also said several times "I wish I was 6". As mom, I can definitely say I'm glad he isn't.
We were back in Arlington with about 20 minutes to spare beofre school got out. The boys got dirty in the playground sand pit and sweaty on the spiderweb before the girls joined us and we made sandcastles and sand food. Ah, the joys of sand. Can't wait to go to the beach in August.
Katherine still isn't feeling well as her cold lingers and laryngitis sets in, so after brushing off pounds of sand, we came home for homework and some down time. Rebecca's class is working on Time and the "igh" combo, Katherine's class is focussing on recycling and multiplication tables.
A box arrived in the mail yesterday afternoon that will help Rebecca and the boys quite a bit. Watches for all four of them from campmor.com, for about $5/each the boys' watches have labeled watch hands with an outer ring of numbers for the specific minute times. This morning Nicholas looked at his watch and said "It's almost 8" and right he was. We've been working on time for over a week and it's slow going but he's definitely getting it.
After dinner of fish sticks and farfalle (butterfly) noodles (another Nicholas request), the whole family watched the twins play baseball at the park next to the library. The weather was gorgeous and we enjoyed watching so live sport before getting back home to wait for Jeff. He came over to have some cake and he brought gifts for all the kids. I had been hanging on to music tapes for, well, at least a decade past the time I actually listened to music tapes. During the past couple moves, they have all been disposed of. And now, all the kids have tape players for use in the car. Well, Jeff was so kind as to go through his old stashes and let us have such classics as the theme to the Ghostbusters and FootLoose, along with Cyndi Lauper and Weird Al. All tapes that the kids will love to listen to, especially on our drive to the midwest later this year.
When the baseball game was done, the twins and their parents came by to share in cake as well. Izumi and Dan were in Manila will us and they're off to Beijing this summer. They brought Nicholas gifts as well and totally floored Nicholas with Spiderman legos. Over this past weekend Nicholas found a small set of legos that I had as a kid and literally spent hours playing with them. My parents have bought him a huge set that he'll receive this coming weekend and I just know that he will be beside himself. We've never had real legos and I'm almost as excited as the boys are. He also received a floor puzzle of the States which I am completely thrilled with. We put it together today and talked about our trip this summer. We'll be doing a week on the States this summer (so the girls can do it too) and this map will be great.
No one got to bed before 9 but until the last few minutes no one was cranky about it either.
I just can't believe he's 5. He's learning to read and write, tell time and draw great pictures. He can tie his shoes and gets himself completely washed and dressed. He makes his bed better than his sisters. Earlier this week I'd asked him to organize the art corner, basically just stacking up papers and putting the makers away. He pulled out all the construction paper and organized it by whole sheets and scraps, and then by color. He folds clothes from the laundry pile, carries his stuffed dog everywhere, still stuffs his pockets full of treasures, and loves spinach, mushrooms and pickles. He adores Katherine, tolerates Rebecca and is Jonathon's best friend. He is so sensitive and I love having him home with me where he's outgoing and doesn't have a malicious bone in his body (except, sometimes, when Jonathon is on his last nerve, but then that's not really malice is it?). He's such a wonderful kid, and I just can't believe he's 5.

Can I go back to bed now?

When do we get to sleep in? Well never of course once you have kids but it sure would be nice.

Yesterday the boys were invited to a party for Kelly and Sunshine, held at Kids at Work. They, of course, had a blast in the germ factory. Sunshine turned 4, Kelly turned 5, and siblings were invited. So I crammed my four plus Meg and Katie into the car and we all trundled over together. At the same time as the party I also dropped off two pairs of glasses that needed repair and they were done by the end. It was amusing to walk through the mall with six little people trailing behind. We got the typical stares.
One of the games at the party was like musical chairs but much more clever and didn't induce kids to knock each other to the floor. Different colored construction paper was on the floor and enough squares for everyone to stand on one. Music played, kids danced and when the music stopped everyone hopped onto a square. A color was picked out of a bag and everyone on that color was out and the squares removed. It went on until there were two winners left. All the kids could dance even when they were "out" which is really all they cared about anyway.
We dropped Meg and Katie off just as their mom pulled up, and Meg asked if Katherine could sleep over. OKs all around, Katherine packed up a bag and went back to Meg's house, which really made -today- easy.
Katherine was invited to a birthday party for this morning, but Nicholas had a photo shoot for OshKosh way out at the Avalon Zoo past Marikina. Both couldn't be done at the same time but with Katherine at Meg's house, she went with them and then stayed until we got back. They went to Glorietta after and when we collected her she has just completed getting a pedicure and manicure. What an indulgence!
The rest of the family, as I said, was at the Avalon Zoo. Really really far away when we were supposed to be there by 8:30. Filipino time, we showed up about 9. Marikina isn't even on our street map and the little map we'd been given... well, let's just say distances on the paper weren't quite what they were in real life. There was also some concern among the other moms about the safety of the area, being so close to the northern hills and guerilla groups. We all figured that as long as we were home before dark all would be well. I figured if we were gone by noon, all would be well. Can you imagine kids standing around and smiling for 8 hours?
It was a simple affair where Nicholas had been asked to model some clothes along with five other kids, two of them being Kelly and Hannah from his preschool class. They did swimsuits while blowing bubbles and eating watermelon and other clothes while playing with beach balls. The zoo was actually pretty nice with animals as varied as wallabees, tigers and tapiers, and the compound was pleasant. Not a bad place to be, it was just so far away. Were there no places closer that could have sufficed for greenery? Afterall, none of the pictures involved animals of any sort.
The photos should be out in March, so I'll be asking Jennifer and Kristine to watch out for them. I also gave the organizer our e-mail address. Because you know, we'll be home in 26 days.

*Moment of Silence*

Tomorrow is the big day.

The treasured blanket has been found (in the top drawer of the kids' computer desk, of all places). It has been laundered, folded and gently put aside. Tomorrow, it will go in his Special Box. The same box that holds his tiny shoes, his baptism cross, the newspaper from the day he was born and an assortment of other milestone remembrances.
It's been nearly five years in the making and the time has come to bid farewell to his most favored of comforters. The once plush baby blue blanket has thinned and worn holes. It has turned a dusky gray with its frayed edges and chewed corners. It has been a hero's cape, a turban and a wrap. Most often, it has been a source of warmth and comfort and his best friend.
He asked me several times today if he could have it back once it was clean, then remembered that he didn't need it anymore. But I'm sad to see it go. Somehow I felt that as long as he had it, he was still my little guy. The one who needed an extra ounce (for that's all it weighs anymore) of security. With the blanket he was my quiet little boy who could be calmed just by touching the fragile piece of cloth. But who am I kidding, he hasn't been a calm, shy, insecure boy in a long while. It's been painfully obvious how he's been growing out of the blanket phase simply by how often he misplaces it. I'm certain it has phased me more than him. I spent evenings looking for it while he slept peacefully on. I spent days looking, for my own reassurance more than his.
It's time for me to break the blanket ties for both of us and accept that Nicholas is becoming secure with himself. It's time for mom to let him go a little more.
He looked at me over dinner and did have one final request though. He asked if he could be the one to put it into his box tomorrow.
Absolutely, Nicholas. Just don't be surprised if mom sheds a little tear for the big kid you're becoming and the part of the little boy you're leaving behind.

Kid Funny

Last night...

Rebecca was asking Ian where a coloring pad she received for Christmas had been put. She asked where he had put her “pitcher”.
Rebecca: My pitcher?
Ian: A pitcher? A baseball pitcher? Beer pitcher?
Mom: A pitcher is for iced tea.
Rebecca: OK, my art, where’s my art?
Ian: Which art?
Mom: Art Garfunkel?
Nicholas: R2-D2?
Commence riotous laughter.
You have to admit, that was pretty good for a four year old.

Oh Nicholas & other updates

At AmeriKids, Nicholas is the only 4 year old boy with three 4 year old girls. One of them has already told him that she loves him and wants to marry him. He has bashfully said that he loves her too.

Now, for our four year old, love is an extension of like, and I think it's adorable that these kids are being so sweet to each other. It's a class of 12 kids and Nicholas is the oldest boy in the class. It's good that he's getting a bit of attention because at home his siblings don't shower him with the attention he craves. He's still a wonderfully sensitive and sweet boy and she's a sweet girl so I'm glad they are friends. In fact, all three little girls are great.
We had the AmeriKids Open House this evening and I had my 5 minutes of talking about sign-up sheets and asking for someone to take over the website. Lucky me, we have a volunteer, so I know that it won't immediately die. I completely forgot to bring my camera to take photos for the website. Oops.
As with any gathering, we all brought food to share after. I'd had high hopes of making a mild guacamole but can you believe there wasn't an avocado to be had? So I went for the next thing I could think of while staring at the shelves in the store. Hummus. Canned chick peas to the rescue.
The only problem was I didn't have a recipe in front of me, nor had I looked at one earlier, so I prayed I had what was needed. Being the fabulous cook that I am, I didn't. Fresh garlic? Nope. Seasme paste? Nope. I'm lousy at substitutions but with 45 minutes to change and make the hummus, there was no choice. Garlic powder to the rescue. And one recipe I found online actually had a recipe for making sesame paste. The funky thing was that I had a bag of sesame seeds. Certainly not something I normally keep, but it would work. All I needed to do was toast up the seeds, grind them up in the food processor and add the rest of the ingredients.
I didn't add enough lemon juice or sesame oil, it needed fresh garlic and would have done well sitting overnight first. Unfortunately, I overtoasted the seeds so there was an overwhelming smell of roasted sesame in the mix. It didn't taste bad, but it wasn't what I planned. I've come up with something new "Smoked Hummus". Next time I know what to do and it'll be delicious. At least the pita triangles were fool proof.
Laura and I are still plugging along on organizing the Seafront library. It's a fun project as we are both bibliophiles. Watching the shelves take shape and planning what to do with various books has really been enjoyable. I'm hoping when we're done it will be functional for the users. It's a tiny room and doesn't need to be designed like a full-fledged library.
Stephanie and I are slowly prepping for Laura's baby shower. I should say that Stephanie is. She's making and distributing the invites. I'm providing the space (our house) and ordering the cake. We'll do the food together. Ryan didn't want a baby shower in the normal sense, so this will be an evening affair for couples to attend. It should be fun.
Friday the new family I've been chatting with over e-mail finally arrives. Ian is their office sponsor, so he'll be seeing them on Monday. I'm hoping to have them over for dinner next weekend.

Let's Talk

So how is Nicholas doing these days with his speech? He's 4 1/2 and with the exception of mixing up his pronouns (she/her/hers and he/him/his) he is doing very well. I would describe his clarity with strangers at about 3 1/2 though.

Jonathon is moving along well. He picks up poor grammar from his brother and the two of them use several of the same mispronunciations. For example:

Bubblefly: A flying insect with often colorful wings.
Catterputer: Those little crawly bugs that turn into bubbleflies.
Munty: aka Something.

If I here any more, I'll add them in. They are getting bigger so the cute words are being edged out by proper words, which is a sad thing to see.

Jofasin, I want show you munty!

Aw, isn't he cute? Nicholas has come so far, and I can see how preschool is helping him quite a bit too with his speech.

We're currently working on 3 important words. Jonathon (which he can say when we go through it slowly), class and school. The 'k' sound has always been difficult at the beginnings of words, and combining it with other consonents is proving a challenge. But he shall prevail.

When you have a birthday....

When you're a kid, for the first few years every birthday is accompanied by shots (if you're a vaccinating parent, like we are). This one was no different for Nicholas. He received the final MMR in one arm and the final DTP in the other.

The nurses love to have my boys come in for shots. Jonathon was literally begging for some, trying to climb on the table after Nicholas was done. Yes, I know he just wanted the lollipop after, but come on, that's still weird.

Nicholas put on a show but dutifully followed the nurse and resigned himself to the injections. The stars and stripes bandages didn't hurt either. I've taught the kids that it will hurt, it's OK to cry, but rather than freak to say "ouch ouch ouch" repeatedly while getting it. It works and as soon as it's done they're all smiles for getting through without crying.

To top it off, they both got a lollipop. And a mini candycane. Yum, leftover Christmas candy!

Happy Birthday Nicholas!

He's 4 today!

And to prove how grown up he is, as we were getting out of the car for preschool, he put his blanket on his seat and said "I'm big now, I can leave my blanket here."

*sniff*

Can you guess what tomorrow is?

Our big boy will be turning 4!

Some new stuff on Nicholas

3/6/04: Nicholas has a wicked sense of humor and the facial expressions to go with it. A sweetheart who is free with hugs, sunshine in the morning and easy to put to bed, he's also bright, inquisitive and retains more than I imagined.

I think the whole speech thing has disctracted both him and me from how smart he is. It's hard to know if he's understanding when he couldn't repeat or acknowledge the question. But as his speech improves it's all coming out and there's a lot in his little brain. The sounds are there as well and we've reached a point where it's slowing him down to think about saying a word rather than seeing if he can even form the sound. We're very proud of how far he has come in the past year.

Nicholas has taken an interest in his workbooks so we bought a bunch of new ones to keep him interested. The toughest part is drawing the letters themselves and he gets extremely frustrated when what he draws doesn't look like what he intended. He can trace very well so we're going to stick with that for a few more weeks. In fact, one of the best things is something my mom introduced me to, dry-erase books.
They are great, allowing him to trace, erase, and trace again. We have a half dozen or so now, for words, letters, numbers and shapes and 3 different color markers. The other books he enjoys are sticker workbooks. My mom got him a maze book that he loves and he uses his finger to trace so the book can be done over and over again. I also picked up a Health and Science workbook for preschoolers. It's fun just to have a guide for things to talk about with the boys. The first few pages are about living vs. non-living things and it's been interesting putting it into terms they can apply. One of the guides for living is something that moves. Well, try telling a 2yo that a bicycle is not alive! There are other things of course... moving, growing and reproducing... but that's a lot to think of all at once. The boys aren't quite at the point of being able to consider multiple questions at once.
He knows just about the whole alphabet in Caps and is learning the lower case. Jonathon isn't too far behind and I thank the Leap Frog Fridge Phonics grandma and grandpa gave Nicholas for Christmas. What a great invention. Nicholas is the lucky kid in the family with 8 unique letters in his name, and he can find them all in the fridge magnets. Often he lines them up backwards, but it's a start.
I recently picked up a pack of Short Vowel books for him that he's really pleased with. Each book is a handful of pages and focusses on a single short vowel. At the moment I'm going with repetition and following the words with my finger.
He wants to take piano lessons (he can start Music Appreciation at the Yamaha School in the fall if he wants). He wants to go to school (I plan to enroll the boys at Amerikids this week, to start in April). He wants a kite and an Obi Wan costume and a real light saber (his birthday is in April, but I make no promises).
He wants to trade the cats in for a dog.