Pictures of the Boys

Took this one this afternoon, John was sitting so striaght, he looked like a soldier but of course by the time I took the picture he had relaxed.

Wallace in all his paraphanialia, he will lose the mouth piece in a few week, his tooth is moving beautifully. He is getting taller by the day and looks so much more like his dad than he ever used to.

John's bed time routine.

John likes me to put him to bed. We have a special routine and it is just the right ending to his day or at least that is what he insists. That doesn't mean that Michael doesn't put him to bed but only that he prefers me. The other night Michael was doing the deed, they had been rough housing and I thought it only fair that he try and settle him down. Michael got him into his PJs and teeth brushed and the rest of the routine, had him tucked into bed when I heard a ruckus. A few minutes later Michael called me up to finish the tucking in routine, a song and a quick snuggle. (Let it be said that Michael is by far the better singer than I so I am completely baffled by the insistence on me.) When I got to him I kneeled down by his bed and wiped away the tears. John looked up and me and said, "I whined and I got you." A smiled spread across his face and he settled right down. The little turkey.

oooh my aching back!

Good afternoon,
I had fitful night sleep last night. Yesterday my back was twinging every time I reached or bent down to get something, and it just got worse while I was sleeping. I tried very hard not to sleep on my stomach which is a habit of mine, but every time I rolled over it was with great effort and pain. This morning when I woke up I was moving very slowly and with considerable pain, thankfully I have a Chiropractor appointment in the morning. He doesn't like me to take anything for the pain as he doesn't want it masked and then I may damage it more if I don't feel it.

Michael took me grocery shopping this morning because he is working this evening, we usually go in the afternoon but I didn't think that I could do it all by myself, although I must admit that Wallace is becoming quite the helper. I was going to say little but I don't think he would appreciate that description. I seem to do better at staying under budget when Michael isn't with me, he is worse then the kids when it comes to asking for treats, and I don't feel I can say no to him as firmly as I do the boys.

This afternoon we are doing our morning school and Wallace has a much better attitude then on Monday, for which I am grateful. I had to cancel his piano lesson for this afternoon as I couldn't take both boys by myself and get in and out of the car and up and down the steps. I hate when my back does this as I feel as though I am 90 years. I doesn't help much either when Michael calls me old women as he helps me in and out of the car. The boys are about to head outside to play, it is lovely and sunny but quite cold....I so want spring to come.

A few passing thoughts

My boys are brothers and yet so different. What I am thinking of right now is how they fall asleep each and every night. John puts his head down on his pillow and within 5 minutes is fast asleep. He goes non stop from them time his eyes open till bed time. Wallace on the other hand, spends a long time imagining before he drifts off to sleep. We often hear explosions and missiles landing in those imaginary battles.

And wouldn’t you know the night I makes a nice dinner for the boys and I, and plan leftovers for Michael that he brings pizza home because he knows I don’t usually cook when its just the three of us.

Ahhh, back to routine

Today was a much better day at school we are all done and ready to play out side and it isn‘t even 1:30 pm. (I know that we love our routine around here.) It is a cold and crisp day but at least the sun is shining, some fresh air and exercise will help to clear their heads I think.

Wallace is learning long division in math, and I am amazed at how well he is grasping the concepts. I remember having such difficulties with it. We are using Saxon Math 54, and enjoying it. Last year we used Saxon 3, I found it difficult with the “meetings’. I had started John on Saxon K and am having the same struggles as I had with Wallace last year. Last year I thought that it was just us trying to find our stride but now that I am having the same issue with John I’m thinking that the material just isn’t a good fit. I’m considering switching to Horizon Math or ABEKA. John loves, at least to this point, to do his work sheets, although sometimes he thinks he gets to decide what is done on each sheet. I allow this with some of the pages and others we do as the instructions say. He is still so young and I don’t want to stifle his desire for learning or to ‘do school’. I do have one advantage though he loves to be like his older brother and that means school.

The last few nights I’ve been sitting by the computer. This may seem odd but I’ve discovered a way to read a classic novel and knit at the same time, I feel as if I am accomplishing a lot. I’ve discovered LibriVox, maybe I am really behind the times but its new to me. The last couple of nights I’ve been knitting away on Michael’s latest pair of sock and listening to Pride and Prejudice being read. I now have a list of future books in the que. I am figuring that since Michael works so many nights and we don’t have cable that this will be a fun and productive way to pass the long evenings.

Monday's Update

This morning John had an ENT appointment in the city, and they gave us the thumbs up. He had another hearing test and his results were wonderful. Now we know that if he isn't listening it isn't because he can't hear us.

Michael has been away again, I am slowly getting used to it. I don't think it will change much now, this unit seems to do a lot of traveling. I do seem to let things slide when he is away and don't cook. I'm not sure why as Wallace will eat almost anything and just as much as Michael does. I told him when he got home the other night that I cook just from him, and that when he isn't here you'd be shock at what we consider meals.

Wallace and I had some trouble with school today. We normally do all of our school in the morning, getting it mostly done by lunch, sometimes we have one or two thing to do after lunch. Today with John's appointment in the city we were out of the house by quarter after 8 so we obviously didn't get anything done. When we got home I wanted to start right into school and Wallace became totally overwhelmed, tears and the whole bit. It was a departure from our routine and he couldn't handle it. I had tried to prepare him that this is what we were going to do but either my preparation didn't work or he didn't think I was serious. We had to stop because he wasn't learning anything, it was as if old concepts were brand new. (Very frustrating for me, but I did keep my cool.) I had to discipline him because I felt that getting me to stop was his motivation, whether conscience or not. I sent him to his room to spend time by himself, I allowed books and his Lego to be played with, but he had to stay for the time that we would have been learning, he didn't like that as he is a very social person. His dad took away soccer for tonight, I wouldn't have but Michael said so. He also doesn't get computer or tv, not really as a punishment because he is not usually allowed these until his school work is complete and well it didn't get completed today. My question is this, how do I get him to 'roll with it' when our day doesn't go exactly as the routine says it should. I love routine but I can't always give him a day off when our routine get messed up.

While we were in the city we went to Pete's Frootique, I love that store, so many fresh veggies and fruit. Wallace said he was in fruit heaven. We bought lots of veggies and fruit and a couple of cheeses. We had a healthy lunch and it was cheaper than the golden arches would have been.

Sunday night Offertory

This is for Grandma and Papa, wish you could have been there. He really did a good job!

Note: scroll down and mute the music so it doesn't interfer.