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Today was a day of little firsts for my little kids.
1.) Elise drew her OWN coloring page (a house with bricks, which she drew every single one of on the facade), and then colored the whole thing. Her drawings are getting way more detailed - this house, in addition to the bricks, had a chimney and a door and windows. The other day she drew me an elephant with four legs, a little tail, big ears and a long trunk. She's so sweet and affectionate lately, although that's partially because she's really having a hard time with Grant's frequent business trips. Perhaps more so this week, because she's had a cold.
2.) Isaac WROTE WHOLE PARAGRAPHS, creatively, on his own, for pleasure! I was totally floored. He's reading much, much better lately - I don't know if he was just ready, finally, for something to click, or if the software they use at his school is really what he was missing (Reading Plus - it's actually the same thing my college uses to teach ESOL kids English). But I haven't ever seen him write this way, before today. He's allocated his whole journal to be for a short story on one page, and a drawing about it on the other. <3
3.) Jake took a shower. This may not seem like a big deal, since he plays in the rain routinely and the hose sometimes, but he had never done it before and acted as though he were some sort of clean, strutting man afterward for skipping the bathtub. He's also been singing a lot, mostly songs they learned over the summer at GMYS camp, and I eat it up. In a very nonchalant way, because otherwise he would get self conscious and quit.
I interpret an awful lot of things as pros or cons for moving to Maryland. This week, for instance,
Pros:
-Crime rates are way better, there - right after getting our window busted out of the van and our GPS stolen, I was completely ready to just GO
-My kids keep talking wistfully about snow, and trying to even understand the concept of seasons
-Kristin left (in a moving truck headed there) yesterday! I'm going to miss her a lot, and it would be great to have her there waiting for me
-my earth space science teacher devoted 20 minutes to climate change, today, in the most doomsday way possible (MIAMI IS ONLY 10 FEET ABOVE SEA LEVEL, if Greenland melts WE ARE SWIMMING!)
-Grant is really set for a pretty significant promotion if we go, and his boss is pressuring him
-I, as usual, spent way too many hours driving on the highway to get everywhere I regularly go
-we're ready for an adventure!
Cons:
-I went to my old, good friend Kathy's baby shower with Ananda, and it was so fun, and she's having a BABY!! I love her, and her mom, and :/
-we helped my sister move - my sister! And my kids' cousins!
-Gloria and LJ spontaneously dropped in and ended up staying for dinner and a projector movie, Saturday night. Then, Monday afternoon, they watched kids for me while I went to an appointment. Support systems are important!
-I mean I ran into my old high school guidance counselor in Panera the other day and it was SO GREAT that we've got a catch-up date tomorrow.
-Jess is seriously considering moving down here, after all these years!
-Ananda and Aaron went to Miguel's 17th birthday party, which was on a boat with a beach and pool portion, and just generally had a blast and regaled me with stories of their awesome friends the whole ride home that night
-And this past week we've had our first seasonal visits to Knaus Berry Farm AND Santa's Enchanted Forest :/
Ah well. We're probably all going up there by train sometime next month (or maybe January) for the first of a couple of trips that involve "scoping it out."
This happened, and while I see it more as a very small part of something bigger - that something bigger is exciting!
I'm planning a trip to the Portland area, for some time in the coming months, to work with Memo to get the kids' book totally done (he's illustrating), and to get with some people who want to contribute to my PTSD book (narrative nonfiction).
I'm excited about Thanksgiving. So far I've got my Dad, Laura and her kids, Robby and Corey, and Gloria and LJ as confirmed guests. Grant Sr and my Aunt Michelle also have standing invitations (as does Frank, but that's highly unlikely). And, so far I've got the turkey, the potatoes and sweet potatoes, a bunch of cream of mushroom soup and fried onions, a frozen Cheesecake Factory cheesecake, a couple of sacks of cranberries, and a lot of wine and sparkling grape juice. We've also finished the deep cleaning of one measly room, thus far.
Tomorrow will start with Elise to school and an abdominal ultrasound for Isaac (the latest in a series of tests and visits since his hospital stay in September - we're making real progress with him being able to go to the bathroom regularly, and being more comfortable). Then I'll be teaching, hanging out, cleaning, cooking some batch stuff (probably lentil soup with sausage and red beans and rice). Grant will get home from the airport just as I'm taking Aaron to ballet, and meeting with the counselor guy I ran into to catch up - he's so great, he asked about Laura and my friend David and passed on messages for Grant. I don't even understand how he keeps everyone straight after all these years. He's still working at a high school!
1.) Elise drew her OWN coloring page (a house with bricks, which she drew every single one of on the facade), and then colored the whole thing. Her drawings are getting way more detailed - this house, in addition to the bricks, had a chimney and a door and windows. The other day she drew me an elephant with four legs, a little tail, big ears and a long trunk. She's so sweet and affectionate lately, although that's partially because she's really having a hard time with Grant's frequent business trips. Perhaps more so this week, because she's had a cold.
2.) Isaac WROTE WHOLE PARAGRAPHS, creatively, on his own, for pleasure! I was totally floored. He's reading much, much better lately - I don't know if he was just ready, finally, for something to click, or if the software they use at his school is really what he was missing (Reading Plus - it's actually the same thing my college uses to teach ESOL kids English). But I haven't ever seen him write this way, before today. He's allocated his whole journal to be for a short story on one page, and a drawing about it on the other. <3
3.) Jake took a shower. This may not seem like a big deal, since he plays in the rain routinely and the hose sometimes, but he had never done it before and acted as though he were some sort of clean, strutting man afterward for skipping the bathtub. He's also been singing a lot, mostly songs they learned over the summer at GMYS camp, and I eat it up. In a very nonchalant way, because otherwise he would get self conscious and quit.
I interpret an awful lot of things as pros or cons for moving to Maryland. This week, for instance,
Pros:
-Crime rates are way better, there - right after getting our window busted out of the van and our GPS stolen, I was completely ready to just GO
-My kids keep talking wistfully about snow, and trying to even understand the concept of seasons
-Kristin left (in a moving truck headed there) yesterday! I'm going to miss her a lot, and it would be great to have her there waiting for me
-my earth space science teacher devoted 20 minutes to climate change, today, in the most doomsday way possible (MIAMI IS ONLY 10 FEET ABOVE SEA LEVEL, if Greenland melts WE ARE SWIMMING!)
-Grant is really set for a pretty significant promotion if we go, and his boss is pressuring him
-I, as usual, spent way too many hours driving on the highway to get everywhere I regularly go
-we're ready for an adventure!
Cons:
-I went to my old, good friend Kathy's baby shower with Ananda, and it was so fun, and she's having a BABY!! I love her, and her mom, and :/
-we helped my sister move - my sister! And my kids' cousins!
-Gloria and LJ spontaneously dropped in and ended up staying for dinner and a projector movie, Saturday night. Then, Monday afternoon, they watched kids for me while I went to an appointment. Support systems are important!
-I mean I ran into my old high school guidance counselor in Panera the other day and it was SO GREAT that we've got a catch-up date tomorrow.
-Jess is seriously considering moving down here, after all these years!
-Ananda and Aaron went to Miguel's 17th birthday party, which was on a boat with a beach and pool portion, and just generally had a blast and regaled me with stories of their awesome friends the whole ride home that night
-And this past week we've had our first seasonal visits to Knaus Berry Farm AND Santa's Enchanted Forest :/
Ah well. We're probably all going up there by train sometime next month (or maybe January) for the first of a couple of trips that involve "scoping it out."
This happened, and while I see it more as a very small part of something bigger - that something bigger is exciting!
I'm planning a trip to the Portland area, for some time in the coming months, to work with Memo to get the kids' book totally done (he's illustrating), and to get with some people who want to contribute to my PTSD book (narrative nonfiction).
I'm excited about Thanksgiving. So far I've got my Dad, Laura and her kids, Robby and Corey, and Gloria and LJ as confirmed guests. Grant Sr and my Aunt Michelle also have standing invitations (as does Frank, but that's highly unlikely). And, so far I've got the turkey, the potatoes and sweet potatoes, a bunch of cream of mushroom soup and fried onions, a frozen Cheesecake Factory cheesecake, a couple of sacks of cranberries, and a lot of wine and sparkling grape juice. We've also finished the deep cleaning of one measly room, thus far.
Tomorrow will start with Elise to school and an abdominal ultrasound for Isaac (the latest in a series of tests and visits since his hospital stay in September - we're making real progress with him being able to go to the bathroom regularly, and being more comfortable). Then I'll be teaching, hanging out, cleaning, cooking some batch stuff (probably lentil soup with sausage and red beans and rice). Grant will get home from the airport just as I'm taking Aaron to ballet, and meeting with the counselor guy I ran into to catch up - he's so great, he asked about Laura and my friend David and passed on messages for Grant. I don't even understand how he keeps everyone straight after all these years. He's still working at a high school!
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