Sometimes I just can't help myself. During Thanksgiving dinner I got everyone listing what they're thankful for by asking them to go through the alphabet. Of course this was a kindergartener-friendly activity, but meant to inspire ideas from everyone. Some of the highlights:
G & H--Good Health (per Granny)
I--Ice cream
D--Daughters (Granny)
N--Ninja's (Finn, of course, although who isn't grateful for ninjas!)
P--peace and
Q--quiet
R--Red Wine (one of Dad's only contributions...maybe he thought the whole thing was dumb)
S--Star Wars (who do you think?)
W--we all said Wylie, but he wasn't happy being part of our gratitude list, so we switched to watermelon
My own highlights:
A--amazon.com
B--boys, especially my three
C--Core Power Yoga and the Common Core Standards
D--Dunkin Donut's coffee
E--elliptical machines
F--friends and family
G--Getaways with Jason
H--Hauser, despite its dysfunctions
I--ice cream
J--skinny jeans, and finally figuring out how helpful belts are
K--Kinky Boots--the musical I need to see
L--legs to run on!
M--the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
N--new boots
O--On Demand & Oak Park
P--pumpkin bread, that I made myself, with little to no stress
Q--quiet
R--Riverside
S--Sanibel Island
T--Trader Joe's
U--Finn saying "Carrie Underwear" today
V--vacations
W--"Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me"
X--xercise
Y--Young Adult literature
Z--zest for life!
Thursday, November 28, 2013
Sensitive Boy
One thing I know for sure about Finn is that he is sensitive. But I cannot always predict what will trigger his emotions. Today that sensitivity came out in reaction to a surprising topic--his pumpkin. Who knew he was attached to this pumpkin chosen at the pumpkin farm nearly two months ago and left sitting on a shelf ever since. When he learned I wanted to use it today and then send it out to compost, he cried. A pumpkin?
Sunday, November 24, 2013
My W!
All of a sudden Wylie can read the letter W! Whenever he sees one, usually while we're in the car, he hollers, "My W!" I literally think he believes every W out there is for him. Here he is pointing out the W's on one of Finn's papers from school.
BFF
Finn told me today that I am his best friend, "because family can be friends, too, Mama." Melts my heart. I am beyond lucky to have him as my BFF!
Sunday, November 17, 2013
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
This is the Finn I know and love.
We lost Finn for a few months there, starting on August 26th, and it feels like we're starting to get him back. (I don't dare say we have him back because I know better and Jason says I jinx us--it is always two steps forward and one step back with this boy.) We lost him to Kindergarten. Its hard to pinpoint the exact problem beyond exhaustion and adjustment, but just we've been living with a version of Finn I sometimes describe as Jekyll and Hyde.
One moment he would be crying on the way home from Concordia because I had let on that we were not having chocolate ice cream for dinner! (And that is only a slight exaggeration.) Later in the evening he would emerge from the gloom and tell us in detail about the best game of tag ever that he got to play in gym class that day.
Even though Jason and I literally said out loud back in August, "We need to brace ourselves for this transition." That didn't do anything to actually equip us to cope with or help Finn through this overly-new full-day school life. I've been waffling between grin-and-bear-it and how-soon-can-we-send-him-to-boarding-school?!
But now, sigh, the good news. I have recently caught a few glimpses of the Finn I know and love. Busy and completely and delightfully absorbed in a project of his own design. Observing and talking about and drawing the moon on our way home from Concordia. Explaining in great detail his plans for his two newest fixations--a treehouse and an invention that will instantly compost dog poop where it lands in the grass.
He is a delight to be with again, at least some of the time. He is sweet and loving, even to Wylie, some of the time. He wants to spend time with us and acts appropriately, some of the time. He sweetly offers to share a piece of his Halloween candy. Ah, maybe this is even the new and improved Finn!
One moment he would be crying on the way home from Concordia because I had let on that we were not having chocolate ice cream for dinner! (And that is only a slight exaggeration.) Later in the evening he would emerge from the gloom and tell us in detail about the best game of tag ever that he got to play in gym class that day.
Even though Jason and I literally said out loud back in August, "We need to brace ourselves for this transition." That didn't do anything to actually equip us to cope with or help Finn through this overly-new full-day school life. I've been waffling between grin-and-bear-it and how-soon-can-we-send-him-to-boarding-school?!
But now, sigh, the good news. I have recently caught a few glimpses of the Finn I know and love. Busy and completely and delightfully absorbed in a project of his own design. Observing and talking about and drawing the moon on our way home from Concordia. Explaining in great detail his plans for his two newest fixations--a treehouse and an invention that will instantly compost dog poop where it lands in the grass.
He is a delight to be with again, at least some of the time. He is sweet and loving, even to Wylie, some of the time. He wants to spend time with us and acts appropriately, some of the time. He sweetly offers to share a piece of his Halloween candy. Ah, maybe this is even the new and improved Finn!
Sunday, November 3, 2013
A good deed
Proud of the boys (and Paige), wanting to rake a neighbor's lawn. Even if the good deed was motivated mostly be the large quantity of leaves on that lawn compared to ours.
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