Saturday, May 04, 2013

Calgon, take me away!

Erik and Adin had a bath tonight, and while I was sitting next to them reading, Adin managed to pour about half a bottle of bubble bath into the tub.  The water was pink.  When I looked up and commented, Erik said, "I know!  I tried to tell him to stop."  He must have been trying telepathically, because I didn't hear him say stop.  Oh well.  Erik got cold and got out of the tub, but Adin stayed and played longer.  He had me cover him with bubbles, and I think he looks like he should be in the 80's commercials for Calgon. 

Also, it seems Erik is a good enough reader now, that we have to keep an eye on his room after lights out at bedtime.  He was sitting up and reading when I came to check on him tonight.  Fortunately, after karate and baseball practice, he was pretty tired and fell asleep quickly.

Thursday, May 02, 2013

Happy May Day!


My dad has been in Norway for two weeks, so the kids were excited to be invited over to my parents' last night for lasagna.  I have a flower wreath with ribbons that I bought a year or two ago when I decided that I'd better buy myself something I would buy my daughter if I had one!  I mostly just wear it on May Day and tell the boys I'm the Queen of May.  After dinner they couldn't take it anymore and had to try it on.  When they are teenagers they may be mortified by these pictures, but they smiled so nice I can't help sharing. 

Wednesday, May 01, 2013

Head spinning

It's so funny how variable Adin's maturity is.  When we are transitioning from one activity to another or from one place to another, if I don't give him a lot of mental preparation time, he can throw a fit worthy of a two year old.  However, other time his coping skills and problem solving are remarkably mature.  Playing a new game on my Kindle, each time he loses, he says cheerfully, "I did my best."  When I came in from taking out some lawn waste and commented on how cold it is outside and how cold my fingers were, he suggested I might want to make myself some hot cocoa, which I think showed a nice ability to put himself in my shoes.  Last month, when I was upset that I couldn't celebrate Erik's birthday by buying myself a coffee, he suggested I find a different way to celebrate!  That one really made me laugh because I was the one fussing like a two year old and he was the mature one putting the situation into perspective.

Erik's teacher told me last night how pleased she is with his oral Spanish.  Now the classroom expectation is that the students speak only Spanish.  She said many of the students are not yet confident and so they mumble when they speak, which makes it hard for her to hear and understand them.  She said Erik speaks out clearly.  I told her that Joe and I felt Erik seemed to turn a corner at spring break.  He seemed to miss speaking in Spanish, began using some Spanish with us, and told us he thought he was losing Spanish skills during the break (which he would not have cared about earlier).  Since then, he's been using more Spanish at home with us.  I wish I spoke and understood more Spanish.