Catching up with a morning blog!

My family has succeeded at making me feel guilty for being so far behind on my blog so I am going to try this. I am going to blog in the morning instead of at night. By the time I get to quiet time at night when all the kids are in bed my brain squeals that it is quiet time for it too. So even though I can continue to go through the motions of laundry or whatever else there is that needs to be done the brain has officially shutdown.

Everything is going pretty well! As a matter of fact at the Family meeting yesterday Louis and I only had minimal concerns ... put the bikes up in the evening, reminders to close the bathroom door (they are still knocking and so that is great!). Hmmm maybe they feel like if they do not shut the door they are helping the other family members out since they then do not have to knock! No ... I think they are just getting in too big of a hurry. ; )

Jennifer is going to be gone until Thursday, she is getting a good friend to help her study for the EMT exam. I am so thankful for Seven, she has been very good to Jennifer. I was talking to Jenn this AM which led to a pep talk about the word "try". I told her she needed to get that word out of her vocabulary. The word try gives us an easy out. The only words she should use are, AM, CAN, WILL, CONSIDER IT DONE, etc. She said okay ... I hope she really thinks about that.

Allison is struggling in school in several areas. They tested her math skills specifically a week ago or so and she is at a level below where she should be. Jenn and I are meeting with all of the teachers and the counselor on Friday to discuss ideas and plans. I also ordered a few systems to help with math, reading, and deductive reasoning. It is going to be some long hours of studying for her but it is critical. She just started at this school in January. It irritates me that the school she went to before this did not catch this. They have been letting her fall through the cracks for a while ... I shutter to think what might have happened had the kids not moved here.

Matthew is doing great! Grades are good, behavior is good. He is very gifted in alot of areas but he does not like changes to his routine. He is also very affected by energy whether it is positive or negative. I know we all are but his is so much more evident I think. He loves Ms. Manis as do we, she has has a very calming demeanor. Other teachers he has had complained of behavior issues but now I have to wonder if they were negative or disorganized. He would not do well with that.

Braeden is just so naturally charming! If you do get upset with him it will not last when he flashes that disarming smile. After talking to his teacher Ms. Meeks, and the principal along with other "been there done that" people Jennifer has decided to have him do 1st grade again next year. His birthday is in August which makes him almost a full year younger than most of classmates. I went on his field trip to the museum last week and I told Jennifer that keeping him back is definitely a good idea. He really is not as mature as the others. In children there are those times that the difference a year makes is phenomenal and I believe that jump from 6-7 is one of them. Those other boys in his class are very much BOYS in there actions and words and size. Braeden is still very much a LITTLE BOY in those ways. When I first got there and saw Braeden with another one of the boys I thought, "Oh he must have been held back, look how much taller and bigger he is than Braeden". And then another and I thought WOW another one that was possibly held back. And then I got to really scanning the crowd and realized, "No, Braeden is just little!" Doing this with Braeden I think will put a lift in his step next year. He does get down on himself at times.

Well enough of that let me tell you about the field trip. It was so much fun. We went to the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History. If it is in my power I will not miss any of their field trips as long as they want me there! There is nothing brighter than Braeden's face when I tapped him on the shoulder to let him know I was there. He turned around and it took him a minute I think to process that it was really me, then he smiled in such a way that every tooth in his mouth showed and his eyes lit up!

He went back to playing but every so often I would see him leaned over to a friends ear, hand over mouth, eyes cut in my direction, finger pointing at me, and in a voice I am sure in his world seemed like a whisper he said, "That is my Grandma!". He was so proud. When Ms. Meeks divided up the kids, 2-3 to an adult, and then told them to be sure and stay with their adults, Braeden grabbed me and hugged me and said, "I am staying with my Grandma!"

For the record, Braeden loved the dinosaur exhibit and the dino dig site but hated the Omni theatre. If you have not been, in the beginning they have it so you feel like you are in a helicopter, bobbing and weaving over the city. You really do at one point feel like you are falling forward out of your seat. It is unnerving! I was okay because I knew that was pretty much the worst of it ... Braeden did not feel that way so we went to the Quiet Room. You still get the effect but it is not as intense. Braeden said the Quiet Room was like moving around in a robot and I thought that was a great analogy.