...first bite...

 6.September.2023

Henri's 1st day of Pre-K (the homeschool edition)

"The beginning is the most important part of the work" -Plato

"Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. " - A.A. Milne

~~~

Here's to setting your spark ✨ ablaze and finding your own lifelong love of learning, little one.

Here's to celebrating your unique interests, creativity, and approach.

Here's to developing your intellect alongside your independence.

And...most importantly...here's to you and all that you are becoming!

🍎

...leaps and bounds, dinos and dares...

 Leaps and bounds, folks...leaps and bounds!

But a handful of hours ago...one turned page prior...Henri conquered 'the jump'. Two feet in the air...aloft...

After months of trying and failing...after months of frustration and consternation...after months of my staring at 'the goalpost' and watching it move ever backwards.

Until, it didn't. Until he didn't...or rather...did...did jump. By himself. For himself. At a time...in a place...by a manner of his own choosing.

A handful of hours later...and that page is done...

and another lay empty, waiting for the story of today.

(There are hours yet to come...the day only halfway through...)

And the page is already full!

Because today, I followed his lead (a bit) and decided to use his 'tools for success' to 'up the ante': I took those dinosaur puzzles that he'd jumped over to such awe and delight, and placed them atop one of the balance beams we'd tried so unsuccessfully to master.

Why not? Why not believe in magic? Why not hope that a handful of dino puzzles might just be the missing ingredient in the spell?

~~~

And, oh!

Friends...

He leapt!

I led him to the obstacle, and he...well, he sparkled....glee and anticipation and the enticement of challenge....

He sparkled...and chirruped a little battle cry...and he leapt!

Up and over...two feet in the air...weightless flight...and then landed on the other side.

A grin...from ear to ear and far beyond.

My shriek...applause...and laughter.

And then he turned right round and did it over and over and over again...each time with more abandon. A master of magic!

~~~

And then...

He looked at me with a glimmer in his eye...and took the puzzles off, laying each one carefully in a row, next to the balance beam.

A brief pause...to kneel down, raowring as he tapped on each dino with outstretched finger. Then he backed up...crouched down, pushed off...

Up! Up! And over!

I let out my breath in relief that he'd made it across without stumbling, or landing wrong, or crashing into the table.

Again and again he jumped...right over those magical dinos of bravery.

~~~

And then...

He stopped. Clapped for himself and chortled at me.

Straightened the balance beam.

Stepped carefully onto the end...and walked across it.

Oh, the pride on that little face!

The laughter bubbling up as he walked, back and forth...balancing...dinos below, at the ready to catch him in misstep.

~~~

The page is full. Perhaps the chapter is as well.

Leaps and bounds...

Dinos and dares...

And a magical little boy who mastered them all!

...leap of faith...

 For my future self, who will want the memory tied to a specific time:

Today, he jumped.

Both feet in the air.

Up, and over.

(On his own timeline, of his own accord, over an impediment of his own making.)

He'd set out his dino puzzles...all in a row...blocking off the doorway.

He trilled out a little lilting call for attention and, sure of the audience, jumped up and over. A self-congratulatory clap... then quick look up for praise.

Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

~~~

For months now, I've been 'failing' in my pt/ot efforts. The gains, impossible to see. I'd given up, a month ago...packing away the equipment "for a summer break" and revising the schedule to exclude those hopping and balancing and jumping drills.

And today? Today he jumped!

Today, it all came together for him.

By him.

Today he reminded me of the lesson I first learned from his big brother: all the pieces will settle where they are intended to, when they are intended to.

Have faith...stay the course...

Teach...and then let go...

And he'll jump when he's ready!

Dear Younger Me /or/ Life in the Time of Covid-19 (version2.0)

Dear Younger Me,

    

    NO. WAIT.  STOP!  DON’T THROW ME AWAY!

    NO BUTTERFLY EFFECT WILL BE TRIGGERED BY THE READING OF THIS!!!

    

    Whew...okay, you’re still here…
    

    Apologies for the shouting...I know how your mind works.  I promise I’ve run this through all the algorithms to make sure no part of it will adversely affect you or your family. Speaking of: Congrats!  You, super Mami, will make it through labor and delivery by the skin of your teeth...and let me tell you, it will be a rough ride but well worth it.  Henri is everything you are dreaming up right now, and more!  So set your mind at ease (ha!) and try to squeeze in a few more catnaps in the recliner before he decides to arrive.  Oh, and maybe stock up on post-partum recovery supplies on your next wander’bout the good old aisles of Tar-Jay.  (T.P., my friend...T.P.  Grab a truck load...you’re gonna need it!)  Now, how to word this so it doesn’t trip any alarms…

Be kind to yourself.
Give yourself grace to recover.
And become comfortable with the mute button.

    Anyhow...you know how right now as you read this you are worrying the heck out of yourself over Johannes?  Yeah?  Don’t!  Waste of time, young one...waste of time.  He’s going to surprise the heck out of you.  Without any spoilers (Sorry...didn’t pass inspection on any of them!) let’s just say he’s going to be the best big brother the world has ever seen. 

    So, obviously, we both know ‘something’s up’...or else I wouldn’t have risked writing to you like this. Here’s what I’m allowed to tell you:

    That virus in Asia?  It’s not staying there.  Change is coming, fast and hard.  Familiarize yourself with some new terminology now.  Go ahead and google:
    

PPE
Cytokine Storm

Distance Learning

Social-Distancing

    Whew...Mami...now, breathe.  I know, you’re hopped up on all those pregnancy hormones, but come back down to earth.  It’s really not that bad!  I mean, it is...bad…   But you don’t need to worry about it now.  What you need is a game plan.  Again, T.P.  Toilet Paper is the name of the game...trust me on this.  Just go ahead and stock up now.

    So before your crazy hormonal self spirals out of control and you think I’m writing to you from some post-Apocalyptic future where asymptomatic-carriers are mixing it up in violent protest, and Cheeto worshippers demonstrate Darwinian stereotypes, and the government hunkers into bunkers, and murder-hornets force us all indoors...take a breath (1...2...3...in...1...2...3...out) and rest assured, only 3 of those things are true.

 
    You know how everyone keeps talking to you like it’s your first go-round at motherhood, what with the “sleep before the baby comes” and “get your prep work in now”?  Err...yeah, they’re right.  Go Nike-style and Just.Do.It.  Sleepless nights are coming, and Henri’s only half to blame.   Remember that google spree you just went on?  PPE?  Get used to the sound of 3D printers running 24/7.  And prepare yourself to be prouder of Johannes then you’ve ever been before.  He’s going to surprise you. (Oh, crap...you caught that pluralization of the printer, didn’t you? Yeah, maybe start rearranging the kitchen now…”if you move it, they will come” and all.  Oh, and stock up on filament and plastic bags and print-bed tape now…you do NOT want to know how much I’m spending on shipping these days. Just go ahead and jump on Amazon quick and I’ll wait…

    Yeah, so, you fell asleep, huh?  What do you mean, “How do I know?”.  I’m you, idiot.  Future you, sitting here with my bank account screen open, hoping my words of wisdom got through to you in time to get my balance out of the red. Nevermind, I know you needed it...that whole pregnancy-insomnia thing…

    So where were we?  Right...PPE.  It’s going to consume every waking hour (and yeah, they’ll all be waking hours...Henri has reflux and since you can’t do a thing about it, it’s safe to tell you!) and basically take over the house.  Good news, though: PPE production will be Johannes’ saving grace.  Investing his skills and talents into this social-project will keep his anxiety at bay, and distract him from what you will come to learn is the de-educating of American youth known as “Distance Learning”.   You know that term “Busy Work”?  Let’s just say it’s in no way IEP-compliant, or tailored to the individual learner, or...frankly...of any educational use whatsoever.  That said, it serves a purpose: school compliancy with fulfilling 180 days no matter the how-what-where.  Prepare yourself though...it will drone on and on and on...pointless and predictable and much to the frustration of both you and Johannes...right up until today. 

    Distance-Learning is a blessing in disguise though.  You’ll both spend so much time staring at his computer screen, waiting for teacher updates and grading, that not being able to go anywhere ever won’t even leave a ripple.  Remember those shipping fees and our bank account?  Yeah...let’s just say online shopping is your Olympic sport!  I’m told it’s okay to let you know that Quarantine-Life is coming, bringing a halt to shopping for non-essentials and a massive slooooow down to shopping for groceries.  You know the gas lines at Costco?  Reimagine them as people-queues...but with 6 feet between each person and wrapping round the parking lot.  It will also shut down public spaces such as your local library (enjoy reading your current loans about 2 dozen times!), parks and recreation.  I’m here to let you know that Ergo Baby Carrier you’ve been eyeing up is totally worth the $$$...you WILL be walking up and down that side road A LOT!  Plus side:amazing convos with J-Bug while Henri lolls chest-side!

    All that staying home is a good thing, though.  You know how Johannes is?  Yeah...I know you know.  Well, social-distancing is his jam!  Just follow his lead!  He’s been avoiding peeps for years...he’ll show you how it’s done.  (And listen to him when he tells you to take your own advice.  All I can say is “the only opinions that matter come from people who matter to you” are the wisest words you’ve ever uttered and you are going to need to start practicing what you preach!)  Go ahead and let him “waste his time” on that Nightstrike mask if he wants to...it might just come in handy!

I know, I know...your eyes are starting to glaze over.  Hit that pedal and recline away...but put the blanket on your lap first..the cat’s claws haven’t been trimmed and we both know how much she enjoys napping right on that belly!  Yeowch!  I think by now Henri has grown quite adept at the in-utero kickoff!

    

    Naptime over so soon?  Okay, let’s dive back in...springtime is coming, and with it, social unrest.  Be prepared to hit the unfriend button...a lot...in the coming weeks as your clown-car of acquaintances begin to show their true colours.  The “Orange Orangutan” will prove once again that there is literally No Limit to his long-game con of the American public, his ability to stir things up, and his white supremacist leanings.  Just...be prepared.  It’s going to get nasty on all fronts, and you’ll find yourself divided between supporting the push for racial equality and supporting your friends in the first-response field. Thankfully, Henri will start rolling over and pre-crawling right when it hits fever-pitch, so you’ll be too distracted keeping him alive to fall into the pits of despair. 

    Listen, you’ve got this.  The family motto isn’t “Roll with the Punches” for nothing, after all.  It’s going to be a rough season for sure, but you’ll make it to today at least!  And hey, all that Social-Distancing will serve as a great excuse for avoiding those who are generally too close for comfort...You KNOW who we mean! 

    So stay safe...stay healthy...and when they say “push”...dig in like your life depends on it...

    

    It Will!

 
                ~You, Me, and She

P.s- Feel free to pack away all your “nice” clothes.  You won’t be wearing any of them anytime soon.  Oh, and pants!  No need for them either.

P.p.s- Do Not Under Any Circumstances pack away your makeup.  Zoom is coming...and hi-def is not your post-partum friend!

Dear Younger Me /or/ Life in the Time of Covid-19 (version1.0)

Another long abandonment comes to a close.

Despite the silence, the space still exists here, just waiting to be filled up with all the words.

To that end, enjoy this little offering "in two parts"...the first: written by my longtime-editor/cause-of-caffeine-dependency/firstborn son, as his final assignment for the school-year.  The second to follow in another post: my first attempt at filling a page in months.
~~~

Dear Younger Me,

    

    No, not the song title. ‘Tis I, your future self! *Pen flourish*  Worry not, I’ve no intention of altering the timeline. I’m just here to prepare you a bit, for what’s to come.

    By now, you’re probably aware of that somewhat mysterious virus in Asia, and are mildly concerned about it, though thankful that you are safe at home on American soil. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean quite what you think. In fact, quick tangent here: you might want to stock up on some at-home basics right about now, such as toilet paper and sanitizer. The virus, COVID-19, will eventually go on a world-tour, spreading its pestilence far and wide. The first real casualty here in the United States will be the existing public health system, as hospitals scramble to provide care for a massive uptick in patients. Worldwide demand on the necessary hospital equipment will be shockingly higher than the supply, resulting in many countries instituting lockdowns and quarantines in an effort to slow the spread. 

    Is your anxiety beginning to peak, yet?  Worry not!  I’m here to tell you that this season of your life will be the one in which you rise to the occasion! You’ll suddenly find yourself up ‘til all hours, printing and packaging PPE to donate to all the front-line workers and first-responders, because the official supplies keep getting seized by the government for their private stash. While the general public will be doing its best to “flatten the curve” by engaging in something you’ll come to know as Social-Distancing, the Head Cheeto in Charge ©️ Nightstrike’s Customs will be holding hospital supplies hostage. You, though, and other socially-minded young people will step up and find ways to produce the very items hospitals need most. Ingenuity and creativity, as well as 3-D printers will win the day! Speaking of, quick tangent alert again: maybe stock up on filament now?!? You do not want to see the shipping costs I am dealing with, young engineer!

    Speaking of rising to the occasion: You’ll have to learn how to juggle prototyping, PPE-delivery, a mysterious time-depleter known only as “Distance Learning,” and helping out with your new baby brother Henri. Good luck! You’re going to need it! Good thing you’ve always been a pursuer of higher knowledge, buddy. By the time we meet, you’ll have earned you professorship!

    You, my friend, will end up looking back on the days you were trapped in the school building, and realize that the old adage is true: you never know how good it is until it’s gone.  Back then,you were at least learning something new every day. Let’s just say “Busy Work” will be the new curriculum. Teachers will scramble to find ways to keep students engaged, without the benefit of in-person learning. It won’t work out well. Your schoolwork will continue, and Watchung Hills will be that one school that does not accommodate those who lack in some area, be it a quiet space to work, or simply a lack of a computer to use. But you will make it through, and you will be able to relax, at least a little.

    Some three months in or so, people will think that everything’s going back to normal, but you know that won’t be the case. Society at large will be “tired” of having had to adjust their typical lifestyles and the first stirrings of unrest will be explosive. Racism will have a major influx the likes of which you’ll have only read about in History books. You’ll see playing out in real-time, the concept of survival of the fittest as various bigot groups forgo safety precautions to willfully spread their hate.

    Friends will be made, friends will be lost, and the effects of, well . . . 2020, in general, will continue, as tensions rise, and you start to fear that you’ll be silenced by the new policies put in place. Brutality and violence will increase exponentially, and, at the time I write this, it may even end up reaching Somerset County. But things will change. Maybe not for a while, but hopefully for the better.

    Don’t stress over your mistakes, but recognize that you now can do better.

    

    Don’t worry about things possibly getting worse.

    It’s out of your control!!!

    What IS in your control, is your life. Make the best of it, and don’t worry about the negative in the world, or you’ll find yourself worrying for the rest of your life. 

                            Stay safe, and healthy,
                                J. W.

    P.S. Don’t worry about the cat, either! She’ll eventually come around to liking Henri.

    P.P.S. Maybe ask your mother if you can take a turn on the stock market and dump some extra change into a little thing called Zoom.

Down for the count...

Another week come and gone, and here it is Friday once again.  

It's been a mess of the week here for us.  Mister Man goes through cycles (I refer to them as A(autism) and B(better) days)  periodically, based on all sorts of sensory triggers.   On B days, we're out and about, busy as bees.  But on A days we're just barely getting to the basics.  He becomes extremely emotional, often times very depressed… and has major sleep disturbance issues and problems with daily functions.  Often times these periods hit with little to no warning, and then it's just a matter of hunkering down and getting through it.  On rare occasions I can see it coming…my Mami  senses start tingling!  And of course 10 years in, I know there are certain triggers which are guaranteed to set him off.  

One given is any sort of extreme temperature.  Here on the East Coast the weather has been horrendous...humidity and heat are the defining characteristics of an East Coast summer, but this past week has been off the charts.  Air as thick as pea soup...allergens enough to be visible...and the temperature, oh, the temperature.  Step outside and boil from the inside out!   Even with the air conditioner running 24/7 on full blast, the inside of our home has maintained above 85° day and night.  Mister Man is miserable, dysfunctional and whimpery...and my bag of tricks is proving inadequate.  

Homeschooling this week has been a joke. It's accomplished little more than make us both even more ornery than we were to begin with!  One positive note in all of this is that last week we finally made it through our chapter on division, and one little boy is absolutely delighted to be done with it!  While he generally loves math, and is very advanced and capable, let's just say long division involving hundreds and thousands is not his forte!  This week we've moved onto rounding and estimating reviews, and decimals.  One new strategy I am trying this homeschooling session is allowing him to use the iPad for his creative writing.  Handwriting has always been a problem for him. Rather then waste the time that it would take for him to handwrite out a short story (an excercise in futility) it makes much more sense to me to allow him to use the microphone feature and create a word document.  We can tackle the writing dysgraphia in other ways, without interfering with the creative process.  Of course the microphone presents problems in and of itself.  Because he tends to speak quietly and not very clearly, the microphone transcription has written some very interesting babble.  So in that regard, using the microphone is almost like a speech-therapy session. He has to work extra hard at enunciating his words and speaking in concise sentences.  And he has to think out what he wants to say in advance, before pressing the button.  The first few days using this method were definitely challenging, but I feel as though we are progressing nicely.  His current story is really filling out quite well.  

As for me, my allergies have been wreaking havoc on my whole system.  About eight or so years ago I started getting this strange eye swelling thing. The very first time it happened I woke up in the morning and my eye was swollen shut. It looked as though there was a golf ball behind my eyelid.  The whole thing itched like crazy and it looked as though all the fluid in my tear ducts just backed up.  Over the course of the next few hours the swelling went down completely.  In the months following, this continued to happen about twice a week. Coming on overnight and disappearing in a few hours.  I tried allergy eyedrops, and even tried changing the allergy prescription I take every day. But to no avail.  About a year in, I noticed that it was happening less frequently but the symptoms were lasting longer.  And before the swelling set in, the area around my eyelid would itch horribly.  Fast forward to present day, and now it happens much less often, but the symptoms stick around for days. And instead of my just noticing it affecting my eyes, it seems as though my whole body is having an allergic reaction.  Years ago when this first started happening, Mister Man told me I looked like a one-eyed snake monster...because clearly it was incredibly disfiguring.  What can I say?  That description stuck in my mind. So now every time it happens, I not only feel unwell but also have that phrase running through my head!  Talk about feeling insecure!

Hoping for a weekend reprieve...

~Leanna

Full steam ahead!

How can it be that July has snuck up on us so quickly?  

The ringing of the last bell on the last school day of the year always seems to me to be the start of a race...a few short days of June to frantically prep and plan and then two altogether too-short months before school reasserts it's control over our lives.  If you happen to follow me on Pinterest then you know full well how many grand "plans" I have...and two months is barely time enough to make a dent!  

Summer vacation means two things in our little family...fun and hard work.  

The fun is easy enough...Mister Man is my favorite person to hang with whether poolside or picnicking, adventuring or lazing! Being able to stop-drop-and watch as he experiences new things or delights in little pleasures is  amazing to me.  It's that notion that his experience of life is so very different and yet so very similar to mine that just boggles my mind!  One of my favorite activities just about anytime of year happens whenever we are snuggled up on the sofa reading. At some point along the way when he doesn't notice I'll look up from my own book and just watch his face as he's reading along in his own book.  You can see the whole story play out on his features…this innocent, unrestrained, intense emotional reaction to the written word and imagination.  It's like a little dose of refreshment in this all together manicured, planned out world we live in where people moderate not just the expression in their voice but the expression on their faces as well.  

{ In my son at 10 years old, there is still a bounty of unguarded moments where true emotion shines through.  Full open-faced delight at the playground...shoulder-slumping disappointment...scrunched up worry, and oh, the sparkle in those brilliant blue eyes!   If it were only so simple a matter as wishing, I would wish that he always retain each and everyone of those expressions! }

Excuse the digression...

The fun, as I wrote, is easy enough. I've stocked the calendar with a veritable feast  of daytrips and crafts and summer activities.  Because the one larger vacation that I planned for this summer has now doubled (if not tripled!?!)  in price, the rest of our summer trips will have to be much more budget friendly then I had previously planned.  Luckily, we've got this whole budget thing down.  If there's one thing this little family of mine knows how to do right, it's how to make fun affordable.  I tell you, I firmly believe that the world's best financial planners are the single mothers! Why, we know how to extract every single cent out of a dollar and make it work!  That whole national debt thing? Assemble a team of single mothers to tackle it, and I can assure you they'll iron all the kinks out! :) 

As for the hard work, that's the challenge for both Mister Man and myself.  While  I supplement his public school education year-long with a dose of homeschooling, that ramps up into overdrive when summertime hits.  Those previously mentioned last few days of June?  I spend them running around like a chicken with its head cut off looking for all the supplies I'll need for our Summer/Homeschool, assembling lesson plans and reward charts, creating hundreds of worksheets and assignments, and repurposing the dine-in kitchen as a fully equipped classroom.  

Despite the school's staunch refusal to allow Mister Man to skip forward a grade or two, I have chosen to be "that sort of mother " who continues to challenge her child.  The grim reality is that my son's educational needs are not being addressed within the public school system during the course of the school year.  Because of his autism diagnosis and the social and communication issues that come alongside, I had chosen to hold him back from entering  kindergarten for an extra year in hopes that all the therapies and skill building would help him better adjust  to the demands of a typical main-stream schoolday when the time came.   While I still hold that this was the best decision in many ways, it has certainly come at a cost.  Mister Man is extremely bright…far more so then I.  His inherent intellect is but one facet of the greater problem with his school.  I think it far  more reasonable to assume that it is his curiosity and his love of learning that makes it so difficult for him to stay focused in a classroom that is meeting the needs of the lowest average.  Granted, the school does provide two honors programs, one in math and one in   science.  So at least every once in a while he gets out of the classroom and into a smaller group where the students are at the same level that he is.  But for the most part his schooldays are made up of nothing more than busy work. Copying over the same information that he learned two years prior on his own or at home with me.  

Come fall he'll be entering the fourth grade at school.  But by summer's end if all goes as planned,  he will probably have mastered sixth-grade math, science, and reading comprehension.  And written more than his fair share of "Henry stories" to boot!  

The challenge for me is always finding ways to continue to interest and challenge him.  He gets easily bored if we go over one lesson to many times.  It's as though his brain is akin to a computer… it takes in nd all the information the first time, all the tools and all the rules and new data...and builds a permanent file.  So once he's gotten the concept and gotten it right, to him it's a waste of time to go back over again.

And then there's that tricky aspect of creative writing.  It's fair to say that this is the area of Mister Man's greatest struggle.  It's not the writing that presents the problem per se, it's the necessity to draw from his imagination and create something new, rather than relying on fact and figure.  And I myself have difficulty comprehending his difficulty, because I see him draw from his imagination and create something new in all these other areas of life but somehow there's this stopgap when it comes to putting pen to paper or finger to keyboard. 

Sometimes the simple approach really is the best approach. And nowhere has this showed itself to be more true than when it comes to my son and his struggles with creative writing.  It's a lesson I learned the hard way, after having created all sorts of original documents dealing with the writing process and writing prompts.  One after another, those worksheets were met with anxiety and frustration and finally a sense of failure.  Finally, the light went on. I made the simple suggestion that he try writing a story about his favorite stuffed animal...the beloved and quite more...Henry the raccoon.  

And yes, it was that simple.

To this day the stories continue.  The adventures of this little furry buddy are vast and unending.  He is limited only by the imagination of his doting owner.  

What a lucky mother I am to have these years' worth of pages to cherish far into the future.  From awkward scribblings in kindergarten to concerted block type print from last summer...it's a whole history captured on page.  I've no doubt the adventures dear Henry goes on this summer will far surpass the ones of previous years.  And in years to come I will probably be able to see little bits and pieces of our summer as reimagined and rewritten for Henry to experience literally.  

Wearing all the hats can at times feel monumentally overwhelming.  My single mom story reads like a whole cast of characters...mother, teacher, therapist, friend, father, disciplinarian, taskmaster, example, comforter...the list is endless.  To define myself in the simplest of terms, I must be all things at all times for this one person.  And that can be overwhelming, and stressful, and confusing.  It can be exhausting and frustrating and disappointing.  I can feel like I'm succeeding in one moment and failing the next.  And that's not even taking into account all the sleepless nights when I am busy covering all the bases.  

But if there's one thing I want you to know about all of this, it's this one bold truth:

It is all worth it. 

He is worth it. 

...slip-n-slide...

Oh boy, readers, was I ever right!  Mister Man and I both skidded down the length of the driveway this morning with umbrellas in tow and balance not so!  Thank goodness we were holding hands...I'm fairly certain that alone kept us mostly upright!  The ground here is just soaked through, so much so that the bottom of the driveway is taking on quick-sand qualities!

We've currently got several science projects in the works going on in and around the homefront.  For Christmas I gifted Mister Man with a grow your own crystals kit, and after a few months of putting it off finally got the first stage up and running.  We're currently observing the 8-10 day growth cycle of some faux amethyst.  (Yay-Mister Man's birthstone and one of my favourites!  I'm partial to emeralds, sapphires and amethysts!)  I was telling my sister about this on the phone and her response was priceless: "Oh, and then someday he can grow his Mami a whole necklace!"  Love! Mister Man is definitely totally all in on this experiment...he checks the bowl first thing in the morning, then again when he gets home, and right before bed.  I'm kicking myself though, because I really should have set him up with a notebook to journal any changes.  Ah well, next time!  We're both eagerly awaiting the end of the allotted time...and the next few stages ahead that involve growing a geode.  So cool!  Future paperweight, here we come!  In the meantime, we're measuring daily precipitation outside and then bringing those same containers in to measure evaporation inside.    

Mister Man is a a learning rockstar!  I am, of course, being modest. *wink*  He has, despite some pretty hefty odds, this utterly amazing love of learning and insatiable curiousity.  Hitting up google for answers to offbeat questions is my daily routine.  He asks awesome questions.  Too bad I don't often have the answers!  And he loves to take everything to the next level.  So if he begins to learn about something interesting at school he will come home wanting to keep going with it.  We make weekly treks to the library and leave with bags full.  And honestly...I love every minute of it! This was exactly what I wanted our life to be!

Of course, in the back of my head is that little niggling voice cautioning me that because he is so advanced, he might get bored.  And truthfully, we've already seen a lot of that this year in first grade.  My stance so far is that I don't really care if he's bored at school.  In the long term he's fostering a love of educating himself, and that's more important in my mind than whether or not he zones out in class when the teacher is reviewing juvenile facts and figures.  The caution is, I suppose, that if he's advancing to quickly then he may backslide at school because he's to bored to complete the guided tasks.  Don't get me wrong...I want him to excell in school...definitely.  But I won't stop encouraging him to dig deeper, or stop homeschooling him in more advanced areas, just because teacher says he's bored.  I'd rather pose to them the challenge of this avid reader, eager beaver child of mine and have them figure out new ways to challenge him!

Mister Man's awesome grandparents Omi and Grandad were generous enough to gift him an early birthday present in the form of paying for his next Mad Science course.  I wasn't to thrilled with this program when he took it in the fall, but he seemed to love it.  The subject matters are completely different for the spring sessions, and I can only hope that the instructor will be also.  The fall session was a fail for me mainly because the instructor was a foreigner with such a thick accent that the students could not understand most of the material she was presenting.  I think Mister Man was so psyched about it not because of any award-winning teaching on her part, but because of the weekly experiments he got to bring home and do with either Grandad or myself. 

I've also just signed this boy of mine up for the spring session of TOPSoccer...and I have to say I'm looking forward to returning to soccer mom mode so much!  By the end of the fall season I was completely in love with every single person on that field!  Loved the coach, and the assistant and every single high-school volunteer Buddy...all these amazing people gathered together in one place to bring joy to these kids of ours.  I also met a new special-needs mom friend there...so for that alone I have fond thoughts!  I'm totally excited though for the upcoming season, and can't wait to take Mister Man in for some new cleats and shinguards!  I'm making up a little certificate printout for his birthday, with the TOPSoccer spring session and all the gear he will need as one of his birthday gifts.  Little did I ever dream that I, of all people, would ever be a soccer mom! 

Meanwhile, said birthday is but a few days away!  It's the craziest thing in the world, to think that this baby of mine will be turning 8!!!   Mister Man has had a hard time of it this year in school, with bullying incidents (in which he was the victim) and daily depression over having no school friends (his autism symptoms seem to mark him as an outcast).  So this year rather than throwing a party where all those kids who are mean to him can come and have fun and eat good food (NO WAY!), we're keeping things simple the day of and then celebrating in a big way with a weekend trip to Philly to visit my sis/his aunt!  So this weekend we'll be cashing in all his birthday rewards at Build-a-Bear, Lego, Toys-r-Us, etc...  His Omi and Grandad are taking him to see The Wizard of OZ the day before his birthday as a special treat!  And on Monday, we'll be ringing in the 8th birthday of this phenomenal miracle boy with a birthday dinner at one of his favourite restaurants!  (See I get a gift also-the gift of not having to cook!)  The big gift this year, aside from the trip to Philly and the standard Transformers, will be a gift card for Disney.  He's desperate to go, and I think if in lieu of a ton of little stuff for his birthday and other upcoming holidays, I save up for the larger gift cards (which can be redeemed towards tickets!) then I might just be able to make it happen next winter!  So now I'm just trying to figure out how to re-create the commercial vibe, where the kid opens the envelope and a whole celebration bursts out.  I'm thinking helium balloons and streamers inside a cardboard box might work well?!?

Alrighty...time to run...can't keep my espresso machine waiting...she'd think it impolite! :)

...ghosts in jammies...

Not that you'd really have any reason to suspect it based on the content of this blog, but Mister Man and I are pretty darn crafty. In our previous home, the walls bore an ever rotating art installment. And this proud Mami spent a small fortune on frames for countless masterpieces. At one point I started photographing each picture, painting and miscellaneous craft and pieced together photo albums of Mister Man's creative prowess. (Hint-it's a bit time consuming to do so, but it is a great and space-effective way to 'hold onto' each and every last scribble!)

Now we deal in folders, boxes and patchwork giant envelopes to consolidate our ever-growing collection. And Mister Man has learned the value in 'sharing' his artwork also...whether it's destined for his grandparents' homes or off in the mail to a penpal or packed in with cookies for the local nursing home...

The upshot is, we like to create. And getting icky, oocky and just plain dirty is a major perk!

With Halloween mere days away you can bet we're theming right now...ghosts, goblins, pumpkins, bats...you name it, we're making it. And this morning was no different. When Mister Man was done with breakfast he claimed the right to remain in his pajamas based solely on the fact that 'It's Halloween month and ghosts wear theirs the whole month long..." True that, Mister Man, true that...no use in arguing perfect logic like that.

So ghosts in their jammies it is:

To start you'll need some supplies. I tend to retain every scrap and schnibble for future use, but I think you'll agree that in this case the bigger the paper, the better. Grab some construction paper (orange and black) and some WASHABLE white paint. The scissors and string will come later.



Now for the fun! I use cosmetic sponges for arts'n'crafts a lot. There cheap and available just about anywhere in bulk packaging. Using the sponge apply paint to those paws. (I did mine first as a reference so Mister Man could mimic.) And then go SPLAT!





A warm bowl of water and a washcloth are a quick fix to painty fingers.

And yes, Mister Man, we're doing the piggies also! Sponge to apply and this time step fully onto the paper. The print won't come out right if you don't actually stand up.



While that's taking its sweet old time drying, why not make some pumpkins. Orange paint, pointer fingers and away we go. I tried to make mine stripy...Mister Man made his lumpy!



So depending on how many people are involved, your print number may vary. (How disturbing is it that Mister Man's 7 year old feet are not that much smaller than mine!?!)



Get out those scissors and cut out your ghosties! I tried to switch it up a bit from shape to shap. Mister Man could have easily done this with his children's safety scissors (lefties no less!) but he was showering for soccer.



Jumbly skeleton bits!


Time to give those ghosties a personality all their own. Again I varied it from print to print. Admission: we tried to use the fun glitter glue pens to do this the first time but learned the hard way that they're not good for much but mess. So I switched them out for permanent markers. Mister Man directed the look, I did the draw.


This brings us to admission two: see those cute orange alphabet stickers spelling out 'Happy Halloween'? Yeah, they didn't feel the need to stick so much...so we had to make do with stenciling around them and letting them fall off. Perhaps hoarding the craft supplies for 7 years should not apply to stickers and adhesives?!?



Using a long length of string and festive beads we picked a simple pattern and prepared our line. (Tip-count out all your beads, string them all on the line...then make the knots. So much easier!)



I used plain old clear tape to string those babies up and hang them out to flutter.



Can you guess which fierce ghosty is Mister Man's fave?



Season's greeting peeps! :)

...the rewards of a good education...

With the soundtrack of 'De-Lovely' on repeat, and his Mami singing along over a sink full of dishes, Mister Man is busy at the kitchen table this morning...having set a new challenge for himself regarding the completion of his math workbook. Yesterday, I'm so proud to relate, he raced to the end of his reading comprehension workbook and won his reward. Today he's going for gold again and I've no doubt by the end of the day his 'Bank of J-Bug Vault' jar will be overflowing with all the new rewards "bucks" he's been earning for himself.



Our summer-homeschool session is well underway, having begun the Monday after his Kindergarten year ended. And it's been going exceptionally well. I asked for a lot of input from Mister Man himself in creating the structured program and that seems to have added another motivational factor into his completing each task. He's taking more of an interest in the work because he had a say in what that work would be. Now wouldn't that be nice to see translated into an adult real-world workplace? Hah! Of course, I'm not negating the impact of a handy rewards system to perk up the student when boredom strikes or energy lags!



And having the rewards envelope present at every school-session serves as a visual reminder that it's enclosed treasures are ripe for the picking...Mister Man need only stay focused and complete the task assigned and he'll be able to add to his stash!



So far, so GREAT! At the rate we've been able to manage, we may well get into a good deal of 2nd grade curriculum before Mister Man's 1st grade school year starts in the fall.