Big Ears

Today was Sam's final parent/teacher conference, where his teacher shared with me his end of year test results. Sam has had a great year, with reading, writing, and spelling above his grade level. His classroom behavior is good, and his daydreaming is getting better, although he still stays much more focused when placed near the teacher. I am concerned about whether this daydreaming habit will get worse when he starts first grade next year and goes to school all day, instead of just a half day. We'll just have to wait and see.

Anyway, Mrs. Wilson sent home a summer journal to work on, and told me Sam is capable of writing three sentences for each journal entry. I had already been wondering how I was going to keep him reading this summer without making it too much of a chore for both of us. Currently, we read together at bedtime each night, but unless he has a homework book, I do the majority of the reading. Adding journal writing to it is going to make even more homework for him. So on the drive home I decided to set up a sticker chart/calendar, and on each weekday Sam either has to read to an adult for 15 minutes or complete one journal entry to get a sticker. After so many stickers, he can get a reward of some kind. I ran my plan by Ben when I got home. Sam was in the other room, but drawing a picture and paying no attention to us. Or so I thought.

Tonight:
Sam: Tonight can I read my WALL-E book by myself?
Me: To me or to yourself?
Sam: I want to read it to you.
Me: Wow, that would be great. I would love that.
Sam: I want to read to you EVERY night.

By now I'm wondering if I'm dreaming - this is so unlike him.

Me: That would be so wonderful. I like it when you read to me.
Sam: Yeah, cause I want a new toy!

So I guess he heard my earlier conversation. Good news - he wants to read, at least for now. Bad news - I hate to bribe him to read, I would much rather he learn to love reading like I do, and like Maria does. I never had to bribe her, but Sam is totally different. But I also don't want him to forget everything he learned at school this year. So I guess we'll try the sticker chart and see how it goes.

Maria's Slumber Party

Last night Maria had a slumber party to celebrate her 10th birthday on Friday. We tried this two years ago, and it was a real headache. So this time we changed a few things - mainly, invited four girls instead of eight. Also, we were able to have Sam spend the night with Grandma and Grandpa Keller (thanks!), and even though he wasn't a lot of trouble last time, it's just better for the girls to not have a little brother following them around. But we (especially Ben) were still not really looking forward to this party, after our last experience.

And this year is was great! All the girls were very well behaved and easy, and even fun to talk to and hang out with. We took them to the Dublin Rec Center to swim for a couple of hours, then back home for pizza, cake, pinata and presents. After that it was 9:00 and the girls played downstairs until about 10:30, when we had them get out their sleeping bags and start a movie. Maria decided she wanted everyone to sleep in the basement, after I suggested it, and it worked out well because not only did they have more privacy, but they didn't wake up with the sun this morning. Anyway, I went down to check on them about 11:45, when I couldn't stay awake any longer, and they were all laying peacefully watching High School Musical 3. They ended up turning off the movie (on their own) and going to sleep shortly after - around midnight. A couple girls were up about 7:30 this morning, and got the other girls up at 8:00.

Maria had a blast and I am amazed at how easy it was - so much better than two years ago! Now I won't be dreading the next one. And another event from our crazy May is over, which makes my life easier. Next up - Maria's family party next Sunday, after a week of lots of work commitments - especially for Ben - including a concert and graduation next Saturday. But with the recital and now slumber party over, the worst is behind us.

Circus!

Last night we took the kids to the Ringling Brothers/ Barnum and Bailey Circus. It has been brought to our attention off and on over the years that the kids have never been to a circus (which isn't completely true, Maria went when she was three), but mostly it's because they always come to town in the middle of May, when we have so many other things going on. But this year we made it a priority.

And it was so worth it, because the kids loved it. They both sat on the edge of their seats during the first half (energy levels started to wane in the second half -it was a Friday night). And Sam must have said "That's awesome" a million times. In addition to the usual circus stuff, they also had stunt motorcyclists which was right up Sam's alley.

So I'm glad we finally got to go - even if it will make getting the kids out of bed for soccer soon difficult - we didn't get home until 11:00!

Maria's New Haircut

Here's the new haircut - sorry it took me a few hours to get this posted - this is the first time I've sat down since then, unless you count eating dinner. Seems like there is never enough time in the day during this time of year! Anyway, she has a short bob, and she loves it. It looks great. We're still wondering how it'll look when we do it at home - she doesn't like to blow dry and that's what they did at the hair place. But she is so happy with it - I can't get over how much older she looks!

Mother's Day

Today was a pretty good day. It's so nice to be loved and appreciated, and gives me a chance to remind myself of how blessed I really am. On the gift side, both kids were so excited about the gifts they made me at school that they had to give them to me Friday night. Sam had painted a pot and planted petunias in it - it looks pretty sitting on the deck table. And Maria wrote a wonderful poem about me, showing not only talent as a writer but also that she knows me so well.

This morning they gave me a few other small gifts that Ben and Maria had bought yesterday (Sam didn't want to go shopping). I got a pair of Crocs, a running shirt, and Maria picked out a summer outfit for the bear on my bed at Build-a-Bear workshop. We were going to go out for lunch, but lack of planning ahead meant that we were not able to get a decent reservation at Brio for today - we've been so busy this week we didn't really think about Mother's Day until yesterday. So we are going there for dinner before the circus on Friday night - a belated Mother's Day dinner, but so worth it. Ben also did some of my Sunday chores for me, which was wonderful.

All in all, a great day and a good reminder of how lucky I am to have such a wonderful family!

Maria's Recitals...Finally

Here are a few pictures from Maria's recital last night. She was in both Friday and Saturday nights' shows, but on Friday she just did gymnastics, whereas Saturday she did ballet and gymnastics. Ben went by himself on Friday, since he has not been to any rehearsals and had not seen her perform yet. Also, it was good for me to spend some time with Sam who I did not see much this week. Ben had a good time and said Maria did great, and Sam and I had a movie and chips night and watched WALLE.

Last night we all went including both sets of grandparents. With all of the complaining about the rehearsals, I really do enjoy watching Maria perform and am so proud of how talented she is. I do have to admit, though, I'm glad it's over. It's the first activity to finish as the end of the school year draws nearer, and Tuesday evenings will be much easier now as well with only piano for Maria for a few more weeks.

Tomorrow I am taking her to get her hair cut. She has been growing her bangs out for about nine months, and has been ready for a new, shorter haircut for several weeks. We needed to wait until after the recital was over so that I don't have to worry about it being too short for a bun, so she is so ready to get the haircut tomorrow - we're going right after school. Stay tuned for pictures.

Our Little Engineer

Sam has always been a builder. I used to be stunned at how he could sit and build with Legos for hours, even though getting him to sit through a 2 hour movie seemed impossible. He has been building with Legos for a few years, and always impresses me with his creativity in his designs. The last week or two he has started to play with Maria's K'NEX set she got a couple of Christmases ago, and again is stunning in his ability. He works with them for hours - some afternoon/evenings it's just about the only thing he plays with. And he discovered how some pieces light up and incorporates those into his latest design. He also tells us all about what his creation is and how he has designed particular parts with their function in mind.

Yesterday he started to use the instruction booklet to build some of the K'NEX designs. And again, I have been amazed at how long he can keep at it, and how he follows the directions so easily. He never asks for help, unless he has misplaced a piece. This is a picture he took himself of his fire truck (or fire engine, I forget which).

I really wonder if maybe he will grow up to go into some type of engineering or similar career. It's amazing how grown up he seems when he can do so much building independently.

Maria's Ballet Costume

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Dance Rehearsals

Maria and I are in the midst of dress rehearsals - we were there from 5-8 tonight and tomorrow will be 4-8. It would be so much more tolerable if she were only in one show - then the number of dress rehearsals would be manageable. But it has been a long evening, and knowing I'll be there again all evening tomorrow almost makes it unbearable.

They also got strict about videotaping this year, so I was not able to tape and post her routines on the blog like I did last year. I did take this picture of Maria (in her gymnastics costume) with Lindsey (in her ballet costume). They will both be in Friday's show - Maria only for gymnastics, Lindsey for Pre-Ballet and Pre-Tap.

Helping out Dad

Ben (and the kids) have been working hard at shrinking the dirt piles in the backyard. Mother Nature has not been real cooperative this week, as the dirt needs to be fairly dry to get very far. We've had a busy morning of soccer, errand running, and other household chores. Ben needed a nap before he got to the dirt pile, but I saw that the kids decided to see what they could get done on their own - without saying a word to us. As far as we know, they're just outside playing. Aren't they sweet?