Sunday, June 22, 2014

Summer!

 

Our first week of summer schedule was a success. Whew! It is going to be a great summer....but I will be glad for the in-breath that is autumn! Leaves turning, Michaelmas, cool breezes. My favorite season. In the meantime, though, I will enjoy SUMMER!

 

E was super nervous about the gym schedule change, so I made him a schedule:

Which helped, along with a new bedtime routine to include a guided imagery sort of ongoing story (with the hope that when he's anxious and trying to fall asleep, he can continue the story himself to calm down).

 

During the school year, E's gymnastics does not let out until 8pm. He gets home at 8:15, eats dinner, showers off all the chalk, and.....doesn't wind down until after 10pm. And that's with a loooot of help from us. Luckily E then sleeps in until 8am, but meanwhile C has to be up at 5:30 or earlier for work. After a whole school year of this, we are worn out! e also started sleeping in a bit in the last few months, pushing her bedtime later and later. We needed a new plan!

 

Along came summer. No more late trainings. Woo hoo! I started waking the kids up at 6am, making sure we spent a lot of time outside, and bam! For the most part, no trouble with earlier bedtimes! e is now solidly falling asleep before 8 and waking up on her own at 6. E....well....mostly he's asleep by 9:15. Sometimes 11. I still have to wake him at 6 so I know it isn't internalized yet. Still a fair amount of anxiety at bedtime. But I see improvements. Slow and steady, right? It's only been one week.

 

The 'lessons' block you see on the schedule includes math and spelling for E and piano practice for e. Plenty of exploring and creating, too. And gardening. Our garden has taken off! We have snap peas every day (yum!) and most days a strawberry. Baby watermelon, cucumbers, and peppers. Delicious herbs. E loves to chew on chives.

 

Yesterday we went to see Malificent at the base theater. E had been so anxious about being in a theater- too loud, too big. But on base, the movie theater is in an auditorium where band concerts are also held. The screen is smaller and farther away, the sound not as loud. E came away happy, as did the rest of us. :)

 

Saturday, June 14, 2014

Birthdays, closets, gardens...

e turned 7. A rising second grader! She got her donuts, fruit pizza, dinner pizza, ham and cheese, and everything else she requested. She had a little party at the pool. She got very thoughtful gifts. Her friend J even gave her his lucky fishing pole! From family she was given a pool pass (with a promise to use it every Friday, weather pending), a week of day camp at the botanical gardens, and a few garden art lessons. Plus two new dresses- Nana is the supplier of all things pretty- and some art odds and ends for creativity from Grandma. Hard to believe my baby is 7. First grade is over. Onward and upward, right?

C took a week of leave and built E a closet. Built. A. Closet. I'm impressed. I married a musician, not a carpenter! Yet he has risen to the challenge and did a beautiful job. In this picture I haven't quite finished painting. I love E's color choices. Such a happy room.

Our wedding anniversary was at the end of May, but I had to include a picture of the first ever anniversary card we've received from our children. :) 14 years, after 5 years of dating! (I love C's hair in the pic!)

Finishing up school...though to some degree we will school year-round. More on that later.

 

After 6 delicious radishes were harvested and eaten, we opted to leave the last two (which have since bloomed the prettiest purple flowers!) as sacrificial plants. We collected any caterpillars we found and watched them grow. When they emerged....cabbage moths! My apologies to nearby gardeners, but we all learned a lot from watching those little buggers.

We went strawberry picking with our friends A and D and their mom Y- they are teaching us Spanish! But about the strawberries...we left the patch with 2 full buckets. By the time we got home, well, they weren't so full. :)

Our snap peas are producing! Each day we get at least 5. Next year we will plant many more...these are delicious! Our pumpkin and cucumber are flowering, and baby peppers are growing. The basil and chives are very happy. A new batch of strawberries is even ripening!

I love this picture. She continues to be the comic relief on our toughest days.

 

Monday, June 2, 2014

Happy Mathrs Day

I am way, way behind the times. Way. Way, WAY behind. We've been busy with lessons, a birthday, a closet, more lessons- which I'll share soon- a new friend, leave, and the garden. Oh, the garden. Life is good. So here's a few pics from (ahem) weeks ago.