Christmas Cheer and Presentation Kudos

First of all, today was Oldest's big explorer presentation. He had to make a poster and give an oral presentation on his explorer, Sir Thomas Cavendish. Yesterday, he gave a practice presentation to the other special needs kids and today, he gave it to the "general education" kids. Totally a big deal, not just for him, but it also validates to his teachers that "yes" he can do the work of the typical kids. They worked really hard with him to help him with the poster and the presentation. I ran into his para pro and she said that she couldn't sleep last night she was so nervous. She said he did a great job and even answered three questions (what was the name of the ship he sailed, when was he born and one other). His general education teacher was so proud of him and said he spoke clearly and did a great job! Whoot!

Today was also Youngest's Santa's Workshop party. Typically, the kindergarteners do a "Christmas in Mexico", but due to time constraints (the Wednesday schedule and snow before Thanksgiving), they came up with the "Santa Workshop" theme.

He had six stations. He made a candy cane mouse. He played 'build a tree' math dice partner game (which I was assigned to monitor). He had a color word reading mini book patterned after "Brown Bear". He made a Santa apple. He played Bingo. He played another math dice game.

Again, I am tired after 'teaching' for a morning. What is wrong with me? I used to teach full days and be full of energy!

Final Conference

Last week, I had the final conference with Middle Dude's teacher. His conference is always interesting. I realize at these conferences that I have really the WHOLE spectrum of learners. My goal is always to try to understand how to deal with a high cap type kid, which is more challenging than a boy with autism.

Her first comment to me was, "have you had him tested for High Cap?". You know if that conversation starts out with that where the conference is going. We did have him tested last Spring (the first time he could be tested) and he did not pass. There were three parts and he passed one part and he barely missed the other two. She recommended we either have him tested again this year, or if he has anxiety (he's been having some anxiety, 3rd grade is a challenging grade and she said most high cap kids struggle in 3rd grade because they can no longer 'breeze' through it, they actually have to 'prove' that they know the answer).

Anyway, he got mostly 4s. A "4" is equivalent to a 95% or above (crazy above the norm). He would have gotten 4s on addition and subtraction facts, but he got a 93% in addition facts and a 94% on subtraction facts. She said that, even though they are just starting out multiplication, he has basically mastered multiplication. He does have to work on facts, but that is a memorization exercise.

His Reading was also good. I can't remember off hand what his scores were, but they were high. Again, this is a tough grade. He's been struggling with "Reader's Response' (comprehension questions) and she said that if they moved him down a level, he'd still be struggling (she does the same work that the upper group does, there are a LOT of fantastic readers in the 3rd grade). She said that everyone struggles with Reader's Response.

Anyway, she loves having him in class. I had to bring in all three boys and Oldest was going into random third grade rooms and drinking water. Who knows what that was all about. He was supposed to stay in the 'pod' area (where the computers are) and play on the computers.

A Little Post-Thanksgiving Cheer

Due to last week's snow when the district delayed school on Monday and cancelled Tuesday, Thanksgiving celebrations were postponed.

On a different note, as I was entering the school, I saw Oldest as he was getting off of the bus and he walked me in a talked to me (as in not grunting, talking to me!). Very cute.

Yesterday, Monday, I went in and helped for Squanto's celebration. Youngest had several stations....with me, he and his friends had to decorate their Thanksgiving Day card and do a 'caveman' writing (Man Go Mountain Tree Deer, all in symbols). Then, another mom helped by having the kids 'hunt' for dinner (ie. throw a spear at a 'turkey', "raccoon", 'beaver" and so on). With his teacher, the kids decorated a 'prayer stick' which they prayed for good crops and planted corn. In the other room, they 'traded' toys/goodies like Squanto and decorated a totem pole (of course, Youngest's told jokes instead of telling story, because that is who he is).

Today, the kids did a Thanksgiving play, complete with three songs and the story of Thanksgiving. They each had to memorize a line. Youngest's was "they did not have enough food in the forest". He did a great job. Then, each child had to stand on a box and read their three things that they are thankful for. Youngest said he was thankful for 'my mom, my house, and my movies'. Yep.

It was so much fun...I got to see Middle Dude and Oldest at school, too today. Usually, I see one or two of them. It was so fun to see all three of them.

Winter Weather

Well, the winter season has begun. Yesterday, about two inches of snow fell. The good news is that all three boys went outside (the last time we had snow, they did not want to go out or went out for only five minutes) for an extended period of time.

Knowing our district, I was preparing for the worst. Today, knowing our district like I do, even though the snow had melted here, it hadn't on the 'mountain'....well, our version of the mountain. So, school was delayed two hours and a.m. kindergarten cancelled. This was traumatic for me because I was planning on going in to help out with the 'encampment' (trading of goods and such for the Squanto celebration).

Most of the boys did okay with the change of schedule, but Oldest had his moments. He did fine in the beginning and then, his 'internal autism clock' went off ("I have to go to school, I am going to be LATE!"). So, he hugged himself (very proactive of him) and tried to calm down. In the meantime, I emailed his teacher and OT at school and told them about what was happening. Because of the school delay, he was going to miss OT (of course, he knew this because it's a routine thing). He kept saying to me, "I want to see OT Laura!".

OT Laura, being the fabulous OT she is, fit him in to, I think, her lunch hour. Bless her heart. She worked it out with his general education teacher and he was able to go straight to OT this morning. His general education teacher, being the former special education teacher she is, emailed me back (before I knew that OT Laura was fitting him in) and told me to tell him that it was all going to be okay and that teachers are a little 'off', too, today and to just be calm and that they will work together.

Love them. Tonight is another winter storm warning....so, I expect Youngest's Thanksgiving play will be postponed until next Tuesday and I'll go through another morning of Oldest being 'off'. We'll work through it as we always do. The teachers in this district never cease to amaze me at how generous of a spirit they are. We are truly blessed :)

By the way, Oldest had an assignment last Saturday from his special education teacher. He and her looked through the menu of Red Robin and found some new foods he'd like to try. I am not sure he really WANTED to try them, but he was told he had to try something new. So, he tried an onion ring. The first one he nibbled at and then decided he was full (totally fine) and then after the chips/salsa showed up, he decided to try another! He ate the whole thing (minus the onion part, which is fine, neither one of the other boys like that, either). Then, last night, his favorite server, Whitney, emailed him congratulating him on trying something new. She told him how proud she was of him. Whoot. Hopefully, that will encourage him to try something next week!

Mini-Olympics

Last Friday was the mini-olympics for the 3rd, 4th and 5th graders. Each classroom represented a "country". Oldest's class was China and Middle Dude's was Austria. Each class made a flag and cheered for their classmates. The kids had to qualify for the mini-olympics by being the top in their class in several competitions: sit ups, push ups, stair-stepping, rope climb (they had to climb up and down as many times as they could), the shuttle run and the bar hang.

Middle dude qualified by being the best in his class in the push ups. He said he wasn't necessarily the 'best' in his class, but other kids qualified in two events and other kids didn't want to do it, so he qualified by doing 12 push ups.

He got to sit up in the front of the school with his class and then when it was push-up time, he had to do as many push-ups as he could. He did a personal best of 22 push-ups. He got a medal for participation.

Oldest did a good job of sitting with his class (even knowing I was there). So, it was all good!

Whacky Wednesday

Today was one of those whacky Wednesday. Some good things and some bad things...not really anything in between....

My Oldest dude had to be a part of a play on bullying...he played the part of a student who was to tell the P.E. teacher about the bullying. He had to drop two books on cue and tell the P.E. teacher. He did everything perfectly and made his para-professional cry (love it when it happens). Goes to show you that he can do things.

My Youngest dude had an eventful day, too. He got the two elemetary school t-shirts that we ordered back in September. He promptly took off his t-shirt and put on one and then took that off an put on another. He is so excited to be at the same school as his brothers. He also had an eye doctor's appointment and his vision from February has gone from 20-70 to 20-25. We are still patching (we don't do it everyday, but we do do it 4-5 times a week for a couple of hours). Not as much as we should, but we are doing it.

Middle dude is going through the tweenies. I am hoping this will pass soon. He's just very negative and yells at me. I love him to pieces, but the tweenies are testing me.

We also got to go see "The Reptile Man". Now, Youngest dude wants to be a reptile man when he grows up. He was super excited. He was chosen after he said, "I am desperation" and he got to touch a snake. He was supposed to have a snake around his neck, but he didn't want that. Oldest got to be one of seven who held a banana snake. He did a fabulous job holding that snake.

Conference Week

On Monday, I had a conference with Youngest's teacher. It went really well. He is reading where he should be, his math is a little behind (not major behind, only because she is having trouble testing him because he claims he is 'tired') and the writing is progressing (he's on an IEP for fine motor). She said he has lots of friends and enjoys kindergarten.

I was a bit more skeptical for Oldest's conference. His teacher wanted him to lead the meeting (seriously, as in 'lead' the meeting, following a plan of information that he worked on and 'lead' the meeting). Oldest has autism, his medications wear off at 3:15, we couldn't get a sitter on the days she could meet. Are you sensing how this would go? All of us would have to go.

However, I was pleasantly surprised. Oldest said his favorite subject was Math (he doesn't really like Math and he's not really good at Math). He wrote the subject that he is not good at is Writing (because it is hard...which is so true, it IS hard for him...he has motor planning issues like Youngest). He said that one of his goals was to read a harder book with Mom. That is something we can totally work on...he read to me part of a book this week that is difficult. I feel like there is so much more in there (now that we got the medication thing under control) that we still need to find out about him. He also had to grade himself. He gave himself low scores on things such as paying attention and finishing his homework. These are things that I am sure he does, but I could see his thought process. All in all, his teacher is so pleased with his progress.

Yesterday, he had to give a presentation with a group of peers and he, evidently, did an amazing job. I was worried because on Tuesday, he was struggling with his paragraph on Aztec clothing and then, Wednesday morning, when he woke up, he walked into the hallway and he started reciting it. Go figure. I said to The Hub, "that's his Aztec report" (in a very tired way, it was 5:30 in the morning!).

Misc "Catch Up" Part Deux

So, as I mentioned earlier, my Youngest son asked the priest on Sunday if we could cancel church....well, I forgot to mention that he was fussy all during Mass. The priest said to The Hub on the way out, "I guess you are allergic to priests".

Today, I opened the box of goodies from my favorite bath store. It was full of fun Christmas-y bath items (hand soap figurals, plug ins, etc) and I asked the two younger boys to 'decorate' the bathrooms....which they did happily. I let one of them take the plug ins and the other take the decorative soap figurals. Christmas is coming!

Finally, Oldest was struggling with the information for his presentation on the Aztecs (he had to talk about the clothing that they wore). I was a little concerned. However, at 5:30 this morning (which is his usual wake up time), he walked down the hall and gave his whole presentation. Obviously, I didn't need to be concerned. His teacher wrote me a note that he did a fabulous job today on his presentation. Yey!

The First Amendment Discussion at 6:20 a.m.

So, this morning (a Monday morning) started out very boring. I did get up a little early, which was good because I was busily unloading the dishwasher and watching "The Today Show" online when my Middle Guy came over to me and asked me, "Mom, can I bring my Bible to school to read?" Yesterday, he got this great Bible, the Adventure Bible. On a side note, it is really well done for kids. It has little 'activities' for kids, great explanations, etc. He got it from my church (all 3rd graders get one before their First Communion year). Since yesterday, he has been reading the Bible, from the beginning, starting with Genesis. So, the discussion on the First Amendment began....

Him:"Can I bring the Bible to school?"
Me:"No, you can't bring the Bible to school".
Him:"Why?"
Me: "Well, I'll go to jail" (this is what I tell them when they tell me they don't want to go to school, it could apply here, I could go to jail if someone complained....)
Him:"Why?"
Me:"Well, you can't bring something from Church to school".
Him:"Why? I just want to read it when I would be reading a book".
Me:"Well, there is a rule and you can't bring something from church to a school".
Him:"Why?"
Me:"Well, the Bible is a book like from the church and school is like the state and there is a rule that you can't bring something from church to school".
Him:"Why?"
Me:"There is a rule called the First Amendment and the Bible is something from Church and the school is like the state and there is a separation of church and state".
Him:"Okay. Maybe, I can bring the school to my church and then I can bring my Bible to school".


Who knew I was such a Constitutional scholar at 6:20 a.m. on a Monday?

On a side note, this afternoon, I told Youngest, he could only have one bag of chips (when he brought the second bag and popped it and I said no, he got naked...I had to change his pants because he had Cheetos on his pants, but he stripped down to his undies after his tantrum). What getting naked has to do with chips, I don't know. Maybe, today I am living in the Twilight Zone.

Misc 'Catch Up"

So, I found out which 'girlfriend' my Youngest son was with on Friday. He was with Anna M., a girl in his class. Evidently, he sat next to her very politely during the movie. Three-quarters of the way through the movie, the PTA gave out free popcorn because there was projection problems. So, Youngest told me afterwards that he helped Anna, 'get more popcorn" and did so in a polite manner. He and Anna walked over to the popcorn window and politely asked for more popcorn.

This last weekend, I went to Portland for the annual MOMS Club Luncheon. I had a good time with friends and as usual, laughed so hard my belly hurt.

Today, The Hub took the boys to the Catholic church for Mass. Evidently, on the way into Mass, he walked up the priest and said, "Can we cancel Church today?". Um, no.

My boys, the heartbreakers part two

Tonight was "Movie Night" at the school. The Hub and the boys went to it. My Youngest is, evidently, sitting next to one of his 'many' girlfriends. Of course because he has several of them.

Pumpkin Party!

Today was a busy day in our household. Middle Dude had a 'pirate party' because 'parties' are not allowed in schools, so they were kicking off their study of maps. I was unable to attend as I was in the kindergarten helping out with the pumpkin party.

The kindergarteners have been learning about pumpkins (the life cycle for example). Last week, we went to the local 'Roots Garden" to see how pumpkins grow (no field trip money to go to a big pumpkin patch anymore) and see seeds in action. Each group got to pick a pumpkin and this week, they measured them, weighed them and counted all of the seeds!

Today was all about fun. They decorated cookies (they had to 'buy' their decorations ie. m and ms or skittles with ten cents that they were allotted). The frosting and sprinkles were free (bargain basement, you know). The station I was in charge of they were making Pumpkin Potpourri: one scoop popcorn, two pumpkin candies, three candy corns, four raisins, five cheese crackers and six Cheetos (can you tell that I did this many, many times?). I had to dust off my 'teacher skills' and manage with another mom six kindergarteners. The final station was making pumpkin eyeglasses with the teacher. They also went over to the other kindergartener room and made pumpkin lanterns and listened to a story.

This picture was taken at the end of the party with little dude eating his Pumpkin Potpourri and cookie. It was a very fun (but a little exhausting) morning! I am definitely not in the teaching groove and need a little more practice....I did run into Oldest and his BFF...his BFF kept saying, 'it's Miss Katie, it's Miss Katie"...Oldest was just looking at me. Then, I asked, "are you two where you should be?" They then scurried upstairs....

Great job, Writing!

Today my youngest came home with his usual "I Can Read" folder and his planner. I was putting back his things when I saw a red letter home and a coupon for a McDonald's ice cream cone. Puzzled, I looked further...He got to sign the school's "Success Book" for "great job writing". I was totally excited. He is on an IEP for writing/fine motor skills, so this is huge! He said to me today (before I found this note from the principal) that he doesn't enjoy writing because it's hard. It is hard for him. I am so happy for him.

My boys, the heartbreakers

I keep forgetting to blog.....the first day of school, my Youngest son comes home from school and he said to me, "Mom, I have a girlfriend". I asked him what her name was and he said, "I don't know". He has since learned her name. Her name is Susannah. Of course, he also has another girlfriend named Summer (Summer was the original not known named girlfriend). We saw Susannah who is really cute at the Baller Blast on Friday night and he went over and said 'hi' to her (they were in the same line for a train). He said she was wearing a 'pretty dress" at the carnival.

My middle son has girls who also like him. Last year, he had a girl call him to ask him who his teacher was. The girls in his class, typically, get along really well with him.

My oldest son also has girls after him. For his birthday last year, he invited a couple of his special needs friends (boys) and then he invited two typical girls (no typical boys, just two typical girls--Samantha and Ariel). At the school carnival, after dinner, he saw one of the girls and actually went over to her and said 'hi' to her. He did say 'hi' to a typical boy, Ben, in line, but he actually had to cross over the room and say 'hi' to Samantha.

All I can say is "oy".

New Jersey

My Oldest is learning about states and state capitals. This week, he is focusing on the North Eastern region. He seems to be 'clicking' with some sort of 'understanding' of the states and capitals. For today's worksheet, he kept answering "New Jersey". I haven't figured out why. I think he just can read it easily and has it memorized, but it's funny. I figure he'll be heading to the Jersey Shore to hang out with The Situation and Snooki. I figure he'll start telling me "GTL" (gym, tanning, laundry) pretty soon. Yes, I had to actually google that because I don't watch the show.

Coat Found and Other Thoughts

Well, I found the coat....it was at school all along. This is not uncommon of my Youngest. He seems to forget things. We call him our little Dory (from "Finding Nemo").

This morning, he was so funny...he asked me (as usual) what I dreamed about. I replied (as usual), "you and your brothers". Today, he said to me, "You should dream about pigs and stuff". Where the pigs and stuff is coming from, I am still not sure. I didn't know he liked pigs. I thought of him more of an "Ice Age" kind of guy.

Last night, Middle Dude had the "Scouter's Olympics" at the pack meeting. He got to shoot a marshmallow with a crossbow-marshmallow gun, shoot hoops, do the long jump, did sit ups/push ups and the bean bag toss. I don't have any pictures because he didn't really want any taken.

Lost Coat

We are now three days into the school year and so far, knock on wood, it's going well. Yesterday was Youngest's first 'full day" (which is really an early release day) of school (the district is doing this alternate Wednesday-which is really an early release day thing) to help save money. He came home really tired. I don't blame him. Getting used to school starting is hard for me (and I am a grown up). I have been falling asleep at 9 p.m.. I cancelled their swim lessons yesterday because, frankly, they are too tired.

Today, my Youngest got off of the bus without his coat. I have been trying to track it down since. He seems to not be able to remember where he left it. Could it be outside? Could it be inside? On the bus? Who knows. I am trying to find it.

More Pictures from the First Day of School 2010

Because you can never have enough First Day of School pictures....the First one is the boys outside of our house, the second is Youngest waving (although, I don't think you can tell) while sitting next to Middle Dude and the third picture is waiting at the bus stop (Youngest is on the far right, then moving left, is Middle Dude and then Oldest is on the left....the two young ones are waiting for their bus and the Oldest and I have to go back to the house to catch his little bus).

Addendum and the Other boys

Okay, I have to correct something to my previous post....my Youngest son did not put an m and m on his gingerbread man for an eye. He put an m and m for a nose and raisins for eyes. Sorry for that :) And, I solved the mystery of why my Youngest son went to the office. It was to take the attendance book. Fortunately, his teacher thought the story was funny and my question "why did he go to the office, because he couldn't remember"....yes, she knows me really well, so I am sure she's chuckling right now at home.

My Oldest son got off the bus today and declared, "Mom, I had a GREAT day!". I am sure he did (or I'd probably get an email or phone call). I am sure he loved hanging out with Miss Karen. And, he got to share his goggles (he had to bring in something that represented something that he loves to do)....he loves to swim and I am sure he showed them "big arms".

My Middle son also had a good day. He said he took a five minute math test...one side was addition, which he said he finished a hundred problems in five minutes and finished all but three on the subtraction side (I am thinking that is 97). He came home with homework and had to ask me how we derived his name. I sounded like the lamest Mom ever. "Your name came from my Ob's office...I saw another baby with your name and I loved your first name and your middle name is the male form of your Nana's name" (we named our two oldest sons' middle names after a family member, this theory got lost on our Youngest son, who got two new names as my husband was convinced we were having a girl, even though, we didn't find out, the technician was teasing him that it was a girl....so, we never talked about boy names). Personally, I love all of my boys' names, so it doesn't really matter.....and my middle son's first name means 'strong' (plus, it is Biblical and a traditional name). It was very apropos that he was 'named after my mom' because he is a lot like her in personality, looks and interests.

First day of School

I am back....Yes, it has been a long time since I blogged. So much has happened. But, like the first day of school, today is a new day. It is a new beginning to what will hopefully be a new, incredible year.

As you can tell from this picture, this is a picture of my Oldest and my Youngest. During this picture, my Middle son is trying to convince me to take a picture of just him and make it my wallpaper on my phone. More on the picture of all three of them later.

My Oldest son is starting fifth grade this fall. He'll be doing 'full inclusion', which means that he is spending more time in the fifth grade classroom. The goal is to only pull him out for Reading (which he'll do in the pod area), Math, Social Skills class and OT, all of which he'll do 'downstairs'. I think he can do it. I have confidence in the team and confidence that he'll be able to demonstrate how amazing he is.

My Middle Dude is starting the third grade, which is good because he told me second grade was WAY too easy. He has a great teacher and I am confident that he will be successful.

My Youngest dude is starting Kindergarten with the teacher that the others got. I have confidence that her patience and kindness will help him. He'll have pull out time for OT, since he is on an IEP for fine motor skills. He is already starting to read (not pre-reading, mind you, reading, reading).

Since I have only my Youngest Dude home, I can only comment on his day. I put him on the 'big bus' with my Middle son, which was so cute, although, I do believe my Middle son had an ulterior motive. Youngest waved to me with a huge smile on his face from the window and he looked so small. Too cute. He was sitting next to Middle Dude. He got to school and got to go watch a movie since it was raining. He couldn't remember the name of the movie. He then went to his kindergarten room, where he and a friend went to the office and hung out (I am assuming here that he took the attendance or something because he said he wasn't in trouble, but he didn't know why he was there, this is typical...you gotta understand). He decorated a gingerbread man after hearing the story. He only put on one m and m for an eye because he said he only wanted one eye. He then had recess outside with his new friends and he played on the play structure. He also did art, which to the best I can tell is using markers and a coloring page. He also read a story called, "Kindergarten is...."which he won't read to me until tomorrow, so I still don't know what Kindergarten is. I think that is the cliffhanger.

More later :)

I'm BACK!

Yes, I promise to be a better blogger. So much has gone on and I will try to add some tidbits as something reminds me of it....

Today was the boys' first day of school. My Oldest dude is in the fifth grade (with trying inclusion, nevertheless!), Middle Dude is in the third grade and Youngest is in kindergarten. Yes, as I joke, I have two upstairs and one downstairs at the school.

Well, since only my Youngest is home (and I haven't gotten the 'straight scoop' from him, fully, yet). He did declare that "I love kindergarten!" when he got off the bus, which was 20 minutes late, of course. He said that he and a friend had to go to the office and he hung out front of it (I still don't have the skinny on that). He said he wasn't in trouble, but he doesn't know why he was there. He said he decorated gingerbread men with one m and m eye. He also said he had art (which I think was a coloring page) and then he made a book "Kindergarten Is". He still hasn't read it to me, so I don't know what kindergarten is!

He was so cute this morning sitting on the big bus next to my Middle son, waving to me with a smile on his face. He said he liked the 'big bus' (He is used to the 'little bus'). He said he played with his new friends on the playground, but today, he saw a movie before school because it was raining. I tell you, that has worn me out just thinking of it.

More details to follow....

Bus Day!

Today was Youngest's first day riding the bus. He qualifies for special education because he is a year behind in fine motor skills, so he qualifies for OT, which qualifies him for the bus. I was reluctant to have him ride the bus, but he really wanted to because his best friend, James, a neighbor boy, rides the bus already. So, I worked it out and he'll ride the bus four days a week (the days that special education is offered), but the fifth day, we'll pay (for preschool) and I'll take him in. This will be a nice transition for him for next year, when he'll ride the 'big bus' with Middle boy to school.

For me, I have three different bus times, and two different bus stops. Every morning (that Youngest has a bus), I will put Oldest on the bus first outside my house. Then, ten minutes later, walk Middle boy down the street and come back and put Youngest on the bus at our house. So, I have a busy forty minutes, but then it calms down and I get an extra ten to fifteen minutes on either end (of school) to myself. The problem is that I am so used to taking Youngest with me on errands on the way home, now I have to adjust for that!

February

Yes, once again I lost February, due to illness (I was sick most of February), death (Great Uncle Allan) and drama. Not dwelling on any of those......

Today, we went to see "Walking With the Dinosaurs: the Arena Spectacular" and yes, it didn't disappoint. They had anamatronic dinosaurs, pteradactyls coming from the ceiling and yes, I did learn a little about dinosaurs. Youngest said to me (before the show started as we were just waiting), "This is better than the Wiggles" (I do admit that without Greg, the Wiggles have even lost me). I asked him if it was better than "Go Diego Go: Live on Stage" and he said, 'no, I like that one, too". It didn't disappoint him. All three of them were transfixed on the dinosaurs. We were in row J on the 100 level, and the way the stage was, we basically were looking at the set and only three rows up. AMAZING!

I'll just focus on that, and summarize that my February was amazing!

Perfect Age

I mean this when I say that every age is a perfect age. There is always something at each age that the boys are doing that is 'perfect', but at the moment, they are all at a 'perfect' age. They all can amuse themselves, can be reasoned with and are without 'drama' in the soon to be coming ages. They all have distinctive personalities and are eager learners. Soon, we'll have the 'teenage' drama. So, yes, we are in the 'perfect age'.

OMSI

Yesterday, one of the many (and I do mean MANY) things we did was go to OMSI. The boys had a day off, so we all decided to go to OMSI. I have never taken Oldest, but I have taken the other two. It was a lot of fun. Although, I did lose Youngest (seriously, he was gone for 10 minutes, with three of us searching for him!). Youngest's favorite thing was the rockets. Middle boy loved the vacuum (you use a tv screen to manipulate a vacuum and pick up rubber balls on the other side of the hall). Oldest liked the water area (of course). I am not sure they did a lot of 'learning' but it was great fun.

Youngest's Fifth Birthday

It's so hard to imagine that my little guy is already five. I have been having trouble with my Oldest being in the Fourth Grade (it is after all, UPPER elementary). But, now, it has sunk in that my Littlest Guy is five. Next year, it will be kindergarten and then in one more year, my Oldest will be in Junior High. It's one of those things that you want them to get bigger, but, yet you don't. I still remember Youngest's birthday....Hub had decided he was a girl (we didn't find out). I had no idea.

We had a 'rolling' birthday all weekend long. We took four of his friends to Chuck E. Cheese's for lunch. He had a great time showing his friends around who hadn't been there before. The next day was the 'family party' with Nana, Papa and cousins. Sunday was his actual day and we had our traditional "cupcake' birthday as my other boys like to call it. Finally, the next day, I took in cupcakes for his preschool friends. The theme of this year's festivities was "Spongebob Squarepants". All of the cakes had some form of Spongebob Squarepants.

The theme is intriguing because Youngest doesn't really watch Spongebob (he is afraid of the pirate). So, why he chose Spongebob, I don't know. As you can tell, it went along with his Leapster.

Happy Birthday, Spongebob Stinky Pants and I look forward to many more...