Us Updates
1) Skipper got a green flag from a speech therapist, who concluded that there are no issues with her speech that won't be cleared up by a few more years of growing and talking, and surmised that the issues with her comprehensibility mostly stem from the speed (rapid) and volume (low) of her speech.
2) My housekeeping is lagging behind. There's so much to do! And it's so boring! And I have blog posts to write! However, things are noticeably (to me) cleaner around here, though I'm not going to win any prizes, or even impress anybody unfamiliar with my previous practices.
3) I'm doing a lot of volunteering, and it's totally compromising my ability to get housekeeping done. Dang.
4) Skipper is getting excited about her Japanese schooling adventure. Because she loathes transitions, we're trying to get her as comfortable as possible with this one. We walk past the school at every opportunity to watch the kids at recess* and talk about what's going on in there. We've been giving carte blanche to visit the school after the schoolday is over and before the secretaries go home, and we'll do that a few more times before summer starts. Skipper has already started contributing part of her allowance to her "Summer-After-5th-Grade-Trip-to-Japan" jar.**
5) Tomatoes are planted! It's been hot here, and summer feels moments away.
6) I've planned out the entire summer. Duchess will be doing swim team and a couple of cool camp-y things, and Skipper will be doing a few activities, too. She wanted to sign up for a lot more, but I argued that her history of non-participation suggests it would be best to start slow. I'll let you know how that goes.
7) Duchess has signed up to do a science fair project testing how changing different variables affects the strength of a homemade electromagnet. I'll let you know how that goes.
8) Duchess is testing this weekend for the next level of her martial arts program, and has been invited (along with a couple of her classmates) to join a class for 10-12-year-olds, taught by the woman who runs the school. She's excited to be testing, and very proud to have been recognized as a serious student. Whatever else the faults of this particular martial arts studio, they are really good at making students feel like part of a loving, supportive community, and when Duchess walks in their door, she feels like it's her place.***
9) Antarctic Uncle, aka The Best Houseguest Ever, has left for another year.
10) We did successfully refinance (did I ever tell you that?), consolidating two loans and saving ourselves some money. Hurrah! The house also appraised 20% higher than we paid for it, which is nice.****
That's the news, mostly.***** All is well.
*If anybody was going to report a slack-jawed preschooler and a frumpy lady wearing socks with sandals to the police, I'd be worried that they'd call us in as stalkers.
** Duchess is already very jealous that Skipper gets to do an immersion program (and I share her regret, as Duchess has a knack for language, and would kick ass at learning in two languages), and almost blew off the top of her skull when she heard that Skipper would have the opportunity to actually go to Japan. We promised her that we'd save an equal amount for her to take a trip of some kind, too. Thank goodness we only have two children.
*** Another small sign of how parenting goes to weird places. I never thought I'd have a kid doing martial arts, given that I never liked them myself. I see why she loves it - the community feeling, the rules, the clear protocol for improvement, the uniform - it's all stuff Duchess loves dearly - but I didn't see it coming.
**** Though I'm left to imagine how much higher it COULD have appraised if I'd ever washed the windows.
***** Cook has all sorts of work and extracurricular excitement going on; I'm leaving him out not because he's boring, but because he's private.
2) My housekeeping is lagging behind. There's so much to do! And it's so boring! And I have blog posts to write! However, things are noticeably (to me) cleaner around here, though I'm not going to win any prizes, or even impress anybody unfamiliar with my previous practices.
3) I'm doing a lot of volunteering, and it's totally compromising my ability to get housekeeping done. Dang.
4) Skipper is getting excited about her Japanese schooling adventure. Because she loathes transitions, we're trying to get her as comfortable as possible with this one. We walk past the school at every opportunity to watch the kids at recess* and talk about what's going on in there. We've been giving carte blanche to visit the school after the schoolday is over and before the secretaries go home, and we'll do that a few more times before summer starts. Skipper has already started contributing part of her allowance to her "Summer-After-5th-Grade-Trip-to-Japan" jar.**
5) Tomatoes are planted! It's been hot here, and summer feels moments away.
6) I've planned out the entire summer. Duchess will be doing swim team and a couple of cool camp-y things, and Skipper will be doing a few activities, too. She wanted to sign up for a lot more, but I argued that her history of non-participation suggests it would be best to start slow. I'll let you know how that goes.
7) Duchess has signed up to do a science fair project testing how changing different variables affects the strength of a homemade electromagnet. I'll let you know how that goes.
8) Duchess is testing this weekend for the next level of her martial arts program, and has been invited (along with a couple of her classmates) to join a class for 10-12-year-olds, taught by the woman who runs the school. She's excited to be testing, and very proud to have been recognized as a serious student. Whatever else the faults of this particular martial arts studio, they are really good at making students feel like part of a loving, supportive community, and when Duchess walks in their door, she feels like it's her place.***
9) Antarctic Uncle, aka The Best Houseguest Ever, has left for another year.
10) We did successfully refinance (did I ever tell you that?), consolidating two loans and saving ourselves some money. Hurrah! The house also appraised 20% higher than we paid for it, which is nice.****
That's the news, mostly.***** All is well.
*If anybody was going to report a slack-jawed preschooler and a frumpy lady wearing socks with sandals to the police, I'd be worried that they'd call us in as stalkers.
** Duchess is already very jealous that Skipper gets to do an immersion program (and I share her regret, as Duchess has a knack for language, and would kick ass at learning in two languages), and almost blew off the top of her skull when she heard that Skipper would have the opportunity to actually go to Japan. We promised her that we'd save an equal amount for her to take a trip of some kind, too. Thank goodness we only have two children.
*** Another small sign of how parenting goes to weird places. I never thought I'd have a kid doing martial arts, given that I never liked them myself. I see why she loves it - the community feeling, the rules, the clear protocol for improvement, the uniform - it's all stuff Duchess loves dearly - but I didn't see it coming.
**** Though I'm left to imagine how much higher it COULD have appraised if I'd ever washed the windows.
***** Cook has all sorts of work and extracurricular excitement going on; I'm leaving him out not because he's boring, but because he's private.
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