Monday, April 26, 2010

back to school...

and our usual routine. This morning marks the end of April vacation and the last of any long amounts of time off until summer break in the middle of June.

Vacation started quietly. It was sort of like a snowball rolling down the hill, getting busier and busier (instead of bigger and bigger).

Monday Alexa had an all day playdate with her friend Ruth. While she was there the rest of us went to Rockland for errands and work (and a 2nd alignment courtesy of VIP).

Tuesday Chris and Alexa hit the road early in the morning for Boston to check out the Swan Boats and Alexa's first Sox game that night. Meanwhile the rest of us enjoyed Jake's speech session then spent the afternoon/early evening at my mom's house (thanks again for the new-to-us table!).

Wednesday had a trip to the aquarium for the Boston crew and a stopover in Gorham to drop Alexa off with Dylan for an overnight. The twins and I got to go back to Rockland for appointments and errands. We ended up having to cancel Jake's OT session after I discovered his "booboo" was really a nasty tick behind his ear. I let Dr. Lew pull it out and left there feeling like I'd been to the gym. Jake is a very hard child to restrain!

Thursday I headed out on my own for a day visiting my friends A & J and baby Z. I went with the intention of helping out with some housework but they had none for me to do. Instead we just hang out and chatted until Alexa arrived. Then she and I went for dinner at McDonald's and headed back home, arriving just before the twins headed to bed. They were so happy to see their big sister after being gone so many days!

Friday brought sunny skies and Elle over for a playdate at our house. The kids begged and pleaded to go wander in the graveyard for a bit. They were on the lookout for old fake flowers that had been tossed aside. But they also got to spend a little time reading gravestones. The other excitement was the fact that Alexa yanked out Elle's loose tooth. They came out of her bedroom - Alexa clutching the tooth in a tissue and smiling, Elle smiling with her front gap bigger and blood all over the rest of her teeth. We closed out the day with a freezing cold first t-ball practice and Elle spending the night.

Saturday started early with the girls being picked up just after 8am to go to martial arts. Alexa enjoyed her first visit and has been asking to go again. She then spent the day/night at Elle's house. To let Chris sleep (he had to do 4 overnights in a row that week) we headed to Rockland yet again for some grocery shopping (and lunch and DQ). We came home to drop stuff off and then spent a little time at the playground.

Sunday was another lovely day. We just chilled at home until Alexa arrived home just before lunch. She was exhausted but had a great time. She and Elle got a good fix of each other - going to different schools means not getting together as much as they'd like (though Elle being on her t-ball team will change that!). After the twins attempted naps (Alexa too) we went back over to the playground with Brenda and Dylan. Then home again where we attempted to play a little ball before we couldn't take the blackflies anymore.

A busy but fun week. And perhaps a taste of what's to come this summer. I know we have a few things planned or at least in mind. There is the birthday bash in July, Chris's family party is usually in July, and camping (twice) in July. We'd like to get a trip down to Boston in June before it gets too hot. And maybe a week at summer camp for Alexa.

Friday, April 9, 2010

3rd quarter

Holy moly is this school year flying! Report cards came home today for the 3rd quarter. Lots of stuff for me to read through. Alexa is doing superb in all areas except the pesky issue of self-control and listening to directions. Not really sure how to get her to improve on that except for reminding her, while she's listening.

It was noted that she can read and write 100% of the district K words and over 70% of the classroom sight words. She's got a mastery of 85% for reading and 14-20 for writing.

This also included a sample of her written work. Each child had to write a story and then follow a checklist to make sure they'd done things correctly, like using proper capitalization, spaces between words, use of sight words and punctuation. Alexa's story was about her trip to the hospital last year for her UTI. While her spelling needs work, even misspelled I had no trouble reading and understanding her story.

another one bites the dust

After more than a little crying Chris was successful in removing Alexa's second tooth. The first came out (with assistance) back in February. And when I say crying...I mean from Alexa, not Chris.
Alexa managed to loosen up her 2 top teeth plus the bottom front earlier this week. They had all been sort of loose. But then she decided to hold a rope that her 80lb cousin was hanging off of with her teeth. Hopefully she understands that using your teeth like that is a really bad idea, even worse if you do it to your big teeth.

So the Tooth Fairy will be making rounds here again tonight. And the gap has gotten even bigger!

Sunday, April 4, 2010

adventures in egg coloring

I was going to bypass this Easter activity this year. The idea of the kids with eggs and dye made me want to curl up in a corner and cry while pulling my hair out.

I only changed my mind after seeing how much fun Alexa had doing it during Girl Scouts. I probably could have gotten away with those four eggs being her only eggs. My aunt B had mentioned she had a bunch of fresh eggs courtesy of a friend of hers (love the slogan - where the "GIRLS" work harder). I decided that I've got enough vinegar and food coloring around that I didn't bother buy the kit. Mugs where the easiest option although I started with some ceramic bowls (which now have some added color on the bottoms). Lots of finger usage happened because I didn't have the little scoopy thing, wasn't going to use the few spoons I could locate, and no one wanted to use the forks I provided.

The colors all looked lovely in their mugs, but that somehow didn't carry over onto the eggs. Likely a combination of the artists in question, the brown eggs and the colors when mixed.

I started with 13 when I boiled them yesterday. One didn't survive the boiling process. One didn't survive Jake tossing it into the mug (when I broke it up for them to eat he tossed it back into the dye). One almost didn't make it when Liz tried to crack it open on the side like she was going to have some scrambled eggs. Alexa's response was to freak out about the yolks leaking out. Like I would give the kids fresh, uncooked eggs to color. I do maintain some of my sanity...
We only ended up with one spill which was quickly absorbed by the cardboard cereal boxes I had spread across the table (more effective than newspaper). And I think everyone had fun which is really the most important thing of all.
And did I mention that I waited till Easter morning?....

Jacob's milestones

  • weight/length @ 7: 55.6lbs, 48.75"
  • weight/length @ 5: 42lbs, 43.5"
  • weight/length @ 4: 36 lbs, 39+"
  • weight/length@ 3: 32lbs, 36.5 inches
  • weight/length @ 2 years: 26lbs, 33.5 inches
  • weight/length @ 1 year: 18lbs, 29 inches
  • walking: 11/17/08
  • standing: 3/31/08
  • crawling: army, 2/5/08
  • first time rolling: 9/30/07, belly to back
  • first smile: 9/7/07
  • birth date/time: 7/8/07, 12:49am
  • birth length: 19.5 inches
  • birth weight: 6lbs, 1oz

Elizabeth's milestones

  • weight/length @7: 53lbs, 47.75"
  • weight/length @ 5: 40 lbs, 42.25"
  • weight/length @ 4: 34lbs, 38"
  • weight/length 3 years: 28lbs, 35.5 inches
  • weight/length 2 years: 24lbs, 6oz 33 inches
  • weight/length 1 year: 18lbs, 1oz 27.5 inches
  • walking: 9/1/08
  • standing: 4/4/08
  • crawling: army 3/16/08
  • sitting alone: 2/29/08
  • first time rolling: 11/23/07, back to belly
  • first smile: 9/7/07
  • birth date/time: 7/8/07, 12:50am
  • birth length: 18.75 inches
  • birth weight: 5lbs, 8oz

Alexa's milestones

  • weight/height @ 10 (really 10.8): 186, 5'3"
  • weight/height @ 8.4 years: 113 lbs, 55.5 inches
  • weight/height @ 5 years: 61lbs, 4oz 45.25 inches
  • weight/length @ 4 years: 49lbs, 42 inches
  • weight/length @ 3 years: 38lbs, 38 inches
  • weight/length @ 2 years: 32lbs, 8oz 35.75 inches
  • weight/length @ 1 year: 22lbs, 3 oz 29.5 inches
  • 1st day of preschool: 9/3/08
  • solo somersault: 3/4/08
  • whistling: 3/2/08
  • potty training: 10/7/05
  • walking: 12/21/04
  • standing: 8/23/04
  • crawling: 8/21/04, only a week, then became a butt scoot
  • first wave: 7/27/04
  • rolling: 5/2/04, belly to back
  • sleeping thru the night: 3/1/04
  • first smile: 1/20/04
  • birth date/time: 12/4/03, 10:41pm
  • birth length: 20 inches
  • birth weight: 7lbs