Welcome Bodhi

The puppy is now Bodhi. I've got nothing to report. He spent most of the day doing this and we spent most of the day fighting over who got to hold him while he was doing this.

New Addition

Drove all day and back to the Detroit area to pick up the newest member of our family. Name still TBD.

we did a thing
12/21

The Parachute

Seems to me that every assignment Luke gets for virtual learning becomes a big project for me. Today "WE" had to build a parachute that would safely transport some goldfish crackers in a cup.

First we had to create a plan. This took a very long time to get him to commit to doing.

After the bucket on the parachute kept tipping, I told Luke to think of two things we needed to think about or do to fix it.

'Tis the Season?

Ryan got a new hat. He now wears it 24/7.

O Christmas Tree

The entire day flew by today, but I was supposed to get the lights on the tree so we can decorate tomorrow. I had "help" from the boys initially, who "untangled" my lights and made a big mess. Then got bored and ditched me to go watch YouTube. Brooke stepped in and "helped" I did my best not to correct how she put the lights on. In the end I did the exact same thing as last year ... ran out of lights about 1.5 feet from the top. So we had to improvise a little. If you look, you can see where the finagling of lights occurred. Brooke also did all the garland, and I proudly did not correct her (much).

When we were finished it was 9:30pm, and I had promised the kids they could have ice cream tonight. Whoops.

If you're wondering if the Santa hat is still in play ...

Little Picasso

Aunt Jean said this was her favorite Pokémon so Ryan drew it for her.

Little Picasso

 Ryan is learning about plants, and photosynthesis.

Happy National Food Day!

As Thanksgiving approached I pondered whether or not to make a Turkey. Honestly, none of us really love it ... so we decided to go another route. We finally decided to get a prime rib (5 lbs) for just the two of us. The kids really don't eat meat, so we knew there wouldn't be any sharing. We also decided we deserved a Havana Dream Pie from Joe's ... also just for us because the kids also don't eat pie.

Since we decided to do some of OUR favorites, we asks the kids theirs. They suggested tacos (no), pizza (no) and noodles (fine). They also gave me a list of about 100 snacks.

As the day approached we all talked about food a lot, and I kept saying they could "eat whatever they wanted" and we'd be "snacking all day." So, they decided to call it National Food Day. It's a day where you just eat food. Apparently, a lot of it.

All was fine and dandy until the boys asked for Doritos ... at 9:30AM. And when I said no, they were ticked. Because apparently National Food Day is eat-whatever-you-want-whenever-you-want day. Despite the Dorito misunderstanding, they had chips and guacamole, Rice Krispies, jello AND ice cream. So ... they basically got the day they were expecting either way :)

Goodbye ... Sorta

After almost 8 months with us, we finally let our foster cats go. We drove them into the shelter for checkups and shots ... and then to their new home.

The bad news is the kids are all really sad. We've missed them all day. In the past two weeks they've become different cats, creating some routines and opening up a little bit more. They recently started running into my room and jumping up on the bed in the am when my alarm goes off. This is not good, because petting them makes me late. But how can you say no to two foster cats that took months to literally let you near them? This morning they jumped into bed and my heart was a little crushed. We then drove all the way to the shelter and Eri didn't cry at all. This cat has cried every single car ride, except today.

So; we are sad. And we miss them.

Onto the good news. After months of manipulation and guilt tripping ... Pixie and Eri now live with the kids Uncle, Brad. If it wasn't mid pandemic, the kids could see them all the time. Soon, I think Uncle Brad is going to have some regular visitors. Hopefully he's prepared for our invasion.

And, more news. We've promised the kids a dog.

Luke Teacher Note

10/28

Little Picasso

Luke, as part of virtual learning, drew Frankenstein today!

Little Picasso

Today Luke was told to draw his Halloween costume. He pulled out the package and drew it from the picture.

New Nike's For Brooke

Brooke needs black Nikes for volleyball. She had 2 recent growth spurts, so I measured her feet and ordered new ones online. They're too small. So now I need to order a size 9 for my (barely) 12-year-old girl.

When I was a kid I remember my mom telling me "people with big feet have a large understanding." She thought she was funny, I did not. I also didn't really understand the sentiment. I assume I would complain about MY big feet, and she would toss out this random, old proverb.

Now, despite the fact I neither found humor or comfort in my moms words ... I know exactly what I'll say the first time Brooke complains about HER big feet.

Little Picasso

Luke's drawing seems to show some frustration :)

Charlotte's Web

Jeff's Birthday

To Dad, From Brooke

Luke's Christmas Traditions

Guess We’re Both Virtual Learning

 

The difference between a 6th or 4th grader doing distance learning and a 1st grader doing distance learning is that you don’t have to sit though and mirror the actions of the older kids in order to get them to complete each thing on the daily checklist.  Today, part of “our” work was to watch two different draw a pig tutorial videos. This ties into the current reading of Charlottes Web. I guess I’m repeating 1st grade.

Brooke's Shout Out

Brooke was featured in the September "Cougar Times!"

Its not the first time she's been noticed for her design work, and the lab is definitely one of her favorite places at school.

Journaling

All Luke could do in his journal tonight is compain about all the work he had to do today. E-learning is HARD.

7/14:18

Pitching Debut

Ryan made his pitching debut! He was thrilled and terrified at the same time. There were a lot of walks... but also some amazing strikes. For a first outing, he did amazing. And he’s counting down the minutes until he gets another chance on that mound.

Hmm...

Today the best thing he did was take a shower. I guess we need to be glad about that, at least. But he seems to be a little confused on Womens Rights :) After he wrote this I asked him about it and he claimed that what he meant was that women do not currently have equal rights due to inequality issues. But, with this kid, who knows!

Soda Bottle Fruit Picker

We spent last night and today in Michigan, still trying to get a grasp of this new school year. Last night we made smores by the fire and today we went out to pick some apples.

The last farm had ladders (which were a big hit) but this farm had home made fruit pickers made from soda bottles. Using them was quite a maneuver, but ours didn't get used much for picking.

The boys turned ours into a weapon of battle. It was spun and flipped and whipped. Several eyes are lucky to still be part of faces. Because there was only one picker, there was also a battle over which kid got to hold it.

While they were dueling, Brooke decided that today would be the ideal time to let her anxiety about bees reach full frenzy level.

We walked away with 4 lbs of apples and no injuries and think that is pretty much a miracle.

Movie Night

The kids wrapped up a long week and were a bit feisty. We traditionally do movie & pizza on Fridays and decided to make sure we started the movie early tonight to ensure the kids were in bed at a reasonable time.

It was hard organizing them. They're distracted and agitated and have short fuses.

When I told them to get ready they all charged for the same spot. This is atypical, as they're all big into personal space. It was also a sign that they were looking for a fight. We got them separated and watched the movie. It was not seamless ... there were some squabbles. But, luckily, they all liked the movie and it kept the peace.

Happy to be done with this week! Hoping we will survive the ones to come.

Tales of Distance Learning

We still don't know how we feel about the kids being physically in school ... but I do know how I feel about them being home. The two oldest manage their time and work very proficiently. My biggest concern with them is whether or not they'll get a quality education this year. But the little one? He needs to be at school. At least, he needs to not be home.

Today he had "movement," which is basically PE. He complained that the stretching hurt and kept asking how long the class was. During another class he doodled while the teacher spoke. You know things are in a sad state when your proud your kids doodles are not inappropriate. Finally, during "library" he took his iPad and left the room. Unfortunately we left him unattended for a few minutes, which was a fail on our part. He went into his brothers room and was screamed at for interrupting class (this yelling was how we knew he was loose in the house). He then went to his own room and was blasting music. DURING class. He said it was fine because he was muted (though he couldn't hear the teacher) and told me he went to his room to find a comfy place to sit while listening to the library book (which was clearly a lie).

So, today he could barely make it though classes called Movement and Library. And he's home with us three days a week.

The one piece of good news is that tomorrow we get to drop him off at school. This is my motivation for waking up tomorrow morning.

Remote Learning

Today Brooke went to achool while the boys stayed home for remote learning. Brooke's day was fantastic. She had fun, she learned, she felt safe & comfortable. It was a great start.

Ryan is on day 2 of virtual learning. He's still struggling with where his ideal place is and what his ideal setup is, but we worked on that some today. But the timing is a bit of a trick ... and worse with Luke.

Today was Lukes first day of virtual learning. I will say his attention span is SLIGHTLY better than in the spring, where he couldn't watch a 5 minute lesson. But his need for interaction and engagement is so high, he insisted on engaging ME during class. With random stuff. He just couldn't not be heard while the teacher was talking. So he talked to me while she talked to them. But the bigger issue was the free time. He'd be set up for a 45 minute class, but it would only last 30. Then he'd have a 15 minute scheduled break ... that became 30 with the shortened lesson. These gaps were large. Honestly, even the 15 is a lot. I get they need to move and stretch, but at 6 he doesn't just keep to himself at that break. So we had these big pocket breaks where he'd use all of my time, expect to watch tv, want a snack. I got him to read during one break, but he read a few pages and then wanted to read with me.

So during his virtual learning school day he:
Talked to me during class
Talked to me during break
Tried to eat snack 6 times
Read two pages and made me read 2 chapters
Asked to play Fortnite
Asked to play Roblox
Asked to play Minecraft
Claimed he was going to go make his bed (I immediately knew this was a lie) but instead tried to steal candy from his sisters room.
Drew some doodles (during class)
Stalked a cat

And during that same time I ... literally got nothing done.


Back to School Pandemic Edition

 

First day of school for everyone, including a day for me (my second FTF). Luke went back to Catherine Cook, for the first time since March. He wore a mask and sat at a desk all day ... and had a great day! Brooke and Ryan both went virtually. There were some tech snags, but an overall smooth ride. Day 1 Complete!