Almost Summer

One more week of school and we're in that almost, but not quite, Summer Mode.
Going to bed late to play outdoors, Cheerios for dinner, getting the hose out and no homework make for some tough mornings getting out of bed.
4 more days.
We just have to get through four more days.

And it feels like there are 3 weeks worth of activities crammed into those four days.
But it's all good.

Sam had his First Communion this past Saturday.
It was so nice.  He felt so special because both sets of his grandparents came to watch.
There was even a Water-War.
After Nina having the initial advantage, the boys took revenge in the end.
It was a draw.

We had a visiting priest that called Sam up on the altar during Mass to receive Communion.  Once he overcame his initial reaction to run to the back of church, he got up on the altar and did a good job.
After he received Eucharist, he whispered to me, "Please, Mom, please don't make me drink the blood.  I don't like it.  Don't make me drink."
And at that very moment, Fr Glenn called him up.
Sam approached with a horrified look on his face and then drank.
He came back to me saying, "That was pretty good!" and then proceeded to skip off the altar and back to our pew.
It was the happiest First Communion I've ever seen.

Sam says he *might* want to be a priest when he grows up.
But if he meets a nice girl, he'll be a deacon.
Sounds like a plan.
Sam has made some huge gains recently.  While Jim was in TX, he was having a very hard time focusing in school and doing his homework.
He is a very bright child, but was bringing home C-grades on his report card.
It didn't make sense.
We had seen improvements in his behavior since eliminating artificial colors and flavors from his diet, but this change didn't seem to be enough anymore.
We started meeting with a counselor to help us find strategies to help Sam help himself.
With the implementation of timers, chore lists, incentive programs and decluttering strategies we have seen an absolute change for the better.
Both Sam's counselor and teacher have been God-sends.
Not that everything is perfect.  Because it's not.
He still forgets things.  He still lives in Sam-Land much of the time.
But it's a good place to be and Sam has the ability to compensate and the rest of us are staying sane.
We have to keep up reading and writing strategies over the summer, but for now, we're in a good place.  Having such a good experience with First Communion was the icing on the cake.

Caroline also had her Dance Recital this weekend.
It was a long three hours, I can't lie, but it was so nice to see her comfortable on the stage and enjoying herself when she was performing.
Tap is hands-down her favorite, with ballet running second.
She is excited for next year and has been asked to audition for some Company Performances.
It will be exciting to see what the future has in store.
She has decided to keep playing the flute next year.  I think she was getting bored with her music from school, so we were able to get some songs from Frozen that were written for beginning flute players and that has helped.

Today there was an awards program at school.
Caroline came out with a Citizenship Award.  It was nice to hear the good things her classmates had written about her.
If you hear sirens coming this way, it's because of a domestic dispute between Sam and Caroline.  Seems that Sam randomly got picked (again) to go on the limo to McDonalds.
This is something Caroline has been hoping to do since first grade.
Sam has done it twice in second grade.
Indignation is rampant.

We'll see how the rest of the week pans out.

Smart Stuff

I now have entered the realm of the 21st century and have a smart phone.
Or, as I tell people, now that it's mine, it's a wicked smaht phone.
So I will try to blog on it & see how it goes.
It has been okay- I have actually spent a lot less time on line because I am not sitting at a computer with lots of potential distractions.
The Moleskine calendar app alone is worth its weight in gold. I don't know how we made it this long without it.

With Memorial Day, we are all grateful for the extra day off. The last few weeks of school are dragging and the kids are ready to bed done.  I am again poignantly aware that there will never be another summer quite like this one and want to take it in for all it is worth.

Amazing to think we have been here almost 5 years. Maryland truly feels like home now.  With the beauty of the land and our friends become  family here, I don't want to imagine being anywhere else.
We took a morning trip to Harpers Ferry this week. The water was high, which limited our shell finding.  But it was nothing that a little rock chucking couldn't cure.
Heck - I even figured out how to take a selfie!

Nate finished up Pre-K this past week, as well.
It's nice having him home - I'm going to miss  him when he goes to school next year.
Don't get me wrong - it's quieter and a lot cleaner here when he's at school.
Nate brings an element of surprise to just about every situation.

And now he's in Rochester for the week.
So it's really, really really quiet here.

The kids are watching Wild Kratts, so we have some time to get ready for the week.
Just school, 504 meeting, dress rehearsal, dance recital and 1st Communion to contend with.
Walk in the park.