A Week, Briefly (8/5/19)
I took Nature Angel and Little Princess shopping for fun this afternoon (theirs, not mine . . . but I love them, so I did it).
On our way home we passed a park.
The people at the park looked familiar.
The people were Sir Walter Scott and our youngest 6!
We pulled our van up to the curb and called our hellos.
Excited screams and lots of handwaving ensued.
Sir Walter Scott smiled ruefully and said, "We just got here."
"That's great! We're headed home to make dinner. See you in a while!" I replied.
As I pulled away I thought of what he'd done.
This tired daddy piled 6 kids ages 4-8 into the car after hooking up our bike rack and figuring out how to load it with 5 bikes and a trike.
Then he took them to the park, unloaded them all, buckled helmets onto all of their heads, and is currently standing guard over them as they ride wildly around and around the paved path.
(I am free to write about this because dinner is pancakes, and I've already set the table, and Nature Angel and Little Princess are making all of the pancakes.)
(The teens are at the amusement park.)
In order for him to come home, Sir Walter Scott has to collect all 6 kids, all 6 helmets, all 5 bikes, and the trike, and load them all into the car.
Then he has to unload them all at home again.
He's a good man.
One of the best.
He worries that he's not a very good father.
He's rocking this fatherhood gig!
I love him, and I am grateful for him.
This week:
*Mister Man's new glasses arrived.
*Mister Man got an expander placed in the top of his mouth. He can hardly talk or eat, and he has to wear it for 8 full weeks. This whole orthodontic journey is a bigger deal than I knew.
*Mister Man also finished reading The Book of Mormon for the second time!
*Ladybug finished The Good and the Beautiful Language Arts Level 1! We skipped the reading challenges and most of the spelling, but she did all of the phonics and grammar and punctuation. It was a really big deal. She has not mastered much of the material, but she's been introduced to lots of good communication skills, and she's learning them.
*We borrowed a Lego book from the library, and the little boys have been inspired to build and build and build. Tiny creations are appearing all over the house.
*Nature Angel built "boats" under the apple tree in the front yard. One boat quickly turned into four, and for three days, through rain and sun, the little fleet has been a source of joy for all of the young ones.
*Little Princess read too long one day, and her head hurt for a full day afterwards. I told her to balance some reading and some outdoor play, so she pulled out our old in-line skates, the pogo stick, and the stilts. She went to bed with tired, sore muscles and a happy sense of accomplishment.
*Pixie and Belle have put in 42 hours of work at the amusement park this week. The park closes on Monday night for the season (because all of the local schools start Wednesday), so this will be the last "good" paycheck for a while. They'll be able to work Saturdays pretty steadily at least until Pixie leaves for school.
*Nature Angel and Little Princess are forever in the kitchen helping with meals. They're getting some solid home economics training.
*Ladybug got to do pancake art at her church activity.
*Brother is having more and more dissociative episodes.
*We attended our final Friday morning summer park day. Super Star came with us and was delightfully fun. She played with the younger kids and helped me a lot!
*I'm getting glasses for the first time in my life. The eye doc says I've had a good long run with these eyes of mine, but "there's no beating Mother Nature." I laughed and said I thought Father Time equally guilty. At any rate, perhaps my eyes will stop hurting all day every day!
*We completely finished Myself and Others. I loved it! The kids loved it! We'll miss it. There are 3 more levels to work through during the next 3 summers. :)
Sir Walter Scott and the young ones are home;
Several dozen pancakes are cooked;
I've recorded enough.
Next week is our last week of summer . . . I think it is enough.
We're ready for a new school year.
On our way home we passed a park.
The people at the park looked familiar.
The people were Sir Walter Scott and our youngest 6!
We pulled our van up to the curb and called our hellos.
Excited screams and lots of handwaving ensued.
Sir Walter Scott smiled ruefully and said, "We just got here."
"That's great! We're headed home to make dinner. See you in a while!" I replied.
As I pulled away I thought of what he'd done.
This tired daddy piled 6 kids ages 4-8 into the car after hooking up our bike rack and figuring out how to load it with 5 bikes and a trike.
Then he took them to the park, unloaded them all, buckled helmets onto all of their heads, and is currently standing guard over them as they ride wildly around and around the paved path.
(I am free to write about this because dinner is pancakes, and I've already set the table, and Nature Angel and Little Princess are making all of the pancakes.)
(The teens are at the amusement park.)
In order for him to come home, Sir Walter Scott has to collect all 6 kids, all 6 helmets, all 5 bikes, and the trike, and load them all into the car.
Then he has to unload them all at home again.
He's a good man.
One of the best.
He worries that he's not a very good father.
He's rocking this fatherhood gig!
I love him, and I am grateful for him.
This week:
*Mister Man's new glasses arrived.
*Mister Man got an expander placed in the top of his mouth. He can hardly talk or eat, and he has to wear it for 8 full weeks. This whole orthodontic journey is a bigger deal than I knew.
*Mister Man also finished reading The Book of Mormon for the second time!
*Ladybug finished The Good and the Beautiful Language Arts Level 1! We skipped the reading challenges and most of the spelling, but she did all of the phonics and grammar and punctuation. It was a really big deal. She has not mastered much of the material, but she's been introduced to lots of good communication skills, and she's learning them.
*We borrowed a Lego book from the library, and the little boys have been inspired to build and build and build. Tiny creations are appearing all over the house.
*Nature Angel built "boats" under the apple tree in the front yard. One boat quickly turned into four, and for three days, through rain and sun, the little fleet has been a source of joy for all of the young ones.
*Little Princess read too long one day, and her head hurt for a full day afterwards. I told her to balance some reading and some outdoor play, so she pulled out our old in-line skates, the pogo stick, and the stilts. She went to bed with tired, sore muscles and a happy sense of accomplishment.
*Pixie and Belle have put in 42 hours of work at the amusement park this week. The park closes on Monday night for the season (because all of the local schools start Wednesday), so this will be the last "good" paycheck for a while. They'll be able to work Saturdays pretty steadily at least until Pixie leaves for school.
*Nature Angel and Little Princess are forever in the kitchen helping with meals. They're getting some solid home economics training.
*Ladybug got to do pancake art at her church activity.
*Brother is having more and more dissociative episodes.
*We attended our final Friday morning summer park day. Super Star came with us and was delightfully fun. She played with the younger kids and helped me a lot!
*I'm getting glasses for the first time in my life. The eye doc says I've had a good long run with these eyes of mine, but "there's no beating Mother Nature." I laughed and said I thought Father Time equally guilty. At any rate, perhaps my eyes will stop hurting all day every day!
*We completely finished Myself and Others. I loved it! The kids loved it! We'll miss it. There are 3 more levels to work through during the next 3 summers. :)
Sir Walter Scott and the young ones are home;
Several dozen pancakes are cooked;
I've recorded enough.
Next week is our last week of summer . . . I think it is enough.
We're ready for a new school year.
I love the creativity that flows from your family! That boat is marvelous. Your husband is a treasure. Worrying about not being a good enough parent comes with the territory of raising high end special needs kids. Our summer is winding down too. We will be hitting the books for real before we know it.
ReplyDeleteBlessings, Dawn
That boat is adorable! You're a good mom, if your kids are able to play like this. I know I will need glasses soon too. It's been nice not having them.
ReplyDeleteI got glasses 2 years ago. I don't need them for reading, but they sure do help for distance! I remember when I first wore them out. I kept exclaiming, "There are words everywhere!!" My son, Sam, was a bit disconcerted, thinking that he'd been riding around in the car with a woman who couldn't read license plates.
ReplyDeleteThe boats are so cute! How fun! I love all of the creative play. My eyes are changing too I can tell. Last time I got them checked (2 years ago) the doctor said I didn't need glasses yet but you know after 40 everything changes and I would need them soon. I hope you have a great new school year!
ReplyDelete