Yesterday, the kids started school. Usually, I'm totally chomping at the bit to get them in school, but not this year! It came way too fast! Here's an update on all of them:
#1:
She is a sophomore! 10th grade! Only 3 years left of high school and I'm in denial that she will eventually leave us all for bigger and better things. She's taking chemistry, Advanced Algebra II, drawing/painting (she thinks she might be the youngest in the class), Spanish 3, and driver's ed (next semester, although she's still driving with Brandon whenever she can). She applied for a job at DQ and has an interview tonight! She's amazing through and through. I hate that she's so busy because I really enjoy her company. I try not to take advantage of her help with the little kids, but I will admit it's nice having some extra hands during the day!
8th grade! Next year she'll be in early morning seminary with #1 and it's weird to think of my little girls as teenagers. She was accepted to the gifted program at the middle school (like anyone was surprised) and is also taking advanced Algebra II --except there are only 3 kids who are taking it, and because they can't bus them to the high school (the high school just started a block schedule and the middle school is still on traditional), they'll be taking the class online with a supervisor. She's not thrilled about her school, but she's open to give it a chance. She's writing her own novel and I'm so proud of her! She's starting piano lessons again, soon, and has recently become obsessed with Hamilton. (So has #1. And Brandon. And me, for that matter! Lin-Manuel Miranda is brilliant, people! Brilliant!)
7th grade! He was ordained a Deacon two days before school started! How did he grow up so fast? He joined the 7th grade football team and they have practice after school for 2.5 hours every day. He's still mowing our lawn and his friends convinced him to ride his bike with them to the middle school the day before school started --turns out #3's brakes weren't working and he has no gears (I don't know much about bikes, obviously, nor do I pay attention to what's going on with them), so he had to work really hard to get there! It's an hour one way! So, that day, he rode his bike to school, then he mowed our lawn in the hot humidity, and then he had his first football practice for over 2 hours. He was exhausted when he got home, but he was happy. Physical exercise is good for him! His Misophonia is the same as ever, but as he matures, he is getting better at working through it instead of giving into it. He's a great kid! He will also start piano lessons again, soon. I hope he can juggle everything and stay on top of his schooling.
#4:
4th grade! He loves school and is excited to be back. His BFF from church is not in his class, though. He makes friends so easily, so I'm sure he'll have a lot of new buddies, soon. #4 still loves to create and build things (future engineer?), and he's been drawing a lot, too. I'm trying to get him to read a bit more, but he's mostly interested in graphic novels (those comic-like ones?). He used to read chapter books eagerly; maybe school will get him back into the groove. He and I still struggle from time to time with control and emotions, but we both apologize and forgive easily, so we're making it work. I sure love that kid. He got his braces off in July just before our trip and his teeth are great! Round one is complete and round two will begin in a few years. He starts cello lessons in a few weeks and he's really excited to keep playing!
#5:
2nd grade! He's such a silly kid and we're working through some dishonesty. Nothing major --just pushing his limits to see how far he can go. He's reading really well and I'm excited to see how far he can go this year. He had to have some oral surgery (just pulled two baby molars and then put spacers in to make room for the adult molars) and he's pulled through like a champ. He's a great brother and still makes us laugh. He's a strong kid and I may have to put him in gymnastics! He really wants to play the violin, but I told him he has to prove to me that he can do a year of piano lessons faithfully before I rent another instrument. We'll see how it goes! He's eager to learn new things. I love that about him. (Notice baby girl photobombing his picture! Ha!)
Preschool! I can't believe it! He starts preschool in a few weeks at a Methodist church in our city and he's really excited. He loves to play Memory, "find stuff" (hidden pictures), and put stickers on every surface in the house. He loves to pal around with his big brothers and he is a little sad when they leave for the day. He's a great help with baby girl, though, and I'm glad he'll only be gone three afternoons a week. He's still pretty shy, though, so we'll have to see how he takes to preschool. Crossing fingers he adjusts quickly! I sure love my squishy boy.
Home! Obviously, she won't be going anywhere, since she's just about 18 months old. She decided she needed co-sleeping/nursing to sleep at night (again), so we're back to square one. Sort of. I say sort of because she doesn't want to sleep in my arms and she'll even get out of our bed and lay down on the cold wood floor and sleep for a while. She doesn't want to be in her crib near our bed, just on the floor...?? How weird is that?! Anyway, she's funny. She's got a mouthful of teeth and is starting to say a lot of words. She's super cute and we all adore her.
Brandon:
Working hard, like always, and he starts teaching a business ethics class at the business school at KState next week! He's still teaching primary with me and is also in cub scouts. On our trip this summer, he was able to join us for almost a week, and we got him for all of Nauvoo! He's been watching the Olympics a lot and he's way more giddy/excited that #3 has started football then he lets on. His homemade pizza and Sunday morning breakfasts are still exceptional and I love his hugs.
Me:
I'm being mom. My parents being here for a few days was amazing because every time they visit, they jump start my cleaning routine again. I've been stressed to the max with school prep and two vacations back-to-back, so the house has suffered greatly. But with their help, I'm back on track and hopefully I can get back into the routine I enjoy! I'm looking forward to this school year. I'm extremely busy and it's hard work taking care of all these crazies and their different needs and schedules, but I feel grateful I have the privilege to work this hard.
P.S. I reactivated my Facebook because 1. the kids started school, and 2. we're going back to Philly next week and I needed to communicate with people about it. Let me tell you something, dear reader, I did not miss it. Not really. I missed two things: the ability to get in touch with people I don't have contact info for and my large family group (didn't I mention that in my last post?). That's it. The deluge of random information that flooded my eyes and brain as soon as I logged on was pure insanity. How can anyone think for themselves when they're trapped in the dousing of videos and articles at a constant rate? I think I'm going to have to limit myself so I won't get sucked back into the addiction of checking FB constantly. I have friends who are really good at scheduling their FB time --I will need to do the same.
1 comment:
So many cute pictures!!! Your cuties are all growing up so much, time flies. <3
P.S.-I love you
Post a Comment