The rest of October

I figure I should probably get up to date on some blogging. I've been working a fair bit this past month, and volunteering, and the time has flown. I figure that for each 1 or 2, 12 hr shift that I work, I need a full day at home to clean up the mess, get caught up again, and re-establish boundaries and relationships with the kids. That's pretty much been October for me. Ryan went away for 10 nights total, 7 in Nashville and 1 in Minneapolis and 2 in Edmonton. Having Evelyn in school for most days makes it much easier to manage while he's gone. The weather's been hovering around zero. So, we get snow, it melts, it turns to ice, it melts some more, then we get more snow. The kids have enjoyed it none the less!

The kids also had fun building a fort out of the kitchen chairs and some blankets. I love how Ethan is looking at Evelyn. He's so happy to be playing with her!

I had my first 'parent helper' day in Evelyn's class. She is certainly the clown of the class. She will say or do things simply to make the kids laugh. Most of the time, it's distracting and causes her teacher to have to gain control of the kids, again. I've been talking to Evelyn about it, so I hope she stops soon. I volunteer again tomorrow, so we'll see how it goes. Though, Ryan called me this morning to say that only 46 kids were at school today (out of about 100) and 5 staff were off sick. Sick with what? Well, there are confirmed H1N1 cases at the school and it spreads like wildfire! So, the kids who are there will be getting some more one on one time!

Her class is working on "popcorn" words that pop up everywhere and need to be learned/memorized. So, she is learning: the, it, is, in, at, a, this, that... you get the idea. The kids have made 2 little books that she 'reads' to us. I'm pretty sure she has them memorized, but sometimes, I think she's actually looking at the words and reading them. One is called 'Run Turkey, Run' the other is called 'Five little Pumpkins'. I should take a video of her reciting them.

The playgroup had a halloween potluck party on Wednesday. There have been 4 new moms coming out with their kids. So, that is really great. Most of the kids are 3 and under. The youngest is a newborn (with a big brother). Several of us have brought in ride on toys that we don't use often. The kids spend much of the time riding around and around the large (gym sized) room we meet in. I took Evelyn to the party day (she missed the morning of school) so I could take her and Ethan to get vaccinated before I started work. She enjoyed being the big kid and the 3 yr old girls followed her around the whole time.

I have started working the H1N1 clinics. The hours are very flexible, and a bit sporadic, so it works out well for me. I am waiting to hear back from the 'healthy living' program to find out if I can work some mornings with them again this year.

Ethan is almost 3 years old now and has hit a new development milestone. He seems to be way more helpful and eager to be the helper. I think this is because he's figuring out sequencing and what tasks need to be done in what order. For example, I'll say 'let's have some cereal for breakfast' and he'll say "I'll get the bowl, and the milk!" He's finally starting to play by himself a bit. He likes to line up his 'Radiator Springs" 'Cars' cars, and build and take apart, and build and take apart... the mega blocks 'Cars' cars that he has. Sometimes I hear him making a story with the toys, but not too often. He's started singing more often and loves a new song we learned about a rocket ship.

Evelyn is very interested in friends right now. She wants to have them, she wants to play at their houses (not something we've done yet) and she is very aware of the social dynamics of her class. She is starting to divide boys from girls and make statements like 'I only play with the girls.' etc. Overall, she seems to be doing well in her class socially.


She's been assessed by the Occupational Therapist at the school for some guidance about whether she is right or left handed, and why she walks on tip toe so much. One possibility for the toe walking is that she has a sensory integration issue. This would also explain her finicky likes and dislikes about smells and how sounds can bother her sometimes. I read through some info on a website and I'm not sure it fits well. I think she walks tip toe in part because I did! I had thought for a while that she had decided to be left handed, now she's back to writing and colouring with both. I think she is truely ambidextrous. At times, she will write things in a mirrored script (like DaVinci wrote in his journals) so, I'll continue to monitor her as she learns written language to see if any dyslexia crops up. Her favorite subject is probably math. They are doing patterns, so she sees and points out patterns everywhere.

I took the kids to the Costume Parade at the school on Friday. Ethan wore a pirate costume that Ryan's mom made (hat and all!) He charmed the judges, oozed personality, and won the contest for 'under 5 boy'. This is his second win. Last year he was a safari man riding a zebra.

Evelyn wore a 'Snow White' costume made by Ryan's mom also. She looked so cute and she spent much of the time twirling around and admiring her dress.

When we sorted through the candy the other day, Evelyn immediately picked out and set aside the 'chokey candies' that were not safe to eat. I don't let the kids have hard, round candies becuase they're too easy for them to choke on. I like that label 'chokey candies'. Then, she decided how to sort the candy. Chocolates, gummies, suckers, and a small miscelanious pile with tootsie rolls and rockets.

Today, we are having some soffits and fascia installed on the house. We had lost a fair bit in some wind storms over the years. That's about it!