Neglect

Dear Friends, I am so sorry to have neglected you this past week. I would promise that it won't happen again, but I'm sure it will. Life gets in the way. At least it is sunny today! I may have to break my two week streak of not exercising (does hiking the sleds up the hill for the kids count?). I did go skate skiing a couple of times last week, but nothing consistent, since The One Who Kicks My Ass At The Gym is on vacation.

Plus, there were the hamentashen my Mom sent (Triangle shortbread cookies with a filling oin the middle for the Jewish holiday of Purim. THREE BOXES of I don't know, six or eight. Because one box wouldn't have been enough. You have to have different kinds-choices. Raspberry, apricot, chocolate dipped. My favorite are the gluten-free hamentashen. A box of four, individually wrapped. Now we have done a gluten-free diet with Sam in the past, and have considered doing it again at some point. But my Mom is the most thoughtful person on the planet. If there is the possibility that Sam is doing a gluten-free diet, she wants to make sure he still gets to eat some hamentashen. Not that the kids even have a clue that we have been demolishing the cookies on our own after they go to bed. Actually, I had three for breakfast. If you eat things first thing, before you start the day, it doesn't count. Scientific fact. Also, I have no willpower, so I either have to give them away/throw them away, or EAT THEM UNTIL THEY ARE GONE. Since these are too good to give away or throw in the garbage, I am forced to eat them ALL. With M's help on the chocolate ones. Fortunately, they are small. And I am not eating the Gluten-Free ones. I have standards, folks.

Kids are doing well. Actually, The Little Person has been extremely WHINY. I volunteered in his preschool class yesterday, and as he clung to me and whined they said,

"You know he's not normally like this, right?"

AND

"Please send the other [The Little Person] tomorrow."

Oy. That one is killing me. He doesn't do that when M volunteers, as I pointed out to him. We had a great conversation the other day about what makes us "frustrated." I shared that being tired and hungry makes me frustrated, and maybe we could try to get him a snack or a rest when he feels frustrated. Frustrated, low blood-sugar, hypoglycemic, whatever. He also shared that he is scared of jumping off the platform at swimming, which we knew, but it was still good to hear him voice his concern. And when I told him after school yesterday that it makes me happy to see him play with his friends at school, since I get to play with him all the time, and that it worries me when he gets so upset, he told me,

"I worry about you too Mom."

Double Oy. Sam has been great, other than getting up with the birds. He and I have been doing computer work, and it's fun to see his progress already, even after a few weeks. He occasionally squeals when I push him to hard or change the routine (overachiever mom, if he's doing well, why not do MORE?), but he seems to tolerate my indiscretions. VERY loving and cuddly. Seems to need the love actually. He tried to turn everything off and go to bed before seven the other night, but we were firm. It does crack me up when he just decides it's time to call it a night and starts the bedtime routine on his own. But, FORTY-FIVE MINUTES EARLY...I don't think so. So we employ tactics such as making it The Little Person's job to keep him awake (which he loves), forcing him to watch television with us, and encouraging him to swing (there's a swing in the doorway to his room).

For the past week he's been making us read The Magic Dreidels. Every night. The thing is, he picks it and then rushes impatiently through the pages, not even letting us finish reading. Not that that is always a bad thing. Sometimes it makes it go faster...

Today Sam has a home visit. It will be our last one for the next six weeks while he does a series of speech therapy sessions at Children's Hospital (his teacher will be participating, as will his parents). Hopefully this will help us all to use the technology we have available to help him communicate and do his best work.

We are re-motivated to finish up some house projects, like the basement and pantry, which entails a trip to the unfinished wood store in town. Till tomorrow (or soon after?)...