Jumping in Leaves, Report Cards, Our First Snow, and Family Photo Session

Samantha: 101 Months, Week 3
Aedan: 67 Months, Week 1
Owen: 25 Months, Week 3

Sunday was going to be a busy day for us because Samantha and Aedan had a birthday party at Sky Zone for one of Aedan's friends, Andrew. Ben and I drove to church separately so that he could take the kids to the birthday party, while I took Owen back home for a quick lunch and nap time. The time changed overnight, going back an hour for daylight savings time, and it was rough for little Owen to get used to. He, of course, did not sleep in anymore, and was up between 6:15 and 6:30. On the way home from church it was really hard to keep him awake, and he was not a happy boy. I got lunch ready as quickly as I could that afternoon, but he was just really upset. Here he is just laying on the floor, crying. Poor little guy was just too tired.

Here is some work on the letter C that Aedan brought home from school.

Samantha and Aedan really enjoyed the birthday party at Sky Zone. They each found friends quickly. So, they split up and just ran around. Ben largely just watched them jump around and act crazy. Samantha played with the boy's older sister and her cousin. Aedan played with all the boys that were there for the party. The kids jumped around and ran around back and forth from about 12:15-1:30. Then we all stopped for pizza and then cupcakes. The party was a lot of fun for the kids, and I got to talk with several of the parents for a little while. They were tired from all the running around, but it was a good tired.  

Originally we had planned to get family pictures taken that afternoon, but with the weather and the time change, we decided to reschedule it, which was definitely a good decision. The kids were all tired from the time changing and from the birthday party, so it was good to just spend an evening relaxing at home. A friend of mine asked me for an update on the kids, and this was my response. Samantha has good and bad days. She just so easily lets herself get into a funk. One thing can happen, or we will have to get on her about something, and then she lets that ruin her mood and sometimes the whole rest of her day. Aedan is getting used to school, but sometimes he wishes he had more free time to play, so that makes it hard to go to school. However, they both love it when they are there. Ben and I are trying to be more patient with them as well. It's been a little more difficult lately because we are doing things like community group on Mondays and AWANA on Wednesdays that keep them out past their bedtime, so sometimes they are just overtired, I think, even though we try to give them plenty of opportunity to sleep. They just have such naturally early wake up times, that they just really don't ever sleep in.

On Monday morning Owen and I drove out to Walmart to pick up our groceries, and I was glad that I did a pick-up order because I started to feel crummy that morning. Aedan had some diarrhea last week, so I assumed that I just picked up something from him, and I was hoping if I just rested for awhile that afternoon, that I would feel better. After getting the groceries in, eating lunch, and putting Owen down for a nap, I just sat on the couch and rested. Owen went to sleep okay, thankfully. He cried for a couple minutes and called for me, but he quieted back down and went back to sleep without me having to go back up there.

Once the kids got home, I tried to get up and move around some, but I felt queasy every time I walked around. I was definitely not feeling much better, and I decided I had better not go to small group that night just in case I was coming down with something. Plus, I wasn't much in the mood to be around people in a social setting anyways.

Here is some of the work they came home with that night. I love seeing these awesome grades from Samantha, as well as her excellent handwriting. She has picked up cursive so quickly, even though we don't practice all that often. I love how she wrote the word in print next to the cursive, just in case Mrs. Johnson couldn't tell the word that she was trying to write in cursive. Our little girl is very thorough and conscientious.

Aedan has been working on color words as well doing activities for the letter "Ii."

Here is Aedan's test for the Letter "Cc." He was so proud to show us that he got 100%, and I'm enjoying seeing how well he's writing his name and the letters they have talked about so far.

It was a nice fall day, so after the kids got their homework done, we sent them out to play. Samantha raked up a pile of leaves and the boys had a blast jumping in the pile together. Ben and I both took videos of the kids playing outside. It's so nice to actually have nice fall weather here in Pennsylvania.

Monday night is small group, so Ben took the kids on his own while I stayed home to rest. I watched a little TV, but mostly just faded in and out of sleep. Then, once the kids all got back home and said good night to me, I ended up getting sick to my stomach. I was really hoping that wouldn't happen, but I had definitely come down with something bad.

Ben ended up sleeping upstairs in our extra bedroom so that way he wasn't in the same room with all my germs. I ended up sleeping okay that night and not getting sick anymore, but the next morning, I tried to take a sip of water a couple different times, and then got sick again. I was really discouraged because there was no way I was going to feel better if I couldn't even drink sips of water. My head was pounding, and I felt really weak. It even hurt me to keep my eyes open, so I spent most of the day just laying around, resting, and sleeping. After I got sick again on Tuesday morning, Ben lovingly cancelled classes and changed plans so that he could stay home with Owen. He could tell that it would be very difficult for me to take care of Owen with how poorly I was feeling, and I was really grateful that he was willing to do that for me.

Ben decided to take Owen to the gym play time because it's a fun morning activity for him, and he really likes running around, participating in the songs and movement activities, and especially playing in this pool of plastic balls.

Ben said that Owen was getting pretty tired on the way home, so he decided to stop at Dunkin' Donuts on the way back home to give him a special treat and to get him out of the car and give him a boost of energy.

Tuesday afternoon I really wasn't feeling much better at all, and I was really dehydrated. I couldn't keep down any water and was feeling really bad. I decided to take myself down to the ER so that I could get some fluids to help me feel better. I had to wait for quite awhile at the ER because I wasn't a priority, but they finally took me back and hooked me up to IV fluids, along with some Zofran to help calm my stomach. I felt a lot better after that, and even though I felt silly going to the hospital, I just needed help feeling better since I had gotten so dehydrated and my stomach wasn't tolerating anything.

Samantha and Aedan came home with their report cards on Tuesday, and I was so proud to look through how they were doing. Aedan's report card was based on the Pennsylvania Standards, and he got pluses in all but four categories, and he was doing great with his letters and sounds. Mrs. Weaver said he was adjusting well to kindergarten and that he always works and tries hard, which is really all we could ask or expect. He is a smart boy, and I love to hear him read his decodable readers. He has learned quite a few sight words, and I'm proud of how well he is doing in school. He doesn't resist sitting down and doing his homework after school, and his handwriting is coming along nicely as well.

Kindergarten report cards are different from other grades, so Samantha got a number grade for her subjects, earning all As except for one B+ in Math because of the little bit of trouble she had on her last quiz and test. But, we were super proud of Samantha as well. She has never had a real report card like this before, and it was great to have tangible evidence of how she was doing in school. At Bahweting there was very little work sent home, we never saw grades on tests or quizzes, and the standards-based report cards seemed very subjective to me. I am really enjoying being able to see what the kids are working on at school, to see Samantha working on Math and Spelling at home, and to help her study for tests. These are important life skills to learn in order to be successful in school, and Samantha has taken well to the responsibility. She always brings home what she need to do her homework and study, and she even has a planner that she writes her homework in. We are so glad the kids are at Lehman-Jackson and are thriving in their new school environment.

Samantha also got back her next math test on which she got a 97%! She studied hard for this test, and as you can see by the work she did, she was careful to work out every problem and make sure she got the correct answer. We also discovered, through talking with her math teacher, that Samantha finished the last test and quiz outside of the classroom because she needed more time. In fact, Samantha said that she finished them on the playground, which would account for her making silly mistakes and not taking the time to go back and check her work. Mrs. Richards said she would make sure Samantha finished her quizzes and tests in the classroom from now on, and as you can see, it worked! Samantha did fantastic!

I missed seeing the kids that night, as they were already in bed when I got home from the ER, which made me sad, but I slept pretty well Tuesday night and on Wednesday morning I had definitely improved after getting fluids on Tuesday evening. Owen was pretty whiny that morning, but I put Elmo on TV for him so I could sit down for awhile, and he enjoyed that time to just relax with me. I was even able to eat eggs and toast for breakfast, so that was definitely an improvement after not even being able to drink water on Tuesday.

On Wednesday mornings Ben leaves for campus a little after 7:00, and Samantha and Aedan both got time outs that morning, so it was not a great start to the day. Samantha left for school in a bad mood, walking down the hill saying no one likes her, that Aedan is always mean to her and calls her names and no one cares. Our morning was fine until Aedan screamed and then Samantha was mean to both of her brothers within a span of five minutes. She just doesn't get over things very easily, and I'm not sure what to do because she can't get away with being blatantly mean, but I get frustrated that she then lets it ruin the rest of her day instead of just apologizing, changing, and moving on.

Here's some more work Aedan brought home that day from school. He is learning about the short i sound, the numbers 7 & 8, new sight words, and just general letter recognition. Him and his coloring...it's gotten a lot more scribbly lately.

On Wednesday afternoon Owen gave me a hard time during nap time, and I had to go back in his room a couple of times trying to get him to go to sleep. Then, we had a quicker dinner together before taking the kids to AWANA. They always look forward to AWANA nights, and it's nice to drop all three kids off and have the evening to ourselves once a week. Ben and I decided to go to the PTO meeting at the kids' school because neither of us were able to go in November, and we want to be involved in the kids' school. It was very efficient and well run, which was nice, and I was able to sign up to work at the Santa Store in December and express my interest in helping out on the summer reading committee. Then, once we got the kids to bed after AWANA, Ben started to not feel well, so he laid down on the couch to rest and ended up going to bed early. I was worried that he had caught the stomach bug from me, and I felt bad that he wasn't feeling good. While he was sleeping, I was busying making a meal for a family from our church who just had a baby over the weekend. It was a busy day, and I was glad when everything was done and cleaned up so I could fall into bed as well. It's so hard to be sick when you are a parent because you don't have time to rest much, you just have to bounce back and get right back into your normal, every day activities.

On Thursday morning Bible Study was cancelled because the leader had a sick kid, but those that could come decided to get together at the coffee house anyways and hang out and talk in the kids' play room. It was fun to just have a more relaxed time to be together and watch our kids play and interact with one another. Then, I dropped the meal off for the mom who just had a baby. It went well, but then I was in Wilkes-Barre later and it was hard to keep Owen awake on the way home. He was still trying to figure out the time change, and it was a rough transition for him, making him super tired and grumpy before it's even lunchtime.

He gave me a hard time napping that afternoon as well. He slept about 45 minutes and then woke up screaming and crying, even though he was practically falling asleep in the car on the way home. Also, he's been waking up crying every night, too, at least once, and sometimes more than once. I didn't know what was going on with him, if it was just from the time change or if he wasn't feeling well or what. He has always been such a poor sleeper that sometimes it seems like the smallest thing can throw him off. It's hard to get used to waking up multiple times a night when you are used to your kid mostly sleeping through the night.

Here is some work the kids came home with on Thursday night, some Spelling from Samantha and sequencing, and more practice with the leter Ii and the number 8 for Aedan.

On Friday morning we got a little bit of snow, and the kids were so excited. The kids actually had a two hour delay, which we thought was kind of funny considering the little amount of snow we had. I think they were missing the winter weather of the U.P. a little bit, but I was glad that this was our first taste of snow, and that it would be gone within the next day. 

Can you tell they are excited about the snow? They just sat here and looked out the patio door for a long time, watching the snow come down with their arms around each other. They are so sweet.

The snow definitely came down harder as the morning went on, so we decided to go outside and play in the snow for a little while before it was time to get ready for school. As you can tell, we did not have much snow, but the kids were still wanting to try and go sledding down our hilly backyard. I explained to them that it would be hard, but they wanted to anyways, and you can tell that Aedan didn't handle it well, as he throws a fit and cries on his sled in the video below.

And here is another video of Samantha sledding with Owen, and you can hear Aedan crying again in the background. He was having a rough morning that day, nothing was quite right in his world, and he was getting upset very easily about everything.

I took the kids down in our van to meet the school van, and for some reason it just didn't come when it usually does, and we got too nervous that the kids would be late for school, so I ended up driving the kids to school. I skidded down the driveway a little while pulling out, so we will definitely have to get some salt/ice melt stuff since our driveway is at such a steep incline.

Owen and I spent the rest of the morning at home getting things done around the house. I spent some time cleaning the house and doing laundry, and he was fairly happy just following me around and playing where I was.

The kids had an early dismissal day that day because of parent-teacher conferences, so our day at home went by pretty quickly. I got Owen down for a nap, and Samantha and Aedan were playing in the basement while I worked on getting information for applying for my Pennsylvania teaching license before my Indiana license expires in January. While I was working, I got a phone call from the Children & Youth Services number regarding a placement of three foster children: a 1 1/2 year old boy, 2 1/2 year old girl, and 7 month old girl. I got some basic information and then tried to contact Ben on campus, even though I knew he was going to be starting class soon. We weren't comfortable taking three because we don't have the space in our home or van for 3, but we were considering two. I called back and told them that, and then we were told that the caseworker would be calling us to give us more information. However, we never heard anything back at all, so we assumed that something changed and they didn't need us anymore, or maybe they found a home for all three to be placed together. We didn't have any idea what happened, so we all just worked on moving on with life and not getting stuck in the unknowns and what ifs.

We had Aedan's parent-teacher conference at 3:30 that afternoon, so Ben got home from work, we got Owen up, and we drove over to their school. Mrs. Weaver went over some things with us to show us the progress he has made, and she expressed how well he was doing, how he always works hard, and even though he can be overly emotional at home, she doesn't ever see that kind of behavior at school, which we were glad to hear. Ben and I were proud that he was doing well, and we enjoyed meeting with Mrs. Weaver.

As we walked around the school that night, I took some pictures of their work hanging on the walls.

From there we went back home, thinking we might get a call at some point, so we ended up just picking up pizza for dinner. Samantha was disappointed that we never heard back, but we tried to explain to her that nothing in foster care is a sure thing until it actually happens.

I have been trying an experiment with Owen the last few days of trying to eat lunch and put him down for his nap earlier to see if that helps him sleep any better. Sometimes it seems like if I wait too long, it's like he gets a second wind and doesn't nap as well, or as long. Plus, since the time change last weekend, he has been waking up earlier in the morning, so he is tired by 11:30. Aedan also hasn't been listening well at all lately, maybe because he's more tired as well. We have to ask him over and over again to do something, and sometimes he won't listen until we raise our voice at him. It's very frustrating because nothing we do seems to be making any difference.

On Saturday morning Samantha had play practice, which she still really enjoys. She knows all the songs and is even teaching them to Aedan. It's cute to hear them sing the songs and act out the play. I'm really looking forward to watching Samantha in her performance.

As a way to get the boys out of the house for awhile, we went to the library to check out new books and play for a little while. I stayed with Owen at the library while Ben took Aedan to get his hair cut. Then, Saturday afternoon, after Owen's nap, we drove down to Hillside Farm to get our family pictures taken in a mini-session. I like to get new pictures every year, for picture frames and Christmas cards, and this lady was offering mini-sessions at a very reasonable price. We spent about 20 minutes getting pictures taken, and then we went in to get ice cream before walking around and looking at the animals for awhile. A cold front was coming through, so it was getting pretty cold outside, and as a result, we didn't want to spend too much time walking around the farm, but it was a fun little family excursion.

We didn't have any plans for the rest of the evening, so we just relaxed at home. Ben had football playing on his phone, and Owen was sitting at the counter with his chin propped up on his elbows, watching the game.

That night before bed, the photographer sent us a sneak peak of the pictures she took, and here they are. They looked so great, and I was excited to see what the rest of the pictures looked like once she was finished editing them. I especially like the one of the 3 kids sitting side by side and then the individual pictures of the kids, too. Our kids are so cute, and they did so well posing and smiling for the camera. Can't wait to see the rest of them!

(Blog about November 3-9, 2019)