Project 365: a look at our week

Friday, April 29

This was the day of our Royal Wedding Viewing Party. Coverage can be found on my other blog. It was fun! (Sissy still had her black eye.)

Later that day, the kids were being very sweet today with each other. The little ones made a "cuddle island" for their big brother - a circle of blankets, sheets, and pillows for him to relax upon and read.

Although they unmade some beds, pulled most clean blankets - even pillowcases - out of the closets, etc., I didn't really mind so much because they were playing so creatively and cooperatively.

And then it took a turn for the worse. The next time I checked on them, Sissy had added a gazillion toys to the mess. Sigh.

Saturday, April 29

This was the day of Tornado's firefighter competition I already posted about.

Sunday, May 1

The kids - especially my 6 year old - had been asking lately to fix a meal all by themselves. Finally, I relented for lunch this day. This is exactly the meal that was set before Ryan and me. (We even got to sit right next to each other!) Salad (which I think was just plain lettuce with whole baby carrots on top), LOTS of toasted crostinis with melted Daiya (and a couple had some cream cheese on top, as well), some olives and grape tomatoes mixed in, and some leftover pan-fried tofu. Obviously, it was all delicious because it was prepared with such love. My jaws were all little tired from chewing so much crostini and baby carrots. Thank you, my sweet little chefs.

Monday, May 2

my 10 year old, playing at the train table

Tuesday, May 3

Soccer fields are still flooded and closed, and in lieu of practice, we had our last team get-together at Play World.

Wednesday, May 4

I think I have the perfect picture for this day, but I can't get to it right now. Will post another day.

Thursday, May 5

Sissy picked a few tiny plants outside, gathered 3 cups out of the cup drawer, added some water, and put in her plants. She was very proud of her beautiful vases.

Last day of homeschool co-op for the year!

Friday, May 6

One of our babysitters took the two little ones to Jump Zone today to give me some cleaning time. They returned from their outing with these Mothers' Day flowers for me.

And a sweet card they signed!

Saturday, May 7

Thank goodness the fields were dry now and the weather was lovely for Dash's last soccer game of the season.

Once again, we will dearly miss watching him participate in an activity he enjoys so much - and we'll miss the team he has been (blessed to be) a part of for two seasons...but it will be nice to have our Tuesday nights and Saturday mornings free for a few months.

running through the end of the game tunnel

last Big Cats team huddle

On the way home, he begged me to see my camera for "just a second. This is going to be really funny...okay, now look at the picture I took." (Oops, as I was just editing, etc., he saw this picture on here and exclaimed, "Don't put that on the blog! I'm embarrassed." Well, that's my job, Honey.

Sunday, May 8

This is what Sissy put together for my Mothers' Day gift. Ryan helped her make an envelope out of construction paper, which she decorated. She filled it with "treasures" from her room - ribbons, a necklace, Silly Bandz, and coloring pages. I love it!

I had a really nice Mothers' Day. (Also, Dash had made a lovely bar of soap for me on his last day at homeschool co-op and also made me a beautiful, sweet card.) At church, Tornado and Sissy made me cards. Dash informed Carrie (who was watching them after Sunday School ended and helping the others with their cards) that he wasn't going to make me a card because "he'd already gotten me enough for Mothers' Day." Ha!

We met my parents and sister in Little Rock for supper and also spent a little time with them at Barnes and Noble. (Mom & Dad bought us each a book. How nice is that. Except that she's MY mom, and she got me way more than I got HER for Mothers' Day.)

Monday, May 9

Dash finally got to give me the flowers he'd gotten (with my parents' help) at Sam's when we were there last week. He was trying really hard to keep it a secret the whole time we were shopping by hiding it underneath the cart. (I may or may not have noticed this.) When Mom was paying, he took me over to "show me something" in order to distract me. It was all very, very sweet.

Which only sort of makes up for the little booger that he was all afternoon today. In his defense, he was really tired. He fell asleep for the night at 6:45 after Ryan got home, had a talk with him about his behavior, and sent him to bed.

Tuesday, May 10

Dash and I had a really nice morning together, just the two of us. (Brother was at school, and Sissy was at her art classes.) We worked on his schoolwork together, then went to Wal-Mart and to Story-Time at the library, where we also checked out these books. He was happy that he could tell Daddy he had a "super good day," and was enjoying his "good consequences," which they had discussed the night before.

Project 365: Tornado's Triumph

(I skipped April 29, but I will get back to that when I have more time. I wanted to post these pictures today, though, for those who weren't able to be there.)

Saturday, April 30

This is the weekend for our big town festival. (It's called Toad Suck Daze!) Tornado brought a note home awhile back, saying he'd qualified for the Crawl, Drag, & Squirt competition put on by the fire department. (There is a preliminary round at the different elementary schools in town to see who will compete in the finals at Toad Suck.) He seemed proud that he'd gotten this letter with "Congratulations!" included in it. I was surprised this was something he wanted to participate in - physical competitions are usually a nightmare for him - but I was glad and encouraging.

When they first called his name, he happily put on the fireman coat and took his place. When the fireman ran out to the starting point with him, Tornado...kept on running back through the crowd, returning to the tent, and burying himself behind a trunk. Yeah, buddy, if I wasn't so concerned with appearances, that's probably what I'd do, too, when faced with standing in front of a crowd!

However, he declared he DID want to do it, (This is a common conflict within my 10 year old son; he often WANTS to do something - it's just really difficult for him to go through with it.) so he went back out there and gave it another shot...

...with a big smile on his face the whole time.

He did great! "Firefighter training" tasks included crawling through the tunnel, dragging a dummy to safety, running around fire hydrants, hammering a moveable weight and spraying the fire hose at a target. (What kid wouldn't want to spray a fire hose?)

nearing the finish line

How great for my son to experience success with a crowd of cheering people and high-fives from firemen.

This was a day of TRIUMPH for my son. He overcame a fear. And he felt good about himself.

All of the kids who qualified for today's race earned a medal, but there were only a certain number of trophies given out.

I had told Tornado not to expect a trophy because only some of the kids were going to get one. He was sooo excited when they called his name. And going up there to accept his trophy was another triumph. (Loud, overstimulating situations aren't always easy for him, and there have been plenty of times he has declined an honor or privilege because it became overwhelming to him.)

I think he warmed the hearts of a few of the firemen who gave him high-fives again after he got his trophy. One remarked, "That smile!" The firefighters and volunteers were sooo kind and patient and fun. We love that they do this for the kids.

Congratulating Big Brother...later tonight, out of the blue, Sissy remarked to me (alone) something like, "I'm proud of (him) for running the race and getting a trophy."

We ARE proud of you, Big Guy!

Preschool Graduation

I meant to post these last week, but I got busy, then our computer started acting up. (And Ryan and I have spent over an hour tonight trying to put video on here, but our computer isn't cooperating...maybe I can add it tomorrow night.) Dash graduated from Preschool. I wrote about his last day here. I was sad about this life experience of his coming to an end.

I warned him that I might cry. I told him if they played "Pomp and Circumstance" there was a good chance I would. (I mean, I can just hum that song to myself without thinking about anything in particular, and I feel emotion.) "No!" he warned. "Don't cry." He gets embarrassed. He inherited his self-consciousness from his momma.

Of course, as soon as "Pomp and Circumstance" came belting out, and the little sweeties came walking down the aisle one-by-one in their adorable little outfits, tears sprung into my eyes. (I absolutely love that they got to wear real graduation outfits.) I didn't let myself cry, though, since he asked me not to. I can't make any promises for future moments of your life, though, Son. Whenever he looked at me, I stuck out my lip and made crying motions with my fists by my eyes just to tease him. His eyes got wide, and he mouthed, "Don't." He's like a teenager already.

The kids performed several songs (learning songs...months of the year, vowel sounds, etc.) for the audience. They were precious/adorable/impressive/hilarious.

The once-in-a-lifetime shot of my son getting his Pre-K diploma...classic.

Daddy and Dash

Mommy and Dash...do you enjoy the fact that Ryan didn't even notice the diploma was upside down? I love it.

This is Dash with his best buddy, C. I'm so sad for them to have to go their separate ways. Hopefully, we can get them together regularly this summer.

GRATITUDE LIST:

I'm thankful for my 5 year old son. I'm thankful that I was so fortunate to be able to have not just one, but TWO boys. I like that I see myself in him. I'm thankful that he loves me SO much, that I am the first one he wants when he is sad or upset. I'm thankful that he's full of energy, even though it really doesn't make my life any easier. (And that not only did he have 2 classrooms of kids he could call friends, he had a friend who absolutely loves him and would call him his "best friend," - I mean isn't that an amazing thing when someone wants to be your best friend? and that he got to wear a red cap and gown, and that he smiled at me sweetly during his ceremony, and that I have gotten to spend over 5 years already with this fun person.)

That's #156-165...you'll find the rest of my Gratitude list by looking at the Gratitude Community label on the left. Visit A Holy Experience for more about the Gratitude Community.