Monday, February 24, 2014

Just a few updates

Hello from the frozen land of Michigan!

Firstly, I wanted to thank everyone who sent a message regarding my mom's passing. I am overwhelmed and humbled by the kindness that has been shown, both by people I may know in real life, but also by those who I have never officially met. This community has been so supportive and wonderful, and I really appreciate all of the kind words that have been shared!

It's so hard to believe that it has been almost 2 months since my mom died. It's still surreal, and I still almost expect to hear her voice on the line when my phone rings and I see "Mom & Dad" on the caller ID. We talk about her often, remembering her, especially with my children. Tomorrow is Abby's birthday and it will be a bittersweet day...it's the first family birthday since she died and it will be tough not having her at the family dinner. But we will all be together, and I know we will be surrounded by Mom's love.

Our days have continued to be busy, as normal. That never seems to change, right? The kids are just back to school today after a week off for their mid-winter recess. With all of the Snow Days and Cold Days we've had since the beginning of the year, more than once I've heard a parent grumble about the necessity of another week off. :) This morning, Davin fumbled down the stairs, hair sticking up all over and cheeks flushed with sleep, and the first thing he asked was whether there was a Snow Day today! Poor kid, no such luck, though it's turned cold again and there were flakes coming down as we put the kids on the bus this morning. We had a bit of a break in the weather for a couple days last week, turning everything to icy mush, but it's frozen again, with sheets of ice on roads and sidewalks. I normally don't mind winter TOO much, but like everyone else, I am so ready for spring and the sight of anything green!

Abby had been busy with dance classes. She is preparing for her first dance competition in a couple weeks, so I have been spending lots of time with E-6000 glue and rhinestones to add some sparkle to her costume and team jacket. :) Love those fumes!

Davin has joined the newly formed Cub Scout pack at his school. He has been so excited to join. The group is going through some expected growing pains, and I hope it settles soon. He has also signed up for baseball and that may interfere with scouts so that he can't carry both. But we'll cross that bridge when it comes.

School is going well for both of them. Abby loves her teacher and is thriving in the new school. We are working on developing her sight words skills and challenging her reading so she takes on new material rather than going the safe route with stories she is already familiar with. She isn't a child who likes to dive in to something she doesn't fully understand, which can make learning new things frustrating if she feels she isn't going to master it right away. This year Davin has found a few challenges that we are working on with him. His handwriting has never been great, but it's become more evident this year. He also tends to be distracted during class and has a harder time expressing details in his writing. He is definitely a "math" kid...he flies through his math work, doing the equations in his head and puzzling through story problems. We are working on having him slow down his writing so it's more legible and show his work during math. It's coming, though a little slowly.

If anyone has tips or materials that could help us, I am all ears! :)

As for me, it's a lot of the same old, same old. :) But between work, running the mom taxi, and attempting to keep the house somewhat clean (oy!), I am keeping my promise to myself to do a bit of crafting each day. I have reached the point that I can't just sit and watch tv at night...I need to have a bit of knitting or something else with me to keep my hands busy. I have some projects in progress, and I will spend a bit more time going over those in my next post. This time however, I just wanted to post a quick check-in that was family related. Hope you don't mind! :)

I hope all of you are well...that those of you stuck with this cold weather are bearing through alright, and those enjoying warmer temps can encourage Mother Nature to send a bit of it our way! :)


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