Fair Weather Fun

The weather has turned far more Spring-like than before. We've been outside every non-rainy day this week.

Henry's family has done the same.

Raheem has reappeared after his winter disappearance, too.

Random: We ducked into Henry's house one day when it started to rain on us.

Will's cats were thrilled.

New rule: No diving in the grass while wearing TKD uniform.

New Game: Throw it with your toes.

New person: Raheem's cousin Nadia dropped by.

New/Old fascination: Bugs.

We spent much of Friday morning waiting to see if buzzards would swoop down and eat the dead frog in the street.

New game: Shane and I played H-O-R-S-E a couple of times. He can actually make some short ranges shots now. Do you think he looks more like a future LeBron James, Steph Curry, or Russell Westbrook?

I love the true Spring weather when it hits. Cool mornings. Warm days. I love letting Shane go outside and play in it. I wish that I wasn't as tired after school each day, but thankfully the sun sets early enough I have some chance to recover. 

Two houses are up for sale down the street. I wonder if we'll get any new kids to play with. 

A He Amongst the Shes?

Carrie heard a crow Wednesday morning. She ran out to identify the perpetrator, but to no avail.

Pidge has been looking rather proud of herself. Her tail feathers are erect, but all of the other girls hold theirs down.

Could she be a he? Or is something else at play?

The chicks have almost doubled in size since I last posted pictures. It's only been a week.

I don't think they're going to fit under the mother hens' wings much longer.

UPDATE:
This made Carrie's day after a stressful day at work.

UPDATE 2:
Carrie decided to rotate the moms and chicks to the outside run. The chicks didn't want to go!

But they were all happy enough when reunited. 

The broody silkies were a breeze to move.

They didn't even poke their heads out when the mother-ship landed.

Carrie tried to re-integrate the hybrids and the silkies, but Keith got aggressive.  

She ended up dropping the silkies in the chick pen (They aren't moving much anyway).

That should give some time for the chicken drama to settle. 

 

Pidge, unfortunately, is looking more and more masculine. She's/he's crowing more, too. We've already contacted the barn of origin.

Random: A juvenile hawk seemed interested as Pidge strutted around the yard. Shane helped me "guard" her/him.

Farewell, to the Organic Bed Business

Carrie's last day at the warehouse will be April 7th. It's not a good idea to work in a factory filled with latex you're allergic to.

The job search started earlier. Carrie wanted to hold on as long as she could to use up her banked vacation days from last year to spend time with Mira's foal.

Little one has not appeared, but Carrie went ahead and gave her three weeks notice. (She included the week of vacation in the notice and it was approved.)

Carrie's doing her best to finish the job to her standard. She's updated spreadsheets and algorithms galore. She's been on a phone call for over four hours tonight to fix some server issues for the company (It's what gave me the time to catch up on my blogs!).

It's time to move on. I'm glad Carrie had this job, because it brought us to Cville, introduced us to friends, and paid bills.

What will the next chapter hold?

Practice Paid Off

Another week, another TKD lesson.

Shane's forms practice at home paid off. He earned another blue stripe!

I think his climbing has improved most of all.

I showed him how to do it weeks ago, but today was the first time he managed to get around the corner without touching the ground.

It uses more energy than reading. Shane has a lot of energy.

The weather was nice. I try to avoid being in a rush when I can, so I'm happy to let Shane play for 10-15 minutes after class as long as he's not dodging cars in the street.

Pearly Whites

Shane and I went to the dentist today. He got out of school a little early.

Another shark tooth needed attention. I gave Shane an ultimatum: "Pull out the tooth by Tuesday, or the dentist gets it."

Carrie and I wiggled it more than Shane did. He complained every time we did, too. He said it hurt, he didn't want us to, etc. etc.

He started to regret his choice on the ride over. "Will it hurt?" "Will they use that disgusting tasting stuff?" "Do I have to?" "Can't I just have yellow teeth like ______?"

I did my best to assuage his fears while being honest. "They give you medicine so it won't hurt." "Yes, it tastes bad but it makes it not hurt. Do you want it to hurt?" "Yes." "No. _____ is old."

Last time, it went well. This time, Shane psyched himself out. He kicked one of the aides near her eye!

They went with the full body block after that.

(In Shane's defense, it really wasn't much of a kick. It was more of an attempt to squirm away down the chair with his feet up. I was mortified, though.)

After the initial panic, Shane calmed down and the extraction went off without a hitch.

There really was not much of a root left. I wonder if that means the tooth could have come out on it's own after all (I read that the root doesn't always dissolve when the adult tooth pops up behind the baby one).

That should equate to a quicker heal time, at least. Shane was happy and trying to watch Toy Story 3 immediately afterwards. He didn't want to leave.

We went to my allergist's next. I'm almost caught up on my shots. I would have let Shane use my phone, but I wasn't about to after he kicked someone (accidental, in a panic, or otherwise). He had to read instead. I kept my phone pocketed and didn't use it myself to be a good role model (He still complained, but at least he couldn't say it was unfair I had it).

That night, Carrie went to work wiggling a different loose tooth. She got it.

Shane's grin is ten different shades of goofy now! We put both teeth under the pillow.

Shane got three dollars instead of two. The tooth fairy pays extra for quantity!

Fast Food Meet Up

I know a local celebrity. Andrew may not think he fits the bill, but his connections got our sons behind the counter at Chic-Fil-A.

They got to make their own ice dream cones!

How's that for making a Monday night special!?

I'd have taken more pictures, but the boys were around a corner. Andrew and I both felt awkward about stepping into the employee's domain (especially when they were doing us an amazing favor with the kids!).

It's been a while, so I'll forgive any regular readers who don't remember Samuel and Andrew.

We were in the same small group. Andrew and Jenna hosted the meetings and Shane always played in the basement with Samuel. Samuel's younger than Shane, but they got along fine.

Sadly, life got busy, the small group disbanded, and we've been trying to get the boys together for longer than I care to admit.

Monday night, we met up at Chic-Fil-A. They boys ate and played, while Andrew and I caught up.

It would have been nice if they were in the play area longer, but we resorted to phones.

It's social, right?

I'd love to get the boys again sometime soon (which to an adult, could mean "in a month"). Everybody wins with healthy friendships. You never know if the bond is meant to last a season or a lifetime, so it's good to start early, too.

No Power Necessary

Shane and I stopped by the library again, Sunday. Something magical happened.

Another 6 year old boy named Grayson was reading Mo Willems books with his mom. Shane said, "I love those!" and the boys took turns reading to each other.

Grayson was the more experienced reader and helped Shane with a few hard words. You cannot buy awesome, in-the-moment, shared learning like that! I hope we bump into them again.

Then, Shane wanted to read the sound effects to Dylan.

Krista said Dylan wanted to show off his reading to Shane, but the boys hyper-ed out shortly thereafter. Krista was at work, and John and I didn't care what the boys did as long as there were no injuries.

By the way, I'm starting to feel a little guilty. Shane and I keep showing up for dinner. John made pizza! John and Krista had ciders, too, because they know I like them.

The pizza was a hit with the boys. When Krista came back, Eli wanted to shove toy animals into her glove compartment. The older boys followed and the car became a makeshift playground.

A side note: Dylan either likes to hide or make funny faces when he knows I want to take a picture.

The boys all crammed into the back of the station wagon to eat their pizzas. None of us expected them to stay outside so long (without coats or shoes) when it was below 50 F! I was cold!

The chalk came out and art happened. John's been practicing cow illustrations for Eli.

Shane and Dylan drew some sort of "level" with all sorts of "bosses" that made bad things happen to you if you lost.

It stretched up the driveway.

The boys were into it. I don't think any rational human being could follow all they were saying back and forth. It was good to see the creative juices flowing.

Shane and I left around 7:30 PM, so that Dylan could get ready for bed. John had to hold the fort down solo, because Krista went with a friend to a concert. I hear a minor miracle occurred: Eli went to bed before 11 PM.

Our Sunday visits seem to have become routine. I'm not complaining: Shane plays and I talk and eat.

Win-win.