Down at the Dump

Friday started off in a paperwork funk. I worked, Carrie worked, Shane gorged electronically. The work didn't last as long, and midday brought a funny feeling of energy without focus. 

Then, Carrie had the idea to go to the dump.

Goodbye, Porch Couch. It was time.

I pulled the broken glass off the back of my phone with some pliers. Now, all my pictures are blurry.

Unless, I flip the phone around and take selfies.

Let me take you along on our journey to the dump!

I didn't take any pictures of throwing anything away, but there was a "Last Chance!" shop.

It was like an outdoor thrift store without clothes and toys. Carrie found a couple of things we threw in the back of the truck (We did leave with less than we entered with).

Now we know where the dump is and how it works. It's not rocket science, but that helps avoid any unpleasantness (such as the dump was cash or check only - no cards).

Pretty mountains in the background.

We left before it stormed. I went on the porch to listen to the rain, but Shane tagged along. It's hard to hear anything other than him when he sits and beat boxes in your ear.

So I let him run out in the rain. Was always good fun in Texas.

Going to the dump was the turning point of the day. How many other people would that say?

Work Day

I worked. Carrie worked. Shane watched a lot of TV.

I spent the entire morning on email and working on a couple of IEPs. I went into work for a meeting, but the student had a near death experience the day (or days?) before. I got to hear about all the trouble some of the kids were getting into afterward.

Summer paperwork is no fun. It's not the clean break at the end of a year I like.

I spent Thursday in a funk, but a productive funk. I'll feel better when I get the paperwork and meetings all done (before the deadline) and I get a thumbs up the papers look better than before.

I'd hoped Carrie would have spent more time with Shane during the day, but she was just as busy. Travel agent works hits in bursts and anytime and anywhere.

Shane was thrilled he got to sit in an electronic trance. He watched Pokemon, My Little Ponies, the original Transformers, and only he could tell you what else.

Family Meet and Greet Wednesday

Nana and Pop took I81 S to return home. It was strategic, because Patrick lives right off of it. It was an easy drive for Shane and I west on Interstate 64 to join the party.

We got brunch!

Funny, but true story: Patrick almost worked at the restaurant we ate at. However, his trainer told him that he was working too hard and too fast. Patrick volunteered to help some other people roll silverware and everyone got to go home early the night he trained. His trainer told Patrick he needed to slow down if he wanted to to fit in. Somehow, it was disrespectful (aka - Patrick made the others look bad).

Patrick was smart not to accept the job.

The pancakes were great, though.

Patrick chose where we ate. He didn't have any hard feelings. In a bigger town, you can avoid places you've had a bad experience, but that's not as possible in small town life. Staunton is smaller than Charlottesville, so Patrick gets it more than me.

Patrick went to work after brunch. Nana, Pop, Shane, and I went to Gypsy Hill Park (to catch Pokemon if you asked Shane!).

Nana loved the ducks.

Shane loved the waterfalls.

There was something for everybody!

Funny moment with ducks. Shane yelled, "AAWWWW! THERE ARE BABIES OVER HERE!" (He's all caps loud-loud).

Moments later...

The pictures from Nana's phone are less hazy. 

We went up to the playground next. Shane roared until another little boy started to run and then they played Pokemon. 

I do my best to hang back and let the kids play, but sometimes Shane calls me to join in.

Shane played his heart out. He drained Nana's cell battery catching Pokemon, too. It wasn't enough for him to pass out on the ride home. Nowadays, he stays up more.

Bike Riding Progress

We were nearly two weeks into summer before I forced Shane to go outside and ride his bike.

That's right, forced.

Shane has avoided his bike like the plague, because he's afraid he may fall down. The kid will climb trees, jump off the back of trucks and perform stunts that threaten to give Carrie a heart attack, but he refused to touch his bike without a command.

No more.

And no progress was made. Shane did not want to pedal. If I pushed him, he'd let me balance for him. The moment I let go or wanted him to attempt to start on his own we got nowhere.

He was ready to go in after 3 minutes. I didn't let him. Tears flowed, but no sympathy was shown. I went hard and after 15 more minutes we still hadn't gotten anywhere.

I tried to break it down.
1 - Keep one foot on the ground
2 - Put the other foot on the pedal that's up high.
3 - Push down on the pedal to start going and go!

Shane was too panicky and kept trying to push the pedal that was already down and somehow hug the bike between his legs like it was going to run away without him.

Twenty minutes and the only results were sweat and tears.

Carrie came out and observed the tail end. She tried a little, too.

It only lasted a few minutes.

We decided it was time to put the training wheels back on. After half an hour of trying to force him to push through, it needed to become fun again.

Henry came out, and the boys rode around. They've been out multiple times since.

I couldn't help but notice, Henry was a better rider than Shane. Henry turns three next month. Shane's six and a half.

However, Henry has a balance bike. I watched as he picked up his feet and coasted down the street. I started to look up "How to teach a kid to ride a bike" online. I found a site that recommended I lower Shane's seat, take off the pedals, and turn it into a balance bike.

I haven't turned Shane's bike into balance bike, but he's all about Henry's now. Shane's even starting to coast on it all the way down the street (Note: normally he wears shoes and a helmet. I realized pretty quick that tiny bike can really start to move! Shane's avoided some epic wipe outs).

It's not a ton of progress, but we're at least thinking about it. That's always the first step.

Horse Town

Shane and I went with Carrie to check on Nibs. It's old hat for Shane now. He complained about the drive.

He enjoyed listening to Disney songs and running around the barn, though. 

He found all three cats (and they all found me).

Note: Natural sunlight doesn't aide pictures with broken cover glass.

Carrie gave Nibs her first bath.

Nibs was nervous and unsure about the whole procedure, but she did well. She was much more obstinate and worried about going in the round pen.

I took a much clearer picture with Carrie's phone.

Physically, Nibs is doing better, but not perfect. Carrie dropped off a fecal sample on Friday and Nibs has some sort of stomach bug (If it's not one thing...). 

Mentally, Nibs is a bit of a basket case. She trusts humans, but not other horses. When Sonya puts her out to pasture, she doesn't seek out her fellow equines. She begs to be let back into her stall. It's become a safe zone. So far the other horses either disregard her or bully her. We haven't found a companion horse to teach Nibs how to be a horse. 

Orphaned foals are a lot of work. Carrie trusts Sonya and Jeff implicitly, but it's enough of a drive I've asked Carrie if there's anywhere closer. No one wants to deal with an orphaned foal for a reasonable price near us that we've learned about. The drives will have to continue for at least several more months.

I opened up Pandora's Box by giving Shane a booster pack of Pokemon cards on the ride home. I wanted him to do something awesome so it'd be a surprise reward. He was okay, so I just gave them as entertainment for the ride home.

He's probably never going to stop begging for more.

He got a ~$12 fancy foil on the first try. Shane ooh'd and aah'd the whole way home.

We grabbed dinner in Lynchburg. We sure do scoot around.

Other horse note:

Carrie's trying to ride Korra more regularly now that she works from home. She built a little jump in the arena and we took Shane out for a ride once.

I don't know how regular Shane riding will be, but I'm all for it. It's a nice activity he can do with Mommy.

Hopefully, Shane will learn and behave enough Carrie gets comfortable enough to take him out there on their own. Neither of them have my sun or horse allergy.

Summer Friends

Summer must have been a strange transition for Shane. During the school year, his social life started at the bus stop. It continued through the day, through the after school program, and then when we got home Henry and/or Raheem typically greeted us. If it was the right night, we'd go to some sort of activity shortly thereafter.

Cue summer.

Shane wakes up and it's a quiet house. Nova got a new job working at night, so he's got to be quiet.

Quiet, heat, and boredom are all part of the summer experience. I don't think Shane has to deal with excessive amounts of any of them, though. Carrie works and had a few side quests, so I've been Shane's main social life.

Unless I take him out and about.

Which I do.

We try to see Dylan and Eli at least once a week.

We sold lemonade with them on Saturday.

They had a couple friends drop, Miles and Mason.

The boys managed to share a tablet without fighting.

They ended the night chasing fireflies (a timeless classic).

We met up with Dylan and Eli at a park later on in the week.

Gotta love parks.

And trees.

I remember trying to teach Shane how to swing "back in the day." He's got it now.

They all do!

Henry is normally the first person we see on any given day. If Shane hears him he wants to run outside.

Henry normally has something interesting going on. His parents are kid-centric.

We have a few toys Henry likes, too. Raheem shows up later in the day if he's around.

Henry goes in to nap around noon, so Henry and Raheem don't always cross paths until the evening.

We usually play outside, but Raheem's come in a few times. He's better at being quiet than Shane.

Raheem wanted to draw and show me how to make a snowflake one day.

Haven't seen Nadia as much this week. There was one night she was out there late, but Carrie and Shane were snuggled in for a movie night.

We haven't seen Tae as much. She only comes down in the evening. She's good enough with the younger kids she may end up getting hired as a babysitter down the line. She likes to pull kids in wagons, help them on bikes, etc.

Shane enlisted her help to build a water fountain. She held the hose and had it fill one watering can to fill another.

Taekwando is our only organized activity. It's once a week.

Shane likes to climb on the walls after class and try to get other kids to do it with him. Maybe I should try to get some of the parents phone numbers. I tried to reach out to one family from tee-ball, but never heard back. It'd be nice to connect with a couple more families (that hopefully have nerdy dads!). A couple of houses sold on our street, but I don't think any new kids are moving in. 

I think I went on a lot more play dates than Shane does when I was his age, but he's got a little social life going on. I don't think he's gone a day without seeing other kids. We don't typically stay out with anyone or at any activity more than 2 or 3 hours. We haven't done drop off play dates or any spending the nights since Daniel lived across the street from us.