We Made it to Thanksgiving Break!

We made it!

Just barely.

Shane missed the school bus this morning while I was in the shower post horse chores. Carrie said she'd take him in and I left for work at my normal time.

Shane never made it to school, but he made it to the dump with a trailer full instead. Carrie said he helped. I wasn't thrilled he missed school, but the dump run and it being a low-attendance, pre-break type day took out some of the sting.

I was in a good mood from surviving up to break. Kids got work done and then I went with another teacher, Scott, to grab snacks at Wegmans for an impromptu "We survived" party in his classroom after school.

There was a wrestling scrimmage scheduled for 6:30 PM. There had been an away scrimmage in Lynchburg scheduled against one of the top ranked teams in the state on Monday that Coach Rick had (thankfully) cancelled. Coach Rick scheduled the meet-up today with Stuart's Draft as a make-up scrimmage more on our level.

I came home beforehand to help out with the new horses. While I was there, Carrie got the news Bear had passed away. I texted the coach to see if he needed me and ended up staying home.

There's not a lot of pictures or videos of any of this, but I do have one video I've been sitting on since the 20th. Shane had a mini-performance with the Tiger Tones! I dropped him off and then stayed around to watch the kids play a tune or two.

Shane's got his mother's ear, but my ability to stay focused on a beat!

I'm hoping he will continue with it in the Spring. I'm certainly going to encourage him to.

Which fits better: ShaneurDay? Or Dadurday?

First garage sale of the season. My coworker, Cindy, told me her street was having it. She told me that she had a 'kit car' her son loved. "[Audi] said he'd move the seat back and still use it if he could!"

Shane woke up earlier, so we investigated. He was a fan.

I paid $35 for the kettecar and some kid books. That's more than I would normally pay for anything at a garage sale. However, Cindy's love for that car burned bright. She loved, Shane loved it, and I love to spread good cheer. I bet Shane's excitement brightens her weekend (and it was a tough week at school so I'm sure we all need it!).

Of course, that cleaned me out. We pedaled past the other sales.

Shane wanted to go for a drive straightaway. He needed to eat breakfast and get ready for soccer, though. We missed last week when we were in West Virginia. We left as Carrie started to get ready for work.

Practice started off productive. The weather was gorgeous. Shane kicked and passed and listen to coach....

...until he decided he was too tired.

It's not like the kid was forced to wake up early. He's the one that barged into my room and hopped on the bed! Shane opted out of most of the end of practice game. When a coach checked in with him, Shane said, "I'm too tired."

I made Shane stand up after a while. I didn't want him to get kicked or eat a ball. Mostly, I left it alone. I cheered if he ran around, and did my usual bit throwing in soccer balls.

At the end, someone pulled out a tablet and team spirit was kindled anew.

Shane had plenty of energy to try our his new car when we got back (though, I made him come inside and snack and rest for a little bit since he was too tired for soccer. I didn't want to punish him for not trying, but a short rest and refuel seemed a natural consequence/learning opportunity).

Shane was a little timid with it and didn't stay at it as long as I expected. That was fine, because there was a festival he wanted to go to.

On our way back to the car from soccer, Shane and I walked with Coach D and his son, Lucas. Lucas told Shane he was going to "the fair." Coach D clarified: The Tom Tom Founder's Festival was downtown and free. Shane wanted to go.

So we did.

What Shane really wanted to do was find Lucas. "He'll recognize me because of my shirt!"

No one we knew crossed our path, and Shane wasn't interested in anything else. From there, we went to the discovery museum.

Which we discovered was under renovations.

Thankfully, they had a "Pop-Up Museum" around the corner.

I like to let Shane run around and try to interact with the other kids on his own. I don't want to be the focal point of all his interactions. I do jump in with ideas at times (otherwise I'd get bored).

Today, I suggested we build a house. I built the foundation with Shane and then stepped back to let the kids do the rest.

When they ran out of blocks, I suggested a bear for a roof. Shane agreed.

Then he upgraded bears and added a sheep.

It will be fun to see the VADM when the renovations are done in May. The Pop-Up was short on kids. Shane and his new friend, Carolyn, were the only kids most of the time we were there (I'm big on telling Shane, "If you learn someone's name it shows you care.").

We still had a lot of fun (and free parking!). When I brought Shane home, he was cranky. "I promise I won't nap!"

An hour and a half later he's still up there. Completely silent.

Mission accomplished.

Magnet Opus Ode

New favorite TV show; New song. Shane watched an episdoe of Blaze and the Monster Machine's with magnets. He was inspired.

Radio's Not Dead

Shane really likes music. I knew he really listened when he started to hum tunes when he was younger. Then, he'd try to sing (many words were fudged).

Lately, Shane asks to "finish" a song when we park. Sometimes he'll ask for "two songs."

It's pretty cute. Carrie's got an ear for music. Perhaps Shane has it, too.

The Piano Boy

Shane randomly started playing on the piano Friday night. I had my phone handy! I'll post about his birthday party tomorrow.

Another Craigslist Find

Carrie's been wanting a keyboard/piano for years. Today, she found the right quality for the right price!

My wife has a natural ear, but I want to see where Shane goes with this. I suspect he's going to be far more musical than his father. I want to have the right tools on hand if that's where his abilities will lie.

In the meantime, Carrie likes to fiddle with the theme from Jurassic Park.

Backlogged Part 4: Did a Month Really Pass?

Has a month really passed since Shane, Carrie, and I found that fancy new library? It feels like it wasn't THAT long ago!

Carrie discovered apple pears at the farmer's market in the parking lot while Shane and I went inside to be amazed.

Our county is trying to slash headcounts and hours at our libraries, but this one had people at desks in every corner of the place and fancy murals on the wall.

They even had PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii U games alongside their Blu-Ray collection! The place smelled of money to burn. It was high-tech with eBook browsing/check-out stations, terminals to swipe your credit card or phone to pay fines, and (Shane's personal favorite) elevators!

I took a bunch of pictures to send to my friend and former library co-worker, John, to try and blow his mind. I've always been a big reader and I spent four years working as a library page through college, so buildings full of free books will always hold some interest to me.

What was really cool was when Shane and I stumbled onto a "singing" class. It was a packed house. Most of the kids looked younger than Shane (babies through 24 months or so), but when the librarian started singing he was hooked. He laughed, he pantomimed along with motions, and sang along as soon as he got the tune. I expected to do a drive-by and pull Shane out before he became a distraction, but we stayed enrapt. Carrie eventually found us!

Lesson learned: Shane loves sing-alongs. We haven't stumbled across another one, but now that he won't get music class at day-care anymore we're going to have to keep our eyes out. Shane's become hot and cold with books, but he's consistently in love with music (just not anything I try to play).

Musical Boy

Shane LOVES music. He sings constantly. He has a great memory for songs that Nana, School, or I sing to him.

Carrie and I were very surprised when he started humming "In the Hall of the Mountain King," though.

For one, it's classical. There are no words and it's a more complicated tune than most kiddie songs.

Second, the only place he's seen it is on Little Einsteins.

Shane was spot on. Carrie started humming it with him and leaving out notes for him to fill in. I ran to the other room and pulled the song up on YouTube. I only meant for Shane to listen to it, but he was drawn to the music (and computer) like a moth to flame. A grin split his cheeks, he hopped up, and ran laughing to the living room.

I was smart enough to catch part of it on camera. I love to hear Shane laugh.

My parents banned my brothers and sisters from joining band after my aborted attempt (they politely asked me to stop practicing right away!). I wonder if Shane is going to be interested in picking up an instrument early.