Spencer's School Work, Volume 1

Sydney's Newest Achievement

It was bound to happen. Our little Sydney has mastered turning door knobs. This accomplishment simply delights her and reminds me of the ever changing challenges of parenting a toddler! Things that were once ok behind a closed door will now have to be child proofed. For example, our home office. Using her new talent, Sydney got into our office and found an ink pen, which she decided to use to write all over both of her knees! And let's not forget the ink mustache she ended up with! Moments like these are so funny that it's nearly impossible to be upset about them! And I sometimes forget that children are smarter and far more capable than we give them credit for!

Taikyoku Shodan

Taikyoku Shodan is a type of kata. In Japanese, kata means detailed choreographed patterns of movements practiced either solo or in pairs. This is basically the last thing Spencer and I need to learn to earn our yellow belts.

To Infinity and Beyond

In addition to the summer camp that's already offered, Spencer's school started offering S.O.S. (School's Out Special) classes this summer. These classes are from 9 am - 12 noon for a week. He has attended 3 so far. This week's class was entitled "To Infinity and Beyond". Now, if you are the parent of a 4 year old, you know what kind of response you get when you ask them "What did you do at school today?" Sometimes I wonder if he's even learning anything. However, every now and then he will volunteer little "jewels" of wisdom. And I am always impressed. So here is what I gathered about what he did/learned in this week's class. Early in the week, he told me that there is a space between Mars and Jupiter. Which we later agreed was where the asteroid belt was. He also said that "sometimes Pluto breaks in line", referring to the fact that sometimes Pluto's orbit takes it closer to the sun than Neptune. On Wednesday he showed me a scale model of the solar system that they laid out in the parking lot (where 1 inch = 1 million miles) using sidewalk chalk. He also did lots of art work. They used salt to make the different types of galaxies. They painted parts of the sun. They also did a crayon etching of galaxies. They made constellations with star stickers. But the crowning achievement of the entire week, for me, was the awesome model of the solar system they made using styrofoam balls! They painted all the balls themselves! It's really cool and I'm so proud!

A Wild Hair

For weeks now I've been contemplating a haircut that would be drastic for me, a swing bob. On Friday I finally got up the courage to do it! And it's short! But I like it a lot. My problem is that I cannot style hair. That's somewhat ironic, since that's my mom's profession. But, I guess those genes skipped me. My sister got them instead. So far, it hasn't been too hard to maintain. The thing that I have trouble with is blow drying my hair under. I've just never really been able to do it. I feel like my arm is going to fall off! But my stylist said you don't really have to twirl the hair around the round brush continuously. She said just roll the hair around the brush and hold it there and then dry it. Of course, you have to dry it in sections. I think that's much easier. I'm still planning to do some highlights, too. But, currently I'm happy with the state of my hair.

Socks are Required to Play

On Sunday, we decided to do a little "research" for Spencer's upcoming birthday. We took the kids to Partyville, one of those indoor inflatable playgrounds. We were trying to decide between 2 different places. We've been to several of these birthday parties and it looks like a lot of fun. Well, on Sunday, I decided I'd try some of the super inflatables myself. I went down a huge inflatable slide with Spencer, without socks because I was wearing flip flops that day, as usual. Big mistake! I burned the skin off the back of my heel going down the slide! Ouch! So when they say, "socks are required to play", they really mean it!

A Pirate's Life for Me...

A few weeks ago, I bought Spencer a pirate costume. He has had an amazing time wearing his costume and pretending to be Captain Jack Sparrow! He wore it for 3 days straight! I did manage to talk him into pajamas for bedtime, but as soon as he got up in the morning, he put it right back on! Expecting a protest, I told him I would need to wash it if he was going to wear it all the time. But he was okay with that. Lauren helped him to fashion a lovely telescope from an old paper towel tube. For those who don't know, Lauren is Erik's cousin, and the best baby sitter in the whole world! With his telescope and treasure map, he sailed his ship (our couch) to Twilight Towers, Crossbones Sound, and many other interesting places in search of treasure! And Sydney eventually got in on the pirate action as well!

Karate mom, karate student

As of June 1st, I am officially a karate student. I never thought I would be 8 months ago when Spencer started taking karate, but here I am. It's a lot harder than it looks, but I'm having a lot of fun! And I get to spend some quality time with Spencer, too, so I can't lose! Plus, it provides some much needed exercise. So all around, it's good! In my opinion, we have the best Sensei in town. He's done some really amazing work with autistic kids. He's so patient with the kids. If you're looking for a karate school, let me know and I can give you his contact information.