Notables: Pinewood Derby race. Brigham and Joseph came in 2nd and 3rd respectively, in an incredibly tight neck-and-neck finals with their friend Adam. Mosey made a car as well and got to race his, and made it to the finals. Brigham won all the heats he was in (except for the final race), Joseph--ditto, and Mosey came in first in at least a couple of his heats, so all three boys got a taste of victory. However. That did not prevent the drama and tears and claims of cheating (that was the worst-- disappointment I can understand, but sour grapes is not cool) from 1 or 2 of my boys when they did not win the final heat. Sigh... It was ironic because one of those boys went into the races saying, "I'm probably going to come in last. I know I'm not going to win." But, he got a taste for victory, and got his hopes up, and had a difficult time handling the results. I despaired of my mothering skills a little bit that night. Apparently I haven't yet sufficiently instilled the lesson that sportsmanship is better than victory. However again. By the very next morning, this boy was enthusiastically claiming that it was the "best pinewood derby race ever," and that he couldn't wait till next year, and he hoped next year it would be exactly like it was this year. Huh? I'm very happy for the about-face, believe me, but, still, huh?
Brigham with his 2nd-place car. Yay, Brigham!
And his car. At our house we sort of go for function over form. :-)
Joseph and his 3rd-place car.
I gave my camera to one of my sad boys to try and distract him. See those dark circles under my bloodshot eyes? That is from my being up until 3:30 in the morning and getting less than 4 hours of sleep. I need more time in my day, I really really do. This picture is proof that I'm not entirely ruled by my vanity. And proof that I really *was* there and I really am a daily part of my boys' lives, even if not a photographic part. This is for posterity, boys.
I failed to get a picture of Mosey with his car, but here's his car! He came up with the design and painted it entirely by himself.
And the pinewood derby crowd. One of my sad boys was clearly still upset. well, now it's documented forever on my and 10 other families' cameras. :-)
On Friday night I took Joseph on a date. It was so wonderful. After a difficult week, I decided he needed an evening of my full, undivided, POSITIVE attention. And it was so fun. We went to L'Madeleine for dinner and then to an Austin Chamber Ensemble concert which was fabulous. The program featured an incredible pianist who played a varied repertoire from Mozart to turn-of-the-century French composers (think Debussy, but not), to a couple of absolutely fantastic ragtime arrangements of Chopin, to Gershwin's "Variations on I've Got Rhythm." The woodwind ensemble played several pieces as well, which was really interesting to Joseph because he is very interested in picking up the flute. I worried a little that the concert might be boring to Joseph, but I needn't have worried-- we were both spellbound. Afterward we tried to find a Marble Slab that was open, but to no avail. We did, however, see 14 deer which was exciting to my animal-lover. So, it was a wonderful evening and we'll definitely do it again.
Look!! He let me put my arm around him!! Happy mommy.
Other than that, it's been mostly the same routine of school lessons and practicing and chores and the usual tomfoolery that comes with 3 boys.
Brigham has fun with milk. I wish I could say this was a really cool science experiment studying surface tension, but alas, it was only my boy indulging in the irresistible urge to make a big mess wherever possible. :-)
A favorite snack of the boys': Vanilla milk. I've been making this for them since they were toddlers and they're big enough to make it on their own now.
I'm seriously considering switching my school curriculum. I feel like we've gotten into a rut that no one is particularly excited about, and that's not good. However, the curriculum I'm looking at is $$, so I'm very torn. Somebody please tell me what to do. :-)
OK, back to work.
1 comment:
What an inspired mother you are -- taking Joseph out for a special one-on-one evening is brilliant! I so regret not having done that with my children over the years. It is so valuable for the child as well as for the mother! Good for you!!! Sorry I have no home schooling advice. But I would recommend talking to some people who have used the new curriculum to make sure it really is worth the money. I can't help but think that some people are getting very rich on the home schooling movement.
Post a Comment