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Loves learning

Posted on October 9, 2008 12:05 am by TheAngelForever

If given the choice between a book and a toy, what would your child pick?

Most days NHL would select a book. A puzzle may be the only item that would tempt him away from a book. During Rosh Hashana NHL packed a bag of books to take with us to services so he could keep quiet and busy. One of the books is his new favorite about all 50 states. He quickly learned which one was our state and where other people in our life live.

About two weeks ago NHL went to a birthday party for a new classmate. We were shocked when each child was given a Melissa & Doug 51 piece large floor puzzle of the United States. I kid you not, each of the kids (his entire class was invited) received one of these amazing puzzles.

A few days after the party NHL asked if he could open the puzzle and put the states together. He quickly put the edges rogether and then proceded to put the entire United States together.

It was fascinating listening to NHL. He recognized several of the states from their shapes. He knew many of them thanks to the book that he has from Nana and Papa. The kindergarten kid also recalled some of the facts from the book. It is truly amazing what a sponge my big guy can be.

Here he is showing off his puzzle.

Of course I had some fun too. Check out my caption by hovering over the photo below.

I did it in a certain someone’s honor . . . you betcha!

Categories:
fun interesting nhl photos play time

Brothers bond over snacks (WW)

Posted on October 8, 2008 8:07 am by TheAngelForever

1. Snack time for the boys, 2. Hmmm. . . are there more?, 3. Mwah!, 4. Snuggle after big brother kiss, 5. Munching away on Scooby Snacks, 6. On big brother’s lap, 7. My kindergarten kid, 8. My turn on your lap!, 9. No more camera Mom

Categories:
brothers fun jsl nhl photos Wordless Wednesday yummy

Teething monster strikes again

Posted on October 7, 2008 8:07 am by TheAngelForever

Let me go on the record and say that the canine teeth are evil little boogers when they decide to come in. I vaguely recall these teeth being the worst when NHL was little, but my memory was quickly restored thanks to JSL. The little guy has been an absolute mess the last week or so. He does not want to eat, prefers nursing (YES he is still nursing) more often, will not settle at night to sleep, and is up many times during the night.

Last night was particularly bad. He did not settle until we pulled out the Motrin and gave it to him. Of course it helped him to get to sleep initially, but did not last. JSL was up at least 3-4 times during the night. After the second time he was up howling, he ended up in our bed where we all seem to be able to sleep some.

Prior to these evil little teeth pushing their way into JSL’s mouth, getting him to sleep at night was fairly easy. He loved to snuggle up with his new silky blanket and a pillow. Thanks to a great giveaway on An Island Life we were introduced to Kennedy Grace Boutique on Etsy. Cathi’s baby blankets are absolutely amazing. JSL quickly declared the beautiful silky soft new blanket his. We had Cathi make it with our last name so either of the boys could use it. NHL gladly allowed JSL to have it since he is quite attached to his "squeaky" blanket buddies.

Thanks again to Kailani and Cathi for helping to make our non-teething night time routines so wonderful. I can not wait until these pesky teeth are in and JSL can go back to simply curling up with his silky blanket to have sweet dreams.

Categories:
brothers contests jsl losing my mind nhl photos sleep teething vent Web business

Singular Detox

Posted on October 6, 2008 9:02 am by TheAngelForever

Nobody ever tells you that taking a child off of an allergy medicine could be hazardous to your own health. Seriously, taking NHL off of Singular, thanks to it poisoning his body, has been hellish for all involved. His mood, behavior, tantrums, and impulsivity have been better overall, but every so often the horrid Singular shows its ugly face.

Last Monday NHL had a fabulous day at school. Tuesday and Wednesday he was home for Rosh Hashana. Tuesday was not too bad. He was pretty good at services, but Wednesday was a different story. I took NHL to the services for kids in kindergarten to second grade. What I witnessed was pretty much what NHL’s teachers had been describing. He was unable to sit still, he was nervous acting, he acted on pure impulses and had no control of what he was saying/doing. It was horrible. Of course I understood that my child had no idea of what he was doing, but the other people there did not. Our of sheer horror of looks and stares I finally was able to get NHL to leave with me. Of course he came with me making a major scene. I was mortified!

Thursday NHL had another rough day in kindergarten. His teacher greeted me with the news that he had received five checks/warnings. In addition to this, she mentioned that he had actually hit another child. The consequence of this was to sit and write a letter to the other child and no recess (probably the worst thing for him). Thankfully NHL’s teacher is very understanding and knows that we have only been off the Singular for about a week and it will take 2-4 depending on who you talk to.

*sigh*

Friday was a fabulous day. I was nervous picking NHL up from school since I never know the report I am going to get. Both of his teachers were at the door and put up a "0" – telling me that he had NO warnings all day! One of the teachers actually came out to make sure that NHL told me about all of the wonderful things he had done. She also showed me his notebook with a sticker in it! The kindergarten kid was so happy. He immediately wanted to call JL to tell him about the day. We did that, stopped by Papa at work and then went home. As a treat NHL had a special Friday night with Nana. She said he was like himself again. Calm, talking, and focused. . . things that had been missing for months.

As we start a new week I am hoping for the best, but know it may still take more time. Patience for items like this have never been my thing. Hopefully Super NHL can show everyone that he can beat that horrible Singular out of his system!

Categories:
allergies health awareness nhl photos vent

Days of fun for next summer

Posted on September 29, 2008 9:00 am by TheAngelForever

Have you ever done something out of the blue that just shocks you? Last Saturday JL and I did.

While at Six Flags an old friend was there and happens to work at the park. She mentioned that we may want to look into upgrading our day passes. She said that they were running a special where you could upgrade your pass from the day to a Season Pass for the 2009 season, as well as the rest of this fall. The price for this — only $40 a ticket.

I know $40 sounds like a lot, but it really isn’t when you consider that a day pass for this year was $41 alone! Mind you we were able to snag an online sale for our post-Labor Day tickets for $25 each (not bad for 6 1/2 hours of fun). Still if we go more than one time from May to September of next year the passes pay for themselves.

The really nice part, our season passes are good at all of the following parks (15 in all):

(1) La Ronde, Montreal, (2) Six Flags America, Baltimore/Washington DC, (3) Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, Vallejo (does not include Waterworld), (4) Six Flags Fiesta Texas, San Antonio, (5) Six Flags Great Adventure, New Jersey, (6) Six Flags Great America, Chicago, (7) Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom, Louisville, (8) Six Flags Magic Mountain, Los Angeles, (9) Six Flags Mexico, Mexico City, (10) Six Flags New England, Springfield, MA, (11) Six Flags Over Georgia, Atlanta, (12) Six Flags Over Texas, Arlington, between Dallas and Ft. Worth, (13) Six Flags St. Louis, (14) Six Flags Wild Safari, New Jersey, and (15) The Great Escape, Lake George, NY

In addition to this, we also receive five free guest tickets to use on certain days and a coupon book to save within the park. Not too shabby if you ask me. So now we can think about going on trips to some other Six Flags parks close by to us next summer. The possibilities are quite nice actually.

So next year we can look forward to more memories at the park.