Friday Night Leftovers

My birthday was last Friday. I wonder if it means something special if your birthday falls on Good Friday, like this year will be extra Holy or something? I don't know. It would be nice, though.

We had a quiet celebration. We went out for brunch with the crew, which went a heck of a lot better than I had expected. That afternoon we went to go see the Easter Bunny and get the car washed. We are WILD around these parts.

So this marks the start of year 42. I am still struggling with that idea. 42. The idea of it is foreign. How can I be 42? I don't feel 42. What does 42 even feel like anyway?

I guess it feels like this...like normal.

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I have a group of students that like to come into my room and hang out during their breaks and after school. They're great kids.

One of the boys was talking about his older sister. When I asked him how old she was, I was surprised to learn she was 33.

He's 13.

I asked him how old his mom is. She's 51. I immediately thought, "Wow. She's pretty old to have a 13 year old!"

Then I remembered I'll be 52 when Jack is 13. Holy crap. Talk about a moment to deflate my happy bubble.

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The boys had an award ceremony this week. Everyone was recognized for something. The teacher would call out the child's name and then give a few comments about why he or she earned the reward.

By the sounds of the comments the teacher made about the other kids, my boys are doing just fine. I'm just so, so proud of them! There are a few pictures on the boys' blog if you're interested.

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Speaking of the boys' rock star teacher, I am already thinking of what we might give her for a thank you gift. She has done so much for the boys, really going light years beyond anything expected, so I wanted to do something a little more significant that the traditional gift.

Any ideas?

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Heard two very load booms outside my house. Now I'm listening to the police scanner to make sure something isn't happening around the house.

They just discussed a former student over the scanner. At least it was on something unrelated...sigh.

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Stop by Danifred's for more Leftovers.

Happy Easter!

Thank you to everyone who left me a line about reading the blog. I'm working my way through responding to all of your comments via email. I sure hope that replying to your comments via email actually works...

Anyway, this was a pretty eventful weekend, so I definitely have to do an update post tomorrow. Until then, I just wanted to say I hope you all had a wonderful Easter. :)



It looks a lot better if you click on it to enlarge.

 

 

A new thing the mall did this year was to take pictures before you actually get to see the Easter Bunny. My guess is that the reason for it is twofold: 1) give those waiting something to do, and 2) try to extract more money from everyone. Fortunately, we didn't need to worry about number 1, as there was absolutely no one in front of us. As you can see, they nailed us with number 2, though. :) How could I resist? Look at how cute that picture came out!

 

After the family picture, we walked around to visit the Easter Bunny. Jack was a little unsure of the big dude, but he managed fairly well. Jason could not wait to see him. Shawn was not going to get anywhere close to the Easter Bunny. In fact, Shawn was most annoyed we weren't going to see Santa. He went so far as to insist we just head on up to the North Pole so he could have his visit. Cracked me up!

Thanks again, everyone!

Blogoversary - 7 Years and Counting

Yesterday was my seventh blogoversary. It seems pretty surreal that it has been this long.

I'm not usually one who sticks with things. I enjoy getting started in activities, but I am guilty of growing bored and leaving things unfinished. Blogging has been a different story for me. Even when I don't think I have anything else to say, I come back. I can't seem to ignore the pull of writing in this space.

Time and time again, I sit in front of my computer and wait for the words to flow. For me the fingers don't lie; the words on these pages are an open window to my true self. While I tend to censor myself when I am in the real world, here I try to just go with where my emotions take me. I blog because it helps me process the craziness of my life. It's exhilarating and frightening all rolled into one.

When I first started blogging, it was easy to connect* with others following the same path I was. I read the blogs stories about the lives of a close knit circle of beautiful, strong women. We laughed and cried, shared our inner most thoughts, and supported and encouraged each other through the trials of life. We celebrated births and mourned losses. We rallied together for those who were in crisis. We left tributes for those of us who have sadly passed from our Earth. I invested in their lives, and I think (hope) they invested in mine. I still feel a strong tie to those women. I blog because I love the friends I've made along the way.

I write from the heart my truth as I know it. I am far from perfect, and as I'm sure you realize if you've been around for any length of time, I don't try to be perfect. What you see is what you get with me. Well, you would probably actually get less if you knew me in real life because I am fairly tight-lipped on personal stuff. I blog because it frees me to just be and feel.


*There is still the connection on the internet today, for which I am thankful, but the circle is no longer as tight now that there are so many blogs.

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I appreciate people who are real and true to themselves. I read blogs that are similar --written by real people who own their struggles and mistakes, and try to learn from them. I shy away from blogs that depict that perfect life. Who in the hell has that?

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Would you mind waving your hands at me in the comment section? I have no idea who's around here anymore. :)

Bittersweet

Ja.son has slowly adjusted to life without his glasses. He struggled the first day. He asked for them once the second day. Today, he didn't ask for them at all.

Sh.awn, however, is still struggling with the change. He frequently reminds Ja.son to go get his glasses. He argues with Jay when Ja.son says he doesn't wear them anymore. I guess it makes sense; Sh.awn is the one who saw the glasses all the time. It must be so strange to see such a huge change in the familiar face.

As much as I hate those glasses, I must admit that this new milestone is a little bittersweet for me. The glasses were a visual link between the boys, a small sign that yes, they are more than brothers when there is so little else that implies they are twins.

Sure, they still have a few parallels to their lives. The CP is one. When they are both in their walkers, it's obvious the two of them are connected in some way. But really, that's the end of their similarities.

The boys have always been very different. Aside from the brief time during their very early days, they look different. One is tall and lean with a mass of coarse, thick hair. The other is more average in size with fine, straight hair. They have always been different in their strengths and interests. One likes numbers and math. One likes to read. Their differences go on and on, and for the most part we celebrate them as individuals.

The differences ended when you looked at their faces; the glasses and even their scripts were the same. They both had them, one of the few remaining things they still shared. To some extent, the glasses became a symbol of their twinness.

Each is his own person, yes, but they will always be twins.

I've always thought that being a twin is something interesting and unique. I hate that this feels like yet another way they've been cheated from the specialness of their birth.

I don't know. Maybe they could care less.

Maybe this is something that bothers me a whole hell of a lot more than it will ever bother them.

As much as I am happy that his eyes have done just what we wanted them to do when he first got his glasses on his first birthday, and even thought it may be silly, there is that part of me that is feeling melancholy nonetheless.

Mostly Wordless Wednesday

Notice anything on that beautiful face?

Come on. Look again.

That's right, you don't! Ja.son isn't wearing his glasses!!

After 5 and a half years, Ja.son's vision is now within normal limits. For now, he no longer needs to wear his glasses!!!

We have a recheck in six months to see how things stand with his vision. Until then, we were told that he gets to be glasses free* unless we noticed his eyes turning. Woo to the double whooo!

Sh.awn's vision has also dramatically improved. Technically his vision is fairly close to normal as well, but his right eye did turn in (then quickly self corrected) when his glasses were off. He's going to keep his glasses for the time being to hopefully allow his eyes to continue to strengthen.

So take that prematurity. We hereby declare vision victory over your miserable behind!

*Poor Ja.son has worn his glasses since his first birthday. He knows nothing else. It has been an interesting day for him to say the least. It took him several hours before he was ready to give me his glasses. It's hard to just drop something that has been such a part of your life for so long. Then, once they were off, he cried a bit as he worried that everyone would laugh at him without his glasses. (How's that for a twist to the usual story?) This being glasses-less thing is going to take some getting used to for all of us, most especially him.

It's odd that this one little change can make him seem so different to me.

Weekend Leftovers

*This is posted on my iPad, so forgive any typos.

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I am out for spring break! Yea! Here's to 14 glorious days off!

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I started my break doing laundry, cleaning my house, and hosting both sides of the family. This will sound awful, but I am glad to get all of that out of the way. Now I can just relax and focus on us.

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Let the boys loose outside this afternoon. They had so much fun getting dirty. :)

Yes that is my poor, dead grass he's standing on in this picture. Sigh. Drought = not good for grass growin'.

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I found out that Sh.awn's new aide is the parent of one of my students. It did not help that I found out this little nugget of information through an email from her to me asking what her daughter could do to improve the F she earned. Sigh. Thankfully the daughter has now improved said grade to a B and we all continue to act like no one knows how we are connected.

Can I just say that this is totally awkward? Because it TOTALLY is.

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The boys got their report cards on Friday. It's comments like these that make a mama proud:

"Sh.awn is working toward meeting or exceeding kindergarten standards. Sh.awn demonstrates strength in blending sounds to form words and reading. We will continue to encourage more challenging texts. Sh.awn also enjoys math and numbers. Sh.awn's progress this trimester is remarkable. Keep up the great work, Sh.awn!"

and

"Ja.son is working toward meeting or exceeding kindergarten standards. Currently, Ja.son is showing tremendous growth in reading, math (number sense), and verbal skills. In the third trimester, we will continue to find ways to push Ja.son beyond kindergarten expectations."

Not too shabby for my 28 weeker preemies, now is it? :)

They have only 43 more school days before they will be officially first graders. Blows. My. Mind.

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Stop by Danifred's for more Leftovers.