Can you spell SLEEP?

We haven't really been doing anything exciting lately, so I took a photo of the boys coloring! Oh my goodness, look at Sammy's crazy hair! :)

Both boys were sick and then I caught the sickness last weekend. The older I get, the harder it is to recover from sickness. I hate being sick and being limited with work and play and exercise and all of the things I want to do every day. I don't have the patience for it!

Elijah has been doing great with 3/4 school days. I wish we could continue this through the end of the year. He gets to be involved in all of the morning fun and also recess, lunch and specials (gym/music/art). He misses out on math every day, so we have to work a little extra with him every night. He seems to be keeping up just fine, though. I found a few apps for the iPad that give him a little extra help. One of his favorite things to do after homework every day is quiz me on math and spelling problems. "Mom! What is 9+7" "16." "CORRECT! Great job! And how do you spell 'squirrel'?" By the way, his spelling is INCREDIBLE! The boy takes after his mom and dad and Gramps! He is a GREAT speller, way beyond his grade level (I have to believe). We do "spelling tests" every night (at his request) and he always impresses me.

I think it was Saturday when Dan and I made the decision to stop Elijah's sleep meds. There were a few nights where he had woken up for the day between 1:30 and 2:30am. NOT. OK. And his behavior was not good, to say it nicely. We stopped giving him the meds and things have gradually gotten better since. It's so hard to know exactly when he wakes up because he can be really quiet (but still wide awake), but I'm pretty certain the last two nights he has slept later than 2:30. He has had two "great" days at school this week, so that is awesome! Where do we go from here with the sleep concerns? I have no idea. I am playing phone tag with his sleep specialist (again), so we'll see what she thinks. In the meantime, we've resorted to doing light therapy in the late afternoons. We've also started having him drink half-and-half at bedtime! :) We are trying everything possible to help him SLEEP!

I have more "Sammies" to share!

Whenever he sits down for a meal, he wants someone to sit RIGHT next to him. He literally puts the two kitchen chairs you see in the above photo right next to each other so that they are touching. Then he says, "MOMMMMMMMY! Sit NEXT TO ME!" When I sit down, he says, "Mmmmmm" and snuggles into my side. :)

He currently only accepts "super gentle kisses" from me. If I give him "regular kisses," they get wiped off. And at bedtime, he has been requesting "a hug, a super gentle kiss and a back rub."

If you've seen Despicable Me, you'll know this reference. Sammy often squeezes my arm and says, "IT'S SO FLUUHHH-FEEEEE!" That boy and his movie lines.

He becomes OBSESSED with the ants that occasionally invade our bathroom floor. By the way, I have no idea how they ever could have survived this past winter, but they do occasionally show their little bodies. Sammy will not go into our downstairs bathroom without inspecting it first for ants. "MOMMY! TWO ANTS ARE IN HERE! KILL THEM!" He has labeled that bathroom as "the purple minion bathroom" because only bad guys go there. :)

This conversation took place the other night..
Sammy (peeking out of the bathroom): Mommy? What does "alone time" mean?
Me: It means you want to be by yourself for a little bit.
Sammy (peeking out again): Do you know what a "big bit" means?
Me: That means you want to be by yourself for a long time.
Sammy: Ok, then give me some alone time for a medium bit, please.

That's all for now! If you have room on your prayer list, please pray for answers for Elijah's sleep. On the days when he is up super-duper-ridiculously early, it affects ALL of us negatively. Thank you!!