The runners

Day #1 of temporary single-mom-dom down! Nine to go! There is something so strange about having Dan across the country while leaving Sammy in one spot, Elijah in another and traveling 60 miles to work. I didn't like it! I swallowed down tears all day. It didn't feel right. What if one of the boys needed me quickly? I was happy to scoot out of work and head toward home. Elijah and Sammy were eager to get to the library tonight! Each boy quickly picked out four books. I heard Sammy say "EEeeeewwww!" the whole ride home as he flipped through his tadpole book. "It's non-fiction, Mom. Eeeeewwww! Look at that slimy...thing! Eeewwww!"

I was so happy to go with Elijah on his field trip yesterday. I have gone with him to this same nature center a handful of times. Preschool, kindergarten and now first grade. Each trip is special because it means one-on-one time with my oldest cutie. He still loves holding my hand and being close to me, which I love! Personally, my favorite part of each trip is the bus ride home. Exhausted from exploring, Elijah inevitably falls into my lap, wrapping his arms around my legs and falling asleep. I'm so excited to do these same trips with Sammy! But let's not rush time.

There were only a handful of parents volunteering on this particular field trip, so each of us had 5-6 kids to look after. It seems I was matched up with the runners, which is ironic considering I was also looking after Elijah, my very cautious non-running walker. It was stressful! The other five kids RAN ahead of me as I constantly encouraged Elijah to "Please move more quickly!" There was a point where I realized there was only so much I could do, so I relaxed for ten seconds until.. We came upon a HUGE hill. It was steep and covered with dried grass taller than myself. My runners yelled back at me, "We're going up the hill!" Wait, what?! Hold on! I told Elijah to climb on my back. Toting my 50-pound boy, our team backpack, and my own bag of rain gear, I climbed the mountain so as to not lose track of the other children. I thought I was going to DIE when I reached the top. Then I saw ANOTHER mountain, only this one was bigger. I said under my breath, "No freaking way." The runners looked back at me as they began scaling mountain #2. I yelled, "GO FOR IT! Just PLEASE come back down!" Elijah started to climb this one on his own, but I knew I'd need to stick close because coming back down would be tough. Not only was it steeper than the last, but it was wet, muddy and very slippery. "I want to climb to the top, Mom!" Ugh. It's so tough to tell him "no," but sadly I had to. It would have taken us forever and it would have been a ton of effort for both of us, probably involving more piggy-back rides and/or carrying. The runners ran down the hill past us and then back up again. And then down and back up (I'm not kidding) and back down. Did I mention we were supposed to be looking for bird eggs and deer tracks and signs of squirrels and geese? Forget it. I was in survival mode and I wasn't ashamed. When we got back to HQ, all of the other teams had photos on their iPhones that they'd captured of various nature-related items. "Look! We saw a baby duck!" "We found a pile of deer skat buried beneath some branches!" Ha! My kids were all still alive and I couldn't have been happier about that.

That one will go down in the books. I'll never forget it. It was interesting to see Elijah's interactions with his classmates. Personally, I feel he has come such a long LONG way. He is miles beyond where he was even a year ago. He engages with his friends, much more than what we've been told, I think. We've heard nothing but, "He's socially awkward" all year, so it was refreshing to see some positive interaction, even if some of it was borderline naughty. His classmates are kind and so sweet and showed genuine love for and interest in Elijah.

I hope you all have a great weekend! Thanks for checking in on us!

Sunglasses and a friend!

A really quick post tonight! I was taking a bath tonight and Sammy peeked his head in to say good-night. He had sunglasses on. Of course he did. He looked at me straight-faced for three seconds and then: "G'night, Mommy," and shut the door abruptly. I laughed for an entire minute.

The boys and I colored Easter eggs tonight (pics to come!). In the middle of dunking eggs into orange and pink dye, there was a knock at the door. It was Elijah's little friend from his class who lives down the street. She is the CUTEST and kindest little thing, and she had stopped by a couple times last week, as well. Elijah was BEYOND EXCITED (times a million) that she asked him to go to the park with her. There was an "older" girl going along to watch them, but I felt weird as I watched him scoot away from me on his little blue trike. Dan and Sammy followed just to make sure the situation was safe. Phew...that made my tummy feel much more settled.

This sweet little girl is so precious...to Elijah and to his mama. It is the first peer....EVER...to show interest in wanting to spend time with him. He has been so incredibly excited and happy about her interest in him. I keep praying it will continue. And that his social skills will continue to improve. Thank you, God, for answered prayers!

Wishing you all a great Easter weekend! 

Week of words

The little boys and I are having a fun week! We miss Dan, but we are making the most of our quality time together in this BEAUTIFUL weather (finally!). On the drive home from the airport the other day, I looked into the backseat to see Sammy's head in his hands. I asked if he was ok and he sadly said, "Yeeeaaah. Just finkin' about Daddy." It sounds like Dan is having a great time showing kids around DC, so we are excited to hear all about the trip!

Elijah has been sooo interested in reading lately. He has always loved reading, but lately even more than ever. He gets up in the morning and starts reading right away and he reads for at least 20 minutes before bed every night. It's great! I suggested we take a trip to the library (our first ever, sadly), and the boys were super excited! Sammy picked out a silly book that he has carried around with him just about everywhere, and Elijah picked out a book about the caterpillar-butterfly transformation. He told me at the library in a hushed voice, "Mom! I love non-fiction books and learning about REAL things!" Yes! I love it! He has read the book front to back at least five times. He can tell you about every little part of a butterfly's development.

I chatted with Elijah's sleep doctor yesterday and she told me to increase the dose of his meds by a teeny tiny bit more. I THINK he has been sleeping a lot later in the mornings! I think. I'm pretty sure. This morning I didn't hear him until the 5:00 hour, which is a HUGE step in the right direction. So far, his full days back at school have all been in the "great" behavior category. Yay!

And he has started showing much more interest in his peers and what they think of him, which is awesome. There is one little girl who is not in his class, but who he sees at recess every day. He is drawn to her, and keeps approaching her out of a desire to be with and play with her. At first he told me that he was asking her if she would marry him, which resulted her in running the other way. :) Then he told me that he was showing her his "bunny dance." Oh boy. I have started coaching him a bit, telling him that if he really wants her attention that he needs to ask her questions that she would enjoy answering...and to say them clearly and loudly. He was proud to tell me yesterday that he had clearly and loudly asked her to play with him. But she still ran away. Today he said to me, "Mom, I don't think she wants to be my friend. I think she thinks I'm a preschooler." :( I am so excited for the day when he finds a little friend who loves and appreciates him and wants to spend time with him. In the meantime, I will continue to do social coaching! And I am SO thankful that he is showing genuine interest in wanting peer acceptance. This is huge! It's been a long time coming, and it's a big step for him.

Sammy gets to spend a few hours at daycare tomorrow with his sweet little friends so I can get a bit of work done. It is always amusing trying to work with him at home. He sits on my lap as I type and tells me story after story, while driving toy trains up and down my arms and legs. I love that silly boy!

Wishing you all a wonderful rest of your week! Thanks for checking in!