End of Summer

School has started -- for Max. He is in the 2nd grade now. I absolutely love Max's new teacher. She was a 1st grade teacher last year and told me that she was so excited to see Max on her class list -- she said that he was a smart and cute little blondie. I really wanted to cry. I'm sure that she is so positive with all of the parents, but Max's Kindergarten teacher was an ancient teacher who kind of forgot the art of making the kids feel "warm and fuzzy", and his 1st grade teacher was young and very organized, but I don't know if Max really bonded with her. Every mother needs to hear that her child is well-liked.

I took Max to the audiologist last week to check his ears before school started. We've noticed a few problems, so I was expecting something bad, but the audiologist came out of the test and told me that Max can basically hear at 1/2 the volume that we speak. He has to go back to the ENT for more tests, but we can't get in until the beginning of September; so, in the meantime, the audiologist said that we are treating his hearing as a chronic problem. He would like the teacher to talk into the microphone during class so that Max can hear, and they are going to closely follow his progress. As I was talking to the teacher about the problem, I just really wanted to emphasize the point that I did not want him to be treated differently -- in fact, I want him to be pushed harder academically. He has a focusing problem because he can't hear very well, but his little mind and abilities are grades ahead of 2nd grade. He is extremely intelligent. I really hope that we can figure out this problem and find a solution. I just feel so bad for him.

We went on one last family outing last week before school started. (I remembered my camera, but forgot to charge the battery.) We went with another family to the new Living Planet Aquarium in Sandy. The kids had a good time. They were able to pet a sting ray, see the Nemo fish, and see shark. The aquarium is still expanding, but it was only 1/2 price on Monday night and worth it as it was something a little different to do. It only cost $11 to take our whole family. We were going to try the Mayan for dinner, but it was extremely crowded; so, we went to Eat at Joe's. We really don't venture to a lot of restaurants with the kids. Usually Carl's Jr. and Sonic are the safest bets if we go out. But, we thought that we would do something a little different for our outing -- and kids eat free on Monday night. Wow! We scored.


Today was Jake's 1/2 birthday. He's 5 1/2 today! Nate thinks that I'm crazy celebrating 1/2 birthdays, but I think that it's fun. Just another reason to celebrate! Yesterday, I took Jake and 2 of his friends to Chuck E. Cheese for lunch to celebrate (I forgot my camera); and today, he got to ride on my Uncle's motorcyle. That was present enough for him.

By the way, did I mention that I've started my nesting phase?!!? Woo-hoo! It started about 1 1/2 weeks ago after I went to my last OB appointment. I was asking the doctor if there was a magic pill because I was so tired. He asked if I was taking my iron pills. Yes -- as well as my prenatal vitamins, 1 baby aspirin, 800mg of folic acid, and my seizure medication. You would think that any one of those pills would jump start me a little bit. He told me that if I didn't start feeling better, that he would have to put me on a little bed rest everyday. I think that about did it. Mentally, I'm back. My 1st nesting project has been to scour, strip, and reseal all the travertine and granite in my house. It's quite a big project, but oh so satisfying to see the result.

Today was our babysitting night. One family couldn't make it, so we kind of got off easy. The kids had fun and were so good. We had our very healthy, but kid-friendly meal of chicken nuggets, watermelon, applesauce, carrots, popcorn, and cookies. The kids played so hard creating a Halloween haunted house in the basement (I didn't even think to use my camera), and then they watched "The Sandlot" and that was it. I even sat on the couch and read a book for about 1/2 hour while they played. It was fabulous.