Home One Week (a week and a half by the time I got this posted)
We have been home one week already. The boys started school on Wednesday, I wanted them to wait until after Thanksgiving but they wanted to go sooner. The school has been great with them. Jack is in seventh grade and Alex is in fourth. They spend most of their time with a very nice teacher who is working on English with them. Jack goes to PE, art and music with his class and Alex goes to PE, music, art and recess with his class. I don’t think it will be long before Alex is put into some classes as his English is improving very rapidly. Jack started wrestling with the 7-12 grade wrestlers, he is really enjoying it. He didn’t even know what wrestling was before Wednesday. He is pretty good at basketball but that doesn’t start for a few weeks. (Plus my family and Jeff’s are all wrestlers). He can try basketball when it starts and choose between the two. They will start riding the bus to school on Monday. Matthew will start preschool at the school on Monday afternoon and go every afternoon except Friday. He did go to Speech yesterday, they taught him how to make the F sound, and he remembers to use it(most of the time).
We have had a few challenges and I am sure there will be more. Fighting between the boys was the first big one. Alex likes to “dish it out” but he can’t take it. Jack tends to antagonize both Alex and Matthew, but he is doing less of it. Alex has a temper and is a pouter. The first day home something set him off and he stomped off to his bed and refused to come down. We didn’t cater to him, when supper was ready I told him if he didn’t come down to eat there would be nothing later. He didn’t come down until the next morning. The next day he had the same pouty fit and I told him the same thing. Two minutes later he was at the table with a smile. He has had less pouty fits since then. Jack doesn’t listen overly well either, but we are working on it. I am sure it will take some time to break all the old habits they have learned.
We went to church last night and the boys were fine-except Matthew who has always had problems with being quiet in church. Then we went to my Cousin Kelly’s wedding reception. It was very nice. I think the boys had fun. Alex even won a couple of dollars in Rock, Paper, Scissors.
The boys have liked everything I have cooked with the exception of pancakes. They ate spagetti, tacos, and macaroni and cheese-three things I have heard that they probably wouldn't like. I don't really like pancakes that much either. They didn't like the syrup at all- Matthew doesn't either, he likes peanut butter on his pancakes. Jack and Alex don't like peanut butter, but I can't blame them. They love milk, I may need to get a dairy cow. =) They also love sausage-especially summer sausage. They both eat a ton of food, but so did Matthew when he first came home.
It snowed on Friday night and both of the boys were excited to get outside and play. They threw snowballs at each other. Jeff and Alex made a small snowman. I will try and get pictures posted soon, it takes forever on our dial-up.
The boys just got on the bus for school for the first time with the help of the neighbor girls. They were excited.