School's out for summer

Today was Ian's last day at preschool. I know I felt sadder about that than Ian did. He's mostly happy for summer and excited about kindergarten in the fall. I'm not so old that I don't remember feeling that way, but for me this is another milestone that means that my baby is growing up. As a wise person said, the days are long but the years are short.

Dad came with me to pick Ian up and we stopped at DiBella's to pick up subs for lunch. It was a gorgeous day and we stayed home for the afternoon and went in the pool. I cooked hamburgers on the grill, but it took a long time to heat up today for some reason and we didn't eat until almost 7:00. Overall, a very pleasant day.

Lots going on today!

I had an appointment with the foot doctor this morning, and he says that although things are looking better, with the pain that I'm still having I need to wear the cast another 4 weeks. On the way home, I stopped at the store to stock up for the weekend. After a few more chores at home, it was time to get lunch together for the end of the year picnic at Ian's school. It was fun to sit and chat with the parents, especially those like Brendan and Malachy's mothers, who we won't be seeing next year as they scatter to other school districts.

I talked to Antonio's mother about their summer plans and Antonio will be going to Y camp with Ian! Yay! That will make Ian happy, since he's already been whining that he doesn't want to go to Y camp this year. Anyway, Ian and Antonio were desperate for a playdate today, so I brought Antonio home with us. They played mostly with the Ben 10 stuff and only had one brief argument. Antonio's dad picked him up around 3:30 - overall a very nice play date.

Then shortly after 4:00 David's father arrived for a visit for the weekend. It's always great to have him here. There was some confusion about whether and when he was visiting Karen, but that got straightened out (they decided on tomorrow morning) and we had a nice dinner together here. Ian had a great time showing Grandpa all his stuff and explaining all the Ben 10 and Star Wars guys, his Lego sets, etc. He was still pretty wound up at bedtime, but eventually settled.

I'm glad we have a good relationship with Dad. He's been an important part of David's life, and mine too, since my dad died when I was only 20.

Our bedtime routine

Our bedtime routine: At 8:00, it's time to finish up playing and go upstairs to read books. David usually reads to him, but I do it sometimes, too. Then at 8:30 we finish up reading, and Ian goes potty and washes his hands. I brush his teeth and wipe his face and then he puts on his jammies. Ian picks out one more book and I sit down beside his bed with it. Then David comes in to say goodnight. He lays on Ian's bed with him and tells him to go to sleep good for Mommy and don't fall out of bed. He also tells him that he loves him and they have a hug. Then we say "night-night" and David turns out the light. David recently put up glow-in-the dark stars on Ian's ceiling and walls and we admire them for a minute, before I turn on the flashlight to read the book Ian has chosen.

Once that's done, I go over and turn on the "night-night music," while Ian gets under the covers. The night-night music is a special cd that I created when Ian was a baby. The songs are Winnie the Pooh, Chim-chim Cheree (from Mary Poppins), Once Upon a December (from Anastasia), Be a Man" (from Mulan), A Whole New World (from Aladdin, The Colors of the Wind (from Pocahontas) and You'll be in My Heart (from Tarzan). After the music starts, I go over and lay in the bed with him and pat his back and sing along with the music until he falls asleep. Oftentimes we talk about things that are on his mind, but I don't let that go on too long, before it's time to be quiet and go to sleep. He's usually asleep by shortly after 9:00, sometimes a little later, if he's very restless. I can sneak out pretty easily once he's asleep, but sometimes he'll call me back for a few more minutes. Someday he'll go to sleep by himself, but I know I'll miss the sweet snuggle time.

Wednesday, June 16

More heavy cleaning today - bathrooms and kitchen floors. Jean came over before lunch and talked to me while I was cleaning, which always makes it easier. Ian was kind of cranky about going out to lunch, so we did Wendy's drive-through and ate at home. Ian ate enough of my chicken sandwich to earn his frosty, which made him happier. After Jean left, I decided to do another batch of tie-dying. I made a shirt to give to Grandpa for Father's Day. We had made one already for David in the previous batch. I also made one that Ian wants to give to Sam and one for me with red, yellow, brown and black vertical stripes. Ian cooperated by playing mostly on his own while I was doing it. The Ben 10 stuff really holds his attention.

By the time I got done with that, it was time to start dinner. The weather had been very dicey all day, alternating pouring rain, with breaks of sun and clouds and lots of wind, so I cooked chicken inside. After dinner, I took a trip to the grocery store to return the Sid dvd and get some Father's Day cards for Ian to write on for David and Dad. Ian was pretty tired this evening and actually asked to go to bed while we were reading. He still needs me to stay with him and help him go to sleep, though.

Sunday, Monday, Tuesday....

Sunday, June 13 - Today was Children's Sunday at church and I managed to get Ian to stay up in church for most of it. Of course, we brought a backpack full of stuff, but he mostly was pretty quiet. We played at home for a quiet day.

Monday, June 14 - I have been spending most of the time when Ian is at school working on cleaning up the house to get ready for David's father's visit later in the week. It's always good to have company, if just to force me to clean up around here! Ian was kind of in a mood Monday afternoon, mostly because he didn't eat much lunch. After much whining and fussing about going to the toy store, I finally dragged him to the grocery store where we got a ham and cheese sub. Then we had a brief visit to the library to return books and get some dvd's. It was hot and muggy, which wasn't helping his mood, so he didn't last long on the playground. We had rented a Sid the Science Kid dvd at the store and he occupied himself watching that when we got home.

David and I both had fun in the evening playing with Ian up in his room, all piled up on his bed with his stuffed animals. We hung blankets down from the upper bunk and made a fort.

For a bedtime book we have been reading "The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins," by Dr. Seuss, which was a favorite of mine as a little girl. Being able to share favorite stories with Ian makes me very happy.

Tuesday, June 15 - The weather was better today, and we ended up staying home again this afternoon. Ian helped me clean my car and wash the mats and then we went in the pool. The water was nice and warm, but there was still a cool breeze. We played for about a half hour, maybe a little more before Ian decided he was cold and we got out. I lit the grill and cooked steaks and hot dogs. After dinner, David and Ian played in the fort and with their Nerf guns. I read my book and enjoyed watching them play.

Saturday, June 12

We played at home in the morning and then undid our tie-dye shirts after lunch. They turned out great! I am very, very happy with them. Jean came over later int he afternoon and then stayed for dinner with us. We grilled steaks and hot dogs and ate out on the deck. David had worked very hard today mowing and taking down the insulation in the basement, and by the evening he was kind of tired and not feeling great. So Jean and I took Ian out with us to the Home Depot to look at ceiling fans and a stop for ice cream.

I'm very glad that Ian has such a nice relationship with her. Especially since he doesn't have much in the way of relatives around here.

Tie-dying and swimming - fun!

We had a nice day yesterday. I had gotten the idea that Ian and I could tie-dye at home and he's been begging to do it ever since I got the kit. So in the morning I went to Walmart and got the rest of what we need to do it (bucket, rack, 100% cotton shirts). We watched the instruction video, Ian picked out what styles he wanted to try and we started rubber banding. After soaking the shirts in the dye fixer (soda ash) we got to work on applying the dye. I was kind of messy, which I had feared, but using a plastic drop cloth really worked. I ended up taking over, but he really participated quite a bit. We made 4 shirts for Ian and 3 adult shirts. They're resting overnight in their plastic bags. I'll post pictures later once we see how they turned out.

We were just finished when Samantha called and invited us over to swim with them. We took a quick dip in our pool just to cool off and then we gathered our stuff up and headed over. After a rainy week without the heater on, their pool was a little bit too cool for the Jake and Ian, but we all splashed around a bit anyway, before Ian insisted on getting out and getting dressed. Samantha ordered pizza, which Ian didn't care for. I admit, it wasn't the best pizza I've ever had, either. The boys ended up playing on Jake's playset (and eating chips and popsicles) until almost 8:00 before I forced us to leave. It's hard to persuade Ian that it's bedtime on these long June evenings, when it's still full light at 8:00. Jake and Ian play really well together for the most part. They spent a lot of time playing Ben 10 (or other superheroes) and attacking and killing me. Apparently, I'm an evil alien zombie and must be destroyed.

I'm grateful for playdates with friends, and long June evenings.

Ian's question of the day: Why are both shoes always the same color? Why can't we have pairs of shoes where they're different? I told him that I supposed it was mostly tradition, that and it's easier to find shoes in your closet that go together if they look the same. So as not to squash creativity, I didn't tell him that only clowns wear different colored shoes. I also told him that maybe we could get some plain white sneakers that he could paint any way he wanted. I don't think anyone cares if a 4 year-old's shoes are different. Maybe he'll start a fashion trend.

Good news on the basement

Well, the waterproofing guy (Jim Ariena) I talked to today says we probably just have to take off the crappy insulation on the basement walls which is acting as a sponge for the water. Then the basement should dry out and the water go into the sump pump the way it's supposed to. Yay, we can do that ourselves! He said if it doesn't work, then there's other things that can be done, but to try this first.

Ian had a better day at school today, after being miserable and uncooperative yesterday. He also had a very good playdate with Sam at their house. He had gotten up early this morning, so I was a little worried that he would be in a mood, but he did OK. Of course, he was totally done by bedtime, but hopefully he will sleep tonight.

Is the Easter Bunny invisible? That's what Ian asked me last night at bedtime. I said he must be, otherwise a giant rabbit like that would just freak people out. We agreed that Santa Claus, however, is not invisible. They do both have magic to get into the house, though.

Wednesday, June 9

So it was back to school today, as normal. Ian was a little tired getting up and Katia said he didn't cooperate very well today. I had a good morning, though and got a bunch of errands done, including renewing my driver's license. I'm sure my picture will be bad. I will miss my old one. I don't think I changed it the last time I renewed so I was 30 in my old one and I look very young and skinny, as opposed to how old and fat I am now. Maybe I can get it redone if I do manage to lose some weight.

We had lunch with Jean, which is always fun. We went to the Panera Bread at 12 Corners and after some whining about not wanting anything, Ian managed to eat most of a grilled cheese sandwich, some of my sandwich and drink some tea, all of which I think helped him feel better. Jean and I both had the chicken tortilla soup which was delicious. Ian had a playdate this afternoon with Antonio at his house, so after we dropped him off there, Jean and I went to the mall to do some clothes shopping. A playdate for grown-ups!

Tuesday, June 8

We had kind of an unusual morning on Tuesday this week. Ian has a buddy at school named Malachy and his mother called me Monday night to suggest that Ian come over to their house for a playdate Tuesday morning instead of going to school. She was going to be staying home to deal with the cable guy and was going to keep Malachy home, rather than deal with the drop off and pick up logistics while she was waiting. I figured it would be OK, especially since they both go to school 5 days a week and that means they have plenty of opportunity to do the projects, as most of the other kids go either Monday-Wednesday-Friday or Tuesday-Thursday. I didn't get as much done as I hoped, though, since Maranne (Malachy's mom) was in a chatty mood and we ended up talking for almost an hour before I left her with kids. They are real nice people. I have been so pleased overall with the parents of the kids Ian is buddies with. I know that won't be true always, but so far it has turned out that the kids he likes best have very friendly and compatible parents.

Anyway, I did eventually have to leave for an appointment at Rochester Works to talk about my ongoing job hunting efforts. I haven't been making much progress, mostly because it's so hard to keep up my energy for it. The counselor I spoke with did have a lot of good suggestions. I just need to get into the mindset and get working on it. I have decided that although I would really like to make the shift to the education and training side, that I need to keep up my job hunt in the straight network/computer support area as well, if only to get things moving. I'm glad to have the summer off, but it would be good to be back to work at least part-time by September. I don't know if our finances can handle me being off another year, especially if we are going to have a lot of expenses with the house.

Tuesday afternoon was our appointment for Kindergarten screening at Council Rock. Ian was totally excited to go, although I think he thought he was going to get more of a chance to play there than he did. We signed in and while Ian went off with the Speech and Communications lady, I spoke with the school psychologist. We mostly talked about any concerns I might have about Ian's readiness, especially socially. I said he was a shy guy and that he sometimes has trouble entering into group activities is he doesn't feel comfortable. He also has a streak of perfectionism and resistance to correction that hopefully he will be able to work through as he gets older. He does have his buddies though and seems to make friends easily, which is good. The psychologist indicated that from what I said, that it sounded like Ian was right in line with the typical child entering kindergarten. I agree, he's a mix - mature in some ways, immature in others. In other words, a typical 4.5 year old. By the time I was done, Ian was just about back from the hearing and vision test also, and then we were done. I guess everything was fine, since all they said was, "See you in September." He will hopefully have at least a couple of kids from CCB in his class, even if not his best buddies. Antonio is going to Penfield schools, Brendan to Pittsford and Malachy is in the city. Sam will be in Montessori another year and then go to Penfield, and Jake will be a year behind him in Fairport schools. I know he will make new friends, but I hope we will be able to keep up with some of the others, too, especially since they all have such nice parents!

Ian actually played quietly by himself with his Legos for a fair amount of the rest of the afternoon. I have to make a note of it since he isn't always as good about that as he could be. He was bad about dinner tonight, though. he has gotten much pickier about what he'll eat. I guess I should be glad that he's pretty good about vegetables and potatoes. He's not that bad overall, especially compared to some. He will eat hamburgers and hotdogs. He's a true son of Rochester, though - the hotdogs have to be Zweigle's red hots. He's been bad about chicken lately, which frustrates me, since he used to like it. He is also rejecting a lot of pasta now, including the Annie's organic mac and cheese, that he used to love. Not unusual for this age, I know, but still annoying.

I'm thankful for a bit cooler weather and days with my little guy. It's hard to believe he's going to Kindergarten already. As a wise person said, the days are long, but the years are short.

Monday play

When I picked Ian up from school on Monday, his friend Harper announced that she wanted to go home with Ian. Since we didn't really have any other plans, I said that was OK with me. So we brought her home with us. It's incredible how much difference there is between girl energy and boy energy! No running, no lightsaber battles, no killing each other, no killing me.... She and Ian still had a good time, though. I'm glad he can play well with both girls and boys. They colored, they made greeting cards with lots of stickers, decorated themselves with temporary tattoos and played outside in the fort.

After Harper left, Ian spent a bunch of time playing games on my computer. He loves the Ben 10 games, although I really have to help him with them. He's at a tough stage where the easier "preschool" games don't interest him any more, but the next level of games are pretty tough. A lot of the games for older kids require you to both move and shoot (or do other complicated actions, like climbing or jumping) at the same time, so I usually help out with the walking. We both get frustrated pretty easily, though! I know that someday soon he'll disappear into the world of video games and not need or want me any more, so I try to be patient.

Basement trouble

Monday morning, I had a plumber here to take a look at what's going on with the sump pump and us having water in the basement every time it rains. It turns out the pump is OK, if a bit old. The guy also ran a camera into the perimeter piping that is supposed to take the ground water to the sump pump. It was totally clear and dry, which says that something else is going on. Another more senior plumber came over to check it out and he said that he thought the slits in the perimeter pipe could be blocked by clay, which would prevent it from doing its job. He recommended using a high power water jet to try to unblock the pipe and get things working again. If that didn't work, they would have to excavate the front and re-do the drainage system. Needless to say, that would be a very expensive fix. $1000 for the water jet things and then potentially a lot more for the excavation.

I talked to David and we decided that we would hold off and get some more opinions. I called our neighbor, Paul Horowitz, and he said that they had had a similar problem and it had been resolved by replacing the insulating water barrier on the wall of the basement. He gave me the name of a basement guy he recommended, and I have an appointment with him on Thursday afternoon. We'll see what he has to say. David thinks that digging another sump on the other side of the basement might work, but we'll definitely be getting more opinions and quotes before we go ahead on anything.

Another busy day. First it was off to church with Ian. It was raining , and when I got down to the parking lot it really started to pour, and walking all that way, getting my cast wet totally didn't appeal, so I took a chance with the handicapped parking place on the street near the side door. Fortunately, I didn't get a ticket, but if I had, I would have gone to court with a doctor's note. Ian took his art kit and drawing pad to church to amuse himself in the nursery and Sunday School. He's my little artist. It's so cute to see him lugging around his art supplies and pad. He was working on something in the car and told me he was drawing a boat tossed on a stormy sea. I don't know where he got an expression like that, maybe from the Sunday School lesson?

After church, we went to one of Ian's favorite lunch places, the Great Harvest Bread Company, formerly Montana Mills. He loves their cream soups with shredded cheese. He also loves their fresh loaves of Italian bread, so we got soup and bread and then went home to eat with Daddy.

Jean came over around 12:30, and she and I headed out to the Landmark Society's house tour, which featured houses in Brighton this year. It was fun, as always and we got to see a bunch of great houses, including the Stone-Tolan House, which is the oldest building in the area, built in 1793. With my foot the way it is, Jean either dropped me off, or we took the trolley to minimize the amount of walking I had to do in the rain. I did walk some, though, probably more than I should have. Jean came back to house and stayed for dinner. We both had fun playing computer games on the Lego site online with Ian. I cooked barbecue chicken legs on the grill since the rain had cleared off. It was still too chilly and wet to eat outside, so we ate in and watched old Johnny Quest episodes.

Since we had such a late bedtime last night, Ian got up late this morning and was a little restless getting to sleep. but he managed to crash by 9:15, so we should be OK tomorrow morning. I hope anyway!

Later this afternoon, we met up with Samantha and Jake at the Greek Festival at the church on East Ave. It was OK - the food was good and so was the music. They didn't have a super lot of kid stuff to do, but Ian enjoyed the bounce house and the big bouncy slide. It was very hot, so we mostly ate and played a little then headed home.

Samantha invited us to come to their house for the evening to swim, so we went home, got dinner for David, collected our swim gear and headed out to Fairport. Sam keeps her pool pretty warm - almost 90 degrees - so it was a real treat to swim. David came too, and had a great time playing with the boys and messing around with their little dogs. They have three super-cute cockapoos, all under a year old. Ian and Jake get along really well. Jake is about 6 months younger than Ian, but they are very compatible and play very well together. They have their occasional disputes, but overall, they're very good buddies.

After swimming until almost 8:00. we all got dressed again and the boys played on Jake's playset/fort until almost 9:00 when we finally dragged Ian out of there to go home to bed. he protested the whole way home that he wanted to stay and play. The fact that Jake was also going to bed didn't matter in the slightest. I hope we don't suffer too much tomorrow for the late bedtime.

I went to the memorial service for Dorothy Stringer, a friend from church today. She was 87 and despite that fact that she was almost as old as my mother, I counted her as a dear friend. We both lived on Sycamore Street, although she lived there a lot longer than we did. We sang in the choir together, gave each other rides to church and choir practice, and talked a lot. She was an amazing lady altogether. She worked her whole life, first to support her mother and sister after her father's death and then raised two sons on her own after her husband left them. It can't have been easy to be a single working mother in the fifties and sixties, but she did it in style. She sang like an angel, a true soprano who could have been an opera singer if her life circumstances had been different. She loved her family and she loved her church. She was an inspiration to me and I'm going to miss her.

I'm very thankful to have known Dorothy. So many of that generation are passing away now, and we really owe them a debt of gratitude for all they endured and accomplished.

We had a nice day yesterday. I missed a call from Antonio's mother for a playdate, so after playing with his Ben 10 guys for a while, Ian and I went to the Strong Museum. It was a pretty low-key afternoon. The highlight was that Ian got a pen with 6 different color cartridges that you can switch at the museum shop. He's thrilled with it and has been spending lots of time writing in different colors.

Yay! The purse I bought on eBay came today from Uzbekistan! It's super cute, a shoulder bag with a flap and zipper closure. It's dark blue velvet with traditional silver and blue embroidery. I love it. It came from Samarkhand. How cool is that?

Sad news tonight. C-3PO, the Lilac Festival fish from last year died earlier this evening. David suspects that the new fish must have brought some kind of disease with them. I feel so bad. I should have kept him isolated in his own tank. Ian feels bad - he and I both cried. If the remaining ones go, too, I promised Ian we'd get more. I guess that's the price of fish ownership. They do tend to die. I'm sad about it, though.

We had lunch today with Jean. We went to the Subway at 12 Corners and then came home to eat outside on the porch. Ian got his usual meatball sub, but he didn't really eat it. He ate half of my chicken-bacon-ranch wrap with extra olives instead. He loves black olives and has been eating them since he was small.

I had gotten a call from Samantha earlier that she was taking the afternoon off, so after lunch we went to the zoo to meet up with them. It was nice and hot and Ian and Jake spent most of the time eating popsicles and splashing around in the creek they have there. It's a really neat feature - an artificial creek with rocks to climb and jump on, pools to splash in, a wooden bridge, etc. I mostly sat on the rocks and rested my foot and chatted with Samantha. A very nice afternoon.

I'm very grateful for the new friends that we've made through Ian, like Samantha and Jake, Antonio and Sam and their families.

What Ian is loving right now: Ben 10. He has the Ben 10 Lego figures which he loves and now he has the "Alien Creation Chamber" which you use to create different figures out of various interchangeable body parts from the different characters. It's hard to explain. I ended up getting him an extra set of the figures and he's having a blast with it. We sat outside on the deck this afternoon for several hours while I read my book and he messed around making all kinds of different combos. He does watch the show, too, and likes it, but mostly he's into the toys. He was like that with Thomas the Tank Engine when he was younger, too. Not that into the show, but loved the trains themselves. The show he loves right now is "Max and Ruby." Once I asked him why he liked it so much and he told me that he just liked bunnies. And Max has cool toys. I think he really identifies with Max, who is always being told what to do by his bossy sister but manages to get his way anyway.

Since the ball pit isn't working out as a pool, I got one of those Intex "Easy-Set" ones off Craigslist for half price. It's 12' in diameter and 36" deep, which should be fine for this year anyway. It's the kind where you blow up the top ring and then fill it with water and it holds up by itself. David says he'll set it up this weekend, so I should have pictures to post then.

What I am grateful for: Conversations with Ian. It rained overnight and was still drizzling this morning and in the car on the way to school, he said, "I love the smell of rain." I said I loved that, too.

So yesterday, Jean brought over an old pool of Ben's that we could use this year for Ian. Well, as David was inflating it today, it turned out not to be a pool at all but a bouncy ball pit! It was hot today (up to 90) so we filled it with water anyway. Of course, it leaked and deflated all over the place, but at least we got a couple of hours of splashing around in it. I guess we'll have to break down and invest in a better pool, since Ian is such a fish.

Ian with his Nerf gun and Ben 10 "Omnitrix" watch. Love the face.

My sermon went well yesterday. I even did an impromptu children's message on the Trinity. It's a good thing Ian stayed home with David, though. Attendance was low, of course, on account of the holiday weekend, and there we no little kids there. I don't think they had nursery coverage at all.

Anyway, we had a nice picnic with Jean for dinner and then she stayed on after Ian went to bed and we went to see Prince of Persia. It was OK, not a great movie by any means, but dumb fun, in the Douglas Fairbanks or Sinbad kind of way. I guess it's been a while, because I was outraged at the price of tickets. $10.00 for an ordinary, non-IMAX movie! So $20.00 for the both of us and we didn't even get the even more ridiculously priced popcorn and drinks. Plus we were lucky that Aunt Jean babysits for free. No wonder people don't go out to see serious movies. Especially when a new movie on dvd usually doesn't cost more than $25.00. I do want to take Ian to see Toy Story 3, though - a matinee shouldn't be too bad, plus we don't have to pay for a babysitter.

We have really been having a stretch of nice weather. David kept Ian occupied a lot today, so I could work on my sermon for Sunday, which was nice. In the afternoon, we went to Home Depot and the toy store. Then home to start the grill for chicken for dinner. It turned out delicious, with just some barbecue sauce for flavoring. We ate out on the porch and it was very nice to enjoy sound of the birds and the wind in the trees (and the sounds of the neighborhood).

Today I'm grateful for quiet moments. And hugs from Ian.

We had a nice day today. David was home from work, so he occupied Ian for quite a bit of time. I got the planting done in the front of the house. I put the pink and white begonias in front by the garage and the marigolds around the light pole. Hopefully everything will grow. I love the hot weather, but the plants do need some rain. We cooked out again again tonight, this time steaks for us and hot dogs for Ian. Very yummy.

When we were getting Ian ready for bed, I noticed that one of the fish he won at the Lilac Festival this year had died. David took care of it, giving it the traditional "burial at sea." Ian doesn't seem too upset about it, although I know he feels bad.

And now I'm supposed to be working on my sermon for Sunday, which is on gratitude. One of the resources I'm using is a blog called "The Happiness Project" and the author recommends using a journal that you just write briefly in about your day and/or something that you are grateful for.

Today I'm grateful for my life with Ian and David. I've truly been blessed.

Wow, this has been horribly neglected. Ian is 4.5 already. He's still my cutie-patootie, though. Maybe I'll try to start keeping it up again. No promises, though.