Second Snow

Our second snow came on Thursday with Storm Q.  In advance of the storm school was cancelled for Buddy and the kids.  A big storm was expected.  It didn't start snowing until after 5am.  By midmorning it was snowing faster than I had ever seen before.  The kids wanted to go out into the snow and were the first kids out.  The wind was blowing hard and the snow was like ice.  The news said the snow was falling 3 inches per hour at its heaviest.  I couldn't take clear pictures.

By afternoon the snow was over.  The kids played outside several times during the day.  Buddy took the kids sledding but the cheap sled broke quickly.  Nyla still used a portion of it nearby.










Buddy had a delayed start on Friday but the kids were off.  Their school doesn't do early release or delayed starts.  Cora wasn't feeling well in the morning and threw up several times.  She felt fine by about 10.  It felt like old times to have the kids at home without Buddy.  They did school work, painted, and played.  Bohdin and Nyla went outside to play several times although Nyla was out more including a stay at Mo-'s house. 





In the afternoon I stopped at the PX with the slim hope of finding a sled.  There were no sleds but they did have their summer pool inner tubes out.  I thought it might be better than nothing.  It worked for a a little while but it kept losing air.  The neighbors let Bohdin use their extra sled and he played with them for a while. 



Here is the snowman that Nyla built with Mo-.  They also worked on a snow fort.  Nyla says the snowman is called Snowflake.









Bohdin played with the neighbor kids a lot yesterday.  After lunch M- the second grade boy was playing with his friend and Bohdin was the third wheel.  He came in and played with Nyla and Cora.  They were doing a conga line, playing chase, wrestling, and other stuff.  Eventually Bohdin moved on to his own thing and Nyla and Cora played puppy together. 

In the morning we called a few places looking for sleds but we had no luck.  I called another place after dinner and was told they had a few.  All of the kids came with me to see what they had.  It was late when we got home and Cora was pretty tired.  As I was brushing her teeth I noticed something big in her nose.  I asked her what was in her nose and she told me a bead.  It was indeed a bead which had been in there for hours.  Nyla started crying and was really distraught as Buddy tried to remove it.  Bohdin thought it was his fault and Nyla thought it was her fault.  While Cora was playing puppy she accidentally inhaled a bead that Nyla had offered as food. 

This morning Nyla is the one with the throwups as she calls them.  She has it worse than Cora did.  Buddy took Bohdin and Cora out to try out the new sleds.

First Snow

Last week we had our first snow.  It wasn't much but the kids were still excited.  Buddy took them out to play at the playground. 







We've been slowly settling in.  The unpacking isn't done and I'm under a time crunch becasue we will be moving again really soon and also we can have company at any time.  Normally somebody comes by several days per week.  It's almost always for Nyla.  I also need to have the house clean enough for company always which keeps me pretty busy.  In the past week we have made good progress on the organizing.  When we unpacked we just threw stuff anywhere and now I have to sort through it all and organize it. 


I went to Bohdin's Valentines Party which was chaotic.  Cora and I also stopped into Nyla's classroom.  Nyla took Cora by the hand and showed her around and introduced her to several friends.  Cora joined the kids at circle time while I helped prep for her party.  In Bohdin's classroom she just quietly played.  She was very well behaved especially in contrast to the other little kid who kept trying to escape at every opportunity. 

Bohdin is settling into school and Bohdin says he cries less frequently.  He doesn't want me to pull him out of school although I think about it often.  I stronly disagree with the testing at the school. 
Last Friday Bohdin came home with his math test.   He missed two questions. 

1.  Mark was at the fair.  He wanted to ride the Ferris wheel.  He paid 3 dimes and 2 nickels to ride.  How much did it cost to ride the Ferris wheel? 

Bohdin's answer was 40 cents which was correct.

2.  After riding the Ferris wheel, Mark went to the arcade.  He played skee ball and spent 2 quarters, 1 dime, and 1 nickel.  How much did he spend? 

Bohdin's answer was 40 cents + 65 cents = $1.05  He had to show his work.  The answer was wrong because they were looking for 65 cents.

3.  Finally, Mark decided to ride the roller coaster.  He spent 3 quarters, 1 dime, and 4 pennies on the roller coaster.  How much did he spend?

Bohdin's answer was 89 cents + $1.05 = $1.94  Again it was marked wrong because the answer is 89 cents

I sent the test back on Monday but the teacher held firm that Bohdin was wrong because she wasn't looking for a running total.  I think the question was ambiguous and either way Bohdin demonstrated that he could do the math. This is not an isolated example unfortunately.  I might be okay with the type of grading but the teacher never goes over the wrong answers.  Bohdin had no idea why it was wrong.  I've also been disappointed by the grading on Bohdin's spelling tests.  I told the teacher that he was letter reversals and when he misspelled blind as dlind it was marked wrong.  At this age I expect a little more grace.  Nyla's teacher on the other hand is wonderful.  The kindergarten classrooms are run better. 

In addition to having people over a lot we have been going places.  The neighborhood hosted a chili cookoff which I attended with the kids.  The next evening we went to dinner with an old friend of Buddy.  Nyla was disappointed they only had boys. 

Nyla made a party for Cora last week complete with cake and presents.  She set the table nicely and was disappointed that more people didn't attend.  I sang Happy Birthday before leaving but Bohdin and Buddy didn't attend at all.  I didn't have any of the sand cake.

We went to the library the other night and Nyla fell asleep just before we arrived home.  She woke up as I carried her in but I thought she might go back to sleep.  I laid her in the bed and did a few things before laying down with her.  She was still awake and couldn't go back to sleep.  A few minutes later she said she was hungry.  I told her to go to the kitchen and get a snack.  She was sad and started whimpering.  When I asked her what was wrong she told me that she would miss her beautiful mommy.  I assured her everything would be okay and I would wait for her return.  She then told me she would keep me in her heart. 

Cora was lonely when we first moved her but she has adjusted.  She normally plays in the morning for an hour while I clean.  If the weather is nice we go to the playground where there is usually another little kid.  One day we joined three two year olds at the skate park where they slid down the ramps.  On cold days we might run an errand in the morning or go to story time at the library.  The afternoon is taken up by a nap.  Once Bohdin and Nyla come home the house is chaotic with homework, snacks, and friends. 

Parent Teacher Conference

Bohdin stayed home sick last Wednesday and Thursday.  He wasn't very sick but I figured why not.  It's not like he was going to miss anything.  Cora had a great time having him around.  She had been a little lonely and loved the company.  Bohdin said it was the most fun he has had in a long time.

Friday morning was parent teacher conferences.  I think they did it in alphabetical order because I had to be there early.  Nyla's teacher was very nice and commented that Nyla is very quiet in class.  I find that hard to believe.  She is doing well and learning. 

The conference with Bohdin's teacher didn't go as well.  I didn't get the feeling that she likes Bohdin.  Since Bohdin is oblivious to it I don't really care.  I found out that Bohdin still cries frequently which annoys the teacher.  She tells him to stop.  The advanced math group is not very advanced and there is nothing I can do about it.  He is not in the advanced reading group but since they are hardly more advanced it doesn't really matter.  I was concerned that Bohdin's writing is significantly worse in school but his teacher didn't believe me.  She wanted me to prove it by showing her some of his previous writing.  Her biggest concern is that he doesn't have a friend yet.  I don't know what we are going to do yet.  We've revised our goals for him from learning something to hoping he doesn't get dumber. 

Since we were out so early we went into Kansas City to the science museum.  The kids had a lot of fun until they were too hungry to go on. 

Bohdin spent time with Ma- over the weekend and Nyla spent a lot of time with Mo-.  Buddy and I found it weird that we didn't have to do any work on the house beyond unpacking.  It feels like we have a lot more free time now.  I don't know if we'll squander it or use it wisely.