Too Quiet

The kids have been gone for about a week now. It was tough for me to leave them, and it has been tough for me to be without them this week. While I have enjoyed having less to pick up, I have missed their voices terribly. Our house has been super quiet, and it is very odd. We are so used to three voices ringing out and little feet running up and down the stairs that we don’t how to act when it is all gone. I suppose we’ll learn one day when the nest is empty. Until then, I am going to enjoy all of the action.

Rolling Right Along

June has begun, and we’re rolling along. Huts and I have nearly completed our to-do list for the house, and we’re getting ready to turn our focus to the kids, helping them learn to ride their bikes and identify letters (Eli). Tori can basically ride her bike. She just needs to conquer her fear of falling. Christian needs to conquer his need to do it right then and there. He gets frustrated when things do not come easily to him. Tori has always been more athletic than Christian, so it is no surprise that she almost has it down. She is also starting ballet this week. Hopefully she has a good time doing that and does not expect too much at first. Eli appears to be the most athletic of the three so we will see what happens next year with his bike, He may be ready for the training wheels to come off before we are.

Last Day

The kids had their last day of school today—a half day. There were all kinds of things scheduled for the morning. Movies, crafts and board games. Plus, after-care was taking place afterwards, but the kids skipped out on that and went to lunch with their dad. I am certain they are super happy to be done for a few months,

Yesterday was the 4th grade party. Christian said there were games, a bounce house that stunk and more. He seemed to have a good time, and he came home with a bag of freebie coupons from various restaurants.

He also came home with a backpack jammed with supplies he hardly touched and some that were so used they went right into the trash. He received a couple of awards and a free ticket to Six Flags, which is great since we are going there in a couple of weeks.

A Lot Going On

The Erickson household has been very busy with the end of school. We finally learned that Christian made it into the gifted school. Kudos for him. He is very happy and looking forward to a whole new school and breed of kids. He is hoping to join the Lego League—right up his alley. Maybe he will do a few other things as he gets more used to the school and the routine. It is going to be hard, but good for him. He is ready for a challenge.

Christian had a campout this weekend with the Scouts. It rained, of course, but Christian and his dad were troopers and stuck it out. Huts got the worst of it, I think, sleeping in a wet sleeping bag, but they made it. Christian said he sort of had a good time, which is pretty awesome for him.

Christian’s friend, Ruben, may be staying at our house some weekends this summer, maybe even this weekend. His mom works long weekend hours sometimes and asked us if we would watch him. Ruben and Christian usually have fun together, so we said yes. Hopefully, two long days won’t be too much for them.

Just Maybe

Christian has been struggling with calories for months now, trying to keep his in check so he doesn’t get fat or have health problems later. He has learned a lot about nutrition this year, more bad than good, and that has altered his eating habits big time. He lost some weight and everyone started to get really concerned, including his teacher. We tried several things to get him back on track, and finally, I think we have found a good solution. We are counting his calories with a goal of 1800 or more each day to help him maintain and gain some weight. So far, it is working, and there has been tremendous changes in Christian’s attitude and his outlook. He says he feels better and he seems happier. It’s nice to have the old Christian back. Hopefully, he can maintain this pattern.

Christian is looking forward to this weekend. The toy store is having a Lego demo and the comic book store is handing out free comic books. Huts and Christian are going to check them out and have some father-son time. Not sure what Tori, Eli and I are going to do, but I am sure we will figure out something.

Waiting Waiting Waiting

We got Christian’s scores for the gifted school. He scored above average on all areas but one. He was happy, we’re happy—now, if they would just tell us where he is going to school this fall. We really don’t want to put him through Mark Bills orientation, and then find out he is going elsewhere, and have to put him through another orientation. Ugh. I really need to know so I buy the right color of shirts for him as well. Mark Bills is navy and white, similar to Charter Oak. Washington has yellow as an option, too, I believe. I don’t know how keen Christian is on yellow, so maybe I should just stick to navy.

Christian turns 10 very soon. He has his eye on some new Lego sets coming out here soon. The Man of Steele, Space something or another, etc. He is creating quite the collection as you all know.

So Annoying

Eli was making a lot of noise this morning in the car, opening and shutting a case. At one point, Christian could not resist telling Eli how annoying he was being, to which Huts replied that Christian could never be annoying. Christian, of course, did not catch on to the sarcasm. I reminded him then how annoying he had been the weeks before when he bashed the punch ball around while reading the iPad. He would punch the ball for 15 minutes or more every time he got onto the iPad. It didn’t matter who else was in the room or if they were watching TV or trying to read. Punch, punch, punch, punch, punch! Ughhh! Christian thought this was funny and left for school happy.

Seven Weeks and Counting

Less than two months and the kids will be out of school. Boy, are they ready. The summer begins with a trip to Pittsburg for an anniversary party followed by a week at Grandma Marie’s. Then they come home, and we begin planning Tori’s birthday party. After that is the 4th of July. We are staying home this year—Hooray! Somewhere in there is a bonfire at Annie’s house, and loads of swimming over the summer there. No camp this year. Eli is not yet 5, and Christian and Tori opted out. I think they all just want to enjoy the 11 weeks they have off before school begins again. Poor kids. They get less than three months off. I remember getting a bit more than that.

Getting Better

Christian has not felt well for a while now. We thought it was because of the snacks he cut from his diet, and it might have been. Then he got a cold and strep throat. Then he had some allergy issues. Now, he appears to be on the mend. He hasn't coughed much, he is eating and drinking, and his skin is less dry and clearer. He also says that he is feeling better, so I hope this is a sign of better things to come. Now if he would just stop getting so bent out of shape over the smallest things, like spilling his water on the sofa this morning. He can be very high strung at times, resistant to the slightest change. Hopefully this will ease as he gets into his teen years.

On another note, Christian is doing very well in school, waiting to see whether he goes to advanced classes at Mark Bills or the gifted school. He just completed all of the math exercises online, so now he gets to do some easier stuff. That’s a relief for him and for me. He also remains dedicated to Legos. He bought several sets in Chicago with his birthday money, even one with over 1600 pieces. He had that done in less than four hours. He still has some space for future sets, but I can already tell we may have to look into other options. Crazy! Maybe he will become a Lego designer one day. He was digging the guy who was teaching the builder class at the Lego Discovery Center in Chicago.

Yep, I sat in on that class with him. The instructor was fabulous. The project was easy. Christian had a good time and we bought the pod racer he made. He had no problems following the steps and finished early. Good thing, too, because I had no idea what pieces the instructor was talking about.

Roller Coaster Ride

Christian is a very good boy, according to his teacher. This quality usually serves him well, but not with food. Every Monday at Latchkey, someone from 4-H presents a topic on nutrition. For instance, one week, the discussion was on body fat and they actually brought in examples of real fat. Christian, the good boy that he is, takes everything they say to heart and tries to follow it religiously. For months now, he has watched every calorie, cut out all snacks and sweets, and exercised often. He has lost some weight, which is not a good thing for him. Christian has very little body fat, and if he is like some of his family members, he will never have to really worry about weight gain. But, the feeling of not wanting to get fat and following what he has been told pervades. It has gotten so bad that we have had to make him eat snacks. Last night after he came home feeling tired and lousy, I made him eat a big dinner and later a decent sized snack. He wolfed all of it down. He was hungry, of course, but I don’t think he realized it. So, tonight, the snacks will continue—not too many, but enough to keep Christian healthy.