A Riddle

What comes out the same way it goes in? what starts the day one way and remains unchanged all day? What is ignored, even though it was requested?

That would be Christian's Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich!

On his cold lunch days he usually requests this delicacy. Then in the afternoon he returns home with it untouched, along with his trash. He doesn't throw it away. He doesn't always eat his lunch either. He usually seems too rushed to eat lunch and either doesn't eat it at all or just eats the parts he wants. Apparently he's doing something other than eating lunch.

He seems to like eating a hot lunch though. This has expanded his food intake to include hamburgers, Sloppy Joe's (even though he thought it was a hamburger), chicken tacos and pizza. He still doesn't want to try the nacho's yet. For the most part he likes what he gets and seems to eat most of it. If only it rolled over to his cold lunch.

Trip

It was a quick trip to the farmhouse this weekend, and the kids were exceptionally good. They put up with all of the traveling and running around. I took them to Walmart for cookies the first night and for supplies the next morning. They talked us into toys and showed us what they wanted for Christmas. They sat in the floor at the nursing home and played, never once complaining. Then they sat at the hotel while I ordered a tombstone. Finally, we went to the farmhouse and they played there. Ollie even took Uncle Travis' Tinker Toys home with him to play with them. Don't worry, Tyler, we'll have them when you are ready to play with them. Eli slept well and cooed and smiled on the floor while Tori and Ollie played with everything they could find from packing tape to Tinker Toys. It was a good trip!

Sick Boy

Tori was sick on Wednesday night. Christian got it on Saturday night and Sunday. He threw up a few times and vegged out all day on Sunday. He was one tired fella. We put him to bed at 8 and he got up feeling fine this morning, at least in his tummy. He now has the cold that the rest of us have and sounds stuffed up.

Date Night

The kids don't know it yet, but Mom and Dad are having a date night tomorrow night. Uncle Dale is babysitting and we're going out for a few hours by ourselves. Huts is so ready, and I am too. Meanwhile, Dale will get to hold Eli and try to listen to the other two talk at the same time!

Back to School

Christian had a ball at Sharon's yesterday. She had them all there--a full house. He came home happy and was a good boy. He told me how sorry he was that my dad had died (we hadn't really talked about it until that point) and finished his homework. He has a heck of a time writing letters. He seems to do better when I hold his hand and guide him through the letters a few times.

Settling Down

Well, things are finally settling down in the Erickson household. Christian likes school and before- and after-care. Tori ad Eli are back at Sharon's, and Huts and I are back at work. The kids don' seem to mind getting up a little earlier; they are getting to bed a little earlier, so that helps. Eli slept better last night than he has in a long time, so that's good. it's nice for things to be normal again.

School Boy

This week Ollie (or Christian as he's called in school) started before and after care. He was tired of riding the bus and his Mama was headed back to work. This was the best transition so far for him. He didn't like camp in the beginning, he didn't like school, he didn't like the bus, but he likes before and after care. He barely cried the first day and was excited to go back the 2nd day. So far he hasn't said he dislikes it. Some of his classmates are in it as well. He seems to enjoy doing all the activities they do and is ready to go back every day. Hopefully it stays that way.

He's also excited about his Daddy helping to setup the classroom's fish tank. He's told me how they have it in their classroom and how they are going to release the fish into the tank, which was something I told his teacher in an email. We'll got to his class room next Tuesday after work and he'll help setup the tank. From the box of supplies she has, it looks like it'll be an interesting and good size tank. I'm sure Christian will be proud to show the fish tank to his classmates and tell how he helped set it up.

School Boy Christian

Ollie (or Christian as everyone in his school calls him) has adjusted well to Kindergarten. He started out rocky with crying for the first week, but has come to enjoy most aspects of it. He still doesn't like the homework, which he has little. He likes riding the bus, but his Mama is going back to work next week so he'll have to go into before and after care. We thought he'd hate that, but he seems excited to go since he has gotten to know more of the kids in his class that go there.

He's shown an interest in learning as he asks us to help him count to 100 regularly and puts the magnetic letters in alphabetic order on the fridge. He gets about 1/2 way through without much help. We still have to work on his birthday, address, tying shoes and a few other minor things that he will be tested on. We were surprised he will be tested on shoe tying. Its not helpful that he has velcro on all his shoes. Overall its been a good experience for him. Hopefully that continues for a long time.

First Day!

Ollie started kindergarten on Tuesday. As we expected, the tears started flowing as soon as he got up. He cried for about 30 minutes, almost made himself puke, composed himself until it was time for the bus. We were able to walk to his stop without much problem. He didn't hesitate getting on the bus, but he still cried once on there.

Once he got home he couldn't stop talking about school and all the things he did there. He was only there for 2 1/2 hours, so I bet today's list of things will be even longer. Its the first full day with gym, recess and lunch as new twists. For lunch he is taking his lunch most of the time. Out of 28 days scheduled for lunch, he is only eating the school's lunch 8 days. He doesn't like much of what they are serving. Maybe that'll change next month once he sees what others are eating.

This morning went better as he didn't cry as much and admitted that he didn't like the bus. He can't wait to start before and after care when his Mama gets off maternity leave in October. At least then he won't have to ride the bus. He'll just have to get used to a new situation again. Which I'm sure will cause more tears.

Traveling Man

Ollie went on a trip this weekend. He went to visit Mama's family. He went swimming in Uncle Travis' pool with his sister Tori. On the 2nd trip to the pool he had a water fight with Uncle Dale. Ollie thinks he won, but they both ended up soaked.

He enjoyed the hotel like any hotel he stays in. He was a crabby boy on Sunday. He got woken up early so we could head home. He threw a fit about eating breakfast which he claimed he wanted the day before. He was fine until we got half-way home and he threw a fit at the restaurant. Once we forced him to eat an egg he seemed to be more pleasant. Guess we'll see when the next time the Evil Ollie comes out.

He starts school next week, so I'm sure we'll see a little of him then.