School Days

Nathan announced Thursday afternoon that he likes school! This makes it so much easier for me. The first day, I had to push Nathan up the bus steps but having Thomas with him has been a huge help. They are so tired when they get home. They are sleeping in the afternoon at least an hour if not two. Getting how their school day was out of them has been tough. Matt made a declaration at the dinner table that they will tell him something they learned...this has helped. I'm learning what to ask though...like what was your job for the day and who did you play with? Thomas repeatedly tells me that he played with Amanda while Nathan plays repeatedly with Evan. There are three sets of twins in their class! Evan is another twin. Nathan got all dressed by himself this morning for school....little did he know it was Sunday!

Rose of Sharon bushes

Our yearly rose of Sharon pictures! Last December, we had some trees taken down, causing us to move three of our four trees. What a good move it was! The original location was too shady which meant no blooms. The bush in the last three pictures has double blooms. The first picture is the tree we have previously taken pictures by...it was loaded with blooms, but the season has almost passed and only a few flowers remain. The boys took turns taking pictures...as you can tell...love the angle! Hey, it's centered and my head is not chopped off, I would say, not bad!

This was the morning of their kindergarten screening. The teachers took the boys for about an hour down to their classroom. I gather that they drew a picture of themself, counted, recognized shapes, did some rhyming and wrote their name. The next day was more of an orientation where the boys played for a little bit in their classroom and then took a bus ride with their teachers and principal to learn bus safety. There are 13 students in their half-day class. There is one other kindergarten class about the same size but it's full-day. The boys beginning Tuesday. The bus should come shortly before 8AM and they are dropped off again around noon. They are so excited! It makes me happy for them. I hope to volunteer in their classroom...I saw several other moms signed up also. This will begin in October. They actually had homework already. We had to make a list of four things and then draw pictures of what they did to get ready for kindergarten. We also had to fill out a little sheet on their favorites. Nathan was all business and has since gotten it out several times to "do" his homework. Thomas, not so interested until he saw his brother almost done.

Summer Fun

The first picture shows Thomas playing in our backyard. The picture including me with the flashlight was a special story time at our library where the boys brought a teddy and were able to use the town nurse's tools to check-up their bears. The next series of pictures was our tenting week at Scusset State Park which is on the Massachusetts mainland but right next to the Cape Cod canal. Wanted to show the tent-site...must be something flying over or maybe I'm checking the weather. We could easily bike along the canal, literally a stone's throw from our site. We biked a few times, this one is the first night with a picture of that sunset. Nathan is sitting on my nephew, John's lap at our tent site. I'm always amazed at the love between cousins, though far apart in distance and age. One of the very nice things in life. The boys had a sand sculpting contest....here is a lobster in the sand. There's Nathan's little hand holding the star fish and sanddollar. I have several pictures of them holding the wildlife...one of the things we love about that beach. On our last day (what a grand finale) we went sailing out of Plymouth Harbor. There the boys are manning the helm.

Nathan's Surgery

The first picture was an attempt to show the offending tonsils. The adenoids are up behind his nose, so sorry, no picture of that! The next picture is pre-surgery as we waited our turn at noon-time. The next picture of Nathan on the phone is post-surgery, about mid-afternoon. I noticed even then his voice sounded different....clearer. He was talking to Thomas who was with my parents. The last two pictures show our evening. I was glad Thomas got to see Nathan at the hospital...much easier for him to see it and than to explain all to him. He is doing great today. My biggest problem is that he likes his medicine, so knowing if he needs Tylenol is a little tricky.

Nathan had this surgery because of his breathing not because of continually strep throat which is sort of the other group of patients. I was told the breathing group gets kept overnight so that was our plan. The PA came in though late afternoon and asked if we wanted to go home because he was doing so well. He started with a popsicle in the recovery room and continued to drink soda or suck popsicles all afternoon! Anyways, we were all settled and I really liked the idea that the nurses were there to monitor him all night so I decided we would stay. At 4AM the nurse gave him pain med and antibiotic. At that point the nurse noticed he had wet the bed (no surprise with all he drank and the IV) so I changed him and held him while the nurse did the bed. Nathan commented at how helpful she was. This had to warm the nurse's heart! We had a very good night and were on our way by 9:30. He is taking amoxicelen for 7 days to prevent any infection. He is very stuffed up and the little thing that hangs down in the back of his throat is very swollen from all the working around back there (bumped and jostled during the surgery) so he'll get clearer as time passes.

A Day in Boston

We went into Boston with our workers and friends from Minnesota last Monday. We toured Fenway Park, stuffed ourselves at Pagliuca's and walked the Freedom Trail. We had a wonderful time such that it was hard to part ways at the end of the day.

On Wednesday, Nathan had his appointment at Children's Hospital regarding his tonsils and adenoids. He went into the appointment saying he would be a big boy and do exactly what the doctor said. I liked his attitude. It was much better than a week before where he simply said he wasn't going. When it came right down to it though, he was terrified and wouldn't hardly do any thing. The nurse, had Thomas sit up in the chair with Nathan and everything he did to Nathan, he did to Thomas first. It totally relaxed him. The extent to the exam was a flashlight by the nurse practioner who exclaimed over the size of his tonsils and the sound of his breathing. She said if she was at all uncertain or it I was, that we could go downstairs for an X-ray. I knew and she knew without an X-ray he would benefit hugely to surgery to remove both so that is the plan on July 13. He'll have one night there at the hospital for monitoring and then 2 weeks of nothing for recovery. I can take him to the grocery store and other quiet activites but nothing more physical than taking a walk or wading his feet. Thomas is desperate to come with us but he'll have to stay with his Dad.

Thomas called my computer a "black-top" the other day.

Nathan Whistling

Flowers and Strawberries

Thomas surprised Jen with this bouquet of flowers from our yard on Monday! How nice! He's learning to cut the stems long enough to fit a vase....these are details you have to teach. Nathan and I picked this bowl of strawberries Tuesday morning just from our patch that we put in last year. We also picked at our local pick-your-own Monday afternoon. I found last year that they got to running around as soon as they were bored which happened far to soon for me. So, my story-holics had me tell them a story as we picked and I could only tell the story if they were picking though. It worked wonderfully. I forgot that I had done that last year while we husked corn for the freezer...same idea. We also had a little competition to find the largest strawberry which made it fun too.