Wow--I can't believe it's October already. I know it's a cliche, but September flew right by me. We've been lucky enough to enjoy some absolutely gorgeous fall weather, though, so for that, I'm thankful. William has been in first grade for almost one month now, and things seem to be going well so far. The homework is manageable and his reading has improved so much in the last month. The other night, as he read to me, I started to point under each word as he read it, but he informed me that "first graders read with their eyes, not their fingers." Well excuse me! LOL.
Our back to school night is this Thursday, so I'm very eager to hear from William's teacher and to see how things are going so far. I still worry about his ability to focus and follow directions and stay on task. He's impatient and rushes through schoolwork--especially when it comes to subjects that don't interest him a whole lot. But he takes pride in his work when he does well, and doesn't like it when he's not prepared, so I think those things bode well for him. His class is studying each of the 50 states and each night, he brings home a simple work sheet on a state and he's supposed to look up a fact about that state that he can share in school the next day. One night, we didn't do it (he resisted and I decided not to push it) and in the morning, he was upset that we didn't have time to do it before school. I really, really want to get into the habit of making HIM responsible for his work and I think that was a good lesson for him.
Meanwhile, William has been taking tee-ball this fall and it has been such a good experience so far. It's a "clinic" rather than a competitive team, so practice is once a week and it runs for 8 weeks. So far, we've had practices that run through hitting (off the tee), fielding, and throwing/catching. The group was divided into 3 "teams" and for the final 3 weeks, the teams will scrimmage against each other. William is not the most athletically gifted kid in the world (he gets that from his mom, I'm afraid), so I was a little worried about what it would do to his confidence. But luckily in the clinic, there's a wide range of ability among the kids, so he doesn't stand out as the worst kid on the field. While he's definitely aware of his skill level, he also notices how he improves the more he works on it, so I think (I hope) that he's learning a lot of great life lessons. And most important, he thinks it's fun. I'm so, so thankful that we have this option of a clinic.
So that's the scoop on William these days. As for Seth, he's growing up right before my eyes. (As all kids do, I guess.) On Saturday night, he joined William at the Taekwondo studio's Ninja Night Out. From 5:30 to 9:00, the kids play Super Mega Dodge Ball, eat pizza, watch a movie, and play more games. In the past, Seth has never been up for attending (he could start attending when he turned 4), but this weekend, he said he wanted to do it. William seemed very excited to have him attend, too, and he promised to watch out for Seth. We dropped them off and picked them up at 9:00 and Seth was happy as a lark, informing us that he "only did one bad thing"! (Which meant, an instructor only had to speak to him once, when he was playing a little too rough with William. LOL) I asked them which movie they watched and they didn't know what it was. William said, "Something about a deer." "Bambi?" I asked. Yep--it was Bambi. Then later, when Ed asked what they watched, Seth said, "Bamboo!" Too funny.
On Sunday, we went to the Taekwondo annual picnic and the boys got their faces painted. Seth went off to play on the monkey bars after his face was done and a woman asked, "What are you? A tiger?" And Seth said, "No, I'm a human!" Love that kid.
We have not signed him up for any activities since his soccer clinic a year ago. He has said repeatedly that he doesn't want to take any lessons, so we're not pushing it. He is starting to show some interest in Taekwondo so we'll see where that leads. Maybe he'll want to play soccer in the spring.
Plans for October are under way. The fall pumpkin festival is coming up. We might try to go camping, if the weather allows (and we think the boys are up for it). There's a fall truck touch at the end of the month that I'm sure the boys will want to attend. And of course, there's Halloween. As of today, William wants to be a bat again and Seth wants to be a ghost.
As for me, I'm still trying to get back on that exercise bandwagon. My tombstone should have a picture of me chasing that bandwagon etched on it--since that is pretty much the story of my life. I'm also looking to have a closet consult. A "professional" stylist will help me weed out my closet, put together outfits, and then help me make a list of pieces I will buy over time to create a wardrobe I actually like. Still trying to figure out if this is something I can afford, but I feel like I desperately need the assistance! Speaking of desperately needing assistance, decorating our house is another place where I haven't made much progress. We did finally get the study and the boys' rooms painted (did I ever mention this?) so that has been a huge improvement. I have ideas about the hall, living room, and dining room, too. We found a painter that we really like, so we will probably wait until next spring to paint those spaces. (He's painting the outside trim right now, so we have to take the hit to the pocketbook a little at a time.) Baby steps, people. I have been reading quite a bit, and am now part of a book group made up of a bunch of great moms in my neighborhood. It's so nice to have made that connection with a fun group of women. I'm also volunteering in William's school once a month, helping with art class or the computer lab, or with class parties. All good things. Life is good. I know October will fly by as quickly as September did, so it's helpful to write it all down. It helps me take stock of our lives and how we really are managing to do fun things, to make memories, to live in the moments. September was a busy month--starting first grade and tee-ball, going to book festivals and food festivals and picnics, our first high school football game, hanging out at the mall, and lots of time playing outside and inside with neighbors. Hopefully October will be more of the same!
The weather should be great tonight for trick-or-treating. (Cold, but clear.) Seth's costume is mostly ready. As I mentioned, William's costume arrived, but I'm not sure that he's going to wear it. Our neighbors (Jack and Charlie) are dressing up as the Ghostbusters, so William decided to be Slimer (you know--the green ghost?).
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