In case my non-scrapbooking friends are afraid I've abandoned my life outside the world of scrapbooking, I'm dedicating this post to all things nsbr.
** Piano lessons - James is still loving them, and he practices on his own without too many reminders on our part. His teacher says he's one of the fastest learners she's ever taught, and when I go to pick him up, I can hear him chatting away happily with her as he works through his pieces. He still loves to pick out catchy little tunes he hears (like the theme song from Super Mario Bros), and he's big on adding chords to the melody lines as he plays the simplified versions of Christmas songs in his beginner level book.
** Both the boys brought home amazing report cards last week. Lots and lots of As and a few Bs... and only one C+ for Thomas because "I don't really feel comfortable dancing, Mom." Oh well, we can't all be good at EVERYthing, right? :P
** Mike and I attended parent-teacher interviews last Thursday, and neither teacher had any concerns about the boys' academics, but we did talk about different ways to keep them engaged in class and well-socialized at recess time. I don't remember having such a hard time with recess as a kid... I remember LOVING it, but both my boys seem to have difficulties with the free-for-all on the playground. With Thomas, it's the lack of rules and structure that get to him. And James... well, he'd just rather be reading or folding origami! lol
** The fall session of the boys' tennis lessons is over, and they both made amazing progress during the past 12 weeks. I think that having them take two lessons a week has made all the difference in the world. They are improving more than twice as fast as they would have with just one lesson a week... it's all about repetition and allowing the muscles to remember what they're supposed to do. I love that both of them look like real tennis players now. The best part of the program, in my mind, is the discipline and respect they're taught. I can't say enough good things about the coaches at the tennis school.
** The first real snowfall is upon is, and it seems that bad timing is the name of the game here. The zipper that attaches the hood to Thomas' jacket started to come apart, so last week, I finally sewed it up where it ripped, just as a temporary fix. The manager of the store where I bought it said that he'd get it fixed for me, but I'd need to give him at least 48 hours to turn it around. Ummmm, okay... it's wintertime in Ottawa... that might be tricky. Well, that jacket with the temporarily sewn-on hood fell apart even further today. The main zipper on the front of the jacket stopped working, and Thomas was walking around with an unzipped jacket, exclaiming "Superman!" <sigh>
** Did you know that Old Navy is currently having a 40% off sale on all their Frost-Free jackets? Perfect timing! I found a three-in-one jacket in size 10-12, and even better, it's a colour that my nine-year old won't complain about wearing. Go me!
** I have stopped spending money like it grows on trees... or at the very least, I'm trying not to do it as often, but I have a hard time saying no to the boys when they come home with those darned Scholastic Book Order forms. I let them choose their own books, and I usually limit it to one book per kid each month (although James is encouraged to choose one French title and one English), but some months, they come home with a huge stack of books that barely fit on their already overcrowded bookshelves. Oh well, I'm not complaining... each of them had his nose buried in a book right up until it was time for lights-out.
:)
Well, if you've made it this far, congratulations! You must be either (a) related to me or (b) one of my non-scrapbooking friends who's been waiting to hear about those other people who live in my house. Either way, thanks for visiting my blog... I appreciate it.
