Dum di dum di dum di doo

I'm not really twiddling my thumbs but it feels that way sometimes. The open house went well, but not well enough, in that it hasn't resulted in an offer. It's only Monday, but ya know. Though we did have an impromptu showing this afternoon. They only stayed 20 minutes or so, but that doesn't mean they didn't like it, I guess.

Ds#3, 21 months, is really trying to learn to use the toilet, especially with #2. He much prefers to put it in the potty, but can't always get there. Pee is a little more random. I think he'd rather put it on the floor than anywhere else (it makes such a nice puddle), but since that's out, he doesn't seem to care where it goes.

Ds#2 is trying to learn to read. He has always loved books and stories as much as Ds#1, but he learns from doing rather than from seeing, so we're trying to find a different approach for him since he's very anxious to learn. He knows a few words, including all of the important ones that he's known since age 2 (his own name and those of his brothers and family, as well as some words like "book", "foot", "the", all of the letters, upper and lower case, etc.) Ds#1 was reading simple words like on, no, a, and, etc. when was he was 2 1/2, and reading full sentences by age 3, but he's a very visually oriented learner. He now reads at about a 6th grade level (we recently did some informal but fairly accurate assessments with him) at almost age 7, even though he didn't even say the whole alphabet until about age 4. Ds#2 does sing with perfect pitch, is very physically oriented and has been speaking and singing at an advanced level since at least 12 months. He seems to have acquired the same clarity of speech issues that ds#1 had, and so we're working with him on that a bit. They get this ignoble trait from me. I've battled mush mouth my entire life, but never thought that it could be hereditary (it's a physical thing apparently -- they have no trouble distinguishing between the sounds, but rather have difficulty physically making them). I always assumed that my issues were a result of the many ear infections I had as a child, but apparently not. None of us is perfect, no not one. ;-)


It's interesting to see the difference in learning styles, and personality, between otherwise equally intelligent children. It will be interesting to see what happens with ds#3. He's quite the corker already!

I'm going to sign up for kick-boxing when we get settled in. I had to skip the zoo bike trip that ds#1 and I were getting ready for, since we got so incredibly busy, and because with any luck we won't be here in September. But, I'll keep cycling, and hopefully kick-boxing will prove to be a fun outlet for my crazy, stressed energy. It definitely looks like fun!

I'm also hoping that I could start tutoring at-risk children and teens once in awhile. I had trained with the adult reading program at the library when ds#1 was a babe, but instead of getting an adult learner, they wanted to put me with the special needs/severely learning delayed classroom. I was too young and unassertive to tell them that this group wouldn't be for me, and I felt too guilty to tell them that I wanted to do what I had signed up to do (teach otherwise developmentally on-target individuals who had lacked the support they needed to learn -- there are many of these individuals waiting for tutors). As a result, I tried to tough it out for several weeks before I finally stopped going. These days, I would approach the situation in a very different manner. I'm not sure what has sparked this interest again, but I'll probably check out the opportunities once I get settled. I'm also interested in ESL work, so we'll see.


Too many plans, so little time. If we could get a little land, the boys are very interested in chickens, goats, and Holland Lop bunnies. Of course, we could easily save that until ds#3 is 7 or so. Everything will be a little easier by then (one can always hope!). (ETA: ds#2 wants to have horses, too, despite ds#1's assertion that horses are too much work, cost too much money, and take up too much space)...