1. New Violin
Mary is now large enough for a half-size violin and we found a lovely one on Craig's List a couple of hours away from our city. On Saturday, Chris and Mary went on a little road trip to purchase it.
Margaret is also ready to go up to a one-quarter size, so she inherited Mary's last violin.
What has followed is a week followed by so much enthusiastic and spontaneous practicing throughout the day. It's very fun!
2. Youth Orchestra of Charlotte Potluck
Chris and Mary got home just in time to attend the family potluck hosted by the Youth Orchestra of Charlotte, Mary's first opportunity to meet fellow music students and future music directors. The rest of us family stayed home because we had a quick illness zipping through our house.
3. Farewell Reception
On Sunday, the children who were well attended a farewell reception for lovely friends from our church. (By the end of the day, the bug was all done.) |
| Mary with pals |
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| Joseph asked me to take a photo of his outfit. |
4. Altar Boy
John took his exam to rank up as a traditional Latin Mass altar server and passed with flying colors! Congratulations, John! We are so proud of your efforts!
On the subject of John, for the fourth year in the row--see the first year here!--the landscaping crew hired John to spread 100 bales of pine straw. They don't hire him because he's our son and they're pandering to us but because he's a really good, diligent worker, continually seeking the next bale to spread, his shirt soaked with sweat, and enjoying congenial conversation with the other workers. They paid him a prettier penny than we would have!
5. Dental Care
In one day, I took all six kids to the regular dentist in the morning and to the orthodontist (just for our eldest) in the late afternoon. That was an accomplishment in my little life!
Our five children now exceed taking up the four dental chairs available at our wonderful pediatric dental office. Thankfully, they behaved very well and calmly.
This was Thomas' first dental appointment (3 years old) and he behaved so calmly and beautifully! The staff fawned all over him.
Normally my husband would have taken John solo to his orthodontist appointment, but he got called out of town on a business commitment, so I managed it. I sent the 11-year-old in alone while I kept the rest of the crew in the van!
6. Thomas Is Cute
Ah, three years old, the great age of "I Can Do It Myself."
Family tip that a mother shared with me about two years ago: Three-year-olds get to push all buttons and do things like that. In her large family, and now in mine, the three-year-old gets all privileges to push all elevator buttons (and everything like that) with no negotiating or arguing among other siblings. It's simply too important to the three-year-old and his development. (Meanwhile, it is important to the next oldest child to start to learn to deprive his own self and wants.)
So, Joseph had this privilege for two years and peace reigned at the elevator doors we use at least weekly. A few weeks before Thomas turned three, I began preparing Joseph, now five, that he would be losing his button-pushing privilege because Thomas would be inheriting them.
The transition has gone well! Thomas gets to push the buttons, open the doors, and do all those little things, "I CAN DO IT MYSELF!" without any sibling interference.
One night at dinner, Thomas asked me for a cutting board (which are kept high), and then quietly, without announcement, got out strawberries, a bowl, and a butter knife. He proceeded to cut up strawberries for dinner by himself, melt my heart!
My campaign to have the children waking earlier and doing a full morning routine (dressing, etc.) without me has been going basically very well! Even Thomas (for whom I was not even expecting to participate) has begun running upstairs to get his outfit for the day and bringing it to me to dress.
One hot afternoon, Thomas came to me with a pilfered La Croix drink (for those who don't know: a sad substitute for soda for us old folks who can't indulge that way: sparkling water that claims to taste like fruit but just sparkles). He brought me this La Croix and, with his newly exploding language, said, "Mama, this is delicious. This is mine soda. Me drink it. Mama, open it."
7. School Count Down
I hope to continue my series on School Count Down blog posts, and currently have drafts about Children's Prayer Life and History curriculum, as well as some ideas bouncing around, such as one on Family Fun Dates.
I'm also working on the blog post for David's first birthday TOMORROW!!!
For more 7 Quick Takes Friday, check out This Ain't the Lyceum.
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