A Mish Mash of This and That

I should do this in a timeline or something. But I know I will forget a bunch of things and so it's easier to just type it out as it comes.

The first thing that comes to mind is a big fat BUMMER. That bad news that music lesson prices are increasing came today. Before I gripe I must say that I knew this was coming. Our teacher has fabulous prices considering she is a Suzuki teacher. We knew her lessons were a great deal and I wondered how she could spend so much time for what she charged. That being said, our lessons went up according to the paperwork over 700 dollars a year. That's right, over 700 a year. She put a sticky on the paperwork and said we'd talk about it at the next lesson. I'll be totally bummed if I have to cut their lesson time. Right now we go for 1 hour and 45 minutes three times a month and then the kids have group lessons once a month. Our teacher is great and the kids are doing rather well. Of course, M really needs a 45-60 minute lesson herself. T needs 25-30 min. D, because of the way he likes to learn in small chunks really needs about 15 minutes and C needs about 15 minutes. And well, S is taking a break from violin to save my violins from her frustrations. So, already they aren't getting what they need. But that's a mighty chunk of change to find. If I cut their overall lessons to 90 minutes it still goes up but it's less significant. Doesn't it figure that this happens just as M is really cruising along. She's starting the Bach Double right now and it feels like such a big piece for her. T is finishing up his book 2 graduation piece and should hit book three in the next month. David is finding more confidence. And C, well, she is who she is. Some days she shocks us and other days she can't hold still. Anyway, I understand why the lesson prices need to increase. It's just a big hit to take.

T has been swimming a lot lately. He did quite well three meets ago and cut some significant time. Since then he has been in a rut and has been adding time like crazy. He has his state meet this weekend. This morning he added time to all three of his events. We don't care if he adds time as long as he is trying his hardest. But it seemed like he was sort of giving up as soon as it got hard. In his 50 free he was totally in with the leaders for about 30 meters. Then he just got sluggish. I would say he didn't have the endurance for it. That might be true. But he got out of the pool and ran to play with friends. He didn't give it all he had. I think this might be T's thing in life. The trick is that he is usually quite adept at whatever he tries. He can really usually get pretty good results with less effort that most. It's like this at school, in sports, making friends, and at home. You want your kids to be smart, athletic, etc. But it's more important to us that they are hard workers. In T's level of his swim team only a couple of kids got cuts for this meet out of I don't know, maybe 30ish kids. He just doesn't realize what it takes to really work hard. Maybe it's not just T, but what 8 years old looks like. We told him we don't care if he comes in last if he works hard. And we aren't as proud of a first place if it's not his best effort.

What else.... S had her meds changed last week. I'm not so certain I am on board this time. I'll give it a try. The psych put her on Kapvay. She thinks maybe she's an ADHD type of kid as well and can't control her impusivity. So far she has been grouchier and much more sleepy. I read that it takes a few weeks for things to normalize. So we will keep it up. Between this and the therapist's new recommendations we are busy people. I would love if the meds helped her to have enough time to think things through before she does them. Boy oh boy would I LOVE it. It just doesn't seem like a match to me. But we'll give it a go. She's super excited for first grade. I know she'll love it. I'm hoping we can get these meds figured out before then. She also has been reading a bunch this summer. She's not usually thrilled to do it. It's not that she doesn't like books, it's just that I ask her to do it. But still, she is getting to be a great reader. I really want her to be able to immerse herself in books. It's calming to read for me and I would love for her to be able to get lost in stories.

We've gone swimming a few times in the past few weeks. The kids have had a bunch of fun doing that. I let myself get a might sunburn. It doesn't help to spray sunscreen on your arms if you don't reach the back of your shoulders. OUCH! But the kids had such a good time doing it that it was worth it. This week we haven't done anything like that because T's coaches told him to stay out of the sun. They also told him not to do any strenuous activities. He tried to get out of his violin practice with that one. Nice kiddo.....

D is have a hard time adjusting from having his neighborhood friend move. T and D move in slightly different circles of friends and D had one friend with whom he really liked to play. That buddy moved to Texas recently. When school starts it'll be better because he'll be able to see his other friends more.

C is herself still. She's the little fashionista. She wore a size 10 dress to church the other day. It was meant to be worn short. I just couldn't muster the energy to fight her on it so I put a white shirt under it and let her wear it. I never would have let M do such a thing. She's going to be one with whom I have to carefully select my battles. Tonight she came up with tin foil that she had shaped into a lowercase e. She then proceeded to make every letter and number she could out of it. I gave her a good job and then made a mental note to store more tin foil because mine will be gone soon.

M is enjoying her time off of dance. She has had a real babysitting job and LOVED it. She also has been practicing like crazy. The other day she did her 1.5 hours for that day, .5 of an hour owed from the day before and then another .5 of an hour so she could stay up late. What kid will practice 2.5 hours in one day? She's been a reading fool. The kid always has a book. If she has a book to read she is happy.

Life is cruising along. It's definitely not boring these days. I'm not getting done what I had hoped to, but am getting enough done to keep us going. Oh and I have been off added sugars and wheat now for 22 days. I made this deal with myself and so far I am keeping it. Other than my ranch dressing and ketchup I am pretty much extra sugar free. It's not doing a whole heck of a lot though and I know it's because I am still eating dairy. But come one... how much do I have to give up.

DH's running and biking more. Hopefully all will go well before his marathon. I think he will do great. But these feet of his are making him rethink his finishing goals. Maybe that's this marathon's purpose.

No vacations this year. We did the family reunion thing which was um, okay. I kind of blew it but that's not a story for a blog. The kids had fun and I got good pics. And now that this blog is at least a little bit caught up, I can focus on trying to get my picture one up to date.

And with that I go to bed nice and early. I have to have all the kids out of the house by 6:15 for T's meet tomorrow.