We are now fully in the swing of the school year. I have been swamped at work and therefore, have had limited online time. Basically, at work I have taken on a managerial position and I am now in charge of communications, documentation, scheduling and also have a key role in hiring and firing people. For the first time this week, I had to fire someone. It's hard to do. Well, sort of. The situation that the employee created made it a very easy thing to do, but even still, it took a few minutes to pump myself up to do it.

Hubby got a new job at Applebee's. I haven't quite yet decided if this is good or bad. I mean, it's good obviously because it is steady income (or at least steadier income than previously) but the food is so good and he gets a discount that ranges from free (during his shift) to 50% off (an hour before or after his shift) to 25% off (all the time).

We like to go to Applebees on Wednesday nights when I get off of work because they have their 2 for $20 (two entrees and an appetizer for $20) plus they also have 99 cent kids' meals (limit of four meals per adult entree) so we often get the 2 for $20 plus 8 kids' meals (two for each of our kids - they eat one right away and then save the other one for dinner for the following night). All together, our meal ends up around $28.00-$30.00 before tax and tip. But now, with Hubby's discount, it will end up being $22.00 before tax and tip. Our Wednesday/Thursday dinner will only run around $30.00 total. Which is still quite a bit, but overall, totally do-able on our budget. And that's TWO nights of meals for everyone. (Hubby and I almost always have leftovers as well) $15.00 per night divided by 6 people equals just a little over $2.00 per person. Not too shabby, in my opinion. And that is based on the lowest discount available to Hubby.

We got the older boys enrolled in Cub Scouts this past week. We now have a Webelo and a Wolf. And then Punky is now enrolled in Girl Scouts as well - she is a Daisy. And I am enrolled in Girl Scouts as well. I'm a Daisy Leader. Woot! I have no clue yet. LOL! Still have to go through my training and all that yet. Hopefully, I will get it all figured out soon though!

Natty is enjoying fifth grade and is actually being very responsible about his homework. I finally found a system that works well for him. Money. He is given 10 points each day for homework. Five points are allotted to his planner. He has space for five subjects. He has to have SOMETHING written in each subject to receive his points for the day. The other five points are allotted to getting the work actually done. Since we implemented this system, he has only missed one day of not having his planner filled out. Oh - and each point is worth a penny. Just my price. It does add up (along with some other things that he is expected to do each day for his chores) but I don't mind paying him to be responsible. That's what happens at our jobs as adults, isn't it?

JoNo has also had homework each night. Spelling and Math mostly. He loves it! It's quite surprising, really. He is in a special reading group because he is not on grade level for reading and last year, his spelling was HORRIBLE! But this past week, he only missed 2 words out of 16 on his pre-test. If he missed one or gets them all correct on his pre-test, then he gets the challenge list for the week instead. My poor reader is a good speller? Somewhere that doesn't make sense. But maybe that just means that the reading is about to jump up to grade level?

Punky is thoroughly enjoying her full day of school every day of the week. She is such a big girl now. I don't know what it is, but suddenly instead of being my little girl, she's jumped up to my big girl. *sniffle* It's okay, I'll be fine.

Boo is attending school everyday as well, although he only attends half days. He gets to ride the bus to and from school each day, which he LOVES! And he is actually talking about school quite a bit here and there. His communication skills have really improved over the summer and even since school has started. He still has some very strong and noticeable characteristics of his developmental delay but he is adjusting to a new school, a new routine, new teachers and new friends very well.

Boo might actually even start going to a babysitter a few days a week, when Hubby and I overlap with our work schedules. That will be a new experience for sure! I'm actually hoping that I will be able to start being at work half an hour later than I currently have to be there. That would be great for me, because then I could be the one to drop the older kids off at school and then drop Boo off with the sitter instead of needing to have all four stay the night with my inlaws and have them bring the kids up to school. It's funny the difference 30 measly minutes can make in a routine!

We have been working hard here at the new place to get it all adjusted and organized and comfortable. I have it mostly there right now. The hard part has been with my work schedule lately. It has since calmed down (beginning this week). It is really hard to maintain a house when you aren't IN the house. I seriously was working 2 7 hour shifts, 3 12 hour shifts and 1 4 hour shift each week. It was CRAZY! Plus, most nights I brought work home with me. That's just the way it had to be for a while there. I actually have work that I brought home on Friday that I had planned to have done by now, but the way I see it, I don't have to work again til Wednesday so I have a little bit of time yet. And worse case scenario, I do that work on Wednesday while I'm at work. No biggie. But I'd really like to be caught up at work before I start my work week on Wednesday. Ya know, just for once.

In the meantime, I have plenty to keep me busy here at home. I have laundry to do, menus to make, shopping to do, meals to make, kids to feed and bathe and supervise and entertain. Scheduling to do and keep. Eye appointments to go to, rooms to clean, chores to oversee, homework to supervise, allowance to give, kids to hold and hug and love on. Because you know, the last part is the best part of being a parent.

♥   NattyNu   ♥   JoNo   ♥   PunkyPie   ♥   Boo   ♥

Another Shameless Brag!

So my oldest child, he knows how to make me eat humble pie or crow or however you would like to phrase it. And I respect him a little more each time he does it, to be honest.

The other night, I sent the three older kids up to bed. Boo was already asleep. He fell asleep on the couch at 4pm and I was sure it was going to be a LONG night up with him. (It wasn't by the way, he slept through til 4am).

Our bedtime rule is that once the kids are upstairs in their rooms, they are to be silent. Not quiet. SILENT. If I can hear them in the living room, they are definitely NOT being silent. And I could hear Natty talking.

I called up to him a reminder of the rules, he apologized and said he would do better, but soon after that, I heard him talking again. I call up a second reminder. He apologizes again. The third time, I tell him to come back downstairs. He comes down and Punky is with him.

I tell her to go back up to her room and precede to lecture the boy. He apologizes again and says in his defense, "I was reading to Punky. She likes me to read her a bedtime story before she goes to sleep. And reading out loud is good for me to do, because it helps me to read faster."

Awwww. Okay, no punishment. Send both back up to their rooms.

Next night the same thing happens. Exactly the same thing. Except he calls down and tells me that he's reading to Punky and JoNo both. Hmmmm. Okay, fine. Finish the story and then go to bed. All goes well.

The third night, same scenario and then after they are supposed to be in their own rooms, I hear Punky and Natty talking. Story time was over. There was to be no talking. I call up to them for them both to come down. Punky comes down with a huge smile on her face. "Natty brushed'ed my hair for me. It's so beautiful now!" as she twirls to make her hair fly out.

"And this way it won't be so tangled in the morning."

Okay, back up to your rooms, you two.

Granted, all of this happens between 8:30 (their "up to bed" time) and 9:00 (the latest point that they are allowed to have lights on) so technically, they are still within the rules, sort of. They have hit on a grey area of the rules and I figure, well, they are getting along, working together, helping each other, I'll let it go.

And you know what? It's worked out so well. Bedtime has been a no stress event. And all three of the older kiddos are developing a stronger bond with each other. I can't fault that. :)

Last night, I had a late night working in our garage with my mom. (I really should remember to get before pics when we work out there but I never remember to) and then this morning, I was really tired. I slept in until shortly after Boo got up. I got up and went out to the den to head up to the kitchen/living room level of our house and Natty says, "Go back to bed, Mom. I got this. I fed my siblings breakfast and they are playing quietly in the living room."

Which of course, makes me worry just a teeny tiny bit. Because well, when I was ten, if I told my  mom to go back to bed, I was trying to hide something. I went upstairs anyhow. He was correct though. The younger three were playing quietly in the living room with toys and he was in the kitchen, doing a surprise clean in there. Awww! Such a thoughtful boy he is!

An hour later when Hubby wakes up for the day, the same scenario ensues. Except that Natty tells Hubby that I am up and am watching them. But Hubby doesn't go back to bed either. He sees the work that Natty has done in the kitchen and we are both pleased with him.

We offer him the option of choosing whatever he wants to have for dinner and dessert for the evening. His choice? "Grilled cheese sandwiches! And can I make them?" We have a panini maker. I think that he can make them on there easily enough. With supervision of course. So that is the plan for tomorrow night. Natty's "reward" for his thoughtfulness and unselfishness on a Saturday morning is to make grilled cheese sandwiches for the family for Sunday dinner. And so therefore, that is why I had to do another shameless brag about this child!

Taken last October at JoNo and Boo's joint birthday party. My silly, sweet, thoughtful boy. My NattyNu!

Boo

I have been debating with myself about posting about Boo. You see, there is just so much that we are still learning and discovering about our sweet boy and his educational diagnosis of PDD-NOS.

PDD-NOS is the acronym for Pervasive Developmental Delay - Not Otherwise Specified. PDD-NOS is sometimes included on the Autism Spectrum but not always. And even though he does have PDD-NOS, we have not been told that he has Autism. It's kind of a weird, confusing thing to me actually.

But to explain what he does have and how we have gotten to where we are right now, I'll go through the basis of his history. When he was born (at 39 weeks via scheduled c-section) he was not breathing. The umblical cord was tied in a knot. Much like the knot you make when you are tying something. Just a simple knot. But a knot that was cutting off vital oxygen and blood to him. We were told that had we scheduled the c-section for later than we had, he could have died. As it was, he wasn't breathing and had to be resuscitated and given blow-by oxygen. I didn't get to see him for three hours. It was horrible. They got him to breathing well on his own and by the sixth hour (I believe it was around that time) he was able to stay in my room with me. Prior to that, he had been able to come in but had to go back for further monitoring. His apgars were something like 2,9,9. The only thing he had going for him during that first set of apgar scoring was his heartbeat. That's it.

He recovered well from his birth and was a nursing pro. When he was just shy of three months old, he began having bowel and reflux issues. We thought maybe it was just reflux. We took him to a doctor who deals specifically with nursing babies and allergies/intolerances. She diagnosed him with MSPI (milk, soy protein intolerance), so those things were eliminated from my diet. But he still was not getting better, so we eliminated more and more things. Eventually, I went on TED, the Total Elimination Diet. I was able to only eat turkey or lamb, baked or boiled potatoes, sweet potatoes, rice or millet, squash, pears, and pear juice. That's not a lot of options. It was hard, but I did it. After two weeks' time, I was able to add items back in one at a time (much like you do when you are introducing solids to your baby for the first time) and then had to watch him to see if he began reacting to it. What we were able to determine was that he had intolerances to not only milk and soy but also to beef, eggs, nuts, hmm, there were more things but now I cannot remember them... Eventually (around 7-9 months of age), he was able to tolerate most of those foods in my diet in small quantities. He stopped nursing around 9 months old and we had him on a soy-based formula, then switched to regular formula. He began babbling and even saying a few words by a year old. Around 13 months though, he started reacting to something again, and at that point, we eliminated all of the foods we knew he had issues with prior to that. We even had him on goat's milk for awhile because he seemed to tolerate that but eventually, he began reacting to that as well, so we switched to rice milk for him instead. It was around this time that his world went silent. He didn't talk or babble anymore, but he was also learning to crawl and so we thought maybe his energies were tied up in mastering this feat. More and more though, he withdrew and after awhile, he wouldn't make eye contact either. He didn't play with the other kids, didn't really even acknowledge them. We made an appointment with his pediatrician.

His pediatrician ran a battery of tests to try to determine a physiological reason for his delays and regression. But there wasn't a physiological one. He referred us to our city's public school program.

At 19 months old, he had his first evaluation with the school system, at which point, he was diagnosed with PDD-NOS. Basically, PDD means across-the-board developmental delay. He was behind in EVERYTHING. From social and play skills to cognitive abilities to gross and fine motor skills. He had learned to walk just one week prior to the evaluation. The NOS part of the diagnosis means that there isn't a physiological explanation for it.

So, we started services. We had a wonderful home teacher, Jane, who came out about once a week to work with us and Boo and he gained quite a bit of ground while we worked with her. We worked with Jane from May 2009 until October 2010, when Boo enrolled in a traditional classroom setting.

We had two options for his classroom. One was more of an ECSE (Early Childhood Special Education) format, where most of the children have IEPs (Individual Education Plans) with a few peer models thrown in for balance. The other was basically an inversion of the first. Mostly peer models with a few kids who have IEPs. We chose the second one, feeling that it would be of the most benefit to the boy.

He has done wonderfully! He is still behind quite a bit socially but is catching up. His motor skills are just minimally behind, his play skills are also still fairly behind but we have seen some recent improvements in that as well.

For instance, we went to a classmate's birthday party a couple of months ago and the main activity was bowling. The event was slated to start at 11:00 sharp. We got there a few minutes prior but waited in the car until a few minutes before 11:00. We went inside and I let him run loose around the alley with the other kiddos (it was a confined area at a fun center and we were the only party in there). We didn't actually get started until around 11:15. That is a LONG time to wait for something fun to happen in Boo's world and I was fully prepared for the meltdown that I was pretty sure that would happen, but it didn't.

We started out on lane four, as you can see. The guy is the birthday boy's father. He was helping the kids bowl down the lanes (and we had bumpers for the kiddos too.) Boo was in a lane with two little girls that we didn't know. I think they were family or family friends, not classmates.



He had a hard time waiting for his turn to bowl, though no meltdowns there either. At one point, our lane broke. I don't know what the deal was, but of course, it was Boo's turn. I had just spent the last two kids' turns telling him that it was almost his turn and when we finally got up there, he got his ball and I had to stop him. "Not yet, Boo. The lane isn't ready. They are going to fix it though." So, he stood there patiently and my heart grew with pride about how well my little Boo Buddy was waiting. He stood there and held that 8 pound bowling ball for a full five minutes (it felt like an hour to me!) until they decided that the lane was unfixable and then worked us into another lane that already had three kids bowling in it.

And the kicker? He went from it being his turn to having to wait for FOUR children to bowl before it was his turn again. So in all, he had to wait for TWO children, then for a broken lane repair attempt, readjust to the new lane and then had to wait for FOUR more children to bowl. That was kind of difficult to explain to him. It was supposed to be HIS turn after all. But he took it in stride.

I think this is what helped. His little friend from school, Miss H. Isn't she a doll? So, I got to talking with Miss H's mom and she was telling me that H talks about Boo at home and I just stood there. Because while Boo talks, he doesn't exactly tell stories about things that he has done, people that he knows. All of his communication is in the moment or the immediate past (i.e. "Punky hit my back!" as he tattles on his sister, and even that has been a recent development).

I love this picture of Boo. I think it is probably one of his best. This is one that is going to go into our portfolio this year for his school. We have to make a portfolio of some of the family activities and things that we have done with him.

And then lastly, a shot of Boo with two of his classmates.

One really recent development with Boo has been in his communication. Although he doesn't really talk much about things that he has done, seen or experienced, I try to prompt him for information. After school one day recently, I asked him if he had played with Master C (the birthday boy in the above photos) and our conversation went like this:

Boo: "No. I play wif [Master M],"
Me : "You played with [Master M]?"
Boo: "Yes. I play wif [Master M]."
Me: "What did you play with [Master M]?"
Boo: "We play cars. Vroooooooom!"
Me: "You played cars with [Master M]! That sounds like fun. Was it fun?"
Boo: "Yes. Fun play cars wif [Master M]!"

That was the longest "conversation" we had ever had. It still might be.

I just love the way he talks! He has some really unique ways of saying things and he is very obsessed with letters and numbers. Some examples of Boo's language:

"Open hand!" This is said when someone is holding his hand or arm to keep him from running off. Instead of saying "let go", his command is "open hand". It would get the same result if obeyed, but is just a different way of saying it.

"Mommy, you home. I home." This is what he says to express that he missed me while I was at work. It doesn't matter if we are in our house or if I am picking him up from Grandma's or whatever. If he missed me, this is what he says. He also says this to express love. It's a situational phrase.

"Mommy, I find your blue!" He says this as he runs to me, holding either my (blue) phone or my (blue) camera. I tell him, "thank you Boo, for finding my blue phone!" He will look at me and say, "Blue phone!" and I will hold it up for him to look at and then repeat the phrase.

"Can I cars, please?" He just said this a moment ago. He wanted to go play with his cars, but he doesn't always use verbs in his sentences, so we give him permission as we rephrase his question, "Yes Boo, you may go play with cars."

He knows all of his alphabet letters on sight and can put the alphabet in order when using manipulatives. He also knows his numbers by sight up to 19 and can count up to 49 now. He also rote spells his name, his sister's name, JoNo's name (well, an abbreviation of JoNo's name but says it as the full name), as well as Mom and Dad. He does get stuck when spelling Dad or just refuses to spells it.

His Magna Doodle Jr. is his best play toy. I keep that in his backpack at all times if possible. No matter where we are or what we are doing, I can almost always get him back on task (or at least out of a meltdown) by using this toy to practice letters or numbers. He also knows the sound that each letter makes. He will spend quite a while "reading" letters off of signs or walls or whatever he can find. He loves it! A while back, I was dropping him off at church and he sat down and started "reading" the wall. "J-E-S-U-S-L-O-V-E-S-Y-O-U" It's all just one big long word to him, although he does recognize the words as separate items when I am reading to him.

And that is Mr Boo in a (VERY large) nutshell. He is such a joy to have around and to experience life with. The world is such a different place from his prospective. I love seeing things from his point of view. ♥ ♥ ♥

I am also going to link this up to Company Girl Coffee and

I came across this site via a link on a blog that I visited through a blog hop. I love how things like that happens sometimes! :) Anyhow, she is hosting a Spring reading 2011 party. And I'm most definitely going! I love to read but often don't make the time to do it. I have books upon books on the Kindle (for pc - I'm too cheap/poor to buy a "real" one LOL!) and I also have a number of physical books on my bookshelf that I haven't gotten around to yet. Brand new books just sitting and waiting patiently for me. So this is perfect!

For starters, I am posting the list of books that I would like to read during this spring:

• Daughter of Joy by Kathleen Morgan (I'm currently on pg 100 of 334)
• Somewhere to Belong by Judith Miller
• Sunrise by Karen Kingsbury
• Summer by Karen Kingsbury
• Someday by Karen Kingsbury
• Sunset by Karen Kingsbury

I also want to read with the kiddos each night, even if it is only for a few minutes. Natty has some great longer chapter books that I would love to read to him, JoNo has a number of short chapter books and Punky and Boo have lots and lots of childrens' books that I intend to read to them. I'd like to start by reading to Natty and then sending him up to bed, then JoNo and send him up to bed and then Punky and Boo and send them up to bed. The idea behind doing it this way is that Natty would have time to read to himself after he went up to bed, JoNo would have a little bit less time to read after going up to bed and Punky and Boo wouldn't have time to read. All the lights upstairs would go out at the same time. I think it is a good plan, in theory. We will have to see how it works out though.

You can click on the button at the top of this post to join in on the book reading party. You know you want to! :) Happy Spring and enjoy your reading time!

Tackle It Tuesday

I have actually done quite a few tackles this past week. So, please forgive me if this is long, but I just really wanted to share all that I was able to accomplish!

First of all, I tackled the assembly of our new air glider workout machine. This was a gift from my mother-in-law. She loves to watch and shop from QVC. This particular item she got from QVC back in 2001. Into her basement it went (still in the original box - never opened, the tie straps were still in place) and remained there until she realized earlier this month that Boo had spilled something on the box. The box that it was shipped in, that never penetrated the box or in any way came into contact with the interior of the box, much less the machine itself. Anyhow, thanks to Boo for getting something onto the box because after that happened, Grandma decided she didn't want it anymore and asked us if we wanted it. And of course, we said yes!!!

It stayed in my trunk for a few days, but I eventually brought it in and it sat for another day or two before I decided to put it together. Eventually, Hubby helped me with the assembly, but really, it wasn't very difficult to do at all. So we now have two exercise machines in our possession. Yay for that!

Another thing that I tackled this past week was a chore chart and routine for the kids that is actually working! It has worked for a solid 8 days and is still going strong. You see, we were struggling with a few things with the kids. The first one being their self-centered attitudes, the second being their unwillingness to help out around the house, the third being their sense of entitlement to whatever they wanted or want to do, and the fourth, trying to figure out the perfect solution for allowance that wouldn't break the bank for us and yet still give them some monetary control. And I think we have found it.

The first step was breaking down their chores into three sections of the day: Before School (or by noon on weekends/non-school days), After School (or between noon and 6pm on weekends/non-school days), After Dinner (between 6pm and 8pm).

Then I listed out tasks, chores or responsibilities that they needed to complete. I'll use JoNo's tasks for this week as my example, which you can see right here:

As you can see, most of his before school chores are really just things that he needs to be responsible for anyhow. You will notice, however, that on his list is something that says, "Quick Clean", which is used as our way of saying that the room looks neat and tidy. It does not involve cleaners (unless there is a major mess to be cleaned up) or tools. It is simply to go into a room, look for anything that is out of place and take it to the place where it belongs and put it away. Very simple.

Then, for after school chores, he requested that for this current week, he be allowed to have two chores because he only had one last week (quick clean bathrooms - we have 3) and he was getting done with those long before NattyNu was getting done with his one (the den). So, this week, Natty asked if he could do the living room instead of the den and then JoNo asked if he could have the den, since Natty didn't want it anymore. But he also made sure to mention that he still wanted the bathrooms as well, so he got them.

After supper, he is to help with dishes. Dishes are Hubby's job (I cook, he does the dishes, it seems fair to me!) Natty clears the table. Actually, Natty clears the table of anything that is on it before supper and then clears the table afterwards. I often help him out with the clearing process, mainly so that I can make sure that the leftovers get put away properly. Then it's up to JoNo and Hubby to do the dishes. Keeps them both on track. And quite honestly, JoNo has loved doing the dishes since he was four. He's now seven. He can pretty much handle them on his own. But Hubby is there to supervise and to make sure that JoNo gets everything really clean and, of course, to wash any sharp knives (though JoNo can and will wash sharp knives with direct supervision).

The boys' thirty minutes of reading time is done right at bedtime. They go up to bed at 8:30 but they are allowed to read until 9:00. They can also go up earlier if they choose to, but 8:30 is the time that they have to be in bed by. If they are not reading like they are supposed to, then lights go out and they miss out on completing that responsibility.

By now, you have probably already noticed the weekend chores as well - the "Perfect Clean"s. It is essentially a deep clean of a room - the same room that they are responsible for all week long, except this is when the cleaners and vacuum or broom and dustpan get busted out. The easiest way to explain this to them and to avoid any confusion about what an acceptable level of cleanliness is for these rooms is to say that the rooms need to be perfectly cleaned (to the best of their abilities and skills). We also use the phrase "perfect behavior" for public situations where they need to behave really well. Most people that I know use the phrase "best behavior" but a short while back, Natty had complained that they "can't be perfect all the time" to which I replied, "I know you can't. But you all can behave well most of the time and you can actually behave perfectly for a short time," and thus began the use of limited "perfect" in our household.

Okay, so that takes care of the chore part of that, now for the other parts. The boys each have a Nintendo dsi, which I am sure that I have written about before. And they both like to play an online game together as well. But they got to be too much. The minute they got home from school, they'd drop their backpacks and coats by the front door and start their gaming session right away. Then it was extremely difficult to get them focused on what needed to be done. So, we told them that they were limited to one hour of screen time (which they choose to use for gaming) during the week and three hours on the weekend days. The one stipulation is that they have to have everything completed before they can play. This means that all before and after school chores have to be done and checked off. And there are no video games after supper, so they have a real motivation to get it done in a timely manner so that they have earned their right to play games.

When they come home from school, they are now eager to get their chores done, they will ask where their list is and just start working on it. When they are done, they will bring me their list and I will ask them if they did each item (going through each one) and they will respond. Then I will randomly choose to check the items. I don't check to make sure that every item is done every day. But I will check to make sure things got done. If the child outright lied about doing a chore, he is not allowed to play games that day and he has to do the chore he lied about, plus do an extra chore. I think it has happened once in 8 days and that was early on - as a test, I am sure. Not a bad track record though. Their only reward for chores is a job well done and praise and the screen time.

We decided that we will give them a dollar per year of age once a month to spend as they see fit. If they want to save it up, they can. Or they can choose to spend it. It is their money and they can do what they want with it, within reason.

I am also somewhat forgiving on things that don't get done every day. The boys don't quite realize this yet, but for instance, tonight, Hubby was working on something else and so JoNo got a pass on the dishes. It wasn't his fault that they didn't get done. I could have stayed in to help him with it, but I have my own chores that I work on after dinner, so tonight, JoNo got a freebie there. And with the weather being poor here lately, I didn't have either of the boys take our dog (Freddy) out for a walk today. Instead, we simply let him out the back door and waited for him to do his business and then let him back in.

Hmmm, I am trying to decide if I want to go on to another item that we tackled this week or to "save" it for next week. I think I am going to save the rest of them. This is really long already and it was mostly about the chore chart. So, I think that is what we will go with here. Expect more things next week! And stop back in, I love visitors!

Shameless Brag

This is my NattyNu. He's ten years old and in fourth grade. He is great at math, okay in reading and a terrible speller. He loves to be active and he plays hard. He can be a tremendous help around the house. He is also an emotional kid, who feels things very deeply.

Today, he went to a friend's house to play after school. JoNo went to another friend's house to play as well. Hubby told them both to be back at 5:00 but then our plans changed and so Hubby picked Natty up from the friend's house on his way home today. JoNo had already come home on his own.

Anyhow, when Hubby went to pick up Natty, the friend's parents commented to Hubby how happy they are to have Natty there and how wonderfully behaved he is. They said that they were grateful to Natty for being patient with their son, who is extremely shy and has a hard  time and major fear of making new friends. They said that Natty is a joy to have over at their house and that he is more than welcome over there anytime.

Those words made this mama's heart swell with love and pride. I am so proud of my Natty for being patient with his friend. I am happy that the two of them have become friends. Natty has a hard time making friends sometimes too. He tends to think that people are his friends when really they aren't. He doesn't understand all the fine nuances of relationships and communication. But he is learning. And he has found a new friend in this other child as well. I am so happy for both of them.

It was also nice to hear those words because kids often behave differently at other people's houses and in different social situations. Well, really, that is true for most human beings, not just kids. But I don't always know how his behavior is when he's away from me and sometimes I'm concerned that the behavior is not as good as it could be. But this report, well, it warms my heart.

Thanks Natty for being such a good friend. And thanks for being so well-behaved and showing good choices when you are away from home. I love you Buddy!