Tuesday thoughts

1. So. I kinda really enjoy watching the Olympics. As in, I go hermit-like and avoid leaving the house. Please don't take it personally if you don't see much of me between now and the 21st. :) 

2. Like during the 2014 Winter Olympics, we still don't have cable/satellite so can't access most of the coverage. This time around, rather than tapping into British coverage, we got a simple antenna so we can get broadcast channels. We actually did this way back at the beginning of the year so I could watch some of the NFL playoffs and such, but had in mind that it would come in handy during the Olympics also. Most of the time, we just have it sitting on top of one of our shelves and it's much less conspicuous (and we don't much use it). But. Because some of us *may* be a little less patient about potential interruptions and fuzzy reception, Nathan kindly rigged the antenna higher for just the duration of the Olympics. Like so:

I don't even mind the ladder in my family room. It works and is beautiful. ;)

3. In case you were wondering, the boys and I had our annual eye appointments yesterday. Noah's prescription needs a bump, Asher's needs a small adjustment, mine stayed the same and...Micah still doesn't need glasses. :) He was pretty excited since both Noah and Asher were 11 when they started wearing glasses (and Nathan and I were both about the same age when we started as well). He understands that this may still change (and probably will change), but is taking it as a win for now. 

4. Technically speaking, Noah's school starts tomorrow. Tomorrow!!! Fortunately for us, all of his classes this semester will be at the local community college so follow that schedule instead. Those classes don't start until the 22nd. Whew.

5. That same day, Asher and Micah will start the new year of Options and I'll start our homeschooling year. I'm currently finalizing plans for that and will try to post a summary of that plan here before it actually happens. 

6. Yikes!!! How did the new school year get to be less than two weeks away already?! (Plenty on the ol' to do list between now and then but it'll all have to happen while I'm watching Olympics, lol.)

Speaking of which... ;)

Four on Friday

Tis the season of annual appointments! (and trying to get them all in before school starts, lol) 

1. That said, Asher had his (belated due to scheduling issues) well check today. All good. Plus...the boy actually measured in the double digits (for percentiles) for both height and weight for the first time since he was two...yes, two. Woohoo! Yup. He's definitely growing...has put on 20 pounds since last year! That puts him at the 11th percentile. And he's only 1/3" shorter than me now...which puts him at the 10th percentile! Sweet. 

2. Micah, meanwhile, had his well check on Wednesday. I don't know if you remember last year and my declaration that I'd send the boy with Nathan for this year's appointment. Well, I remembered. Yet, I ended up taking Micah to his appointment anyhow. ;) The boy didn't disappoint. Let's just say that I'm fairly certain there's a good needle phobia going on. Thinking back, it makes perfect sense. Of my three, Micah's been decidedly against doctors, dentists, and any other medical professional for pretty much as long as he's had an opinion (and, for the most part, he's only ever been to the doctor for well checks). The dentist stopped using injections on him (for extractions) after getting bitten. (Laughing gas is our friend, lol.) 

Anyhow. Yup. He was NOT a fan of getting shots. I *thought* that he was going to do better this time. We talked it all through ahead of time and came up with strategies to make it more bearable. He was feeling brave. But it was for naught once we were actually in the exam room. ;) But. It's done and he's totally fine...and in the 31st percentile for both height and weight, in case you were wondering. (And this marks the first time since age 4 months that Micah wasn't the biggest of my boys for that age in both height and weight...as he was 0.2" shorter than Noah was at the same age...but still ever so slightly heavier, lol.)

3. Nathan had his annual eye exam this morning. Apparently, everything's fine and the same. Boring. ;) The boys and I go in next week. Micah's got his fingers crossed that he'll make it at least one more year without glasses. (Yes, previously he was pretty disappointed that he didn't need glasses.) Both of his brothers, though, were 11 when they got glasses...so we'll see. ;)

4. Boys have dentist appointments coming up also. Fortunately, they're just regular cleanings and check ups...so hopefully no drama. (You'll keep your fingers crossed for me, right?) To prepare for the dentist, of course, Micah continues to bake lovely sweets here...like the five dozen or so cookies that just came out of the oven...

Gotta go!

This morning

As summer's winding down (sadly), I'm slooooowly working on getting back into the school groove. This morning, then, I assigned all three boys to each complete at least one of the Tinker or Doodle Crate boxes I'd been stockpiling in the front room. Love those. 

By lunch, we had a lava lamp, some sort of fiber optic thing, a tapestry, a combination lock tumbler and a perpetual motion machine.

And. A morning without screens or "boredom." Perfect. 

I don't want to know

I'm thinking I'm going to need to do a(nother) unit on nutrition this fall. If Micah's going to continue cooking as much as he is (which is fabulous), we're going to need to talk about how to make recipes healthier. ;)

But. For his birthday, I'm just living in intentional ignorance and not thinking about how many calories were consumed in the eggs benedict, chicken parmesan and butterbeer cake the boy made (plus we went out to lunch, though that was pretty healthy), lol.

Here's a quick shot of Micah and his cake and candles (they're supposed to make "11"): 

He used this recipe and it was DELICIOUS.

And now I must go start the dishwasher for the third time today and then fall into my sugar coma. ;)

Eleven

I wish I'd captured a picture of the pure delight on Micah's face this morning when I walked into his room to wish him a happy birthday. Happy sigh. This boy. :)

Here's my favorite of the pictures I caught of him today:

And here are some of the others:

That top middle one was just after the kid across the street started practicing his (what we can assume to be new) trumpet. From the volume, I'd say he'd been relegated to the garage to practice, lol. 

And here are the height comparisons:

Micah opted not to have a party this year (besides, he got to enjoy Asher's party and all the people there were friends of his also, lol). Instead, he chose to receive a "bigger" gift from us. (Our deal is that each boy can choose a party or a gift from us, not both.) 

Clockwise from the top left...here's Asher on Noah's back as Noah helped Micah open a package of HeroClix from Noah, Micah hugging Asher after opening the mandoline slicer from Asher (he was really happy about it), Micah posing with his new metallic silver KitchenAid stand mixer (that he's been eyeing for years and is over the moon happy with), and Micah admiring himself in the new over the door mirror that Noah got him (what can I say? the kid likes looking at his handsome self, lol).

So far today, per Micah's request, he's made eggs benedict for everyone...we've ridden bikes to Spoons for lunch...he opened gifts and has baked his birthday cake...and he's planning to make chicken parmesan for dinner. He's pretty happy. :)

Oh. And he was ridiculously thrilled to learn that he happens to share a birthday with one of his heroes, Alton Brown. Seriously, he did a little dance. :) (He has most of Alton Brown's cookbooks, has watched probably every episode ever of Good Eats, continues to watch shows with Alton Brown in them (especially Cutthroat Kitchen), and is waiting not so patiently for Alton Brown's live tour to come anywhere near us.)

Not long ago, he also learned that he shares a name with another of his culinary heroes, Justin (Micah) Warner, who happens to actually know one of Micah's karate heroes, MJ Steele (who used to be Micah and Asher's instructor at Karate West). Micah's taking these all as signs that he's on the right path and is delighted. :)