Circus 2011

A few weeks ago the boys and I saw the Circus Train heading into town (coming from Richmond/Rosenberg on the track that runs along side Highway 90). 

The boys said "Train!". 

I said "Yes, it's the Circus Train.  We will have to see if we can get tickets.  I wonder when they are coming into town.  I'll have to check and see."

Yes, I actually said "I wonder when they are coming into town".  Such is the thought process of a mom...

Anyway, Chris was off yesterday (Friday, July 15) and we decided to get tickets for the 10:30 am show.  We have been talking with the boys for several days about the circus, but I don't think either one really knew what we were talking about.  Since we don't watch much regular TV (mostly kids videos, Qubo and things like that), we haven't seen any commercials for the circus, so we didn't really have much to work with. (kind of like the concept of a zoo...).  We got there early enough to go 'backstage' and see the animals before the show.  They seemed to understand the idea of the animals, but all David wanted to see were the 'monkeys'.  Unfortunately they don't have monkeys in the show....

The seats we got were up near the top of the lower level (they only used a fraction of the Reliant Center) but not too bad.  At least we were one of the first ones to the bathroom during intermission.  A definite plus with so many kids running around!

The boys had a good time (even though they said "No" when asked if they had fun!  It seems that "NO" if the default response to most anything right now.  David said that he liked the motorcycles the best (they got 7 going in the steel ball: really cool to watch with the glow in the dark suits!); not sure what Michael liked best as I didn't hear his answer (Chris asked the questions).

Some of the pictures are dark and fuzzy (the result of low lighting and cheap seats):

The start of our Circus Adventure

Checking out the elephants before the show

Checking out the horses & lamas

Watching a pre-show demonstration
(I think we were watching clowns at that point)

Finally got close enough to see the acrobats

Daddy got the hat; we got the cotton candy....

Michael trying on Daddy's hat

David trying on Daddy's hat

First taste of cotton candy; they didn't really like it.......

Beginning of the show

Acrobats and Chinese Lions

White tigers and Orange tigers;
one of them didn't really want to cooperate with the trainer.....

The Motorcycles

They had 7 of them running at the same time inside the ball; really cool!!

Having fun during intermission

Mama liked the Elephant performance

Having a good time on Daddy's lap

Motorcycle on the high wire; Don't Try This At Home!!

Ending the show

A picture of the picture we had taken at the circus
(try to ignore the bright spot in the middle)

We all had a good time.  Looking forward to next year's show.....

Summer School (such as it is...)

We have enrolled David into kindergarten for the fall.  Because of this, we have been working with him on an almost constant basis every day to get him ready (at least as ready as he can be).  He will be one of the younger ones in the class (his birthday is the second day of school this year), but we believe that he will do just fine.  We have already talked with the school counselor about him and his educational background (as much as we know about it and what we have observed) and she believes that he will do fine.  We are prepared to deal with any issues that arise as well as the possibility that he may have to repeat kindergarten and we are okay with that. 

In order to get him better prepared, David has been attending 'summer school' classes with Rachael.  They have been working on basic writing (holding the pencil correctly was a challenge at first!), numbers, colors, shapes, letters (both upper and lower case), visual discrimination activities, etc.  His basic fine motor skills are okay, but he does have a problem holding crayons correctly as well as staying within the picture while coloring.  Overall, we are impressed with his progress.  He may not be entirely on level with some of these basic skills, but he is getting there.  We don't think that anyone really worked with him prior to us, but he is doing well.

We allowed him to pick out some of the school supplies that he is working with right now, as well as some of the posters that now grace our dining room wall.  He has some really cool pencil grips that force him to hold the pencil correctly (even though he says that they hurt his fingers!) and is doing great!

Here are some pictures you may enjoy!

Ready for Summer School!

School Posters

More School Posters

David's Reward Chart

Michael's Reward Chart

School Work

School Work

School Work

School Work

School Work

School Work

School Work

Coupon Book

We have been trying to save money any time we can.  One way to do this is to use coupons and shop at Wal-Mart using other store ads (they do the price matching with other store prices).  When combining a coupon with a low sale price, you can save quite a bit (and stock up when possible).  Chris told me about the coupon book one of the CSM's at Wal-Mart has.  Last night I checked with her and looked at her book to see if I can get our coupons better organized.  For about $10 dollars I was able to get a binder and 'coupon' pages to create an organized system.  I also picked up some notebook paper and found a pencil bag at home that I haven't used in a while (complete with small scissors, paper clips, pencil, pens & markers).  It didn't take long to put it all together last night (did it all after the boys went to bed; while watching Congo) and now it is ready to go!  I think the longest amount of time was spent sorting the coupons into the slots.  It was quite easy to do (after deciding how I wanted to organize it all).  I decided to organize it according to sections (children stuff, health & beauty, medicine/first aid, box mixes, dairy, meats, etc).  I also added a 'divider page' between each coupon page to help find what I am looking for quickly.  You can organize yours any way that works for you!  Hope this will help you!!

Here are some pictures to help you get one started!

I found a 1.5" binder with an expandable pocket on the outside to put fliers, etc in so they are ready when I go to the store ($4.97 at Wal-Mart)

These are pocket pages for sports cards, but can be used for most anything that will fit in them
($4.95 at Wal-Mart in the collectible section near the registers)

The pencil pouch I found at home (already had the stuff in it) with notebook paper to write down stuff
(store/item/price and shopping lists)
Wal-Mart will price match based on other store ads (make sure you check dates & items!)

One of the coupon pages, with a 'divider page' behind it.
I decided to put one coupon per pocket (unless I had more than one, then I put it in the same pocket)
If I need more pages per section, I have the extras at the back of the binder

Fliers fit in the front expandable pocket



First Visit to the Houston Zoo

Monday, June 20, 2011 we took the boys to the Houston Zoo for the first time.  Our friend Stacey and her son Aaric went with us.  We decided to buy a Family Membership (good for both adults and up to 3 children) for the year (expires June 30, 2012). 

Here are some pictures from our day:

Starting off bright and early

Which one is the Monkey??

Looking through the spyglass to see the chimps

Getting some help from Daddy to see the chimps

Checking out the giraffes

We like this giraffe because we can climb on it!

Checking out the otters in the water

Each goat gets a brushing from Michael

David is chilling while brushing a goat

Enjoying the playground in the kid's area

Relaxing and taking a snack break

Watching the monkey in the swimming pool

Our little Monkeys!!

Watching the caiman in the Reptile House

Not so sure about the Albino American Alligator....

What's this Mama?

Sleeping on the way home after a really fun day at the zoo!

Sleeping on the way home after a really fun day at the zoo!

Another Update

We have been really busy and it has been hard to find time to sit down and update our blog lately. 

Here are some highlights since the last post:

Rachael's last day at school was Friday, June 3 and she started summer school with David on Tuesday, June 7.  He is progressing slowly, but doesn't usually fight it.  We sit at the table after Michael goes down for his rest time/nap and work on worksheets, activities, games, coloring, cutting/pasting, etc.  We have several different bridge type workbooks (thanks Dad for them!) that we are working through.  We have now 'decorated' our dining room to look like a school room.  David has a pencil box with school supplies that he knows to get when it is time for school.  He still needs lots of work, but we think he will be ready by the time school starts.  Now that we have some cool pencil grips (he got to pick them out), he is getting better at controlling the pencil.  He can identify most of the basic shapes and colors (we are working from a list that the school gave us on what they expect incoming kindergartners to know), can count to ten (sometimes forgets the number 8) and can recognize some of the letters of the alphabet.  We are also working on his freehand stuff and coloring (doesn't seem to get the concept of staying in the lines; usually scribbles when he is supposed to color).

The boys had a follow-up doctor appointment on June 9.  We got the results of all the blood work that was done in April: all labs came back as NORMAL!!  No concerns (except that a thyroid test for Michael came back a bit 'off', but the doctor wasn't concerned; said that it was normal for the situation they came from) for right now.  The doctor wants to rerun some of the tests in October to double check, but expects that things will be normal then as well.  As of the day of the appointment, we didn't have the results of the poop tests, but since they haven't called to say that we need to redo the tests, I guess they got the results back.  We also found out that the immunizations that we were given the records for were valid.  The boys are current and up-to-date on all their immunizations (including the ones they got on the 9th).

Friday, June 10, the boys and I drove to San Antonio for a family birthday party.  My cousin Tara's second son's 3rd birthday party was on the 11th and we went to meet them and help them celebrate.  The boys and I had a great time (Chris stayed home because he had to work on the 11th).  They got to meet their cousins (George, Sammy and Michelle) as well as the parents (Alex & Tara).  Tara is my cousin on my dad's side and I haven't seen them in a while.  The boys got to swim for the first time in a real swimming pool (with the aide of life vests) and had a great time!  David loved the pool and swimming (once he figured out that the vest would keep him afloat) while Michael had more fun playing with his cousins and the toys.  They also got to experience their first pinata!  Once it was broken open, they were more interested in picking up the trash than picking up the candy!  I think it will take a while before they get the concept.....

Here are some pictures:

Taking a break from putting the toys away....

Everyone likes to sit with Daddy in his chair (too bad Mommy won't fit....)

David having fun in the pool

Michael had fun playing around the pool

Michael getting a 'push' from cousin Michelle

David was having too much fun in the pool, so he decided that he needed the floaty thing as well as the vest....

Michael's first swing at the Pinata

David's first swing at the Pinata

Cousins sitting still for about 10 seconds...
(starting on the left: George, Sammy, Michel, David)

First experience with Play-Dough!