School, Laughs, and Stinky Boyz

  School starts this Tuesday. We had Meet The Teacher night this week and I am thrilled with our assigned classes. They let me help pick the teachers and have been 100% supportive of everything I want. We are so lucky to be in such a wonderful public school and with such competent and loving staff. Levi wants to start TODAY, Seth is ready to go and so excited, and Ahren....well, Ahren just wants to wear his new shoes and be able to sit next to girls. LOL! Seriously, that is all he talks about. Shoes and girls.

  Our box turtle, Jack, has been doing wonderfully. He eats everything, gets so excited when he sees me coming, and will even eat out of my hand. Then suddenly, the last few days he has been very quiet and resting inside his log home. I thought it was because the puppy roughed him up a bit this week when the boys accidentally left him on the floor and let the dogs in. I thought he was traumatized. But, this morning, when I went to feed him, I found an EGG in his cage! Jack is a Jackie!!! I have no idea if it is a fertilized egg, but i buried it in the damp rocks over the heater and left it alone. In 2.5-3 months, we may have a baby turtle. How cool is that!

  I tested Levi on my reading program at work to see what his level was and how his comprehension was. That little too, who is entering 2nd grade, read at 250 words per minute and 100% comprehension. For reference, college level is 300 words per minute. Good luck to his teacher keeping him occupied and not disrupting the rest of the class! He asked me what 'embodiment' meant the other day, and was reading (accurately) the labels in Latin on plants recently. Dang, that big ol' egg head is full of brains.

  Seth has quit the bodily-waste problems of this past spring. Not one incident in ages. I am so proud of him! Apparently, before I realized it, he had progressed to another method of punishing me. I began to lose earrings. Only one of a pair at a time, and I thought I was losing my mind. Then, I began to find one mangled earring here, one smashed earring there.... and it dawned on me. I began locking my bathroom door and then soon after that he went on the seizure meds. Since then not one single earring has disappeared. I still have not found all the others. but the destruction of them has stopped. So far I have not discovered any other 'Mommy-testing' behaviors. Is it the medicine? Has he run out of creative methods of testing me? Has he finally accepted I love him, unconditionally and forever? Heck, I don't know, but I will take it! he has been so happy and fun lately. In fact, on Monday, we will be dropping off levi and Ahren at friends' houses and taking Seth, the best behaved of the bunch, with me and Kaytee to the mall. That decision is totally based on who is behaving the best, and Seth wins. I can hardly believe it, but it's true! He has been an angel in public and so much fun to take along with us. My dear sweet boy has come so far!!!!

  The other night, Chris looked at me and said that he thinks Ahren and Seth both have Native American blood in them. Totally confused, I just looked at him. He then announced that they both belong to the Black Foot Tribe, and pointed to their feet. Ugh, black feet caked with grime. And I mean BLACK! Nasty, stinky, dirty boyz. All I can say is I am happy they have had so much fun!