Last Sunday morning, Stuart decided to work on the dresser we bought for Connor while I took the boys to school to play.  I played with the boys at 2-square until another child joined them, so I shot basketball by myself until it was time to go home.  The dresser involved so many steps that Stuart worked on it all the way through early afternoon.  Afterward, Connor and I were so excited to organize his clothes into the new drawers.  But these days with his clothes being so much bigger, quickly we filled up the drawers and had to find more space.

   In the afternoon, I had to go grocery shopping.  While I was out, Stuart took the boys out on the street to play with the other neighborhood kids.  Two boys and ours had fun playing 2-square together, and i think this will turn into many hours out there in the warmer days soon to come.

    Once I put away everything, it was time for me to head out for dinner with the girls.  I went to pick up Kathy and we drove to the restaurant to meet up with others.  This was a dinner to celebrate Theresa’s and Jennifer’s birthdays, and all 8 of us were able to be there.  We enjoyed a big dinner trying many different entrees, and it was fun catching up with all of them.  I managed to get home in time to see goodnight to the boys.  Logan was almost asleep and gave me a hug with his eyes closed.  Connor on the other hand was still so awake and told me all about the two shows they watched during dinner.

   When we went to Ikea last week, we finally bought the tent to add on to Connor’s bed.  Connor was very excited with it while Logan was envious with his bed.  We suggested that Logan could have a sleepover in Connor’s room, and they both were excited for the idea.   Logan chose to stay on the bottom, and Connor was happy to set the mattress and the sheet up for Logan.  After bedtime reading, they both quickly went to bed.  But they did not go to sleep as they continued to talk for another hour.  It was finally quiet before 10pm.  The next morning, we heard both of them talking again at 5 something, but shortly they must have gone back to sleep and finally up just before 7am.

   In the morning the boys told us that they enjoyed the sleepover and wanted to do it again.  When we asked them what they were talking about before they went to bed, Connor told us that they talked about different video games they played.  Logan’s response was that he forgot, so there was a chance that it was only Connor who was doing the talking.

    We requested a conference with Logan’s teacher to see his progress.  Logan was quite nervous about it and wondered what kind of report the teacher would give us.  The teacher was pleased with Logan’s progress with comprehension and suggested what we should keep doing with him to continue the improvement.  Logan has been doing fine with other areas as well.  Connor on the other hand was confident and excited to find out about his report, and he told us that he would have good grades.  When we received his report card, Connor indeed had received many satisfactory progress and even a few excellent marks.  We reviewed it with Connor, and he was quite pleased.

     Connor loves to clean up and he even wrote that down on his Star of the Week poster as one of his favorite things.  He takes pride after helping Daddy cleaning up the yard or inside the house.  He also likes setting up the table for dinner.  The past few nights he wrote us menu; he asked Stuart and Logan to order food, and he would serve them the plates.

    The funny thing is that Connor does not like to clean up his bedroom, and his room is often messy.  Connor misplaces his things often and Stuart has to go find his missing items all over the house for him. 

   I took Friday off to do both of the boys’ art lessons.  They involve quite a bit of work and preparation so getting ready for them is not something I look forward to.  I have to send messages to my partners and coordinate our lesson plans, but when the day does come, I do enjoy it.  I walked the boys to school in the morning, then Connor and I went to line up with his class.  A few of his classmates came up to us and cheered for Art Vistas.  The other mom was not feeling well, so I knew I had to do all the talking for this lesson.  Right after drop off, another mom and I gathered the materials then quickly headed back to the classroom.  The teacher already had the kids sitting on the rug ready for us, so I began the lesson.  The topic this month was texture.  I reviewed some previous and the new elements with the class, and showed them a few of the drawing techniques, ie. stippling, hatching and cross-hatching.  For the hands-on project, we had the opportunity to take the class outdoors and have the kids draw a landscape.  It was so cute that the teacher had the kids all sitting in a straight line, and the kids enjoyed  this change in scenery.  They were content being little artists drawing with the clipboard; they used the techniques taught and made incredible artwork.  The weather was nice, and we had a good time out there.

   I went home for a couple of hours, then it was time to head back to prepare for Logan’s class.  The other mom and I were all set up at the cafeteria, then the class arrived.  The topic of the lesson was Non-Objective Art.  I began by discussing with the kids how Non-Objective Art is different from abstract vs realistic art, and shared some famous artwork as examples.  Then after the other mom explained the project, it was time for the kids to make their own non-objective art.  They were taking their time using geometric shapes and lines for the design and then using vibrant colors to fill in and complete their artwork.  The teacher gave us extra time as many of the kids were determined with their creation.  At the end of the class, we also had the kids paint the clay masks they had made a few months ago.  It was a bit stressful when a few of the kids could not find their pieces, and one was still missing at the end.  We also used up all the time to the end of the school day, and finally wrapped up just few minutes before the bell ring.  But we were productive and the kids made lots of great pieces at the end.

    My legs were so tired by the time the boys and I walked home; I had more than 12K steps.  Later It felt great to relax while the boys were on the computers.  When Stuart finished working, we headed out to enjoy a dinner and a cocktail to end a good Art Vista day.

     The Merons invited everyone over on Saturday for barbeque.  Prior to this Logan had another 2-hour tennis lesson, and as soon as the lesson was over, we headed over to their house.  The boys had brought their Tablets and they joined Rohan and other kids to play games.  Later, Guy put Sing on TV, but only Connor and Raz were interested to watch, and I had periodically sat with Connor since I really liked the movie too.  The adults mainly just sat around the dining room, chatting, eating, having desserts and drinks as it was too cold to be outdoor.  Since Bar’s birthday was a day before, we also had a little celebration for her and had some birthday cake.  After eating, the kids went out to the backyard to play tags.  It was cold out there, but none of them seemed to mind.  Later the whole group came back in and all returned to the electronics.  Few hours of gathering, we had to say goodbye so we could go to Color Me Mine to pick up the ceramics before we headed home for a late dinner and late night.

    On Sunday it was Marcus’s birthday party.  We were the first one to arrive and the boys had the opportunity to join Marcus to start the gaming in the video game truck.  The rest of the guests arrived shortly and joined in the games.  Logan started out playing the Xbox inside the truck; later he moved out to play Wii Smash Bro with the other boys, but somehow he found the Wii remote console and he moved back inside the truck while he continued to battle the other four players who were standing outside.  Mckayla had chosen to be Lego Harry Potter and Connor decided to join her.  The two of them were not as familiar with the game, so I heard later that Logan was giving them advice while he was still playing Smash Bro.  The three of them basically remained inside the truck while the rest of the kids playing outside in the cold, but of course no one minded the temperature at all.  Since the kids were occupied, Stuart and I joined Michelle and a couple of parents inside the house instead.  By 12pm, the truck was leaving and the kids all came inside to enjoy the pizza lunch and later some cake after we sang Happy Birthday to Marcus.  By then it was no longer raining and was actually quite sunny, all the kids went to the backyard to play a little.  The boys had returned to the house to play with Lego and we hung out a bit longer, then we thanked Michelle and Ted and headed home to finish our chores for the week.