HAL

We've used the initials of our three first names to refer to our family for quite awhile now. HAL is how we often sign cards, fill out our return address on mail and I even have it stamped on a necklace that I wear all the time.

For a long time now I have been toying with the idea of getting another tattoo.  Why yes, I already have 2 that I got in my early 20's. After lots of consideration for what I would get, where I would put it, colour, design and choice of tattoo artist, I finally decided:

I left the overall design up to the tattoo artist, Helena.  I just told her during my consultation that I wanted it on my forearm, I wanted our 3 initials and that I wanted it somehow bordered by a Celtic line.  One of my other tattoos is a Celtic knot on my shoulder, so I thought it was a nice tie in.  I had tried to doodle many designs on my own, but since I have the handwriting of a drunk squirrel wearing oven mitts, my "designs" were kinda frightening.  I was thrilled when she showed me her drawing today.  I hadn't settled on colour till I sat down in the chair, when I decided to go with purple.

I'm so happy with the overall result!  I can't wait for it to heal (and no, the blueish/purplish colour around the HAL is not bruising, it's shading) so that I can see exactly how it will look for the rest of my life.

New Food

As you know we struggle with getting Liam to eat not just new foods, but any food.  Weight gain is celebrated in grams.

Today he came home from camp and requested to have a Subway turkey sub with lettuce for dinner.   Of course we jumped at the suggestion!  New food!  Calories!  Somewhat Healthy!

I love peer pressure and the influential friend who sold him on the virtues of Subway at lunch today.

Daring Kitchen - Meatballs

Blog-checking lines: The June Daring Cooks’ challenge sure kept us rolling – meatballs, that is! Shelley from C Mom Cook and Ruth from The Crafts of Mommyhood challenged us to try meatballs from around the world and to create our own meatball meal celebrating a culture or cuisine of our own choice. 

Meatballs are not something we eat very often, but certainly enjoy when we have them.  For this challenge we had turkey meatballs, served with spicy Thai pickles and slices of mango on a bun.  The meatballs were browned in a frying pan to give them a nice crisp sear and then finished in the oven.  I love the mix of the sweetness of the mango, the spice of the pickles and the multitude of flavours from the meat itself.

3-Day Trip

Every year the grades 3-6 students at Liam's school go on a three day trip (not all together... the 3-4s  go to one place and the 5-6s go to another).  Last year there was no way that Liam was even going to entertain the idea of going unless one parent went with him.  That's how I ended up spending the day walking around the rain in a full length dress and bonnet.

And it was a good thing that I went last year as he ended up abandoning his bunk mates and coming to stay in the adult cabin with me for the second night.   But maybe that was just because the option was there, and if I hadn't been around he would have been just fine.

This year he spent Sept - Jan proclaiming that he wasn't going unless one of us came along.  And then POOF something changed and he decided that he wanted to go on his own.  BONUS!  Spending 3 days and 2 nights with 40 8-10 year olds is not my idea of a great way of using up my vacation time from work.  Of course this year there are no period costumes involved.  They don't even need sleeping bags since they are staying at a Inn!

He's all packed and ready to go.  I'm not worried about him going on the trip and being scared or lonely.  He's been on lots of sleepovers without us and he'll be surrounded by all of his best buddies.  But sending off a boy with ADHD and Executive Functioning problems has me assuming that he will not come home with even a 1/4 of the items he is taking with him.

An example of Executive Functioning issues in Liam's world  - yesterday he was in charge of moving the wet clothes from the washing machine to the dryer in order to finish the laundry.  He got that step down perfectly.  It just never occurred to him to turn the machine on.

The idea that at the end of 3 fun filled days he is going to be able to gather his 23 items, put them in his 2 bags and bring them home is kinda laughable.  All of his things are labelled with his name; we walked him through each item so that he knows which t-shirts are packed and the colour of his towel.  I've made a detailed list of all items (which is how I know there are 23) and it's pinned inside a ziplock baggie inside his knapsack.   Nothing he is taking is irreplaceable, but it's still frustrating.  We go through more splash pants and swim suits than a family of with 12 kids.

Tomorrow morning we'll attempt to feed him breakfast (don't even get me started on that one!), hand him his 2 bags and wish him off on a great trip.  I'm sure he's going to have a fabulous time and will come home full of memories.  He just won't come home with his pj's or swim suit.

The Greek Islands

I love Liam's school!  While they still have 2 weeks left, they will be doing a week of Mini Society and then his class will be away for a 3 day trip.  At the end of the academic portion of the semester, the kids present their work to friends and family.

Twice a year, parents and community members are invited into the school to visit our classrooms and enjoy a special exposition of the children’s work. At these student expos which we affectionately call "Fair," the children perform speeches, plays and songs based on their learning experiences all semester. Displays, demonstrations, written reports, poems and models make these events exciting for all involved and it is a delight to see children of all ages show pleasure and pride in public speaking. It is also a joy to watch these skills develop in such a positive and gentle way over the course of a child’s time at the school.

This semester Liam's class studied Islands, under the whole year theme of "Oceans".  The kids sang a song that mentioned more islands then I could have named:

Then we were taken on a tour of all the islands that the kids had studied.  Each one gave us a few facts about their island and showed us their diorama that they had made.  Liam told us about the Greek islands.

After, you could go around the room and visit each kid at their station and ask more questions.  Liam also took us on a tour of the room showing us all of his work.

His Greek Island poster of information.

A Haiku about islands.

As part of their studies, the class built an island by adding sand everyday to a dish of water.  Once it built up enough they were even able to grow seeds in it.

Since they cycle through the main themes every 5 years, Hilary and I are pretty sure that next year's theme will be Nova Scotia.  Can't wait to see what we learn about it this time around!