And in other news....
B is doing this 'summer school' at his new school and loves it. They're mostly doing art and it's only for children going into Year 7 - a great way to meet some of the kids and get to know his way around before the school is packed with teenagers and it's noisy and chaotic and stressful. He's walking to and from the school on his own - it's about 45 minutes each way. I love how confident he feels about going on his own every morning. He comes home full of stories about the other kids and the teachers running the program. He can't wait to start school at the end of August.
He's doing well in other ways, too. The mood issues have finally been tackled and are on their way to being resolved. I know it's been a long time since I wrote about B's eating/food issues. He doesn't eat nearly enough during the day. He seems to do better at mealtimes but always insists that he's not hungry at other times. The kid is stick thin - cancer patient thin, really. His arms are like twigs. I've never been one of those obsessive parent who gets their kids weighed, but he'll weigh himself at the gym and tell me and I'll end up horrified because he weighs what I weighed at...7? And I was pretty small for my age.
A few days ago I suggested to B that the grumpy moods and negative attitude may well be the result of not enough food - his body is trying to grow, he's not givng it what it needs and this making him irritable and just not fun to be around. I informed him that from now on, he is having snacks every day. These snacks have grown to be quite substantial - a dish of plain yogurt with a handful of walnuts, or a few oatcakes with a slice of cheese and an apple, or some toast with peanut butter before bedtime. I've managed to get an extra 500-700 calories a day into him for the last few days and it shows. His skin is glowing, his hair is shiny, his cheeks aren't as gaunt and, most importantly, he's a different child. So happy all of the time and no more back talking. I'm really pleased. I only hope that D manages to keep this going while the kids are in the US this summer.
M seems to be enjoying not having B home during the day, though he mostly lays in bed and reads. I think he really found the last few weeks of school to be a bit of a struggle and is happy to (mostly) be on his own, venturing downstairs to get some food or run out into the garden for a bit of bouncing on the trampoline. I took M and J to the park on Monday morning and while I was following J around the playground, M found a group of boys playing ball and managed to get himself invited to join their game. I don't think he realizes how easy he has it socially - so much easier than B. The only issue I have with him these days is the tendency to speak/act before he thinks, particularly in situations where I'm talking to another adult. He really can't stand not having a large fraction of my attention all the time, even for a brief moment as we're walking down the street and run into people we know. Overall, though, he's much happier than he's been and it shows.
J is being J...climbing out of bed at naptime, waking a bunch of times during the night but otherwise being extremely cute and irrisistable. Still loving books and will sit and 'read' to himself for long periods of time before running downstairs to find me. Still obsessed with shapes and colors, and will talk about wanting his food cut into squares or pentagons. He's a funny one. His speech is improving daily and he'll patiently repeat what he wants until we understand it. He keeps asking for a 'green cooey' and I have no idea what it means :-/ One of these days, I guess.
He's doing well in other ways, too. The mood issues have finally been tackled and are on their way to being resolved. I know it's been a long time since I wrote about B's eating/food issues. He doesn't eat nearly enough during the day. He seems to do better at mealtimes but always insists that he's not hungry at other times. The kid is stick thin - cancer patient thin, really. His arms are like twigs. I've never been one of those obsessive parent who gets their kids weighed, but he'll weigh himself at the gym and tell me and I'll end up horrified because he weighs what I weighed at...7? And I was pretty small for my age.
A few days ago I suggested to B that the grumpy moods and negative attitude may well be the result of not enough food - his body is trying to grow, he's not givng it what it needs and this making him irritable and just not fun to be around. I informed him that from now on, he is having snacks every day. These snacks have grown to be quite substantial - a dish of plain yogurt with a handful of walnuts, or a few oatcakes with a slice of cheese and an apple, or some toast with peanut butter before bedtime. I've managed to get an extra 500-700 calories a day into him for the last few days and it shows. His skin is glowing, his hair is shiny, his cheeks aren't as gaunt and, most importantly, he's a different child. So happy all of the time and no more back talking. I'm really pleased. I only hope that D manages to keep this going while the kids are in the US this summer.
M seems to be enjoying not having B home during the day, though he mostly lays in bed and reads. I think he really found the last few weeks of school to be a bit of a struggle and is happy to (mostly) be on his own, venturing downstairs to get some food or run out into the garden for a bit of bouncing on the trampoline. I took M and J to the park on Monday morning and while I was following J around the playground, M found a group of boys playing ball and managed to get himself invited to join their game. I don't think he realizes how easy he has it socially - so much easier than B. The only issue I have with him these days is the tendency to speak/act before he thinks, particularly in situations where I'm talking to another adult. He really can't stand not having a large fraction of my attention all the time, even for a brief moment as we're walking down the street and run into people we know. Overall, though, he's much happier than he's been and it shows.
J is being J...climbing out of bed at naptime, waking a bunch of times during the night but otherwise being extremely cute and irrisistable. Still loving books and will sit and 'read' to himself for long periods of time before running downstairs to find me. Still obsessed with shapes and colors, and will talk about wanting his food cut into squares or pentagons. He's a funny one. His speech is improving daily and he'll patiently repeat what he wants until we understand it. He keeps asking for a 'green cooey' and I have no idea what it means :-/ One of these days, I guess.