3am catch up

 We had conferences with both kids (it' that time, it wasn't a special conference). It really cemented, to me, that Bertram has the right teacher this year.  We found out in his DreamBox (online math), he'd never finished second grade.  So we've been playing catch up on that.  I told him once he's caught up, he can enroll in coding.  So we've been working on that a few nights a week.  He told me he is caught up now, but I need to find out from the teacher.  Bronwyn's conference was fine.  Nothing too surprising there, except she has an enemy, Wilder.  They do not get along.  I think he is an ASD kid as well.  But her teacher said she's very smart, but she's working on her fine motor.  I've been thinking that I maybe need to ask Kaiser for private OT for her, but with our current schedule there is no where for it to go.  But there has been talk about Bronwyn graduating from ABA.  I don't think Bertram is too far behind her.  So once ABA is done, we'll have a very open schedule.

Bertram has started 2 art classes.  An anime drawing class at the community center, and a regular drawing class after school.  Both are one day a week.  He's been enjoy them, and I love seeing his skills grow.  I think he has a lot of potential, especially when he slows down.  He's always in a rush to get things done.

Bertram had his walk a thon at the beginning of November.  He did 6 miles.  I think he could have done more, but he was just done.  So really he walked 8 that day, since we walked there and back.  I walked all the laps with him, per his request.  All Bert wanted was the Kona Ice snow cone.  Once he got that, he was ready to leave.

My dad is finally starting to feel well, after his surgery.  I was getting worried, because he was kind of despondent.  But he seems to be on the up and up now.  My mom's cancer wasn't quite a simple little cancer, as she needs radiation therapy as well.  It's hard because I had accepted this small, easy breast cancer, and now it's not that anymore.

Dogs:
We had to put Fiona down.  She was doing more and more poorly, and losing more weight and bladder control.  It's hard because there is never a "right time" to do it.  I just kept hoping she would die at home, so I wouldn't have to make the decision.  I started looking for a new dog almost immediately.  As I had a dog-shaped hole in my heart.  We went to the first shelter on a Saturday.  It was a really nice shelter, we visited all the cats, and looked over the dogs.  We met Honey, who was nice, but huge.  And she got too excited for her size (based on the size of the kids).  When we left the shelter Bron was very upset that we didn't leave with a dog.  The next day we went to the city animal shelter, where there were a lot of Pit mixes and Shepherd mixes.  Both breeds are generally bad with cats.  We met a smallish dog.  But he didn't warm to us, and didn't seem like he'd be a good fit for the family.  We went to the last local shelter the same day, and there we found Monty.

Monty has found his niche in our home.  He and Waffles get along, or tolerate each other.  Oona is still a little on edge when Monty is near.  He doesn't particularly care about either of them.  He has been my constant shadow since he came home.  He generally doesn't let me out of his sight.  He is fine with the rest of the family, but really, he only has eyes for me.  He's gotten a little more barky with people and other dogs.  He barks at someone when he meets them the first time, then usually not again.  He walks well on lead, but we're still working on "sit". I've signed him up for training classes at PetSmart (PetsMart?)  That will start in a few weeks.  But he is doing well.  He pees when he gets up, then we do a morning walk, a mid-day walk, and a quick outside in the evening.  We're not walking very far, because when we tried to do that before, he refused to walk any further, and I had to carry him.  Since I was carrying him, I figured I'd order a bag to put him in.  I assumed he'd tolerate, but not like the bag.  But he really enjoys being in there.  He's a snuggly dog, and generally speaking a good boy.

refusing to walk further

happily in his bag.

The kids got their covid boosters. Bert put on quite a show, crying, and falling on the floor.  We had the screamingest kids.  

I donated whole blood last Saturday.  I felt fine afterwards, which is unusual.  Usually I feel fine after donating platelets,  I really enjoy donating blood and platelets. I feel like I'm doing some good in the world, without actually doing anything.

I've been doing a lot of quilting recently.  My cutting skills are improving slowly.  I cut rectangles for a quilt, I have yet to start sewing it.. I made a quilt from scraps.  That turned out really cool.  I still need Aaron to do the binding. I cut the squares for Christmas quits for Aaron's mom and bio-mom.  Aaron got the top of the first one put together last night.  It's a little small, so we're going to add a couple inches of sashing to all the sides.  I worked on Rebecca's quilt some, but that is easiest to do when no one else is home.  It's a big quilt and takes up a lot of space (the whole dining area of the kitchen).

scrappy quilt, before it was done

close up.

rectangle brick-y quilt

fabrics for the Christmas quilts.