A regular update

 I've been busy with dog-walks, house stuff and the kids stuff. Let's see if I can remember what has happened since October.  

I'll start with school stuff.  Bert has done very well with the transition to middle school.  The only class he consistently has homework in is Advanced Math.  And that was the only class he seemed to really have to "work" at.  The rest come without much extra effort, and no extra studying.  And as such, he got As in all his classes, except math, which he got a C.  We weren't disappointed though, because he worked hard for that C.  And he made honour roll, which he was really proud about.  He made a new friend, Julian, as well.  Mostly, though, it's all the same kids from elementary school, which is good too.  I'm very happy he has a good group of boys to be with.  My only beef is: he is (apparently, I haven't confirmed) the only one in the group without a cell phone.  6th graders don't need cell phones.  Especially smart phones.  Anyway, this semester is almost 2 months in, and he's doing well again.  As in everything except math, which is currently a solid B (84%).  So far, so good.

Bronwyn has been hit or miss about school.  Nearly every morning is a struggle though.  She doesn't want to go, she needs a mental health day, etc.  She doesn't want to get dressed, or go out the door.  Occasionally, the stars align and she is pleasant.  Once she's at school is hit or miss as well.  Some days she does a lot of work, she participates, and is happy to be there.  Other days she does little to no work, is grumpy or disruptive.  She is hitting all the goals, testing wise, except writing.  She is a little behind in that.  She signed up for the after school ceramics class at the beginning of 2026.  Bert took the same class when he was in 4th grade, I think (maybe 5th).  She's really enjoyed in, and has some talent in it as well.  I think she could be very artistic, if she let herself.  But she has a lot of issues with perfectionism, which doesn't let her try.  

More on Bronwyn.  She was formally diagnosed with ARFID, which is a restrictive diet eating disorder.  We were not surprised, though, it took a long time to get the diagnosis.  And anorexia was a possibility for a bit too, which was scary to think an 8 year old could have those kind of body issues.  We certainly never talk about being fat as a bad thing (not that she is anywhere near fat either).  In her psychology appointments, she's been working on food exposure exercises and trying new foods.  It's a VERY slow process.  We're supposed to be practicing at home too, but she refuses. I found it a little funny that the dietician/nutritionist was way less helpful than the psychologist has been, but I guess it makes sense. 

Bronwyn has gotten into roller skating.  We found a sports complex in South San Jose that does open skate on most Friday and Saturday nights.  So most Friday nights, she and I go and skate for 45-55 minutes.  (The session is 90 minutes, but we get tired).  We went as a family once, but Bert couldn't believe Bronwyn bested him at something, and vowed never to skate again.  And so far, he hasn't been back.  Thus far, knock on wood, I haven't fallen yet.  With the exception of the first time I put my skates on at home.  

She in currently doing social skills once a week, and ABA once a week.  They're trying to add in another day of ABA, but there isn't a BT that fits our schedule yet.

Way back in July, I had a deep cleaning at the dentist, which caused/quickened a tooth breaking.  It wasn't bothering me, aside from the fact that it was broken.  Amazingly, it didn't hurt at all.  I went to the dentist to get a referral for an oral surgeon.  But when they were looking at the tooth, discovered the one in front of it needed a root canal.  I dragged my feet on that a bit, but eventually got the root canal in September.  I kept the temporary crown on longer than I should have because, as you likely know by now, I HATE dental work.  But again, it wasn't bothering me.  Eventually the dental office called me and said we need to get that crown on.  So I did that.  My old dentist retired suddenly for health reasons and a new one (Dr Reza) took over the practice.  I like the new dentist.  I'm starting to suspect maybe I do numb up ok, and my previous dentist was not exact enough with his shots.  Anyway, I got the crown done, and at that appointment, they x-rayed all my teeth.  The results were bad.  My jaw bone looks way older than is should.  Which means, I have bad genes, I have bruxism, and/or I don't take care of my teeth.  I know I have bruxism and bad genes, and I do care for my teeth.  Even when we didn't have dental insurance, I still went every 6 months.  Aside from the deterioration in my jaw, I had tooth issues as well.  One with a broken root.  The original broken tooth and 2 possible other candidates for extraction.  I have receding gums, with deep pockets.  I have a cavity that needs a filling.  My dad had very similar teeth issues at a similar age.  So far, for this year, I'll have spent $1250 on my teeth.  I haven't gotten the bills yet, just the EOBs.  This doesn't include however much extractions and anesthesia will cost.  And I imagine I'll hit my yearly max before too long and have to push things back to next year.  (It's only February!)

On top of this dental mess, stuff is happening at work for Aaron.  There were a round of lay offs.  He didn't get laid off per say, but his position will likely be taken by someone else, and he'll have to change to a new job code.  Somehow, 10 years seniority isn't enough.  I don't quite understand all the moving parts.  And it'll be a couple weeks before we fine out what his new job will be.  He is bummed because he likes his job, team, and boss.  I am optimistic because I'm hoping he'll get moved to a closer office.  Right now, he's about as far away as one can be (13 miles, which can take up to an hour each way, but is typically 45 minutes).  He's previously worked at offices that were about a 20 minute commute.  (Really, he's practically in Milpitas at the current office).

Bertram's birthday is on Friday.  We're having a friend party at the bowling ally/arcade in Eastridge.  Then the family party on Sunday.  I can't believe he's going to be 12.

Last January I was 218lbs, I am currently down to 184.  I am no longer obese!  Woohoo!  There is a long way before I'm in the normal range, according to BMI, but I'm happy with the progress.

As of Late

 The kids will be done with school next week.  It feels like the school year went very quickly. I think mostly because Bertram, who yesterday was a tiny NICU baby, is going to middle school in August. He got placed in the accelerated math class for 6th grade.  I'm worried I won't be able to keep up, to help him with homework.

Bert did most of the year sans Adderall, which either speaks volumes to his teacher, or he's tamped down his behaviour some.  I think it's more the former. But I told him, if I hear about behaviour issues, we'd have to talk about restarting medication for him. He did very well.  His writing has come a long way.  He still doesn't have the times tables memorized, but somehow that doesn't slow him down too much.  Maybe we can work on it over the summer.  

Bronwyn moved back to a GenEd class after Spring Break.  I think she was ready.  She still has the 1:1 aide, Mrs. B. But she is doing very well.  She seems to be having fewer outbursts, and for the most part, is actually doing the class work.  She participated in the Spring dance performance, after previously saying she wouldn't. That would have been fine, because I know performing isn't always her forte.  But in the end, she decided she wanted to.  And she did a great job.  I sat there like a goon, wiping away tears, because she's come so far.  And is doing things I wasn't sure she'd ever do.  Not to say, she doesn't still have issues, but she is making great progress. 

I wrote about the snake, Sneak, in the last entry.  Ever since Julius died, in January, Bert has been asking for another cat.  Using my own language of "There is a cat shaped hole in my heart".  This was probably true.  Though, in his later years, Jules adopted my in-laws, in Bert's younger years, Juli was very much his cat.  They snuggled and Jules was always patient with Bert, even if he wasn't with everyone else.  He was a lovely cat.  And in the back of my mind, since Shy Guy became pretty much an outdoor-only cat (by his choice, not mine), I'd be thinking we could take on one more.
I was a PetSmart a couple weeks ago, dropping off paperwork for Curie's pet hotel stay, while we'll be on vacation. And in the Adopt Us section was a variety of cats.  So I stopped to look at them, like one does.  And one came right over to the glass and started interacting with me.  I kept thinking about her the rest of the day, and asked Aaron if we could get her.  Once he was on board, I excitedly told Bert about the cat.  And the next day, we met and adopted her.

You can tell I was quite taken by her personality, because this colouring is my least favourite.  But she actually looks like a small version on Shy Guy.  She is about a year old, and the name she came with is Wednesday.  We all liked Wednesday (except Bron, who still talks about changing her name, sometimes).  She has fit in quite well.  She is very friendly.  She gets along with Oona and Waffles and with Monty.  But she it still scared of Curie, though, Curie isn't allow in the back of the house, so they don't really interact.

I've been on Ozempic for about 4 months.  So far, I've lost 13lbs.  I had hoped it would go a little faster, but I'm not unhappy with the progress.  And I'll take anything I can get, since I couldn't lose weight before.  8 more lbs and I'll be at my pre-pandemic weight.  But in 3 more lbs, I'll be at my first goal, which was 5% of my body weight.

March

 I graduated from therapy a few weeks ago. I'm feeling better, for the most part. Or at least not letting things overwhelm me as they did.  I still can't tolerate much political news.  But it is what it is. Aaron gets his new from fairly unbiased sources, and he tells me the bare minimum.  I'm at odds of being informed and being sane.

We added a new pet to our brood last week. It's name his Sneak. We don't know the sex. Bert said the snake's pronouns are 'im. I usually just say him/they, the snake doesn't mind, and neither does Bert. 

Bert had been asking for a reptile for probably 6 months. I'd been telling him once he keeps his desk clean we could get a small snake or lizard.  We started researching. And I found 2 different Facebook groups for bay area reptiles. I wasn't going to pull the trigger so soon, but a young corn snake came up on the group and came with all the accessories and tank, for free.  (The lady was given the snake by someone who didn't want it anymore, and she was trying to reduce her collection.). We met her in San Lorenzo (which was the halfway point) and now we have a snake. 'Im's name is Sneak. We haven't handled him yet, per advice. We tried the first feeding last night, but Sneak hasn't eaten yet. We may need to try again later in the week.

Both kids are doing well in school, we just got report cards. Bert is especially good at math, and Bron at reading.  Bron has been doing very well behaviourally for the last 3 weeks. Most days she is getting all, or almost all her stickers. She is still doing ABA and speech after school. Bert graduated from speech in January. 

Mom was here a week ago. We had a good visit. I was glad she didn't need a wheelchair this visit. Though, she did get caught in a plant and fell, and twisted her knee. But she got around pretty well, in spite of it.  We had fun, did a lot of shopping and cleaned out a few things.

Dogwalking is going well. Though there was an incident yesterday. I was walking Miso, and we passed a lady walking 4 Yorkies. I thought, cute, 4 Yorkies. (They live a few houses down from Miso).  I heard a commotion, and turned around to see the lady had tripped over the leashes and 2 of the dogs were off leash, running around. So I stopped walking to wait and see if the dogs would come up to us, and I could pick one up. Both dogs came running to Miso and me. One was barking, and other was trying to bite Miso (fortunately, the Yorkie was too small (or Miso too big) to do anything).  I picked up the bitey one, and they lady came. And I was able to pick up barky. So we started out again, and both dogs got away from the lady again. (I should note, this wasn't an old lady, she was probably late 40s or early 50s). Then a different lady heard all the barking and came to help. She held Miso, so I could grab barky and bite again. I secured bitey and the lady carried barky. And finally they were going back home. It was scary, because it's not my dog.  But Miso reacted well, and was a good girl. I checked her over and made sure she didn't have any bites or scrapes. She was fine. Phew.

We had Bert's birthday party at the trampoline park. All went well, until he jumped wrong and sprained his ankle. He went to the ER and everything.  It was towards the end, but it put a huge damper on the party. Fortunately, the injury was towards the end.

Fall Break in Virginia

 For fall break, we decided to come and visit my family in Virginia.  I said if I could find tickets for under $300 each, we'll go.  And I did, so we did.

We left SFO at 5:30am on Saturday.  The beginning of the first flight was hard for Bronwyn.  She had expectations that weren't met.  Mainly, that it was loud.  She cried loudly for about 20 minutes, then fell asleep for a half hour, or so.  We had a decently long layover in Charlotte.  We got lunch at chick fil a.  Bert got a lemonade, that he almost immediately spilled (about half of it).  So we spent a long time cleaning up the floor with those super thin napkins.  We got out food, then he spilled his drink again.  (Somehow, there was still some left, despite being spilled twice.)  The second flight was short, and uneventful.  That night, both kids slept in bed with me.  I'm not sure why.  

Sunday was mom's birthday.  The kids and I went shopping in the morning for a little bit.  We had lunch together, and Rebecca brought Nothing Bundt Cake for dessert. 

Monday we went to a few different places.  When we were at Walmart, Bertram managed to flip the shopping cart over, onto himself.  It landed right on his ankle, which I was sure was broken.  Shopping carts are much heavier than I thought.  He was ok though.  Just a scrape on his arm.  He was quite upset, but he bucked up pretty quickly.

Tuesday I got a much needed haircut.  I haven't done much with my hair.  Even though it doesn't feel like it, it's still pretty humid here, which makes my hair very puffy.  So I've been wearing it up a lot.

On Wednesday, we went to the zoo in the morning.  Bertram was determined to have a bad day.  He tried his best, but I think he had fun, in spite of himself.  Both kids wanted to feed the parakeets.  So we bought the little seed sticks, an off they went.  As soon as you open the door, all the birds come rushing at you.  Both kids immediately started screaming, and threw their seed sticks.  Bron starting crying and melting down.  I took them both out of there (which was difficult, because the birds were still trying to follow the kids, assuming they had food.  Bronwyn went out to Nana, and was still screaming and crying.  I think she was in sensory overload.  She was holding the cup of animal food (to feed to the goats, and such), which she threw.  About half the food spilled out all over the ground.  But she calmed down after that and helped me pick up most of the food.  After that, both kids refused to feed any animals.  But I had fun feeding them.  My favourite was feed the giraffe.  They have really long, almost prehensile, tongues. I thought I had a picture of me feeding the giraffes, but it's not on google photos.  That evening we went to my favourite restaurant, Cracker Barrel.  (Mainly because we don't have Cracker Barrel).  Bron didn't eat too much, which is fairly typical.  Bert at all his food.  

Bron and Emu

BB Eddie and a wallaby

The kiddos

He wants to photoshop a turtle into his hand.

Nana and kiddos.

Kids looking at turtles.

Thursday we went to an indoor play place called Kids Empire.  They had a blast, and practically had the run of the place.  There was only ever maybe 5 other kids there.  The slides were really fun.  I enjoyed it too, but I'm getting old, because it's hard on my back.  At midday, both kids were hungry, so we went to IHOP for lunch.  We went to Kohls for a few minutes.  Then the kids wanted Maccas, despite having eaten very well at lunch. So we did the drive through and then went back to the play place for the afternoon.  They were doing well.  Towards the end, Bronwyn had an issue.  She and Bert were sliding down on little sleds, and crashing into the other little sleds.  But then it was another girl's turn, and Bron didn't want to move the sleds out of the way so the little girl could slide down.  So I moved them, Bronwyn started kicking me, and the girl slide down.  Then Bronwyn tried to kick the little girl (she missed fortunately).  I said, Nope you're done, and scooped her up.  Bertram played for a little longer then it was time to head home.  Bron recovered fairly quickly.  But it's annoying to have to bear-hug her all the time when she's melting down.  

Bron and big Legos

Bert sliding.

The little sleds, mentioned above

"The Brown Splodge" by Bronwyn

Friday, today, Bb came over in the morning with the baby for a bit.  We hung out.  In the afternoon, we (me, the kids, Nana and Jessica) went to the science museum.  It was a really cool place, and since it was a Friday afternoon, it wasn't busy, so we didn't have to wait for any exhibits.  The front desk had sensory backpacks that you can borrow.  I got one for Bronwyn, mainly for the headphones (I was going to bring hers and forgot).  We saw rats playing basketball.  That was so cute.  I played air hockey against a robot.  We tied.  I was impressed that I managed to score on it.  The first area was fine, no issues.  The second area started badly for Bron and went downhill from there.  They had a human hamster wheel, which Bron did not like, for some reason.  There was an exhibit where you make music, and that was her last straw(she had the headphones on the whole time).  She started screaming, and crying.  So I took her out to the hall, where it was quiet.  She calmed down, and we found the little kid area.  It was for 5 and under, but I figured a young 6 was close enough.  It was quiet. with simple activities.  The ret of our group met us there.  Bert played with some blocks for a few minutes and built a greek temple.  Then we saw the beehive and the reptiles and spiders.  There was an exhibit on different physics principles that everyone seemed to enjoy.  Even though the museum is aimed towards kids, it was still really enjoyable.  I definitely would like to go back when we visit again.  After that we got dinner from Panera.  And went to Walgreens to buy snacks for the trip home tomorrow.  I spent the evening stressing about packing.  I'm hoping the suitcases are not over weight.  But, as Aaron reminded me, the worst that can happen is I have to pay for the overage, which isn't a huge deal.  I don't think either is 50lbs, because I can still lift them without too much struggle.  But we'll find out tomorrow.  Mom has a luggage scale I can use.

Nana and grandkids.

Seesters!

Rat basketball

Human hamster wheel.

Bron (with the sensory backpack) calming down in the little kid area

The Greek temple

She made a moon lab

She really liked this photo op.

Every night, until tonight (the last night) Bronwyn has been sleeping in my bed, with me.  When I ask her why she can't sleep in her bed she says "I just can't handle it".  Tonight, I finally got her to sleep in her bed, because I was packing, and my bed was covered in stuff.  Then, while I was taking a bath, Bertram came in and asked if he could sleep with me.  So, I thought I would get one night to spread out, but no.

 

Bronwyn started on a non-stimulate ADHD medication a couple weeks ago.  I haven't noticed much difference.  The psychiatrist said to up the dose.  (She was getting .5mg in the evening, now she'll get .5mg morning and evening.)

She got the 1-on-1 aide.  It didn't help, really at all.  She was still having all the same issues.  We had another IEP meeting just before break.  The district finally agreed to move her to the SpEd class.  She will still join her old class for certain activities (math, library and PE), but will be in SpEd the rest of the time.  When she is in the gen. ed. class she'll still have her aide.  Hopefully that helps with her behaviour, and she'll be more motivated to do classwork, since she'll be less stressed by the environment.  

School etc

 Both kids started school on the 1oth of August (so early!).  It's been... a lot.

We started Bertram on Adderall the day before school started.  We practiced trying to swallow pills al Summer (using M&M minis), but he never got the hang of it.  The nice thing about Adderall, is it's a capsule, so I can pull it open and put it in his pb&j or smoothie.  He has gotten used to the idea of taking it, he was very, very anti-medication.  Of any type.  Getting him to take Tylenol when he's sick is impossible.  I "incentivized" him. I said if he took it for at least a week, with out complaining (or balking), I'd get him a Nerf gun.  (And I hate Nerf guns). So far it's been going well.  I sent an email to his teacher, just to check in.  He's not been disruptive, or non-participatory, like last year.  She said he is actually answered too often, and not giving others a chance to talk.  He's been keeping up with his work.  And he hates PE.  Back to school night is next week, so we'll learn more about both kids' classes then.

Bronwyn, on the other hand, has been having a terrible start to the school year. In the first 3 days, I got 2 calls from the principal, and she was sent home one day.  She got a full-time aide (for the meantime) but she hasn't been helping much in preventing behaviours, so I'm not sure hoe much help she is.  Bron has been hitting, scratching, and just being physical with the teacher and other students.  Everyday has been terrible.  I think a lot of it is it's different from kindergarten (which she has expressed wanting to return to), also, there are a lot of kids in the class (23), and one teacher.  She wants/needs more attention, and there is only one adult. (In kindy, there were usually 3-4 adults). Except, sometimes when she's acting up, the teacher will send her to the SpEd class.  She does very well over there.  So we called for an IEP meeting to see if we could switch her too that class.  During the IEP, everyone seemed to think it would be a good idea for her to switch classes, except the special ed liaison from the district.  She sort of implied that SpEd wouldn't be a good fit, because SpEd is the last resort, and the academics aren't as good.  I'm not entirely convinced that that is the case, since there are a lot fewer kids, and way more adults to help.  But we changed around her RSP time, and she will have a full-time, trained aide starting on Wednesday.  After the IEP meeting, we met privately with the teacher, and she was implied that the district isn't offering us everything she is entitled to.  So everything was/is jumbled in my head.  There are pros and cons to each choice.  It's not as easy as I'd hoped it would be.  Nothing ever is, I suppose.  I think what we're going to do is try the aide for 4-6 weeks, and see how that goes, and revisit.  I'm thinking if the aide doesn't help, then SpEd is the best option for now.  She also can go into the regular class to do some work, and return to SpEd for other work.  We also are getting her re-evaluated for ADHD.  She's very young, but I think she might benefit from some medication.  I think we're going to keep her home on Monday, and (as long as it's ok with the teacher) I'll sit with her all day on Tuesday.  Then Wednesday the aid will start.  Bron has her well-check with the doctor on Tuesday so we'll talk about that.

We'll also talk about her sleeping habits.  I think I've mentioned this before, but she has suddenly stopped sleeping at an appropriate time.  Left to ger own devices, she'll stay up til midnight.  We're been able, the last few days, to coax her into bed by 10ish.  It's doesn't matter if we get her up earlier, how many activities we do during the day, how "tired out" she is, she won't go to sleep.  The melatonin has stopped working for her, so we stopped using it.  Benedryl, which we used on occasion, isn't doing much anymore either.  Dramamine works, but I'm limiting the use for now because I don't want her to become immune, and because it's not the proper use of Dramamine.

I am feeling better.  Except, I'm awake at 5am (since 1:30am).  I talked with my GI last week.  Just a check in.  I'm feeling well, my medicine is working.  But it's been 2 years since my last colonoscopy, which means I get to do that next month.  Yay.  I don't really mind the prep, except being hungry all the time.

I ordered birthday gifts for Aaron, my sister, and my niece.  And next week, I'll buy gifts for my other sister.

We decided to go to Virginia for Fall break.  I was on the fence, because it's expensive for a short trip.  But both kids were lamenting that they didn't get to go to Nana's house this summer.  And they want to see BB's house.  I decided that If I could get tickets under $300 we'd go.  Aaron opted not to go this time, so he'll watch the animals and the house.  We're going from Saturday to Saturday.  I was hoping to do like Friday to the following Sunday, but those tickets were a lot more expensive.  It's also more expensive to fly out of San Jose, so we'll drive to San Francisco.  But it's off hours, and on Saturday, so traffic won't be an issue.  I wish Aaron were going.  It's definitely easier to travel with kids with 2 adults (and I'll miss him).  But I think they'll do okay, they have in the past.

Aaron had his physical.  They want him to lose weight, 40 lbs.  I decided I'm going to get more serious about losing weight too.  So no snacking after dinner (which is hard, because I'm a night time snacker).  And I'm trying to snack less during the day, and walk more.  I've been walking the kids to school, then walking Monty after, so I get more steps.  Aaron doctor also said to take a 20 minute walk after dinner.  We were doing that most days, but we're skipping it because of the heat.  Now we're committed to our evening walks.

The three Weinberg grandkids.

Bronwyn and Aaron made donuts, on a whim.

Mid-Late June

At the end of April I had an appointment with my tattoo artist.  I added on two flowers for my grandparents.  A magnolia blossom and Queen Anne's lace.  Both of which make me nostalgic for my childhood summers on their farm.

In May there was a carnival at Bert's school.  I think Bron enjoyed it more than Bert did.  But they both had enough fun.  Bert was hoping the snow cone truck would come, but it didn't.  There was a churro truck, which was a good consolation.  

The next day was Scout-o-Rama.  Bron got over-stimulated.  Bert had a good time.  

The kids participated in some online research for eye-tracking related to autism.  They both got a gift card for amazon.  They both like participating in research projects (the gift cards help).  But I always sign up for various research studies too, something my mom instilled in me.

We went to the Makers' Fair the weekend after Scout-o-Rama.  It's where local people sell local-made goods.  We went to one before Christmas as well.  I really enjoy them, and the kids get bored.  Next time I think we'll leave them with the grandparents.  It's hard to look at lots of things with them.  They both do pretty well when we go shopping, but I guess this is different.

Bronwyn's school had young author's fair.  She, originally didn't participate.  The teacher worked, and worked with her.  She even offered to write, if Bron would dictate.  No dice.  So I wasn't going to go to the presentation, because she had nothing to present.  Aaron took her to school that day, and told me I needed to come and be with her, she was starting to freak out.  So I came to school to be with her.  And she was starting to melt down.  But I found out, that she did write the book, in her speech class, so she had something to present.  She was worried that so-and-so was in her group and he'd be mean to her.  It turns out so-and-so wasn't in her group, so she calmed down.  She read her book to the group of bigger kids without issue.  I was so so proud of her and told her as much.  Writing is the hardest thing for her.  

Around this time, my older sister came for her annual visit.  She and my dad went to Vegas, and a few other more local places.

Kids finished up the school year.  

Bron had a field trip to the park with her class.  I volunteered to go along, mostly to keep an eye on her, because situations that are different are hard for her.  She did fine.  Until we got back, then she was melting down a little.  Hitting, and being mean.  But she rallied.  At the end of the year, the whole class got awards for various things.  Bron got the Reset Award for being able to reset her emotions when she gets upset.  That is a well-earned, hard-worked for award.  I think she was able to finish up the school year without getting send home.
We were originally hoping that Bron could switch to Bert's school after kindergarten.  But her school is a better fit for her, and she in able to get more services there.  So she'll stay.  It's rough having two kids at two schools. But we do what we have to do.

Bert did a presentation on How to do Scratch.  I went and recorded it.  He did a great job.  The kids really liked it, and were very interested.  He did pretty well at the end.  His report card only had a couple of 2s and Ns.  

We went to the tide pools with the scout troop.  I think the kids really enjoyed it.  And I like the anemones.  I hadn't been to the tide pools in a long time.  We stayed at the beach for a bit after.  But Bronwyn got run over by a wave, which was our cue to head home.

I had 2 unsuccessful blood/platelet donations in a row.  The first time, they couldn't get a good vein (and they're only allowed to stick you once).  I think my draw-er was new.  I went back a couple weeks later to donate platelets, but my red loss was too high, so I wasn't able to donate.  

Bronwyn started Summer school.  It's just 8-11am, short days, which are nice.  The first day was a little rough, but she found her groove after that.  

On June 1st, Nanny passed away.  She had been ready for a long time, well over a year.  I got to see her in January, which was good, but she didn't remember me.  I bought last minute plane tickets for her memorial (June 17th).  I flew on Breeze for the first time.  It was a long flight, but having a direct flight was really nice.  I had to leave from SFO, but that wasn't a huge deal.  I got to spend a lot of time with my mom, which was awesome.  I got to see my sister and nephew a bit too.  Little Eddie isn't so little anymore.  He's not a huge fan of me.  My sister and I got mani/pedis.  The only time I ever do that is when she takes me.  I enjoy it, I should do it more.  But I have  hard time doing those things for myself.  The memorial was kind of weird.  Like really Jesus-y.  And very focused on being saved.  Which is fine for some, but she wasn't really like that when she was a live.  She was a devoted Christian and "knew" Jesus.  But, aside from meal-time prayer I do not remember Jesus ever being mentioned. My sister enjoyed catching up with the cousins at the luncheon.  She was like, you can talk to them too.  But I don't really have a relationship with any of them.  She does.  I think a lot of that is the fact that she lives there, and I don't.  But my social anxiety was on high.  

For my 40th birthday, Aaron did a Rachel day.  I got a nap, we went to Target and bought things I want.  We got what I wanted for lunch.  And we had a fancy (expensive) dinner.  Aaron ordered me a piece of jewelry, but it wasn't delivered until the 12th, actually the 15th.  So I got it when I got back from my trip.  

We also celebrated our 18th Anniversary.  But on that day, we found out that Bronwyn had covid.  So we ordered lunch in.  

Sick Bron

At the tide pools

The park field trip

My 40th Birthday

Painting the sidewalk

Bron's book for Young Author's Fair

Presenting her book

Bron and my sister

Bert's presentation

Bert at Scout o Rama

The magnolia tattoo