Winter is Coming

Nico got his first report card of the year last week.  Overall, pretty good.  He needs to work on producing neater work and listening a little better, but I could have told you that.  His reading is really starting to take off.  His reading at the beginning of the year was where they want it by the middle of the year.  

What is funny (at least to me), is that whenever we work on practicing spelling words, I *jokingly* tell him I am getting real tired of him getting them all right all the time.  So I went with that routine when I talked to him about his report card.  For a second, he was a little scared, since I was being so serious.  It was always funny when my mom did that with us kids...she'd "get after" us for bringing home all As... telling us that we better shape up and start bringing home Bs and Cs. 

It was hilarious when I started driving the struggle bus at Ft. Myers in the IB program and I had to redo Trigonmetry.  Joke's on everyone else, since I haven't had to use a Trig a day in my life.  Boom.  

*drops mic*

We had our first winter storm this weekend.  We had maybe an inch of snow on Friday night and woke up Saturday thinking, is that all?  Then proceeded to get another 3 inches on Saturday.  We made a game day call for Dave to try to make it to Louisville for a birthday party of one of his best good friends from high school.  It took him 2.5 hours to get out of Chicago, and the roads were just a hot mess south.  So he turned around and came home. 

The good news is that we are headed down there for Christmas, so he might get a chance to see his friends afterall.  Sunday we took one of Nico's friends for sledding at the sledding hill.  I even got in on some of that action.  Let me tell you, even as an adult, sledding is really fun.  

Skaty McSkaterson

A couple of Sundays ago, Nico's good school buddies had a play date.  One thing led to another and we all decided to take the boys ice skating.  Wyat (in the red) and Alex (in the blue) are both taking hockey and skating lessons, so their skating was pretty good.  They also had all the equipment- so they bombed around the rink having a blast.  

Given that this was only Nico's 3rd time skating, he wasn't as good.  He wasn't wearing pads- except for the helmet.  So, when he crashed, he was crashing on flesh.  He must have fallen down 100 times.  But he got up every time.  And didn't cry.

The cool thing up here, is that there are a ton of setups where you can take skating lessons.  There will be a 4 or 5 session skating class where you learn the fundamentals and when you can prove that you're not an absolute menace to society, you get to move onto playing hockey.  Which is cool and that Nico wants to do, in addition to lacrosse and baseball.

Turns out that all this school and work nonsense just gets in the way of Nico playing sport and Dave/Me ferrying Nico to sport.

The Garden Plot

So, I mentioned before, that I am trying to start us in a garden club in the neighborhood.  Well, they let us in!!  Wooo hoo!!  We are plot #94 of the North Park Village Garden Club.  

The plot is about 10 feet wide by about 20 feet long.  It is completely covered in weeds and lemon balm.  My neighbor has been a member of the NPVGC for 30 some odd years and the plot I am on used to be her son's.  

The last couple of Saturdays I have spent a couple of hours trying to get the plot in order.  Since we are at the end of the growing season, we're basically just doing getting the paths on either side of the plot in good order and clearing the weeds.  I am probably going to put some weed paper down, which will help keep the weeds from taking it back.  But, it's not terrible to spend all day pulling weeds when they smell like lemon balm.  

I have been doing some reading on the matter, and think I might go with the square foot garden method.  I am real tempted to put in some strawberry beds though.  I don't have to give the plot up every year.  If I want this plot next year, I can have it.  I would love to just have some strawberries.  But It would be 2 years before they start producing.  No one else seems to have strawberries, so maybe that is because they don't grow well in our area.  I don't know.  Maybe I should just stick to carrots and garlic?

And, I am not saying this is going to happen.  I am just saying.  That, if they don't watch themselves, I going to get all up in there and figure out how to have chickens or bees.  Just sayin.  

The First Tooth

Nico lost his first tooth on Sunday night.  It was a little loose and he was laying in bed reading and fussing with it, and it just came out.  He was quite pleased with himself.  

The tooth fairy came and left him $5.

Halloween

This Halloween, we stayed in the neighborhood and did trick or treating with The G's.  To recap, The G boys J and O play soccer in AYSO with Nico.  Their Dad coaches them and we have gotten to be pretty good friends with them.  They have a younger sister L, who just turned two (and is so adorable).  

Nico went as an army guy again this year.  He wasn't so much into the trick or treating, but was a lot more interested in running around the neighborhood with the boys.  

We trick or treated with them in the neighborhood, then headed back to their house for beers and dinner.  Their house is very cool- with a huge fenced in back yard and swing set.  Plus the basement is basically a big kids play room.  So, essentially, the boys run around like banchees and have a grand time.  

Their candy haul was impressive.  Turns out, the G's part of the neighborhood has their candy game on point.