Parentheticals

Alison and Mike celebrated their 16th anniversary this week. We were so busy that we didn't really plan anything, but Mike ended up making a not very amazing chocolate mousse, which he called a malfeasance  (Because it wasn't a tort). Rea and Sara both continued to attend their play rehearsals this week. They are practicing Tuesday and Thursday nights from 6:30 to 9:30, and Saturday mornings from 9:30 to 12:30, so it's a lot! They are having fun, though. This week, Alison took them on the bus on Tuesday, so that they could learn how to do it. We're not sure how often they'll take the bus - they have to leave at 5:15 to get there early enough to not be nervous about being late, and Rea doesn't get home until 4:30 on Thursdays, so probably only on Tuesdays. But that's one less hour Alison has to spend driving them! Elsa got an award for friendship at school this week! That's not too surprising; she tells us that everyone in her class is her friend and alwa...

This week, Alison started going to a class at the kids' school. Parents and other adults are invited to come and do the free Science of Well-Being class that's been put online by a Yale professor. This is a topic Allison is interested in, and she's been working on getting out of her comfort zone and interacting with people, so it seemed like a good idea. The first class was fun. Rea and Sara have been going to rehearsals for their play multiple times this week. It is a pretty long drive for Alison to drop off and take them back, so she is planning on teaching them how to take the bus there. They have been enjoying the rehearsals and are excited to perform in the play. We invited to Buck and his wife over to eat dinner with us this week because they helped us so much in the process of getting back into our house. It was nice to have them over and to talk with them. Various members of our family have been getting sick on various days this last week. Seems like it's a mild...

Timmy has been making good progress on the Lion Knight's Castle - he has been working on it with some help from Mike; however, he has been doing most of it himself. He is also making up a story of how each new bag that he opens was a new stage in the development of what started out as a small farmer's house. We also got a robot vacuum that is either named "Stabby" or "Sharkie" (depending on who you ask and when. Alison decided that it would be a good motivator for the kids and would help them to clean up their floors without an adult having to check them out to make sure that they are done. The idea is that they clean their floors and then, when they are done, they get the robot to sweep them, and if they do a good job, it won't bump into things all the time. So far, they like it fairly well. Alison, Rea, and Tim are now attending Connect-Ed again. Alison is teaching new classes (she hasn't taught before, so this is a first time for her). They are ha...