Seb Helps With Homework

Everyone has his or her own desk, complete with drawers and school supplies galore, but they all seem to congregate in the sala where Seb makes his rounds and checks in. It was driving me crazy to have books and papers strewn about, along with fielding six hundred "have you seen my--- ?" questions later in the evening, but now I'm just acquiescing. Seb loves the activity, and I'm at hand to help both of them if need be.

Of course now it makes me wonder if we should get rid of their desks, but we've had enough furniture changes for one year. Is that even possible?

43 weeks

45 Weeks

I'm Just Going to Say It

I'm excited about Christmas.

A little Sinatra came on the car radio and then boom, just like that I was dreaming of fresh pine scent, the sound of the Christmas train, and the three big kids helping Sebby with his first real Christmas presents. 

I know it's September, but it's the perfect time to start shopping lists, and get going on taking Christmas pictures. My crew needs a lot of help in the Christmas picture department. 

Stocking stuffers can be such a last minute stress. This year I have every intention of buying them as we work our way through the Fall. 

I'm going to ask the kids to make a tentative list so I can get organized and more importantly, budget for it all. 

This year I'm dreaming big. I'd like a bigger rice cooker. 

Alentejo Sunday

This is the UV net we use for Sebby on walks. 

Moojie's consolation for missing a weekend with friends.

 I'm so much happier with this upgraded helmut.

 This is the second time I've gone on the motorcycle with Pai. He wanted to take me back to the spot where he proposed. In the heat it's quite a hike so I agreed. It caused quite a stir.

 This is the view looking west from the top of the hill. Not at lot happening in the Alentejo :-)

I didn't actually drive it.

Things I Want to Remember

Zita is so enthusiastic with school and high on life right now that it's hard not to catch some of her elation.  She comes home glowing and pink cheeked in a hurry to tell me about funny things her teachers said and did.

She loves her music teacher and is contemplating adding saxophone to clarinet instead of switching. MY gut says that the schedule is too full. 

Despite being busier than ever, and only arriving home at 9:45 pm on mon, wed, fri, Moojie is coping like a champ, and thrilled with his new classes. I continually remind myself that he is 15 and not a 34 year old mother who hasn't slept through the night for half of her life. I think he might snap if I tell him one more time to just close his eyes and take a 5 minute rest. He keeps saying "I got it- I´m fine," and he does, but it´s still a hard transition for me to back off.  

Sebby goes into a spastic state when the biggies come through the door. His legs start kicking, he squeals, and he bangs on my shoulder as if to say "move it over to those kids Mom! I'm bored of you!" 

He loves lift-the-flap books, dancing, and being in the middle of the action. 

We´re going through a major purge of household belongings. The books were just the beginning. We revisited the kitchen cabinets and got rid of even more stuff, and also ripped out 75% of the cabinets.

 There's room at the counter now for Seb and his peanut butter pucker face. It cracks me up.

All staggered food introduction is long gone. Seb eats what we eat. 

44 Weeks

Seb is not too keen on sitting down for these weekly pictures anymore.

Photo Dump

Double Whammy

Not only did my phone die on Friday the 13th, but our desktop- yes people still have desktops- also died this week. We knew it was coming and put our desktop into hospice care by trying to take as much as possible off the hard drive so as not to strain its poor outdated system. In the end, our little computer couldn't last another day. 

That leaves me with just my iPad, which is a first world problem if ever there was one. 

We are almost at the end of the first week of school. There is lots and lots of tweaking the routine, but I'm confident we'll get to a smooth place eventually. There's so much to say about their new schools that I'll put it all in another post. 

 The biggest change this year,  without a doubt,  is Moojie and Zita walking to and from school. Zita walks by herself since she likes to be early, and Moojie leaves without a second to spare. They also walk home for lunch, and then back to school for the rest of their lunch hour to socialize with friends. 

Freddy and I still have quality school run time in the car together. However, Seb continues to plauge us with crying or  threats to resume crying while we drive. Freddy is an expert on all things that calm his brother in the car, and I love him for it. 

Posts without photos feel naked so here is a little shot of Sebby helping Mooj link his laptop to the TV today during lunch. I can't wait to Skype the person brave enough to have her face displayed on that gargantuan screen. 

First Fall Weekend in the Alentejo

Let's start the weekend recap with the new animals. There is a very new bottle-fed baby calf that got separated from his mother. He is as docile as a kitten and world's greatest companion for the kids. Sebby was making lots of "mooooo mooooo" sounds every time we said "what does the cow say?"

 A large black lab mix puppy dog turned up on the doorstep a few weeks ago and despite best efforts, the original owner couldn't be found. "Pec" is quite happy in the company of kids and took a particular liking to Zita.

 Some of the older mares came to check out Sebby by smelling him and then blowing hot borse breath in his direction. He could not have been more enthralled.

 There are three new foals!

 They are born brown and go on getting lighter with age until they turn snow white.

 We couldn't let Seb get in the direct sun to pet the grazing horses, so we took him into the stables to get close to one of the bigger stallions. He went nuts! His legs were pumping and he made his best whinny noises after lots and lots of practice from looking at horse books. Seb made every effort to ditch Pai and jump right on the horse´s back. We've had enough accidents lately so he can sit in the horse next time.

Small side note: today marks the two year blogiversary of Life on Happy Street! 

The Hospital Post

We've been home from the hospital for a week now and I'm done with the whole subject. However, it was a major event in our family and in Sebby's life thus far, so here goes a very abbreviated re-cap. 

All photos are out of order. 

Seb waking up from anesthesia on the day we went home. 

Visinting with the big kids was the highlight of the week, and the absolute best medicine. He lit up with happiness, and I don't blame him. Parents can be boring, right? 

Seb wasn't allowed to the leave the room or play on the floor, so he was confined to sitting on our laps, or in a small metal crib. Letting him play in the sink rounded out the entertaining lap-crib-sink rotation that we devised to keep the day moving along. 

Sebby's upper back 

My happiest moment was getting all four kids back together again. We all needed this short moment of family time to regroup. I couldn't stop hugging the big kids, and they couldn't stop hugging Seb. 

If we never see these Fisher Price keys again, I'll be a happy person. 

This was before we were told he couldn't play on the "dirty" floor that was mopped at least 4 times a day. 

A little nap on Pai's lap. 

Lots of pat-a-cake, peek-a-boo, twinkle twinkle, and itsy bitsy spider. 

Helping the nurse by pulling off his electrodes. 

The big kids had this spread waiting for us in the kitchen, complete with a large Welcome Home sign. I don't think I have ever been happier to be home. 

Any time Seb was in the crib, he would become fixated on ripping that oxygen thingy out of the wall. 

How is Sebby now? 

He's the same old Seb- curious and determined as ever. We have to keep him completely out of the sun, including sun coming through the windows indoors. This is the only way to avoid dark pigmentation on his face. 

 Here is a grainy iPad photo of Sebby just yesterday. 

Here is a useful link on what to do in case your child is burned. I hope you'll never need it.

http://kidshealth.org/parent/firstaid_safe/emergencies/burns.html