Seattle
I went to Seattle at the beginning of July to pick up my niece, Dea, for the summer. First off, Dea is delightful and I would like her to live with us for the rest of her life. So when people say something like, "Don't you have family in town?" it's easy to forget that technically, yes, I do. Dea's just one of the kids, and it's been easy to transition from saying that I have 3 kids to claiming 4.
The Seattle trip was a much-needed break. And Seattle is GORGEOUS. I would move there in a heartbeat. I assumed that it would be brown like California, but no! With all the pine trees, it was a deeper green than the Midwest! LOVED it. The mountains, the ocean, the green-ness. Man, I don't know why we all don't pack up and move to Seattle right now!
Also, it was really fun to see my sister again. We don't get to see each other much since we live so far away. She's a wonderful person. I tend to think that she's prettier than me, so when we're together and people ask if we're twins, it makes me happy. Even if I'm the ugly twin, I'll take it!
Oh, oh! If you ever go to Seattle, think about going on the Underground Seattle tour. There's a whole section of town where a new street level was built, and the buildings were just buried to the second floor. So you can go walk around down there and learn about Seattle history. Awesome, right?!
And bring extra money (or your dad - that's what I did) and eat at the Metropolitan Grill. Buy a steak. Trust me.
School and Sign
School is going really, really well. I feel like my sign skills are getting better and better, and that's always a good feeling. I still feel kind of bad that people in my class struggle when I'm having the time of my life. But, honestly, I work my butt off doing this ASL thing. I practice all the freakin' time, to the point of annoying my family members. It's almost like an involuntary twitch at this point. I have to put my hands in my pockets to remind myself to keep my hands still. I've started pulling it out in Gospel Doctrine, without meaning to, and several people have caught me signing to myself while walking down the church hallway.
I was able to help with the effort to get the Deaf LDS Community in the Tri-State area (Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky) together. On Saturday I organized a potluck. Well, really, I picked a place and time and everyone else did the inviting. People came from Dayton, Columbus, and Danville, KY. They picked the next time to meet and planned it out, along with how they want things to run down the road. They started a Facebook page to try to involve as many Deaf LDS as they can. (The Deaf Community includes pretty much anyone who signs. So interpreters and students get included. Though honestly, I still feel like I'm on the fringe of it all, and I might feel like that for a long time, yet. I'm a facilitator and that's the way it is.)
I'm excited that I've been able to be a part of making this happen. I'm grossly undertrained, so I don't feel that I'm Useful in any real sense (I keep saying to myself), but if what just happened there wasn't Useful, than what is?
I also learned that there's a Bachelor's Degree at Wright State for Interpreter Training. I'm not sure what the full name of it is, but it's designed for people like me who will have finished a 2-year degree in an Interpreter Training Program. Not sure if that's the direction that I'll go with school, but apparently soon the certification requirement will change, and I'll need a bachelors. That's a ways off, but it's good to think about now.
(Also, this is going to sound like bragging, but I'm really happy about it, so I'm going to say it. My teacher today told me that I'm going to be a good interpreter. She said, "As teachers, we can always tell who the good ones will be, and you're going to be a good one." Go me! Though, honestly, my response was, "If I didn't want to be the best, then I wouldn't have started the program. I can be mediocre without a degree.")
Rob's Science Conference
Rob went to Maine for a week and had a great time at a super specialized scientific conference. He's was like, "I got to eat dinner with some of these big name guys!" and "That guy's at the top of the field and he was excited about MY research!" etc. It helped remind Rob that he really truly does like research, which is something he's been doubting ever since the 2 years of hell with his last boss.
It got Rob super motivated to get some science papers out. He and his boss came home with some great ideas for what to work on next. Plus, he spent a delightful week with his boss, talking science and getting to know her better. One of the great things about Edith is that she's not only a great boss, she's also a great person.
Rob brought home a Whoopie Pie cook book. I didn't know there was such a thing as Whoopie Pie. Apparently it's a New England thing. They're like big circle cakes with marshmallow filling. Here's a picture that I just grabbed off the internet:
Rob didn't know about the other thing that whoopie means. We were at a friend's house and I had to preface our family's next activity by describing what a Whoopie Pie is, so that the sentence didn't come out, "Come on, kids. Let's go make whoopies." The pluralizing of the word doesn't make it much better. It's already led to some fun jokes. Like, "Rob and I made whoopies and you guys tried it, too," and, "Come on over! We're making whoopies for dessert." ... I bet jokes like this get old really fast in New England.
Miciah and Dea
They're a great pair. Miciah gets Dea out doing stuff, and Dea keeps Miciah calm for the most part. It's a good arrangement. Since Dea's been here, bedtime has been smooth and Miciah never complains that she's bored.
Elijah
Elijah is significantly less crazy since we put Indoor Behavior rules in place. If he's inside and being crazy, then I ask him once to go outside or downstairs to play. If I have to ask him a second time, it's an automatic reading in his room for 15 minutes. Not a punishment, mind you, just an appropriate indoor activity. It's worked like a charm. Elijah is now manageable and the house is calm. Hurray!
Tank
Is officially 5 years old! New rules for him: No sucking fingers except in his room, at bedtime, and in the car. The day after his birthday we started the new rules. He was so mad at me. He threw a fit at my feet until I threw him in his room and then he napped for a few hours. The second day on the new rules and came up to me and said, "Mom, I don't like this new deal. I didn't make this deal!" I told him it wasn't a deal, it was just the way it is now. He wasn't happy with that at all.
However, we're over a week into the new rules, and it's been great. He's so obedient that he absolutely doesn't suck his fingers unless he's in his room or in the car, and the instances of both are decreasing. Just yesterday he said, "I only really suck my fingers when I'm going to bed now." Yes! That was the idea.
His Kindergarten screening is next week. He hasn't been too into learning about anything except animals, so he doesn't know how to read or write. Which means that he'll actually learn something in Kindergarten. He's coming out of his shell more and more, so we're less and less concerned about his transition to school. I think it also helps that we tell him, "We're all going to school, even Mom and Dad." He likes that.
Random Other
And that's pretty much life here. I like my new glasses. I can see crisper details, which is fun. People will say, "I didn't know you needed glasses," and I'll respond with, "Well, I don't really NEED them..." Glasses make the dark gray words in books appear black and sharp. They make the detail on the TV more crisp. They make the clock across the room more distinct. So it's not like I can now see what I couldn't before, I just can now see better what I could already see. And I like it. It makes my eyes feel more relaxed. Now when I take off my glasses my eyes go, "What are you DOING? Put them back on!"
My Uncle Rick is doing better! He's starting the recovery process. It'll still take a long time, but it's awesome that things are getting better. Thank you for all your prayers and support.
And I have a brand new nephew, born today in Utah! Hurray!!!
The End
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