The End of an Era

Since I've become a mother, I have only been called one thing by both children....Mama.  Keely sometimes calls me Mommy but for the most part, I am Mama and James is Dada.  That's what I'm used to hearing from the kids when they want me, sometimes many many times a day and it's all I've been responding to since Quinn started talking, over 10 years ago.  I guess I always knew that it would end, but I didn't think it would be so dramatic to me when it did.  Just in the last couple of weeks, and seemingly overnight Quinn has started to call us Mom and Dad.  I first noticed it on vacation in Emerald Isle when he called to James in a store...Dad, come look at this!  Now, when he calls me Mom it sounds like an incomplete word.  It just doesn't sound right.  He occasionally slips back into Mama, but the majority of the time he calls me Mom.  Keely still calls me Mama or Mommy, so nothing has changed there.  After hearing your child call you something for 10 years, it's hard to get used to something else.  It's also another sign that he's growing up.  Sigh.

On another Quinn related note, I no longer have to pine for the days of his buzz cut.  No amount of bribery was enough, but a case of head lice convinced him to let James buzz it again after three years.  It only took one thorough and painful combing of his head for him to reconsider his stalwart position.  Keely's version is that he first went to look at a picture of himself with a shaved head, decided he liked how he looked, and told James to buzz it.  It's like looking at a different child.  He looks a tad younger to me, but it's nice for him to have a fresh start and to get all of that thick hair off his head.  I'm sure he won't let it happen again anytime soon, but for now it's light, easy and cool on these hot, hot summer days.

The pictures are before and  (sort of) after - with the swim cap on for his baby oil lice treatment, and the after is actually way before when he last had his hair this short 3 years ago.  Trust me, there's not much difference :)

Perfectionist

Virginia has state standard tests that begin in 3rd grade.  As part of the 4th grade curriculum, Quinn prepared and took three SOL (Standards of Learning) tests.  The preliminary results arrived in yesterday's mail.  Quinn did very well, with advanced proficiency scores in all areas.

Reading - 600 out of 600
Mathematics - 469 out of 600
Virginia Studies - 546 out of 600 (and they took the 5th grade level test)

When I got home from work, I saw the scores and went to see him in his room where he was building with Legos.

Mama: Quinn, did you see your SOL scores?
Quinn: Yes.
Mama: You did very well, I am proud of you.
Quinn:  Except in math!

Apparently, he wasn't happy with that score despite his near perfect scores in the other subject areas.  I wonder where he gets that perfectionism from?!?! 

Oh, and he also got a haircut finally.  It's nice to see his eyes again.  How I long for the days when he would let James give him a buzz cut!

End of School

I feel like the kids were just starting their new school year, and I was so nervous for them as they entered a new school in a new state knowing virtually no one.  Well, as time does tend to do it flew by and this past Friday was their last day.  Looking back, I can say that they adjusted well and ended up loving their first year at Beech Tree.


An update on some of the last few events at school.  We attended their Spring Fling, a dance party in the school gym with a DJ.  They had a blast, but we thought the music was too loud :(  They had Field Day the Monday before school ended.  I wasn't there but from what I hear and the pictures I saw, it was the "wettest" and tons of fun. 

We also attended Quinn's Book Expo, which was the culmination of their last project in 4th grade.  Think a book report in presentation form, complete with a tri-fold poster board, brochures, games, and prizes.  Each child picked a book of the fantasy theme...Quinn chose Starfinder by John Marcos, a book he had read in Florida (another great Uncle Ryan pick).  All of the other classes came in to the expo, and the kids had to explain their book to each attendee...you can imagine how tired they were at the end of the day! 

Quinn did very well on his report card.  He got all As and one B.  He really excelled in Ms. Ta's class, pretty much from the day he entered back in October.  It was really where he was meant to be.  I'm not sure if I mentioned, but he is now officially in the AAP program instead of being a guest like this year.  This means that he is in this program until 8th grade, and will be in the AAP class in 5th grade with most of the same children.  Another good thing about being officially in the program is that he can choose to attend our neighborhood middle school or our "center" school where he will have even more opportunities for advancement.  I'm not sure which he will choose, but he has another year to figure that out.  On a side note, Quinn has just finished re-reading the HP series of books...this time, in just over 2 weeks.  Pretty impressive considering he was in school most of that time.  He read the series the first time in a little over a month, but he was out of school that whole time.  It's crazy and ambitious, and he says he is going to read them a 3rd time.  From someone who does not read a book twice, I am slightly jealous and very impressed that he has the stamina and interest to read something again, and learn more about it.  We are very proud of him, he is such a smart boy and I love watching him turn into a young man.  I'm not crazy about the fact that he's on the cusp of his last year of elementary school and turning 11, but it is fun watching him learn and grow.


Keely did very well also.  She got all Os and Gs.  Next year, she will get letter grades.  Along with her report card were the results of her Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA).  She got a 38 out of 40, putting her in the at or above grade level category for reading.  This is great for her, because reading is not her favorite thing to do.  She does it, and she shows some aptitude for it but it's just not her first choice.  She has many other passions though, and we just try to continue to cultivate a love of reading.  It's catching on a bit, and we will continue encouraging her.  She didn't test well enough to enter the AAP program, and frankly we feel that 3rd grade is a little too young to judge that type of skill.  We'd like a recommendation to come from a teacher, whereas most parents fight the test scores and get their children in as guests.  She understands that she needs to try her best, and ask lots of how/why questions if she wants to get into that program.  Frankly, I think her desire to be in it comes from two of her best friends entering that class in 3rd grade.  She must have some of my competitiveness, because she wants to be there too.  We are very proud of her, she is doing really well in school, she made a lot of new friends this year and I think she's finally gotten over her sadness of leaving Utah.  It still creeps in there from time to time, but she is very happy in her school and with her new friends.

They will return to Beech Tree for another year.  Our area was subject to a boundary adjustment this year, but Quinn was grandfathered in because he is a rising 5th grader.  Due to that, Keely was allowed to stay as a sibling.  What happens for Keely in 4th grade is still a bit of an unknown...she may be allowed to stay at Beech Tree if there isn't overcrowding but she may have to transfer to the new school (which is a bit closer to our house anyways).

13.1

Last weekend, I completed my first half marathon.  I just began running again around Christmas time, so this was a big accomplishment and I am very proud of myself.  I was nervous the week leading up to the race, but I knew that I had done my training and was well prepared.  The night before the race, we were supposed to drive to Annapolis and stay in a hotel so that I could walk to the start in the morning.  Well, Mother Nature didn't like that plan much.  There were heavy thunderstorms, tornado watches, and inches of rain falling as the time to depart neared.  We decided to stay home instead, and drive to Annapolis early in the morning instead.  Thankfully, the hotel let us cancel our room at no charge (we will most definitely stay there in the future, because of how nice they were when I called).  The plus side was that I got to sleep in my own bed, and we saved the cost of a hotel and boarding for Callie.

The minus side was that I had to get up at 4:30 AM, and then the entire family had to be in the car and on our way around 5:15 AM.  Yes, it was an early wake up call.  We got to Annapolis fairly quick and then waited a while to park.  After parking and waiting on a 20 minute line for the pottys, I made it to start line with 3 minutes to spare!  No time for nerves, because it was time to run.  I started with the 2:10 pacer, because I consistently run 10 minute miles in training.  In hindsight, I could have started with the 2:00 pacer, because I think I could have pushed it more.  But when I started I knew I had 13 miles to go, and the last thing I wanted was to fade. I felt great, I had no cramping or aches...just a great run.  There is something so fun about running in a group, and this race was mostly women so it was even more fun.  I didn't even listen to music the first 4 miles, just enjoyed running through downtown Annapolis, the sights, the scenery, and the group running dynamic.  I drank Cytomax and water at each aid station, and had a Gu Energy Gel at around 4.5 miles.  I also had another Gu at 9 miles but I don't think that one helped that much.  It also gave me a bit of heartburn (apparently I don't like the Vanilla flavor).  I'd say the last mile or 1.5 miles was my hardest.  I was just tired, and felt like I was fading.  Thankfully, I saw James and the kids a couple of times in that stretch and Quinn even ran with me for a bit to help push me long.  I didn't lose any ground on my very consistent pacing, finishing just a shade under 2 hours, 10 minutes.

I was very tired that afternoon and evening, and my toes were very banged up. It's taken me over a week to recover.  I have to stay patient with myself, but it's tough.  Running seems to be in my blood now and it's hard not to run.  I really enjoyed the half marathon, I like the distance and I know that I will do more.  My goal is to finish under 2 hours.  First though, I have to concentrate on the next step in the ultimate goal of 2012, to run a marathon.  I am only halfway there, but I still have over 20 weeks until the marathon.  I feel confident that I can do it...I've shown myself that I can stick to the training.  I'm taking a little breather through June and July, but then I will step back up to a more formal training program and be on my way to 26.2!

Beech Tree 5K

This past Sunday, we ran our first 5K together as a family.  James was Quinn's buddy runner, and they also ran with Quinn's best buddy Jack.  I ran with Keely, and we ended up running along with two other 2nd graders.  Quinn finished in just over 33 minutes, which was about 6 minutes faster than his first 5K last month.  Keely finished in just over 37 minutes, pretty good for her first 5K and with no training.  Her only practice was to run around our basement for about 40 minutes while I ran 4 miles on the treadmill.  I couldn't believe she ran the whole time, and just kept doing laps around the outline of the basement.

The school got a ton of great photos of the event, and I've clipped those that show our family in action.  It was fun, and I'm proud of the kids for running a 5K at such a young age.

Running is such a great way to keep in shape, and I hope to instill in them an enjoyment from running so that they can continue with it on through their adult lives.  I've definitely been hot and cold about running, but I do think it's important to stay fit and running is just one possibility for that. I'm not sure if the kids will love running, or continue on with other races, but I do know that we all had fun on Sunday, and that's a great start!

Keely's First Communion

Last Sunday, Keely's long anticipated day finally arrived.  She has been preparing, and very much looking forward to celebrating her first Holy Communion and being able to fully participate in Mass for the first time.  She was very excited and looked beautiful in a little bit of old and a little bit of new...new dress, shoes, sweater and old veil, a hand me down from Aunt Lois who wore it on her First Communion many years ago.  It completed her outfit perfectly! 


The First Communion was held during the noon mass, and to celebrate afterwards we held a luncheon at our house.  It took nearly 13 years of marriage, 3 states, 2 kids and 2 cross country moves but we finally held our first extended family gathering at our own home.  Because we live so close now, everyone was able to drive here to help Keely celebrate.  We had 26 people total at our house on Sunday!  Thank goodness the weather was nice and we were able to use the backyard as planned.  James spent many hours toiling and making it look so much better....it's still a work in progress, but the improvement is impressive.


We made most all of the food ourselves including pulled pork & chicken, BBQ sauce, potato salad, pasta salad, and green salad.

Dessert was the piece de resistance though...a homemade, beautifully hand decorated cake made by Keely's very own very talented Aunt Judith.    She spent many hours decorating, and just when I would think she was done she added another touch of beauty.  It looked so good I didn't want to cut it!  But we did have to taste it, and it tasted as good as it looked :)  We were so grateful that Judith could make the cake for Keely on this very special day!

Everyone enjoyed the food and the company,and  we are so grateful to everyone for making the trip to Virginia to celebrate Keely.  It was yet another reminder that the move to Virginia was meant to be...we felt very blessed on this day indeed!

The Best of Friends

By my recollection, Jess and I met the summer after 4th grade when we were both campers at Manalapan Recreation (or what we called Rec for sure).  I was 10, she was about to turn or just had turned 11.  We didn't go to the same school at the time, but we met up in middle and high school.  No matter how much time passes or how far apart we are, we always fall right back in line with each other.  We've spanned different colleges, different states, have been leading arguably different lives - but our friendship has remained true and pure.  We are now both 35, and we marvel that it has been 25 years.

We are both thrilled to finally be living on the same coast...the closest we have lived to each other since we were in high school.  We visited New York in November for the kids' TV debut (which was made possible by Jess) and they made a trip to DC this weekend to stay with us, and do some sightseeing.  We have created a bit of a monster with Keely (Keyak as Ethan calls her) and Ethan...a bit of an obsession.  Ethan just loves her, and was so excited to be seeing her again this weekend.  They spent most of the time together.  She was such a diligent babysitter, waking up much earlier than usual to hang with E, and taking such good care of him.  She even took a bath with him (her in a bathing suit, of course) and I question who enjoyed that bath more.  There was much laughter and good conversations, and Jess and Jon got to experience the bliss of having older children around to care for the little one so that they could relax and chat as adults get to do when their kids get older.  We braved some pretty cool April weather on Saturday to explore DC...walking around the Washington Monument and WWII Memorial.  We followed that with some museum hopping, from American History (love that First Ladies exhibit) to Natural History (the Titanoboa exhibit is pretty cool, along with the old favorites) and then a bit of the Castle and the surrounding gardens.  After some downtime back at the Donovan homestead, we headed back out for an early dinner in Old Town Alexandria.  This was Jon's idea, and thanks to Jess and yelp.com we found what will most definitely be a repeat dinner establishment for us...the Columbia Firehouse.  We walked down to get some cupcakes from what will most definitely not be a repeat bakery for us (they weren't worth the calories) and then down to the water.  We didn't get rained on, and it was a busy but fun day.

Their visit was so much fun, and we wished it would have been a bit longer but it was really perfect.  We're already talking about another meet-up...Philadelphia is being discussed or maybe we will be NY bound again.  It's so great that we are both so close to Amtrak. 

And I've just had the realization that I can credit Rec for both my soul mate and my lifelong best friend.  It's unlikely that James and I would have met without Rec and while it's likely that Jess and I would have, it's still where we can credit the beginning of that friendship.  How amazing!