Sleepovers and Baking with Light Bulbs

I am not feeling incredibly witty today. So rather than amuse you with my typical fascinating tales about my crazy brood, I am simply going to do a few brief anecdotal updates. I apologize in advance for my lack of creativity today. It is 95 degrees in Minneapolis right now. Extremely hot and stiflingly humid. I spent the day talking to one hundred and eleven different people about their broken air conditioners in the course of a six-hour shift at work (that's an actual number, not an approximation). Almost all of the creativity or cleverness I may have possessed this morning was quickly sucked out of me by the telephone. Any tiny bit that may have remained then melted into a puddle in the floorboard of my car on the drive home. So...suffice it to say that you're not getting much from me today, my dear readers. I do, however, have a few updates to post. So please bear with my mundane and plebeian blog post. (I always wanted to use the word plebeian in a blog post.)

Ruanita and I had a meeting with the special education team at Lucas' school this afternoon to review his test results. A full battery of tests were performed on Lucas. He scored quite well on math, a definite strength of his. He also scored very high on cognitive testing. He is a bright little boy. However, they did find that he struggles with reading and writing, which came as no surprise to anyone. His scores in reading and writing—writing in particular—were quite low. Because he scored so high on cognitive testing—he's apparently quite intelligent—one would expect him to score high on performance tests. However, there is a definite discrepancy between his intellectual level and his performance in reading and writing. Because of this discrepancy, he qualifies for special education services. Actually, he qualifies by one point, but I'll take it. Starting in the fall (there are only two days of school left this year), he will receive 60 minutes a week (two 30-minute sessions per week) of individualized instruction in reading and writing. He will have an IEP and goals to meet. He is also going to be tested in the fall to see if he qualifies for occupational therapy service through the school, as well. His teacher feels that his fine motor skills are not where they should be. I am kind of excited that he is going to get help through his school. And I am also excited that he will only be pulled out of his classroom twice a week for thirty minutes. I was terrified of him being singled out more than that and labeled “special ed.” His teacher was wonderful in our meeting. He really lucked out this year. All in all, it was a good meeting and I feel positive about the plan.

In other Lucas news, he received his first sleepover invitation today. His best buddy at school, Ryan, is having a couple of friends over to spend the night the last day of school—this Wednesday. Actually, Ryan's older brother is having a big slumber party to celebrate his graduation from Hale School. He is in fourth grade currently and will be moving up to middle school next year. Since his older brother is having a bunch of kids over, Ryan's parents are allowing him to have two buddies spend the night, too. I pity those poor parents with a house full of eight- and ten-year-old boys. Sounds like my kind of hell. Initially, when I asked Lucas about it, he immediately said, “Oh no, I do not like sleepovers.” A few minutes later, however, he came back to say that he had thought about it and that he DID want to sleep over at Ryan's. So....I expect I will be getting a phone call around midnight Wednesday night to pick Lucas up from Ryan's house. Good times. When did he get old enough for sleepovers anyway?

Have I mentioned in this blog that I bought my daughter only the greatest gift ever for her birthday? She and Nicky will be turning five on June 18th. Sophie has never been a little girl to play much with dolls. She has no interest in Barbies. She lives to color, draw, and bake with mommy. So what did I get her? Well, an EasyBake Oven, of course! Only one of my absolute favorite toys I ever had as a child (second only to my Spirograph). I can't wait to see Sophie open it for her birthday. And I have to admit...I am probably more excited than she will ever be about baking brownies under light bulbs again. Yum.