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The Good

This term has started off really well. Our schedule allows Alyssa and I to alternate days of sleeping in while the other takes Odin to school where he is early enough for breakfast. We both have ample study time, and a large portion of it is actually being at home so we're able to work there, nap, relax, or go for a walk. (Read: maintain our sanity.) Odin seems to have gotten down a good bed-time routine (with the exception of some nights) which is giving him a bit more sleep, and he's surprisingly cooperative in the mornings (with the exception of some mornings).

Additionally, our classes seem to be going a little easier on us. Alyssa has nothing to do but compose all term, and I only need to keep up with my readings and translations which are much more friendly than last term. We get out by 2pm every day and grab Odin so there is more at-home time and we are doing nice meals and giving Odin, as well as ourselves, a good structure every day. It's working out well so far and we hope this term will be relatively stress-free, especially compared to last term, which was probably the worst in the history of our education.

The Bad

I've discovered I have even more allergens than I thought, and it's forcing me off of yet more foods I love. I'm trying to switch to the Eat to Live policy, rather than the Live to Eat, but it's a slow transition. Odin is also crossing more foods off his list, but we'll save that for.....

The Ugly

Odin can not have dairy, soy, or wheat, and it seriously cramps what he's able to eat at school. They are facilitating his dietary needs just fine, but he isn't adjusting very well. It's not that he has a problem staying away from the foods; he'll even insist he can't eat something because it has an allergen as an ingredient. The problem is how much it's stressing him out. His teachers told us he didn't have a good time when he could only eat a PBJ (they didn't have him off wheat yet) while the rest of the class got to eat cheesy potato salad. Anyway, we're working on it as best we can. I'm sure it will be better for him in the long run.

Photos

Finally got those pix up in the Jan - Mar '10 album. Some random shots and vids, and then stuff from our hike up Mt. Pisgah and our trip to the Raptor Center.

Finally! An update!

Well there's just so much to say. A lot has happened and, sadly, I won't be able to provide exact dates, but I'll talk about it all.

In no particular order......

Odin has been moved from the Panda room (2yrs) to the Caterpillar room (3-4yrs) on Mondays and Fridays to transition to being there full time when he turns 3 in a couple weeks. (No, we don't have the birthday plans yet. I'll post them here when we do.) He's really loving it, especially since his best friends Armstrong and June were moved up to that class a few weeks ago. The Caterpillar teachers tell us he does well and has a great time. The Panda teachers miss him.

Odin had some blood drawn for an allergy test. The results aren't in yet but we've taken him off dairy and soy per the doctor's orders for the time being. He's supposed to be off wheat as well but two was hard enough. He took to it rather well; he understands when there is soy or cow milk in something and wont ask for it, even if it's a favorite food. He had the occasional break-down or tantrum at first, and we think it was just stress about the food change combined with stress from how busy we got. More on that later.

Freya has been talking up a storm. She can clearly refer to me as Da-da and call for me. She calls Odin bu-buh (brother) and we're working on ma-ma.

I've been collecting some photos and videos so those will go up later tonight as well.

We're finally on spring break. It took quite a lot of work but we did it.

Alyssa's piece was performed in FMO with great success, and the composition she worked on all term was played well (according to her, I wasn't able to be there). I ended up staying up late every night of finals week working on a ten-page research paper, which turned out rather well (with huge thanks to Alyssa and Jason for helping me make edits). I'm confident that I did well, and I actually passed a second-year Latin class. (Vergil is fun, but rough. Damned poetic license....)

Today we enjoyed our first day off hiking up Mt. Pisgah with Melanie. Odin hasn't been hiking before and it's been years since my ankle felt good enough to manage. We had tons of fun. Lots of pictures and such. Wore us out....

Melanie is Dennis' (Alyssa's dad) partner and she's been staying with us for about a week or so now. She left Iowa (where they live) to stay with a friend in San Diego and came up to us after that to see the sights and check out U of O for her masters work after graduation. Thanks in large part to our subtle efforts, she fell in love with the place and is now trying to convince Dennis and James (her son) to move out here as well. We really hope they do (Alyssa hasn't seen her dad in more than a decade and I've never met him), and we're all having lots of fun out here.

I feel like there's a lot more to say, but for now that will do. I'll get working on those pictures and upload them.

One more thing; we did get a land line in our home, though it's almost useless since we have such adequate cell-phones. My number is 541-357-7436 and that will ring both my cell and our land line, so if anybody wants to drop us a line, use that! Cheers!

Long story short

It's the last week of school and we're swamped, so I can't say much. What I can say is what I'll talk about in more detail later.

Odin was tested for food allergies. Freya is talking (have some good videos to post). Alyssa has had great performances lately. And nothing of note has happened to me.

Cheers!

On a Roll!

With all the moving Freya has been doing, it sure took her a long time
to roll. She finally did just now from front to back. Yay!

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