Last week of vacation

The last week of summer vacation 2015 was quite uneventful.  I was ready to go back to work and have the kids in school three weeks ago and, unfortunately, my attitude and energy levels have been lacking.

On Monday we took the flag suit pictures that I already showed you.  On Tuesday I didn't take a single picture on either my phone or the camera.  That almost never happens.  

On Wednesday we had Elliott's very last weekly physical therapy session.  I have taken at least one picture at every single session.  But did I get anything from the last one?  Not so much.  We're going to start going to monthly sessions now, but those will be at random times, not regular times like his weekly sessions have been.  I also made an appointment for him to have an occupational therapy evaluation in August.  At this point I think he needs OT more than PT.

We went to the IDEA museum after PT.

For the first time in more than a year, Elliott became a lefty again.

He was coloring with his left hand too until I pointed it out to him and he switched.

On Thursday we had Meet the Teacher night for both kids.  Elliott is going to the same preschool that Spencer attended.  Unfortunately it is not the same school where Spencer attends now.  He's going to the morning session on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so Spencer is going to start taking the bus to school since I can't get two kids to two different schools at the same time.  

It was like déjà vu walking into this classroom.  The first year that Spencer went to preschool here I was 4 months pregnant with Elliott.  The second year, Elliott was 7 months old.

And now, he's the student.

Spencer had the same teacher for both years.  We're so glad we'll have a kid with her for another two years.  Elliott is going to go three days a week this year but we're going to bump him up to five days a week next year.  I never felt like Spencer needed five days a week, but now with Elliott, well, second kid, different rules.

Since it was the 16th we decided to do Elliott's 3 year 7 month photo shoot in the classroom.

Official

After Elliott's Meet the Teacher we rushed over to Spencer's school to meet his teacher.  We didn't know who it would be until we got there and checked the class rosters.

Spencer was in Room 4 for Kindergarten and Room 8 for first grade.  Now he's in Room 12 for second grade.  I am going to be extremely disappointed and jittery if he's not in Room 16 for third grade.

His teacher.  I know nothing about her, but she got her bachelor's degree at the U of A (just like me!) and her master's degree in Colorado (just like me!- although not at the same university) so she definitely knows how to pick good schools.  She also seemed very organized.  

On Friday I picked Maryellen up at 8:30 and we headed to Starbucks for a little liquid energy before we met the rest of our friends for our July get-together.

We spent a little more than 2 hours volunteering at Feed My Starving Children (FMSC). 

From their website:

Feed My Starving Children is a non-profit Christian organization committed to feeding God’s children hungry in body and spirit. The approach is simple: children and adults hand-pack meals specifically formulated for malnourished children, and we ship these meals to our distribution partners. FMSC meals have reached nearly 70 countries around the world in our history.

We asked how the were going to get this food into North Korea.   They told us they sneak it across the border to the missions with which they partner.

On this particular day we were preparing and packing MannaPack Potato-W. 

Again, from their website:

MannaPack Potato-W was created by FMSC with the help of a dietitian who understands the nutritional needs of the malnourished. It was developed in response to feedback from many FMSC partners who expressed a great need for a food appropriate for children too young to consume MannaPack Rice.

MannaPack Potato-W is a weaning food designed to meet World Health Organization recommended nutrient requirements for children 7-12 months of age. It helps bridge the gap between breastfeeding and solid foods, such as MannaPack Rice.  It can be used as a sole weaning food, or alongside breastfeeding or other age-appropriate foods available locally.

There are 12 half-cup servings per bag. The three ingredients include:

   1.   Potato granules - source of resistant starches

   2.   Soy flour - protein source

   3.   Sweet potato flavoring - includes the vitamin and mineral blend and extra fat necessary for weaning children

Cooking is not required to prepare MannaPack Potato-W.  The product simply needs to be mixed with a safe, potable liquid.

The food preparation area.

I had two jobs during our two hours.  

First I scooped the soy flour and then I was a bag opener, holder and weigher.

I didn't take any of these pictures.  You can thank Joni and Shireen.

Maryellen was our bag sealer and box packer.

 

This was what our whole group (everybody that was there that day, which was about 150 people, not just our group of seven) packed.  Our group of seven was responsible for nine of those boxes. Each serving costs 22 cents to produce and 92 percent of all donations to FMSC go directly to the food program.

After we were done volunteering we went to lunch and then Cynthia and I went back to Maryellen's to hang out for a while.  And then I met my friend Ellen for wine during happy hour.  But, no pictures. 

On Saturday and Sunday we mostly hung out at home and got ready for the first day of school.  The only thing of note is that Elliott actually ate steak and potatoes with us for dinner.  I'm hopeful that his toddler food pickiness is fading away.

Up next: the kids start school.  Tomorrow will have to arrive and I will have to actually take the pictures first before I can blog them though.  Wow.  I'm never this caught up!