Nathaniel Gets His Horsey Blanket and Sleeps in Grace's Room

The big boys stayed with Grandma and Grandpa T on Sunday night, so we thought Nathaniel should try sleeping in Grace's room. This accomplished two things: Nathaniel was not scared or lonely, and Grace did not wake up and cry at 9pm. They've slept in the same room three nights now, and I think the arrangement may become official once we move.

And I FINALLY finished Nathaniel's blanket. The binding looks absolutely hideous, but rare is the 4-yr old boy who cares about such a thing. Nathaniel sure doesn't--he loves his blanket. Thanks, Nater.

Ben and Nathaniel are coming down with something dreadful. Headache, sore throat, chills. Fun stuff. Hopefully everyone else can escape this one. Their different personalities certainly come out during sickness. Nathaniel is low maintenance, while Ben tells me every little pain he feels. Right now he's working on a puzzle and checking his temperature every 5 minutes or so. 100.3; 100.5; 100.6; 100.8... Mark is at the store with Bradford getting food and medicine.

School went very well today, despite the fact two of them were hourly getting sicker. Nathaniel counted to 100 (with help); Benjamin read 4 chapters of his book, completed 5 math pages, and spelled the Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day "gingerly" correctly; Bradford completed his math page without complaint, read his words very well, and then wrote about 60 words instead of his usual 16. How did I accomplish this last miracle? He found some O-rings yesterday and was itching to use them, so I told him he should write his Trouble Words on cards and put them on a ring. So he did--all 23 of them. And then he did 14 spelling words for this week-- on a different ring, of course. And then he did a set for daddy. And a set for Ben, but Ben had to spell the words for him. Boy! I will get him a box of flashcards and as many rings as he wants if it motivates him to learn to read and spell. We'll see how well it worked on Friday when I give him his weekly Spelling test.

The boys are progressing nicely with their laundry lessons, too. I began teaching Ben how to do rugs today, and Bradford did a great job of spraying some stains on shirts before washing them.

Now I need to go help Ben with this puzzle (It's Knot Easy) before he gets too frustrated. But I don't need to check his temperature, because I know it is now 100.8.