Back to the grind.

Wow has it really been a month since I posted anything! Time sure goes by fast these days. I can't believe we are already nearing the end of September. The kids have been in school for 3 weeks already. Mackenzie is in 6th grade this year. That was an adjustment going from 2 teachers to now having more than 7. She really seems to enjoy it so far, and she spends a lot of time with her friends that were previously in other schools. She has gotten 100% on nearly every paper that she has brought home so far. Her favorite subjects are chorus, band and science. Kenzie also started again in girl scouts this week and is excited about that. J.T. is in 4th grade this year and has moved to the intermediate school. He has 2 teachers, and they switch between them throughout the day. He has decided to join orchestra and play the viola. He is very excited about it, and we have rented a viola until we are certain it will take. He has done very well so far also. Over the summer I talked to his 3rd grade teacher and she told me that he did phenomenally well on the PSSA tests. (those are state required tests that all students 3-8th grade take) We haven't gotten his results yet, but his teacher said she had to double check to make sure there wasn't an error, because his scores were so high. Mackenzie also had high scores, we have her results and she is advanced in math and very near the advanced in reading. We are very proud of both of them.
John is very busy all of the time. Besides work he is also a board member for a film club, Director of Marketing for a comic book company, as well as a writer for one of their comics, and working construction (he has totally redone our back deck, and will now be building a shed in our back yard), and managing our business. And in his free time (what little there is) he is training for a triathlon that will be held this Saturday the 27th. Our calendar has become a vital part of our existence. We all have color coded pens for our different activities.
I have been able to stay home with Jackson for the time being. I am also running a Transitions class (healthy lifestyle and weight management) on Thursday evenings. I have really been able to make these classes my very own and do whatever I want with them. We have an Amish woman who takes our class and the first day we had a buggy with 2 horses hitched in our front yard, that was kind of neat. I have been experimenting with some new recipes lately and have found new ways to increase the vegetable intake of my family. I found these books called The Sneaky Chef, by Missy Chase Lapine, and she uses pureed veggies and stuff to add to different foods. I made this excellent brownie recipe. Brownies laced with spinach and blueberries (who would ever think that?) they were delicious! I have made a few other things also, with great success, and they all seem to fit in with our low glycemic lifestyle.
Our little man is getting so big. Jackson just had his 6th month appointment last week. He now weighs 19lbs and 10oz and is 29 inches long. He is very tall for his age, and is wearing 12 month clothes, because all the others are too short. He is now working on his 4th tooth (front top and front bottom)He hasn't yet crawled, but he rolls everywhere, and he will turn all around in different directions. Once he figures out how to propel himself forward we are all in trouble. He is eating all kinds of baby food now and has liked everything he tries. We have one of those little pouch things that we can put food in and it has a handle that he can hold on to and munch away. He loves to eat anything you put in that. Jack has learned how to blow bubbles with his lips and run his fingers over his lips and make a lot of noise. If we sit him up, he will sit there and play forever until he falls over. We started to give him a bath in the big kitchen sink because he would always try to sit up in thy baby bath and that didn't work very well. He loves to splash in the water and he loves to shower off with the sprayer. He also loves to play in the grass. He likes the way it feels on his feet and hands. He is so much fun to have, and we all get a kick out of the things he does.
Well anyway, I will try not to take so long in between posts. Time just gets away with me.
Hope all is well for everyone.