January marches on

The reality of mid-terms sinks in, in different ways for different kids.  I will be grateful to get through the next couple of weeks.  Fortunately, other than that, it's not too crazy around here, so I'm doing some spinning teaching, and knitting like mad on various projects (a shawl, a sweater, a baby dress) and I've finished yet another Knotty but Nice hat, having cast on after blanking out on how darn much time this pattern always takes me to get through those long cabled rows.

Knotty but Nice variation in Tivoli yarn

Feivel got caught using his email address and computer time very inappropriately, so he's lost his computer privileges for a week.  He was doing exactly what he had been told not to do and had agreed very clearly to avoid doing.  He went right from a discussion about online behavior to watching "Elmo in Grouchland" very eagerly.  Parenting an adolescent with developmental disability is going to be a real challenge.  I mean, we knew this, but it was sort of encapsulated in that whole couple of hours.

Addie went to a birthday party today, the first real one I think she's ever gone to (she got sick and missed at least one already this school year).  She ate the lunch nicely, but then didn't want cake, had a potty accident while playing, and was the only child out of about 25 who was completely freaked out by the magic show and didn't warm up to it until the last 5 (out of 45) minutes.  She was also completely mystified by the concept of goody bags; she was amazed that the birthday boy would give her treats just for coming to the party.  She was quite happy to accept her goody bag, once I explained it, though.  I'm not sure if all of this counts as a successful or failed experience, but everyone has to go to a first party.

And we had a really yummy dinner tonight, but Jeffrey went out, Kayla slept through it, Gilad wouldn't touch it (he pretty much makes pb&j every night), and Addie wouldn't even come to the table.