yes, we're still alive.

well.  it's been almost a MONTH.  for that, i apologize.  i just haven't had the time.

lie. 

okay, so i've had the time.  i've just been using my precious downtime to play stupid, mindless games on facebook.  because that's what i NEEDED.  shut up.

updates! 

we are horribly behind.  but that's okay.  we were all kinds of crazy ahead to begin with.

i noticed today that everyone does INSANELY better if i work with them individually on their worksheets.  i don't know how i'm going to swing that, but i'm going to try to work with them one at a time on worksheets.  i feel like that portion of our day would be so much less stressful if we just changed that one little thing.

beau is doing great.  he's ace-ing all of his subjects, and he really does enjoy his work, even though getting him to actually sit down and do worksheets is a bit like pulling teeth.  and keeping his focus once he's there.  that's one of the reasons i want to start working with him one on one, because he seems to be able to focus much better when i'm sitting next to him.  he likes that individual time.  in other news, his handwriting is improving, slowly but surely.  we're working on spacing now between words, so his sentences look less like one big word and more like, well, sentences.

xander is making so much progress all of a sudden i want to do a little dance of joy every time i let him up from the table after finishing his worksheets.  his fine motor skills are improving like CRAZY, and he's recognizing numbers and doing so much better in his counting it's unreal.  i want to shout it from the rooftops!!  he zooms through his worksheets now.  i'm so proud of that kid.

bella.  oh, bella.  is there such a thing as the terrible fours?  i think bella invented them.  she. has become. a terror.  hitting, biting, yelling, scratching, fighting, arguing, asking the same question ten billion times even though she keeps getting the same answer.  suddenly, my helpful, friendly, polite little three year old has become...some sort of monster out of a horror film.  you think i'm exaggerating.  i'm not.  today, she has bitten, punched, slapped, pushed, pulled, tackled, and tripped both her brothers - in the last ten minutes.  but as much as she can dish out, she cannot take.  she can be reduced to a sobbing pile of flailing limbs with a single WORD or LOOK from anyone.  she will sit and "do school," but only for a few minutes at a time, and then she proceeds to try to distract everyone else as much as possible.

long story short, it's been a crazy month since i last posted. 

and now if you'll excuse me, i have to go stop bella from killing her brothers.  for the eleventh time this afternoon.