Game Day

Today was "game day" in the Ebbert household. It is Rob's drill weekend for the Army Reserves and so the kids and I had a fun day at home together. We watched two movies together (The Princess Diaries and The Princess Diaries Part 2), and we played Uno, Guess Who?, Hullabaloo, Monopoly, and Checkers. We even had a few minutes to spare to run over and check on Grandma and go to the store for ice cream. :)

I have determined that Ethan is a math genius. When playing Monopoly (and this wasn't the Jr. version, either. It was the real thing!), Ethan can do all the math in his head when it comes to the banking end of things. He knew exactly what the change would be when he was buying a property, could quickly add up any money that was owed to him, and instantly knew how much money he would make if somebody landed on multiple properties of his. It was quite amazing to see him in action and just so quick and matter of fact about it all. It made me proud!!! And I was really happy for him to be able to shine like that today since he often thinks that he is below Emily academically. He compares himself to her in reading and has determined that he is "stupid". It drives me crazy because he is so darn smart. I just wish he could see that, too. Today he did.

Since school will be starting on Monday, we have started doing chore charts again. Today was allowance day and they both had money deducted off for things that they didn't do this week. They have the potential of earning $5 a week, but Ethan earned $2.50 and Emily earned $3.50. The good thing is that they both now see what they could earn, and I noticed them both trying harder this evening.

There is something strange going on with Emily's shunt tubing. It is very visible where it runs along her chest and into her abdomen. We've always been able to feel it and slightly see it, but never like this before. She thinks it is pretty funny that it is sticking out so much. I'm not worried about it because she isn't having any kind of symptoms or problems, but I do wonder what is causing it. Now here is the funny conversation that took place about this tube. She was asking me a question about it and I told her that the tube runs from her brain down to her abdomen. She looked at me and said, "My abdomen???? I thought this was my thorax." I stood there in shock for a little bit and thought that it was amazing how much a six year old knows about anatomy. I explained to her that her thorax is actually the part of her body that is beneath her ribs, basically what we call her chest. And I told her that her abdomen is lower than that and is the part of her body that is below her ribs, it is her belly. She just chuckled a little bit and said that she thought the whole thing was her thorax, and now she knew better. I know they did a lot of talk last year in school about insects and the parts of the insects, and with what she and Ethan have had to go through medically, I think they are both very wise beyond their years.

The BIG countdown is on. School starts on Monday!!!! I have two VERY excited kids on my hands, especially Emily. I hope and pray that we have a very healthy year. :)