Introducing Stella

I'd like to introduce Stella...my new wig! Here she is from the front....

And the side...

 And the back.

She's kind of fun and sassy. When I brought her home, I invited Roger and the kids to vote on a name for her.  Suggestions included the following....Wiggy McWig Face, Wiggity Wiggity Whack, and LaFonda. Obviously, all of these suggestions came from Roger and the kids loved them.  Needless to say, I took back my invitation to vote on a name and named her myself.  

Stella has been waiting for her moment of glory.  Sadly for her, but lucky for me, my hair is coming out much slower than anticipated!  I started losing it at the end of week 2, just like I was told I would.  However, it didn't all come out at once.  I lose it in large clumps for a couple of days a treatment and then the loss slows down for the rest of the week. While I've lost a lot, I also started with a whole lot of hair!  I'm guessing I have about 30-40% of what I started out with at this point.  While that is really thin for me, I think that what I have now is normal for many people, so I'm not ready to shave it all off just yet.  We do plan to have some fun with it.  My head started getting pretty tender with the long hair, so I had Keira cut it for me.  It's now just above my shoulders.  As I lose more over the next couple of weekends, we'll play with it and have her cut my hair into different hairstyles.  I'll post pictures of it as leads up to the final shave. 

In the meantime, here's some of the latest happenings with the kids: 

Keira

I recently cut Keira's hair and she's sporting a short do.  She loves it because it's so much easier for her to take care of.  Plus she looks super cute in it!  

Her big news is that she made Student Council for next year (5th grade)!  She had to apply by writing an essay and interviewing for the position.  She was selected from among many applicants and I couldn't be prouder of her.  Here is the essay she wrote: 

I would  be a great person to become a member of student council. I have leadership skills, school pride, I have respect for others and I do a lot of service.  A few things I have done kind is that I started a club called the Kindness Club. What we do is pass positive notes around the school.  Some of the notes say: " You are the best!" " You rock!" and" You are a good person!"  I am the one who started this club. We hope that when someone gets a note, they won't know who it is and so they will be extra kind to everyone. We keep it a secret . Miss ***  is in the club, too, so her job is to tell us who needs a special  note.  Starting this club is one way I have used my leadership skills to perform service at school, help others perform service, and motivate myself and other students to show respect for others.

I do have a few good ideas of what we could do for [my school].  Here is one of them:  I think we should have a bench in the playground painted yellow or another happy color.  Then, if a boy or girl is feeling a bit lonely, they should know to sit on the bench.  When students see them on the bench they will then go to talk and play with him or her.  If we did this, we would probably see less lonely students at Bates, or , none at all.  Plus, this  should set some habits of respect and service around the school. By the way, we should have an assembly  to teach students what to do with the bench and what to do when they  see someone sitting on it.

I  hope to make a difference at Bates!  I have leadership skills, pride,  I do a lot of service, and most important, I have respect for others! I promise to be positive and beneficial for student council. I really love everything about Bates. The teachers are the best, and I have all my friends at school to  help me on my way! Bates is the best!!!! I hope I can make it into student council!

Ryder

Ryder is finishing up his soccer season soon and has just started baseball.  Here are a couple of pictures from his soccer game today.  He played defense the whole game and had some fantastic saves.  

Ryder loves to take care of me.  Last Sunday, when I was feeling a bit crummy, he made me breakfast. He has recently learned how to make "eggs in a basket," where he fries an egg in the center of a piece of bread.  He made some for me and did a fantastic job. 

He is finishing up 3rd grade and looks forward to 4th grade next year. His big news is that he took 1st place in the Raingutter Regatta in Scouts this year.  He is also designing a balloon car to be entered into a science competition for school next week. 

Savanna

Savanna is finishing her Kindergarten year and looks forward to going to school all day next year. She loves sports and is currently doing tumbling and soccer.  These pictures are from her soccer game today where she scored 3 goals and had some great saves.  She played last year and I didn't think soccer was in the cards for her when all she would do was cartwheels down the field.  However, something clicked for her this year and she is a beast.  She never gives up and goes all out.  I love it!

Her recent big news is that she got accepted into the Chinese Immersion program next year, so she'll be learning Chinese along with Ryder and Keira.