"Everything but! You'll need family and friends to finish this one, so it comes with extra spoons (sorry, no bibs). Giant towers of ce cream are flooded with gooey chocolate, strawberry, and caramel sauces. Then we heap bananas, berries, whipped cream, nuts, cherries, sprinkles and whatever other delicious things we have on hand into the bowl. Perfect for celebrating birthdays and life's little victories!"<p>That's how they describe it and that's what I shared with my children, mother, and niece tonight. <p>It was a great 28 hours. I had the day that makes up for lots of lousy ones.<p>Victory #1 - Although my summer childcare for 2 school-age children fell through Sunday, I had plan B in place and financially in the works by 6:00 Thursday evening. This had involved lots of calls, some visits, and some internet time. Not ideal situation but it will have to be ok. They'll be safe and have fun. <p>Victory #2 - Went to end of school year conference at son's school - 4-5 conferences a year at a wonderful school that deals with nothing but bright children who have learning differences. His math teacher had wonderful stuff to say. In an accelerated math group, he could be challenged with harder math and she is allowing him to use his comptetency in that class to gain social affirmations, leadership skills, and self-confidence. Speech and language pathologist who also teaches language reports that, on one of the tests, his lowest percentile score was the 75%ile. On another test, his auditory conceptualization score put him at the 6th grade level - he is 9yr 2 months and finishing 2nd grade (needed to be held back a year before starting Kindergarten). His classroom teacher reports that his reading composite score for his age norm was 93% and grade norm 98% while math composite score for age was 70% and grade norm 93%. Now, when his social skills and emotional development begin to catch up with his academic level, he'll be set to take off! Fabulous conference.<p>Victory #3 - Daughter hit her team's first homerun of the season tonight!! Her team isn't very good on the field but they're great in the classroom. Watching them play can be like watching the Bad News Bears. But she loves her coach - a friend's dad and this is so good for her.<p>So, after the game tonight, we went to Bobbie's Dairy Dip and celebrated. One Kitchen Sink with five spoons!!!!!

JE,<p>Those are the kind of nights that stay in kids’ memories.<p>Think I'll try a kitchen sink with my boys, if I can catch OS in a non-healthy eating mode.<p>Great news at the conference. Isn't it great when a child that we know struggles really starts to take off? I didn't think YS would ever learn to read much less like to read, but this yr he read Harry Potter 3 & 4 by himself, took a long time, but he was so happy & proud to take those AR tests & only miss 1 on the 4th book & none on the 3rd.<p>Hope ya'll have a great summer. Hope to get to your neck of the woods sometime this summer. I have not been to TN in 2 yrs & miss those hills. Also want some country ham & biscuits at Loveless & TN barbeque not this stuff that Texans think is soooo great.<p>G

Sing! I'd love to meet you when you come, if possible - well, meet you again. I'm only 8 miles from the campus. My mother still lives 3 doors away from it. Small world to think we shared a mailbox way back when.

Oh, and tonight we had a bit of a challenge - taking the children to the symphony. 11-y-o d is ok with this 9-y-o s isn't. And our seats were in the upper balcony - he says he is afraid of heights.<p>We get there and I had to carry him up a flight of stairs and then down the cantileverd walkway and up some more steps and drop him, whimpering, in his seat. Then I loved on him a bit. And the pops concert started. He grooved to the Duke Ellington piece. They both liked the jazz quartet.<p>Last year d started the year playing viola and, when strings teacher got very sick, switched to trumpet and is now playing with a french horn. She was into this.<p>But they LOVED Paul Anka. I had no idea how prolific a writer he seems to be...."More", "She's a Lady", "My Way", the Tonight Show theme. Ton's of stuff. D said he was lots of fun and would be a fun dad. He was fabulous with the crowd. A great evening.<p>As I have been crying in my beer a lot lately, I thought y'all needed to know life is better this weekend.<p>Field day at Little League park was a blast today. I have a rare weekend with them - odd visitation arrangements-and , so far, this is the best time we've had together in ages and it's a 3 day weekend. Two more days left!!!!!<p>YAHOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!