Matthew's Birthday

Matthew's birthday came the week we moved into the house in Eastwood.  Poor kid, he didn't have the usual type birthday because I was just overwhelmed with everything going on.  However, I did take him of school to have lunch at Bohemeo's, brought cupcakes to school to share with his classmates and we all went out to eat as a family at Mandola's Deli in Eastwood.

I cannot say enough good things about Bohemeo's!  We love the food, the atmosphere, the service.... everything.  :)  Matthew loves the shrimp tacos the best.

The first pictures are of Matthew with his class at Lantrip.  I am amazed at how polite and sweet all the kids are.  Matthew is very happy at Lantrip and is making lots of friends.

We had dinner at Mandola's and the food was wonderful.  The owner came out and talked to us and welcome us to Eastwood.  We really enjoyed the atmosphere and the service there also.  :D

Lastly, we came home and opened presents and had cake and ice cream.  Poor Matthew had to have leftover cupcakes from school rather than a cake since I was just so busy trying to get the house put together after the big move, but he didn't seem to mind.

*quick note about Krogers in Eastwood:  I bought the cupcakes for Matthew's class at Krogers there in Eastwood and I want to give kudos to the women working in the bakery.  They were so kind and helpful to me.  They looked in back to find another container of cupcakes for me and I really appreciated the service I received there!

Trip to Phoenicia's

Here is my youngest and my middle child outside of Phoenicia's in downtown.  We rode our bikes (well, my youngest was on the back of my xtracycle) to downtown to pick up a few things before Thanksgiving.  We were at Phoenicia's longer than expected and then stopped at the Krogers in Eastwood before heading home.  By the time we were on our way home from Krogers it was dark, but that was okay because we had lights and the drivers did a good job of looking out for us.  :)

We LOVE cycling in Houston!  Phoenicia's is fantastic and we don't mind Krogers in Eastwood although we know a lot of people really don't like it.  Most of our grocery shopping is pretty scattered.  Sometimes it's Krogers, sometimes it's Central Market or Whole Foods in Montrose or Costco.... HEB in Montrose, Randalls in downtown.... ;D

Overall, I enjoy the fact that we have sooooooo many options available to us that are so close.  We never have to use the highway and enjoy the city streets as we find new, cool places along the way.  :)

Joshua's 15th Birthday

I have been away from blogging for soooooo long!  I really underestimated the time involved in moving in, settling 3 kids into school and trying to navigate around town for all the things you need once you move in to a new place ;)

I have MUCH to blog about!  But for now, I will start back with Joshua's birthday.  We had a wonderful night tonight!!!  First, I spent the morning with the principal of Eastwood Academy for the "Coffee with the Principal".  It was really informative and makes me more excited about the school and how much of a family Eastwood Academy is.   I met a neighbor of mine at the meeting this morning at Eastwood Academy.  She was really great.  A lot of the meeting was in spanish and she was great about translating for me.  The parents of Eastwood are very passionate about their kids' education.  In my opinion that is awesome.  But, back to Joshua's Birthday.  I took Joshua out to eat for lunch at Bohemeo's.  He loved the food of course and I enjoyed the time with my oldest.  ;)

Then, I picked him up from school with the rest of the family and we headed off to Sundance Cinema's downtown to watch "Hugo".  Great movie!  And, we absolutely loved Sundance!   Very clean, comfortable and just a super nice family experience.

After Sundance, we headed next door to Blue Fish Sushi.  My oldest LOVES sushi, so of course his birthday dinner MUST include sushi!  The food was amazing, the atmosphere was intriguing and the service was top notch.  They even brought Joshua a tempura fried ice cream dessert with a candle because it was his birthday.  It was the perfect ending to a nearly perfect day!  :)

Saturday School???

I just dropped Christopher off at Jackson Middle School for a Saturday SAT prep class.  Yes, he actually agreed to go!  ;)  Christopher was invited to join them even though the group had already been working together for awhile.  I am again impressed with Jackson Middle School.  The vice principal, Dr. Alvarez was actually there at the school working on a Saturday.  I had to stop by and get a calendar for the SAT prep class and I was really surprised to see him there.  Of course, there were several other teachers there for the SAT prep class and the magnet/vanguard coordinator was also there.  I'm completely impressed that so many teachers and administrators would give up their Saturdays to work with 7th graders to prep them for the SAT.  Not only that, but I know a lot of the teachers and most of the administrators stay at the school each day until 6:30pm.  I'm not sure if this is normal practice for school administrators, but to me it speaks to their dedication to the students.

Karate at Jackson Middle School

Christopher is taking Karate at Jackson Middle School for his P.E. credit.  He loves it!  I have never known a school that offers Karate for their Gym class.  Jackson Middle School is actually known for its Karate.  Christopher really enjoys the class and his teacher.  One thing that is nice is that his class is small, only about 19 kids.  Here are some pics of Christopher in his Karate uniform he just got it today and wanted to show me some moves.  :)

Spanish

Something that has become VERY apparent since I started the kids in school is the need to know Spanish. I believe everyone can speak English just fine, but I under estimated how out of place I would feel as the only one not knowing Spanish.  Maybe I wouldn't have noticed as much if I didn't have kids in school, but at the pickup and drop off of Matthew at Lantrip, all the people there to pick up their kids, are speaking Spanish.  I understand the need to speak in your native tongue, so I don't begrudge anyone for it, but I do feel isolated and completely out of touch.  Hence, the need for me to learn Spanish.... and sooner rather than later.  I think I will learn via Rosetta Stone.  I have heard really good things about it.

Lots of Homework!!!

Matthew is my youngest and he so far, has the most homework.  I would say he has about 90 minutes to 2 hours worth of homework so far each night.  Seems a bit excessive for a 3rd grader, but I'm happy so far with what he is learning.  He however, is NOT happy ;)

Either tomorrow or Thursday, Matthew will be tested to get into the gifted and talented program at Lantrip. He is the one that really wanted this.... but I'm a bit worried it may mean even MORE homework.

This is a picture of Matthew working on his homework in the lobby of the hotel we are staying at.  As you can see, he isn't too happy.  :(