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#1
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My Twins Are Ten :-D
Hello to those of you who still remember me... :-D
I've been away for a long time & rarely check this board anymore, but I felt nostalgic and wanted to see who was still around! My twins, Bryan and Emily, turned 10 last week *THUD*. Can you believe it?? They're going into middle school (5th grade at their school) and are all-around great kids, excepting the occasional bickering ;-). Bryan takes private voice lessons and is active in Boy Scouts, and he'll be taking clarinet for the next four years at his school. Emily is active in Girl Scouts and has also been assigned the clarinet (I sort of wish they'd been given different instruments, but they both tested on mouthpieces and ended up with the clarinet...so we'll get to see what that sort of competition is like!). Our oldest, Janna, just graduated from high school *double THUD*. She was an SGA Senator during her senior year, was on the honor roll and received special academic mention, took 3 AP classes (we just received a call that she was the only one in her high school to receive the highest grade, a 5, on the AP English exam!), swam year-round and was tops in the county for her swim strokes. She was accepted at a bunch of colleges and selected Washington & Jefferson, in Washington, PA, a small liberal arts college. Because of her swimming, she was awarded over $17,000/year just for her athletic prowess, which means we need to come up with that much less tuition. ;-) She'll be studying, swimming, and trying out for water polo, too, when her freshman year begins in September. DH moves her into her dorm room next month. Then our youngest, Katie, turned 6 this month! She goes into first grade and is becoming quite the reader. She's always been a joy to raise and only lately has been the least bit difficult--mostly whining and clinginess, but I think that's a reaction to a lot of the changes in the household (e.g., her big sister leaving home for college). What else...we're still in Maryland, same home, same tourism business, same marriage. :-) So a big HELLO to those of you old and new!! Is the board still active? I see a bunch of spam, but I think it could be my filters are not set properly. :-) Jennifer |
#2
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My Twins Are Ten :-D
Hi, Jennifer!!!
I remember you! I've just managed to pick myself up off the floor. Ten???? College???? Time flies. QED. My two, Erica and Chris, just turned 7 and will be in second grade in the fall. Like Katie, they're also terrific readers, and very bright kids. They're still best friends, prefer to be in the same class at school, love sports, and really love having a twin. We never decided to have more kids, and probably won't now as I'm 40 *THUD*, and DH is close on my heels. I'm already dreading the sudden-empty-nest syndrome, though. Of course the teenage years might cure that fear! SO happy to see you back. Stick around, eh? And do check your spam filters. My ISP does a pretty good job of it, and I get only one or two a week (though the occasional nutcase gets through, iykwim). Julie Mom to Erica & Chris, 07/97 "Jennifer" wrote in message ... Hello to those of you who still remember me... :-D I've been away for a long time & rarely check this board anymore, but I felt nostalgic and wanted to see who was still around! My twins, Bryan and Emily, turned 10 last week *THUD*. Can you believe it?? They're going into middle school (5th grade at their school) and are all-around great kids, excepting the occasional bickering ;-). Bryan takes private voice lessons and is active in Boy Scouts, and he'll be taking clarinet for the next four years at his school. Emily is active in Girl Scouts and has also been assigned the clarinet (I sort of wish they'd been given different instruments, but they both tested on mouthpieces and ended up with the clarinet...so we'll get to see what that sort of competition is like!). Our oldest, Janna, just graduated from high school *double THUD*. She was an SGA Senator during her senior year, was on the honor roll and received special academic mention, took 3 AP classes (we just received a call that she was the only one in her high school to receive the highest grade, a 5, on the AP English exam!), swam year-round and was tops in the county for her swim strokes. She was accepted at a bunch of colleges and selected Washington & Jefferson, in Washington, PA, a small liberal arts college. Because of her swimming, she was awarded over $17,000/year just for her athletic prowess, which means we need to come up with that much less tuition. ;-) She'll be studying, swimming, and trying out for water polo, too, when her freshman year begins in September. DH moves her into her dorm room next month. Then our youngest, Katie, turned 6 this month! She goes into first grade and is becoming quite the reader. She's always been a joy to raise and only lately has been the least bit difficult--mostly whining and clinginess, but I think that's a reaction to a lot of the changes in the household (e.g., her big sister leaving home for college). What else...we're still in Maryland, same home, same tourism business, same marriage. :-) So a big HELLO to those of you old and new!! Is the board still active? I see a bunch of spam, but I think it could be my filters are not set properly. :-) Jennifer |
#3
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My Twins Are Ten :-D
Hey Julie! :-D Yeah, I'm still on the floor. Tonight at dinner I was
telling the kids that I honestly don't remember how we got Janna to college age. Surely the next 8 years for the twins wouldn't go as quickly, right? At that moment, Emily was making fish faces and fishy noises, and the thought of her being ready for college made us all crack up. ROFL! :-D We finally decided she might be accepted at Fish U, and that's about it. Wow, your kids are growing up, too! g I guess that happens, lol. Bryan likes being a twin, but Emi doesn't so much. However, I think she just wants to be an only child, and I can sympathize (she's not the oldest, or the youngest, or the only boy, and she's even the younger of the twins)...but we've tried to talk to her about being nice when asked, "Do you like being a twin?" so as to avoid hurting her twin brother's feelings! DH turns 41 next month and he's been "snipped," so we're definitely done...besides, in the fall we'll have 3 kids in private school and 1 kid in private college *GULP*. We are saving up for retirement and paying off the mortgage, lol! What kind of sports do your kids like? Are they on the same team? Are they competitive? I'll work on my filters. :-) Jennifer "Julie" wrote in message ... Hi, Jennifer!!! I remember you! I've just managed to pick myself up off the floor. Ten???? College???? Time flies. QED. My two, Erica and Chris, just turned 7 and will be in second grade in the fall. Like Katie, they're also terrific readers, and very bright kids. They're still best friends, prefer to be in the same class at school, love sports, and really love having a twin. We never decided to have more kids, and probably won't now as I'm 40 *THUD*, and DH is close on my heels. I'm already dreading the sudden-empty-nest syndrome, though. Of course the teenage years might cure that fear! SO happy to see you back. Stick around, eh? And do check your spam filters. My ISP does a pretty good job of it, and I get only one or two a week (though the occasional nutcase gets through, iykwim). Julie Mom to Erica & Chris, 07/97 "Jennifer" wrote in message ... Hello to those of you who still remember me... :-D I've been away for a long time & rarely check this board anymore, but I felt nostalgic and wanted to see who was still around! My twins, Bryan and Emily, turned 10 last week *THUD*. Can you believe it?? They're going into middle school (5th grade at their school) and are all-around great kids, excepting the occasional bickering ;-). Bryan takes private voice lessons and is active in Boy Scouts, and he'll be taking clarinet for the next four years at his school. Emily is active in Girl Scouts and has also been assigned the clarinet (I sort of wish they'd been given different instruments, but they both tested on mouthpieces and ended up with the clarinet...so we'll get to see what that sort of competition is like!). Our oldest, Janna, just graduated from high school *double THUD*. She was an SGA Senator during her senior year, was on the honor roll and received special academic mention, took 3 AP classes (we just received a call that she was the only one in her high school to receive the highest grade, a 5, on the AP English exam!), swam year-round and was tops in the county for her swim strokes. She was accepted at a bunch of colleges and selected Washington & Jefferson, in Washington, PA, a small liberal arts college. Because of her swimming, she was awarded over $17,000/year just for her athletic prowess, which means we need to come up with that much less tuition. ;-) She'll be studying, swimming, and trying out for water polo, too, when her freshman year begins in September. DH moves her into her dorm room next month. Then our youngest, Katie, turned 6 this month! She goes into first grade and is becoming quite the reader. She's always been a joy to raise and only lately has been the least bit difficult--mostly whining and clinginess, but I think that's a reaction to a lot of the changes in the household (e.g., her big sister leaving home for college). What else...we're still in Maryland, same home, same tourism business, same marriage. :-) So a big HELLO to those of you old and new!! Is the board still active? I see a bunch of spam, but I think it could be my filters are not set properly. :-) Jennifer |
#4
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My Twins Are Ten :-D
Jennifer --
The kids basically play whatever sport is in season -- soccer in the fall, baseball in the spring, and they're both doing tennis, golf, and swimming this summer. They also take gymnastics one day a week during the fall and spring, but I'm not sure how long they'll continue with that. They both really like it, but as they get older, the other sports take more time. I already feel like they're overscheduled certain times of the year, but there is nothing that they *don't* want to do. Baseball was 3 times a week during some of the spring weeks, which I found surprising for a 6-7 year old team. They are both on the same team by choice and also by logistics. Soccer doesn't have teams yet -- they just get together and do drills and scrimmages. I'm not sure if that will change in second grade. This is a very rural area, so it's not like there are huge leagues with lots of teams [case in point: the next town over from us has a "regional" elementary school that three towns -- but not ours -- send their kids to. There were only eight in kindergarten this year, and will be only six next year! From three towns! Our own town is somewhat bigger, but still only 25-30 kids per grade]. We also ski quite a bit in the winter, and they are both terrific skiers. AND, I just bought a piano today (only have to figure out how to move it!!!), so I am quite excited to start teaching them to read music and play a bit, if they're interested. Thus far (knock, knock, knock), we've been really lucky on the competition front. They both have strengths and weaknesses, but they seem to be happy for each other rather than begrudging the other. They both get identical grades in school, which helps (well, except for handwriting, but he's coming along and I've never put any weight on handwriting grades, anyway: I'd rather a kid write a lot sloppily than decide that writing neatly is such a hassle that they'll just write short sentences). The only thing that I do notice is that Erica doesn't like to try things that Chris is clearly better at (e.g. she rarely rides her bike without a lot of encouragement from us). Hopefully that's a short phase we can steer her out of. Chris is not similarly inclined. He'll try anything. Do B & E go to the same school? Are they in the same class? Are they competitive? Oh -- and the x-posted irrelevant thread is an anomaly. We haven't had one of those for a while. Things do seem to have more slow lulls nowadays; occasionally we'll go 48 hours without a new post (or maybe it's just my ISP burping...), but then the activity resumes. Julie Mom to Erica & Chris, 07/97 "Jennifer" wrote in message ... Hey Julie! :-D Yeah, I'm still on the floor. Tonight at dinner I was telling the kids that I honestly don't remember how we got Janna to college age. Surely the next 8 years for the twins wouldn't go as quickly, right? At that moment, Emily was making fish faces and fishy noises, and the thought of her being ready for college made us all crack up. ROFL! :-D We finally decided she might be accepted at Fish U, and that's about it. Wow, your kids are growing up, too! g I guess that happens, lol. Bryan likes being a twin, but Emi doesn't so much. However, I think she just wants to be an only child, and I can sympathize (she's not the oldest, or the youngest, or the only boy, and she's even the younger of the twins)...but we've tried to talk to her about being nice when asked, "Do you like being a twin?" so as to avoid hurting her twin brother's feelings! DH turns 41 next month and he's been "snipped," so we're definitely done...besides, in the fall we'll have 3 kids in private school and 1 kid in private college *GULP*. We are saving up for retirement and paying off the mortgage, lol! What kind of sports do your kids like? Are they on the same team? Are they competitive? I'll work on my filters. :-) Jennifer |
#5
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My Twins Are Ten :-D
Julie,
Your kids' schedule reminds me of how J.'s used to be, before she committed to swimming in her early teens. We used to have her do that rotation--soccer, softball, basketball, etc. B. & E. aren't very interested in sports, which is partly because of us, I'm sure...we're not big into the whole process, *especially* since it ate up so much of our time with J. when she was little, and now we have more kids! :-) Still, I feel bad about it at times, because I think Em would like to play soccer more than she has (we've tried a few leagues, including a good non-competitive one this past spring). Then B. really enjoyed tennis lessons this summer, which is the only sport he's *ever* seemed interested in (our pool offers free swim and tennis lessons, so I'd registered E., and B. surprised me by wanting to try!). Even though DH and I spent years sort of pooh-poohing sports, I think we were wrong to have done so...look at how much scholarship money J. got for college, besides which keeping her body strong and fit was (IMO) a major factor for her never getting involved in alcohol, drugs, etc. She was so intent on getting up at 4 a.m. every day to train for swimming and improve on her times, that she stayed busy and healthy. Now that I'm more aware of that benefit to sports, I'm trying to be more open-minded. I was always more the "oh, just study and read and concentrate on academics alone, plus throw in all the musical education," which is no longer my only consideration. Wow, I learned something after raising 1 kid. ;-) Don't you love small classrooms?? Our kids' school restricts every class, kindergarten through eighth grade, to no more than 20 students per room and 60 total students per grade. There's no way a child can fall under the radar with that sort of attention! My kids also test similarly, except B. is incredible in math and logic. They both test post-high school in most subjects and get top grades, so I'm not worried about them academically...which leads me back to needing to give them something else in their lives. :-) I know what you mean about the overscheduling worry. As I mentioned, with J. in all those sports, DH and I thought she'd burn out. But instead, she just kept feeding off more and more energy she brought to her life, and somehow she ended up accomplishing so much and not burning out at all. More for me to think about... With clarinet (well, an instrument) being necessary for the next four years for my twins, plus Scouts and middle school academics, I think much beyond that is tough. B. is continuing with his private voice lessons, b/c he has a real love and talent for singing (he's a boy soprano, lol). :-) I *just* began B. & E. with private piano lessons, after waiting to be sure they were *really* ready...and they're not ready. That is, they need to practice 20-30 minutes each day, and E. says she doesn't think she wants to stick with it (they've been to 3 lessons each). B. would continue but doesn't want to without his sister. Grrr! So I'm going to let piano go, b/c I will *not* be on the sideline nagging them to practice! Regarding the Scouts, B. and E. were involved in *nothing* outside of school, and I required them to choose something extracurricular to widen their horizons. They weren't excited about Scouts at the beginning, but now, a year later, they've really gotten into it, and they've accomplished a lot personally and for the community. Also, it has helped B. so much with getting along with boys (he always was friends with girls and has 3 sisters & no brothers). I have been very happy with their involvement in scouting. About Erica not trying things Chris is good at, that happens here, too. As I said, Bryan is a whiz at math, so for a while Emi would insist she's *not* good at math (she's fine, just not outstanding). Then B. would devour a particular series of books, and Emi would act as if that series were his alone to read, and she'd go for something else. :-) Or Emi was the early bike reader, and Bryan was quite a ways behind...and she's the one "into" sports, and he's not...you never really know what part of these decisions is natural and what part is each twin wanting not to be compared to the other, right? I can totally understand each one wanting his/her own niche. B. and E. are in the same school but in different classes, from kindergarten on (they were together in 3-year-old and 4-year-old preschool, which were 2 mornings and 3 mornings a week, respectively). It can be hard, because they know all the same kids (only 60 per grade, including them), and the kids go from kindergarten up to 8th grade together. Emi is my social butterfly, while B. is a *lot* more reserved and quiet. Most of the kids are drawn to E., and I hope that doesn't bug B. (it doesn't seem to, but you know how parents worry!). I intentionally put Emi in a Girl Scout troop affiliated with another school, and Bryan is also in a Boy Scout den affiliated with another school. They can meet different children/friends that way. :-) Jennifer "Julie" wrote in message ... Jennifer -- The kids basically play whatever sport is in season -- soccer in the fall, baseball in the spring, and they're both doing tennis, golf, and swimming this summer. They also take gymnastics one day a week during the fall and spring, but I'm not sure how long they'll continue with that. They both really like it, but as they get older, the other sports take more time. I already feel like they're overscheduled certain times of the year, but there is nothing that they *don't* want to do. Baseball was 3 times a week during some of the spring weeks, which I found surprising for a 6-7 year old team. They are both on the same team by choice and also by logistics. Soccer doesn't have teams yet -- they just get together and do drills and scrimmages. I'm not sure if that will change in second grade. This is a very rural area, so it's not like there are huge leagues with lots of teams [case in point: the next town over from us has a "regional" elementary school that three towns -- but not ours -- send their kids to. There were only eight in kindergarten this year, and will be only six next year! From three towns! Our own town is somewhat bigger, but still only 25-30 kids per grade]. We also ski quite a bit in the winter, and they are both terrific skiers. AND, I just bought a piano today (only have to figure out how to move it!!!), so I am quite excited to start teaching them to read music and play a bit, if they're interested. Thus far (knock, knock, knock), we've been really lucky on the competition front. They both have strengths and weaknesses, but they seem to be happy for each other rather than begrudging the other. They both get identical grades in school, which helps (well, except for handwriting, but he's coming along and I've never put any weight on handwriting grades, anyway: I'd rather a kid write a lot sloppily than decide that writing neatly is such a hassle that they'll just write short sentences). The only thing that I do notice is that Erica doesn't like to try things that Chris is clearly better at (e.g. she rarely rides her bike without a lot of encouragement from us). Hopefully that's a short phase we can steer her out of. Chris is not similarly inclined. He'll try anything. Do B & E go to the same school? Are they in the same class? Are they competitive? Oh -- and the x-posted irrelevant thread is an anomaly. We haven't had one of those for a while. Things do seem to have more slow lulls nowadays; occasionally we'll go 48 hours without a new post (or maybe it's just my ISP burping...), but then the activity resumes. Julie Mom to Erica & Chris, 07/97 "Jennifer" wrote in message ... Hey Julie! :-D Yeah, I'm still on the floor. Tonight at dinner I was telling the kids that I honestly don't remember how we got Janna to college age. Surely the next 8 years for the twins wouldn't go as quickly, right? At that moment, Emily was making fish faces and fishy noises, and the thought of her being ready for college made us all crack up. ROFL! :-D We finally decided she might be accepted at Fish U, and that's about it. Wow, your kids are growing up, too! g I guess that happens, lol. Bryan likes being a twin, but Emi doesn't so much. However, I think she just wants to be an only child, and I can sympathize (she's not the oldest, or the youngest, or the only boy, and she's even the younger of the twins)...but we've tried to talk to her about being nice when asked, "Do you like being a twin?" so as to avoid hurting her twin brother's feelings! DH turns 41 next month and he's been "snipped," so we're definitely done...besides, in the fall we'll have 3 kids in private school and 1 kid in private college *GULP*. We are saving up for retirement and paying off the mortgage, lol! What kind of sports do your kids like? Are they on the same team? Are they competitive? I'll work on my filters. :-) Jennifer |
#6
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My Twins Are Ten :-D
Julie,
Your kids' schedule reminds me of how J.'s used to be, before she committed to swimming in her early teens. We used to have her do that rotation--soccer, softball, basketball, etc. B. & E. aren't very interested in sports, which is partly because of us, I'm sure...we're not big into the whole process, *especially* since it ate up so much of our time with J. when she was little, and now we have more kids! :-) Still, I feel bad about it at times, because I think Em would like to play soccer more than she has (we've tried a few leagues, including a good non-competitive one this past spring). Then B. really enjoyed tennis lessons this summer, which is the only sport he's *ever* seemed interested in (our pool offers free swim and tennis lessons, so I'd registered E., and B. surprised me by wanting to try!). Even though DH and I spent years sort of pooh-poohing sports, I think we were wrong to have done so...look at how much scholarship money J. got for college, besides which keeping her body strong and fit was (IMO) a major factor for her never getting involved in alcohol, drugs, etc. She was so intent on getting up at 4 a.m. every day to train for swimming and improve on her times, that she stayed busy and healthy. Now that I'm more aware of that benefit to sports, I'm trying to be more open-minded. I was always more the "oh, just study and read and concentrate on academics alone, plus throw in all the musical education," which is no longer my only consideration. Wow, I learned something after raising 1 kid. ;-) Don't you love small classrooms?? Our kids' school restricts every class, kindergarten through eighth grade, to no more than 20 students per room and 60 total students per grade. There's no way a child can fall under the radar with that sort of attention! My kids also test similarly, except B. is incredible in math and logic. They both test post-high school in most subjects and get top grades, so I'm not worried about them academically...which leads me back to needing to give them something else in their lives. :-) I know what you mean about the overscheduling worry. As I mentioned, with J. in all those sports, DH and I thought she'd burn out. But instead, she just kept feeding off more and more energy she brought to her life, and somehow she ended up accomplishing so much and not burning out at all. More for me to think about... With clarinet (well, an instrument) being necessary for the next four years for my twins, plus Scouts and middle school academics, I think much beyond that is tough. B. is continuing with his private voice lessons, b/c he has a real love and talent for singing (he's a boy soprano, lol). :-) I *just* began B. & E. with private piano lessons, after waiting to be sure they were *really* ready...and they're not ready. That is, they need to practice 20-30 minutes each day, and E. says she doesn't think she wants to stick with it (they've been to 3 lessons each). B. would continue but doesn't want to without his sister. Grrr! So I'm going to let piano go, b/c I will *not* be on the sideline nagging them to practice! Regarding the Scouts, B. and E. were involved in *nothing* outside of school, and I required them to choose something extracurricular to widen their horizons. They weren't excited about Scouts at the beginning, but now, a year later, they've really gotten into it, and they've accomplished a lot personally and for the community. Also, it has helped B. so much with getting along with boys (he always was friends with girls and has 3 sisters & no brothers). I have been very happy with their involvement in scouting. About Erica not trying things Chris is good at, that happens here, too. As I said, Bryan is a whiz at math, so for a while Emi would insist she's *not* good at math (she's fine, just not outstanding). Then B. would devour a particular series of books, and Emi would act as if that series were his alone to read, and she'd go for something else. :-) Or Emi was the early bike reader, and Bryan was quite a ways behind...and she's the one "into" sports, and he's not...you never really know what part of these decisions is natural and what part is each twin wanting not to be compared to the other, right? I can totally understand each one wanting his/her own niche. B. and E. are in the same school but in different classes, from kindergarten on (they were together in 3-year-old and 4-year-old preschool, which were 2 mornings and 3 mornings a week, respectively). It can be hard, because they know all the same kids (only 60 per grade, including them), and the kids go from kindergarten up to 8th grade together. Emi is my social butterfly, while B. is a *lot* more reserved and quiet. Most of the kids are drawn to E., and I hope that doesn't bug B. (it doesn't seem to, but you know how parents worry!). I intentionally put Emi in a Girl Scout troop affiliated with another school, and Bryan is also in a Boy Scout den affiliated with another school. They can meet different children/friends that way. :-) Jennifer "Julie" wrote in message ... Jennifer -- The kids basically play whatever sport is in season -- soccer in the fall, baseball in the spring, and they're both doing tennis, golf, and swimming this summer. They also take gymnastics one day a week during the fall and spring, but I'm not sure how long they'll continue with that. They both really like it, but as they get older, the other sports take more time. I already feel like they're overscheduled certain times of the year, but there is nothing that they *don't* want to do. Baseball was 3 times a week during some of the spring weeks, which I found surprising for a 6-7 year old team. They are both on the same team by choice and also by logistics. Soccer doesn't have teams yet -- they just get together and do drills and scrimmages. I'm not sure if that will change in second grade. This is a very rural area, so it's not like there are huge leagues with lots of teams [case in point: the next town over from us has a "regional" elementary school that three towns -- but not ours -- send their kids to. There were only eight in kindergarten this year, and will be only six next year! From three towns! Our own town is somewhat bigger, but still only 25-30 kids per grade]. We also ski quite a bit in the winter, and they are both terrific skiers. AND, I just bought a piano today (only have to figure out how to move it!!!), so I am quite excited to start teaching them to read music and play a bit, if they're interested. Thus far (knock, knock, knock), we've been really lucky on the competition front. They both have strengths and weaknesses, but they seem to be happy for each other rather than begrudging the other. They both get identical grades in school, which helps (well, except for handwriting, but he's coming along and I've never put any weight on handwriting grades, anyway: I'd rather a kid write a lot sloppily than decide that writing neatly is such a hassle that they'll just write short sentences). The only thing that I do notice is that Erica doesn't like to try things that Chris is clearly better at (e.g. she rarely rides her bike without a lot of encouragement from us). Hopefully that's a short phase we can steer her out of. Chris is not similarly inclined. He'll try anything. Do B & E go to the same school? Are they in the same class? Are they competitive? Oh -- and the x-posted irrelevant thread is an anomaly. We haven't had one of those for a while. Things do seem to have more slow lulls nowadays; occasionally we'll go 48 hours without a new post (or maybe it's just my ISP burping...), but then the activity resumes. Julie Mom to Erica & Chris, 07/97 "Jennifer" wrote in message ... Hey Julie! :-D Yeah, I'm still on the floor. Tonight at dinner I was telling the kids that I honestly don't remember how we got Janna to college age. Surely the next 8 years for the twins wouldn't go as quickly, right? At that moment, Emily was making fish faces and fishy noises, and the thought of her being ready for college made us all crack up. ROFL! :-D We finally decided she might be accepted at Fish U, and that's about it. Wow, your kids are growing up, too! g I guess that happens, lol. Bryan likes being a twin, but Emi doesn't so much. However, I think she just wants to be an only child, and I can sympathize (she's not the oldest, or the youngest, or the only boy, and she's even the younger of the twins)...but we've tried to talk to her about being nice when asked, "Do you like being a twin?" so as to avoid hurting her twin brother's feelings! DH turns 41 next month and he's been "snipped," so we're definitely done...besides, in the fall we'll have 3 kids in private school and 1 kid in private college *GULP*. We are saving up for retirement and paying off the mortgage, lol! What kind of sports do your kids like? Are they on the same team? Are they competitive? I'll work on my filters. :-) Jennifer |
#7
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My Twins Are Ten :-D
Julie,
Your kids' schedule reminds me of how J.'s used to be, before she committed to swimming in her early teens. We used to have her do that rotation--soccer, softball, basketball, etc. B. & E. aren't very interested in sports, which is partly because of us, I'm sure...we're not big into the whole process, *especially* since it ate up so much of our time with J. when she was little, and now we have more kids! :-) Still, I feel bad about it at times, because I think Em would like to play soccer more than she has (we've tried a few leagues, including a good non-competitive one this past spring). Then B. really enjoyed tennis lessons this summer, which is the only sport he's *ever* seemed interested in (our pool offers free swim and tennis lessons, so I'd registered E., and B. surprised me by wanting to try!). Even though DH and I spent years sort of pooh-poohing sports, I think we were wrong to have done so...look at how much scholarship money J. got for college, besides which keeping her body strong and fit was (IMO) a major factor for her never getting involved in alcohol, drugs, etc. She was so intent on getting up at 4 a.m. every day to train for swimming and improve on her times, that she stayed busy and healthy. Now that I'm more aware of that benefit to sports, I'm trying to be more open-minded. I was always more the "oh, just study and read and concentrate on academics alone, plus throw in all the musical education," which is no longer my only consideration. Wow, I learned something after raising 1 kid. ;-) Don't you love small classrooms?? Our kids' school restricts every class, kindergarten through eighth grade, to no more than 20 students per room and 60 total students per grade. There's no way a child can fall under the radar with that sort of attention! My kids also test similarly, except B. is incredible in math and logic. They both test post-high school in most subjects and get top grades, so I'm not worried about them academically...which leads me back to needing to give them something else in their lives. :-) I know what you mean about the overscheduling worry. As I mentioned, with J. in all those sports, DH and I thought she'd burn out. But instead, she just kept feeding off more and more energy she brought to her life, and somehow she ended up accomplishing so much and not burning out at all. More for me to think about... With clarinet (well, an instrument) being necessary for the next four years for my twins, plus Scouts and middle school academics, I think much beyond that is tough. B. is continuing with his private voice lessons, b/c he has a real love and talent for singing (he's a boy soprano, lol). :-) I *just* began B. & E. with private piano lessons, after waiting to be sure they were *really* ready...and they're not ready. That is, they need to practice 20-30 minutes each day, and E. says she doesn't think she wants to stick with it (they've been to 3 lessons each). B. would continue but doesn't want to without his sister. Grrr! So I'm going to let piano go, b/c I will *not* be on the sideline nagging them to practice! Regarding the Scouts, B. and E. were involved in *nothing* outside of school, and I required them to choose something extracurricular to widen their horizons. They weren't excited about Scouts at the beginning, but now, a year later, they've really gotten into it, and they've accomplished a lot personally and for the community. Also, it has helped B. so much with getting along with boys (he always was friends with girls and has 3 sisters & no brothers). I have been very happy with their involvement in scouting. About Erica not trying things Chris is good at, that happens here, too. As I said, Bryan is a whiz at math, so for a while Emi would insist she's *not* good at math (she's fine, just not outstanding). Then B. would devour a particular series of books, and Emi would act as if that series were his alone to read, and she'd go for something else. :-) Or Emi was the early bike reader, and Bryan was quite a ways behind...and she's the one "into" sports, and he's not...you never really know what part of these decisions is natural and what part is each twin wanting not to be compared to the other, right? I can totally understand each one wanting his/her own niche. B. and E. are in the same school but in different classes, from kindergarten on (they were together in 3-year-old and 4-year-old preschool, which were 2 mornings and 3 mornings a week, respectively). It can be hard, because they know all the same kids (only 60 per grade, including them), and the kids go from kindergarten up to 8th grade together. Emi is my social butterfly, while B. is a *lot* more reserved and quiet. Most of the kids are drawn to E., and I hope that doesn't bug B. (it doesn't seem to, but you know how parents worry!). I intentionally put Emi in a Girl Scout troop affiliated with another school, and Bryan is also in a Boy Scout den affiliated with another school. They can meet different children/friends that way. :-) Jennifer "Julie" wrote in message ... Jennifer -- The kids basically play whatever sport is in season -- soccer in the fall, baseball in the spring, and they're both doing tennis, golf, and swimming this summer. They also take gymnastics one day a week during the fall and spring, but I'm not sure how long they'll continue with that. They both really like it, but as they get older, the other sports take more time. I already feel like they're overscheduled certain times of the year, but there is nothing that they *don't* want to do. Baseball was 3 times a week during some of the spring weeks, which I found surprising for a 6-7 year old team. They are both on the same team by choice and also by logistics. Soccer doesn't have teams yet -- they just get together and do drills and scrimmages. I'm not sure if that will change in second grade. This is a very rural area, so it's not like there are huge leagues with lots of teams [case in point: the next town over from us has a "regional" elementary school that three towns -- but not ours -- send their kids to. There were only eight in kindergarten this year, and will be only six next year! From three towns! Our own town is somewhat bigger, but still only 25-30 kids per grade]. We also ski quite a bit in the winter, and they are both terrific skiers. AND, I just bought a piano today (only have to figure out how to move it!!!), so I am quite excited to start teaching them to read music and play a bit, if they're interested. Thus far (knock, knock, knock), we've been really lucky on the competition front. They both have strengths and weaknesses, but they seem to be happy for each other rather than begrudging the other. They both get identical grades in school, which helps (well, except for handwriting, but he's coming along and I've never put any weight on handwriting grades, anyway: I'd rather a kid write a lot sloppily than decide that writing neatly is such a hassle that they'll just write short sentences). The only thing that I do notice is that Erica doesn't like to try things that Chris is clearly better at (e.g. she rarely rides her bike without a lot of encouragement from us). Hopefully that's a short phase we can steer her out of. Chris is not similarly inclined. He'll try anything. Do B & E go to the same school? Are they in the same class? Are they competitive? Oh -- and the x-posted irrelevant thread is an anomaly. We haven't had one of those for a while. Things do seem to have more slow lulls nowadays; occasionally we'll go 48 hours without a new post (or maybe it's just my ISP burping...), but then the activity resumes. Julie Mom to Erica & Chris, 07/97 "Jennifer" wrote in message ... Hey Julie! :-D Yeah, I'm still on the floor. Tonight at dinner I was telling the kids that I honestly don't remember how we got Janna to college age. Surely the next 8 years for the twins wouldn't go as quickly, right? At that moment, Emily was making fish faces and fishy noises, and the thought of her being ready for college made us all crack up. ROFL! :-D We finally decided she might be accepted at Fish U, and that's about it. Wow, your kids are growing up, too! g I guess that happens, lol. Bryan likes being a twin, but Emi doesn't so much. However, I think she just wants to be an only child, and I can sympathize (she's not the oldest, or the youngest, or the only boy, and she's even the younger of the twins)...but we've tried to talk to her about being nice when asked, "Do you like being a twin?" so as to avoid hurting her twin brother's feelings! DH turns 41 next month and he's been "snipped," so we're definitely done...besides, in the fall we'll have 3 kids in private school and 1 kid in private college *GULP*. We are saving up for retirement and paying off the mortgage, lol! What kind of sports do your kids like? Are they on the same team? Are they competitive? I'll work on my filters. :-) Jennifer |
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My Twins Are Ten :-D
Jennifer --
The kids basically play whatever sport is in season -- soccer in the fall, baseball in the spring, and they're both doing tennis, golf, and swimming this summer. They also take gymnastics one day a week during the fall and spring, but I'm not sure how long they'll continue with that. They both really like it, but as they get older, the other sports take more time. I already feel like they're overscheduled certain times of the year, but there is nothing that they *don't* want to do. Baseball was 3 times a week during some of the spring weeks, which I found surprising for a 6-7 year old team. They are both on the same team by choice and also by logistics. Soccer doesn't have teams yet -- they just get together and do drills and scrimmages. I'm not sure if that will change in second grade. This is a very rural area, so it's not like there are huge leagues with lots of teams [case in point: the next town over from us has a "regional" elementary school that three towns -- but not ours -- send their kids to. There were only eight in kindergarten this year, and will be only six next year! From three towns! Our own town is somewhat bigger, but still only 25-30 kids per grade]. We also ski quite a bit in the winter, and they are both terrific skiers. AND, I just bought a piano today (only have to figure out how to move it!!!), so I am quite excited to start teaching them to read music and play a bit, if they're interested. Thus far (knock, knock, knock), we've been really lucky on the competition front. They both have strengths and weaknesses, but they seem to be happy for each other rather than begrudging the other. They both get identical grades in school, which helps (well, except for handwriting, but he's coming along and I've never put any weight on handwriting grades, anyway: I'd rather a kid write a lot sloppily than decide that writing neatly is such a hassle that they'll just write short sentences). The only thing that I do notice is that Erica doesn't like to try things that Chris is clearly better at (e.g. she rarely rides her bike without a lot of encouragement from us). Hopefully that's a short phase we can steer her out of. Chris is not similarly inclined. He'll try anything. Do B & E go to the same school? Are they in the same class? Are they competitive? Oh -- and the x-posted irrelevant thread is an anomaly. We haven't had one of those for a while. Things do seem to have more slow lulls nowadays; occasionally we'll go 48 hours without a new post (or maybe it's just my ISP burping...), but then the activity resumes. Julie Mom to Erica & Chris, 07/97 "Jennifer" wrote in message ... Hey Julie! :-D Yeah, I'm still on the floor. Tonight at dinner I was telling the kids that I honestly don't remember how we got Janna to college age. Surely the next 8 years for the twins wouldn't go as quickly, right? At that moment, Emily was making fish faces and fishy noises, and the thought of her being ready for college made us all crack up. ROFL! :-D We finally decided she might be accepted at Fish U, and that's about it. Wow, your kids are growing up, too! g I guess that happens, lol. Bryan likes being a twin, but Emi doesn't so much. However, I think she just wants to be an only child, and I can sympathize (she's not the oldest, or the youngest, or the only boy, and she's even the younger of the twins)...but we've tried to talk to her about being nice when asked, "Do you like being a twin?" so as to avoid hurting her twin brother's feelings! DH turns 41 next month and he's been "snipped," so we're definitely done...besides, in the fall we'll have 3 kids in private school and 1 kid in private college *GULP*. We are saving up for retirement and paying off the mortgage, lol! What kind of sports do your kids like? Are they on the same team? Are they competitive? I'll work on my filters. :-) Jennifer |
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My Twins Are Ten :-D
Jennifer --
The kids basically play whatever sport is in season -- soccer in the fall, baseball in the spring, and they're both doing tennis, golf, and swimming this summer. They also take gymnastics one day a week during the fall and spring, but I'm not sure how long they'll continue with that. They both really like it, but as they get older, the other sports take more time. I already feel like they're overscheduled certain times of the year, but there is nothing that they *don't* want to do. Baseball was 3 times a week during some of the spring weeks, which I found surprising for a 6-7 year old team. They are both on the same team by choice and also by logistics. Soccer doesn't have teams yet -- they just get together and do drills and scrimmages. I'm not sure if that will change in second grade. This is a very rural area, so it's not like there are huge leagues with lots of teams [case in point: the next town over from us has a "regional" elementary school that three towns -- but not ours -- send their kids to. There were only eight in kindergarten this year, and will be only six next year! From three towns! Our own town is somewhat bigger, but still only 25-30 kids per grade]. We also ski quite a bit in the winter, and they are both terrific skiers. AND, I just bought a piano today (only have to figure out how to move it!!!), so I am quite excited to start teaching them to read music and play a bit, if they're interested. Thus far (knock, knock, knock), we've been really lucky on the competition front. They both have strengths and weaknesses, but they seem to be happy for each other rather than begrudging the other. They both get identical grades in school, which helps (well, except for handwriting, but he's coming along and I've never put any weight on handwriting grades, anyway: I'd rather a kid write a lot sloppily than decide that writing neatly is such a hassle that they'll just write short sentences). The only thing that I do notice is that Erica doesn't like to try things that Chris is clearly better at (e.g. she rarely rides her bike without a lot of encouragement from us). Hopefully that's a short phase we can steer her out of. Chris is not similarly inclined. He'll try anything. Do B & E go to the same school? Are they in the same class? Are they competitive? Oh -- and the x-posted irrelevant thread is an anomaly. We haven't had one of those for a while. Things do seem to have more slow lulls nowadays; occasionally we'll go 48 hours without a new post (or maybe it's just my ISP burping...), but then the activity resumes. Julie Mom to Erica & Chris, 07/97 "Jennifer" wrote in message ... Hey Julie! :-D Yeah, I'm still on the floor. Tonight at dinner I was telling the kids that I honestly don't remember how we got Janna to college age. Surely the next 8 years for the twins wouldn't go as quickly, right? At that moment, Emily was making fish faces and fishy noises, and the thought of her being ready for college made us all crack up. ROFL! :-D We finally decided she might be accepted at Fish U, and that's about it. Wow, your kids are growing up, too! g I guess that happens, lol. Bryan likes being a twin, but Emi doesn't so much. However, I think she just wants to be an only child, and I can sympathize (she's not the oldest, or the youngest, or the only boy, and she's even the younger of the twins)...but we've tried to talk to her about being nice when asked, "Do you like being a twin?" so as to avoid hurting her twin brother's feelings! DH turns 41 next month and he's been "snipped," so we're definitely done...besides, in the fall we'll have 3 kids in private school and 1 kid in private college *GULP*. We are saving up for retirement and paying off the mortgage, lol! What kind of sports do your kids like? Are they on the same team? Are they competitive? I'll work on my filters. :-) Jennifer |
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My Twins Are Ten :-D
Hey Julie! :-D Yeah, I'm still on the floor. Tonight at dinner I was
telling the kids that I honestly don't remember how we got Janna to college age. Surely the next 8 years for the twins wouldn't go as quickly, right? At that moment, Emily was making fish faces and fishy noises, and the thought of her being ready for college made us all crack up. ROFL! :-D We finally decided she might be accepted at Fish U, and that's about it. Wow, your kids are growing up, too! g I guess that happens, lol. Bryan likes being a twin, but Emi doesn't so much. However, I think she just wants to be an only child, and I can sympathize (she's not the oldest, or the youngest, or the only boy, and she's even the younger of the twins)...but we've tried to talk to her about being nice when asked, "Do you like being a twin?" so as to avoid hurting her twin brother's feelings! DH turns 41 next month and he's been "snipped," so we're definitely done...besides, in the fall we'll have 3 kids in private school and 1 kid in private college *GULP*. We are saving up for retirement and paying off the mortgage, lol! What kind of sports do your kids like? Are they on the same team? Are they competitive? I'll work on my filters. :-) Jennifer "Julie" wrote in message ... Hi, Jennifer!!! I remember you! I've just managed to pick myself up off the floor. Ten???? College???? Time flies. QED. My two, Erica and Chris, just turned 7 and will be in second grade in the fall. Like Katie, they're also terrific readers, and very bright kids. They're still best friends, prefer to be in the same class at school, love sports, and really love having a twin. We never decided to have more kids, and probably won't now as I'm 40 *THUD*, and DH is close on my heels. I'm already dreading the sudden-empty-nest syndrome, though. Of course the teenage years might cure that fear! SO happy to see you back. Stick around, eh? And do check your spam filters. My ISP does a pretty good job of it, and I get only one or two a week (though the occasional nutcase gets through, iykwim). Julie Mom to Erica & Chris, 07/97 "Jennifer" wrote in message ... Hello to those of you who still remember me... :-D I've been away for a long time & rarely check this board anymore, but I felt nostalgic and wanted to see who was still around! My twins, Bryan and Emily, turned 10 last week *THUD*. Can you believe it?? They're going into middle school (5th grade at their school) and are all-around great kids, excepting the occasional bickering ;-). Bryan takes private voice lessons and is active in Boy Scouts, and he'll be taking clarinet for the next four years at his school. Emily is active in Girl Scouts and has also been assigned the clarinet (I sort of wish they'd been given different instruments, but they both tested on mouthpieces and ended up with the clarinet...so we'll get to see what that sort of competition is like!). Our oldest, Janna, just graduated from high school *double THUD*. She was an SGA Senator during her senior year, was on the honor roll and received special academic mention, took 3 AP classes (we just received a call that she was the only one in her high school to receive the highest grade, a 5, on the AP English exam!), swam year-round and was tops in the county for her swim strokes. She was accepted at a bunch of colleges and selected Washington & Jefferson, in Washington, PA, a small liberal arts college. Because of her swimming, she was awarded over $17,000/year just for her athletic prowess, which means we need to come up with that much less tuition. ;-) She'll be studying, swimming, and trying out for water polo, too, when her freshman year begins in September. DH moves her into her dorm room next month. Then our youngest, Katie, turned 6 this month! She goes into first grade and is becoming quite the reader. She's always been a joy to raise and only lately has been the least bit difficult--mostly whining and clinginess, but I think that's a reaction to a lot of the changes in the household (e.g., her big sister leaving home for college). What else...we're still in Maryland, same home, same tourism business, same marriage. :-) So a big HELLO to those of you old and new!! Is the board still active? I see a bunch of spam, but I think it could be my filters are not set properly. :-) Jennifer |
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