March '07 Summation

March, much like every month it seems, has proven to be quite busy for us here in the Tokarski household. But one thing definitively dominated our focus: The Health Roller coaster. It seems that we've been battling one bug after the next all month long. Strep, Gastroenteritis, Fifth Disease, and, to round things out, a few good old fashion colds. And all this just in time for April allergies. Woo hoo!

But, as always, God is good, and there is much to be thankful for.

Amanda passed her admissions testing for Red Lion and will be in first grade there next year. She also continues to utter things daily that we should be writing down:



Amanda: "I liked the girl who gave me my test."
Mommy: "You mean Mrs. Smith. She's not a girl."
Amanda: "You mean she's a boy?"

Abby had her ears pierced for her birthday and they are healing nicely. Just last week she was finally able to change out the starter studs and was able to put in the earrings she got from Aunt Debbie for her birthday; she was very excited.



Alex continued his quest this month to be taller than Mommy. Seriously, he continues to do very well in school and is growing into quite the young man.




Aidan is doing new things almost daily. His walker is no longer used for walking but for carrying; he walks around the kitchen holding it up in the air. He has opened his first door, has began making 'Vroom' noises when playing with cars, and has begun drive-by huggings; he will come from across the room, hug your leg, then go back across the room. This may occur several times in succession.

In any event, spring has sprung, the daffodils on the side of the garage are blooming, health is returning, the taxes are filed, and April is right around the corner. God bless...

CAUTION: Infectious Material

Two weeks ago, Julie came down with a mystery viral illness that really knocked her for a loop. She was thoroughly immobilized for 3 days, and, to this point is still dealing with some fallout.

This was promptly followed by Amanda showing signs of Fifth disease (aka, Slapped Face disease), Alex spending a day home from school with a fever, then Abigail spending Friday home.

Then the bottom dropped out this morning. It seems someone was kind enough to share the stomach bug du jour with Aidan. And, of course, the way this has gone in most households I'm aware of to date, no one is immune: Before going to bed, both Abigail and Amanda mentioned that their stomachs were bothering them.

My advice: Wash your hands often, drink a few gallons of orange juice, and steer clear of the Tokarski house for the rest of the week.

Everyone needs a hobby

So, everyone needs a hobby, right? Well, Aidan has discovered his. It seems he's quite skilled at licking...everything in sight.

Nothing is safe from Aidan. Doors...


Appliances...

Furniture...
And it seems the rest of the clan is getting in on the act. Hey, everyone needs a hobby...

Lost Teeth...Literally...

So Amanda woke up Friday morning, rubbed the sleep from her eyes, and came down to the table for breakfast. At which point mommy looked at her and realized...something was missing. Amanda lost her first tooth...

Unfortunately, after a thorough search of her bed, her clothes, the floor, the bed again, etc, the tooth turned out to be lost in more ways than one. We're now to the point of thinking she may have swallowed it during the night. Oops.

But the fun didn't stop there. Amanda came home from school and her other loose tooth was significantly looser. A few wiggles (and tugs) by Mom and Amanda set a new record becoming the first Tokarski kid to lose 2 teeth on the same day...

Science Olympiad 2007

On February 10, Alex, along with a small group of 4th and 5th graders from RLCA, participated in his first Elementary Science Olympiad.

The first event was the Egg drop. Most of the other teams clearly had practice or previous experience with many of the contraptions sharing a common trait: wings to slow the decent. Alex, along with his partner, Seth, opted to try cushioning their egg: They cut their provided drinking straws into small pieces and filled the bottom of the cup with the pieces. Unfortunately for our guys, their idea didn't work and their egg took a 5 meter trip straight to oblivion. Better luck next year guys...

Next up: Paper Rockets. Alex and his partner, Alex, worked very well on this one: One built the body and the other the wings. With that done quickly, they made some test flights and all looked good. The competition was fierce with the first team landing one of two attempts inches from the target. But Alex and Alex landed both of their launches, not amazingly close, but not erroneously far, either. In the end, Team RLCA brought home a Silver medal.


The next competition was Food Webs. This was a solo event in which Alex was given a series of plants and animals and had to outline who ate what (or whom). This event was closed to spectators, but it took place it what appeared to be a small science lecture hall.

The final event was Measurement. This was a grueling full 1-hour solo event and involved each of the children spending a set period of time at a station with a particular task. Alex crammed for this event the night before; learning about volt meters, Ph paper, volume, circumference, etc. Despite Alex's lack of experience with a triple-beam balance, the cram session paid off with Alex bringing home the Gold.