"If we cannot teach beasts to speak, we can at least learn silence from them." - Ivan Panin

What's that I hear? Wait, nothing at all - the slow whir of cars passing outside, the wind in the trees, a distant siren. For our house it is practically tomb-like. Normally we hear the yelling of our teenage boy next door and the never ending thud, thud, thud of his basketball, the wailing firetrucks tearing down the street from the fire station down the way, the NO. NO. NO ing of our own little balls of chaos...and suddenly, nothing. Ahhhhhhh, sleeping boys and soon to be rain. I am beginning to like this silence.

Our days have been chalk full of early intervention visits, soon to be three times a week including a play group we have been invited to attend. Matt is working hard at his job and has even managed to pick up some extra hours doing private classes through his school. I am gearing up for my EMT classes and thinking of how I am going to juggle everything. The boys, homework, night school, all the stuff I do everyday. It seems a little daunting to try to balance it all. We also have the May Institute follow up appointment coming up and I am anxious to see what the testing yielded, anxious is probably not the right word, chomping at the bit? Eliot's language is coming along beautifully, his social skills are still a little shaky as well as his sensory issues ( read: still no swimming or water play) . We could really use some help and support.

I also got my permanent resident visa appointment scheduled where they do my "biometrics" meaning fingerprinting, retina scanning, etc. I always feel uncomfortable in those small, sterile offices with terribly cold and business like people measuring and monitoring me. Hopefully it'll do it for a while. Nothing beats them measuring my pregnant belly...seriously!

I suppose it is time I wake up the Chiclets, um mm, so nice though to enjoy the silence for just another wee minute.

Sambok (삼복) the Dog Days of Summer are here:)

The humidity in Korea for the six years that I lived there was sticky, gross and unending (it seemed). I have to remind myself of that when temps. here in Boston are climbing into the hundreds. There are a few "dog days" in the Republic of Korea that literally serve dog days as more of a dish than a metaphor. The humidity and heat in Seoul at this time of year is so thick and so pervasive that when I arrived in mid July as a newbie, I was a literal down pouring of sweat wherever I went. It was a little embarrassing standing next to Koreans in business attire whose beautiful, smooth complexions did not have one drop of perspiration! I did acclimate eventually, but it took some time. Thank the sweet Shejus above that we have air conditioning and fans, I don't know how I did it as a child in a loft bed without air conditioning, phew.

On this dog day my boys are sweaty and grumpy after a mere two hours outside at the park ever so early this morning. The plan was to beat the heat and get there before 9:00, it seemed to work well except for the sizzle on the way back. Thank goodness we met up with other early risers (why do all these early riser parents seem to have boys?) and played nicely in a windy, shady spot.

I am beginning to get so excited as July winds down, my EMT training starts and it will be a wonderful way to transition into something new and exciting. I finally made it in on time and in good form. I feel like I am moving forward. Although the night classes will be tiring, I have a feeling they will be tiring in a good way.

Eliot and the early intervention people have been ticking along. His Occupational Therapist has been showing us more deep pressure techniques and we have been trying to get him to like his therapeutic brushing, hmmmm, still working on that one. He did remarkable well on our trip to Little Compton in RI. New place, new routine, tons of people and kids and although there were moments when he became very agitated (echoing, getting stuck on words, needing DP) he liked a lot of what was going on. He loved the "moon" and the "fire" which admittedly were my favourite parts as well.

We had the biggest, fullest pie in the sky set against a gorgeous backdrop of ocean and rocky shore, and right in the middle a lovely beachside roaring fire. What else do you want for a summer good time? What was even better was the adult time post-kid bedtime. It was so freeing to hang out late with the cool people that were there. It felt like breathing for the first time in a long time. I don't think anybody wanted to leave.

When Henry was saying goodbye to his cousin Zola he said, "Now I love you too much, I miss you too."

Matt is working at his ESL place and wondering what the state of his continuing will bring, I have faith they will love him and beg him to stay on:) Other than that we are putting one foot in front of the other, we are moving forward.

Eliot and Henry are growing up right in front of our eyes, it is STILL a miracle to me.

Wise are they who have learned these truths: Trouble is temporary. Time is tonic. Tribulation is a test tube. - William Arthur Ward

Ahhh yes, semi-peace this morning. I've brought out the mini-kitchen, a basket of plastic food, and utensils and now the boys are enjoying "coffee" and "cookies" they have skillfully made from their pink blenders.

Matt has survived a week at the new job with a few hiccups on his first day, looks as though it runs as well as other language schools at which he has worked. He is happy to be working, although the boys admittedly miss him like crazy. Eliot is constantly noticing, "Daddy's car" and "working, see you soon". Henry runs like a batouttahell when Daddy comes home.

Last week while hectic, was still fruitful! Shirlee, my mother-in-law sent from heaven, and my brother-in-law Mark equally angelic, came to our rescue for the appointments that required only Eliot's participation and not Henry's. Shirlee AKA Nana, spent some special time with Henry while Uncle and I took Eliot to the May Institute to be re-assessed. I will suffice it to say that the testing process, supposedly the same standardized testing, was so glaringly different it curled my hair! Eliot reacted quite differently this time also, not surprisingly, and I feel as though they ( the docs ) got a very clear picture. Uncle waited for the nearly 3 hours of testing and Eliot could not wait to get out to see him. We will have to wait until August for the results, phewwww.

The genetic appointment went quite well also, Dr. J told us that Eliot has some chromosomal deletions that may or may not be relevant. At this point, Matt and I will be tested by blood to see if we also share those same deletions. If we do, the assumption is that Eliot will be equally crazy:) We are not, at this point, worried.

Tomorrow is the fourth of July and friday was Canada Day. It seems that we will be doing some celebrating this long weekend. Seems like good timing. We are feeling mighty lucky :)