Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
First days of school 2012
Lucy's "first day" of second grade. One day late.
Gabe's first day of Preschool.
What would he do without her?
09.11.2012 -- Fall, Falls, Will Fall
It's Fall. Lucy and Gabe have been in school for a week. Yesterday, I felt like my world was falling apart. I truly felt like I couldn't accomplish anything. Of course, all I had to do was move the whole operation outside... I can weed while I am outside, even if Charlie and Gabe are stuck in destruction mode.
Fortunately, today was less extreme. Fewer things were thrown, spilled and broken, there was less hitting, shrieking, and the toddler was much cuddlier.
Back to School: Lucy is loving her teacher, as was predicted. Mrs. Noyce must have the best reputation of any teacher anywhere!
So far I have heard mostly good things from Lucy about about school in general. There are only a couple of stories that have had me wondering. The first of these stories involves a fifth grade boy getting into a minor altercation with Lucy over a hula hoop. I'm being vague because I can't really remember, and I didn't understand the story well in the first place. I think Lucy said that a fifth grader boy thought she took his hoop then twisted her arm until it hurt (so she would give it to him) but them he found his hula hoop. The other story came today when I asked Lucy what she had for lunch. She was complaining about how hungry she was after school. She told me that she only had watermelon and meat for lunch because the boy sitting next to her was so hungry that he took her egg roll (and something else) when she wasn't looking. She tried to go back to get more lunch, she said, but they wouldn't give her any.
Who knows?
I can't wait to get into Lucy's classroom to volunteer/spy. I love seeing the kids in their school environment. It helps me understand so much!
Gabe seems like he is finally coming to terms with the scheduling of his preschool. He would like to be at school early every day. It is torture to us both for him to be made to wait five hours to go to school. Since school yesterday, he has been singing the "Days of the Week" song. (The tune goes with the Addams Family theme song.) He has also been showing off his "spelling" skills. Here is how Gabe spells book: "buh ooh ooh kuh."
We took Lucy to Gymnastics tonight a few hours after her violin lesson and finally had to leave when Charlie got too intent on joining the toddler class. Gabe helped him climb onto the half wall and he sat there for a bit, then squirmed down and tried to get in the mix with the class of three-year-olds. There are Mommy and Me classes, but no solo classes for younger than three.
Tonight I was looking through invoices on my e-mail and that had me reconsidering these gymnastics classes. For better or for worse, Lucy and Gabe both really enjoy their time at gymnastics though, and the tuition isn't quite putting us in the poor house, so I guess we will continue to pay the bills and ferry them back and forth.
Fortunately, today was less extreme. Fewer things were thrown, spilled and broken, there was less hitting, shrieking, and the toddler was much cuddlier.
Back to School: Lucy is loving her teacher, as was predicted. Mrs. Noyce must have the best reputation of any teacher anywhere!
So far I have heard mostly good things from Lucy about about school in general. There are only a couple of stories that have had me wondering. The first of these stories involves a fifth grade boy getting into a minor altercation with Lucy over a hula hoop. I'm being vague because I can't really remember, and I didn't understand the story well in the first place. I think Lucy said that a fifth grader boy thought she took his hoop then twisted her arm until it hurt (so she would give it to him) but them he found his hula hoop. The other story came today when I asked Lucy what she had for lunch. She was complaining about how hungry she was after school. She told me that she only had watermelon and meat for lunch because the boy sitting next to her was so hungry that he took her egg roll (and something else) when she wasn't looking. She tried to go back to get more lunch, she said, but they wouldn't give her any.
Who knows?
I can't wait to get into Lucy's classroom to volunteer/spy. I love seeing the kids in their school environment. It helps me understand so much!
Gabe seems like he is finally coming to terms with the scheduling of his preschool. He would like to be at school early every day. It is torture to us both for him to be made to wait five hours to go to school. Since school yesterday, he has been singing the "Days of the Week" song. (The tune goes with the Addams Family theme song.) He has also been showing off his "spelling" skills. Here is how Gabe spells book: "buh ooh ooh kuh."
We took Lucy to Gymnastics tonight a few hours after her violin lesson and finally had to leave when Charlie got too intent on joining the toddler class. Gabe helped him climb onto the half wall and he sat there for a bit, then squirmed down and tried to get in the mix with the class of three-year-olds. There are Mommy and Me classes, but no solo classes for younger than three.
Tonight I was looking through invoices on my e-mail and that had me reconsidering these gymnastics classes. For better or for worse, Lucy and Gabe both really enjoy their time at gymnastics though, and the tuition isn't quite putting us in the poor house, so I guess we will continue to pay the bills and ferry them back and forth.
This is Dylan Ellsworth. Google him. Watch the videos.
He coaches the boys recreation class that Gabe is in. Gabe loves it.
Lucy's teacher is a sweet young lady (how old am I, 90?) with a cheerleading background. Lucy is in a pre-team class where she gets to spend two hours practicing twice a week. I do sometimes question whether I should find a class for her that is less crowded (the class keeps getting bigger and bigger!) with a more experienced coach, BUT she is having fun and progressing.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
09.03.2012 -- Pow
Brian, Lucy, Gabe, Charlie and I got back from Lake Powell this afternoon. Lake Powell is amazing and too fun for words. The drive there and back with our three kids is also too... fun... for words.
Highlights include:
Charlie playing mostly with TicTacs and other colored candies (ChewySweetTarts) on the way down. He emptied all of the TicTacs out over and over. The SweetTarts, he emptied into a cup then fished out only orange ones to go into an empty TicTac container. Then the sprinkled them all over the floor of the truck with gusto.
I really have to remind myself that, although we will never be without challenges while traveling, at least our current set will not last forever. Charlie *hates* his car seat.
We are able to spend time with lots of wonderful people any time we go to Lake Powell, and this time was no exception. We loved hanging out with the Henries and the Johnsons. They had to leave earlier than us, so we spent our last night on the boat alone. We slept under the starts and it was about as good as you would expect. Beautiful, tranquil, clear skies, perfect September Arizona weather, no bugs...
Gabe woke up early crying out about Transformers. He recounted his disturbing dream for me later that morning. In his dream, I had a red Transformer toy for Gabe. I kept trying to give it to Gabe, and he kept trying to tell me that he wanted a yellow one. In the wee dawn hours, Brian comforted him by whispering, "you'll get a Transformer, Gabe..." Oh Gabe. He is big on appreciation these days, often telling me that I'm the best, or that he loves me--just out of the blue.
Lucy is a tubing queen. She almost can't get enough of it. I'm not sure she has been driven to her own satisfaction yet, though. She always asks drivers to go faster and find more waves. I got my first glimmer of boating in the future this past week, when Lucy took charge of the rope without being asked, and did it really well!
Highlights include:
Charlie playing mostly with TicTacs and other colored candies (ChewySweetTarts) on the way down. He emptied all of the TicTacs out over and over. The SweetTarts, he emptied into a cup then fished out only orange ones to go into an empty TicTac container. Then the sprinkled them all over the floor of the truck with gusto.
I really have to remind myself that, although we will never be without challenges while traveling, at least our current set will not last forever. Charlie *hates* his car seat.
We are able to spend time with lots of wonderful people any time we go to Lake Powell, and this time was no exception. We loved hanging out with the Henries and the Johnsons. They had to leave earlier than us, so we spent our last night on the boat alone. We slept under the starts and it was about as good as you would expect. Beautiful, tranquil, clear skies, perfect September Arizona weather, no bugs...
Gabe woke up early crying out about Transformers. He recounted his disturbing dream for me later that morning. In his dream, I had a red Transformer toy for Gabe. I kept trying to give it to Gabe, and he kept trying to tell me that he wanted a yellow one. In the wee dawn hours, Brian comforted him by whispering, "you'll get a Transformer, Gabe..." Oh Gabe. He is big on appreciation these days, often telling me that I'm the best, or that he loves me--just out of the blue.
Lucy is a tubing queen. She almost can't get enough of it. I'm not sure she has been driven to her own satisfaction yet, though. She always asks drivers to go faster and find more waves. I got my first glimmer of boating in the future this past week, when Lucy took charge of the rope without being asked, and did it really well!
This is a picture of Antelope Canyon.
Not a shabby place to swim for hours and jump off rocks into perfect water.
Sunday, July 8, 2012
07.08.2012 -- Downhill
I am now thirty-six years old. The only quote that has stuck in my head about this decade is what my mother-in-law said about when she was thirty-five years old. It was her favorite year ever. So if I'm like my mother-in-law....IT'S ALL DOWN HILL FROM HERE.
But I don't really feel that way...and I don't think that she would agree with that conclusion, it just appeals to my sense of humor (which is my go-to coping mechanism--hollah)!
You know, I have an inner critic that gets all snippy when I write. Sometimes I feel like just shutting the computer down because as hard as I try, I'm sure I'm getting this punctuation wrong--probably more than I even fear. ...And then, well--anyone who reads this will probably be laughing at me. And then, well, any genuine friendship or relationship we ever had will become a charade where you pretend that you like me to my face only to scorn my English composition skills in private.
So why even try, if I know how it will all turn out?!
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is another sampling of my sense of humor. ...Getting it done.
*
How many times have I fallen off this blogging horse? I'm tired of hearing my own excuses. If I were to embrace my schmaltzy side, I would type something schmaltzy like, "It doesn't matter how many times you fall off the horse. What matters is how many times you get back on." But I'm tired of schmaltz.
What I am going to embrace tonight is this: there are at least two good things about writing here. First, it's therapeutic. Second, it can serve as some sort of record for our family. That should be enough, shouldn't it?
*
Maybe a week ago, Charlie bit me. This is nothing new (although it has become less frequent). I put Charlie down. Charlie was pretty distraught at being demoted to standing on the floor by himself. After a few seconds of stern looks and words, I picked him up again. Charlie then said, "Sah-ee," wrapped his soft and strong little arms around my neck, and gave me a big kiss. Guess who has been paying attention to the apology instruction I give Lucy and Gabe all the time?
Today was Charlie's first official day in the church nursery. This means that instead of hanging out with either me or Brian, he gets to hang out with other 18 month - 3 year olds for two hours, playing, doing puzzles, singing and having snack time. Today I felt like I had come out the other side of an obstacle course. From now on, at least the last two hours of church should be much more relaxing.
*
A few weeks ago, Lucy had been grounded for being rude. After giving some warnings, I said the words that I always regret, "You're grounded for the rest of the week." Abolishing time with friends is the worst possible thing that can happen to Lucy. Well, I held strong for two days. In the middle of the second day, I was looking hard for an out. It is so much easier to have a child playing with friends than grounded. I did some heavy duty pondering and came up with a solution. I explained to Lucy that I would give her an opportunity to earn her way out of her grounding. There were two and a half days left in her sentence. I explained that when she completed 4 chores of my choosing, she could work off one day of grounding. In order to work off the rest of the week, it would be 10 chores. Lucy jumped on it. It took her a couple of hours, but she earned freedom (for both of us). In exchange, I got my dishes done, the kitchen cleaned, the living room picked up and vacuumed, all of my bathrooms cleaned, windows washed and help with Charlie.
This was amazing to me. I hadn't known she was capable of all of that before. Now when I ask her to do chores, I have a better idea of her true capability.
The story doesn't quite end there. The day after Lucy "earned her way" out of being grounded, she was ready to do the 10 chores she had done the day before in order to stay ungrounded. I confess to waiting for a few seconds before I explained to her that she had done all that I had asked her to do the day before and she wouldn't need to do extra chores to stay ungrounded.
*
Gabe's imagination is on fire these days. He wakes up recounting dreams almost every morning (like the one where a gigantic fish swallowed him and I came to the rescue). Everyone is a potential bad guy who needs beheading...and then there is the potty humor. To Gabe, any word or phrase becomes hilarious by adding "poop" or "butt" to it. He has two favorite songs these days--which he sings and dances to himself. Tooty Ta, and I Like to Move It. His moves vary from a kind of pre B Boy to pretty basic bum wiggling.
Gabe: Mom, I wish boys didn't have these (points to eyelashes).
Me: Well, those eyelashes keep the water from rolling into your eyes when it rains.
Gabe: I wish boys didn't have them. ...We could just all wear raincoats and (demonstrating by pantomime) pull the top down over our faces.
I'm not sure if I have recorded this yet. When Charlie says "uh-uh," it means "yes." When he says "no," it means "no." This picture was taken during a stay we made in St. George.
This picture could use some explanation. This is Lucy after her 3rd shunt revision (having not had her hair washed for days since the surgery) AND having lost 7 teeth!
But I don't really feel that way...and I don't think that she would agree with that conclusion, it just appeals to my sense of humor (which is my go-to coping mechanism--hollah)!
You know, I have an inner critic that gets all snippy when I write. Sometimes I feel like just shutting the computer down because as hard as I try, I'm sure I'm getting this punctuation wrong--probably more than I even fear. ...And then, well--anyone who reads this will probably be laughing at me. And then, well, any genuine friendship or relationship we ever had will become a charade where you pretend that you like me to my face only to scorn my English composition skills in private.
So why even try, if I know how it will all turn out?!
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is another sampling of my sense of humor. ...Getting it done.
*
How many times have I fallen off this blogging horse? I'm tired of hearing my own excuses. If I were to embrace my schmaltzy side, I would type something schmaltzy like, "It doesn't matter how many times you fall off the horse. What matters is how many times you get back on." But I'm tired of schmaltz.
What I am going to embrace tonight is this: there are at least two good things about writing here. First, it's therapeutic. Second, it can serve as some sort of record for our family. That should be enough, shouldn't it?
*
Maybe a week ago, Charlie bit me. This is nothing new (although it has become less frequent). I put Charlie down. Charlie was pretty distraught at being demoted to standing on the floor by himself. After a few seconds of stern looks and words, I picked him up again. Charlie then said, "Sah-ee," wrapped his soft and strong little arms around my neck, and gave me a big kiss. Guess who has been paying attention to the apology instruction I give Lucy and Gabe all the time?
Today was Charlie's first official day in the church nursery. This means that instead of hanging out with either me or Brian, he gets to hang out with other 18 month - 3 year olds for two hours, playing, doing puzzles, singing and having snack time. Today I felt like I had come out the other side of an obstacle course. From now on, at least the last two hours of church should be much more relaxing.
*
A few weeks ago, Lucy had been grounded for being rude. After giving some warnings, I said the words that I always regret, "You're grounded for the rest of the week." Abolishing time with friends is the worst possible thing that can happen to Lucy. Well, I held strong for two days. In the middle of the second day, I was looking hard for an out. It is so much easier to have a child playing with friends than grounded. I did some heavy duty pondering and came up with a solution. I explained to Lucy that I would give her an opportunity to earn her way out of her grounding. There were two and a half days left in her sentence. I explained that when she completed 4 chores of my choosing, she could work off one day of grounding. In order to work off the rest of the week, it would be 10 chores. Lucy jumped on it. It took her a couple of hours, but she earned freedom (for both of us). In exchange, I got my dishes done, the kitchen cleaned, the living room picked up and vacuumed, all of my bathrooms cleaned, windows washed and help with Charlie.
This was amazing to me. I hadn't known she was capable of all of that before. Now when I ask her to do chores, I have a better idea of her true capability.
The story doesn't quite end there. The day after Lucy "earned her way" out of being grounded, she was ready to do the 10 chores she had done the day before in order to stay ungrounded. I confess to waiting for a few seconds before I explained to her that she had done all that I had asked her to do the day before and she wouldn't need to do extra chores to stay ungrounded.
*
Gabe's imagination is on fire these days. He wakes up recounting dreams almost every morning (like the one where a gigantic fish swallowed him and I came to the rescue). Everyone is a potential bad guy who needs beheading...and then there is the potty humor. To Gabe, any word or phrase becomes hilarious by adding "poop" or "butt" to it. He has two favorite songs these days--which he sings and dances to himself. Tooty Ta, and I Like to Move It. His moves vary from a kind of pre B Boy to pretty basic bum wiggling.
Me: Well, those eyelashes keep the water from rolling into your eyes when it rains.
Gabe: I wish boys didn't have them. ...We could just all wear raincoats and (demonstrating by pantomime) pull the top down over our faces.
Monday, June 11, 2012
06.11.2012 -- Logical
The kids wanted to have a picnic today. I provided potstickers and watermelon, and Lucy set up a picnic space on our driveway. When asked why she set it up on the driveway, she explained that she wanted to use the small folding table that we store in our garage, and she didn't want to drag it far. While Charlie, Gabe and Lucy were eating, I watered some thirsty-looking plants with a hose. It wasn't long before Lucy and Gabe started yelling that Charlie was getting into the dog food. I guess Gabe wasn't sure if I heard. I didn't say anything, after all...
Gabe made his way to me and assured me that it would be okay.
"Just let him eat it, Mom. If he eats dog food, he will turn into a dog, and I want a puppy!"
Gabe made his way to me and assured me that it would be okay.
"Just let him eat it, Mom. If he eats dog food, he will turn into a dog, and I want a puppy!"
Thursday, June 7, 2012
06.07.2012 -- Nutty
I have fallen in love again. This time, it's with coconut oil. I use it in cooking , in my bath, and as a moisturizer.
In other news, we have been doing swim lessons and playing a lot. Also, Charlie told me this morning "da doo." This means he loves me. He said it very clearly between kisses.
Good summer days!
In other news, we have been doing swim lessons and playing a lot. Also, Charlie told me this morning "da doo." This means he loves me. He said it very clearly between kisses.
Good summer days!
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