So a week into the school year Tyler comes home with an invitation to a birthday party for a kid I've never even heard of. I asked around to different friends who have kids in Tyler's class and figured out that all of the boys in his class got invited. When I asked Tyler if he wanted to go all he said was, "Who's Gavin?". I thought we could dismiss the idea of going since Tyler couldn't pick out the birthday boy. No luck though - Tyler kept talking about this Spongebob party that he was going to go to. So I went through the motions - bought him a present - and told Tyler if he wanted to go, he could go. But of course, we don't know these people at all, so if Tyler goes - I go. And I didn't want to go! Sitting for 2 hours at some stranger's house didn't sound like my ideal Saturday afternoon. But Tyler was insistent - and ultimately it came down to the fact that for Tyler to go is pushing him out of his comfort zone and that was good for him. I'm surprised he wanted to go at all and I thought I should encourage it. And I thought, maybe this will help him make some friends in his class. And maybe I'll get to meet some other kindergarten moms too. So off we went to the spongebob party.
The party consisted of a bounce house and a ton of kids. The kids were all ages - from 2 to 10 years old I bet. The mom told me that she'd invited all the boys from his class and also lots of neighborhood kids. Only 2 other kindergarteners were there and only one of those moms stayed too. So there we are at the party and it was complete chaos with that many kids. Tyler wouldn't go near the bounce house because of the chaos so he and I sat there and watched. Sounds like a good time doesn't it? I kept asking him if he wanted to go home but he said he wanted to stay for the Spongebob cake we saw as we came in. Try as I might I couldn't get him to leave - even though we weren't having any fun!
Well I got talking to this other mom who'd stayed (which is really what this blog is about) and she was really friendly and we talked for an hour or so. The conversation came to this Spongebob cake (which was dictating my afternoon) and she said that she'd like to take a class or something in cake decorating. So I say that Michael's craft store teaches classes and I've heard they are good . . . and she says 'let's take it together!' 'sure' I say, never really expecting to see her again. But then on Monday when I volunteered at the school, there she was dropping something off - 'hi's' were exchanged and then she brings up this class and we should do it and she's totally on board. So she gives me her phone number and tells me to get the details and then call her and we'll start these classes. So yesterday I called Michael's and got the details - classes start in 2 weeks - and then I call her to give her the scoop and see if she's in. I tell her you have to go in to the store to register and she says she'll go in on Monday and I say 'ok, that'll be great' and then she says, "let's just go in on Monday together after we get the boys on the bus' - isn't that so funny? So on Monday we're going to go in and get all ready for cake decorating. I'm really excited to take the class - I've wanted to take it for a long time but haven't gotten around to it - and now I have this new friend to take it with me. It's only 4 classes so it should be great. I'm so excited to have a new friend through school - and this may sound dumb, but I'm excited to have a non-member friend - I don't have any!
Ok, the funniest part of this whole saga is her name - she told me what it was and it's some long unusual name so she says, 'everyone just calls me O'. 'O' - that's her name - she wrote it down with her number and there it was - just O - so when I called her I said, "Hi, is O there?" Isn't that funny? Me and O, off to cake decorating!
Friday, September 29, 2006
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Volunteer Day
Yesterday I got to volunteer in Tyler's classroom for the first time. I looked forward to it for a whole week - I just couldn't wait. I've got a great system worked out with my friend Becca who's little girl is in Tyler's class. We each go in every other week and then we tend the other one's kids on our off weeks.
So I dropped off the girls and went to school - and couldn't have been more excited. I got there right when his class was leaving to go to the library. I walked with them and then stayed at the library a few minutes before I went to the classroom to be put to work. I cut lots of blue paper in half for a project they're doing next week and couldn't have loved it more. I just loved being in the classroom and taking it all in. After they came back from the library I called each kid back and had them write their name 3 times (the state IRI is this week and writing their names is part of the state test). It was so fun to put a name to these kids that I hear about at home. Tyler seemed to love having me there (and I think I better take advantage while he still likes it!), he kept waving at me and coming up to give me a hug. It was great to also talk to his teacher and get know her better. I left right as school got out so Tyler came home with me and we talked all the way home about school. I loved being at the school.
So I dropped off the girls and went to school - and couldn't have been more excited. I got there right when his class was leaving to go to the library. I walked with them and then stayed at the library a few minutes before I went to the classroom to be put to work. I cut lots of blue paper in half for a project they're doing next week and couldn't have loved it more. I just loved being in the classroom and taking it all in. After they came back from the library I called each kid back and had them write their name 3 times (the state IRI is this week and writing their names is part of the state test). It was so fun to put a name to these kids that I hear about at home. Tyler seemed to love having me there (and I think I better take advantage while he still likes it!), he kept waving at me and coming up to give me a hug. It was great to also talk to his teacher and get know her better. I left right as school got out so Tyler came home with me and we talked all the way home about school. I loved being at the school.
Best time in Boston
Derek and I just got back from the greatest trip. We went to Boston - kid free - for 5 days! It all started when Derek said he wanted to go to the Boston College/BYU game. In Boston? Now there's a game I'm willing to go to! We went through BYU travel and went with his two sisters and their husbands.
None of this would have happened if it hadn't been for Derek's parents and my parents being willing to tend the kids while we went. The kids had the best time. They got to show their grandparents all of the fun things they do in a day - dance and preschool for Emily and kindergarten for Tyler. They were completely spoiled the whole time - proof: I came home to 3 boxes of Reeses' Puffs cereal, Tyler's favorite. We are so lucky to have parents who are willing to tend and love our kids so much. The kids did great too. I heard lots of times how they never once asked when we were coming home! I do believe that they were happy to see us though! But maybe not as glad as we were to see them!
We flew to Boston on Wednesday and hooked up with the BYU tour in Boston. We rode the BYU bus to our hotel - everyone on the bus competely decked out in BYU gear from head to toe! Now there are some diehard fans. I tend to think that Derek is extreme but this weekend showed me he's got company! The tour took care of all our transportation (which we were really glad about once we found out what the Big Dig project was doing to downtown Boston), meals, and our hotel room. It was so great to have nothing to plan or worry about - all the details were taken care of. Now of course, the six of us totally changed the average age of the tour participant - by quite a ways I'm sure - but by the end of the trip, we just all felt like friends.
On Thursday we had a tour of Fenway park and then went on a Duck tour of downtown. That was so fun! We got to see lots of sights from the land and then took our tour into the Charles river and see more sights from the water. It was so great to see so many things - the only downside was having to go so fast! Every sight that was pointed out I wanted to go and learn all about it. That was a whirlwind tour - and nothing more than whetting my appetite to go back and spend more time in the city. Then we had lunch and the No Name restaurant - there was some authentic seafood for you! After that we got dropped off at Faneuil Hall and did the tourist shopping there. Then back to the hotel for another wonderful dinner.
On Friday we got to go to Sharon, Vermont to see the birthplace of Joseph Smith. This was amaing. Just driving through New Hampshire and Vermont was amazing - it is so pretty there! The trees are so dense you can't see anything on either side of the freeway. The leaves were just starting to turn and I can totally understand why people would make a vacation of going to see the leaves change. It made me realize what a desert I live in! Derek and I were ready to pack our bags and move there it was so pretty. Then we got to Sharon and it was unbelievable. It was amazing to be where Joseph Smith was born. The grounds were beautiful and the spirit was awesome. I've never been to any of the church sites in the East but I certainly want to more now. On our bus we had a BYU church history professor who taught us so much about the Smith and Mack families. Friday was a wonderful day.
On Saturday the football craziness came out. We went to Pigskin breakfast at an LDS church put on by the local BYU alumni chapter and then on to BC campus. The campus was so beautiful - it's amazing how you could just feel so much history there. The game was fun (it was my price to go on this trip) but the loss in double overtime was a hard pill to swallow for the diehards. Lots of consoling went on that night at our hotel.
That afternoon the 6 of us went kayaking in the Charles River - it was really fun and the only thing that we did outside of the tour.
Sunday morning Derek and I checked out at 4:30 a.m. to catch our 7:00 flight. We were home by 1:00 and thrilled to see the kids. All in all, it was the best trip. It was all of these wonderful adjectives but the one that always comes to mind is how relaxing it was. I only had me to worry about, me to dress, me to feed, me to be on time, me to put to bed! We had great meals, and I didn't cook one thing or wash one dish - and my favorite - coming back at night and having my bed made so perfectly and clean towels hanging (that I didn't have to wash!). It was the most relaxing trip - I can honestly say I came home so rejuvinated and ready to tackle all of the mom things. Unfortunately, this relaxed high only lasted until Thursday, but it was great while I had it!
I also came home so thankful for Derek's family. Not everyone would be thrilled to go on a vacation with their in-laws, but I was! We just get along so well and I never feel like an in-law around them, I just feel like one of them. People would ask us who were the siblings and I loved the fact that they couldnt' tell - we just get along that well.
It was such a great trip - everything about it was perfect.
None of this would have happened if it hadn't been for Derek's parents and my parents being willing to tend the kids while we went. The kids had the best time. They got to show their grandparents all of the fun things they do in a day - dance and preschool for Emily and kindergarten for Tyler. They were completely spoiled the whole time - proof: I came home to 3 boxes of Reeses' Puffs cereal, Tyler's favorite. We are so lucky to have parents who are willing to tend and love our kids so much. The kids did great too. I heard lots of times how they never once asked when we were coming home! I do believe that they were happy to see us though! But maybe not as glad as we were to see them!
We flew to Boston on Wednesday and hooked up with the BYU tour in Boston. We rode the BYU bus to our hotel - everyone on the bus competely decked out in BYU gear from head to toe! Now there are some diehard fans. I tend to think that Derek is extreme but this weekend showed me he's got company! The tour took care of all our transportation (which we were really glad about once we found out what the Big Dig project was doing to downtown Boston), meals, and our hotel room. It was so great to have nothing to plan or worry about - all the details were taken care of. Now of course, the six of us totally changed the average age of the tour participant - by quite a ways I'm sure - but by the end of the trip, we just all felt like friends.
On Thursday we had a tour of Fenway park and then went on a Duck tour of downtown. That was so fun! We got to see lots of sights from the land and then took our tour into the Charles river and see more sights from the water. It was so great to see so many things - the only downside was having to go so fast! Every sight that was pointed out I wanted to go and learn all about it. That was a whirlwind tour - and nothing more than whetting my appetite to go back and spend more time in the city. Then we had lunch and the No Name restaurant - there was some authentic seafood for you! After that we got dropped off at Faneuil Hall and did the tourist shopping there. Then back to the hotel for another wonderful dinner.
On Friday we got to go to Sharon, Vermont to see the birthplace of Joseph Smith. This was amaing. Just driving through New Hampshire and Vermont was amazing - it is so pretty there! The trees are so dense you can't see anything on either side of the freeway. The leaves were just starting to turn and I can totally understand why people would make a vacation of going to see the leaves change. It made me realize what a desert I live in! Derek and I were ready to pack our bags and move there it was so pretty. Then we got to Sharon and it was unbelievable. It was amazing to be where Joseph Smith was born. The grounds were beautiful and the spirit was awesome. I've never been to any of the church sites in the East but I certainly want to more now. On our bus we had a BYU church history professor who taught us so much about the Smith and Mack families. Friday was a wonderful day.
On Saturday the football craziness came out. We went to Pigskin breakfast at an LDS church put on by the local BYU alumni chapter and then on to BC campus. The campus was so beautiful - it's amazing how you could just feel so much history there. The game was fun (it was my price to go on this trip) but the loss in double overtime was a hard pill to swallow for the diehards. Lots of consoling went on that night at our hotel.
That afternoon the 6 of us went kayaking in the Charles River - it was really fun and the only thing that we did outside of the tour.
Sunday morning Derek and I checked out at 4:30 a.m. to catch our 7:00 flight. We were home by 1:00 and thrilled to see the kids. All in all, it was the best trip. It was all of these wonderful adjectives but the one that always comes to mind is how relaxing it was. I only had me to worry about, me to dress, me to feed, me to be on time, me to put to bed! We had great meals, and I didn't cook one thing or wash one dish - and my favorite - coming back at night and having my bed made so perfectly and clean towels hanging (that I didn't have to wash!). It was the most relaxing trip - I can honestly say I came home so rejuvinated and ready to tackle all of the mom things. Unfortunately, this relaxed high only lasted until Thursday, but it was great while I had it!
I also came home so thankful for Derek's family. Not everyone would be thrilled to go on a vacation with their in-laws, but I was! We just get along so well and I never feel like an in-law around them, I just feel like one of them. People would ask us who were the siblings and I loved the fact that they couldnt' tell - we just get along that well.
It was such a great trip - everything about it was perfect.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Tyler says the darndest things!
Tyler was in the front yard of my parents house. He saw Peanut - the cat who lives across the street. There were two other cats lying by Peanut. Tyler told my mom that Peanut must be having a cat meeting. She asked how he knew it was a cat meeting and he said "because they're all sitting down and being quiet." Later, he told me he thought the cats were talking about Jesus. Quite a cat meeting!
Then later at the same visit, he and Emily were helping my mom make play dough. She let them each pick two colors they wanted for their play dough. Emily picked red and purple - easy enough - and then Tyler said he wanted green, and he couldn't remember the name of the other color he wanted. My mom gave him lots of suggestions but none were the one he wanted. He told her it was green and yellow. Light green, dark yellow, green yellow, yellow green - no, no, no. That wasn't' what he wanted. "chartreuse?" Yep, that was it - he wanted chartreuse! So my mom made a great chartreuse play dough - we can thank Steve from Blue's Clues for teaching us that!
Then later at the same visit, he and Emily were helping my mom make play dough. She let them each pick two colors they wanted for their play dough. Emily picked red and purple - easy enough - and then Tyler said he wanted green, and he couldn't remember the name of the other color he wanted. My mom gave him lots of suggestions but none were the one he wanted. He told her it was green and yellow. Light green, dark yellow, green yellow, yellow green - no, no, no. That wasn't' what he wanted. "chartreuse?" Yep, that was it - he wanted chartreuse! So my mom made a great chartreuse play dough - we can thank Steve from Blue's Clues for teaching us that!
Monday, September 18, 2006
Dinner Co-op
So my friend Angela asked me if I wanted to be in a dinner co-op with her. "What is that?" is all I could say. She went on to explain that we would get 4 people, including the two of us, to be in it and then we would each have a day, Monday through Thursday, that we would cook for the 4 families. Then on the three days it isn't ours to cook - dinner is brought to us! I was on board before she even finished describing it. This could be so great for me - I could eliminate so many 5 o'clock panics! She said that she had done it before and had loved it. There wasn't much to it - on your night to cook, you cook a main dish and one side (and easy sides too - a loaf of French bread, or bagged salad) and you have to have it delivered by 5:00. You deliver everything ready to cook with cooking directions. I was in for sure.
So she got the four families selected (she picked families roughly of the same age and number of kids) and then the four moms all got together and shared with everyone our family's regular meals. People would ask what was in it and say if they thought their family would eat it. A few meals got black-balled - no meatloaf, stroganoff, or sloppy joes in our group! Then we picked what days we would cook - Tuesday is me. That was all there was to it. Angela made us a 2 month menu - so we know what's coming every day and what we're cooking. And we only cook our own recipes so it's totally easy.
And then the first Monday rolled around - that afternoon, brought to my doorstep -spinach manicotti and a cesar salad kit. All I did was heat it through in the oven. It was totally delicious! The kids liked it - Derek and I loved it. It was the greatest!
Tuesday I cooked Swiss Chicken and baked potatoes. The chicken was totally easy to make and I just washed and wrapped the potatoes. I gave the families sour cream and chives too. The response was good too - everyone emails their reviews so we know if we should cook it again or not.
I told my sister about this and she said that there was no way this was going to happen without some kookiness and I'm sure she's right. There's bound to be a lot of dinners that we don't like and some mix-ups along the way - but I think it might work out.
Tonight Tex-Mex pork wraps were delivered and tomorrow I'm making a lot of lasagna. I think this could be really good to get my kids to try things I don't ever make and hopefully we'll be a little less picky!
As for the kookiness - when it happens, it'll make a fun blog!
So she got the four families selected (she picked families roughly of the same age and number of kids) and then the four moms all got together and shared with everyone our family's regular meals. People would ask what was in it and say if they thought their family would eat it. A few meals got black-balled - no meatloaf, stroganoff, or sloppy joes in our group! Then we picked what days we would cook - Tuesday is me. That was all there was to it. Angela made us a 2 month menu - so we know what's coming every day and what we're cooking. And we only cook our own recipes so it's totally easy.
And then the first Monday rolled around - that afternoon, brought to my doorstep -spinach manicotti and a cesar salad kit. All I did was heat it through in the oven. It was totally delicious! The kids liked it - Derek and I loved it. It was the greatest!
Tuesday I cooked Swiss Chicken and baked potatoes. The chicken was totally easy to make and I just washed and wrapped the potatoes. I gave the families sour cream and chives too. The response was good too - everyone emails their reviews so we know if we should cook it again or not.
I told my sister about this and she said that there was no way this was going to happen without some kookiness and I'm sure she's right. There's bound to be a lot of dinners that we don't like and some mix-ups along the way - but I think it might work out.
Tonight Tex-Mex pork wraps were delivered and tomorrow I'm making a lot of lasagna. I think this could be really good to get my kids to try things I don't ever make and hopefully we'll be a little less picky!
As for the kookiness - when it happens, it'll make a fun blog!
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