NYC was...awesome. The weather was gorgeous, simply as good as it could be. It rained really hard once...but we were in a restaurant eating dinner and totally missed it. Amazing. We were 8 women...and nobody knew everyone except for the birthday girl. Everyone got along fantastically and was really easy going and laid back. Everyone's priority was to make sure Alwyn had the best time possible. It was very unifying and eliminated any waffling about what to do. I was reminded how low maintenance I am...which is really nice on one hand because I just had a small purse sized duffle for the weekend as opposed to the large rolling suitcases everyone else had. But it was not so positive when we went out to dinner and everyone else looked fab with their cute stylish outfits and well-done hair and make-up. Oh well. I am what I am.
We ate Australian meat pies for lunch, biked around in Central Park, almost got killed biking with traffic to get from the bike rental place to Central Park (cabs don't like bikes in their lane, turns out), drank and chatted up a storm in our awesome spacious hotel room, ate fresh made pasta at an incredible Italian restaurant, laughed and cringed at our very drunk friend flirt outrageously with our waiter. Then on Sunday, I was up and ready to go 3 hours before everyone else (I was the only one to not have a bed), so I walked a few blocks and enjoyed the crisp fall air and gorgeous buildings with a cup of mocha in hand and my people watching eyes deeply satisfied. Once everyone else got up and got ready, we ate breakfast at a diner (why are people so crazy about diners?), visited Grand Central Station, took the subway to the Met (a-mazing...although I think I need about 381 more days there to really make a dent on what is there), perused a street fair, ate amazing corned beef sandwiches, and took the train home. I feel super confident and excited about taking my mom, MIL, and Lily there in 2 weeks for Lily's birthday. My friends patiently taught me what I need to know to navigate by myself, and I don't think I'll forget it in 14 days. I hope. Very fun.
While I was gone, Jeff did awesome...as expected. Whenever I leave, he gets hyper productive. But I didn't think it would happen this time because there were already so many things planned. But somehow a midst the 3 sports events, Sunday school, and a birthday party, he managed to keep the house cleanish, go grocery shopping and then made a loaf of bread in the bread maker, 4 loaves of pumpkin chocolate chip bread (a new recipe he found), and a crockpot dinner for us to share when I got home Sunday night. No wonder he was tired! Overachiever. But I think they all had a very good time, and I am confident that if I had been killed on that 5 block bike ride on the streets of NYC, they would have just bounced right along in life. Not only would they not miss me, they would have really yummy bread :)
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Friday, September 21, 2012
Girls' weekend away
My friend Alwyn is turning 40 this month, and she has planned a weekend in New York City for some of her girl friends. I am honored and thrilled that I was included in this group.
So...hooray! NYC! And Alwyn wants to do some things in the city that I've never done before. You know...in the 2 other times I've been. Her plans include:
...eating at an Australian restaurant that she loves and where she can get some home cooking (she is from Brisbane)
...going to the Met
...renting bikes and riding through Central Park
Things I know will happen:
...talking until we get hoarse
...laughing until our cheeks hurt
...probably birth stories will be told. Seriously, we are so predictable.
Anyway, send positive thoughts Jeff's way as he single parents his way through a busy weekend. He's got Andrew's soccer game and Andrew's lacrosse practice on Saturday, and then Sunday school, Lily's soccer, and a birthday party at a bounce place on Sunday. Poor man. I owe him big time. Or you could say I'll pay it back when he goes to Texas for a week in October and then China for who knows how long later in the fall. You could say that ;)
So...hooray! NYC! And Alwyn wants to do some things in the city that I've never done before. You know...in the 2 other times I've been. Her plans include:
...eating at an Australian restaurant that she loves and where she can get some home cooking (she is from Brisbane)
...going to the Met
...renting bikes and riding through Central Park
Things I know will happen:
...talking until we get hoarse
...laughing until our cheeks hurt
...probably birth stories will be told. Seriously, we are so predictable.
Anyway, send positive thoughts Jeff's way as he single parents his way through a busy weekend. He's got Andrew's soccer game and Andrew's lacrosse practice on Saturday, and then Sunday school, Lily's soccer, and a birthday party at a bounce place on Sunday. Poor man. I owe him big time. Or you could say I'll pay it back when he goes to Texas for a week in October and then China for who knows how long later in the fall. You could say that ;)
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Playdate from hell
Lily is making all new friends in Kindergarten. No one from her pre-school went on to her elementary school, so she gets to pick her friends from a fresh field of faces. I discovered last week that her first pick is a dud.
This little girl lives in a part of our neighborhood...far enough away that the girls have never played together, but close enough that they share a bus stop. We've met her many times before because her older sister and Andrew also have the same bus stop (obviously). When we went to orientation for Kindergarten, Lily happily discovered that S. was seated right next to her. Bonus!
I have always noted that S. is a very spirited, bossy, energetic little girl. For example, at the bus stop, she will start up a game of tag, she is always the one chasing Lily, and S. SLAPS Lily to tag her, despite being asked to just tap. When another little girl comes to the bus stop, S. demands that Lily keep playing and not stop to say hi. Not really anything to worry about...Lily is never bothered by this...she just needs to learn to stand up for herself.
They also have dance together on Wednesday mornings. Last Wednesday, the girls were begging for a playdate. I asked her mom if they would like to come over on Thursday morning. She immediately said, "Great! I'll drop her off! Is 9 okay?"
Thursday morning, S's mom literally drops her off on the sidewalk. Doesn't even walk her to the door or pull into my driveway. Strange. S. comes running up to the door and Michael and Lily greet her. I get down on her level and say good morning and ask her to please include Michael in the play today. She doesn't make eye contact with me and pushes past me into the house. Lily has already been coached to let Mikey play, so I don't worry about it.
Things that happened in the next 2 hours 45 minutes:
I am sorting laundry in my bedroom, and Lily and S enter her room for the first time. S. immediately says, "Your room is small. And boring."
S. makes up games to get away from Michael. Like hide and seek...except Michael is supposed to count to 100, and never find the girls. He comes away frustrated and upset. He and I play LEGOs to give the girls some space.
After playing quietly and nicely for 30 minutes or so, the girls come clambering downstairs looking for food. It is 10:30, so I don't want to ruin lunch. S. turns down all of my healthy options before begrudgingly accepting a cheese stick. Lily skips outside to munch on her snack. S mentions she has to go to the bathroom. I pull out a bowl for her to put her cheese in. She says, and I quote, "I would like a girl plate, not that plate. While I go potty, you can get me a new plate and a girl cup with characters on it and you can put it on a table outside." I mentioned that I don't have any girl cups and she says, "Yes you do." She opens up my cabinets looking for them and doesn't find any. "Well that's what I like." She proceeds to clog my toilet with so much toilet paper I had to scoop it out with my hand. Except she didn't tell me that she overflowed the toilet...I discovered it hours later when Michael went to the bathroom. Then she went outside and Lily and she played nicely for a while. Michael even got in on the action.
The time her mother was going to pick her up came and went. Lily quietly asked me when S was going home.
S and Lily started being really mean to Michael. Running away from him and making him cry. He felt so rejected. He wanted a unicorn and S made fun of him, calling him a girl and that he shouldn't like unicorns. I stepped in and told them to share, there were plenty, and there was nothing wrong with everyone playing with everything. As soon as I back off, they make Michael cry again.
S. comes up to me and whispers, "I don't really like your house. Especially Michael."
Finally...FINALLY...the mother comes to get her child. I tell her that S. may complain about Michael barging in on their play. "Oh, no! S never complains about anything." I tell her that S. complained to ME about it. She looks embarrassed and says, "Well, she just had a Popsicle for breakfast, so she's probably just hungry."
We are now rushing to get ready for school, since the mother was 45 minutes late picking up S. No explanation on why she was late, btw.
I had a long talk with Lily about how I was disappointed that she would be mean to her brother. She starts crying and said, "S told me that she was the guest so I had to do everything she told me or else she would never play with again."
-sigh-
Last. Playdate. Ever. With S.
I am in need of a playdate with a nice polite kid. We had new neighbors move in a few weeks ago, and their 7 year old little girl is consistently rude to me..."I don't like the popsicles you have." "You let your kids drink out of baby cups." "Why don't you have any good snacks." Arguing with me about when I'm supposed to leave for orientation (Lily's was 1 hour earlier than the older kids, and she wouldn't leave my house because she thought I had the wrong time to leave).
Seriously. Doesn't anyone teach their kids good manners? And seriously. Do my kids act this way? Because no one would tell me if they did. We all just smile and usher the child out of the house, not wanting to embarrass the other parent or seem to judge the actions of their child. I coach my kids on what to do if they don't like the food offered at someone else's house. But do they do it when the time comes? Who knows. Clearly Lily will just follow what the other kids are doing. Yikes.
Ugh. Other kids. Ugh.
This little girl lives in a part of our neighborhood...far enough away that the girls have never played together, but close enough that they share a bus stop. We've met her many times before because her older sister and Andrew also have the same bus stop (obviously). When we went to orientation for Kindergarten, Lily happily discovered that S. was seated right next to her. Bonus!
I have always noted that S. is a very spirited, bossy, energetic little girl. For example, at the bus stop, she will start up a game of tag, she is always the one chasing Lily, and S. SLAPS Lily to tag her, despite being asked to just tap. When another little girl comes to the bus stop, S. demands that Lily keep playing and not stop to say hi. Not really anything to worry about...Lily is never bothered by this...she just needs to learn to stand up for herself.
They also have dance together on Wednesday mornings. Last Wednesday, the girls were begging for a playdate. I asked her mom if they would like to come over on Thursday morning. She immediately said, "Great! I'll drop her off! Is 9 okay?"
Thursday morning, S's mom literally drops her off on the sidewalk. Doesn't even walk her to the door or pull into my driveway. Strange. S. comes running up to the door and Michael and Lily greet her. I get down on her level and say good morning and ask her to please include Michael in the play today. She doesn't make eye contact with me and pushes past me into the house. Lily has already been coached to let Mikey play, so I don't worry about it.
Things that happened in the next 2 hours 45 minutes:
I am sorting laundry in my bedroom, and Lily and S enter her room for the first time. S. immediately says, "Your room is small. And boring."
S. makes up games to get away from Michael. Like hide and seek...except Michael is supposed to count to 100, and never find the girls. He comes away frustrated and upset. He and I play LEGOs to give the girls some space.
After playing quietly and nicely for 30 minutes or so, the girls come clambering downstairs looking for food. It is 10:30, so I don't want to ruin lunch. S. turns down all of my healthy options before begrudgingly accepting a cheese stick. Lily skips outside to munch on her snack. S mentions she has to go to the bathroom. I pull out a bowl for her to put her cheese in. She says, and I quote, "I would like a girl plate, not that plate. While I go potty, you can get me a new plate and a girl cup with characters on it and you can put it on a table outside." I mentioned that I don't have any girl cups and she says, "Yes you do." She opens up my cabinets looking for them and doesn't find any. "Well that's what I like." She proceeds to clog my toilet with so much toilet paper I had to scoop it out with my hand. Except she didn't tell me that she overflowed the toilet...I discovered it hours later when Michael went to the bathroom. Then she went outside and Lily and she played nicely for a while. Michael even got in on the action.
The time her mother was going to pick her up came and went. Lily quietly asked me when S was going home.
S and Lily started being really mean to Michael. Running away from him and making him cry. He felt so rejected. He wanted a unicorn and S made fun of him, calling him a girl and that he shouldn't like unicorns. I stepped in and told them to share, there were plenty, and there was nothing wrong with everyone playing with everything. As soon as I back off, they make Michael cry again.
S. comes up to me and whispers, "I don't really like your house. Especially Michael."
Finally...FINALLY...the mother comes to get her child. I tell her that S. may complain about Michael barging in on their play. "Oh, no! S never complains about anything." I tell her that S. complained to ME about it. She looks embarrassed and says, "Well, she just had a Popsicle for breakfast, so she's probably just hungry."
We are now rushing to get ready for school, since the mother was 45 minutes late picking up S. No explanation on why she was late, btw.
I had a long talk with Lily about how I was disappointed that she would be mean to her brother. She starts crying and said, "S told me that she was the guest so I had to do everything she told me or else she would never play with again."
-sigh-
Last. Playdate. Ever. With S.
I am in need of a playdate with a nice polite kid. We had new neighbors move in a few weeks ago, and their 7 year old little girl is consistently rude to me..."I don't like the popsicles you have." "You let your kids drink out of baby cups." "Why don't you have any good snacks." Arguing with me about when I'm supposed to leave for orientation (Lily's was 1 hour earlier than the older kids, and she wouldn't leave my house because she thought I had the wrong time to leave).
Seriously. Doesn't anyone teach their kids good manners? And seriously. Do my kids act this way? Because no one would tell me if they did. We all just smile and usher the child out of the house, not wanting to embarrass the other parent or seem to judge the actions of their child. I coach my kids on what to do if they don't like the food offered at someone else's house. But do they do it when the time comes? Who knows. Clearly Lily will just follow what the other kids are doing. Yikes.
Ugh. Other kids. Ugh.
Monday, September 17, 2012
4 day weekend
Hey! We just had 9 whole days of school...it must be time for a 4-day weekend. Whew, they work the kids hard around here. Good thing we have next Wednesday off as well.
Anyhoo...
We've started soccer season around these parts. This year, both Andrew and Lily are playing...although for different leagues. We haven't remembered to bring a camera to Andrew's games yet...we've been too distracted by Shadow's doppelganger. Seriously...there is a dog there that looks EXACTLY like her. The owner says it's a pure bred long haired chihuahua. I hate to break the news, but...uh...I think the "breeder" was pulling her leg. Whatever.
We did remember the camera for Lily's game. Her league has no separate practices...just a little drilling before 2 short scrimmages. It is for 4 and 5 year olds. We kept Michael out of it, because we wanted Lily to have her own first year. And we weren't sure if she would like it. She's never been super interested in sports...although she has enjoyed kicking a soccer ball around at Andrew's many games and practices through the years.
She is absolute joy out on the field. She smiles the whole time, she aggressively chases the ball and throws herself into the pile of children that is 4/5 year old soccer. She is a little champ.
She was so much fun to watch. So much more of a soccer enthusiast than I would have ever guessed. She would make her Uncle Chad proud.
As for Assistant Coach Andrew...we don't know Lily's coach, but the first week, while we were in the parent meeting, Coach Jerry asked Andrew if he would help out. Andrew took this job very seriously...my mom took some adorable pictures of Andrew mimicking every move Coach Jerry made and trying to pass along his vast soccer knowledge to the little kids. We had a talk with him about not interrupting the coach while he's talking. During yesterday's game, Coach Jerry got Andrew a white coaching T-shirt with the soccer association's emblem on it. Andrew just bursts with pride. And he is really really good at it. He stands in the goal while the kids practice shooting for the goal...and he always pretends like he's really trying to stop it but it gets through. The kids LOVE that. And then during the game, he sat on the sidelines with the kids who weren't playing and kind of corralled them like a sheepdog. I saw him find a kid who was with his parents when it was his turn to play. Very gentle and kind and...Lord, he makes me so proud. And he is just so EARNEST about it. When we got home, he took off his coaching shirt (which is a huge adult size medium), and said, "Mom? When does Lily have practice? Because I want to make sure this shirt is cleaned so I can wear it."
Any of you with girls around his age should just start lining up for a betrothal right now. Because this boy is a CATCH. If you need another reason, today we went to BK to celebrate no school, and they gave Michael chicken nuggets instead of a burger. We did drive thru, so there was no exchanging. Andrew gave his burger to Michael without being asked and ate 4 measly chicken nuggets instead. Such a good, kind boy.
Anyhoo...
We've started soccer season around these parts. This year, both Andrew and Lily are playing...although for different leagues. We haven't remembered to bring a camera to Andrew's games yet...we've been too distracted by Shadow's doppelganger. Seriously...there is a dog there that looks EXACTLY like her. The owner says it's a pure bred long haired chihuahua. I hate to break the news, but...uh...I think the "breeder" was pulling her leg. Whatever.
We did remember the camera for Lily's game. Her league has no separate practices...just a little drilling before 2 short scrimmages. It is for 4 and 5 year olds. We kept Michael out of it, because we wanted Lily to have her own first year. And we weren't sure if she would like it. She's never been super interested in sports...although she has enjoyed kicking a soccer ball around at Andrew's many games and practices through the years.
She is absolute joy out on the field. She smiles the whole time, she aggressively chases the ball and throws herself into the pile of children that is 4/5 year old soccer. She is a little champ.
Getting suited up.
Doing her best tiger growl. She loves being on the Tigers.
All ready to go. Where is everybody?
Warm up time! Notice Assistant Coach Andrew helping out. More on that later.
Lily's least favorite part of soccer. Not getting to play. She kept pleading with the coach to leave her in. Tireless.
Start the game already!
Lots of waiting for people to get set in 4/5 year old soccer.
Coach Jerry telling the defenders to spread out. Lily thought they were doing warm ups again.
Controlling the ball
Going for the goal.
Setting up for the corner kick (look at me with the soccer terminology)
Go, Lily, Go!
She was so much fun to watch. So much more of a soccer enthusiast than I would have ever guessed. She would make her Uncle Chad proud.
As for Assistant Coach Andrew...we don't know Lily's coach, but the first week, while we were in the parent meeting, Coach Jerry asked Andrew if he would help out. Andrew took this job very seriously...my mom took some adorable pictures of Andrew mimicking every move Coach Jerry made and trying to pass along his vast soccer knowledge to the little kids. We had a talk with him about not interrupting the coach while he's talking. During yesterday's game, Coach Jerry got Andrew a white coaching T-shirt with the soccer association's emblem on it. Andrew just bursts with pride. And he is really really good at it. He stands in the goal while the kids practice shooting for the goal...and he always pretends like he's really trying to stop it but it gets through. The kids LOVE that. And then during the game, he sat on the sidelines with the kids who weren't playing and kind of corralled them like a sheepdog. I saw him find a kid who was with his parents when it was his turn to play. Very gentle and kind and...Lord, he makes me so proud. And he is just so EARNEST about it. When we got home, he took off his coaching shirt (which is a huge adult size medium), and said, "Mom? When does Lily have practice? Because I want to make sure this shirt is cleaned so I can wear it."
Any of you with girls around his age should just start lining up for a betrothal right now. Because this boy is a CATCH. If you need another reason, today we went to BK to celebrate no school, and they gave Michael chicken nuggets instead of a burger. We did drive thru, so there was no exchanging. Andrew gave his burger to Michael without being asked and ate 4 measly chicken nuggets instead. Such a good, kind boy.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Another first day
On Monday, Michael had his first real day of pre-school at his new school. I have been mildly concerned about the hecticness of drop-off. Lily's bus was due at our stop at 12:44...and Michael's school starts at 12:45. So I had talked to the teachers about him being a little late...but if you know me at all, you know I HATE being late. Even a minute.
All things are shining in my favor this year, however. On Monday, Lily's bus driver got to our neighborhood quite early and let us parents know that she was going to have to start coming earlier. So now the bus will come at 12:35. Problem solved.
Michael had no problem going to school. Everyone else is in school, so why not? Last year, Lily got to come home with me while he got left behind. That was hard. This year everyone else is gone, he has had all morning to play with his sibilings and home is getting a bit boring, he is not rushed, etc etc. I wish I had thought of all these things and done afternoon pre-school before :)
Our old school used to do circle time first, so the kids would just sit on the mat and wait for all the kids to arrive. Lots of time to think about the fact that Mom just abandoned you to strangers. This school has activities set up to do immediately. Who cares about Mom? There are blocks to build with! Such a simple difference, with such wonderful results. I like this new school already.
And then on Tuesday, when he doesn't have school, Michael was very very sad he didn't get to go back. He keeps telling me that he really likes his school. Which makes me enjoy my free afternoons a whole lot more :)
Saturday, September 08, 2012
First week
I've been having technical difficulties with photo downloading on Blogger, but here is a report of the first week of school...finally.
Last Tuesday, Andrew got up and got ready and left. A third grader.
Lily, Michael and I waved goodbye, and then twiddled our thumbs waiting for 12:45 when Lily would get to go to school...on the bus...for the first time. Actually, our neighbors kind of followed us home from the bus stop, and provided a great distraction for a little while. I had told Lily that she wouldn't get to go to school until after lunch, which led to this conversation: "Mom? Can I have lunch so that I can go to school?"
Finally it was time. And she was so ready. No tears. No fears. Just pure excitement.
Michael was less than thrilled to have to walk down to the bus stop so frequently. 3 times a day...about 3 hours between each trip. Next week we won't walk Andrew in the morning, so that will help.
The hardest part for me was when they both barreled off the bus, desperate to tell me about their day. I had to basically shush one while the other spoke. It's hard to balance listening to each at the same time. I will learn...I'm still new at this.
The rest of the week went well. Andrew was tired and excited and tired. He cried for a half hour about our frog dying. He died 2 weeks ago, and Andrew didn't seem to care...but whatever. He was really excited about having to pick out a password for computers. Simple pleasures. :)
Lily had a blast. She told me once that she was bored, but I explained that the first few weeks are really boring because you have to learn the rules and how the classroom works. She was also having meltdowns left and right about really ridiculous things. Tired. She also started tap/jazz class and found out the class is composed of 5 other afternoon kindergartners at her school. Awesome. Friday was gymnastics for the first time since last spring. Tomorrow she will go back to Sunday School after a summer hiatus, and she will have her first ever soccer practice/game. It has been a big big week for my Lily. And she has handled it like a champ. It is good to be almost 6 when there is this much change happening :)
Michael missed his sister. He was also busy in the mornings with us...he takes gymnastics with her. Afternoons were harder. One afternoon he requested to go to the mall and ride the escalators. So we did. About 20 times in a row. Anyone watching us would have thought we were crazy. But he was giggling and having a blast. Free fun. One thing...he never shut up the whole time Lily was gone. I swear, this child has been stifled by that older sister :)
Next week, Michael starts school. We met his teachers and visited his classroom on Friday, and he was comfortable right away. I think he'll have a great year. I miss our old pre-school, so the adjustment may be greater for me than for him at this point.
Oh. And while he's in pre-school? I'll be all by myself.
4 days a week.
2 hours a day.
Holy crap.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)