Sam has a reputation. She is not even old enough to go to elementary school and most everyone is fully aware of who she is and what she is capable of.
At back-to-school night at Ian's school, I was looking forward to signing up to volunteer. I picked working in the library on Friday mornings, during the time when Ian's class would be there. This falls perfectly when Sam has preschool and I would be able to go solo.
However, there are a few Fridays coming up that Sam's school is closed due to the various Jewish holidays found in the months of September and October. I emailed the volunteer coordinator and told her that on these specific dates, I couldn't come in. She tried to tell me it was okay to bring Sam with me and she might even enjoy being around the big kids. I guess this woman was nowhere near the school during the open house incident.
A few days later I ran into another mom who I got to know from us both having kids in the same kindergarten class last year. Her daughter is in the same 1st grade class as Ian this year and we compared notes on what we are volunteering for. When I told her I was doing library but wouldn't be able to make it every week because of Sam's school schedule, she looked at me and nodded her head in complete understanding. She said, "Because, after all, it is the library."
I have this fear that Sam's picture is hanging up in the school's front office with a big "BEWARE" printed on it. I envision teachers everywhere are planning for their retirement in the next 2 years. Can you get kicked out before you even begin? How bad is it that my daughter already has a reputation and isn't even a student there yet?
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Friday, September 30, 2011
Throw me a snorkel, please.
As some of you may have noticed, my blog had been on hiatus this past week - for a WHOLE week! I think this is the first unintentional break I've ever taken. From the get-go, I got into a groove and wrote consistently every other day for more than 2 years now. My blog has become a way for me to unwind and document the day-to-day life has in store for us. It's nice to know my blog gets read by others, but more than anything I love this diary that has formed. From time to time, I go back and reread past blogs and what life was like with the kids at those ages. Right now, this blog is more for me, than anyone else. Still it was nice when a few family members called and were very concerned that the blog hadn't been updated and wanted to know what happened. As my dad said, "We were worried you went bonkers." Nice, huh?
I am not sure what is going on, but I feel like I am on the verge of drowning. There are way too many balls in the air. I've done (mostly) a great job up until now keeping them from falling, but I am not sure for how much longer. I really thought that with Sam and Ian back at school, I'd have loads of time to get things done; leisurely at that. However, this couldn't be further from the truth. The 3 to 4 hours I have (up to 4 days a week, unless a Jewish holiday gets in my way and closes Sam's preschool) is being spent with me running around like a chicken with their head cut-off.
Now that I have the power to schedule things and go without kids in tow, I made this month full of drs appointments, dentist, getting blood drawn, and running various errands. I've also signed up to volunteer at Ian's school on Friday mornings helping out at the library. It seems like my to-do list just gets bigger each day when one place I go causes another visit for follow-up later that week. Oy!
I'm guessing I was delusional earlier in the month when I dreamily planned to go room by room and really organize and declutter. Oh yeah, and this was after starting my kid-free time at the gym each morning. Ha! In the last 3 weeks, I've only gotten to the gym once during the daylight hours - I mostly try to squeeze it in before Jeff leaves for work in the morning.
It's a good thing the kids are safely at school and not a victim to my insane to-do list. But once you throw in our ridiculously over-scheduled weekends on top of an already busy week, its making for a very cranky Robyn.
Jeff likes to joke when about a year and a half ago I went through this phase of feeling like we had too much going on, I just went out and bought a bigger calendar to have more room to schedule things. Ha! I don't think they make a bigger calendar than what I found and is currently hanging in our kitchen. It had to be moved from the refrigerator to a nearby wall because it wasn't staying put with the weight of the pages. :)
Here me now - I am going to do less. I am going accomplish less. I am going to schedule less. I am going to be okay with that. I won't need to borrow a snorkel long, just need it until the kids are in college.
I am not sure what is going on, but I feel like I am on the verge of drowning. There are way too many balls in the air. I've done (mostly) a great job up until now keeping them from falling, but I am not sure for how much longer. I really thought that with Sam and Ian back at school, I'd have loads of time to get things done; leisurely at that. However, this couldn't be further from the truth. The 3 to 4 hours I have (up to 4 days a week, unless a Jewish holiday gets in my way and closes Sam's preschool) is being spent with me running around like a chicken with their head cut-off.
Now that I have the power to schedule things and go without kids in tow, I made this month full of drs appointments, dentist, getting blood drawn, and running various errands. I've also signed up to volunteer at Ian's school on Friday mornings helping out at the library. It seems like my to-do list just gets bigger each day when one place I go causes another visit for follow-up later that week. Oy!
I'm guessing I was delusional earlier in the month when I dreamily planned to go room by room and really organize and declutter. Oh yeah, and this was after starting my kid-free time at the gym each morning. Ha! In the last 3 weeks, I've only gotten to the gym once during the daylight hours - I mostly try to squeeze it in before Jeff leaves for work in the morning.
It's a good thing the kids are safely at school and not a victim to my insane to-do list. But once you throw in our ridiculously over-scheduled weekends on top of an already busy week, its making for a very cranky Robyn.
Jeff likes to joke when about a year and a half ago I went through this phase of feeling like we had too much going on, I just went out and bought a bigger calendar to have more room to schedule things. Ha! I don't think they make a bigger calendar than what I found and is currently hanging in our kitchen. It had to be moved from the refrigerator to a nearby wall because it wasn't staying put with the weight of the pages. :)
Here me now - I am going to do less. I am going accomplish less. I am going to schedule less. I am going to be okay with that. I won't need to borrow a snorkel long, just need it until the kids are in college.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Time for apple picking
One of my most favorite things to do with the family each Fall is go apple picking. This year was a particularly memorable adventure picking apples for my Toppall team. The memories are sure to last for many, many years to come.
Was it getting lost to the same orchard we've gone to for the past 5 years? Not only uncertain about how to get there, but also, improperly following Gertie and taking a wrong exit and turn. And I am sure depending on who you ask, it will come back that it was my fault.
Or, maybe it was the high humidity and the little bugs flying around being annoying? Could it have been the tall grass and mixes of mud/dirt that formed from major flooding rain the day before? Or, I know...it was the heat. Because by the time we go apple picking, we hope (expect) a little chill in the air to get us in the Fall mood.
And lastly, the icing on the cake could've came when Samantha decided she wanted to stay "FOREVER", as she yelled in the orchard. She had no plans on leaving and was very happy picking apples upon apples....20 lbs to be exact. Oh and carrying that bucket with more than 10 pounds of apples was something that she was easily able to do on her own, with no help whatsoever from Jeff or me. No matter how often we convinced her to let us help.
And I am sure carrying her off the orchard (against her will) and forcing her in her car seat, will be a memory that the other apple pickers will have with them for a long time too.
However for me, the most memorable part of this trip will be when we got in the car and Jeff announced that we won't be doing this ever again. That he is done. Done. Done. No more apple picking. Ever. And we will not be taking Sam out of the house to go anywhere. Ever. Again. Yeah, that made for a fun "discussion" on the drive home.
But, when all is said and done, we have 20 lbs of delicious apples to eat and some great pictures of our time "enjoying" apple picking. Can hardly wait for next year's outing to pick apples.
Was it getting lost to the same orchard we've gone to for the past 5 years? Not only uncertain about how to get there, but also, improperly following Gertie and taking a wrong exit and turn. And I am sure depending on who you ask, it will come back that it was my fault.
Or, maybe it was the high humidity and the little bugs flying around being annoying? Could it have been the tall grass and mixes of mud/dirt that formed from major flooding rain the day before? Or, I know...it was the heat. Because by the time we go apple picking, we hope (expect) a little chill in the air to get us in the Fall mood.
And lastly, the icing on the cake could've came when Samantha decided she wanted to stay "FOREVER", as she yelled in the orchard. She had no plans on leaving and was very happy picking apples upon apples....20 lbs to be exact. Oh and carrying that bucket with more than 10 pounds of apples was something that she was easily able to do on her own, with no help whatsoever from Jeff or me. No matter how often we convinced her to let us help.
And I am sure carrying her off the orchard (against her will) and forcing her in her car seat, will be a memory that the other apple pickers will have with them for a long time too.
However for me, the most memorable part of this trip will be when we got in the car and Jeff announced that we won't be doing this ever again. That he is done. Done. Done. No more apple picking. Ever. And we will not be taking Sam out of the house to go anywhere. Ever. Again. Yeah, that made for a fun "discussion" on the drive home.
But, when all is said and done, we have 20 lbs of delicious apples to eat and some great pictures of our time "enjoying" apple picking. Can hardly wait for next year's outing to pick apples.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Lunch!
I decided I'd surprise Ian and not let him know that I was planning on coming. I had a dentist appointment at 10:30am and wanted to leave the possibility open that if I got stuck at the dentist longer than I anticipated I wouldn't be disappointing Ian. Plus, I love surprising the kids. It's just so much fun!
Ian has lunch from 12:10 to 12:40pm each day. Parents are encouraged to come for lunch and you don't have to arrange it in advance. I arrived at the school at 12:00pm and signed in at the front office. Upon walking down the hallway to Ian's classroom, I ran into another mom whose child was in Ian's class last year, but got assigned a different teacher this year. Carol had also been eager to have lunch with Anna-Kate and decided to do a surprise too. We joked that you won't be able to miss us sitting with all the little kids.
I found Ian standing in line outside the cafeteria waiting until it was their turn to go in. The look on his face was priceless and instantly all the kids near him asked if I was him mom. I felt like a rockstar!
Ian was purchasing his lunch that day and I joined him in the line to pick out something for me to eat too. Ian chose the turkey hot dog and I picked the yogurt biteable (yogurt, cheese stick, orange slices, and sun chips - which after looking at the ingredients discovered they not gluten-free). Ian found it humorous that I picked the chocolate milk to drink. Hey, it was non-fat chocolate milk; there was no way I was going to pass that up!
I followed Ian to his table and he introduced me to more of his friends. I then realized that eating in the school cafeteria is not for the faint of heart. Oh my! It is seriously noisy. So loud that I kept feeling like a fight was going to break out and I'd have to duck under the table for cover. The lunch room lady turns the light off and on when it gets too loud. So you can imagine that it was flickering like a disco ball. Then there is this clapping that happens when the lunch lady wants to get the kids' attention. She'll clap and they have to clap back -- repeatedly, until everyone is listening. Yowzer! That's just a whole lot of noise going on!
I joked with Ian that I was going to come meet him for lunch every day. He had this look of fear on his face and said, "Um, no." Then about 5 minutes later he said I could come once a month. Yeah, I think the headache I got from all the noise will be gone by then. I can handle once a month.
Despite the noise, I had a great time. I fulfilled this cafeteria dream on a few levels; getting to have lunch with my son and getting to have lunch in a true school cafeteria. Growing up, I went to small schools that didn't offer this. It was neat getting to experience this.
I wonder when it will no longer be cool to have lunch with Ian?
Monday, September 19, 2011
Welcome to Fall
With the start of a new school year, we begin all our extra-curricular activities again. Here's a peek at our current schedule:
School
Soccer - games on Saturdays - time varies
Religious school - Sundays from 9:00am to 11:15am
SAM:
School
Dance class - Wednesdays from 4:30pm to 5:00pm
Soccer - Saturdays at 10:00am
I have to say I LOVE our schedule. The kids have enough to keep them busy and with full day school for Ian, the running around I have during the week isn't bad at all. I definitely don't feel like I am a chicken with their head cut-off not sure of where I need to be next or in panic mode that I am going to forget to pick-up a kid. I feel like we've got a great groove going on. Each of the activities have a few of Ian and Sam's friends joining them. This is the first year that I don't have to actively particpate as a parent and I can enjoy hanging out and watching the kids enjoy themselves. And with the weather finally getting cooler, I can say I am enjoying too being outside. Life is good.
IAN:
School
- Mondays from 9:05am to 1:15pm
- Tuesdays thru Friday, 9:05am to 3:45pm
Soccer - games on Saturdays - time varies
Religious school - Sundays from 9:00am to 11:15am
SAM:
School
- Mondays from 9:30am to 12:30pm
- Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, from 9:30am to 1:30pm
Dance class - Wednesdays from 4:30pm to 5:00pm
Soccer - Saturdays at 10:00am
I have to say I LOVE our schedule. The kids have enough to keep them busy and with full day school for Ian, the running around I have during the week isn't bad at all. I definitely don't feel like I am a chicken with their head cut-off not sure of where I need to be next or in panic mode that I am going to forget to pick-up a kid. I feel like we've got a great groove going on. Each of the activities have a few of Ian and Sam's friends joining them. This is the first year that I don't have to actively particpate as a parent and I can enjoy hanging out and watching the kids enjoy themselves. And with the weather finally getting cooler, I can say I am enjoying too being outside. Life is good.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am little superstitious and afraid I will jinx myself by even mentioning it, but I want so badly to shout from the rooftops, that my very strong-willed, will-do-it-when-she-is-good-and-ready, marches-to-the-beat-of-her-own-drum daughter is potty trained once and for all!
As we all know, this has been a very long and painful ordeal. I don't think potty training is for the faint of heart. There are few myths I'd like to debunk:
1. Potty training girls is easier. FALSE! As I can testify, this is not always the case. Ian got it in 6 days flat. I am not sure I even know how to count that high with how long it took Sam.
2. Girls can be potty trained at an earlier age; mostly likely they have the ability to get it at 2.5 years old. FALSE! We tried to potty train Sam at 2.5 years old. It was a disaster. We tried again at 3 years old. Again, a disaster. It took until Sam was over 3 years, 3 months old before it finally stuck.
3. No matter how bad it gets, if you stick with it, the child will eventually get it. FALSE! I stuck with it for over 27 days straight when I tried to potty train Sam right after turning 3 years old. 27 days of pure craziness and insanity showing me again and again she wasn't able to successfully do it.
4. Just use a great reward system (stickers, m&ms, treasure chest, etc) and you will have no problems creating a reason for the child to want to use the potty. FALSE! This is a complete joke. And you know who ate more m&ms than Sam? Yes, me! Not to mention, I have about a thousand stickers ready to be stuck on something. Each reward we tried to implement lost its appeal within the 1st day.
Here's the thing....at the end of the day, the child has to want to use the potty. The child has to want to keep her underwear dry. The child has to want to hold it until she can successfully make it to the bathroom. There is no amount of pleading, begging, or anticipating if they need to go or not that will make potty training easier. I've learned the hard way, you can't force a child to be potty trained.
And so, now we can close the chapter on this milestone. Please stick a fork in me. I am done. This is the LAST CHILD I AM EVER POTTY TRAINING!!! So far, in all my mommyhood experiences, potty training ranks up there as the thing I've liked the least. I look at women who have lots of kids or are currently pregnant and all I can think of is, one day soon, you will have to go through this and I feel for you. I don't see the joy in having a newborn or a toddler running around being all cute. I just see the future struggle and pain in going diaper free.
We just completed one whole week (at preschool, no less) with no accidents! OH. MY. GAWD. !! I didn't think I'd ever see the day. Wait, there goes a pig flying by. It just got cold in hell. Ha! I still have my sarcastic sense of humor...this excruciating ordeal has not broken me. Crippled, yes, but not completely broken.
I'd like to take a moment and thank Samantha. Thank her for finally getting on board the potty train and figuring this was a pretty good idea to do....finally!!!
As we all know, this has been a very long and painful ordeal. I don't think potty training is for the faint of heart. There are few myths I'd like to debunk:
1. Potty training girls is easier. FALSE! As I can testify, this is not always the case. Ian got it in 6 days flat. I am not sure I even know how to count that high with how long it took Sam.
2. Girls can be potty trained at an earlier age; mostly likely they have the ability to get it at 2.5 years old. FALSE! We tried to potty train Sam at 2.5 years old. It was a disaster. We tried again at 3 years old. Again, a disaster. It took until Sam was over 3 years, 3 months old before it finally stuck.
3. No matter how bad it gets, if you stick with it, the child will eventually get it. FALSE! I stuck with it for over 27 days straight when I tried to potty train Sam right after turning 3 years old. 27 days of pure craziness and insanity showing me again and again she wasn't able to successfully do it.
4. Just use a great reward system (stickers, m&ms, treasure chest, etc) and you will have no problems creating a reason for the child to want to use the potty. FALSE! This is a complete joke. And you know who ate more m&ms than Sam? Yes, me! Not to mention, I have about a thousand stickers ready to be stuck on something. Each reward we tried to implement lost its appeal within the 1st day.
Here's the thing....at the end of the day, the child has to want to use the potty. The child has to want to keep her underwear dry. The child has to want to hold it until she can successfully make it to the bathroom. There is no amount of pleading, begging, or anticipating if they need to go or not that will make potty training easier. I've learned the hard way, you can't force a child to be potty trained.
And so, now we can close the chapter on this milestone. Please stick a fork in me. I am done. This is the LAST CHILD I AM EVER POTTY TRAINING!!! So far, in all my mommyhood experiences, potty training ranks up there as the thing I've liked the least. I look at women who have lots of kids or are currently pregnant and all I can think of is, one day soon, you will have to go through this and I feel for you. I don't see the joy in having a newborn or a toddler running around being all cute. I just see the future struggle and pain in going diaper free.
We just completed one whole week (at preschool, no less) with no accidents! OH. MY. GAWD. !! I didn't think I'd ever see the day. Wait, there goes a pig flying by. It just got cold in hell. Ha! I still have my sarcastic sense of humor...this excruciating ordeal has not broken me. Crippled, yes, but not completely broken.
I'd like to take a moment and thank Samantha. Thank her for finally getting on board the potty train and figuring this was a pretty good idea to do....finally!!!
Thursday, September 15, 2011
The 3's Class
No, that wasn't a 2nd earthquake felt in Burke on Monday, September 12th; it was Sam and I jumping up and down in excitement over preschool starting in a few hours. Yay! I'm not sure who had a bigger smile on their face, but it took no repeating myself to tell Sam to brush her teeth, eat her breakfast or put on her shoes.
Sam eagerly picked out what she wanted to wear and couldn't wait to get dressed. Rita had sent this to Sam a few years ago, and finally Sam was big enough to wear it. Since everything was going Sam's way, it was a great morning and we were all happy as we waited for school to open.
The smile never left Sam's face. I made sure she knew where the bathroom was, gave her a big kiss good-bye and left. Oh yeah, I also wished the teacher, Miss Linda well. :)
Sam eagerly picked out what she wanted to wear and couldn't wait to get dressed. Rita had sent this to Sam a few years ago, and finally Sam was big enough to wear it. Since everything was going Sam's way, it was a great morning and we were all happy as we waited for school to open.
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| The official 1st day of school photo |
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| Walking in to the preschool |
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| Hanging with her good buddy, Jacob. |
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