Ian and email

Watch out, Ian is on the loose emailing everyone.

For the past several years, Ian has repeatedly received a “2” (on a scale of 1 to 4) for one of his music grades.  The one specifically he gets the “2” on is “Singing appropriately”.   This has been troubling Ian deeply.  He takes his studies very serious and wants to do the best he can.  Each quarter the progress report comes home and he sees that “2” again under the music section, he asks us why this is.  We tell Ian as long as he is doing his best, it’s ok and not to worry about.

Since all of Ian’s other scores are 3’s and 4’s, Jeff and I have never been bothered by Ian’s 2 in music.  Neither Jeff nor I are singers, nor can we hold a tune, so it must be genetic.   Ian finally had enough being troubled by this score and decided to do something about it.  He emailed his music teacher.  All on his own.  He did show me the email before he sent it, but it was 100% thought of and generated by him, in his own words.  He looked up the music teacher’s email address on Blackboard and sent it on its way.  About an hour later, Ian had a reply from the music teacher.  And sure enough, Ian met with her the next morning and found out what he could do differently to get a better grade. 

I love this kid! I am so impressed that he had a problem, found a solution and took action.  I know it was hard for him to confront his teacher.  But he did it!  Way to go Ian!  I would’ve never had this kind of confidence to do something like email a teacher when I was his age.  Actually, I was just happy if I got a passing grade and wasn’t looking to make more work for myself with wanting to get better grades.  Back in the day, I am sure I even hid from my teachers after-hours, let alone would’ve willingly emailed one – that’s assuming we had email back when I was in school.  This part of Ian's personality must come from Jeff. :)

Below is a copy of the email Ian sent to his teacher. 

Hi Mrs. X,

[I am Ian Toppall from group C and I have music on Wednesday]

I hope its ok that I am emailing you but there is a question I have been wanting to ask. I have not had the courage to ask you in class.  Why did I get a 2 for singing appropriately in class on my report card last quarter? Is it my tone? How can I improve?

sincerely

Ian Toppall

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mrs. X’s reply:

Dear Ian,
Please come see me after the announcements tomorrow. I will be happy to speak with you.

You are a wonderful student and I have some ideas for you to try.

Sincerely,
Mrs. X

 

One less thing to do.

I am not doing a holiday card this year.  There I’ve said it.  And since I’ve written it down for everyone to read, I will not go back on my word.  Nope, no holiday card.  I’m just not feeling it. 

The idea of taking photos of the kids and us as a family that I really like sounds painful.  Have you seen my family when they are less than cooperative?  It’s not pretty, I will tell you that.  Picking out a card style that isn’t too Christmasy seems like more trouble than its worth.  I will look at hundreds and hundreds of cards on various websites before I find the one I like best.  Getting the address list made into labels is just not something I have an extra evening to mess around doing. People need to stop moving!  And finally, getting it all together and put in the mail makes me want go to bed early and hide.  All of it sounds too exhausting. 

I am on holiday card strike this year.  I am making my life less complicated this holiday season.  I will sit back and enjoy the holiday cards we do receive and not feel guilty that I haven’t sent one out in return.  It will be hard, but I can do it. 

Tinsel Teeth

Ian's excitement for getting braces was through the roof.  He had seen almost everyone in his 4th grade class get braces on their teeth.  Phase 1 officially started on Tuesday, December 9th.  The smile on his face in the days leading up to his appointment couldn't have been bigger. 

It is a different day and age.  I had braces when I was 12.  I am pretty sure I wasn't this excited. I did my best to not dampen Ian's spirit on what a pain braces are.  How food easily gets stuck in your teeth, how you can't eat chewy-type foods (OMG!  I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE caramel -- so not fair!).   How sore your teeth are each time you visit the orthodontist.  The wearing of rubber bands, the wearing of head-gear (could you look more like a geek??  I think not) and the wearing of a retainer.  I didn't tell Ian any of this.  Let him have this moment to be excited.  He will figure it all out soon enough.

The morning that Ian was getting his braces on, two twin 15 year old boys were getting there braces off.  It was neat to the see the full circle. Ian's first phase includes 4 braces in the front of his teeth.  It's a nice little introduction of what is to come. This is like dipping a toe in the pool before deciding to jump in.  This phase should last 9 to 12 months.  And then Ian will get a break before Phase 2 starts.  Ian fortunately didn't need to have an expander -- the thought of turning that key weekly freaked me out.  The main goal of doing phase 1 is to get Ian's overbite under control, because right now you could a sail a ship in the space he has with the top jaw extending over the bottom jaw. 

Ian gets to chose what color to put around the braces.  For the first 6 weeks, he has gone with a Hanukkah color theme and picked Blue & White.  I love the Orthodontist.  When the 15 year old boys were done, she handed them each a goody bag of everything they weren't able to eat -- gum, starburst, popcorn.   How cool is that? 



The before shot.

He is still so happy!!

 

The after shot. 

Another great thing about this orthodontist office is they encouraged me to come back to the area where Ian was being worked on and hang out.  And, they didn't mind the camera at all. 

Can I get that to go?

My dad and stepmother are currently enjoying themselves on a cruise.  When I heard they were leaving, I was instantly reminded of a very funny story that occurred during a vacation when the whole family got to go.

We were all gathered together, ready to leave.  We were just waiting for Lori to meet up with us.  My dad calls Lori to see where she is.  We don't here what she says to dad on the phone, but we do hear my dad's side of the conversation. 

Dad:  Lori, where are you?

Lori: -------

Dad:  Well can't Robyn pick that up for you?

Lori:  ------

Dad: Ok, we are ready to go when you get here. 

It turns out that Lori told my dad she was getting waxed.  Hahahahaha.  Um, no.  I can't pick that up for her.

This is one of those inside stories that keeps making its way into conversation.  Whenever I speak with Lori and we hear the other is getting waxed, we joke "How about you just pick that up for me?"

Gosh, I love my dad.

Thanksgiving wrap up.

It's taken me a while to get back into the swing of things.  Most days I feel too exhausted to want to write.  However, I love looking back and reading how I felt, what the kids were up to and what our family was doing.  This can only happen if I actually write it.  :)   I plan to do a better job of getting back into the routine of writing with the frequency I used to.

I have the best family.  Hands down, that's all there is to it.  I am so thankful for so many things; my life is truly blessed.  I don't have the newest car (it's become a family joke how many miles are on it) or the biggest house (by far I live in the smallest in my family), but I am rich with love.  So much love.  It's the best when we get together.  You'd be hard pressed to find a family that enjoys being with each other more than mine.  It's non-stop reminiscing, making new memories and laughing non-stop. 

I know my family will not be around forever.  I can cry buckets just at the thought of losing one of them.  It's important to me to go down to Orlando as much as possible.  There is nothing like family.

This past Thanksgiving I took the kids for a week. Jeff hadn't built up enough vacation time at his new job and stayed home while we flew down.  My niece turned a year old on November 13th.  Lori & Ben had her first birthday party while we were in town. 

It was a jam packed visit.  Not only were we around to attend Rachel's first birthday party, but we also witnessed her taking her very first steps.  How exciting! 

While traveling, my bucket of what I was grateful for overflowed.  Here is a just small sampling - some are very trivial, some not so much.  But all touched me in some fashion.  In no particular order -

* The airlines lifting the "no electronics" rule on take-off and landing.  Wow, I can't even begin to tell you what a difference this makes when flying with the kids.  I don't think they even realized we had taken off or landed.  It was a breeze.  I am not sure I could do a cross country flight with them right now, but I'm getting much closer.

*Ian being a wonderful big brother and letting Sam have the window seat on our flights. 

*My dad/stepmother and mom/stepfather not only getting along, but truly caring for each other.  It makes coming together for the holidays a breeze.  There is never a discussion of which house my sister and I will spend the big day at; it's just a question of who is hosting. 

*Having 3 different residences (my mom, my dad, my sister) all fight for us wanting to spend the night at their house.  We were there 6 nights and I split it up equally-- 2 nights at each place.  It gives me a gushy feeling to have so many want us to invade and make a lot of noise in otherwise quiet, peaceful homes.

*When we realized it wouldn't be possible for Jeff to go with us, it wasn't a question that me and the kids would travel without him.  To have the ability to purchase plane tickets (when we would have otherwise been driving with Jeff) is something I don't take for granted.  Having Jeff's parents take us to the airport and pick us up when we got back was a few more drops in my bucket of gratefulness.

*The woman who sat in front of Sam on the return flight. I am thankful for her gracious and understanding nature.  In an uncharacteristic move on Sam's part, she intentionally kicked the seat in front of her, repeatedly.  Ugh.  It took about 25 minutes before I could get Sam to finally stop.  She is known for a lot of inexcusable behavior, but she has never kicked the seat in front of her.  I guess there is a first time for everything.  The woman who sat in the seat in front of Sam was very sweet and should've been highly annoyed every time she involuntarily lurched forward again and again.  Miraculously she wasn't.  Believe me, Sam got punished for this, especially when she refused to apologize to the lady.



I love these people.

My gorgeous niece turning 1!

*My friends Amanda and Molly.  I've known Amanda since I was 6 and Molly since I was 12.  To show up at random times in Orlando and have a date instantly get put on the calendar for us to get together warms my heart.  Our kids are only weeks apart in age.  How awesome it is to have a playdate for my kids whenever we need it.  And a girls night out for me is always a must; I don't lack childcare to help take care of the kids.

Our girls at 6 months old and again at 6.5 years old.  Love.
 

It wasn't all sunshine and roses.  Southwest Airlines did lose the kids' luggage on the way there.  Fortunately, It was found the next day.  But for about 12 hours, it was a pain to think we'd need to quickly buy clothes, shoes, toiletries for the kids for the week.  On Tuesday, it rained ALL DAY LONG.  Like hurricane type rain.  That kept us mostly indoors hanging out at my mom's house.  It actually turned into a nice day being with my mom and Jim.  Mom and Sam made cookies together.  And, lastly Sam had a few major temper tantrums that I am still recovering from.  She has been pushing my buttons big-time.  Most days I feel majorly beaten-up by the time nightfall comes.

I can't complain.  I am truly blessed and I know it. 

Flag Football - that's a wrap!

Ian is finished with his first season of Flag Football.  I have to admit that I never watched football before or even understand the game.   Heck, I still don't understand the game, but I know which team to root for.  And I've successfully figured out that when someone in the same colored jersey as Ian is running with the ball, that's a good thing.  A very good thing.  And its just as great when one of Ian's teammates blocks the ball from going any further when the opposing team has it. 

Ian had a great time playing.  I had a great time cheering him and his team on. All of the teams the Lions played (Ian's team name) were pretty evenly matched with the exception of one.  There was this one team that apparently didn't play by the rules and put together a team of the biggest, tallest, fastest kids you've ever seen.  All of the kids were supposed to be between the ages of 9 to 11 years old.  There is no way this was possible with this batch of kids.  The Lions had to play this team 2 times during the season, before the championship play-offs.  One of the game scores was 42-0.  Really.  Each time the moms and dads would comment what a joke it was for our sons to be playing against these kids.  One mom said, "I bet these kids already have armpit hair."  Another dad said, "These kids probably drove to the game."  It was insane. 

Of course when it came down to the big playoff game, it was Ian's team against these kids on steroids.  We all knew what the outcome was going to be, but we all secretly hoped the Lions would get their Disney ending. 

Believe it or not, the opposing team brought a new player to the championship game.  Like their current roster of players weren't intimidating enough, they had a new secret weapon ready to unleash.  The Lions were looking at another massacre. 

Somewhere from deep inside, the Lions played the best they've ever done.   It was truly phenomenal and so exciting to watch.  The Lions put all their heart into it and played a really fantastic game, full of defense.  One of the best quotes ever came from Ian when he exclaimed "Holy cow, I can't believe I blocked that!!"  The kid with the ball he blocked was easily 2 feet taller than him.   He had the parents on the sidelines laughing with that line. 

The Lions managed to score a touchdown.  Up until the last 4 minutes of the game, the score was 7 to 0, in favor of the Lions.  Woweee!!  No one was sitting in their seats; you HAD to be standing, with your eyes glued to the action.  What a game!!!

Unfortunately with the last 3 minutes, the other team scored a touchdown.  The game was tied until the last 10 seconds. It was unbelievable!!!   Then it went downhill quickly and the team scored another touchdown.  The ending score was 7 to 14.  The Lions lost.  :(

The coolest thing was this team Ian played against had never been behind in a game before during their whole season. And for more than 3/4ths of the game, it looked like the Lions was going to win!   The Lions gave it their all.  They should be very proud.  As Ian's coach said to the team afterwards, "It was not possible for them to play better than they did."   What a great way to end the season.

Finding happiness admist total mayhem

It's amazing how friends can make your day a lot sweeter.

I recently went on a girl's weekend to Charlottesville.  It was part of a multi-process farewell tour for my dear friend Dawn, whose family is moving to England for three years.

During the car ride home our conversation turned towards "being happy" and what that means.  It was a very interesting conversation of how people seek happiness and may never achieve it because they don't realize happiness can be just living in the moment.  For me, happiness is being content.  As long as my basic needs are being met (I'm not hungry, I'm not tired, I'm not too cold, or too hot, or whatever) and I am surrounded among people I enjoy being with, I am content.  And, therefore, I am happy.  In fact, all hell can be breaking loose around me and I can still be happy.  Really.

We went to dinner the night before at this supposedly very trendy, very hip restaurant in Charlottesville.  It came highly rated and of course, needed reservations to get a table for their busy Saturday nights.  We were seated within an appropriate amount of time of showing up.  The menu looked promising and we had a great waitress.  I ordered this amazing Peanut Butter cocktail that was out of this world. 

Three of us ordered the spinach salad (I asked to have my bacon on the side), Dawn ordered the salad on their specials list for the evening, and Susanne didn't order any salad.  Susanne and I each ordered the acorn squash soup.  Since I didn't order an entrée, the waitress said she would make my salad the entrée and bring out the soups first with the other salads that were ordered. 

Our salads (minus Dawn's) and both soups arrived at the same time.  We knew it was meant to be my salad because it had the bacon on the side.  No worries, I can set my salad aside and eat the soup first before it gets cold.  However, Dawn's salad never came.  And when it finally did, it was the spinach salad, not the salad special she asked for.  I asked the table runner if the small container was the bacon from my salad (it was very dark and I couldn't see it very well) -- he said and I quote "We don't have bacon at this restaurant."  Um, yes, you do!! It's written on the menu. 

The three of us look at our spinach salad we had ordered and realize it is missing easily 3, maybe 4 of the ingredients listed on what is has in it.  It is missing the cheese, the almonds, dressing, etc.  We eat it anyway because we are so hungry.

Meanwhile the table runner takes Dawn's wrong salad away and after a very long time, finally arrives with the salad special.  As Dawn is saying 'Thank you', the table runner slams the salad down in front of Dawn. Yes!  You read right, the plate gets slammed down.  Instantly the five of us drop our mouths open in shock.  We couldn't believe what just happened.  Dawn asks to speak to the manager and when he arrives, he makes excuses for the rude service and says that he isn't to blame for how busy the restaurant is.  WHAT!?!?!?!

During this whole process the spinach salad with the bacon on the side keeps arriving at our table, again and again and again.  I keep turning it away saying I already received it.  However the 3rd time it came, I got curious and asked to see the salad the guy was holding in his hand. I saw it was made correctly!  This is what the Spinach Salad should've looked like!  I told my friends the 4th time the salad shows up, I am taking it.  Sure enough, the extra salad came a 4th time and I said, "yes, it was mine."  This one was tasty.

It had to have been a full hour from when the salads arrived to when the entrees came.  At this point I only had sweet potato fries left to eat.  I shared my fries with my friends.  The one fry Dawn picks up is frozen!  Crazy, right!!?!?   We call the waitress back over and tell her to hand this fry to the manager.  Almost immediately a new order of sweet potato fries arrive at the table. 

We lost count at the amount of mistakes that were made.  It was pretty hilarious.  It wasn't the waitresses fault and we made sure her tip reflected that.  As she put down the bill, she said "If it said salad, you won't see it on here."   More probably should've been done to compensate for the rudeness and all the other mistakes, but we survived. 

What a crazy, fun night.  It might not be most people's definition of happiness.  But for those 3 hours, it was mine. 

The peanut butter cocktail...they did get this drink right.
Yum!