NYC for 60!

Ian's advanced drama class does a trip to NYC each year.  I don't need to be told that twice to know I want to go and be a chaperone.  Ian wasn't initially happy with me being on the trip with him, but he eventually came to accept my presence. He even said when the weekend was over, that it turned out ok to have me along because "I didn't get all up in his business".

The itinerary for the trip was pretty awesome. Part of the 48 hours is spent going to two Broadway shows and doing a workshop with one of the actors from a show.  As soon as we arrived, we went straight to the studio and met with the musical director and a member from the cast of "Come From Away".   The kids learned a musical number "Welcome to the Rock", along with the dance that accompanies it.   The chaperones had the option to stick around and watch or go get coffee, wander around and be back in an hour.  Are you kidding me??!! Of course, I am going to stay and watch.  I LIVE for this stuff!!

I tried very hard to be on the down low and not be obvious about taking photos/video.  However, once the kids started rehearsing, I couldn't hold myself back any longer.  I took a chair, put it in the corner of the studio and stood on it to record.  Talk about putting myself out there!  There was no going back now and hiding!

After the dance number, the kids got to do a 30-minute question and answer period with Julie and the musical director.

We made our way to Brooklyn and visited Smorgasburg, the largest open-air food market.  I was in charge of Ian and his two friends, both named Ryan!   This was interesting having to keep track of 3 teenage boys among a thousand people and these boys all wanted to go in different directions.  I survived and we had a great time!   It was such a beautiful day!!

After having lunch, we had free time to walk around Times Square.  Then it was time to go to Ellen's Stardust Diner for dinner.  Love this place!  And having a group reservation is the best way to go.

"King Kong" was the show we saw Saturday night. The funniest part of the trip was when we were getting our tickets for the show as we were walking into the theatre.  Ian had big plans to sit next to his best buds.  He wanted me to be as far away from him as possible.  Ian is quickly shuffling the tickets around, taking the ticket from one person and handing it to another person.  He had very little time to accomplish what he wanted to do.  Upon entering the theatre, the kids went straight to their seats and the adults went to the bathroom.  When I made my way to my seat, I looked at the empty seat next to Ian and realized he messed up big-time!  Ian inadvertently had me sitting right next to him!  The expression on his face as he is realizing what he had done, is priceless.  He asked if anyone around us would switch seats with me. Ha! Not only would no one switch seats, but we all couldn't stop laughing!   King Kong had great special effects. The way the creators had King Kong have facial expressions were so cool and most impressive.  But the storyline and music was very weak.

On Sunday, we did a guided tour of the 9/11 Memorial.   Even though I had been before, I learned quite a bit about the September 11th attacks that I didn't know.  Again, another beautiful day to be outside and walking around.  We had some extra time and took a walk down to Trinity Church and saw where Alexander Hamilton is buried.  So cool!

Lunch was at Carmine's and soooo yummy!   They do gluten free pasta perfectly.  After lunch, we made our way to see "Come From Away".  The play tied in nicely with the 9/11 Memorial tour and it really hit home how wonderful this town of Gander, New Foundland was to the 38 planes of people who had no choice to but to land in their town.  Their population doubled!  Without a doubt, we all loved "Come From Away" and was moved to tears.  After the show was over, we went to the stage door and hung out waiting for the actors to come out.   We got to see Julie and tell her how great she did.

Chaperoning this field trip was the best!  I am so happy I didn't think twice and not sign up to go. I am pretty sure I had more fun than all those kids put together!

Brooklyn Smorgasburg!

Heartwarming.

Ian's 5th grade class finally took a field trip. Their destination?  Medieval Times.  Yes, the place where they put on a big show full of knights riding horses, complete with jousting and eating all your food without utensils.  Oh, what fun!  Right away Ian asked me if I was going to volunteer to be a chaperone.  Um, no.  Not if it involves me sitting on a bus for 1.5 hours there and another 1.5 hours back.  I've learned my lesson two years ago on the kindergarten field trip when a child threw-up (repeatedly) two rows in front of me and it slid to my row on the floor of the bus.  Ugh!   Between the smell, the sun beating down on me, and the bus lurching back and forth in stop and go traffic, I didn't ever need to put myself in that position again.

Ian was fine with me not going.  From what he told me, there were 15 parent volunteer forms turned in the first day asking to fill the one spot available for his class.  It wasn't until the mom of one of the girls in Ian's class sought me out a few weeks later and asked if I wanted to go with her and we could drive on our own, that I considered this a win-win in attending the field trip.  I got to drive (in my own car!!!  With my own AC blowing on me!!  With my radio tuned to the Billy Joel channel on SiriusXM!!  With a fellow mom in the passenger seat to keep me company!!) and I still got to see Ian enjoy the field trip.  Yes!!  I'd love to go!  And I'd love to drive us! 

I was going to keep it a secret, let the teacher know I would be there (it was an option for parents to go on their own) and surprise Ian by showing up.  Jeff thought that was a terrible idea and advised strongly against it.  I could not be more surprised than when I told Ian I was going and he asked me to sit next to him at the Medieval Times table.  What???   Really?  Ian wants me to sit next to him????   He's in 5th grade!  You could knock me over with a feather!   Instantly my heart melted and I was so excited that I had decided to give up my normally flexible Friday to get things done and make my way to Arundel Mills where Medieval Times is located. 

It is mandatory that all the kids have to take the bus to get to the field trip.  But Kathy and I were able to spring the kids free and let them drive home with us.  We signed them out at the end of the program and they could not be happier to dodge the last 1.5 hours of school and have an early dismissal.  I know I would've loved having a parent do that for me. 

All in all, it was great experience.  The kids LOVED Medieval Times.  I am still not completely convinced this ties in a whole lot to what they are studying, but it certainly is a fun place to take a group of kids.  The best part was the knight for our section (out of 6 sections) won the whole jousting competition.  Personally, I think it was because we had the loudest cheering section. 

There were other parents who attended that sat at their own table with some of the teachers.  So I consider it pretty special that Ian still finds it to be cool to be seen with his mom.  He actually had me sit in between him and his best friend.  Aw, I love that.  I know this won't always be the case, so I will cherish it while it lasts.

Our Knight who won the competition!

Lucky us! or is it Lucky us?

Leading up to Spring Break, it was a crazy week for the Toppall family.  Both Jeff and I got picked to be chaperones on back-to-back field trips.

We live in a very competitive school district and getting picked to chaperone a field trip is like winning the lottery.  Apparently every parent under the sun wants one of the very few spots available and the teacher has to do a drawing to see which lucky child gets their mom or dad to accompany them.  For Wednesday's field trip, Jeff got picked as the sole chaperone for Ian's entire 4th grade class.  And I got picked as one of five chaperones needed for Sam's 1st grade class on Thursday.

Here's a secret few people know and my kids may never know --I can't think of anything worse than going on a field trip.  And yet, every year, every field trip I will fill out the form and hope that I can make either Ian or Samantha's day by going.  My kids want me to get picked.  However, I can only hope that my spot goes to someone else. This is why I have 3 part-time jobs with flexibility so that I can do these things.  Believe me, I put on a good game face.  Not one of the teachers or the class knows that I was wishing I was somewhere far, far away. 

Jeff is a rockstar!  Plain and simple.  He wanted to go on Ian's field trip to Jamestown and Yorktown.  He knew going into it, it would be a very long day (6:15am to 6:15pm).  I believe he was more excited than the kids.  Everyone around him warned Jeff what he was signing up for -- apparently it's been called the "bus ride from hell".  Knowing Jeff and his level of discomfort with loud noises, no escape route and the ridiculous number of children to adult ratio, I was very concerned about his mental state.  I wasn't worried about Ian in the least.  It was only Jeff that had my anxiety up high.  He did great!  And he had a wonderful day.  Jeff would text me throughout the day and each time it was another joke about what was going on.  For example, "We arrived!  We've only lost 3 kids so far.  Good thing we've got plenty of spares."  It was texts like this every few hours or so that made me know he was doing well.  If Jeff can make a joke, he is feeling ok.

I got to go to The Udvar-Hazy Museum by Dulles Airport on the field trip I chaperoned. I was given 5 girls (including Samantha) to be in charge of.  It wasn't too bad.  I have to say the girls were great and very well behaved.  I think Sam's teacher likes me and intentionally put together a fun group for me to have.  The field trip went from 9:00am to 12:50pm.  We got a late start and didn't arrive to the museum about 45 minutes later than planned.  Before I knew it, we were back at the elementary school.  The time really flew by.  I can't believe I am saying this, but I could've used another hour or so to show the girls more of the planes. 

I actually thought everything was wonderful; no kid thew up on the bus this time.  It wasn't stiffing hot, we weren't stuck in traffic and the bus didn't lurch back and forth repeatedly.  It wasn't until I was back in my own car headed to Wegman's that I realized I had a killer headache.  Ah, yes!  There it is, the reason I don't like field trips.  All I wanted was to sit in a dark, empty/noiseless room and decompress.  I think I take my chaperoning responsibilities very intensely and can't relax or breathe normal the whole time I've got other people's kids under my watch.  It is stressful!   It's different when I am out with Sam and Ian's friends and I am responsible for them.  I know those kids and I know what to expect.  But when it is someone I don't know and I don't know the parent, I am going to watch these particular kids even more closely.  Believe me, if you trust me with your kid, they will be looked after really well.  But, we will still have fun!

I am hoping that we are done with field trips for the rest of the school year.  I love that my kids get to experience them, I just don't want to experience them too!

National Building Museum, Kindergarten style

It finally happened!  After 4 years of trying, I got picked to chaperone a field trip.  It turns out it is not the experience it is cracked up to be.  I now consider myself lucky that I haven't gone on a field trip before now. 

My kids' classes always have a huge turn-out of moms/dads who want to volunteer.  You have to hope that your name gets picked out of a hat for one of the few coveted chaperone spots.  Samantha was so excited when she heard I got picked.  It made me excited.  This past Thursday we went to the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C.

Here is my list of issues I had with the field trip:

1. Sitting on a school bus seat with two little girls.  The bench is made for two bodies, not three.  We were cozy, very cozy.

2. Two rows up in front of us, one of Sam's classmates threw up 4 times.  Yes, 4 times.  And the first time it went on his pants and the bus floor, which started moving back towards us.  Fun.

3. Leaving at 9:30am meant we were sitting in traffic to get into D.C.  I love sitting on a school bus lurching forward at 5 mph.  Please, can we do this everyday?

4. I was given 4 kids to be in charge of; Sam, one of her friends, and two boys.  I had the boys sit on the row opposite me.  The one boy refused to sit in his seat.  Ever.  All I could think of was the bus would get into an accident and this kid would have a head start to getting something major broken.  Not on my watch! 

5. Once we were off the bus and in the museum, the three kids not related to me started moving around.  It was so much fun keeping track of them among all the other kids on loose for the field trip.  I kept having us all hold hands.  I am sure they loved that, but I didn't care.  I wasn't going to lose a kid.

And the one reason that made this all worth it:

1. Seeing how happy Sam was that I was there with her.

Sam and her friend on the bus

Ian had a field trip the very next day.  Could you imagine if I had gotten picked for that one and had to go to two field trips on back to back days?  Oh my!!!

Field Trip Time!

I did it.  I finally made it to one of the kids' school field trips.  This was my first opportunity since the kids started school that I was able to go. 

 

It wasn't a given that I was going to make it.  It didn't look good when I got notice that the preschool director I work for unexpectedly was not coming in.  But thanks to the marvelous team of women I work with, they made it possible for me to run out and be there for the field trip.  It was a surprise to not only me that I was going to make it, but Samantha too.  She was so excited to see me show up.

 

The field trip was to our local Fire Station.  No bus needed for this field trip, the fire station is located right across the street from the school.

 

 

It was a whirlwind morning for me running back and forth, but I wouldn't have done anything different.

Going to the Zoo.

Ian came home very excited the other day.  His 2^nd grade class was FINALLY going on their first field trip of the year.  They are visiting the National Zoo on Thursday, April 4^th.    Ian wants very much for me to sign up to be a chaperone. 

I really have no desire to go on a school field trip.  Riding on the school bus is not my idea of a fun day.  Nor, is having to look after kids other than my own – and even then, I am happy if someone else wants to look after mine from time to time.  Plus, I am working either one or both of my part-time jobs on Thursdays and it would be a bit of a challenge to juggle the work to another day in the week.   

Due to siblings not being allowed to accompany the chaperones on field trips, I’ve never been in a position before that I could even consider signing up to go.  Sam’s preschool schedule was too crazy and didn’t allow enough time to make it work.  However, this year, I can’t really use it as an excuse as she is able to stay each day until 3:00pm, if needed.  It’s ironic that my one day a week I chose to indulge and keep her until 3:00pm every week is none other than Thursdays.

Ian came to me in the morning, before school and asked if I filled out the form. I told Ian I really didn’t want to go on the field trip.  Ian looked disappointed and walked away.  I went into the shower.  It was then in the shower (I seem to do all my best thinking in the bathroom) that it hit me.  It’s true that I had no desire to go on the field trip, but Ian WANTED me to go.  There is going to come a day when Ian doesn’t want me to do these things.  There will come a day when I am sure I will be seen as an embarrassment.  There will come a day when he won’t even let me see him hang with his friends.  This was my a-ha moment.

I got out of the shower, quickly dressed and went in search of Ian.  He was downstairs.  I told him that I was looking at his field trip completely backwards.  And yes, I would love to go and be a chaperone.  I can’t wait to get on that bus and sit right next to him going to the zoo and back.  He laughed and said maybe I could sit in the row in front of him. 

I filled out the form to be a chaperone.  They will only take four people per class.  Ian’s form got turned in as soon as it was possible.  He said other forms were also in the chaperone pool being turned in.

We will see what happens and if I get picked to go.  Now that I’ve decided to go, I want to go more than anything.  Funny how that can happen.

UPDATE (Since writing this blog and waiting for it to post):  I didn't get picked to go on the field trip.  I was one of 16 moms informed that I was not needed.  Can you imagine?  20 moms and/or dads out of 24 kids total in the class volunteered to go on this field trip.  That is pretty impressive. And we are beyond the kindergarten year when everything is super cute.  It's nice to be part of a class where the parents are so involved.

And Coming Up On Our Left...

Last night we met long-time family friends from when I grew up for dinner.  They were in town for 2 nights, 3 days to show their 10 year old daughter Washington, D.C.   We arranged to meet at Old Ebbitt Grill so they would be within walking distance of their hotel.  Plus, as a bonus, it was super easy for Jeff to metro and meet us after work.  I grabbed the kids and headed into the big city to get to the restaurant.

In the Spring of this past year, Ian's first grade class went to D.C. and hit all the major monuments.  It was actually quite impressive how many landmarks they made it to within a 4 hour trip.  Sam fell asleep in the car as I was crossing the 14th Street Bridge, so I started pointing out various buildings to Ian and saying what their significance was.  I pointed out the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.  I pointed out the Holocaust Museum.  As we were crossing over Constitution Ave., Ian excitedly exclaims, "Oh! I remember that tree!!  That's where the bus dropped us off."

It was so funny!  I then quickly realized, it's all relative on what Ian finds to be noteworthy and I what I do.

Dinner went swimmingly well and a good time was had by all.  I was very proud of the kids and even though this was a "grown-up" restaurant (read: no balloons!), we didn't cause a scene and can easily show our faces again. 

On the drive home, Sam, now completely awake, is taking in her surroundings and asks how tall the Washington Monument is.  Actually, her question was, "How tall is that brick building?".  Jeff says, "I think its like 150 feet.".  Ian then corrects Jeff and says, "No, its really 555 feet."   A little stunned that Ian had such an exact answer said with such confidence, I picked up my iPhone and asked Siri how tall she thought the Washington Monument was.  Wouldn't you know, Ian was correct!   This was something Ian learned during his field trip (5 months ago).  Way to go Ian!

Stay tuned for why there will always be a soft spot in my heart for Old Ebbitt Grill.

A funny little conversation

Ian's first grade class took a field trip to the Udvar Hazy Museum a few weeks ago.  I get a bit nervous knowing Ian (at the tender age of 6), is off on his own doing a field trip.  The teacher/parent to kid ratio is not in my favor.  I could easily see a situation where the group moves on ahead and Ian is still contemplating the speed of light vs the speed of a jet plane and gets left behind.  If I could put a sticker on Ian's back with the following:  "If  lost, please call my mom at xxx-xxx-xxxx", I would.  But I have feeling the chances of Ian getting made fun of is quite high and I use all my will power from doing so.  So, I do the next best thing and drill my cell phone number into Ian's memory.  Ian long ago learned the home phone number, but in all likelihood, it's the cell phone that will have a better chance of reaching us.  Unfortunately, my cell phone has a 202 area code, so this means it is another 3 digits he has to learn.  Every time I randomly asked Ian to tell me my phone number, he'd get it all confused and start mixing in the home phone's digits.  Oy!  Just in the nick of time, Ian managed to say my cell phone number correctly 3 times in a row.  I could breathe a sigh of relief and focus on my next concern.  His Winter coat.

Again, I easily pictured another scenario where there are over 100 kids (all four 1st grade classes went on this field trip) who take off their winter jackets and put them in a big pile upon entering the museum.  How in world Ian's coat make it back to Ian?  It would be so easy for another kid to accidentally pick it up. Almost all these blue boys coats look alike. And who knows what this mysterious kid would do to the coat once he realizes it isn't his?

Very quietly, I took a sharpie and wrote Ian's name in it and our phone number on the little name-tag label they put in kid's clothes. I never told Ian I did this and figured that the coat now had a chance of coming back to its rightful owner if it got misplaced. 

At dinner, Ian was telling us about his day and all the cool things he saw at the museum.  Once I was able to start asking questions, we had the following conversation -

Me:  Ian, I am curious, what did you do with your coat at the museum?

Ian:  Plan A was for Mrs. S. to look around and find the kid that had the biggest backpack.  Evan won that game.  We were going to take the back pack and put our coats in it when we got to the museum.

Me:  Oh, that's cool.

Ian:  But we didn't do Plan A.  We did Plan B. 

Me:  What was Plan B?

Ian:  Plan B was to put our coats on our seat on the bus.  We had to sit in the same exact spot going back to school and this way we would know where our seat was.

Me:  Wasn't it cold getting off the bus and walking to the doors of the museum without your jacket on?

Ian:  Yes!!  We were shivering!!!  I wish we went with Plan C.

Me:  What was Plan C?

Ian:  Plan C should've been that you could wear your coat if you wanted, leave it on the bus if you didn't.  We took Evan's back pack anyway and never used it!  Mrs. S. just carried it around empty.  What a waste.