Redirection

Today was just...a day. Nothing interesting, nothing funny, nothing exciting. Just a day.

And since I have nothing to say, I will now direct your attention to our political blog, where my husband is talking about health care, and (maybe) how to fix some parts of it. Tell us what you think...

Irresistible force, Immovable object

Have you ever heard of the problem with the irresistible force meeting an immovable object? I know which one wins.

The two year old.

Today, I foolishly scheduled Gee's therapist Kim to come right as we needed to walk Zee up to school. So, instead of canceling or rescheduling, Kim and I decided to combine therapy and school. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

We left at 11:25. Gee did a marvelous job, walking and running with his little walker. He's got this new trick where he runs and then lifts himself up onto the crossbars of the walker while it glides to a stop. It's hilarious. So we meandered (very, very slowly) one block, two blocks, three blocks, four blocks. More than he had ever done on a walk before. He powered through the moderate hill on the fourth block, going strong. But then we had to stop and wait for a street to clear before crossing, and Gee decided he was done. He sat down on the sidewalk next to his walker and stayed put.

After some prodding and pleading (with no result), Kim and I decided he needed a break. As it was, the time was now 11:55 and we still had three blocks to go. So we popped him into the stroller and hurried up the last blocks, getting Zee to school with five minutes to spare (school starts at 12:10).

Then came the fun part. We spent the next fifty minutes trying to get Gee to walk some more, but he was done. No matter what Kim or I tried (and oh my stars we tried), Gee WOULD NOT TRY. As a matter of course, I would have given up in ten minutes, but Kim, she's stubborn. (Plus, she's the physical therapist. She's paid to be stubborn.)

But Gee had the upper hand. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make Gee walk. And he had all the time in the world, whereas Kim had an appointment at one. So, eventually, we picked him up and carried him home.

Physical therapy 0, Gee 1.

Whirlwind

What a whirlwind weekend it has been! I shall tell you about it in bullet form, because it is late and I am tired. This weekend we hosted:

• We've hosted a pizza party (Friday night)
• a backyard barbecue (Saturday night)
• a nice dinner (Sunday night)

Why did all these events occur at our house, you might ask, when the cause of so much celebration was my sister's daughter's baby blessing? Well, my sister lives in an apartment. And her apartment, while very nice and large as apartments go, is just not a place to have:

• five adults and seven children running around (the pizza party)
• fifteen adults and twelve children (the barbecue), or
• ten adults and nine children (Sunday dinner)

Truth to tell, I had a marvelous time. I simply adore having parties at my house or in my backyard. And because I spent so much time and energy whipping my house into shape on Friday before my mother arrived (I even mopped the tile and hardwood floors!), it really wasn't all that much trouble. I didn't even have to cook, because Domino's provided the pizza for Friday, Saturday was hamburgers (thanks for grilling, Uncle Bob!) and potluck salads, and Telima made a huge crockpot meal for Sunday. All I had to do was provide the rolls, salad, and dessert!

It was thoroughly enjoyable to have my mother stay with me. It was wonderful to see my Grandma Tobler, who came up with Mema from Vegas and stayed with my aunt and uncle in American Fork. It was so much fun to see said aunt and uncle, as well as my wonderful cousins and associated offspring. It was awesome to spend time with Tyler's fabulous mother, father, sister, and brothers.

And it was great to see Baby Bay get blessed by her father in church yesterday. That little girlie has a lot of people who love her.

Baby Bay's BBQ

I've got family in town, and we've been doing most of the entertaining at our house, because it's bigger than Telima's apartment. So it has been crazy busy but crazy fun. Tomorrow afternoon things start to calm down, so I'll tell you all about my weekend then.

Boys' names

(Yesterday was a very long day, what with going up to Primary Children's Hospital for some checkup tests on Gee and all. I have a lot to say about that, but I doubt I'll get to it until next week. My newest niece Baby Bay is getting blessed this weekend, and my mom is coming up today to stay at my house. My house that is so disastrous, it is practically a Superfund site. So, I give you humor instead of news, and will post more later!)

Ever notice how many boys' names are verbs? I mean, really? Here are a few--can you think of others?

• Claude
• Bob
• Rob
• Skip
• Chip
• Jack
• Kip
• Rip
• Ty
• Chuck
• Joaquin
• Mark
• Red
• Frank
• Matt
• Jimmy

Yay for Autumn!

I love the fall!

It's only the second of September, but the start of the 'bers makes me SO HAPPY! The weather is still hot, but the evenings are cooling down. There is a hint of smokey autumn in the air. (Okay, it's more than a hint, and it's not exactly autumn, it's the horrible wildfires in California. But, still, work with me here.) Time to plant bulbs. (Maybe daffodils and grape hycaniths this year?) School has started. The Farmer's Market is open. It's time to plan Halloween costumes. (Roman togas? Pizza slices again? Vegetables? Planets?) It's time to think about Thanksgiving, and Christmas. (Hooray!)

I always get the urge to clean, de-clutter, organize, and decorate during the fall. I think it's because I know we're going to be spending a lot of time indoors. Whatever the reason, I don't spring clean, I fall clean.

(Now, my husband will laugh his head off as he reads this, because the house is a DISASTER area right now. But I have already cleaned and vacuumed under the couch AND couch cushions. And I...um...finally hung the mirror and shelves I bought two months ago. And I organized the cabinets in the dining room. That counts for something, right? Right?)

Right.

Homework

Thus far, Zee is having a marvelous time at school. On the first day, the kindergarteners chased a gingerbread man all around the school, seeing the library, the cafeteria, the gym, the office, the playground. This activity was a huge hit; after school it was all any of the kindergarteners would talk about.

Zee has adjusted rather well to school so far--although, that first day, after he got home from school, he stuck pretty close to me. Momma, can I sit next to you while you read? Momma, will you come into the family room and watch CyberChase with me? Momma, I just want to chat with you for a while. Awwww, I think he missed me.

(As far as behavior goes, he's doing well. The kindergarteners get sent home with a progress sheet everyday--a slip of paper with four faces: big smiley, little smiley, no smiley, frowny. If you've had a little trouble following rules, one of the faces gets crossed out. So far, we've had three perfect days, and one "little smiley" day. (He wouldn't stop talking. Color me surprised.))

Today was the fifth day of school, and the first day of homework. Zee came home with a letter practicing packet (daily) and memorizing tasks (monthly) and reading for twenty minutes (daily, with a calendar checkoff and reward system (for the child, not the parents)) and...okay, that's all. So...say, forty minutes of regular homework daily.

In kindergarten?

Okay, yes, I already read to my kids (not daily, yes-I'm-a-terrible-mother and all that), and so far (the first day) Zee loves the letter work. And, really, twenty-odd minutes of homework nightly isn't that big of a deal. But it does seem really weird.

Or maybe I'm just out of touch with modern day schooling. It has, after all, been twenty-seven years since I was in kindergarten.