School Open House, 2013

Last night was open house at the duo's school. Since this is basically a "parent orientation," Skip stayed home with the trio while I visited the girls' classrooms and met with their teachers. Luckily, they combined their classroom meetings so I didn't have to dart between the two rooms. I took a seat at Gracie's desk and got to see the world from her vantage point for a few minutes. Afterward, I visited Lauren's desk in the next room.

Scenes from an open house:

Gracie's portrayal of her family, showing (L-R) Lauren, Grace, George, me and Skip

Lauren's classroom door

Lauren's work folder

The reading loft in Lauren's room

Exploring Lauren's desk

Grace's classroom door

The reading loft in Grace's room

Grace's work

Exploring Grace's desk

Grace and Lauren are so excited, and this is shaping up to be the best year yet!

Friday's Quote

Literature is my Utopia. Here I am not disenfranchised. No barrier of the sense shuts me out from the sweet, gracious discourse of my book friends. They talk to me without embarrassment or awkwardness.

-Hellen Keller

Display Bookshelves

So we have three children now, and to be completely honest, I had always looked at bookshelves like the below and thought, "What's the point?"

 

Granted, they are cute, and I'm sure the little monkeys love them, what with having their favorite books on display and all.  They simply do not accommodate many books, and it seems as if the shelf would be outgrown as fast as a pair of shoes. 

I had long ago dismissed this type of shelf as frivolous - 

 

- until I had a boy. 

 

At least five or six times this summer I heard shrieks from the playroom and discovered Lauren and Grace in a state of apoplectic shock while William George removed each and every book from the shelf while in search of a favorite.  A better photo of the scene would reveal that 1/2 of the playroom floor was covered in books. 

 

The display shelf now seems appealing because 1) perhaps William George could see which book he wants and 2) the shelf's design restricts his ability to empty an entire shelf at a time. 

Our Return to the Zoo

Since going to the zoo was on our summer to-do list, we spent the last Saturday of our summer vacation doing exactly that.  Procrastinating has its perks because we are able to enjoy the zoo with unseasonably cool temperatures.  Seventy-two degrees in mid-August? Sign us up. 

The downside is that the zoo was having a "discount day," meaning that the zoo was as crowded as I have ever seen, but we persevered nonetheless. 

We haven't been to the zoo in a couple of years, meaning that it was William George's first time to see the animals.  He likes the elephants...

...but his absolute favorites were the "raffies".  He was fascinated with them, and they remind him of his beloved B Cloud giraffe that he sleeps with each night. 

Needless to say, we needed to line up and feed the giraffes. 

George probably would have stood there for an hour feeding the raffies, but we were shooed away to make room for those next in line. 

Lauren and Grace liked seeing all of the other animals, but George was not impressed.  We finally hopped on the train as a nice distraction.  Since everyone loves the choo-choo, smiles returned. 

The train whistle made George a little nervous so he kept a close hand on Skip.  Otherwise, he settled in and enjoyed the ride. 

When the crowds really descended on the zoo, we decided to leave and grab lunch. 

Since we renewed our membership (bypassing the long entrance lines), George will be returning to feed his beloved raffies many times this fall. 

Enumerated Update

Lauren

Hello, friends, and happy Monday. 

Quickly, here's where we are:

1) Back-to-School:  School has been in session for one week, and we have already had a case of pink eye (Lauren) and strep throat (George).  We cannot wait to see what Gracie contracts this week.

Other than that, last week was great, and the trio are truly excited about their classes. 

2) George:  As mentioned last week, William George is going to K2 two mornings per week.  He had a fantastic first day on Monday (admittedly, after initially refusing to go), and then he tried to get his backpack each subsequent day - the days he wasn't scheduled to attend.  By the time Thursday rolled around, he was sick and unable to go. Not only was he bitter, but now he will have to go through a first day all over again. 

3) Parenting: One of my favorite blogs, A Cup of Jo, started a new series recently, Parenting Around the World.  Seeing how families parent differently is fascinating. 

4) Football: We have exactly five days until the Crimson Tide's first game.  I'm going to posit to you something that may seem controversial or, at the least, unpopular.  The Tide can lose every single game as long as they annihilate Texas A&M.  They can lose to Auburn and all the rest as long as they have a scorching win against the Aggies.  We need vindication more than another championship. 

Watching that loss at Bryant-Denny Stadium may or may not have clouded my judgment. 

5) Eagles: Last spring we watched a documentary about the Eagles. (Obviously, this was prior to our severing our cable relationship.) We aren't really fans and did not know much about the band.  My knowledge was limited to having an older cousin wearing an Eagles' concert t-shirt for the last half of the 70's, a fact recalled anytime I looked through family photo albums.  Oddly, we were sucked into the rise and fall of the Eagles and were surprised by scope of their success.  (We knew they were big, of course, but we did not know their sales rivaled Thriller.)

Skip recently alerted me that Bill Simmons (of Grantland) wrote an article outlining his 20 favorite things about The History of the Eagles, Part I.  If you are tempted to follow through the link, the language is atrocious, but Simmons' writing is forever entertaining.  The "Tao of Joe Walsh" alone is simply hysterical. 

My favorite sentence from the entire documentary is Walsh's explanation of the origin of "Life in the Fast Lane."  His first sentence in the explanation is as follows:

"I was riding shotgun in a Corvette with a drug dealer on the way to a poker game."

To clarify, I'm not pro drug dealer, Corvette, poker, etc., but that is an unbelievably good sentence.  The nerdy reader part of me is going to be captivated by that sentence every time.  (Also, I have a weakness for anyone who calls "shotgun".  Once, in the mid-90's, I was walking to my car with some work acquaintances when one of them called shotgun.  I remember looking at her and thinking, "We are friends for life."  She's one of my dearest friends to this day.) 

6) Buzz: You know how you sometimes get too entrenched in social media? For those who do and feel the need to reconnect with the real world, there's a new buzz word: Meatspace.  You have cyberspace, and you have meatspace, the world of flesh and blood. 

And... that's it for us.  What is happening with you? 

WGL Milestones: First Hair Cut (& Celebrations)

I had promised the trio an ice cream celebration after the first day of school, but when some minor anxiety presented over the weekend, Skip loaded everyone in the car for ice cream.  That indulgence puts smiles on everybody's faces. 

After ice cream, we decided to get a much needed trim for William George -- his first hair cut!  After his sisters sat in the chair for their trims, he was willing to take the seat of honor and hold (somewhat) still for a trim. 

Grace had her Jennifer Aniston-like mane trimmed as well.  Remember when Grace barely had hair for the first three years of her life? Now she has long, flowing, straight hair. 

Lauren decided she wanted her hair cut in a bob, like Kit Kittredge.  She has been requesting that style for about a month, and we have had lengthy discussions about the waviness of her hair and how her hair texture will not be conducive to that particular style.  Since we were rehashing this discussion the whole time she was in the chair, there are no photos.  She was happy with her finished product, with a length approximately three inches shorter.  (Grace lost about four inches.) 

After those all-important errands, we returned home for their celebratory spaghetti dinner. 

 

Now they have two full days of school under their belts, and they are loving first grade.  Gracie decided at the end of Kindergarten that she wants to be simply "Grace," and we are working on her more mature-sounding name.  New grade... new hair...  it's a whole new day!

 

 



First Day of School, 2013

Today marks the first day of school.  Gracie and Lauren are entering first grade, and William George is starting K2. (He will attend class two mornings per week.)

George has been pretty vocal about his unwillingness to attend, and therefore, we were not overly surprised this morning when he said, "I not go."

Luckily, his sisters' enthusiasm caught on just enough for us to photograph him and get him out of the door.

Lauren has been absolutely giddy.  She has been barely able to contain her excitement.

Grace, on the other hand, has been a bundle of nerves and is anxious about both starting first grade and being separated from Lauren (they are in separate classes).  We deployed a number of strategies to distract her over the weekend, including a back-to-school, celebratory spaghetti supper/party in the dining room last night.  Those distractions helped, and she had a genuine smile on her face this morning.

In fact, there were no tears when the time came to hop out of the car.  They marched in proudly, and I cannot wait to hear how their day went.

After dropping the girls at school, we took George to preschool.  He was not happy, and although he willingly entered the building, he refused to go into his classroom.  We finally put him inside the classroom and left him to make friends.  When I picked him up at noon, he walked to the car (with his teacher) clutching "clothie" to him, and I'm pleased to report he was able to smile when talking about his day.  He confirmed that he sang songs, read stories, played with friends and had lunch.

What's better than that? I'm hoping our first graders have a similar report.

(For my quick reference, prior first days of school are as follows:  2012, 2011, 2010, 2009.)

Enumerated Update

By the time you are likely reading this, we will have dropped the duo at school for their first day of 1st grade, and William George will have been taken to his first day of K2.  Although the duo are ready and George really needs an outlet at this juncture, I will be lonesome for the first few weeks. 

Other than that, here's where we are:

1) Meet the teacher (1st grade edition):  Last Thursday night was busy, with two meet-the-teacher events scheduled back-to-back.  First up, the duo went to school and met their first grade teachers.  Since they will be in separate classes this year (by choice*), they were excited to see both classrooms, sort through school supplies and see how they would be situated (i.e., proximity, how schedules overlap, etc.).  Are you familiar with the importance of your child having a favorite friend in his/her class? Yes, well, our predicament is that there are only two classes so the duo are possessive about who gets which friends.  When Lauren realized she would have a favorite friend in her class, Gracie burst into tears.  Luckily, I was able to stalk another friend and her family and learn that Gracie would have a friend with her, too.  That drama aside, they are excited about the school year with only the usual nervousness and reservation. 

2)  Meet the teacher (K2 edition):  William George had flatly refused to attend K2.  When asked if he wanted to go, he said, "No."  We had some communication issues with the school and only received their supply list last week, and I managed to elicit a verbal commitment to preschool when I dangled "bye-bye" over his head when we needed to pick up his supplies.  Here is George nodding in agreement.

3)  Distractions:  Since Gracie was nervous about school (and being away from Lauren), we made the weekend two days of distraction.  After spending Saturday at the zoo, we went to church Sunday, and spend Sunday afternoon getting the trio's hair trimmed (George's first cut!) and having mani/Pedi's for the duo.  We decided to have a family back-to-school party Sunday night because our Grace-bug shines during celebrations.  A spaghetti dinner in the dining room took her mind off any worries she may have had. 

4)  Supplies:  If you have been reading this site for a long, long time, you may remember how surprised I used to be when purchasing school supplies in duplicate (see here and here).  This year we added George's supply list, and the idea of photographing them was more effort than I could bear.  Trust me when I say we bought a lot of crayons, glue, notebooks, etc.  And if you have three (or more? God bless you!) children, you are likely nodding in agreement.  (We have a neighbors a street over who have....10 children, and they are expecting twins (their second set) now.  I cannot imagine the school supplies they have to purchase.)  We also moved from Type A behavior (using the label maker to affix names on all supplies) to Type B behavior (scribbling names on with a Sharpie marker).  Admittedly, I miss the label maker but simply did not have the time.

5)  Weekly buzz:  One buzz word for you this week: good change leadership, which is defined as leaders (specifically, those implementing change) providing direction, guidance and support to the people implementing change or those affected by change. 

Example: This week I will attempt to demonstrate good change leadership as we shift from casual days at the pool to a return to the classroom. 

As you read this, I am likely running errands alone and talking to George -- before remembering he isn't in the back seat.  What is happening with you?

*People seem to have very strong opinions about whether or not to separate multiples. (To date I have not met a single person who had not formed an opinion.)  Parents of multiples usually respond to individuals (who do not have experience with multiples) weighing in with advice the same way parents respond when people who do not have children offer them parenting advice.  Basically, it's tough to pull that sort of thing off.  In response, I always recommend the well-intentioned advice-giver to tread carefully, and then we can always agree that everyone should be treated as an individual and that decisions should be made based on what is best for the individuals that are affected by the decision.

Thrift Store Finds

Today Kelly is discussing favorite thrift store finds, and this is one of my favorite topics.  Unfortunately, my city isn't renowned for its thrift stores, but that makes the occasional discovery all the more exciting.   

Every now and then a miracle will occur in our local thrift shops.  Once I was walking around the furniture area (let me pause to say I had, up until this particular day, never seen anything interesting in the furniture area) when I saw a desk -- an antique drafting table.  The desk was similar to the below:

The desk was very large and exceptionally heavy, and I purchased it on the spot.  There were a couple of problems.  First, the desk had been painted.  Second, the table no longer adjusted, and it was merely a level desktop.  The latter issue was fine with me, but would be problematic whenever moving the desk. Those issues were minor quirks to be expected with a thrift store purchase.  A larger issue is that this desk required a large work area that we simply do not have.  Reluctantly, I donated the desk back to the thrift store a couple of years ago.  We contemplated putting casters on the legs and using the desk in the basement, but ultimately decided to let it go, making it both my favorite find and the one that got away.  Even though this piece didn't work for us, I miss it. 

Do you ever thrift shop? What is your all-time favorite find? 

Shadow

William George still loves to be on the go, to go "BYE-BYE".  He has long since picked up the rhythms and routines of when we make our exits.  George knows that I usually go to the closet to change shoes, reach for jewelry and a purse, and then I move through the house to locate my phone, sunglasses and keys.  Therefore, anytime I head for the closet, William George plants himself on the stool and makes a case for "going with".  Once jewelry and shoes are in place, he hurls himself at me, often climbing up my person, saying, "Bye-bye!" the entire time. 

And that's why he goes almost everywhere with me.  He's my shadow.