Brunch

I love brunch. It sounds like such a sophisticated event, when really it's just a whole lot of fun and good food. I got together with some high school friends last month, and we had a great time catching up! I have to say I'm impressed with how much catching up we did with the plethora of kids that accompanied us. As we were sitting, several groups of older women came in sans kids. Some of them even smiled at us. I hope we didn't ruin their brunch, but I don't think we did. I'm sure they remember what it was like. I remember hoping that as I grow old, brunch with these fine ladies (and others) will still be on my calendar. I'm sure we'll smile at the young mothers and remember what it was like.

Kindergarten do-over

Warren started Kindergarten this year. He was so excited, and didn't seem nervous at all. I signed up to go to the school every day for the first week to get the children on the right buses. On the second day Warren's teacher pulled me aside and told me that he "really struggled" with talking too much, and wondered if I could talk to him about it. I was stunned. I know he isn't perfect, but I didn't think he was "that kid". Isn't "that kid"(the kid whose parents get a "talking to" on the second day of school) the one who punches other kids for no reason? I did talk to Warren when we got home and he said he and Austin (a very good friend from the neighborhood) were talking when they were at the rug with the class, and the teacher asked them to go to their desks to put their heads down at their desks for the rest of rug time. My motherly instincts kicked in, and I immediately had a pit in my stomach, knowing that he needed a change of environment in order to succeed. I feel strongly that Kindergarten really shapes a child's attitude of school, and I knew in my gut that if we had a chat with the teacher on the second day, it was going to be a long year, and I didn't want the stigma to follow him. I know that a lot of people would say that it was only the second day, and that we should have given it a chance. I can't explain how I knew, it was one of those mother moments, and I never doubted for a second my decision to make a change. I worried about calling the teacher because I really like her as a person (she was Olivia's 2nd grade teacher, and we loved her), but I knew I had to do it. I called her the next morning (the third day of school) to tell her about my concerns. I told her that I didn't think any class would work in AM since he had a really good friend in all of the classes, and asked if there was a possibility of him moving to PM. She talked to the PM teacher and discovered that there was a girl in PM whose mom wanted to switch to AM, so within 20 minutes I got a phone call saying not to send him to school in the morning and to send him in the afternoon that day. I talked to Warren and told him what had happened and he was so sad. All of his friends are in AM, and he loved riding the bus with them and playing with them after school. Even with his tears, I knew I had made the best decision for him. I was giving him a pep talk before he went to school, reminding him that he would make new friends, and to make sure he listened when his teacher was talking. His response broke my heart. He said, "I know. Because if I get in trouble I have to start Kindergarten ALL over again!" I assured him that the switch wasn't made because he got in trouble, but that I wanted him to have a great year in Kindergarten, and PM was the best place for that to happen, and that it works better for our family's schedule to have him in PM. About a week into the new schedule I talked to the new teacher, and said she had no problems with him at all. I felt better as the weeks went on that he was talking about all his friends from his class, and even better when I went to Parent/Teacher conferences and found out that he is still doing well. He is excited about learning, goes to school happy, and comes home happy!

Here he is with his "getting to know me" poster:

And a close-up of the poster:And while we're on the subject of Warren, I'll include another picture. This was laundry day, and I had washed and dried three loads of laundry, and then ignored their pleas to be folded. I was getting ready to accomplish the folding and putting away, but Warren found the massive pile of freshly washed and dried clothes to be the perfect place to have an after school nap!

True Love

My husband loves me. He is a true family man, and I have never doubted his devotion to us. He proved this beyond a shadow of a doubt last night when my kids REALLY wanted to go see Beverly Hills Chihuahua with their cousins. I offered to take the kids to the movie while he watched the BYU game, and he still opted to come with us...and pay full price for a movie that was surprisingly not on his list of "must sees". (We were secretly hoping that the movie would be sold out, but our hopes were dashed when we saw exactly two cars in the parking lot. We "enjoyed" an almost private screening.) Now that's true love!

p.s. even though it wasn't my favorite movie, and the whole pampered dog thing is nausea inducing, it did have a couple of good one-liners.

The Fete-tivities

Since I wasn't feeling well when Fete Day rolled around, our festivities were delayed a month or so! We celebrated with the fam this year, and we had a blast!

This year's color: ORANGE

This year's activity: talent show (including clogging, knock-knock jokes, dance, and my impression of the instrument at the dentist's office that sucks all the water and saliva out--it's impressive) and putting together packages (all orange) for the nephews who are away (Parker, Jordan, and Tyler)

Here are some pics of the fun-filled evening:

Watching the talent show

The Orange Parade:

Victoria

Hannah, Sarah, and Victoria

Grandpa and Grandma...What good sports!

Laura, Spencer, Max & Hunter

Mark, Janet, Jason

Michelle, Tanner, Renae

Kirsten, Rob, Camille

Rylee, Brad, Jodi, Jeff

Kamryn, Coleman, Lexi

Our fam

It was crazy fun!