Summer School!

I've been on the hunt for a summer school for the Princess.

She is NOT going to be staying home with me all summer long. She'll be bored by the end of the 10th day at home. I know her. I know me too. I'm going to be WAY too busy to entertain her. To give her the attention she deserves.

I read in a local kids newspaper that the one program that I felt pretty good about had a deadline of LAST WEEK. ^@&&@^!!!!

I called yesterday and left a message for the coordinator.

This morning I got a call from the coordinator. They've EXTENDED the registration period until May 17th! HALLEUIA!

Next week (after the wedding), I'll be handing in the forms and a check. I am so ecstatic that they've still got space. AND that they're still accepting applications. I found out that the classes are going to have a limit of 10 kids each. So it'll be good for her to really meet the other kids and also get personal attention from the instructors.

Reel it back....

There I was sitting. Enjoying an evening out with adults. Good food. Good drinks (read that as ADULT beverages).

I was relishing in being out. On a school night. Talking amongst adults.

Then I was stuck. In the middle.

Between two men seriously on opposing ends of a topic. Apparently a hot topic.

Education.

What is currently wrong with the system. Ways people are fixing it. How to fix it overall.

A genormous topic, right? There's no 'right' or 'wrong' answer since the issues are so diverse based upon region. Based upon state. Based upon city. Based upon community. Based upon individual school.

But these two guys. These men were deeply entrenched in their own thoughts. Their own stance on the topic.

Both these men. Who had NO CHILDREN.

Yes. You read that correctly. These two adult men were having a serious discussion about education. And they had no children.

Now me? A parent to two kidlings? I stayed out of the conversation for the most part. I interjected a couple small snippets.

The lady across the table? She stayed silent too. Uh....she used to be an elementary school teacher.

Well...I stayed out of it until they hit some bump in the road where I felt I needed to jump in.

"Wait. Wait. WAIT! Now Lyn here used to actually used to TEACH elementary school aged kids. Maybe SHE has a practical hands-on opinon on this one..."

Yes. That's what I did. I threw a wrench in the heated discussion. That someone who was actually IN THE TRENCHES was sitting across the table from these boys. Observing. Listening to these boys.

Once she finished speaking, I kind of jumped back in

"Well, I went to the elementary schools in our area before I signed my daughter into kindergarten and I found...."

I have to say that they stopped in their tracks once she and I put in our two cents into the mix. That our experiences weren't theoretical. That it was hands-on. Seeing kids. Being around kids.

I just find it funny when people in general have such strong opinions on whatever topic. Topics where they have no actual experience in. LIke my SIL who commented on her pregnant cousin "OMG! She gained SO much weight during her pregnancy." Who knows HOW my SIL would be as a pregnant person. Who knows if she'd only gain 15 pounds. or even 60 pounds? She's never been pregnant! So I feel she's got NO RIGHT to have been so nasty in her evaluation of her cousin.

It just continues to blow me away when I meet these people! Just reel those opinions back in people. Put a leash on it!

TV personalities

Turns out that I know TWO people who are tv.

No. These people are not actors by trade. Yes. You guessed it. These people are on 'reality' shows.

The first person was someone that my husband knew from school. Nice person. Can you say "too" nice? Yes. Too nice to the opposite gender. This person was the one-night-stand person of my husband's MBA class. So I was shocked to hear that person was on tv. And on the show that this person is on. What's even more interesting is how this person has actually found a career and seems to be doing well. Good for him/her.

The second person is someone that I just met. We were out to dinner and this person was chatting with someone else at the table about the show. I listened and asked a couple questions. Then I quoted something from the show....the person flipped out!

"Oh my God! You have seen the show!"

That so cracked me up. It's like...you're on tv....you should EXPECT people to recognize you. Funniest thing ever.

But do YOU know anyone on tv? Reality tv?

They survived

The kidlings and the hubby survived.

Survived?

Yes. Survived having me away for about 5 days.

There was a conference that my boss wanted our entire team to attend. So I flew out on a Sunday and returned late on Thursday. I didn't see the kidlings until Friday afternoon!

But it was a good break for us all.

I think the Hubs understand my hectic weekday mornings. Getting up quickly and getting the kids ready. No leisurely bowl of cereal. No catching up on the news. Just get up and go. Go. GO! Then trying to cram an entire day's worth of work into 6 hours. And then picking them up and getting dinner ready.

The Hubs didn't do it all on his own. My MIL drove down on Wednesday to pitch in. She had the Bear at home on Thursday.

But I must tell you that I had a BLAST being gone. Of course, I packed WAY too much. I brought work and casual outfits. I only really had time to wear my work outfits.

I was able to meet 95% of my co-workers. The one guy didn't fly in because his wife just had a baby two weeks ago. The rest of the team? Totally fun.

There are 8 guys and 2 ladies that work at the main office. Then there's me, the guy who hired me, and 2 new ladies here. Then we've got a couple more guys and one more lady in other cities. I'll give you more details on these folks later on.

They had us booked into a little boutique hotel. And it was so nice! I had a room and a bed ALL TO MYSELF! And a shower with HOT water. Ahhh....

I only took a taxi we drove in from the airport and when I went back to the airport. The rest of the time we walked. And I lugged my laptop with me each day.

We had some awesome food. And I drank a little. Totally got tipsy on Monday night.

But the airline sucked. No more America's Worst for me. Now that they've merged with that other airline it totally sucks. The planes felt old. I didn't feel the safest. And the seats were all cramped up! Yuck!

I've tossed out a lot of stuff in this entry. I'll get into more detail this week.

AND....this week I'll be seeing my family. The BIG WEEKEND is upon us! This weekend my sister is getting married! So I'm sure I'll be writing a lot more than I have been the last couple months. YAH!

Rude kids....

Today we went to a neighborhood girl's (Allie) birthday party.

They had it at their house. Not the park. Not at some kiddo fun place. So the Princess and I walked across the street around 1:20pm. The party started at 1pm, but it was going to run until 4pm so we weren't too late.

We walk in there to find the kids running around. Like maniacs.

The kids at the party were in the full-day kindergarten class with Allie. And they were all type A personalities. Me. Mine. Alpha types. The kind of kids my daughter tends to shy away from. So she chose to hang out with me for about an hour.

But I digress....

What was irritating for me was to walk into my friends' home to hear

"You have the most boring-est party ever!"

This was a little girl who said this to the birthday girl.

Now how RUDE is that? The party started at 1pm. And it was only about 1:25pm!

I couldn't and still can't get my brain around it. That the girl was so mean about it. CRAZY!

Now what's the oddest or most rude thing you've heard at a birthday party?

Glorious!

This weekend was freaking BEAUTIFUL!

Amazingly lovely.

The sun was shining.

Not a cloud in the sky.

About 85 degrees.

EIGHTY FIVE degrees!

The Princess and I actually got a little sun burned on our shoulders after a few hours out.

Yes.

SUNBURNED!

I will fill you in more on what we did later on....

Needless to say....summer is fast approaching here in Arizona!

More in tune than I thought?

I signed up the PRincess for karate at school. There's a Dad who gives the kids lessons as an afterschool program. The Princess showed some interest in it so I decided that she could do the last session for the school year. If she enjoys it then I'll sign her up from the beginning of the next school year.

The kids stay an hour later than normal when they have lessons -- 2 days a week.

The first day of this latest session, I walked into the school to pick the Princess up.

I walked past her regular class and caught a glimpse of her. I stopped. She looked up. And ran up to me.

I wrapped my arms around her and wiggled her around as I hugged her.

Me: "Now go over and finish that puzzle that you were doing honey. Okay?"

Princess: "Okay."

She snuck in a quick kiss before she skipped back to the table.

Her teacher came up to me.

Teacher: "It's always SO nice to see the two of you together."

Me: "Oh yeah?"

Teacher: "Yes. I can really tell that the two of you really care about each other."

I looked at her and confessed...

Me: "Oh...we have our moments!"

Teacher: "Yes. I'm sure all parents do. But both of you look at each other in this way that some other parents and kids don't"

Me: "Really?"

Teacher: "That's what makes it nice to see you and the Princess..."

Me: "Well, thank you."

Am I more connected to my daughter than I think? I don't think I'm as close to the Princess than my sister is to her THREE kids. Now my sister's kids? FABULOUS! Bright! And they all adore my sister and my brother-in-law.

But it was really nice to hear a compliment from someone. Especially a teacher...

And food for all...

I can't believe it!

My son's daycare just hired a full-time cook.

A cook? At a daycare?

That's right!

The reason is that the daycare got a state-funded grant to provide food to the kids. For FREE!

Starting May 1, all the kidlings will be allowed to get breakfast, a morning snack, lunch, and an afternoon snack.

So I'll only have to fix one lunchbox per day.

One less hassle in the morning.

But what'll be the best about the food program at the daycare is that they will be serving a variety of food. And hopefully the Bear will eat the different foods solely due to peer pressure.

If that kid is eating it then it can't be that bad...