A Busy Day

I went with Brendan on his field trip yesterday. It wasn't one of the more exciting ones we've been on, I'm afraid. We just went to the AG shop at the high school (about three blocks from the preschool) and let the kids see the plants and the greenhouses. They got to plant their own Coleus. Mommies and Daddies got to take one, too, if they wanted. I swooped in on that! (The only problem is, these plants apparently need lots of shade. My flower bed is in full afternoon sun--perfect for roses and sunflowers, but not so ideal for these shade lovers! I think I'm going to have to plant them in the back and just hope that I remember to water them when I take out the trash!) The owner, who is supervising the building of eight new units kitty corner across the lot from us, keeps telling Mark that he (Mark) needs to get me a place with a garden, where I can indulge my green thumb! Someday, Marvin. Someday.

I had lunch with Andrea, a chaotic affair as usual. She is exhausted, and I was internally applauding her valiant efforts to keep from biting the heads of the kids, who were not on their best behavior yesterday, to say the least. At one point, she saw Emma outside doing something and started to rush out, undoubtedly carrying a stream of harsh words with her, but she stopped at the door instead and turned around and looked at me. "Count to ten," I said. When she looked unconvinced, I added, "And backwards." She took a couple of deep breaths and went out--and handled the situation just fine. My hat's off to her...

After school the girls came over to get ready for the dance. It was chatter, chatter, chatter, giggle, giggle, giggle ... funky music on the stereo in the hallway upstairs ... Pieper came over to bring Shawne's dress, which she had tried to sew up to a style more appropriate for a 12-year-old. It was still awfully low. Shawne badgered her mom. "It's fine, Mom. It's fine." Finally Pieper turned to me. "Well, ask Jenn what she thinks." Oh, dear. Shawne came into the kitchen and said, "As my second mother, what do you think?" I had to agree with Pieper, not just because she was the mom but because ... she was right! I told her, "You don't want the boys spending the whole night looking at your chest." She sighed and gave in. Later, Pieper was back, after dropping Austin at his baseball game. I could hear Pieper and Shawne upstairs, bickering. Well, Shawne was bickering, and Pieper had that tone one uses when one's child is on her last nerve and one has two options: be extremely civil or blow a fuse. When Pieper came down, she said something like, "God, help me. I'm not sure I'm up to raising a daughter." All I could say was, "I hear you!" The girls went off happy, though, and came back happy, although they had to blow off the tension of several situations: one boy that was "dirty dancing," one crush who didn't show up, one girl who cut in and stole a dance, two girls who were crying ... Mark listened to them for awhile and then said, "I have to go upstairs. I'm getting dizzy." Yeah, me, too! But, dizzy or not, I hung out close by, working on my pictures, so that I could listen in on the drama of the day. One can learn a lot by pretending to be absorbed in something else when one's children and their friends are nearby!

Alex's student led conferences were much less dramatic, although to watch Alex pacing around the room, stuttering and making this odd guttural noise as he showed us all of his work, you wouldn't know it! Maybe it was equally dramatic for him! He was VERY happy to be showing us his space and his work. I've been there before, several times, but still ... It was fun to see him so proud of his classroom and his achievements. I had to remind him a couple of time, though, that if he expects me to understand what he's saying, he can't be pacing around behind me and/or facing the opposite direction! He'll get it, in due time.

Today, the boys are upstairs, playing Spiderman Something-or-Other on Alex's computer. The girls, still sleepy, are eating coffee cake on the couch and watching Reba. And me? Well, it's high time I get off my duff and start cleaning this house! I'm going to make the kids do likewise, but they don't know that yet! I'm going to let them enjoy their lazy morning a little longer.