Aha! I Knew It!

Today was Day #2 of Pre-K for Emma. She was so excited to go to school. She kept asking if it was time to go yet and told me that she was worried that we were "going to miss the bus stop". Too cute.

But the time finally did come to go and she nearly did a cartwheel when she saw her little bus.

And I realized something on the way home that I had always thought but now it's confirmed.

I am a FABULOUS part-time Mom.

Emma is a wonderful girl. She truly tries to listen and help and she's just happy 99.9 percent of the time. She is a joy. So sending her out to school does not decrease my work-load because she is not that much work. But it has greatly decreased my guilt-load, which, being me, is heavy.

I no longer wonder if she is watching too much tv (yes) or is getting enough socialization (no) or if she is getting enough one-on-one time to learn things that she should be learning (never) or even if she is getting enough exercise (probably not). She's going to school and so now my job is making sure that she has a place to relax and feel comfortable and loved. And I am FABULOUS at that.

I am loving this school thing.

Off To School!

Last Friday we got the great news that Emma had been accepted to the Pre-Kindergarten program at Diggs Elementary. Many of her friends started Kindergarten this year, and Emma was starting to feel a little left out. So it was with great excitement that we started school today! Emma picked out her sweater and her jeans this morning. She was very excited and started talking to me about what she was going to do and wear this morning before I was even out of bed.

We bought the headbands this weekend. Garry does not like the no-bangs thing, but I think that she looks beautiful!

Here we are, waiting for the bus!

She said she had a great day, likes her teachers, and made a friend (though she cannot recall the name) and was excited by the drama of a little kid getting a nose bleed on the bus (it's the little things). Macey is very jealous, and it will be a relief to have her start preschool in a month!

If You Take A Trip Without A Camera, Did It Happen?

For Labor Day weekend we took the girls on a road trip and headed west to West Virginia, the home of G. The purpose of this trip was twofold: to get a picture of Molly with her Great-Grandmother Delores before we move and to spend time with Garry's Dad and his wife who were there for a class reunion.

We had a great time seeing family from both sides of Garry's family. But it wasn't until Sunday that we realized that the camera was missing its memory card. How can you visit with family without a camera? How can you blog about a visit with family without pictures from a camera? I have to admit, I am finding it difficult. We'll have to rely on family sending us pictures that they took with their cameras and then post those!

There's Talking. . .And Then There's TALKING.

I told Garry today that sometimes he reminds me of that teenager who comes hom from school, tells his Mom that not much happened that day, then goes to his room and talks and talks to his friends over all that happened that day.

We just got back from a trip to West Virginia. We saw a lot of family members and went through a lot of experiences, and I thought that we had experienced a lot of things to talk about on the way home. So I waited for the talking to commence. And waited. And waited. Finally an hour away from home I asked Garry why he was not talking to me about the weekend.

"We were together this weekend," he explained. "We saw the same things, went the same places. What would we talk about?"

I do not know where to even begin.

My Turn

Yesterday Garry gave his notice at work that he was joining the FBI at the end of the month. It was a really hard and sad day for him as he really enjoyed his job, his coworkers, worked well with his boss, and he was really good at what he did. I hope that he will find the same level of satisfaction with the FBI in Salt Lake.

Now it's my turn to provide notice to my piano students, and I feel bad that it is going to be such short notice. Last night I had a dream that the Mom of one of my students was so mad that she threatened to start stalking my house.

Hopefully it will not get THAT ugly.

Liar, Liar

Macey is not a fan of going to the bathroom. She is too afraid that she is going to miss something, and so she puts it off to the point of disaster. So, in desperation, I invented a little story.

Yesterday, when we were at Stephanie's house, I could tell that Macey really needed to go to the bathroom. But she denied it and attempted to continue playing; a difficult task when you are also doing the potty dance at the same time. Finally, I feigned severe alarm and said, "Macey! Your eyes are green! You have to go to the bathroom so badly that your eyes have turned green!"

Concerned, she ran to the bathroom.

Today she came up to me after many cups of water and fruit boxes and asked, "Mama, are my eyes green?"

Shock! Horror! "Yes, Macey, they are! You need to go to the bathroom right now!"

And off she went. Everything is a little easier to take when there's drama associated with it. I have no idea where she gets that from.

Community

One of my favorite classes at BYU was a Theory of Communications course. Did you know that when the television came out there was a theory that it would be good for communities? That people, who previously had been hanging out on their front porches would now go into their homes and watch the same show and then be able to talk with one another about that show? It was thought that this would bond people to one another and stregthen communities.

I am not sure if it has worked. True, I can talk to Sylvia about the crazy blond on Real Housewives. Tara and I can dish about Top Chef. Stephanie and I can critique American Idol. But wouldn't we talk, anyway?

If you go around the block with my Mother, she can tell you everything about the people that live in each house, including their children and sometimes even their pets. She has about four working channels. So maybe the more channels you have the more likely you are to be a horrible neighbor?

For example, I have a neighbor that since we live in a townhouse we share a WALL with. We have been here for five years. Over those years she has never waved, said hello, told us congratulations for baby one, two or even three. No Happy Holidays. Nothing. It does not bother me until Macey tells her hello again and again and then asks why she did not say anything back (can you imagine ignoring a hi from a three year old?) and I have to explain, "Well, Macey, it's because she is a bit. . .bit. . .bit hard of hearing." Maybe from now on I can just tell Macey that she has a zillion television channels!