Happy Birthday to Me!

Super late, but . . .

For my birthday, we took a trip down to Cincinnati. Loved it. That city has become a centering place in my life, I think. Even though we were only there for three years, they were important years, grounding years for our family, and then, it was our trip there last year that led us to where we are now. It's a place where I can sort of evaluate where I am and what I'm doing with my life. We were only there overnight plus the bulk of the days on either side, but it wound up being both fun and poignant.

We went out for lunch at Maggiano's, Aaron's and my favorite date night restaurant while we lived here. We took our kids--linen napkins and all--and they minded their manners reasonably well. It's hard to believe we're at a stage where that can happen! Then we picked up a half-gallon of black raspberry chip ice cream and gorged ourselves while watching a Harry Potter movie at our hotel. Good times.

On Sunday, we attended church at our old ward, the Montgomery Ward (lol), and it happened to be the day of the ward primary program. What a cascade of memories washed over me! When we first moved into that ward, I was called as the primary pianist. I served in that calling for about two years, then was called as the primary music leader. Well, in the time between that first calling and now, the little sunbeams who used to poke each other on the front row grew into the graduating class. Wow. I totally got choked up, watching them leading the younger children in the songs, and speaking about what the gospel of Jesus Christ has meant in their lives. It was startling to see, quite clearly, how each of the helping hands in that ward have led and molded them into really spectacular young men and women. Some of them have always had strong families behind them, but not all of them. In the ones who haven't, it made me tear up a bit to see and know how important all those others have been--to think that I had been one (a small one, but still) of those. There were other children as well: the fire-cracker rabble-rouser who has grown into a really nice-looking, well-behaved (but still with a glint in his eye) ten-year-old, the cute girl Theo was just getting fond of before we moved, a couple of my little Joy School guys, the now-four-year-old mini-baby-boom that happened around the time Sera was born. They were all cute as pumpkins! I also got to chat for a little bit with Nan, the woman who served and pirmary music leader while I was pianist--her creativity and example are behind every decent idea I've ever had for primary. After all of this, I went away with a renewed sense of how quickly this time passes. We barely have time to blink before our babies become toddlers who become teenagers. And it left me wondering how to possibly cram all the important things into these few years.

Since we got back, I've been trying to be better. Our family bedtime rituals have become more consistent and important (and sadly more drawn out--10 pm bedtime for preschoolers anyone?) to me. I have a stronger sense of the importance of my role as teacher to the rowdy rapscallions in my 9-year-old primary class. I'm more accutely aware than ever that it really does take a village to raise a child, and I want to do my best to make sure that every child in our little primary here has the same sense of being loved and important that I know every child did there in that great big ward family in Cincinnati.

Also, I had a delicious cake and a promise of whatever (on sale) netbook I want once Black Friday comes around. It was a most excellent birthday!

A Trip to Hogwarts

For once I didn't mind that Halloween was on a Sunday. Since we don't have a new piano yet, I don't really need all the candy for practicing bribery, and besides, there was only so much we were up to only a couple of weeks after our move. However, I had a bit of time to peruse costumes while we were living in our apartment, so I caved (to my own annoyingness) and lo, we wound up with matching costumes. Even the kids were a little scandalized, though, when I did the math and figured out that I spent over $80 on Halloween costumes, all for a ward party and an afternoon trick-or-treating at the mall on Saturday. So we're going to maximize our investment and reuse them next year. Meanwhile, I sort of think it was worth it just for these pictures.


Oh, and there are totally points for anyone who can name all the Harry Potter characters!


psst: don't forget the tree!

Am I a Bad Mom?

I ask myself that sometimes. Significantly more frequently lately, actually.

Normally I'm a self-confident person. I've worked hard to be a good mother. It's a job that really matters to me, and I've taken the time to read about it, to watch and ask other mothers about it, and to make conscious decisions about what kind of a mother I want to be. But lately this question keeps creeping into my thoughts, and I can't help wondering if it's there for a reason.

I know why it's there. It's there because this transition has been hard for our kids, and it shows. It's there because the teachers and the people in the office at the kids' school look at me a certain way (not a good way). It's there because much as he loves me, Aaron has mentioned some pretty serious doubts about the way I do things lately. It's there because of the way my kids sometimes talk to me when they're mad or don't like some consequence I've dreamed up for them. And it all makes me feel like I might just be a dreadful mother.

To put things in perspective, I'm giving myself daily reminders of a couple of things. First, I've had a hard time transitioning each and every time we've moved. Every time I've had doubts about my abilities to meet new people and make new friends. Every time I've worried about the impact on my kids. Every time I've hated the length of time it takes to become real friends with people and to understand the workings of the community and social network. And ultimately, it has all worked out. I've found those friends that strengthen me, make me better, and most of all just laugh and love life with me. My kids have settled in and felt at home. Our house has eventually gotten into manageable shape and people in our family (besides me) have taken their share of responsibility for keeping it clean and nice. It will come with time.

Second, one of the great things about this community is that it's tight-knit. People know their neighbors and the children at the school. There are grandparents and cousins nearby for a lot of people. Most people feel safe letting their children wander the neighborhood to play with friends. We're still outsiders. And apparently we haven't made that fantastic of an impression. I've tried as much I could, but when I think about it objectively, I can see what others must see. A woman who doesn't volunteer in the school (I'm planning to soon, but between trying to nail down a house and figuring life out from an apartment, it's been low on the agenda), who doesn't jump in to plan activities, and whose kids aren't starting out exactly at the tops of their classes. And who, really, do I expect to take the time to understand why? Yes, the teachers might know at a cursory level that our kids were in French school, but I don't think they understand that they seriously did everything in French, including math and science and music and everything else. To them, Addy seems like a poor speller, nevermind that she got perfect scores on French spelling tests last year. Theo seems a year or two behind on things like the scientific method and social studies-type things, nevermind that he's learning a completely new vocabulary to deal with those subjects. And Emerson. I'm torn between compassion and frustration with that kid. I know we let Joy School fall apart last year, and I'm sure it would have helped. I know that it's kindergarten and transitioning to that on top of transitioning to a new city and to two new dwelling-places in as many months can't be easy. And I know that I would probably be tempted to push a couple of boundaries with his particular teacher as well. But the fact that Emerson is normally so ridiculously easy to get along with, so compliant, and so helpful, yet in his classroom is apparently acting like a little hooligan, well, that's giving me a fair amount of concern. I can't stand that I feel like he's being labeled as a bad kid. I can't stand that he knows better and he knows he knows better, yet he keeps doing things that give his teach coniptic fits. And the larger problem is that there's no easy remedy. To switch him to another class would mean switching him to a different school or paying $1500 for all-day kindergarten, which I'm not sure would even be better. Either way, the only way to get past this is to go through it, so I'm waking up each and every morning with my game face on, ready to help my kids in whatever ways I can to get through whatever it is that life is going to throw at them.

And third, I can't let myself judge me the way others might judge me. Pick the right handful of days and events, and chances are that just about anyone might come up short. I have the whole rest of my life to live, and if I want this time to count, I just have to keep on keeping on. I'm paying attention to my weaknesses, and working on them. A favorite church hymn keeps popping into my head to keep me going: "it will be long, but must go on, put your shoulder to the wheel." And so that's what I'm doing. Because even a little progress each day in the right direction will hopefully lead me, eventually, to my destination.

Stuff

We've had so many good times I don't want to forget amid the craziness of moving! Mostly pictures this time.

Addy had a birthday! This little girl turned 7, and enjoyed the most store-bought birthday our family has ever seen. She got the ultra-frosted cupcakes they sell at the supermarket taken to her school class, a bakery birthday cake, dinner at O'Charley's, and a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese. Oh well--on the plus side, she is at the perfect age to think that's fantastic. I still need to write up a birthday post for her though . . . .
Next up, we attended the Johnny Appleseed Festival, which was hands-down the best festival for families I have ever been to. We watched fresh apple cider being pressed in cedar presses and kettle corn being popped in enormous black cauldrons over a fire. Everything at the festival was made the old-fashioned way, from root beer to soup to sweet potato pie. Everyone was dressed up in civil war dress, and there were clogging and bagpipe shows all day long. We learned about surgery in the civil war (ouch!) and the toys kids played with . . . I could go on and on forever, but I'll leave a few of the scanty array of pictures we took instead. I'm hoping it maybe made up a little for Addy's store-bought birthday.

We went to the best baseball game ever at the little stadium that's only a couple of miles from our house. They had $1 hot dogs and popcorn (hot dogs are such a must at baseball games in my opinion, but it's really not fair to pay $5 each when you're taking a family of 6!), family-friendly little shows between innings, a funny little mascot guy who went around waving to kids (Sera is nuts about those guys), and our family made it onto the Jumbo Tron no less than four times (we have some pretty awesome dance moves, not gonna lie)! It was a fantastic afternoon--we're just sad that we didn't make it earlier, because it was the last game of the season!

And finally, we got a visit from my sister Tenille and her family, who were in the middle of a last-minute move from New York to Utah. I'm still feeling a little robbed that we won't be able to spend Thanksgiving with them, but glad they could drive through here on their way out west. We enjoyed a tasty dinner at O'Charley's (my new favorite family restaurant--the food is much better than Denny's, there are amazing hot rolls, and kids eat free!) showed them our new house (outside only, we hadn't moved in yet), and I got to chat with Tenille and her boys a bit at her hotel pool. Good times for us, crazy times for them!!