The Super-Packed-Chock-full of Awesome-Catch Up Post

Bobbing for apples

Colin also wore a Superman costume I made for Bennett's 18 month Halloween

Enjoying caramel apples from the Halloween party

I can still blog about Halloween, as Thanksgiving hasn't happened yet! I had a lot of fun making Annalise's Jessie the Cowgirl (from Toy Story) costume, and was thankful to borrow costumes for Bennett and Colin (Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story, and a white tiger). I find it hard to believe, but succumbed to the fact that I could not find cow-print fleece for chaps to save my life! Jessie must wrangle zebras instead of cows! As Annalise loves Halloween, and had been planning a party since school ended last year, we arranged an impromptu play date party on Halloween morning. The kids had a lot of fun. They didn't wait until I had my camera at the ready before starting bobbing for apples, however. A invited friends from Little Flowers as well as current classmates, and had a nice mix of guests.

This thankfully was the last Halloween we used a stroller. I couldn't keep up with A and B from house to house, when they ran across the yards and I had to go down the driveways and up the street. Colin was very in tune with the process, and never forgot to say "Trick or treat- thank you-BYE!!!" He handed his bucket to his brother or sister to bring to the front door, when I couldn't maneuver the stroller close enough. We stopped back at home after I took all three out, took a look at their booty on the kitchen table, and tucked our little tiger in to bed. Then Bennett, Annalise, and I went out for round two. We gave the kids free range with their candy this year, having a cut off about 30 minutes before meals. We got through the candy in just a few days, as Annalise, and the others to a lesser degree, has a voracious appetite for sweets.

Quotable, But Not of the MLK or JFK Variety

VS


B: "Why do we brush our teeth?"
Mr. Mom: "So your teeth stay healthy to help you chew food."
B: "But I want mine to fall out so I can get some cash."




Scene Setting: Kids playing in the basement while Mr. Mom is eating bon bons and watching Oprah.
B: "Hey A, look at my trick race track." (as he pushes the button and the Hot Wheels car goes catapulting off a ramp)
A: "Whoooaaa. That is soooo rock star B."

Our Daisy

Last week Annalise and I had our first Girl Scout meeting. A is a daisy (Kindergarten and 1st), and I am a co-leader of her troop. We only have 4 girls so far, but hope to have more join once they hear how fun it is. We had a nice first meeting, where the girls colored self-portraits. I was really excited to get A the official Daisy Beanie- isn't she cute as a button?!

Besides the start of Girl Scouts, we've been busy with Faith Formation class and Sunday school at our new church, dance class, ECFE for Colin, and a sports camp once a week for Bennett. He is having so much fun learning the fundamentals from Coach Dan, as well as being the ringleader of the 4 year old social scene. Mike reports it is lots of fun to see B run with unbridled joy, and I hope to skip out of an hour of work sometime soon to witness it myself. Our kitchen backsplash tiling project should get wrapped up soon, and then we're on to replacing the sliding door out to the deck, and lots of indoor painting. We'd like to get the exterior painted, but we're not sure if it could be done yet this year.

Performance Review

I finally had my 1-year performance review today. In typical management fashion (i.e. heavy on the bureaucracy and red tape) all 4 of my bosses decided to team up on me and take care of it all at once because the evil HR department was breathing down their necks to get it done so that their precious employee files could be up to date.

Mrs. Dad, clearly the leader of the group, started it off by thanking me for my service to FroFamily Inc. over the past year. My work had not gone unnoticed, and it was much appreciated by the group. Then she got into the formalities. First off, it was explained to me that FroFamily Inc. maintains a highly scientific 5 point scale for grading all of its employees. The highest grade is "Awesome", however this grade is unattainable and is just there as a golden carrot for all the silly employees to chase. Next is "Super OK", which is code for good enough to not get yelled at all the time. The middle grade is "Medium" because to Mr. B everything is medium. On the lower end of the spectrum is "Not Medium" because Mr. C is always opposite of Mr. B. The worst grade on the scale is "Stinky" because it is a funny word that we read in Ms. A's Junie B. Jones books that means something is no good.

Next, each took their turn. All the while I'm saying to myself, "I hope I'm not Stinky. I hope I'm not stinky. I hope I'm not stinky. I really need to keep this job."

Mr. C, the least senior of the group, did not bother with any pleasantries. He simply said, "Mr. Mom, thanks for occasionally feeding me food that I don't want to throw on the floor. I appreciate you not letting me sit in dirty diapers for too long. And you give good baths, provided you remember to not get me wet. However, remember that first week of your employment here when I had a seizure on your watch? Yeah, well that didn't go over so well. And one more thing, you are not Mrs. Dad and never can be because of the whole breastfeeding at birth thing. Therefore, overall, I rate you a Not Medium."

Mr. B. quickly jumped in to get his part over with so that he could go back to playing Thomas trains. "Mr. Mom, your performance was acceptable overall. You were there when I read my first words on 9/15/10. I arrive at school on time each day. We play some good ball in the backyard. And my clothes are laid out for me every morning. However, you insist that I not tease Mr. C all the time. You don't let me eat cookies at will. And I would really like you to let me watch a lot more TV. Overall my grade for you is Medium."

Next was the sweet charming Ms. A, who has me wrapped around her finger and completely knows it. In only a way she can, Ms. A smiled and began, "Mr. Mom, fine work this past year. Your help in enabling my transition to 1st grade was crucial to the success of our company. As was your work in being a buffer between me and Mrs. Dad and Mr. B. They just don't understand me sometimes. I want things my way all the time, but they have the audacity to have their own ideas. We'll get them to understand eventually, but for now, I need you to keep running interference. You also support my efforts in attending dance class, getting to the bus a minimum of 5 minutes early every day, and choosing my own unique fashion. For that, I will be eternally grateful. But could you do something about requiring me to eat hot lunch at school once in a while. It is the worst thing ever, and I would rather just eat a frosting covered granola bar and orange creme yogurt from home. It is for this reason that I will limit your grade to Super OK instead of Awesome."

Last was Mrs. Dad. The one I had been waiting for, but also dreading. "Mr. Mom, you have performed admirably this year. Although it would be impossible for anyone to live up to your predecessor, you gave it a good try. The house is clean, the dishes are done, the beds are made, the laundry is folded and put away, the children seem to be generally cared for, the lawn is mowed, you bill some hours in your moonlighting venture, and no one has been seriously injured or died. For that you should be commended. However, there are several things upon which you need to improve. First, talk more. I don't like living with a mute. I try to talk enough for the both of us, but I'm tired of it. Secondly, don't try to solve my problems. Usually I just want you to listen to me complain and tell me it is o.k. Why do you insist on fixing everything? Thirdly, you keep a terrible calendar. You need to write down everything on a calendar so that I know what is going on at all times. Also, it is because of your laziness that Mr. C attends 2nd-rate Eden Prairie ECFE instead of top notch Edina. Now he is behind the learning curve and could be destined for a career serving you burritos at Chipotle unless we can right this ship. Fourth, your organization of the kids clothes is less than desirable. Each size, season, and style should have its own neatly labeled rubbermaid container in the basement, and my god man, why is there a 12-month shirt in Mr. C's drawer? Lastly, this house isn't going to fix itself. We've lived here a year, and the kitchen is all you have to show for home improvement? And you still haven't gotten to that backsplash? What do you do all day? That being said, you have done alright. Since I am the final say, your overall grade will be Super OK. But don't expect any raises or extra time off next year. And if you think you are playing more softball in 2011, think again."

At least I still have my job.

KFro M.S. PA-C

Congratulations on completing your first year back in the professional workforce! Your family is proud of you. And the colons of everyone in the greater metropolitan area are forever in your debt.

Our Baby is Joining the Fun

Annalise's first day- check! Bennett's first day- check! Now it's Colin's turn. Colin is taking part in his first activity outside the home, where he will get a chance to socialize with kids his own age. I wonder what he'll think of that, maybe he'll be wondering where the 6 year olds are? Mike and Colin are in an ECFE class on Thursday mornings. I had Mike take his picture on his first day, and he is wearing the same plaid backpack that Annalise wore on her first day of (2 year old) 'play pals'! In fact, it still has a patch on it that says Annalise (poor 3rd child). The reason we didn't sign him up for the same ECFE class that both A and B were in was because kids had to be 2 by September 1st, and since he won't be 2 until November, I didn't want him to be in a baby class for another year. Mike is the token dad in class, and I'm sure will have some fun anecdotes to share regarding his male perspective on child rearing.

Tiny Dancer

Annalise is going to be an "ice dancing teacher" when she grows up. She has been pushing to get started with dance classes, and in order to fulfill the prerequisites that are necessary to be a successful ice dancing teacher, we signed her up for a ballet class. I have no experience with this culture, as I only remember attending a little community education dance class, and no exposure to any of the fancy (expensive) costumes and mandatory dance recitals that go hand in hand with formal dance instruction.

We all went the first night to check out what ballet class was all about, but as it was right after supper, it was not the best experience for the younger observers (and therefore for their mother) since bedtime is when it is for a reason. Last week, Mike and Bennett took her to class, and Colin and I had a wonderful time one on one, with a walk and some playground time. I'm excited to see how she's progressed, when I take her to class next week. She is loving it so far, and we are glad that she's found something she likes so much.

p.s. This was a wonderful post, until I had to change around some pictures, and my text was erased. So after getting really frustrated trying to recapture my Mrs. Dad-like prose, I just slapped the gist of it up there, and I'm done with it. Arhghghghghh.

Bennett's First Day of Pre-K

On the day after Labor Day, Bennett started his second year at Little Flowers. I guess the reason I'm just getting around to blogging about it now (aside from a delay on uploading photos, getting used to the new laptop, and general day to day distractions from blogging) is that his return to school was completely uneventful. In a good way! He started off right where he left off last year. He didn't talk much about school over the summer, or in the days leading up to his first day back. We attended the Ice Cream Social (which was really a Popsicle Social), said hello again to Christine and Kristi, and Bennett (and Little Flowers' graduate Annalise) chased old classmates around the courtyard.

Bennett is still attending half days, which is different than Annalise's second year of preschool, when she went to school all day, every day from the start of the year. As all of you who know both B and A, they are very different people, and half days was still the right choice for Bennett. He is learning a lot of the materials reserved for the older children, and is on the edge of reading. It is going to be a very exciting year for Bennett. Maybe if he ever stops napping (please, may that be never), we would consider sending him all day, but right now I think the boys are enjoying their schedule.