March 2019
School Happenings
—Mother/son dance night: This year, we pregamed the afternoon before — a mega playdate at Manir’s house, involving the Marshalls, the Gividen boys, and Brayden and fam; hot dogs and tater tots for the kids, and Indian food for the adults (plus maybe a drink or two); then off to the school in a convoy, where the boys became a bunch of loud ping-pong balls ricocheting off every surface in the place. Honestly one of the highlights of the school social calendar, and we got some great crazy pics out of it too.
—5th grade field trip to the Tech Museum: I was allowed to chaperone on this one, for the first time in years (Annika’s choice, lol). Brandi and I had charge of four girls, including Annika & Alana, and it was a fun (slightly exhausting) day of exploring all over the place (plus a movie in the dome theater). The highlight was the Bodies exhibit, with all kinds of 5th-grade giggling over certain parts, naturally, heh.
—Castillero elective preview night: What was billed as a two-hour open house kind of thing, where we could meet the teachers and see various elective classes in action, was far shorter than that on time and — while we did learn some new information — didn’t exactly go a long way toward helping us decide on a choice for next year. The 6th graders only get one pick, and what Annika and her closest friends want to do — Art — was, to R. and I, the least impressive of all the possibilities. We want her to do orchestra for a variety of reasons (learning a string instrument, learning to work as a team, having to concentrate on something outside of yourself, the near-superpower of making music, the superstar teacher), but she was in hysterical tears and it’s still unclear whether this is the hill any of us are prepared to fight and die on. TBD, in every way.
—Mother/son dance night: This year, we pregamed the afternoon before — a mega playdate at Manir’s house, involving the Marshalls, the Gividen boys, and Brayden and fam; hot dogs and tater tots for the kids, and Indian food for the adults (plus maybe a drink or two); then off to the school in a convoy, where the boys became a bunch of loud ping-pong balls ricocheting off every surface in the place. Honestly one of the highlights of the school social calendar, and we got some great crazy pics out of it too.
—5th grade field trip to the Tech Museum: I was allowed to chaperone on this one, for the first time in years (Annika’s choice, lol). Brandi and I had charge of four girls, including Annika & Alana, and it was a fun (slightly exhausting) day of exploring all over the place (plus a movie in the dome theater). The highlight was the Bodies exhibit, with all kinds of 5th-grade giggling over certain parts, naturally, heh.
—Castillero elective preview night: What was billed as a two-hour open house kind of thing, where we could meet the teachers and see various elective classes in action, was far shorter than that on time and — while we did learn some new information — didn’t exactly go a long way toward helping us decide on a choice for next year. The 6th graders only get one pick, and what Annika and her closest friends want to do — Art — was, to R. and I, the least impressive of all the possibilities. We want her to do orchestra for a variety of reasons (learning a string instrument, learning to work as a team, having to concentrate on something outside of yourself, the near-superpower of making music, the superstar teacher), but she was in hysterical tears and it’s still unclear whether this is the hill any of us are prepared to fight and die on. TBD, in every way.
Family Fun
—Family dinner with Curtis: I’m still not 100% sure what was the reason for this, but our financial advisor got the whole family together (the four of us, Grandma & Grandpa, Paul & Amy & Alyna) for dinner at Buca di Beppo. Kind of random, but turned into a fun night out, and hey — now Lukas knows he likes red sauce!
—St. Patrick’s Day Sauce: We old folk rallied for a rare two-nighter over the holiday weekend, in which Mason’s and Ethan’s friends drifted on and off the stage, raided the costume closet, and stayed up till past 4:00 a.m. both nights. It was a lot of fun, but as usual, exhausting (and somewhat humbling for me, since all those kids are better at their instruments than I am … lol!).
—Family dinner with Curtis: I’m still not 100% sure what was the reason for this, but our financial advisor got the whole family together (the four of us, Grandma & Grandpa, Paul & Amy & Alyna) for dinner at Buca di Beppo. Kind of random, but turned into a fun night out, and hey — now Lukas knows he likes red sauce!
—St. Patrick’s Day Sauce: We old folk rallied for a rare two-nighter over the holiday weekend, in which Mason’s and Ethan’s friends drifted on and off the stage, raided the costume closet, and stayed up till past 4:00 a.m. both nights. It was a lot of fun, but as usual, exhausting (and somewhat humbling for me, since all those kids are better at their instruments than I am … lol!).
What’re the Kids Up To
—The stacking cups: At Sauce, Lukas discovered Mason’s old set of stacking cups, and quickly went down the YouTube rabbit hole of watching kids stack and take down dozens of the things; he immediately put his learnings into practice, and when we got home, pestered me to order a set for him (which he paid for with his own money) so he could improve his technique and speed over and over and over.
—The kids make dinner: I have become deeply, deeply unsatisfied with how our weekend family dinners go; it’s the only time we have in which to sit down to the table together, but I feel so unappreciated and the whole thing is just a mess of complaints and tension and correcting table manners and trying to get Lukas to f’ing EAT. So I decided to try something new: The kids would cook the dinner. They didn’t resist it quite as strenuously as I thought they might — I mean, after all, it bit into their iPad time, o noooooooo. But anyway — Annika picked what to cook (spaghetti with butter and cheese, garlic bread), and the two of them did it all!! I really liked the way they worked together, and they’re learning life skills — we’re definitely going to do this again.
—Lukas tries no training wheels, and Annika stays home: It’s time Lukas learned to ride a bike without training wheels (he’s amazed and mystified that Amira can do it, and she’s not even five yet!), so we went to the school one weekend to work on it; he didn’t quite get it in the one session, but he made progress, and he’s ready to try again soon. Meanwhile, Annika stayed home alone — that’s kind of her new thing, staying home while I take Lukas to his various things (swimming, gymnastics, etc.), working up her bravery and self-sufficiency, and she’s really enjoying the freedom to do her own thing.
—The stacking cups: At Sauce, Lukas discovered Mason’s old set of stacking cups, and quickly went down the YouTube rabbit hole of watching kids stack and take down dozens of the things; he immediately put his learnings into practice, and when we got home, pestered me to order a set for him (which he paid for with his own money) so he could improve his technique and speed over and over and over.
—The kids make dinner: I have become deeply, deeply unsatisfied with how our weekend family dinners go; it’s the only time we have in which to sit down to the table together, but I feel so unappreciated and the whole thing is just a mess of complaints and tension and correcting table manners and trying to get Lukas to f’ing EAT. So I decided to try something new: The kids would cook the dinner. They didn’t resist it quite as strenuously as I thought they might — I mean, after all, it bit into their iPad time, o noooooooo. But anyway — Annika picked what to cook (spaghetti with butter and cheese, garlic bread), and the two of them did it all!! I really liked the way they worked together, and they’re learning life skills — we’re definitely going to do this again.
—Lukas tries no training wheels, and Annika stays home: It’s time Lukas learned to ride a bike without training wheels (he’s amazed and mystified that Amira can do it, and she’s not even five yet!), so we went to the school one weekend to work on it; he didn’t quite get it in the one session, but he made progress, and he’s ready to try again soon. Meanwhile, Annika stayed home alone — that’s kind of her new thing, staying home while I take Lukas to his various things (swimming, gymnastics, etc.), working up her bravery and self-sufficiency, and she’s really enjoying the freedom to do her own thing.
Quotable
—Lukas, with “Oh! Darling” playing in the car: “That song sounds like it’s saying ‘Oh darn it!’”
—“Gonzilla”: Lukas’s take on Gonzaga during March Madness
—Lukas, with “Oh! Darling” playing in the car: “That song sounds like it’s saying ‘Oh darn it!’”
—“Gonzilla”: Lukas’s take on Gonzaga during March Madness
posted by One of the Grownups @ 1:22 PM
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