Ho Ho Ho

I just realized that today is November 25th. Which means we're one month away from Christmas. We're usually mostly done with our shopping at this point.

This year?

We're not even a little bit ready.

School Days

I went to Topher's parent teacher conference today. His teacher said he's one of the highest readers in the class and is fantastic at math. She said she can tell that he wants to do well in school and puts a lot of effort into his work. She also said that sometimes he struggles with keeping his hands to himself. I assured her that we would chat with him about that.

It threw me a little to see his picture labeled Christopher, but his teacher called him Topher, so I guess he's using both names?

The wall outside his classroom had this fun art project on it. Each kid drew a picture of one of their favorite things and those items are displayed as the kind of balloons you would see at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. Topher drew a polar bear. I'm not at all surprised.

Day After Day After Day

This has been a long week. A looooooong week. It started with the Primary Program on Sunday. It went really well, but it was just part of a full day. I could feel myself getting sick at the end of last week, though I told myself I couldn't succumb until Monday when the Primary Program was over. I've spent the week coughing and sneezing and trying to balance resting with still getting everyone fed and where they need to be on time.

Actually, I think it's been a long month. I've been staying up late with some kids and getting up early with other kids. I keep losing track of what day it is. I'm pretty sure sleep deprivation has something to do with it. Maybe I'll find a day during Thanksgiving break to sleep in.

Maybe.

Another Evening in Wonderland

Sophie, Cooper, Peter, and I saw the final dress rehearsal of Phoebe's show tonight. The show was even tighter than it had been the first night. From the moment Phoebe entered the theater from the audience she moved like she owned it, which felt exactly right for the Queen of Hearts.

Off With His Head!

Tonight we saw Phoebe perform in Alice in Wonderland as the Queen of Hearts. I know I've said this about others roles she's played, but it applies here too: SHE STOLE THE SHOW! And I'm not the only person that thought so. It was a student directed show and the director's dad had the same comment about Phoebe's performance. She was nuanced and multi-dimensional and kind of terrifying. Also, she was fantastic!

Fun fact: the kid who played Mr. Wormwood across from Phoebe's Mrs. Wormwood in Matilda in seventh grade played the King of Hearts across from her in this. 

A Little Night Music

Cooper and Phoebe sang in a fundraising concert this weekend for the high school music department. It was fun to hear what they've been working on. I'm glad they're getting such a good music education in our school district.

Timber

The weekend was packed full. Saturday started with an early morning kid choir rehearsal, then a nativity practice, then several hours of yard work. We pulled weeds, gathered clippings, and Bryan chopped down a tree. Also, looking at these pictures reminds me how desperately we need to paint our shutters.

All the Books

These two pictures popped up in my photo memories today. I was admiring how cute these little guys were when I realized something. This is Cooper at 18 and 19 months old. He's comfortably reading those books that have regular pages. I know we had board books available, but he had definitely been thumbing through standard picture books for some time. 

I chatted with a friend (she has five kids, her oldest is Topher's age) last night who told me that they've kept most of their books packed in boxes so their kids wouldn't destroy them. I don't think it occurred to me to keep books out of my kids' reach. In fact, I'm pretty sure I actively put books in their hands as much as possible. Have books been destroyed over the years? Yes, but mostly from overuse. We've had an occasional tear here and there, but it's generally been from excited page turning.

My purpose in writing about this isn't to say, "Look at my amazing children." Rather, I'm curious why they didn't rip up books the way some of their peers did. 

Unattended Minor

It's the Cheesiest

Yesterday for lunch Topher made some cheesy waffles, his own creation. He tore strips of mozzarella from a square slice of cheese and put the small pieces on a toasted freezer waffle. He was in process when he held up the cheese and cried out, "It's Pennsylvania! We live on the cheese!"