Parent/Teacher Conferences

I really look forward to attending Parent/Teacher conferences for my kids. Well, actually, for Henry since he's the only one in school full-time. I like sitting down with the teacher and getting a snapshot of how he's doing. I like seeing his progress and just having a few minutes to check in and make sure things are going well.

So far, so good. Henry has had excellent teachers and this year is no exception. I love his 2nd grade teacher because she is so positive. She seems to enjoy teaching and and it shows in how she interacts with the kids in her class. I saw her in our neighborhood a few days after school started last fall (her son and his family used to live across the street from us) and she said, "Oh, I just love having Henry in my class." I replied, "Well, it's only been 3 days; hopefully you can say that in another 177 days."

Henry is doing very well academically. He's proficient in everything that they have worked on so far. He's a good reader. He has done so well in Math this year that he has been in two enrichment programs, where he is pulled out of class once a week to do additional math projects with another group of kids. He has really enjoyed it.

Socially he's doing well also. Honestly, I used to worry about Henry socially. His birthday is July 31st so I worried a bit about him being among the youngest in his class from a social perspective. When he was in preschool you could tell that he was almost a full year younger than some of the kids in his class. But he seems to have matured because as far as I'm aware, he doesn't have any issues socially. He has alot of friends and is nice and respectful to his classmates.

Of course there are always things that can be improved. With Henry, it's his talking. I fear that this is my fault. I'm sure I gave my teachers fits all through school because I talked so much. And it was probably doubly frustrating because I was a good student and did all my work and was never disrespectful - I just couldn't keep quiet. Henry seems to be the same way. He needs to work on blurting out answers and talking out of turn. Of course, his teacher even managed to spin this in a positive way. She basically said, "Henry, you are just so excited to share what you know and so curious and interested in learning that I know sometimes it's hard for you to wait your turn to talk in class. But it's a skill you will need to develop as you get older so maybe we can work together on this. It's good to have things to work on because everyone needs to improve at something. Just be glad that this is the main thing you need to improve this year." He smiled, I smiled, she smiled and we all left happy.

Next year we'll have William to add into the Parent/Teacher conference mix, as he starts Kindergarten in the fall. I look forward to working with his teacher as well. I think it takes a special kind of person to teach elementary school. I know I couldn't do it. Luckily for us, there are lots of special people in our school district. And I'm grateful to them for all the hard work that they do (and will continue to do over the years) for our children.

Little People

I grew up with Fisher Price Little People. Well, Little People and Weebles. Do you remember Weebles? "Weebles wobble but they don't fall down!" Good times. Anyway, over our parenting years, starting when Henry was little, we accumulated a few Little People sets - the farm, the zoo, the school bus, a helicopter. And no one ever played with them. Seriously, the boys rarely got them out and actually played with them. So I sold them at a garage sale last May - you know, maybe some other children in Cache Valley will get a lot of pleasure from these toys and I can make a few bucks. I kept the helicopter and school bus and a few random, uh, little people but that's it. And Tessa loves them. Of course she does, after I sold the cute little sets we had.

So Santa had to bring her some Little People for Christmas. Not a big crazy playset. Santa had a budget this year and frankly a $40 playset would have been fiscally irresponsible of him. But he did manage to find a darling little tea party playset, with a swing and a gazebo and two cute little girls playing dress up and pushing their stroller around the park. Tessa has alot of fun with them. She even incorporates the school bus, the helicopter and the Little People Mega Blocks in her personal imaginarium. I'm not sure what they are all doing. Maybe the kids on the school bus are going on a field trip and the silly little dog attacks them at the park and someone needs to be Life-Flighted to the hospital or something. Really, who knows?

I have to say that I'm a little relieved that at least one of my children seems interested in the things that other kids like. Because we haven't had much success with that kind of thing here. Fisher Price Little People? No thanks. Legos? I don't think so. Matchbox cars? Only if they fit inside a giant construction truck (correct names only please and no, that isn't a bulldozer) or can be eaten by an Allosaurus (a meat-eating dinosaur from the Jurassic period and the official dinosaur of the state of Utah - yes I know that!). My kids seem to have one track minds when it comes to their interests. It makes things easier in some ways but then look at all the fun things they miss! I mean, really, who doesn't like Little People? Apparently none of my children, except for Tessa. Which is OK. She's her own (little) person. Except that she does seem to like the Utah Jazz and has a favorite dinosaur (a 'ceratops, which I think is a Triceratops). She's not completely immune from Henry and William's influence, after all.

Frenemies

William and Tessa have a challenging relationship. They can be so, so cute together. We really try and encourage William in his role as Tessa's big brother and it sometimes pays off when he notices that she's doing something new and feels like he can take credit for it because of his example ("Hey, look at Tessa putting on her own shoes. I showed her how to do it"). They are pretty good at sharing; I think Tessa, for her age, shares really well and I'm sure it's because she's never known a life where she didn't have to share with the boys. And she loves to talk to him, especially on days when he has preschool. One of her favorite things to do is go through his backpack when he gets home. He's even taken to drawing pictures specifically for her. Sure, they are generally scenes of dinosaur carnage ("Well, Tessa, that's a Carnataurus eating a Torosaurus") but she seems thrilled when he produces a drawing and presents it to her. They all go on the refrigerator so that she can look at them whenever she gets the urge.

Of course, their relationship is volatile. They share the blame, I think. Tessa, honestly, knows how to push his buttons and does so with apparent glee. And William is very sensitive to having his big-boyhood questioned, which apparently Tessa can do with a well-placed look or some gibberish ("Mama, Tessa called me a ga-ga"). I'm sure William will be in therapy as an adult and it will all come down to him being a middle child. He's not out there in the world doing fun things like Henry but he's not the little princess either. Since there isn't a thing in the world we can do about his placement in the family, we try and focus on the positive. And frankly some days are better than others.

The other day, however, was a good day and worth noting in the relationship annals of William and Tessa. It was another winter day in Cache Valley - bitter cold, murky air - so I put in a movie for them to watch after lunch. I popped some popcorn and left them sitting companionably on the couch, watching "Madagascar 2". Since they seemed happy enough, I ran upstairs to get a few things done. You know - put laundry away, clean the bathrooms, check Facebook. The movie didn't hold their attention (I don't know why, they've only watched it 100 times since we bought the DVD a few weeks ago), but they found a project to keep themselves busy:

Apparently they were trying to fix something that required all the plastic and wooden tools that we have available in the house. Tessa needed to put on William's shoes (workboots, perhaps?) and spent quite a bit of time going back and forth from the toy bins to the couch, delivering tools to William. This was dangerous work, of course, so they needed goggles to protect their eyes. I'm not sure if they were able to accomplish their task, but they were getting along and that is all I cared about.

75 Things About Me

I have some friends who did this on their blogs and thought it would be fun to try. It took me a while to come up with the entire list. Of course, after I finished all 75 things I found that most people only make their list to 25. That would have been much easier! Anyway, since I had already completed my list, here you go:

1. My middle name is Renee, making my name Rhonda Renee Royal Wright. Say it fast three times.
2. I’m the oldest of three children and miss my siblings and their families.
3. I’ve finally started to get comfortable driving in the snow, after almost 14 years in Utah.
4. I love 80’s music. Love it!
5. I’m a math geek and love algebra.
6. I love chocolate.
7. I hate to exercise but like the way it makes me feel afterwards.
8. I was put in the Nursery at church because I had a hard time letting Tessa cry.
9. I actually like being in Nursery now – I think 18 months to 3 years old is one of my favorite ages.
10. 3 is not my favorite age (of my kids particularly) so I think I would cry if I had to teach Sunbeams (the 3 year old class).
11. I didn’t get married until the ripe old age of 29 years old.
12. I thank my Heavenly Father every day that a wonderful man like Jay was still available when we met.
13. It took me a while to get used to being a Stay at Home Mom, but I love it now.
14. I’m not a good baker, although I recently found a yummy sugar cookie recipe that I can manage.
15. I’ve never been to Disneyland.
16. I’ve never been to Yellowstone.
17. My celebrity crush is Sting. Love him.
18. I love to read.
19. I desperately want to get into all the popular shows on TV but they just get stacked up on my Tivo list until I delete them.
20. I can’t remember life before Tivo.
21. I don’t like to be outside. I prefer a nice climate controlled environment.
22. My kids watch way too much TV during the winter but I don’t feel guilty about it.
23. I love Coke Slurpees.
24. I had to drastically reduce my Slurpee intake in order to lose the 25 pounds that I lost in 2008.
25. I’m having a hard time losing the last 10 – 15 pounds that I want to lose.
26. Jay is a much better cook than I am.
27. Although I’m not officially registered in any political party, I consider myself a Democrat.
28. I cried (tears of joy!) when Barack Obama won the election.
29. I worry that I’m not a very good mom sometimes.
30. I have a favorite John Wayne movie – The Searchers.
31. I love musical theater.
32. My favorite chick flick is You’ve Got Mail – “Don’t cry, Shopgirl.”
33. I think my son looks cute in his glasses.
34. I know more about dinosaurs than I ever wanted to know.
35. I’m enjoying Tessa’s princess phase.
36. I think I’m smarter than I used to be because I Google.
37. I cried when I weaned Tessa from breastfeeding when she was 15 ½ months old.
38. The main reason I weaned her was so Jay and I could take a 10th anniversary trip to San Francisco and I still feel a little guilty about it.
39. Jay is a better home decorator than I am.
40. I was prouder than I should have been of the pillowcases I made my kids for Christmas.
41. I love living in a cul-de-sac and I love my neighborhood.
42. One thing I miss as a SAHM is adult interaction. Sometimes I follow Jay around the house when he gets home from work so I can talk to another adult.
43. Henry has inherited my chattiness and it drives me crazy and yes, I get the irony.
44. I love to shop. Even just window shopping makes me happy.
45. I’d rather spend money on my kids than on myself.
46. I enjoy watching sports, which is good because so does Jay.
47. Turning 40 wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be.
48. Tessa isn’t potty trained mainly because I’m lazy. I think she’d probably do OK, but I don’t want to hassle with it.
49. My favorite color is green.
50. Part of me wants to move back to the South so my kids will say “yes sir” and “yes ma’am” and speak with a Southern accent.
51. The song “So What” by Pink makes me laugh.
52. I’m scared of the dentist. Luckily I have a nice dentist who dopes me up on nitrous oxide so I don’t panic during procedures.
53. I’m happy that my kids are, in general, polite.
54. I’m looking forward to having a full 5 free hours a week next fall when Tessa starts preschool.
55. I love getting my hair cut and colored – it’s my favorite indulgence.
56. I sing when I’m on the treadmill and my family makes fun of me because they can hear me.
57. I know it’s wrong, but I get a charge out of beating Henry at Sorry or Trouble.
58. My favorite candy is Cadbury Mini-Eggs and I was unreasonably happy when I discovered that they have them at Christmas too!
59. Sometimes it bugs me when Jay falls asleep literally three minutes after getting into bed (and before 10 pm).
60. I went to The Police concert last summer and stood the whole time and sang to every song.
61. I like driving my minivan and am not embarrassed to be a minivan mom.
62. I saw the Twilight movie on opening night at a midnight show.
63. Although I love living in Hyde Park, I’m a city girl at heart and miss living in a bigger city.
64. I’m not an animal lover and refuse to buy pets for my children because I don’t want to deal with them.
65. I love that my kids go to bed fairly early because it give me some down time at night.
66. I love that Jay is an early riser and gets up with the kids most mornings to give me a little extra sleep (this is why #59 only bugs me sometimes).
67. I have a hard time going to sleep if I don’t get a hot bath every night, even in the summer.
68. I’m proud of my husband for being such a hard worker and conscientious person.
69. I don’t particularly like French fries.
70. I don’t read my scriptures as often as should, but I love to read the Conference Ensign.
71. It still makes me sad that my dad died before I had children.
72. My favorite season is autumn.
73. I have a weekly “chore” schedule that I follow pretty religiously because I feel like being organized keeps me sane most days.
74. I don’t like to buy my kids toys but I love to buy them books.
75. I love the gospel and the strength and guidance it gives me on a daily basis.

So there you are. 75 things about me. I didn't realize I was so boring.

Where Have You Been All My Life?

I've discovered Facebook. Well, not really discovered it. I've known about Facebook for a long time. But I've never joined. It just seemed like something all the kids were doing and, well, I'm not a kid. But recently I've had several people, including my sister LeClaire, tell me how fun it is and how many people they have gotten in touch with through Facebook. And I read an article that said that Facebook's fastest growing demographic is ages 35 and up. Which is most definitely me. So I joined.

I have a feeling this is going to be one of those things like Tivo or cell phones. You are fine without it; more than fine, actually. But once you get into it you wonder how in the world you lived without it.

So, if you are on Facebook, look me up. We'll be friends. We'll write on each other's walls. It'll be fun.

We Are a Happy Family....

What do you get when you take a mid-February snowstorm, throw in a healthy dose of "what do you mean we have to wear our church clothes all day?", and add a dash of "it feels like we've been in the car forever"? Why, you would get our Valentine's Day trip down to the Draper Temple Open house!

We left Cache Valley about 9 am. Normally we are thrilled to escape Cache Valley for a Saturday in the winter. Don't get me wrong, we love living here, but it can get a little claustrophobic with all the fog and pollution that gets trapped here in the winter. There was very little snow on our drive through the canyon, but once we hit I-15, things got worse. We saw quite a few slide-offs between Brigham City and Salt Lake City. Luckily, we made it safely and by the time we hit Point of the Mountain, we saw glimpses of blue sky. The kids cheered! All was well.

We spent a few hours with the Wright family of Lehi. Thank goodness they were open to hosting two tired adults and three antsy children for lunch and some running around. We left their house (along with Andrew and Collin - poor Olivia was feeling under the weather) about 1:20 pm to make it to our 1:40 pm scheduled tour.

Can I just say what a logistical nightmare it must be to organize a temple open house like this? We parked in the Red Parking Lot (go Utes - thank goodness it wasn't the Blue Lot or there would have been some grumbling from Henry), watched a nicely done video on temples and loaded onto the bus to make the trek up to the temple. When we arrived at the temple, there were long enclosed walkways to save us from the elements (which was nice because although it didn't feel too cold, it was windy) on the walk into the temple. Once we got into the doors, we followed the long, long, long, long line of people and took our tour. We were able to see the baptismal font, a few dressing rooms and waiting rooms, the Bride's Room, some ordinance rooms, a sealing room and the Celestial Room. As you might expect, it was beautiful. It was nice to be able to talk to the kids about the importance of temples. After we left the temple, another enclosed walkway took us to a church building adjacent to the temple grounds were they had cookies and water available for everyone. It took a while to wait for the bus, but we arrived back at our assigned parking lot at about 3:45 pm.

On the way out of Salt Lake we stopped for gas and some snacks. Jay and I loaded up on Coke Slurpees (don't judge us, you would have wanted a little caffeine as well) and we headed north. We stopped in Harrisville for McDonald's for dinner and let the kids eat in the car on the way home. This, by the way, is one of our more brilliant strategies for longish car rides - feed them fast food (which they don't get very often) and they are generally quiet for at least 30 minutes while they stuff chicken nuggets and french fries in their mouths. Our reprieve was longer this time because McDonald's offered little electronic sports games (for the boys) and Hello Kitty watches (for the girls) as their Happy Meal toys, so we bought an extra 15 minutes or so while they punched buttons and fooled around with their prizes.

The weather held out and we didn't run into snow again until we hit Logan City limits. We knew we were in trouble when we turned the corner coming out of the canyon and, instead of the blue sky we had seen to the east all the way home, saw clouds and fog. We groaned and bemoaned the fact that we had apparently seen the sun for the last time that day. It was snowing pretty hard in Logan but we made it home safe and sound.

Anyway, the temple open house isn't the most kid-friendly activity but we felt it was well worth our time. Tessa in particular had a bit of a hard time - it was alot of walking and alot of stairs for a 2 year old. The hassle was worth it, however, as Jay and I saw our little family sitting together in the sealing room. We were able to tell them that their mom and dad were married in the temple so that we could all be together forever. Because, really, isn't that what it's all about?

True Love

Nothing says love in the Wright household quite like a heart-shaped pizza. So for dinner on Friday we utilized a coupon and had a Papa Murphy's pizza. It's kind of hard to tell from the picture, but it really was heart-shaped. And yummy.

Our week was spent preparing for Friday's school Valentine's Day festivities. We spent quite a bit of time working on valentines for school and neighborhood friends. We baked and distributed (and ate) sugar cookies. And today was the big day. And can I just say how glad I am it's over? Apparently it's such a big deal that the boys were too excited to sleep - they were up well before their normal wake-up time of 7:00 am. And the amount of sugary stuff in the house has grown exponentially in just a few short hours. And it's not even the big day!

Actually, Jay and I aren't too big on Valentine's Day. It's just not a big deal to us. We don't give big gifts or anything. A heartfelt message in a card is something that we do for each other every year, with the occasional flowers or dinner thrown in. But in general, to us, it's just another day. Well, maybe an excuse for a fun dinner or some treats, but that's it. And that's how we like it. I think sometimes people put alot of pressure on the execution of something "big" on Valentine's Day and then they are disappointed. I know that Jay loves me because of the way he acts and the things he says the other 364 days of the year (and hopefully he feels the same about me). I don't need a big gift or special plans on a random day in February to remind me. I think it's fine that other people do special things on Valentine's Day, but since neither Jay nor I care about it, it works well for us.

Tomorrow we do have some fun plans for our family. We are taking a tour of the new Draper Temple. We've had reservations since December and are going with most of the extended Wright family. It should be fun - assuming that we do OK with the longish car ride and the anticipated snow. Maybe we can sneak in some hand-holding and kisses as well. After all, it will be Valentine's Day.

Sucker!

The other night Jay and I were discussing Tessa; specifically how she seems to have Jay wrapped around her little finger. Every word, every look, every action is cute to him. I have to wonder how aware of this she is, based on the following true story:

Tessa woke up at 7:15 this morning and Jay went in to get her out of bed. He leaned over her crib and said, "Are you ready to get up?" She jumped up, threw her arms around Jay's neck, and said, "Daddy, my dreams came true!" Music played, flowers bloomed, and Tessa firmed up her role as Daddy's Little Princess. Which is fine - actually it's kind of cute to see their relationship develop as it has.

I wonder if, in 12 years or so, when she wants to do something that we have no intention of letting her do, this will work on Jay? Something tells me I'm going to be playing the role of "bad cop" for a while.

It's Great to be Eight (well, almost)

Tonight Henry had a fireside to attend at church - his first. It was for all the kids who are turning 8 this year; kind of a preparation for baptism thing. How in the world did I end up with a child turning eight? Seriously, when we bought our current house and moved to Hyde Park he wasn't even 18 months old and all of the sudden he's going to be eight this year?

Apparently Jay and I have done a lousy job of preparing him for baptism. He thought we all had to wear white to the baptism, then got confused and thought he had to wear all white to the fireside. Hmmm, I guess we better have a few lessons on baptism during Family Home Evening this year.

Anyway, the fireside was good. I didn't go (it didn't start until 6 pm and that's cutting it a little close to Tessa's bedtime to expect her to sit still for a fireside) but Jay and Henry went. They talked to them a bit about what it is like to be baptized and presented them with a bookmark, a picture of Jesus being baptized by John the Baptist and some gum (for "chewsing" to make the decision to be baptized). They had cake, which is always nice. And Jay and I are excited to work with Henry and teach him about the gospel a little more in depth so he is prepared when the big day arrives (probably the first Saturday in August, which is August 1st).

After Jay brought Henry home from the fireside he had to run back to church for the Priesthood Preview (he teaches the 11 year olds in Primary and so was asked to participate in the program). Just for fun, he's been calling it the "Terrific to be Twelve" fireside all week. But it had William feeling a little left out, so I had assure him that while it might be Great to Be Eight and Terrific to be Twelve, I thought it was Fabulous to be Five.

Because Yes

Tessa hasn't quite figured out that sometimes she will be asked to justify her wants and demands. It's obvious that she doesn't necessarily think everything through, because if you ask her why she wants to do something (or get something or buy something) the answer is often, "because yes". Conversely, if she doesn't want to do something she'll say, "because no". Jay finds this hilarious and regularly devises questions with the purpose of getting Tessa to answer with her patented "because yes" or "because no". I think it's cute, but I hear it way more often than he does so by 6 pm (when Jay is just getting warmed up with the kids) it just causes me to roll me eyes.

Menu Planning Made Easy

Kids can be picky eaters. Everyone knows this. But last week the pickiness got a little out of control and my frustration with it culminated in a week of PB&J dinners for the kids. Yep, that's right - for the past several days we have had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for dinner (along with cut up fruit, carrots and/or cheese). And the streak will continue until the end of this week.

Here's the story: I got creative one day and decided to make Orange Chicken Stir-Fry for dinner. The kids have had this dish before and liked it. But, on this particular day, it apparently didn't strike their fancy. So all of the time and energy I put into making orange chicken (OK it didn't take that long, but it took longer than a normal dinner takes to put together) was wasted. They ate rice. That's it. No one even touched the chicken or the vegetables. Now it turns out it was a little spicy (according to Jay) but the kids wouldn't have known that because they refused to take a bite. To say I was unhappy was an understatement. And my unhappiness turned into a promise not to cook dinner for a week. So I'm not. Oh, don't worry. They'll get fed. Like I said, PB&J with healthy sides is on the menu every night this week. Jay and I are taking bets as to how long they can go before they start complaining.

They'll still get plenty of variety. I'm encouraging William and Tessa to eat food other than sandwiches for lunch (we do lots of leftovers or easy to make things for lunches). And Henry typically eats a hot lunch at school. So sandwiches for a week won't kill them. Far from it. But it will make me feel better and hopefully drive the point home that dinners around here don't cook themselves. We'll see.

Feel free to think I overreacted. I admit that I probably did. My patience runs a little thin in the winter, when we are stuck inside and it feels like we are on top of each other All. Day. Long. And Orange Chicken Day wasn't a particularly good one from a behavior standpoint - from the time that Henry walked in the door from school, someone was complaining about something. So I snapped. And refused to cook dinner for a week. Oh well.

Next week we'll go back to normal. Dinner will more often than not be hot and freshly cooked. It will not, however, be Orange Chicken Stir-Fry. I've learned my lesson.