weekend starts...tomorrow! (for me)

tonight we met up with my in-laws to give them a weekend with their grand daughters. AND it's our anniversary on sunday. what will we do with all this time? i mean, i have an *ENTIRE DAY* to myself tomorrow. gadzooks!

i hope to spend an hour or two or 5 in the library. then a few hours doing nothing but listening to the sound of silence (& no, the library doesn't count towards that end). then i want to replace the mascara that was ruined the other day & have a trip to the mall to return some things & eat a cinnabun *all by myself!* i will smile & give encouraging looks to all parents overwhelmed by their children crying or throwing fits. i will sleep in as late as i need to. i will *not* watch dora or george.

wes & i will be able to get so much done...like rake the yard, finally (i think our neighbors are getting a bit nervous that we're boycotting leaf raking this year). i'm superly-duperly looking forward to this weekend w/ wes (gosh & griswold is still here, but now he doesn't even seem like something to reckon with. just a dog, lounging around, barfing up something odd here & there). wes & i also plan to visit the franklin park conservatory--where we got married! & it's all especially cool b/c the artist chihuly had an exhibit there at that time. it was so awesome to have all this beautiful blown glass...but there are some really funny pictures of people with what look like daggers or horns coming out of their heads from the blown glass. if i find one, i'll try to post it this weekend. (don't worry, judy, they were the more candid ones from the crowd, not you *smile*). anyway, it's so crazy that it's been 6 years.

***

so. addy's first parent teacher conference. i dunno why i'm so excited about this...but i totally looked like an idiot preschool mom sitting there with this huge grin on my face. i just felt like shouting "MY ADELINE IS IN PRESCHOOL & WE'RE AT A PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCE!" &.& we just got her school pictures! somehow i'm going to get it up on here b/c it looks so stinkin' official...my baby is in school. & it's all good.

wes was with me but he was not nearly as dorky looking as me; he looked calm & mildly bored but happy to have a great reason to get out of work for an hour. but truly, how could he miss this? (can you feel the giddiness i exuded during this conference?!). anyway! addy's teacher was there, of course, mrs r. (ahem, that's not really her name, but i don't know if she'd appreciate her name being blog-casted) & then the physical therapist (or was she the occupational therapist?) who works with the class every other day. they had some interesting stories to share about dear adeline.

• she is a bit behind on gross motor skills, but comparing her newly 3 year old self to 4 or 5 year old boys isn't exactly equal...but in their gym times they are asked to run along the black line, around the gym. addy leads the 'slow' pack apparently, with 3 other kids. BUT & as mrs r said, this shows her intelligence (lol) she has learned how to deceive & cheat! once the group of faster runners are a bit ahead & only when the teachers aren't looking, adeline dashes across the gym *in front of* the other kids. which puts her in the lead! then they ask 'addy did you stay on the black line' & of course by that time she's back on the black line & she answers 'yep!' & keeps running. the best part? she now has followers. all the slower pack are now following her rebellious ways & cheating. when they were telling me about this, folks, i was nearly crying from laughter. i would pay to see this.
• quote: "addy gets a bit, uh, overly dramatic on the balance beam. {genuine smile} she is *not* shy."
• she does not have tantrums, angry outbursts, fits of throwing items, or back talking. they think she is very sweet & *whenever* they ask her to do something (other than run?) she will do it to her best ability.
• mrs r said that she loves addy so much, she wouldn't mind taking her home b/c she's so adorable & smart. (*sigh*, i know. but mrs r, addy does get angry, throw items & tantrums at home, so you may want to rethink that)
• they seem to get the impression that adeline needs to be a bit more independent. wes & i both looked very confused b/c so far addy has been the epitome of independent. so we asked a few questions, they gave examples. i thought to myself: grow a spine, she'll back down. for instance, when addy gets down to the class she just throws her coat, book bag, & teddy bear down on the floor. why? b/c she doesn't like to open her locker, leaving them to pick it all up & put it away. so wes & i were like, uh, just make her do it; tell her there's not an option. she'll do it. we explained that unless she's on clothing restrictions due to lack of cleanliness in her room, she picks out her clothes, dresses herself, cleans her own room, helps make her own lunch, etc etc. they had this look of 'we've been duped' & i think our look as 'yep, you were duped. but she's good at duping, so don't feel too bad'.

i must go to bed. but for those of you who are excited that i have a day off to myself tomorrow, know this: wes just found the toiletry bag for the girls in the car. the bag with amelia's antibiotics (for yes, another ear infection) & her twice daily reflux medication. & the cloth wipes to ensure amelia doesn't get a diaper rash. & addy's epi-pen. looks like the mama will be doing some migraine-inducing driving after all. (no, i didn't transfer bags; sorry to throw you under the bus wesley, but after 6 years, i think i can say i do it with love :o)