Disclaimer: I am not a creative person. People may think I am, but really, I'm just good at borrowing ideas.
Ahhh... Valentine's Day. Mauri has been stressing about her box for over a week. She had all kinds of ideas, all of which involved dogs in some way, shape, or form. I kept putting her off. I asked Shilo to help her. Nothing got done. I knew as the weekend approached, we had to git 'er done.
On Friday, the Kindie kids were decorating their boxes. After calming fears that Valentine's Day was nottoday ("I still need to make my Valentines!!"), I spotted an extra-fancy box on the teacher's desk. The Kindies were supposed to just bring a plain, wrapped box to class, and the embellishing would be done at school. Some crazy parent, out to out-do (can you imagine?), just wasn't going to stand for her Kindie actually
creating/designing/decorating
his own box. Not when she had visions of grandeur.
So while the other kids embellished and bedazzled, this particular boy made a card (probably to thank his mom for her hard work on his Valentine box). The box had it's desired effect. I fell in love with it, and quickly thought of how we (Mar and I, of course) could tweak it to fulfill her doggie-Valentine-box dreams.
Evolution pictures:
Personally, I think it's the cutest Valentine box ever. And we just used stuff we could find at home. The body is an Oatmeal box, the head is a Costco-sized Ziploc box. The ears are from burlap left over from a Christmas-tree-ornament project years ago. The tongue - felt intended for a rag-quilt baby blanket that never happened.
I think Mar is happy with her finished project. I know I am.
Other Valentine's Day prep included:
Bill made chocolate chip cookies for his Home Teaching families all by himself. I'm so impressed.
We created, printed, and cut out Mar's Valentines. I think the glow bracelets will be a hit.
And I made Valentines for the Kindies. Initially I was going to put glow bracelets on them as well, but decided that I didn't want to risk a child thinking it was something to eat, so I hunted high and low for Pixie Stix. They were not easy to find, but King Sooper's did NOT disappoint.
Now for my family... Hmmmm... I'm still thinking. Any ideas?
for a children's artwork contest sponsored by Bill's employer. The topic:
If I could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would I go?
Mauri was excited to learn that there were cash prizes involved, so, even though it was 9:30 at night and due the next day, she was up for the challenge.
I thought my teacher (on the right) was beautiful. And young. And she was obviously a snappy dresser. I liked how her name rhymed with murder.
I learned to tie my shoes. I actually learned how to tie a fuzzy pony holder (like the ones the girl is wearing in the center of the picture) in a bow around an empty spice jar. I thought it was the prettiest little bottle ever. Tying eventually transferred over to my shoes, though.
I was punished once for scribbling on what I believed was someone else's {UGLY} picture. It was the only time I had to miss snack time the entire year. Usually there were at least two kids missing snack, but that day, I was the only one. I hid in the tiny little playhouse in the center of the room and pretended to read a book, like I didn't care. But I did. I cared mostly because I had disappointed my beloved teacher, who, up to that day, I thought adored me.
Once we made a big class salad. Yessiree bob, we were some lucky kids. One mom brought a whole bucketload of mushrooms. I remember her washing them, slicing them, then tossing them in the salad. I don't think I had ever tried a raw mushroom prior to that, and was very sad to discover that I hated them. Passionately. No salad for me, please. (You'll be happy to know that I like mushrooms now.)
We took a field trip to the YMCA. To swim. A class of Kindergarteners. I know, what were those administrative people thinking? I remember because it was the first time I saw a grown-up without clothes (the student teacher in the locker room). Naked. Like she thought we were too young to notice. It obviously was disturbing to me (along with the ensuing comments made by a fellow student), since it's one of the few Kindergarten memories bouncing around the synapses (is that what they're called?) in my brain.
I had an extreme fear of dogs. One day, as a neighbor girl and I were walking home from school, a big, black dog showed up out of nowhere. We were at the corner of our street, and decided to try and outrun it. We bolted. The dog followed. Gina disappeared down the street, and the dog chased after me. I tripped. The dog was on top of me (or so I thought -- biting, eating, enjoying me for lunch). The details are sketchy on how I eventually made it home, but I will never forget that when I finally arrived to my front door, it was locked. It was NEVER locked. Major panic set in as I sandwiched myself between the screen door and the door, trying to make myself thin enough to latch the screen door shut. I'm sure within moments (time always seems longer to kids, you know), the door opened and my mom appeared. To this day I still have some apprehension around strange dogs, especially if they are big, and extra-especially if they are black.
Tomorrow it's back to today. Or tomorrow. You know what I mean.
Today, I will continue to fondly recall the days when my biggest worries were canines, edible fungus, swimming pool locker rooms, and ugly artwork. And I can sleep easier knowing that my Kindergarten memories are no longer folklore, they are actual, documented recollectionsfrom the source.
Since my good-high-school-friend-and-blog-commenter asked (and since my commenters are few, I am loyal to no end to them), I had to post the group pics.
Memory Lane delivered from my computer to yours, Leslie.
The 2-hour school delay today got me off to a good start, but then I started perusing old photos, and just couldn't stop. I tried to go to work. I really did. My car is stuck down by the mailbox to prove it. I just couldn't quite make it there. So I came back home and perused more old photos. Instead of sorting laundry and doing the dishes. And now I just have to share a few I found, since we were speaking of Sadie's, right?
I found this little gem:
This happened to be my first Sadie Hawkins dance AND first date. I had just turned 16, and was thrilled to join the dating scene. Too bad the guy I asked turned out to be a {JERK}. Not worth the Marie Callender's dinner I splurged on. I worked hard for that money, you know, and at $2.85 an hour (at Hardee's, no less), I had to work a dang lot. He split during the dance, and I don't even think we went home together. The whole experience left a bad taste in my mouth.
Around the same time, Bill went to a Sadie's too.
They ate at Godfather's Pizza before the dance, had banana splits after, and Bill got home at 3 am. (How did his parents ever allow THAT?) How do I know? Because Billy was a record keeper back then. He detailed all kinds of fun informational tidbits almost daily in his journal. His 1984 Sadie's date now lives in our Stake here in Colorado (we actually used to be in the same ward years ago, before a split).
It's a small world, after all.
I didn't attend Sadie's my junior year... I still had that bad taste in my mouth.
But I got over it, and attended THREE girl's choice dances my senior year.
A Halloween dance at a neighboring school. I think my date {overdid} the special effects, don't you?
A Christmas dance at the Utah State Capitol. My date was a tad younger than me... a sophomore. My girls used to think that was {odd}, until one of them (NAMELESS) started liking a boy several years younger than herself.
And my final Sadie's: Under the Sea. My mom made our shirts... how nice was that?
And my date? Like a swig of Scope. The bad taste was gone.
(Ignore the water damage on the picture... it's been through a rubber cement/construction paper scrapbook, a flooded basement, and years in between wax paper in a file box.)
So when I talk about back in the day, I know what I'm talking about.
Shilo's meet came and went. I lost my voice yelling the team on (there's even more yell satisfaction in an echo-y area like an indoor pool, and, according to Shilo, the swimmers actually hear very little of it, so the embarrassment factor is decreased), but in the end, the State qualifying time was still illusive.
Rats.
There's always next year.
But Shilo got a picture with Missy, so life is good.
(Seriously, watch for Missy at the Olympics.)
And while we were at the meet, Lexee headed off to the Sadie Hawkins dance.
Not like in my day, where you would take a date. About half do, half don't, according to Lex.
The girls were excited that they were allowed "casual" dress, which meant tennis shoes were permitted (why do I still call them that -- oh yeah, I'm old. But I no longer call flip-flops thongs, so no worries).
If they would just allow jeans, the girls would be so much more covered up. However, we concluded in our discussion of "dress code," that would probably lead to even more disgusting dancing behavior. Let me just say, I'm not a fan. Of uber-short (don't bend over or your thong might show) and/or strapless (pull it up before you pop out) dresses OR of what kids today consider "dancing." I would elaborate more, but this is a family blog.
Church on Sunday. That always feels good.
Post post: In my efforts to blog efficiently this morning, I neglected to mention that Shilo's 200m relay team, although not receiving a state-qualifying time, placed 6th out of 12 schools. They got the final heat fanfare, a podium picture, and a ribbon.
Shilo did great, improving her times, and qualifying for finals in every event she swam. The illusive state qualifying time still... illusive. Her relay team improved their time by .02 seconds, but need another 2-second improvement to reach their goal. They get one more chance today, and Shilo, on the cusp of qualifying for finals in butterfly and back, almost wishes she didn't, so she could just focus on swimming the relays.
But she took 4 seconds off her butterfly time, and over a second off her back.
You can't shake a stick at that.
(Shi is in lane 1. Her time didn't show up on the board, but was 1:10:00)
Shilo really hasn't been swimming that long, in the whole scope of things. She swam a few seasons on a summer league. We've fondly recalled her first swim team experience. She was 8/9 years old, and couldn't (could NOT) swim. A friend recommended a swim team over lessons, guaranteeing that by the end of the season, Shi would be able swim across the pool. Those summer mornings as I sat and watched her struggle at practices, swimming with the 6-and-unders, taking a couple strokes, then grabbing on to the edge of the pool, I suffered. The kind of suffering only a mom can do. Wanting to rescue your child from the difficulty, stress, and embarrassment (and guarding her life, since drowning was a possibility, especially in the 12ft end of the pool), yet knowing that IF she was going to learn, she had to go through it.
The first few weeks of that season, she begged every morning not to go.
The first swim meet loomed. She stressed. I stressed. She had to swim in her age bracket (she practiced with the younger group), and hoped to be able to make it across the pool without grabbing a lane rope. Just thinking about it brings back that anxiety for me. But she did it. Her confidence grew, and she had a very successful season -- she learned how to swim.
Shilo received the BIG trophy that year. The one for Most Improved Swimmer.
Shilo was pretty much a summer leaguer, and we were hit and miss, not letting meets or practices interfere with our family's vacations or plans. We even skipped a year. It was low stress (after that first season), good exercise, and a great way to fill up some of those lazy summer hours.
After the 09 summer season, Shilo mentioned that she was interested in swimming on the high school team. In order for her to be somewhat competitive, we decided that she should join a club team. She could try it for a year, then make a decision on whether to continue or not. But if she signed up, she had to commit to the year. It wasn't easy (remember this?), but she made it through, which led to a very successful summer season, even with an injury (refresher here, here, and here). So she signed up for another year on the club team. Technically, then, Shilo's only been swimming 1-1/2 years on a year-round team, and she's competing against many girls who have lived in the pool for the better part of their lives. (Maybe that's a bit exaggerated... but they've been swimming club teams for YEARS.)
I have to be impressed with her.
So a little later today, after Bill's early morning church meeting, some house-cleaning, possible Christmas light retrieval, a haircut (Bill STILL needs one), and hopefully a nap, we will be back at the pool, to breathe in the atmosphere of the A League finals (an honor, I've told Shilo), along with the steamy, chlorinated air.
