Here is Aliya speaking to the parents of the incoming kindergarten parents when she was just finishing kindergarten:
And here she is speaking to the visitors on the kindergarten tour as she finishes 5th grade:
¿Cómo se dice “rock star” en español? Una estralla de rock? 😀
It really bugs me when people go around cheerily exclaiming “TGIF!” Really, you’re THAT happy that it’s Friday? My mantra on Fridays is OFIF – “Oh f*ck, it’s Friday.” Next time I hear, “TGIF!”, I think I’ll respond with a cheery “OFIF!” of my own.
I used to love Fridays. I may have even said TGIF myself a few times back in the day. There are probably people out there who still hate me for it. In my late teens, Fridays meant cruising Main Street, going parking, and getting some 18YO seniors to buy us Boone’s Farm (sorry Mom). In my 20’s, Friday nights were for going out in search of fun and romance. Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays were for the same purpose, but on Fridays we knew we could sleep until 2 pm the next day (remember those days, Sherry?). In my 30’s, Fridays meant that I had a couple of days to catch up, with no new emails or to-do list items being added to the pile. I could start Monday fresh as a daisy. I think the last time I was fresh as a daisy was in early 2001.
Up until sometime last year, Friday night was “my night.” After a long hard week (meaning, every week), Ben would and the kids would pile into our king-sized bed to watch a movie, and end up falling asleep. I would clean up the house, drink wine alone on the couch, and sleep in the guest room. Ahhh…the good old days.
So how did I get from TGIF to OFIF? Well, I’ve lost my taste for Boone’s Farm, if I get caught cruising Main Street in my company ride after a few wine coolers I could end up car-less, searching for fun and romance has lost its luster now that I’m old and married, and nobody can agree on a movie so the movie night tradition has been abandoned. It would take so long to clean the house that I would pass out before I got the wine uncorked, and to top it all off, there’s one thing that I HATE the most about Fridays…finding the f-ing soccer uniforms.
Some of you are reading this and thinking, “What’s so hard about finding soccer uniforms?” I hate you. Ok – I don’t hate you…just your ability to keep your house and your family’s belongings clean and organized. I try, I swear – I try so hard. But the soccer uniforms consist of 6 socks, 6 shin guards (some of those f*ckers are two pieces!), 6 cleats, 3 pairs of shorts, 3 shirts, 3 water bottles, and a ball. 28 pieces! We also need 2 chairs, a blanket, snacks, jackets, coffee, sunscreen, bug spray, and sometimes umbrellas. And – directions to Aliya’s away games. And – sometimes the oranges for the team half-time snack. And my camera, with a charged battery and an empty SD card.
Then there’s the little problem of scheduling. We now have 3 kids in 3 different age groups for the first time. Tomorrow, Norah has practice and a game from 9-10:30. Aliya and Adlani both have games at 10:30 and need to be at two different fields by 10:10. Thank God we finagled Norah’s way onto a team with several friends who can help us out. We have game conflicts every single week.
Tonight we spent at least 40 minutes looking for the 28 pieces, and we are still missing a pair of socks. It would be one thing if I wasn’t a planner, but I am. Last week I sent Ben to the sports store with a written list – a #3 ball for Norah (he came home with a #4 and a #5), 2 pairs of cleats (Norah didn’t have any and Aliya’s were so disgustingly smelly that the skunk moved out from under our porch), and AN EXTRA PAIR OF NAVY BLUE (VERY DARK BLUE) SOCKS FOR EACH KID. Ben got an extra pair for Aliya only – the kid least likely to lose her friggin socks. He is to blame for my despair. OFIF!
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In other news, Norah started kindergarten this week and LOVES it. Her biggest concern on Day 1 was that Ben didn’t know how to get to the school or would forget to pick her up.
And to make my life complete, Adlani said to me this morning, “Mom, how come you never have any time for us?” HUH? EXCUSE ME?! Adlani: “Why does Dad always pick us up from the bus?” Me (in my mind only): “Well Adlani, that’s because I live through the Morning Hell, and Daddy tries to survive the Afternoon Hell. If one of us tried to manage both, we’d surely burst a blood vessel and expire.” And for you – yeah you right there – the one who’s judging me right now – I hate you. No seriously, I really do.
Tomorrow is the first day of school and coincidentally the end of Ramadan, so Ben and I are happy for two completely different reasons. I am so looking forward to getting back into a routine, and Ben is looking forward to eating and drinking. The only problem is that the kids usually stay home from school on L’Eid, and there’s now way Aliya’s going to stay home on the first day of school. Adlani jumped at the chance, but I’m assuming that they repeat the first-day instructions for second graders.
The kids all got new hair-dos for back to school, thanks to our neighbor Gina who cuts their hair at her house and simultaneously allows whoever’s not in the chair to work out in her home gym. Not my idea of a good time but she tolerates it well.
Aliya had enough hair to donate it to Locks of Love, so she was excited about that. Here they are, before and after:
If you’re trying to follow along chronologically, forget it. The Preschool Fun Day took place a month ago, but I want to post it here so when the kids are grown up they can’t say I never did anything for them.
The annual preschool field trip to the zoo had gone up so much in price that it wasn’t feasible this year, plus by the time we got the kids to the zoo last year we didn’t have much time to look around before they had to get back on the bus. So the PTO decided to plan a carnival-themed “Fun Day.” It was FABULOUS!!! So much better than the zoo. I took hundreds of photos for the teachers to share with the parents, and some of the best ones were published in the Patch – an online newspaper, along with a little write-up I did to start up my news reporter career.
Friday, June 10th was proclaimed, “The Best Day Ever!” by the students and staff of the BLOCKS Preschool.
Sponsored by the BLOCKS PTO, the carnival-themed event featured a giant slide, bouncy house, snow cones and popcorn by Busy Bee Jumpers, pony rides and a petting zoo by Enchanted Animal Parties, a sampling of the Framingham Department of Public Works’ most exciting trucks and equipment, Engine 7 from the Framingham Fire Department, a ride on Bus #3 from the Framingham Public Schools, and other activities such as gardening, face painting, tattoos, an obstacle course, a bean bag toss and a hoop shoot.
Forty indispensable students from Walsh Middle School spent the day helping with all of the activities and earned community service credit.
It was a wonderful day the children will never forget, and the PTO would like to extend their gratitude to all who donated their time to this amazing event!
I think I went over the limit because these wouldn’t post with the others.
