Success (well almost)

Three hours ago I was on track to having all the kids in bed by 8pm and was composing this post in my head. I felt like the day was a success and wanted to write about it since that doesn't often happen. Well the boys went to bed just fine but June's been having a hard time. That's been wearing me down, and I'm not feeling so successful anymore. But I shouldn't let that stop me from being grateful for the things that did go well today. So let's call it a *mostly* successful day.

First, thank you to Scott for letting me sleep in. He took over the morning duties and let me sleep until 9am! What a treat. Too bad for him he forgot Brenden didn't have school today (on account of "human rights day" since "martin luther king, jr. day" isn't pc anymore) and he could have slept in too. But thanks anyways.

At the outset, the day looked a little scary. Right now at work, we're in the too-many-meetings period of the software development cycle. I hate meetings. It is not what I do best. It's hard to really participate over the phone -- especially when I'm distracted and multitasking. Plus they always have to be during business hours, and that doesn't work well for me. So today we had a meeting scheduled from 10:30 to 1pm -- 2 1/2 hours -- and one that I was actually supposed to listen closely to and participate in. During that time, Brenden's home from school, and I'm supposed to get Oliver ready for and dropped off to school at noon, and Brenden ready for and dropped off to go snowboarding at noon. And of course juggle June.

So I told Oliver he could invite a friend over, thinking if the stars and moods aligned and everyone got along, it'd help keep him entertained so I could focus better. When I called the other mom to set it up, she did what you always hope they'll do but rarely actually do - she said "how about we have Oliver over here instead." Woohoo. Then Brenden went to a friends house so it was just June and me. I managed to put dinner in the crock pot, get June down for a nap and slipped in a shower during the first 10 minutes of small talk in the meeting. So that was good.

Brenden came home and I helped him get his snow clothes on. Scott and I made a conscious decision that if we're going to raise kids in Provo, at least they have to learn how to ski (or snowboard). So we signed Brenden up for the Wasatch Ski Club -- a group that takes the kids every other Friday on buses from school up to Sundance for the afternoon. Lessons and lift tickets are included and they have a good rental deal with BYU so it ends up being a pretty good package. Brenden got a ride with a friend and I took Oliver up to school. Then back home for some more quiet time. The meeting went smoothly and afterwards I managed to get the beds made (woohoo).

We picked Brenden up at 5:30pm and I was thrilled to see him come off the bus with a smile on his face. He said "that was so fun" and "i can't wait to do it again" which means it was a success! I was nervous about how 4 adults would handle 100 elementary school kids without losing any gloves or goggles but somehow they managed. They were divided by skill into groups of 4 for lessons and he said they never got cold or upset and he learned how to do an 'S' turn. Success! Then for the hour of free time at the end I'd packed him a lunch and expected he'd hang out in the lodge -- which his friend Chandler did. But Brenden found another friend and the two of them (both 2nd grader beginner snowboarders) decided to go up the lift ALONE and do one more run. And they did it! He was excited to report they got down in less than an hour and he was early to get on the bus! Success! I'm so proud of him for being a good sport and willing participant. I have no idea if he's technically learning anything or doing it right, but he's enjoying it which is the most important part.

Brenden with his friend Chandler after snowboarding & skiing

So then we went home and enjoyed our dinner. I have to call that another success since I'm not a great or often even willing cook but we really enjoyed our homemade chili tonight. (Thanks to many of you for the recipe suggestions. I went with a combination.)


To top it off, the final success of the evening was that June managed to defy the principles of gravity yet again and did not fall out of her high chair. Woohoo. (Annee notice June "embracing the leggings" as you suggested. I have to admit I think it's a great solution.)