When I looked at the calendar today and realized that it is already September 17th, I couldn't believe that I haven't yet sat down to write a blog this month! We have all been keeping busy, so we have lots of pictures to share. (Because there are so many pictures, I am going to post them in a few separate posts.)
Life for me has been busy since we got back to Ann Arbor. I am still working as the director of the Ross Partners Club, the group for spouses and significant others of business students. We finally had our first official Ross Partners meeting last week, so that is a huge weight lifted. Between making up the agenda, creating a PowerPoint presentation for the meeting, and ordering food, all while continuously answering emails with questions about jobs or the club or stuff in Ann Arbor, I am just spent! I was thankful that we had a really great turn-out to the meeting, so at least all of my efforts weren't for naught! I have enjoyed my time as director, but it will be nice to have some more free time come December!
Steve is getting back into the groove of things at school. His classes don't seem too bad this term, which is good. He has been keeping busy outside of class doing work with the Marketing Club and as the school's ambassador program.
Brandon and Evan... what can I say? They are keeping us busy. They are great kiddos, but man, I am already ready for them to be three! :) Brandon has had a really short temper recently, which keeps me on my toes because his tantrums tend to involve him whipping objects nearby through the air ( i.e. the remote control, his stuffed animals, toys, etc.). Evan, on the other hand, has developed a gorgeous high-pitched scream whenever something goes on he doesn't like. Of course, these are the bad things occupying my mind right now. The kids really are great, and I am seeing new and exciting things in them every day. Two weeks, they started doing all of the signs with me for some songs like "Wheels on the Bus" and "Itsy Bitsy Spider," which they weren't willing to do before. When we are at the park, they love to sit in the swings and get me to sing songs to them. :) They are learning more and more language, which is really interesting. Both of the boys really get a kick out of telling me things I can actually understand; they get big smiles on their faces when I make a correct response. :)
Brandon and Evan are beginning school, too! Two weeks ago, they went with me (and without any other students) for an hour to play in their classroom and meet their teachers as the first step in their school transition. Last week, Evan and Brandon went for only about half of the time and only with six of the twelve kids. The teachers are really great and seem to love working with this age group (thank goodness!). They are all really well qualified, and I am excited to have three teachers and a university psychology student in the classroom (who also seems phenomenal!) to keep the ratio at 3:1. Brandon had a some trouble with me leaving this past week because he is in the middle of a separation anxiety phase, but I know he will get past it soon. The days get a little longer next week, and they will be at school with all of the kids. Evan and Brandon then finally go to school with all twelve kids for the full 8:45-11:30am during the last week in September.
Believe it or not, we have even more stuff keeping us busy here. Andrea came up to Ann Arbor a week ago, which was nice. She took MegaBus in from Chicago on Friday night and headed back Sunday night. It was great to have her here, and the boys were excited to get to play with their aunt. While Andrea was here, we went to a petting zoo in the morning on Saturday and then to the Michigan football game in the afternoon, after which we needed to go out for some beers to drown our sorrows. Sunday, she and I took Evan and Brandon to Jungle Java, one of the indoor play areas in Ann Arbor, and we went climbing with the fellas up and down ladders and slides and through tunnels in a giant indoor fun land, which was pretty entertaining.
Speaking of Michigan football, what can I say? They are not very good. Up until this week, things were really looking bleak. We witnessed the debacle in person on during the second game versus Oregon, and it was pretty sad. I think my favorite family-friendly quote from the game was "SOMEBODY TACKLE SOMEONE!!!!" Thank goodness, this week's game was much, much better! After getting walloped by Appalachian State and Oregon, it felt GREAT to get such a fantastic victory against Notre Dame. A huge thanks to Aunt Joyce and Uncle Jerry for coming out to spend the entire day with Brandon and Evan so Steve and I could enjoy tailgating and the whole game!
Steve is getting back into the groove of things at school. His classes don't seem too bad this term, which is good. He has been keeping busy outside of class doing work with the Marketing Club and as the school's ambassador program.
Brandon and Evan... what can I say? They are keeping us busy. They are great kiddos, but man, I am already ready for them to be three! :) Brandon has had a really short temper recently, which keeps me on my toes because his tantrums tend to involve him whipping objects nearby through the air ( i.e. the remote control, his stuffed animals, toys, etc.). Evan, on the other hand, has developed a gorgeous high-pitched scream whenever something goes on he doesn't like. Of course, these are the bad things occupying my mind right now. The kids really are great, and I am seeing new and exciting things in them every day. Two weeks, they started doing all of the signs with me for some songs like "Wheels on the Bus" and "Itsy Bitsy Spider," which they weren't willing to do before. When we are at the park, they love to sit in the swings and get me to sing songs to them. :) They are learning more and more language, which is really interesting. Both of the boys really get a kick out of telling me things I can actually understand; they get big smiles on their faces when I make a correct response. :)
Brandon and Evan are beginning school, too! Two weeks ago, they went with me (and without any other students) for an hour to play in their classroom and meet their teachers as the first step in their school transition. Last week, Evan and Brandon went for only about half of the time and only with six of the twelve kids. The teachers are really great and seem to love working with this age group (thank goodness!). They are all really well qualified, and I am excited to have three teachers and a university psychology student in the classroom (who also seems phenomenal!) to keep the ratio at 3:1. Brandon had a some trouble with me leaving this past week because he is in the middle of a separation anxiety phase, but I know he will get past it soon. The days get a little longer next week, and they will be at school with all of the kids. Evan and Brandon then finally go to school with all twelve kids for the full 8:45-11:30am during the last week in September.
Believe it or not, we have even more stuff keeping us busy here. Andrea came up to Ann Arbor a week ago, which was nice. She took MegaBus in from Chicago on Friday night and headed back Sunday night. It was great to have her here, and the boys were excited to get to play with their aunt. While Andrea was here, we went to a petting zoo in the morning on Saturday and then to the Michigan football game in the afternoon, after which we needed to go out for some beers to drown our sorrows. Sunday, she and I took Evan and Brandon to Jungle Java, one of the indoor play areas in Ann Arbor, and we went climbing with the fellas up and down ladders and slides and through tunnels in a giant indoor fun land, which was pretty entertaining.
Speaking of Michigan football, what can I say? They are not very good. Up until this week, things were really looking bleak. We witnessed the debacle in person on during the second game versus Oregon, and it was pretty sad. I think my favorite family-friendly quote from the game was "SOMEBODY TACKLE SOMEONE!!!!" Thank goodness, this week's game was much, much better! After getting walloped by Appalachian State and Oregon, it felt GREAT to get such a fantastic victory against Notre Dame. A huge thanks to Aunt Joyce and Uncle Jerry for coming out to spend the entire day with Brandon and Evan so Steve and I could enjoy tailgating and the whole game!
Outside of football, Steve and I are working to try to get out and enjoy more of the "student lifestyle" this year while we still have it. I posted a notice on Craig's List looking for a babysitter. I often do a babysitting swap with other MBA parents (where we just switch off babysitting for each other rather than paying a babysitter), and I love that set-up, but I need to have back-ups for when we want to go out and I can't swap. I interviewed three people, and they all seemed great. I think that I scared off the second person, though, because she came at an awful time and the boys screamed the entire time. Oh well! I do have a babysitting swap set up with my new neighbor, Meghan. She and I are switching probably every week so that we get to go out every other weekend, and we are also swapping Thursday evenings so we can go to the b-school happy hours. The business students' association puts the happy hours on every Thursday from 4-6pm, with free beer until the tab runs dry, which is nice. Being that we are already paid members of UMBSA for football tailgates, we get to go for free, so we want to actually take advantage of that.
Our little family has had some great times together this weekend, too! On Friday, we went to our first music class together. During the class, the kids get experience singing and playing with lots of different instruments, including bells and maracas. Today, we went apple picking at Erwin's Orchard in South Lyon with the MBA Kids group. It was so much fun! The weather was perfect (sunny and 60 degrees), and we had great company. Before heading out to the picking areas, we were able to have some doughnuts and cider, one of my favorite parts of the apple picking experience. Out by the trees, we picked Northern Spy, Gala, and Idared apples. The boys had a fantastic time! Now, we will have to come up with a lot of apple recipes!
I have a few good stories of the boys to share this week. All of these stories just make the boys more endearing to me. In fact, as I am sure all of the other parents out there can attest, each day I find myself laughing and smiling with Brandon and Evan (and occassionally at them) in situations that amazingly make me love them even more!
One of the boys' favorite snacks is Goldfish crackers. Of course, what kids DON'T love Goldfish?! When the boys want to eat Goldfish, they try to tell me that they want fish. "Fish" is a tough word to say (both the "f" and the "sh"), and neither Brandon nor Evan can say the whole word "fish." Instead, Evan just says "fffff." As if to make a complete whole, Brandon says "ish." It is the cutest thing to see them asking for Goldfish: "Fffff!" "Ish!" "Fffff!" "Ish!" Along the same Goldfish line, the other night I was cooking salmon for dinner. I told the boys that we were eating fish, which was a big mistake. They were pretty upset when I didn't open the pantry door and start pouring Goldfish. (Luckily, they love salmon, so we were able to save the dinner.)
One of the coolest stories from this week happened over at my friend Megan's house. The boys spent some time playing over at Megan's while I was finishing things up here for my Ross Partners meeting, and I went to pick them up before dinner. When I walked in, totally unprompted, Brandon pointed at her baby, Willa, and said, "Willa." Megan and I just looked at each other and said, "Did he really just say that?" He then pointed to her other daughter, Chloe, and said, "Chloe." I pointed to Megan's son, Emmett, and asked, "and who is that?" to which Brandon quickly replied, "Chloe." :) Megan and I laughed that it was a deliberate mistake because Emmett always calls both of my boys Evan.
Overall, life is really good. Thanks for always thinking of us! We hope to see you all soon! Go Blue! :)
Overall, life is really good. Thanks for always thinking of us! We hope to see you all soon! Go Blue! :)
No comments:
Post a Comment