Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Monday, August 27, 2012
It finally came: Kindergarten
Well in 2007, 2012 and kindergarten sure seemed so far away. In fact I remember thinking there's so much time till she starts school, I had no idea which year she actually would start. It wasn't in my mindset. Our little girl was way far off.
Ta-da! Behold the witness of how life gets away from you quickly:
August 27, 2012. Who knew? First day of kindergarten. Her teacher is Mrs Fossum, who seems super great in the 45-second time span and 3.5 sentences I've exchanged with her. She has a nice classroom and is the wife of an astronaut at NASA. I would have posted a picture here of her except I didn't want to interrupt the madness of the first day of school she was working! Maybe tomorrow.
Anna had been protesting just a little lately about kindergarten, saying she was too shy. Even as we walked up to the building. Fortunately We had O and M with us and they told Anna some of the fun things about kindergarten, which I think helped...
"But I don't want to go to kindergarten..."
"Anna, just smile for the picture, baby!"
The years of Gloia Dei made this so much easier. For example I knew those blue shoes wouldn't work out for long, so I brought her tennis in her backpack. As we walked into the building she wanted to change because they were too big! Noted and done. Although I do have to say I felt a twinge of panic as the time was clicking down to the tardy bell. That was different!
Also different, her name:
I'm used to seeing her full first name, Anna-Marie (not just Anna). On some level, yes we saw that coming when we chose the name, but on another level I'm like, "really?" And then I wonder if it's something like I answered some question on the forms, like maybe: "Does your child go by another name?" and did I put "Anna?" I don't know! Ack! I think I'm ok with it, whatever. I was reviewing some of Anna's registration forms for accuracy today, and not only is her first name an apparent challenge (we saw coming), but the inevitable complexity of her middle name, which is that of my own, finally popped up after 5 years of correctness at Gloria Dei. Based on my own experience with the name we also knew what we were getting into. Her middle name (and mine) is Melaine. Like all other legal forms, including my drivers license, it's been transposed to Melanie my whole life. And herein it was caught (AND SHALL BE CORRECTED) on Anna's forms.
Congratulations, baby, you're officially on the public school system grid (in some fashion) and your mother's child. Also they listed her city of birth Houston (it's Webster, as on the birth certificate I had to submit). Oh good grief, our tax dollars at work.
Ok those are nits I can't help but point out for the record! But her school and her classroom is really neat and I know she enjoyed her fist day. Well, as far as we can tell, she enjoyed a soft taco for lunch, had PE, and made a new friend whose name she doesn't know, so it seems to be a success.
Her teacher gave her a wooden puzzle to work on (the likes of which I thought...er...for real? It's a sailboat) and Anna jumped right into it without so much as telling us bye! Paul and I hovered from the door but she was so busy with the puzzle she hadn't even noticed us there. So we left. No drama, no tears. Just a new day at a new school!
Mrs F has her back turned in this pic.
And that about wraps up her day! C picked up the kids and Anna got to hang out at their house for a few hours till I came home to get her.
And also school started for me tonight! Human Phys undergraduate teaching at UHCL.
Here comes fall!
Ta-da! Behold the witness of how life gets away from you quickly:
August 27, 2012. Who knew? First day of kindergarten. Her teacher is Mrs Fossum, who seems super great in the 45-second time span and 3.5 sentences I've exchanged with her. She has a nice classroom and is the wife of an astronaut at NASA. I would have posted a picture here of her except I didn't want to interrupt the madness of the first day of school she was working! Maybe tomorrow.
Anna had been protesting just a little lately about kindergarten, saying she was too shy. Even as we walked up to the building. Fortunately We had O and M with us and they told Anna some of the fun things about kindergarten, which I think helped...
"But I don't want to go to kindergarten..."
"Anna, just smile for the picture, baby!"
The years of Gloia Dei made this so much easier. For example I knew those blue shoes wouldn't work out for long, so I brought her tennis in her backpack. As we walked into the building she wanted to change because they were too big! Noted and done. Although I do have to say I felt a twinge of panic as the time was clicking down to the tardy bell. That was different!
Also different, her name:
I'm used to seeing her full first name, Anna-Marie (not just Anna). On some level, yes we saw that coming when we chose the name, but on another level I'm like, "really?" And then I wonder if it's something like I answered some question on the forms, like maybe: "Does your child go by another name?" and did I put "Anna?" I don't know! Ack! I think I'm ok with it, whatever. I was reviewing some of Anna's registration forms for accuracy today, and not only is her first name an apparent challenge (we saw coming), but the inevitable complexity of her middle name, which is that of my own, finally popped up after 5 years of correctness at Gloria Dei. Based on my own experience with the name we also knew what we were getting into. Her middle name (and mine) is Melaine. Like all other legal forms, including my drivers license, it's been transposed to Melanie my whole life. And herein it was caught (AND SHALL BE CORRECTED) on Anna's forms.
Congratulations, baby, you're officially on the public school system grid (in some fashion) and your mother's child. Also they listed her city of birth Houston (it's Webster, as on the birth certificate I had to submit). Oh good grief, our tax dollars at work.
Ok those are nits I can't help but point out for the record! But her school and her classroom is really neat and I know she enjoyed her fist day. Well, as far as we can tell, she enjoyed a soft taco for lunch, had PE, and made a new friend whose name she doesn't know, so it seems to be a success.
Her teacher gave her a wooden puzzle to work on (the likes of which I thought...er...for real? It's a sailboat) and Anna jumped right into it without so much as telling us bye! Paul and I hovered from the door but she was so busy with the puzzle she hadn't even noticed us there. So we left. No drama, no tears. Just a new day at a new school!
Mrs F has her back turned in this pic.
And that about wraps up her day! C picked up the kids and Anna got to hang out at their house for a few hours till I came home to get her.
And also school started for me tonight! Human Phys undergraduate teaching at UHCL.
Here comes fall!
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Well it's not Colorado...
Though I think Colorado could have used our economic contributions (wildfires) more than ever this year, we made the painfully-grown-up decision to stick to budget and stay local. We had a Disney World trip coming up in September, and two back-to-back trips of that magnitude (Colorado is as costly just for the sheer gas prices) is a bit much on the finances.
So we decided to go local: New Braunfels. Schlitterbahn, the Natural Bridge Wildlife park, and the Caverns. Anna was (surprisingly) bummed about not doing Colorado but all was forgiven when I told her we'd be staying in a hotel. The child LOVES to stay in hotels. As she puts it, she loves the smell, the look, the bathrooms, the beds, the elevators, restaurant, the lobby, etc. Hilarious! She's a regular traveler!!
We stayed at he Courtyard Marriott and it was right on the river, with trees and grass and a great swimming pool. We were upgraded to a room with a balcony, which made for nice evenings! Anna and Paul spent good pool time in between tourist stuff...
I had reserved a King bed room out of habit (and ok snuggle opportunity) but Anna asked for her own stinking bed so we got two queens! Little booger! She's growing up and I guess I'm still stuck in old habit.
The wildlife park was neat but the zebras were hiding from us (bummer!). The others pretty much came up to the car to get fed (you can buy a bag of feed) and that was neat to see up close.
Schlitterbahn was easier than I thought it would be...for such a great theme park, there's not the logistical overhead of a large one. Parked right near the entrance with no parking fee. You can bring your own ice chests and pick a picnic table once you're in for the day to spread out your stuff. Lots of rides but not a crazy amount of walking to have to get from one to the other. Lots of options for the little ones and grown ups. Anna struggled with the whole tubing concept in the beginning but we basically pushed her into it and she took off with it. By the second day she was telling me to let go of her tube as we would head down little waterfalls and rapids!! The rides were awesome but I can say I wasn't 100% in enjoyment mode, as I was constantly worried about losing Anna or her flipping over or whatever else!!! We talked about what to do if we ever got separated on a ride but that thought freaked me right the Hell out so I was mostly consumed with those logistics with a smile on my face! The rides were awesome but I was always a bit relieved when they were done.
At one point we were headed for a 25ft waterfall on the Congo ride,unbeknownst to us until lwe saw it dead ahead :) Anna sees it, "Mama I want to get out of that door right there!" (Fake door for effects). "Too late, baby! Just hold on tight and I'll catch you at the bottom!!" Me first, then Anna, then Paul. Her first words at he bottom: THAT WAS FUN!!! The same words she's used on every roller coaster since she was 2!
She was pretty tough and confident the rest of the time. We also rode one of those uphill water rides, the kind that pushes you uphill with strong jets of water. Funny how no one mentions it's quite the butt spanking and you're at risk of losing your shorts in the process!!! For real, I don't think I really needed that spanking!! Where do you think that big jet of water pushes?! Ack!!!
Anyway Schlitterbahn really figured it all out. Even their amusement park food and gifts were reasonably priced. Nice place and we are talking about season passes for next year because even those pay for themselves after just 2 visits.
Wish we had photos but Paul's iPhone Life-case FAILED and leaked, and almost ruined his phone.
And the caverns were awesome! Not sure ever why my iPhone always takes yellow photos when I use my flash, but...
And they had a little kids rope course and adult rope course/zip line. Anna tried out the kids one and was frustrated she was too short for the "high" one.
And finally, they had panning for gems (her love of rocks still strong!)
Not a bad little vacation just a few hours from home! We spent some
Time on the drive home teaching her how to blow bubbles with her gum....she's desperately serious about that.
Now school starts Monday, and tomorrow morning we finally meet her teacher. Kindergarten!
She also has a super loose tooth. Not sure when that baby's coming out but she is having fun with it. Figuring out new ways to eat and all :)
It was her first tooth in, soon to be her first tooth out. Seems like that JUST CAME IN!!!
Happy end of summer, all!
So we decided to go local: New Braunfels. Schlitterbahn, the Natural Bridge Wildlife park, and the Caverns. Anna was (surprisingly) bummed about not doing Colorado but all was forgiven when I told her we'd be staying in a hotel. The child LOVES to stay in hotels. As she puts it, she loves the smell, the look, the bathrooms, the beds, the elevators, restaurant, the lobby, etc. Hilarious! She's a regular traveler!!
We stayed at he Courtyard Marriott and it was right on the river, with trees and grass and a great swimming pool. We were upgraded to a room with a balcony, which made for nice evenings! Anna and Paul spent good pool time in between tourist stuff...
I had reserved a King bed room out of habit (and ok snuggle opportunity) but Anna asked for her own stinking bed so we got two queens! Little booger! She's growing up and I guess I'm still stuck in old habit.
The wildlife park was neat but the zebras were hiding from us (bummer!). The others pretty much came up to the car to get fed (you can buy a bag of feed) and that was neat to see up close.
Schlitterbahn was easier than I thought it would be...for such a great theme park, there's not the logistical overhead of a large one. Parked right near the entrance with no parking fee. You can bring your own ice chests and pick a picnic table once you're in for the day to spread out your stuff. Lots of rides but not a crazy amount of walking to have to get from one to the other. Lots of options for the little ones and grown ups. Anna struggled with the whole tubing concept in the beginning but we basically pushed her into it and she took off with it. By the second day she was telling me to let go of her tube as we would head down little waterfalls and rapids!! The rides were awesome but I can say I wasn't 100% in enjoyment mode, as I was constantly worried about losing Anna or her flipping over or whatever else!!! We talked about what to do if we ever got separated on a ride but that thought freaked me right the Hell out so I was mostly consumed with those logistics with a smile on my face! The rides were awesome but I was always a bit relieved when they were done.
At one point we were headed for a 25ft waterfall on the Congo ride,unbeknownst to us until lwe saw it dead ahead :) Anna sees it, "Mama I want to get out of that door right there!" (Fake door for effects). "Too late, baby! Just hold on tight and I'll catch you at the bottom!!" Me first, then Anna, then Paul. Her first words at he bottom: THAT WAS FUN!!! The same words she's used on every roller coaster since she was 2!
She was pretty tough and confident the rest of the time. We also rode one of those uphill water rides, the kind that pushes you uphill with strong jets of water. Funny how no one mentions it's quite the butt spanking and you're at risk of losing your shorts in the process!!! For real, I don't think I really needed that spanking!! Where do you think that big jet of water pushes?! Ack!!!
Anyway Schlitterbahn really figured it all out. Even their amusement park food and gifts were reasonably priced. Nice place and we are talking about season passes for next year because even those pay for themselves after just 2 visits.
Wish we had photos but Paul's iPhone Life-case FAILED and leaked, and almost ruined his phone.
And the caverns were awesome! Not sure ever why my iPhone always takes yellow photos when I use my flash, but...
And they had a little kids rope course and adult rope course/zip line. Anna tried out the kids one and was frustrated she was too short for the "high" one.
And finally, they had panning for gems (her love of rocks still strong!)
Not a bad little vacation just a few hours from home! We spent some
Time on the drive home teaching her how to blow bubbles with her gum....she's desperately serious about that.
Now school starts Monday, and tomorrow morning we finally meet her teacher. Kindergarten!
She also has a super loose tooth. Not sure when that baby's coming out but she is having fun with it. Figuring out new ways to eat and all :)
It was her first tooth in, soon to be her first tooth out. Seems like that JUST CAME IN!!!
Happy end of summer, all!
Friday, August 10, 2012
Hello Huntsville!
I finally got a trip to Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL for a week-long training for the Payloads Academy. It's basically a course designed for folks who are going to work with the ISS experiments and supporting hardware etc on console, and for folks who do some crew training. I'd wanted to go for a few years already and finally got the chance this week. It was really cool and totally set me straight on he goings-on in the operations world I'd always heard about but was clueless on. Also learned about some very limited ISS systems and how data is handled, etc. Totally missed Paul and Anna for the week, especially on the heels of Germany, but totally glad I got to go!
While there I got to visit our old stomping grounds: Space Camp! I got to attend as a camper in 1993 and then I was a counselor in 1995. It was freakish to realize I hadn't stepped foot in Huntsville in 17 years, since we packed up my Geo Tracker and drove to Ft Collins to start the fall semester at CSU. While at Space Camp, Paul's air force enlistment ended and he came down to be a counselor at Aviation Challenge. Those were the days!! We worked double shifts because it was fun and because $7.25 per hour added up!
Good days. I visited again while I was there yesterday. In fact, Mike F, who was our camp counselor chief in 95 is now the VP for Operations at Space Camp, showed me all around he place and all of the good work they've been doing and have planned for that place. I met the CEO, Dr Barnhardt, and agreed it'd be fun for me to help beef up their ISS science curriculum. So I'm excited about that! We have tons
to share!!
I was doing fine nostalgia-wise until after my space camp tour and I went out to the Aviation Challenge site to take pictures for Paul. There it was quiet and nothing had changed at the site where Paul last worked his double shifts. And it hit me how far we've both really come, the good days we had here, and how so very good our lives have been. And how fast 17 years goes by. For real.
Some of the specifics are fuzzy to my memory, but lots of memories are still there. Man what a ride we've had. And look where we are now. Wow!
Life is so very good.
While there I got to visit our old stomping grounds: Space Camp! I got to attend as a camper in 1993 and then I was a counselor in 1995. It was freakish to realize I hadn't stepped foot in Huntsville in 17 years, since we packed up my Geo Tracker and drove to Ft Collins to start the fall semester at CSU. While at Space Camp, Paul's air force enlistment ended and he came down to be a counselor at Aviation Challenge. Those were the days!! We worked double shifts because it was fun and because $7.25 per hour added up!
Good days. I visited again while I was there yesterday. In fact, Mike F, who was our camp counselor chief in 95 is now the VP for Operations at Space Camp, showed me all around he place and all of the good work they've been doing and have planned for that place. I met the CEO, Dr Barnhardt, and agreed it'd be fun for me to help beef up their ISS science curriculum. So I'm excited about that! We have tons
to share!!
I was doing fine nostalgia-wise until after my space camp tour and I went out to the Aviation Challenge site to take pictures for Paul. There it was quiet and nothing had changed at the site where Paul last worked his double shifts. And it hit me how far we've both really come, the good days we had here, and how so very good our lives have been. And how fast 17 years goes by. For real.
Some of the specifics are fuzzy to my memory, but lots of memories are still there. Man what a ride we've had. And look where we are now. Wow!
Life is so very good.
Sugar
Meet Sugar, Anna's new "lobster" haha! (She's always called hamsters lobsters...).
Last weekend on our way to Petco to get a Spongebob fish tank insert for the beta (lots of things wrong with that statement but I digress) she asked if she could get a lobster as we were getting ready to go.
Huh? Well...errrrr....ummmmmm...I....
Guess it'd be ok right? I mean the thing lives in a cage and will have to be separated from the cats but otherwise cheap enough, right? Food, filler stuff at the bottom, a cage that the cats can't get their paws through, an exercise wheel.
So we came home with Sugar. And also a Krusty the Krab restaurant for the fish tank.
I picked the name Sugar because she looked like a mix of brown sugar with a stripe of white sugar. Anna picked her out of a bunch.
We warned her that Sugar will bite. Inevitably and repeatedly.
I've been in Huntsville Alabama all week so I only hear the stories. Sugar has been very patient with Anna except for the time Anna reached in and grabbed her while she was sleeping. She bit, Anna dropped her, and Sugar scampered under the dresser, where Anna proceeded reach under for her...and got bit.
Also there was the time Sugar thought Anna's finger in the cage was a carrot, thanks to week-long carrot-in-the-cage-conditioning.
Youch!
There were tears followed by much forgiveness. Apparently Sugar now has a little portable cage so she can join Anna at the clinic in the afternoons. And Paul bought into that!!
Sugar will be sleeping in Anna's room I guess. But there's the whole need to lock Sugar away so the cats don't eat her. Tricky...
The poor creature...
Last weekend on our way to Petco to get a Spongebob fish tank insert for the beta (lots of things wrong with that statement but I digress) she asked if she could get a lobster as we were getting ready to go.
Huh? Well...errrrr....ummmmmm...I....
Guess it'd be ok right? I mean the thing lives in a cage and will have to be separated from the cats but otherwise cheap enough, right? Food, filler stuff at the bottom, a cage that the cats can't get their paws through, an exercise wheel.
So we came home with Sugar. And also a Krusty the Krab restaurant for the fish tank.
I picked the name Sugar because she looked like a mix of brown sugar with a stripe of white sugar. Anna picked her out of a bunch.
We warned her that Sugar will bite. Inevitably and repeatedly.
I've been in Huntsville Alabama all week so I only hear the stories. Sugar has been very patient with Anna except for the time Anna reached in and grabbed her while she was sleeping. She bit, Anna dropped her, and Sugar scampered under the dresser, where Anna proceeded reach under for her...and got bit.
Also there was the time Sugar thought Anna's finger in the cage was a carrot, thanks to week-long carrot-in-the-cage-conditioning.
Youch!
There were tears followed by much forgiveness. Apparently Sugar now has a little portable cage so she can join Anna at the clinic in the afternoons. And Paul bought into that!!
Sugar will be sleeping in Anna's room I guess. But there's the whole need to lock Sugar away so the cats don't eat her. Tricky...
The poor creature...
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