The first two weeks

This post will be a long one so bear with me. We've had quite a lot going on.

The Preschool

Wesley and Abby have started preschool. Wesley went in the spring while Dave worked from home but that just isn't possible this semester so my little Abby is scooting herself off too school. It nearly broke my heart the first day. She seems so tiny and babyish but she isn't the youngest in her class and she is making the adjustment ok. Wesley hasn't decided about his class yet. I think he just misses Ms. Thomasina (his teacher last year). So far, things have gone pretty smoothly. I have to grit my teeth to leave them there but we survive the day.

The Elementary School

Jared is not happy. School is not a joy and he is not having fun. So he says. I think he is secretly enjoying some things but he hasn't gone to excel yet (I'm not sure why) and he hasn't quite settled in. I'm hoping in the next few weeks we will be able to be more comfortable. I miss having him home, he misses me. Homeschool might be a good fit for us again when he gets a little older but for now we have to suck it up.

Ayla is perfectly content. She has made friends (complete with 2nd grade drama) and loves her teacher. School is great environment for her and she feels at home. She lacks confidence in some academic subjects so we are trying to be good about homework. She is also going across the street pretty regularly to read with our elderly neighbor. This has really helped her be motivated to read and to practice.

The University

I'm behind. I will be perpetually behind for the remainder of the semester. I have managed to do ok despite being behind but am hoping to get into a better schedule this week. Five classes, four kids....that math doesn't work out very well for me to have much time. But I love my classes. When I sit in a classroom and listen to discussions and participate I feel so at home. So here's a run down on what I'm taking.

French: First class of the day. Bless my poor teacher's soul. He speaks very little english, has only been in the US for two years and has zero university teaching experience. He is actually faring quite well given his circumstances, however we are having to help him along with the computer systems, the structure of the class and the administrative duties. I love the French language. It is beautiful. It has an interesting structure that I wish I had more time to study. I have a friend who is helping me read L'Etranger and I am enjoying that a bunch. Gratefully, my class isn't incredibly difficult so I am considering this the "blow off" class of the term.

Russian Literature and the Revolution: Fascinating. Beyond fascinating. I'm really enjoying this one. I did have to read an entire novel in Russian sonnet form. It is Alexander Pushkin's Eugene Onegin. I hated reading the poetic form. It was tedious for a great deal of the novel. However, I ended up enjoying the story and the social implications. Pushkin contributed HEAVILY to Russian Literature and to the world. This week we are reading Gogol. The stories I read last night were....riveting. One, "The Nose," is completely insane. I do not understand it but I am ready to delve into some research and class discussion on that one. My next novel in this class is Fathers and Sons by Turgenev.

American Renaissance: This class is the perfect accompaniment to the Russian one. The two classes cover roughly the same time periods in history. It is so interesting to see how these two countries, ocean's apart, influenced each other. I haven't made huge connections here yet but I am looking for them. We are reading Walden right now. It is a huge volume (this is the one I am hundreds of pages behind in). However, I am very intrigued by Thoreau's theories. His writing style is quite abrasive in the first few chapters but he seems to soften later on. Many of his ideals are directly related to issues going on today, use of technology, individual responsibility and environmentalism. However, he completely leaves out any connection to the family. He seems like an incredibly lonely individual. Maybe he wasn't and was happy that way but I couldn't have done the experiment at Walden Pond. Not without my crew. My professor is great. He fosters a rich discussion and we have a wide variety of viewpoints in the class. I have taken a class with him previously and really enjoyed it.

Creative Writing Fiction: This one wraps up my on campus adventures. It is an amazing class. It is a writing workshop. So we sit in a circle and we read to each other and we discuss story technique. I love my professor. She is incredibly helpful and put together. (Disheveled professors really bug me) So this one is my favorite. It is by far the best suited for my talents and the one I look forward to most in the day. I only have it Mon and Wed so I miss it on Friday. I will start attending the Keller Writers Association meetings also and hope to find a community of writers there. Dr. Keckler (said professor) has agreed to help me with my grad school application as well and so I am working on getting that together this semester.

The History of Science and Technology: This is my online course. It isn't hugely demanding but I am having trouble devoting enough time to it. We are studying philosophy right now and the contributions to modern science of Aristotle, Plato, Ptolemy etc. These ancient Greeks and others really shaped how we look at nature and the scientific realm. I'm hoping I can just stay with it.

So, my house is livable, my kids are only slightly out of control and we aren't eating junk food for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Yeah. My parents have been in and out over the last couple of weeks getting my baby sister to BYU, having a car accident, and evacuating from a hurricane that did not come near their home. So they have had occasion to stop by on their way to and from all their travels. That has been one of the big highlights of my first two weeks of school. We have really enjoyed having them around and I'm deeply grateful for my Mom's listening ear.

Some other side notes

Summer's pretty much over. Much to our chagrin. It wasn't long enough nor fun enough (darn those summer classes). My kids are little fish! They love to swim and I love to swim too (see below). I am thinking of doing swim classes in February or so. Our rec center has an indoor pool and offers swim lessons. I want them to learn the strokes and become comfortable in the water even more. Swim team was such a great experience for me as a child, I'm hoping to give it to my own children.

I have decided to being training for a triathlon. I love the swimming part (did my first swim at school on Fri). The bike, no problemo. The run, not so sure about but its only a 5K for the sprint and I know I can finish, even if I can't run the whole way. I'm hoping to be registered for something in the spring (I haven't found one yet to participate in, anyone know of any?) It means I have to cut out some Zumba classes which have proven hard to get to anyway. I feel great and ready to kick up my fitness level. I'm hoping the variety in the training will be good for all my parts.

Abby is growing wonderfully and been such a source of joy. (I have to do a catch up bit on the baby) She is delightful to be around, loves to give kisses and hugs and is lately into having tea parties in her room with mom. She will climb up in your lap and just hug on you. This morning I slept in a little and she came and climbed up and just laid on me with her thumb in her mouth. It was such a sweet time with her.

We got a hammock. Oh, happy days! I love the peace of swinging in a cool breeze (which we have had a couple the last little while). I go out there on Tues and Thurs and read in the afternoons when my kids are napping. It is so relaxing and fun. I'm not the only one who loves it though and we all spend many hours out there just hanging out. Ayla and Wesley have developed a flying carpet game in which they fly through the air to some wild destination. Most often it is New Mexico (not sure why). It is a fun game though. I played it with Wesley and we had to keep our feet up so they wouldn't touch the lava and swing fast so the dragons wouldn't eat us. Gotta love those imaginations.

My dear husband is just trying to keep up.