Back to school

It's happening. Kindergarten is happening and much sooner than we realized. I had no idea registration was coming up, but thankfully, got the scoop from a few "in the know" parents at daycare.

Last night, Jason and I went to an open house at the elementary school and spent about an hour and a half in kid-sized chairs in the library, listening to the principal and teachers talk about what to expect this Fall. We took a tour and saw the classrooms, the auditorium, the lockers, the gym. We had flashbacks to our own elementary school experiences. So much is the same...hot lunch, projector screens, music, art, PE, recess...and yet it all feels new and exciting.

The principal seems great (we were early, so he gave us a tour), the teachers seem passionate and professional (there are 3 -- we already have a favorite), and the other parents seem friendly and normal. We already knew a few people from the neighborhood and soccer. More than I expected, even. It felt nice to have a table to sit with...I can see some of us becoming friends.

So now what? I have a huge stack of papers about after school programs, the Kindergarten curriculum, the PTA, registration, and school holidays. It feels like I'm going to have to take a day off work just to get through it all! Not to mention a week off work when school actually starts. I am pretty sure Molly will be fine. Will we?

Karaoke, trampolines, and French cooking

I couldn't think of a unifying headline for these 3 things that happened in January, so here we go.

Let's start with karaoke, which technically happened on Dec. 31. We had a few friends over to help us ring in the new year and Mark and Kylie were smart enough to bring Lainey's karaoke machine to keep the kids entertained. Jason caught Molly on camera singing "Let it Go" and it's so bad it's funny. She usually does a better job with the lyrics, but I think she is more focused on attempting to strike a sultry pose on the couch than she is with singing. I thought this was a blog-worthy video...better late than never:

So far, we're doing a decent job of scheduling playdates and getting out of the house these cold winter weekends. Last weekend, we went to a place called Sky High Sports that is just filled from wall to wall with trampolines. Molly loved it. I can think of a few nephews of mine who might also love this place, now or in a couple of years:

Keep your eye on Molly in this video -- she ends up way in the back right corner. Molls in action:

Jason and I have also made time for fun in Jan. We booked a babysitter last Saturday night and helped our friend Daryn celebrate his 40th birthday with a 3-course French cooking class -- French onion soup, coq au vin, and chocolate lava cake were all on the menu. I really only helped with dessert, but in my opinion, the chocolate lava cake was the best part anyway :) Happy birthday, Daryn!

Wannabe chefs at Cook Au Vin in Bucktown

What's next on our agenda? Molly starts gymnastics on Saturday -- she seems more excited about the outfit than she is about learning somersaults, but we'll see how it goes.

We're also going to try ice skating. I've never been, so Molly and I will both be newbies on skates. Expect a blog post on that experience to come soon!

Go Buckeyes!

I'm on pins and needles right now during halftime of the Ohio State / Oregon National Championship Game and trying to distract myself with a quick post from a fun weekend.

We really did a lot this weekend, including knocking out 2 resolutions for January. First, we took Molly to a new park -- a water park! -- in Sheboygan, WI. She wasn't as excited about the slides as she was when we went to the water park in Michigan in Sept, but maybe that's because she was distracted by a new crush...our friends' son, Whistler.

Here's the Blue Harbor crew on our last day. Whistler is the dark-haired cutie pie in the middle. Molly was chasing him around all weekend and told us she wanted to marry him. I thought Jason was going to have a heart attack :)

From left: Chloe, McCall, Molls, Whistler, Wilder, Hailey, Sadie

The second really fun thing Jason and I did was go see Buddy Guy. Date night! We started with dinner at Mercat a la Planxa, to get excited about our upcoming trip to Spain. And then we spent the next couple of hours listening to the man, Buddy Guy, play live Chicago Blues at his bar, Legends. Pretty special.

Buddy in action. Damn right, I've got the blues!

The game is back on, so I've got to go. We're up 21 to 10 and looking pretty good. Go Buckeyes!

It's fun to play at the YMCA

Winter weekends can be hard in Chicago. It's usually too cold to play outside for very long (Molly lasted approximately 15 minutes helping me shovel snow today before seeking shelter inside) and playdates aren't always fun (we had one this morning and Molly spent half the time sulking when she thought she was going to lose at Trouble, jeez). But I feel like a bad parent if I let her do what she really wants to do, which is watch cartoons all weekend. This is the downside of having an only child...boredom! So, we decided to join the Y.

I'm kind of excited about the Y. They have family gym time in the mornings, where kids can jump around on mats and throw bouncy balls around. And then they have family swim time in the afternoons. We also get 2 free hours of childcare there any day except Sunday, which will come in handy if Jason and I ever want to work out together on weekends or if I want to go after work when he's traveling. 

Molly and I took advantage of family swim time today, which felt kind of crazy, since it was snowing and only about 15 degrees out. But I'm so glad we went. We ran into a couple of Molly's friends from school, so it ended up being pretty fun. Hopefully if we do this enough, Molly will be swimming, or at least be more confident in the water, by summer. It was also good timing to get a little swimming practice in...we're going to a water park in Wisconsin next weekend with friends. Bring on the slides!