it's time to make a scattered (after all, i can be quite deficient in the verbalization of feelings department) but serious goodbye to the current and former locals who have vicariously blessed the life of every stover member by blessing the life of stover mom:
goodbye to my stalwart park day friend who serves as official memory holder
goodbye to the friend whose proven worthy to hear my very deepest thoughts ever since our monday night walks
goodbye to kind-hearted friend who recognized my limits to an equally reciprocated friendship
goodbye to a friend who bends over backwards to facilitate last minute babysitting
goodbye to a righteous friend who holds me in much higher esteem than she should
goodbye to my most generous friend who so often shared her talents, time and breakfast cereal
goodbye to a friend whose son's charisma is equal to her own
goodbye to my friend who is an example of the wife i hope to be
goodbye to a friend who moved just before sharing common ground as mommies
goodbye to my friend whose spiritual gift is to celebrate life
goodbye to the friend who so discretely forgave a major mishap under my watch
goodbye to my most organized friend whose focus on her kids influenced me toward better mothering
goodbye to my social work friend who feigns interest in my glory days
goodbye to the most meticulous papercrafter i know
goodbye to my perfectly normal pancake friend who throws her diet for a night of cooking
goodbye to the best yogi i know
goodbye to a flexible friend who makes everyone around her feel special
goodbye to the couple who befriended us immediately
goodbye to a friendship with so much potential but sadly started way too late!
goodbye to a family who taught me so much about service and humility
goodbye to my carpool buddie who seemed to refind my friendship at a very inspired time
goodbye to my most reliable friend whose kids have occupied my kids monday mornings for years
goodbye to my 'sugar sweet' friend who overlooked my poor phone manners
goodbye to my young at heart confidant
...on behalf of the rest of the stover family, goodbye to 'my best, best, best friend' and 'miss z' per stover girl; goodbye to my toys per stover boy (i think that misunderstanding is all cleared up now); and goodbye to the best utimate frisbee league ever per stover dad.
6.26.2012
6.23.2012
goodbye desert oddities
when we arrived 6 1/2 years ago, it seemed there was an endless mental list of all the oddities of the desert. i'll never forget waking up our first morning and worrying we'd overslept until 11:00 because of the brightness of the sun and glancing at a clock that read 5:30 AM. or walking out of our first late night movie at 11 pm shocked that it still felt like someone was holding a blowdryer to my face. or standing in The Gap deciding i could no longer engage in the clothes layering fad. or the time my friend and i braved the zoo because it was ONLY 100 degrees outside. or mocking locals with fireplaces when househunting.
i've acclimated quite a bit so the oddities seem less strange these days but here are some others:
goodbye to showering twice a day
goodbye to melted halloween treats mailed from grandma
goodbye to chocolate chips stored in the fridge
goodbye to a constant ceiling fan buzz
goodbye to bath temperature hose water
goodbye to excessive sugar scrub use for dry feet
goodbye to summers sans makeup
goodbye to wardrobes accesorized with flip-flops
goodbye to scorpions, black widows, lizards, and other creatures
goodbye to constantly restocking plastic shovels
goodbye to an 82 degree thermostat setting
goodbye to scorching metal carseat buckles
goodbye to easter eggs hunts sans chocolate
goodbye to trick or treating to driveways rather than doorsteps
goodbye to smelly, melting patio furniture
goodbye to a minimum of 4 swimsuits per kid
i've acclimated quite a bit so the oddities seem less strange these days but here are some others:
goodbye to showering twice a day
goodbye to melted halloween treats mailed from grandma
goodbye to chocolate chips stored in the fridge
goodbye to a constant ceiling fan buzz
goodbye to bath temperature hose water
goodbye to excessive sugar scrub use for dry feet
goodbye to summers sans makeup
goodbye to wardrobes accesorized with flip-flops
goodbye to scorpions, black widows, lizards, and other creatures
goodbye to constantly restocking plastic shovels
goodbye to an 82 degree thermostat setting
goodbye to scorching metal carseat buckles
goodbye to easter eggs hunts sans chocolate
goodbye to trick or treating to driveways rather than doorsteps
goodbye to smelly, melting patio furniture
goodbye to a minimum of 4 swimsuits per kid
6.17.2012
6.07.2012
cast not away therefore your confidence
cast not away therefore your confidence which hath great recompense of reward (Hebrews 10:35)...
good advice for stover girl (and a long line of stovers before her!) - a super swimmer whose fear lurks with every new technique. the words 'lap' and 'dive' sent her into crying tailspins this year. the 'strong swimmer' in her began dreading class and she would have given up if that was an option. continue she did- even if involuntarily- and on the last day, there was to be a 'race' (another crying tailspin word for stover girl). she winced and waited as all other swimmers in the class competed. the times to beat in order were: 48 seconds, 46 seconds, and 47 seconds. at the appointed time, she had a false start and swam half her lap before having to begin again! even more upset, she walked back to begin all over again. but, she swam her little heart out and finished with a 32 second lap!
here she is lacking confidence....
and here's the reward...
her brother, whose confidence comes a bit more easily, enjoyed every day of swim lessons! due to scheduling conflicts, he was taught in a class below where he should have been. but he loved being the demonstrator and being singled out to try new things as his swim teacher creatively accomodated him above the class level. jack's new skills are: sit down dives, swimming the length of the pool, and coming up for a breath.
good advice for stover girl (and a long line of stovers before her!) - a super swimmer whose fear lurks with every new technique. the words 'lap' and 'dive' sent her into crying tailspins this year. the 'strong swimmer' in her began dreading class and she would have given up if that was an option. continue she did- even if involuntarily- and on the last day, there was to be a 'race' (another crying tailspin word for stover girl). she winced and waited as all other swimmers in the class competed. the times to beat in order were: 48 seconds, 46 seconds, and 47 seconds. at the appointed time, she had a false start and swam half her lap before having to begin again! even more upset, she walked back to begin all over again. but, she swam her little heart out and finished with a 32 second lap!
here she is lacking confidence....
and here's the reward...
her brother, whose confidence comes a bit more easily, enjoyed every day of swim lessons! due to scheduling conflicts, he was taught in a class below where he should have been. but he loved being the demonstrator and being singled out to try new things as his swim teacher creatively accomodated him above the class level. jack's new skills are: sit down dives, swimming the length of the pool, and coming up for a breath.
6.05.2012
dolly's* status updates
screams and pushes when anyone else is occupying mom's lap (even siblings)
will NOT keep a bow in to save her life!
lots of jibberish but recognizable words include: 'tees' = keys; 'hi'= hi; 'hiya'= hello; 'mi' = milk, 'buct'= bucket
inherited her brother's amazing amount of earwax
prefers dad over mom
'calma dalia' sung lovingly in parts by mom and sister is the most reliable way to calm this poor car-weary tot!
snubs bananas- what kid doesn't like bananas?
dances by shaking her head back and forth but changes to a sway with a slower beat
now throwing lots of loud tantrums which result in either a drop to the ground or wide-stanced stomping
loves to color with her siblings
is getting 5 teeth in right now = argh!
new must- have: all items with a carrying handle! (spends a large majority of her day transferring toys from a purse of this kind to a sandpail of that kind)
gives an obnoxious fake laugh
her blankie goes everywhere with us
newest nickname is wally
can get up on the couch by herself
runs away from a diaper change and bedtime
and loves to get into mommy's gum!
*please note that i have begun an occasional slip from online aliases...much to my husband's relief!
6.02.2012
a boy's second love
they say a boy's first love is his mother... i'd add that a boy's second love is his preschool teacher! oh how he adored miss johnna and all things preschool. he always wanted to go- running right in. and he always hopped back out- beaming. the year passed much too quick, 'mom, i wanted to go to preschool for a L-O-N-G time!' and you were so sad to leave.
of note: besides falling in love, he learned: to write his name, to write numbers 1-10 and almost every letter, enjoyed a friendship with talia (little miss butterfly), loved recess time, and tolerated craft time.
of note: besides falling in love, he learned: to write his name, to write numbers 1-10 and almost every letter, enjoyed a friendship with talia (little miss butterfly), loved recess time, and tolerated craft time.
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