September seems like ages ago, and if I'm not careful it will be another age before I update with pictures and stories. The days become weeks that go by in a blur - which means October is waiting to be updated so here we go with a little back story-telling.
I already posted about Governor's Island, but I don't want to forget how much fun we had going out there to enjoy bike riding around the island and having a day together...these 3 made the outing so fun, and someday we all hope we'll be in a place where they can have bikes and ride them to their hearts content!
One kick-back afternoon back at the apartment one day, the children took advantage that I had moved the kitchen table and chairs to wash the floor to create a fort for their imaginations to run wild!....
Back to School Party! There are two other families from our ward that live on Roosevelt Island where the kids go to the same school (there are 2 other families with school age children but one family homeschools and the other family goes to private school). The moms had been saying that some of their children were a little nervous to start school. I thought it would be fun to do a Back to School Party together with the all the kids so that they could be strengthened together. On Labor Day/Monday, we got together for a Family Home Evening lesson and cupcakes & to let the kiddos play together before starting school in a few days.
Madeleine was acting out a story with Kyler and Lexie, who are 2 of 5 children in a family that moved here from Idaho last May. We have enjoyed getting to know their families - and I love that Lexie's hair styles has created new interest in Madeleine doing her hair in more ways than just headbands! :)
First Day of School!
Jacob started full-day Kindergarten this year! He was so excited to bump up and be there all day like the older two :) He has Ms. Kaplan who is an older teacher and experienced....this has benefits, but also has some downfalls. She can be a bit old-school in some of the ways she works with the children. The other day Bryson picked up Jacob from school and was told that Jacob had been talked a bit that day. When Bryson asked Jacob why he hadn't stopped talking, he said, "Dad I tried to stop talking, but my mouth just kept moving!" {he took his hands out and made the actions like a shark with his hands moving up and down}. This boy always makes us laugh!
Madeleine started 5th Grade ~ she has Ms. Gambino for a teacher, and adores her. She also had 34 students in her class which was a big problem for the first 5 weeks of school. We were addressing issues of overcrowding & for a time I had my thought of trying to make a difference in the political arena or thinking that parents really do have a say in the Dept. of Education. Both aren't the case - and I'm happy to just take the good & bad with the PTA...that has enough politics in it for me for this stage of my life!
Madeleine's class now has 32 students and she is happy - has great friends and even though I still wonder if we should homeschool many days due to the fact that she has figured out that the level of attention she gets this year, compared to last year in a class of 14 students, is really different....we'll stay in for time. Or maybe it will be the entire year. It's week by week on that situation.
Bryson Jr. is in 2nd grade and actually has the same teacher that Madeleine had last year - Ms. Rubenstein. His class jumped in numbers as well - he is in the G&T program, and the class that used to be 14 in Kindergarten, went to 22 last year and is now around 28 students! The teacher is wonderful - very warm and caring and really helps the children internalize the love of learning and the desire to do well. We have been really impressed that he wants to read longer every night for his Independent Reading Log & he wants to finish his homework with an Incentive Chart that Ms. R started for him (after a few weeks where homework was not happening!). All in all, it is a great experience he is having - he is becoming more confident in his learning and participating in class - and he is once again referred to as 'Bryce' in class. {I'd rather it be Bryson, but as we have two Bryson's...it actually does help a bit to have a nickname every so often....at least just in school}
In other news:
1) Important but not so important - My camera finally got fixed! My nice camera stopped working while we were in Utah over the summer - actually I think it started in Hawaii. The lens wasn't producing clear pictures - they were really blurry - so I sent it back to the company to fix.
When it came back, I realized how much I had missed having the camera around and how much I need to start taking pictures again.
Wow. That was a huge surprise. We had thought that we were in the clear of the latest Bank of American lay-offs that had happened the previous week, of about 30,000. Bryson went into work on Monday, and his boss was back from a trip out of the country - and when we got called into a meeting, he said he knew something was coming up. The interesting part, is that Bryson has been giving everything he has had from Day 1 at the bank. He is a hard worker and although there are times when he has needed to learn with the job - overall, he felt that things were going well. When he came out from the talk with his boss, the secretary told Bryson that he wasn't the one that was supposed to be laid off...at least from last Friday. We think that it came down to that it was between Bryson and the Analyst that was hired over the summer - and she is a female and a minority. Unfortunately he didn't fall into the right categories and he was the more expensive choice as he had more experience. Sometimes all the political corrective part of life stinks when it means you are out of a job because you aren't the right gender or ethnicity.
The part that we think might work to our advantage....we were wondering how much longer we could survive in this job. And I say survive even though I despise that word, and would rather say we thrive because of his work. However, most often we are on survival mode. It looks like the choice was made for us that we need to look for other work, and a difference in our life and style.
So, our life since then has been to have Dad home a lot more than anyone can remember in...probably 4+years. Jacob has been amazed that Dad is around, because when you think about it, all he has known is that Dad is gone hours and hours at a time for work. That is all his memory holds. The other day, he was cuddled up next to Bryson on the couch and they were playing Plants vs. Zombies on Bryson's phone - and Jacob looked up and said, "Dad, I like this new job you have!"
If only he could get paid to be Dad and be home!
He is looking into work all over - around this area and out of state. We think it might be time to leave the city - but we need a job first. Or at least we hope we get a job first before we pack up and move. Our lease expires at the end of February, and by then we will be out of the period where the bank pays us for being laid off....we hope to have a job by then, if not we might take up residence in Zucotti Park along with all the other OWS inhabitants that expound how terrible and corrupt those crazy bankers are!
Back on our little island - September brought the start of soccer season:
and needing to use the tickets to Victorian Gardens that is in the middle of Central Park. Groupon had a great deal last spring and I picked up the tickets and finally used them a day before they expired! The kiddos went to school Thursday and Friday - and Saturday evening I took the kids in for a celebration of school starting. We tried to get Bryson to join us, but he was busy with work....and on Sunday he was busy too. And then Monday he got laid off. It's times like that - you wish you had the Crystal Ball so he could have said...'hey you are laying me off anyway, figure out this project on your own'. Oh well - he left on a high note giving his all to that bank. We are proud of him - although we missed him for this fun play day!
You can see all the buildings in the background - I'd forget that we were in the middle of the city in our magical Central Park, until I'd see the buildings towering in the background. As always - I'm so grateful for whomever came up with the amazing idea to make sure the city has a park for all of us to enjoy!
I love the faces he makes - there are so many, and they are so fun. Although my favorite is just a big smile form him!
Flying feet - years from now I'll probably look back and cry and how little these feet are and how much fun we had that day. As always - it's so easy to be a mom when you are having fun and doing nice things for your kiddos. Would every moment of parenting be so easy to have!
We were going to leave around 7pm so that we could get home in time for a decent bedtime hour for the kiddos. However, the park was not crowded and the weather was beautiful - and it was so easy to stay for another 10 minutes - or another ride or two. It was such a beautiful evening that we left at about 9pm! Thankfully the kiddos got up in time for church the next day, otherwise it wouldn't have such a happy ending :)
Bryson had a fun surprise in seeing one of his classmates, David, at the park. They went on a few rides together, and as always I'm amazed that even in this city with millions of people we run into people we know. How great to know it's a small enough world to run into people randomly!
The following week, Bryson went out last minute to Utah for a conference at BYU. Since he didn't have to report to work, he decided to seize the opportunity of attending the Investment's Conference and jump right back into networking and trying to work with those he knows in securing the next job. We were set to go down to Virginia for the baptism of the kiddos cousin - so I drove out on Friday afternoon and arrived 6+ hours later down in Virginia. I tend to not to do well on timing with most road trips - it takes me a long time, with the stops for bathrooms & food stops. Thankfully we finally arrived! The next morning Bryson flew into town & we enjoyed a day with family and then the baptism that afternoon.
Bryson Jr.'s hair is too long & he was making the goofiest faces - it definitely was picture worthy!
Back at the Thiriot's for some delicious food and more time with the cousins - as Jacob refers to them, "Mom, can I go play with my best friends that have all those boys & live far away?" He's still getting used to knowing what a cousin is - but he is right, cousins are best friends!
There is more to September....I shall post Part II later. We are off to a Ward Halloween Party in the SNOW! I thought this crazy weather only happened in Utah!
1 comment:
It's good to read a catch-up post! And best wishes in the job search. Since I don't have to deal with the stress of it :) I am just happy you get to have Bryson more! We'll be thinking of you.
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