weather, tea parties, and watchful mothering

Brrrr! I'm glad we live amid the seasons, but I readily admit that Fall and Spring are my favorites. We missed the seasons horribly while living in California and Hawaii. Georgia certainly has its share of each season -- and enough to keep us happy. Though I love my winter sweaters and coats, it takes a lot of effort to keep up with the gloves, hats, and coat linings required each day for three young ones. I am constantly finding an odd glove or hat around the family room or in the car. Even though they aim the majority of the items at the coat closet some things just get separated.

Yesterday my dear FIL took Grace for a few hours and took her on errands so I could begin to complete my resume and portfolio. I'm still gathering information and rewriting items. I've got plenty of substance on the resume, but the question is how to use it best for each job I want to apply. The portfolio is something that you business types never have to worry about. I've got a huge collection of projects -- websites, logos, interactive pieces, and corporate communications examples -- to display. My FIL has agreed (thanks to my husband's initiative and helpfulness) to take Grace twice a week for a month or so. I think it'll be good for Pop-pop, Grace, and me. She adores her Pop-pop and really felt special yesterday with him.

Speaking of Grace, we had a little tea party this morning. It was all her idea. I turned around from cleaning up breakfast to find her setting a "table" on the seat of a chair. She had pulled her lego box up for her seat and instructed me to sit on the floor. There was no doubt who was in charge during this play episode. She fixed pretend spaghettios and salad with milk. I imaginatively offered her a serving of bread from my hands and she got visibly upset. "I didn't cook bread for this meal. Wait a minute and I'll go get it out of my kitchen!" she said.

I later heard her humming and then joined in with the official song. Once again she got completely flustered with me -- "Mom! There are no songs at this table! It's just not right." Guess I got put in my place, huh?

You'll be proud of me. I decided to stay out of a school situation with Jordan. Some older (5th grade) girls had aggravated her during chorus and tried to make her look/sound bad to the choral director. On Thursday she was visibly upset when I picked her up from Choir practice. The two girls had been making "off" notes behind Jordan and then when the director would come over to investigate with his ears he would look directly at Jordan. The poor girl was almost in tears, but held it together. My mother hen instincts made me want to zap an email off to the choral director immediately. Dave took one look at me and mentioned that Mr. Tighe had an educated ear and was a smart teacher. I'll now admit Dave was right, but it was still hard to resist fixing the situation. On Monday the girls did not bother Jordan at all. I'm dying to know what really happened, but I do think the situation would have been worse if I intervened.

One last bit of news -- and I am SO EXCITED about this. One of my best friends, Patricia, from college has moved to Athens, Georgia from Baton Rouge, Louisiana with her family. Her husband is an outstanding football coach (and great person) and has been selected as the Offensive Coach for UGA. I'd love to live in the same neighborhood with them, but being an hour away seems like such a blessing. It was like getting a special piece of news for my birthday when I heard they were coming. They've had to move in a whirlwind because of the job's requirements, but I think they are happy to be back in the state where Stacey grew up. Here is an article about the whole move:

Stacey Searels hired as new UGA Coach

It was quite a shock for me to find so many articles in the media about an old college buddy. Pretty cool. I think he's going to be busy recruiting for a week or so. The SEC Football conference is fiercely competitive and loads of fun to watch.