Chicago Connection

We need some help. Danny and I have been invited to a costume halloween party by someone at his office. We don’t want to be lame, so we need some good ideas on what to be. What do you think??

Hi everyone,
It’s been a while since I blogged so I thought I would take a turn. Connor is doing great in Kindergarten. His first few weeks of school were so precious.  The week before school started we had a visit day where Danny Connor and I got to see his room, desk and meet his teachers. We were told not to come on the first day, because real school starts on that day. Ouch! So first day of school Connor was bouncing down the steps and told Jill our apartment secretary “today is the big day!” He had been asking us how many more days for the past two weeks.

I know Danny talked about us standing out in the rain waiting for the bus. Well the bus was late and Connor was so excited. I was getting worried that the bus was not going to come and Connor would miss his first day (Danny had the car). So I started thinking, I could ask the apartment office for a ride to his school…but then, the bus showed up! When Connor saw the bus he turned around and squealed, “I’m so excited!” It was so cute my heart just melted. I was so glad the bus came because he would have been heartbroken if he did not get to ride it on the first day. When I walked back to the apartment I was a little sad. I stopped in the office to pick up my mail, and Jill said, “Connor is so independent, and self-assured, he is really ready for kindergarten.” Then she said, “You must be a good mom.” OK, I just about started crying right then. I told her thank you, and went up to my lonely apartment. For a while I sat in my living room chair not really knowing what to do. By the third day I got over a feeling of “sitting and waiting” for Connor to come home, and figured out how to get right into the work I have to do when he’s gone. (Only 3 hours a day).

Connor came home from school with all kinds of fun stories that week telling us about all the friends he had made and giving me the play by play details. When Danny and I would get excited, he would say, “guys, it’s just kindergarten.”

On the first day of school Connor came home and told us that he was not allowed to use tolliet paper in the toilets in their classroom because it would “flood the whole school!” He told me, “So, I just will never use the bathroom at school.” I told him there must be a misunderstanding and wrote a note to his teacher to please have it explained again to him.
 

Connor came home and here is what happened:
Connor: I gave my teacher the note.
Mom: Oh, good what did she say?
Connor: I misunderstood; she said that we could not flush paper towels down the toilet.
Mom: Oh that makes sense.
Connor: But I told her sometimes we use that for toilet paper too.
Mom:  WHAT???
Connor: You know… when we run out of toilet paper and we have to tear sheets of paper towels?
Mom: (Silence) Ok bud, I’m glad you got that one figured out.
OK, so sharing a car can be a bit tricky and we have on really rare occasions used paper towels. I just never thought it would be public information with school teachers; something for all of you that have young kids to keep in mind.

-Andrea
 

So Friday I was asked to help out with PlayBallMoto, which is the executive softball game at Motorola.  I was the base ump and had a fun time doing it.  The way that I look at it was I could have been one of the people assigned to serve hot dogs or something!  I was trying to work my way into the game for the last couple of weeks, and this was pretty much the only opportunity for an intern!  I did pitch to the VP of marketing before the game to get her warmed up though, so that was quality face time.  I didn’t make any horrible calls, although there was some confusion when I called the infield fly rule on a ball that the shortstop took off his head!

Friday night a bunch of T-Birds were in town on a Consulting tour of Chicago, so I met them downtown for dinner.  Andrea was a trooper and stayed home with coughing Connor so I could go out on the town.  Saturday my soccer team scored its first goals, even though we had to play without our star player (Connor!).  So much for coaching to spend more time with my son!  Saturday night our T-Bird friend Tomas Denemark stayed the night with us.  Tomas is a Czech-American and we became good friends during the semester in Prague.

If the Cougars could have just pulled off and over-time win, it would have been a perfect weekend!