Just some updates

My Monday morning meeting with Cade's preschool teacher went well. It was good to have the weekend to really take the edge off my frustration so I didn't approach the teachers with flames bursting out of my mouth and darts shooting from my eyes. Unfortunately, Miss Ursula (she was the teacher present during the whole ordeal) was unavailable to meet with me, so that kind of bugged me. But, here's the low-down of Miss Laura and I's friendly little chat.

• Miss Laura agreed there was no way it could not have happened. She said she wanted me to get the story from Cade first, and then she was going to proceed to talk to whomever was involved.
• Miss Ursula did try (somewhat) to get the story from Cade and the other boys involved right after Cade approached her with his complaint but was unsuccessful . She didn't know who or what happened. (don't think she tried very hard.)
• My primary concern was that Cade's complaint wasn't heard or addressed. I worried that Cade felt his complaint was ignored. Initially it sounded like Cade was blown off. Miss Laura pulled him aside Monday and praised him for telling the teacher and told him to always do that, he did the right thing, etc.

By the end of class Monday, Miss Laura was able to figure out what excactly happened and who was involved. Miss Laura talked with the class that day about personal space, when to tell a teacher if someone is touching you or getting in your space, so I finally feel like it was appropriately addressed.

Thanks to all of you for giving me your thoughts on the issue. It was really helpful to decide how to best approach the teachers with my concerns.

It has been interesting going from a pre-school in Chicago which focused more on socializing and teaching the kids how to interact appropriately with peers and then moving to a pre-school in Boise where they are so focused on learning and prepping for kindergarten.

At this point, I feel healthy peer interaction and socialization is the most important tool my child can learn. Though I can't complain that Cade has made tremendous progress over his interest (or lack thereof) in writing his name and letters. I figured that would come eventually in Kindergarten, but I guess it doesn't hurt for him to have some practice.Which would you prefer for your child?
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Snowboarding was great. Tuesday was the missionaries' P-day, and ironically they had just received special permission from the president that previous week to go to Bogus Basin (it's out of their area) so they were able to come with us. They couldn't board or ski (mission rules) but they had fun sledding. Being able to bring up a Brazilian and Texan who had never seen snow was a hoot. Plus, it was nice giving them a lift up there so Kyle and I didn't have to feel completely selfish for going.

I was shocked Kyle borrowed his brother's snowboarding gear (thanks, Jason!). Kyle's very first time boarding was back in 2001 up in Rexburg. It was also my first attempt at snowboarding. We were dating at the time and Kyle was a miserable grouch. I had a blast and was very much reconsidering our status in the relationship after that date. Come to find out his bindings were set at such an angle that they were digging into his calves, thus making snowboarding down the mountain pretty painful. Hence the grouchiness. I am glad I didn't dump him after that. Even still, Kyle swore he would never try boarding again.

But he finally did and he is a natural. Kind of makes me sick. I don't think I was expecting anything different, but I had to take an entire semester of snowboarding to get where I'm at (which isn't anything special), and we are pretty much at the same level after Kyle went down the mountain 3 times. And as an added bonus for the day, Kyle and I both got off the chair lift smooth and easy every time. My sister Melody has experienced quite the opposite. When she and I hit the slopes together a few weeks ago, it got ot the point that she had to be pretty blunt with anyone who asked to ride in a chair with us. She'd answer, "Sure you can ride with us, but it's at your own risk. My sister here is pretty dangerous getting off the lift, so just steer clear of her as best you can."

I did make a few mistakes. My first one was going snowboarding the day after I tried out a new class at the gym that worked on the abs. Oh my. I was told to do things with my body I was pretty sure was not humanly possible; only they were humanly possible to everyone else, what with their washboard stomachs and all. I was grunting and gasping and trying with all my might and come Tuesday morning I could hardly get out of bed. Yeah, buckling my boots into my bindings after getting off the lift was pretty painful.

The second really terrible mistake was just my sheer stupidity. Kyle was hanging out at the lodge with the Elders, and I was meandering my way down the slopes alone exploring different trails. I came across a little snowboarding ramp park and noticed a cute little boy (couldn't have been any older than 8) jumping a ramp. I thought it was adorable. He landed smoothly and went on his way. So I decided to pick the smallest one and try the same.

Oh it was bad. I landed flat on my back and let out a big "UFF" The snow in Boise is not soft and friendly like the powder in Utah. It hurt. It really, really hurt. I laid frozen on the snow with the wind completely knocked out of me. I stared at the sky thinking someone was going to have to drag me to the bottom on a stretcher. I couldn't move. Finally after about 5 minutes, I decided to try and get up. No ribs broken, back worked fine, legs and arms were all miraculously pain free. It was a miracle and I felt like a dope. Won't be trying that again.

The kids adored the babysitter (how wonderful is it to leave your kids in the care of a someone-for SEVEN hours and not have a single worry about their well-being? That, my friends, is priceless.) I had to laugh about the comment Emily S. made about me assuming if the babysitter is homeschooled that meant she was't doing anything and she could babysit my kids all day. Yeah, that was pretty funny. I was afraid of coming across like that so I approached her mom about it first. Cade keeps begging me to call her to play again tomorrow. I think that's a great sign. There just might be more snowboarding in my future.
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And here we are today....
Kyle enjoys working away his weekend four-wheeling and catching up with the Bodells while I get to fulfill my maternal role and clean up my two favorite things:

Poop and puke.

Eccchhh. Oh well. Play hard and work hard. Don't feel too sorry for me. I assure you I will find myself down in St. George at a luxurious spa soon. In the mean time, we'll stay in so you don't catch this gnarly bug.