We got to go to the Giants game on Friday!

I entered all the kids’ names in a drawing at our public library a few weeks ago, and Heidi’s entry won!  I’d already forgotten about even entering when Colin called me as I drove back from dropping Degen off at school and said that the librarian had called informing us of our good fortune.  So, we picked up our four free tickets and started planning.

Here’s the irony: Heidi won the tickets, but she didn’t go.  And we all could have gone together because kids 2 and under can go free if they sit on their parents’ laps and we had four tickets.  And at first I intended to take her with us to enjoy the spectacle.  But I had a couple of days to think about it, and realized that the game didn’t even start until after her bed time and that she’s 1 1/2 years old and WIGGLY!  She’d be miserable sitting at the top of the bleachers being forced to sit on my lap the whole time.   And once Grandma and Grandpa offered to babysit I was sold on the idea that she’d be so much happier being spoiled at home than being cramped at a stadium.  And in retrospect, I think we did the right thing.  So, thanks for the fun Heidi and I’m glad that you got to have ice cream with Grandpa!

I made a picnic for us to eat at the park, and Maggie helped me make caramel popcorn for the trip (Cracker Jacks replacement, you know).  We brought water and juice boxes and some cookies and we were good to go.

We left really early, straight from picking Degen up from school.  I think it took and hour and a half to get there and park, and then we had to find a bathroom for Maggie (ahh!), which took another 20 minutes.  I’m sure the man in front of us in line who was in the one-stall bathroom for what seemed like 10 minutes must have had a good reason for not letting her go first and for taking so long.  But may I appeal to anyone who happens to have a small (say, 3 year old) girl behind them in line doing the potty dance and who thinks they can wait a few minutes more to let her cut in line?  Please?

Once the potty emergency was successfully managed, we moved on to the walking and waiting part of the game.  We didn’t know it beforehand, but apparently the Giants were giving out free T-shirts to the first 20,000 people in the stadium, and so there were HUGE lines to get in.  We got in line just before 5 when they opened the gates, and got to our seats around 6.  The kids amused themselves and the others in line by jumping and spinning and dancing and singing to themselves.  And all four of us got bright orange Posey T-shirts!   The people next to us in line were veteran Giants game-goers and told us we HAD to take the kids to “the Coke bottle” and told the kids they could play baseball, too.  We’d explained to the kids before we left that we were going to watch a game, not PLAY baseball, and Maggie loudly informed the kind lady of that fact.  Undeterred, the lady explained that there’s a kids’ field next to the big Coke bottle where they let you swing a big bat and hit a plastic ball.  The kids were sold and Colin and I weren’t sure we were glad and half hoping the kids would forget about it since it would almost certainly involve waiting in more long, long lines.

Our seats were WAY up high in the highest section, but we had a great view from behind home plate.  We had our picnic while we waited for the game to start, and I was so happy to not pay the $6 price for a $1 hot dog.  Can you believe that a cup of hot cocoa cost $5.50 and a churro cost $4.50?!  Shocking.  If we’d bought our hot dogs there instead of bringing our own, it would have cost at least $24 for the four of us (and we had two apiece, so it would have been $48).  And then drinks would have been another $16 and a treat another $16.  And if we’d paid for our seats… For the other families we saw there, this is a multi-hundreds of dollars event.  Wow.

The SF Opera chorus sang the National Anthem, which we all loved.  And a little kid Heidi’s age said “Play Ball!”  Degen and Maggie loved watching the mascot, a giant seal, dancing around and at one point riding around the park in a 10th Anniversary Prius.

I was surprised at how well both kids followed the game once we explained some basic vocabulary like pitcher, batter, base, plate, strike, foul, ball, and umpire.  Degen was enthusiastic in his cheering for the Giants, his team.  Maggie watched the pitcher carefully to see if the batter would hit the ball this time.  They were both shocked at the man a few rows behind us who heckled and booed the other team in such an unsportsmanlike manner.

About the seventh inning we decided that the kids would never forgive us if we didn’t visit the very-visible Coke bottle and packed up our stuff to brave the lines.  Upon finding that we were first-timers to the Giants, and the kids first-time baseball fans, the elevator attendant sent us to the service desk to retrieve orange “First Time” certificates with our names on them to commemorate the experience.  While we were there Colin and I noticed all the advertising for the “Designated Drivers” program where you get a free soft drink if you promise not to drink alcohol while at the ballpark.  It was too late in the game to sign up, but we thought it would be funny another time to sign up since we don’t drink alcohol anyway.

The Coke bottle fans area was as great as promised, with surprisingly short lines.  I don’t know if it was the late hour of the game keeping kids home or that we went there so late in the game, but it wasn’t crowded at all.  Typically, Maggie was daredevilish about wanting to go on the biggest slide as quickly as possible and my cautious Degen wanted to watch see several kids get down safely before he would try the smallest slide.  In the end, both were so pleased that they went down again with great gusto and took their Dad with them (see Maggie’s orange T-shirt/dress under her sweater?).

Just before the end of the game, we went to the kids’ ballpark and let them play, which turned out to be a highlight of the whole baseball experience.  Degen loves this picture where his white ball looks like a streak and the woman behind him looks amazed by his impressive hit. Maggie used the tee and ran the wrong way around the bases and loved it, and Degen was pitched to and hit the ball and ran “super fast!” and loved it.

Thanks to the library for a great evening out with our family at the ballpark!  And thanks to Heidi for the tickets and to Grandma and Grandpa for keeping Heidi happy while we were gone!

Where did I go to investigate?  Wikipedia, of course.  The Wikipedia said the following:

It became a federal holiday in 1894, when, following the deaths of a number of workers at the hands of the U.S. military and U.S. Marshals during the Pullman Strike, President Grover Cleveland put reconciliation with the labor movement as a top political priority. Fearing further conflict, legislation making Labor Day a national holiday was rushed through Congress unanimously and signed into law a mere six days after the end of the strike.

What?  How could I be ignorant of such a dramatic story that started a holiday I “observe” every year?  Wikipedia’s sources included links to a PBS Newshour segment that says this:

The movement for a national Labor Day had been growing for some time. In September 1892, union workers in New York City took an unpaid day off and marched around Union Square in support of the holiday. But now, protests against President Cleveland’s harsh methods made the appeasement of the nation’s workers a top political priority. In the immediate wake of the strike, legislation was rushed unanimously through both houses of Congress, and the bill arrived on President Cleveland’s desk just six days after his troops had broken the Pullman strike.

1894 was an election year. President Cleveland seized the chance at conciliation, and Labor Day was born. He was not reelected.

In 1898, Samuel Gompers, head of the American Federation of Labor, called it “the day for which the toilers in past centuries looked forward, when their rights and their wrongs would be discussed…that the workers of our day may not only lay down their tools of labor for a holiday, but upon which they may touch shoulders in marching phalanx and feel the stronger for it.”

The Wikipedia article also linked to the US Dept of Labor which had this to say on the holiday’s history:

Through the years the nation gave increasing emphasis to Labor Day. The first governmental recognition came through municipal ordinances passed during 1885 and 1886. From them developed the movement to secure state legislation. The first state bill was introduced into the New York legislature, but the first to become law was passed by Oregon on February 21, 1887. During the year four more states — Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York — created the Labor Day holiday by legislative enactment. By the end of the decade Connecticut, Nebraska, and Pennsylvania had followed suit. By 1894, 23 other states had adopted the holiday in honor of workers, and on June 28 of that year, Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories.

Hmmm…the Department of Labor sure glosses over the history of Labor Day’s passage through Congress, no?

Anyway, while I believe the people must have the right to organize themselves in a free country, I’m generally not a fan of labor unions.  And I’m really not a fan of politically strong-arming or compromises made in election years in order to get a union to vote for you (or not tell people to not vote for you).  I am a fan of hard workers, of recognizing accomplishments, and the American Dream.  And I am a fan of a day off near the end of summer.

So today, since we’ve got the day together as a family regardless of the origins of the time off, we did some playing.  Sonja and I took advantage of a Labor Day Sale and did a little frugal shopping for Christmas (yes, I’m already thinking about Christmas).  Then we all went to a local burger joint for lunch and headed to the cheese factory 20 minutes away and enjoyed the sunshine and the pond with some lovely strangers who shared a fishing pole with Degen.  Just before we left, Sonja discovered one of her favorite earrings had dropped somewhere during our adventures and we headed back to the burger joint where the management had found and saved her earring in case she returned for it.  Thus, a celebration was in order and ice cream cones were ordered for everyone.  Heidi had her first all-to-herself cone (strawberry flavored), Degen had rocky road, Maggie orange sherbet, Colin mint chocolate chip (arguably his all-time fav), and I had chocolate chip cookie dough.  Now that we’re home, Degen is playing Xbox, Maggie is using a small bud vase as an instrument, Colin and Heidi are napping.  Very pleasantly un-labor-y if you ask me.

It won’t last much longer.  I have about four (maybe five?) loads of clean laundry to fold and put away, a bathroom to clean, and a dinner that I think I’m not actually going to make.  This week I need to sort through kids clothes (again!) to pull out the ones that don’t fit.  I really want to get going on some sewing projects this week; my advent calendar, quiet book, and Christmas pjs are the ones that keep poking at my brain.  And I HAVE to do something with those berries we picked in the next 24 hours.  Plus, I just took on the Emergency Preparedness team lead for Degen’s school and already have a meeting with his Principal coming up (I spent three hours this morning doing online training for that role).  And I want to work on filing, finances, and Foomusic.com.  Good problems to have, no?

We actually started with dinner at Ping’s Chinese Restaurant in San Rafael, which is consistently lovely and affordable at the same time. If you ever get to go, order mu shu pork for a starter, and do whatever it takes to get an order of the honey pecan prawns. Mmmmm…heaven. And the asparagus chicken and combination fried rice is pleasant too. It’s all served family-style, and at $10-15 a plate it’s a good deal (and we had a coupon!). And they have tablecloths and a quiet atmosphere perfect for a date. It looks a little strip-mall-dive from the outside, so it’s a place mostly only the locals know about. Try it if you’re in the neighborhood.

Then we headed south to the City, across the Golden Gate Bridge and over to the Palace of Fine Arts. We took pictures with what we collectively decided was neo-classical architecture. Swans in the pond. Very romantic. And free.

Then to Fisherman’s Wharf where Colin found the perfect parking place at Ghiradelli Square. We shared sundaes

and explored the rainbow of chocolate packaging and manufactory.

Then down the street to see the Cannery, look at the marina, and stare out the car window at the Coit Tower (which apparently wasn’t built to look like a fire hose nozzel, according to a random internet site I read that may or may not be a reputable source). A drive down the twisty Lombard Street and we were all too exhausted to go on.

Happy Father's Day!

Ha! Maggie is singing Electric Light Orchestra’s “Oh Oh It’s Magic” while she cooks. I think that song is on one of the latest F00s (if you don’t know what our F00 CDs are, check Colin’s website on the topic here).  Maggie is a singer, no doubt about it.  She composes songs whenever and where ever she is, and about whatever she wants.  And she likes to ask us to sing along, and gets upset if we don’t sing the right lyrics (even when she’s making them up as we go along).  Oh, to be two and have everyone tolerate your whims!  Now Degen’s in on the singing action, debating with Maggie about whether “Row Row Row Your Boat” or “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” is the song to sing at the moment, as they drop the red cord of my previous post down the back of the couch in true preschooler fishing style.

Tell the children that you are going to pretend that a special visitor is coming to your house. His name is Jesus. Ask them to think how excited they would feel to have Jesus come to visit them.

• • What should we do to get ready? (Clean the house. Dress in nice clothes.)
• • How will we act when Jesus comes?

The children could act out the things they would do.

Explain to the children that if Jesus were here they would have a good feeling. They would know he loves them.

Tell the children that if Jesus were in your home they would want to try very hard to be good and to show their love for one another.

Explain that each day they can have that good feeling in their home by sharing, by not fighting, and by being kind to one another.

Sing “A Happy Family” (Children’s Songbook, p. 198).

• • What does the song say we all do in our family? (Love each other.)
• • How do you think mother knows you love her? (Help the children name some things they do that show love.)
• • How does father know you love him? How does sister? How does brother?

You might use pictures from books and magazines to illustrate some of the things you talk about that show love.

Explain that you always want to have love in your home so that a good spirit can be there.

Little children can also participate in helping with the chart entitled “Love One Another.” Explain that when they see someone who is showing love in the family they can come and tell you. You will write that person’s name on the chart for them. You could also help them color in a part of the chart.

Explain to the children that they can also be a good example in showing their love throughout the week.

Show your family the chart entitled “Love One Another.” Explain that each time they see a family member showing love to someone in the family, they are to color in one of the rays around the heart. They are also to write that person’s name down on the chart. Each family member could have his name on the chart several times.

Put the chart up in a place where all the family members can easily see, read, and color it, such as on the refrigerator or a bulletin board.

Challenge each family member to show love in your home throughout the coming week so that all the rays of the heart will be filled in before your next home evening. Challenge them to feel the spirit of love in your home.

For an activity we could play “spin the bottle,” only when the bottle lands on the person everyone says something they like about that person.

For dessert, I’m thinking it would be fun to make a heart-shaped cake, or maybe heart-shaped cookies like these.

So, we talked about families and how we’re related to people in our families.  Both kids were fascinated the entire time and that makes me think it was a great success.

To all of you moms out there, happy Mother’s Day!  My mother is definitely one of the best mothers ever, and I dare anyone to try to top her efforts or results.   Really, try it, you’ll be happier for it.  My mom is a great teacher and nurturer without being smothering or pedantic.  It’s a tough line to walk, but she does it gracefully and I’m grateful for her example.  Thank you for all you do for me and my little family, Mom.

I’ve had an awesome, though atypical, Mother’s Day so far.  Usually Sunday mornings are full of me rushing around trying to get everyone else to rush around to get ready for church.  This morning was calm and relaxed with no rushing, yet we all got to church early–and completely dressed!  And I even had time/took the time to curl my hair, so I felt relatively pretty.

At church some kids and the EQ president helped me set up the Primary room, so I got to sit down in plenty of time for Sacrament Meeting with my family in the pew instead of in the hallway.  Although neither of my counselors were at church today, my secretary was at church after a few weeks of travel and was soooo wonderfully helpful.  Two kids actually begged me to let them give the talk and scripture (which coincidentally hadn’t been assigned in advance this week) and we’d asked a member of the bishopric weeks before to do Sharing Time, so all I had to do was conduct and patrol the halls.  My patrolling was fun because we had some exciting “emergencies” like a little boy with his foot harmlessly stuck under a chair that I got to un-stick.

Near the beginning of Primary, my husband came in to let me know that he was going with some of the rest of the EQ to go help a family in the stake whose house had been severely damaged in a tornado last night.  So, after Primary I headed home alone with the kids and called some of my sisters and my mother.  Then I got to go visit my Primary counselor who recently got home from the hospital and had a great time talking with her, despite the kids’ unsuccessful attempts to destroy her home.  Colin called me on the way home from that to say he’s on his way home.

It’s been a great day.  Not because of all the thoughtful gifts my husband and kids did or didn’t get me, and not because I’m a great mother, and not because everything fell into place the way I would have imagined it if I were designing the perfect Mother’s Day.  It’s been a great Mother’s Day because the Lord has blessed me with gratitude today.  I’m grateful for the silk flower corsages the young women and young men at church gave to all the women in the ward.  I’m grateful for the Mother’s Day handprints my kids made for me in Nursery today.  I’m grateful to have two good, healthy kids–a huge blessing that I’m more aware of since I’m often in the company of women who don’t have children at all.  I’m grateful that Colin did the dishes last night just to make me happy.  I’m grateful to have the kind of husband who will cheerfully leave a meeting to serve strangers far away doing the manual labor he normally dislikes so much.  I’m grateful to be healthy and strong and to be able to move around and do almost anything I want to do and to have had a full night of sleep last night in a safe place.  I’m thankful to have plenty of food in the house for our family.  I’m thankful to have a family that loves me and accepts me, flaws and all.  I’m thankful for my mother and her mother and my father’s mother.  And today is perfect.

Maggie and I are going to Washington, DC!  My sister is graduating from college there and had an airline voucher she wasn’t using and used it to buy me a ticket to the family party in DC.  I’m so excited!  My whole family, except the brothers-in-law and Degen will be there as a sort of triple celebration.  This Spring one of my sisters will be graduating with her Batchelor’s degree, one with her Master’s, and my mother will be graduating from medical school!  We’ll miss the guys who can’t come, but it will be so nice to spend some time with my family.

During the day, Degen will stay with a generous friend who has agreed to trade babysitting with me.  Colin has been very supportive and will be taking on all the Degen responsibilities during the weekend and after/before work.  I have an awesome husband.  Thanks Colin!  And thanks for the ticket, Emily!

Heavenly Father planned for me to come to a family. I can strengthen my family now. “The family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children” (“Proclamation,” paragraph 1).

…and I’m in charge of Sharing Time next week.  Next week’s lesson in the Outline goes like this:

1. Families in the scriptures teach me how I can strengthen my family (1 Nephi 8; 16; Mosiah 27; Primary 3,lesson 39).

Divide the children into three groups and give each group a picture, a Primary song, and scripture references.

• a. GAK 102; “Follow the Prophet,” third verse (CS, 110–11); Moses 8:18–20; Genesis 6:9–14, 22; 8:20.
• b. GAK 301; “Nephi’s Courage,” third verse (CS, 120–21); 1 Nephi 3:1–7.
• c. Picture 1-69 or 4-53; “Dare to Do Right” (CS, 158); Ether 1:38–43; 6:2–12.

Write the basic events of each story on the board as each group displays the picture, sings the song, and tells the story. (For example: surrounded by wickedness, gathered together, followed God’s plan, showed gratitude to the Lord.) Ask, “What did these families do to strengthen each other?” Ask the children to write or draw three ways they can strengthen their families.

The Friend for May hasn’t come out yet, but it will eventually be here.

We’re starting on a Jr/Sr Primary schedule next month, so I can do a lesson for little ones and another for older kids.

Junior Primary Sharing Time:

My three-year-old son loves to do treasure hunts, so I’m guessing that the kids in my Jr. Primary will enjoy one too.  I’d like to use pictures from different scripture stories as clues, then have a box with stickers in it for everyone at the end.

Tell the kids that we’re going to do a treasure hunt, and that we’re going to get clues about how to find the treasure from families in the scriptures.  I’ll have one class start with a clue (picture) that has a clue about where in the room the next clue is on a post-it on the back–I’ll find a way to relate the clue to the story somehow when I write it.  They can either tell the story on the picture or have their teacher tell the story while one of the kids in the class holds up the picture for everyone to see.  We’ll decide as a group how the families in the pictures show us how to strengthen our families.  Then they can read the clue to the group and go try to find the next one.  When they find it, they hand it to the next class and the system repeats until the treasure is found.  In order to retrieve their sticker, each child (some with the help of their teacher) says something they can do to strengthen their family, then we can sing “We are a happy family” (CS 198).

Senior Primary Sharing Time:

We’ll do what the Outline suggests, above.