We (it was really my idea because this is Chelsea I'm talking about, ever the eternal optimist, who thinks packing will take only 4 hours and two cars) had the brilliant idea of packing our three LARGE rolling suitcases full of anything she can live without for the next month. I kept saying...we will pack nothing that can't fit into these three bags! By the time I arrived at noon she had already packed one suitcase with winter clothes. She rolled it down to my car and we headed off to lunch...which happened to be right next door to her favorite Auburn store!! At lunch another plan hatched...this being HER idea...we would pack quickly and she would follow me up to Birmingham for the night. She only had to skip one class the next morning as one had been cancelled...
So, back at her dorm we did the divide and conquer...I packed all of the purses and shoes and breakables. She packed what I like to call "odds and ends for $50" (a Jeopardy category I am certain)! Desk supplies...candles (which are not permitted in the dorms and actually look like they've never been lit)...videos, books, magazines, and just STUFF! With the 2 suitcases full and heavy enough that it took both of us to put them in the car, I felt like we had made some headway...of course we rolled right by the kitchen and the bathroom and so in my mind I am thinking about when I can schedule another mid-week hit and run to pack up the kitchen and maybe wrestle some of her closet away from her. You can laugh, but do you know Chelsea...she is just like me, if we go somewhere for 2 days she packs for 5, hence she is convinced that she needs everything in her closet with her...JUST IN CASE!!
By 2:00 we were on the road to Nicole's...for Round Two of fun!
Nicole teaches at a Private Presbyterian school in Birmingham. As private schools go it is a big one with two campuses and approximately 100 students in each grade. Along with teaching her 12th grade English classes she is the Scholar's Bowl Sponsor and a new job this year...head of Prom...and not the Prom that comes to mind. This one is held at "The Club" every year on a Thursday night (the kids don't have school the next day). This year's theme was A Night In Paris and yes, there was a 19 foot lit Eiffel Tower in the ballroom. The seniors are presented...the parents are in attendance for this part of the evening to get tons of pictures, after which they are dismissed and the students have a formal sit-down dinner. Nicole has been working with a committee for several months and in the last couple of weeks has made the comment that she doesn't really have time to teach she has DETAILS that need tending to. I think she and a couple of teachers at school lamented that it was just like planning a wedding reception...accept they didn't plan their receptions...THEIR MOMS DID!!
No, I did not go to Birmingham to roll up my sleeves and pitch in...I went to babysit Claire :) On Thursday Nicole and David left at 8:30 am with cocktail dress and suit in hand. They didn't return until midnight. I got to spend the day with Claire (and Chelsea until early afternoon). You know I think Claire is perfect in every way...She is teething. She is not getting a tooth...oh no, she is getting TEETH...all at once! But she is still adorable...though not interested in being photographed!
But we tried to distract her...and so off to The Birmingham Botanical Gardens we went...not a novel idea as the rest of Birmingham seemed to be there...She wasn't interested in the beautiful flowers, not much interested in the bubbles Chelsea blew or the bouncy ball. She did like the pine cones and tried to eat gravel!
And she was convinced that everyone else was having more fun than us and so she tried to bust in on their picnics and bubble blowing! Oh well...you know what they say about the best laid plans! We went home, Chelsea left for Auburn, and Claire took a 3 hour nap after which we went grocery shopping and to TCBY! Back at home we spent the evening doing all the things she loves :)
Prom you ask? It looked beautiful in the pictures and Nicole was already wondering about themes for next year!
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