I Went To a Conference

I've been trying to catch up on stuff this week that got a little backed up because I was at the CM Childlight conference this past weekend in Boiling Springs, NC. That's why my blog has been so neglected.

I hadn't originally planned on going because I'm not ready to leave Miss Moana yet - not only is she still nursing, but I just can't bear the thought of being away from her. And a spirited toddler at a conference that isn't set up to accomodate children doesn't sound very appealing. Besides, our van transmission is skittish. We really need a new van, but we can't afford one yet and this one will get us around town; it just gives us trouble when we try to take it up long hills, and we live in a hilly area where every way out of town means going uphill. So we do okay near home, but we don't take it out of town anymore.

But I was persuaded to go when a ride was found for me with Camille B., who was driving and lives only a few miles away from me. I hadn't met her before, but we had emailed when she moved to the area a few months ago.

The drive there wasn't too bad - Miss Moana did tolerably well and only cried a little bit. Camille was dropping her children off at their grandparent's an hour from the conference. Miss Moana sat beside Camille's 3 year old, which provided her with some entertainment. (The drive home wasn't so great, she screamed for a solid hour!)

I was in an apartment with Jeannette T. and MamaLion, who I've known for years from different CM lists, and Joanna P., who talked about the current situation in Zimbabwe, where she plans to go as a missionary with her family.

I planned to stick to my raw food diet, which I've been faithful about for 3 weeks, so instead of paying for a meal ticket, I brought a blender and some apples, bananas, lettuce and celery to make green smoothies, and avocados, grapes, sunflower seeds, raisoins and Lara bars. For Miss Moana, I also had Luna bars, healthy cookies and fig bars, raisins and pineapple juice. At one point, I showed her all her options and asked her, "What would you like to eat?" and she said, "Chik'n nuggets." LOL! But, besides that, the food situation went well. I had grapes for breakfast, made two huge smoothies for the day, and snacked in the evenings. I felt great during the whole weekend, no blood sugar fluctuations or weakness - and no tiredness, even though I had just gotten off caffeine that week. So I was pleased with that.

The conference itself went exactly as I expected: I didn't get to hear a thing! LOL! I sat down in the back to hear Ranald Macauley the first night, but Miss Moana started getting restless 15 minutes into it, so I had to take her outside, where she had a great time climbing up and down the stairs in front of the building and playing with another toddler she met there named Kieren. And the rest of the weekend went pretty much like that. I was either walking/carrying her to and from the duck pond and the apartments, or letting her run in the empty clubhouse hangout room downstairs, or chasing her around sidewalks, or trying to keep her reasonably subdued in the lobby area during the lectures. The facility is a college, not a church, so there were no cry rooms or speakers set up in the hall for parents who have to remove loud children. If you have a child and need to leave, you're just out of luck. Miss Moana's favorite thing to do was go up and down stairs. She actually mastered that skill while I was there - the first evening, I was holding her hand and staying right with her, but by Saturday, she was handling them on her own.

I met lots of nice AO moms, some who I'd met at last year's conference or at the AO conference in Dallas, and some were new. It's always nice to see some of the people who are enjoying the curriculum. I was given a gift certificate to the bookstore vendor by some anonymous kind person, and I had no trouble finding things to use it on! My boys loved the books I brought home. I answered a few questions during the weekend, but it seemed like the most helpful thing was for people to hear is that I, as a member of the advisory, don't always manage to "do AO" perfectly. So, for the record: with a toddler and children in three different Years, I do the best I can. Miss Moana tends to be disruptive during read-alouds, so often I'm trying to read louder than she's playing. Narrations are hit or miss - I don't remember to chase each of the boys after every reading every day, but I try to catch them when I can. We haven't done more than a couple nature notebook entries all year, art study has been nothing more than using the term's art as my computer wallpaper and mentioning the name of the artist when I remember to, and composer study has been even less organized. I'm really good at focusing on the areas where we're having success and hoping for the best where we're less regular. If I have a key for success. maybe that's it - focus on the things you're doing well at and let that confidence help you make progress in the other areas.

I was asked to introduce Bobby Scott, the headmaster of the Perimeter Schools based in Atlanta before his plenary lecture. I was very worried about how I was going to manage that with Miss Moana, I explained to her beforehand that I was going to go up on the stage and talk for a few minutes, and that I'd take her with me, but she wasn't allowed to say ANYTHING! And she did fine. I didn't do so well. I'm in awe of all the people there who got got up and talked and seemed perfectly natural and capable up there. My lungs froze, and although I got out all the words I had written down, I couldn't breathe! I don't think I want to do that again.

I don't have much to say about the plenary lectures or breakout sessions because I didn't get to hear them, but I plan to get the tapes and I know they'll be good. Last year's were great, and many of the speakers were there last year.

I'm already thinking about next year, when the focus of the conference will be "assessment," which means EXAMS! If I go, I won't be bringing Miss Moana.