Real or fake.....I just don't know

I grew up with a fake tree, colored lights and ugly ornaments. I always vowed that when I had my own place I would get a real tree with white lights and pretty ornaments. For the last 12ish years that is exactly what I have done.

This year seemed to be a bad one for us with regards to our tree. We picked out a real tree from a produce stand near our home. We typically get our pumpkins there as well. It was a beautiful tree so full that it barely fit in our corner.

We did not get the tree in the stand straight to begin with and after decorations went on it fell. My husband noticed that before Christmas it was not soaking up any water and it was becoming dry. This became very noticeable on Christmas eve. The tree was sagging. So on Christmas evening we had to bring down the tree. What a mess everywhere. I am sure I will be finding needles all over my house for some time.

Now we have to decide if we should buy a fake tree. I do have to admit the trees out now are so pretty. It is nothing like I had growing up. But I love the smell of a real tree during the holidays. My neighbor tells me to get pine scented items and it will give the same affect. My husband wonders if Christmas trees is like giving birth. It is not pleasant but then you forget about it all and do it all over again.

I am not sure at this point what we will do. I guess we will have to wait until next Christmas before I make the determination.

Speaking of falling. I had to run to the grocery store for a few things today. The kids, all three of them, were hanging on the cart. I was driving and I ran into a display of garlic keepers, which went all over the floor. Lovely! We picked them all up and the nice produce guy told me not to worry about it that he would organize it. Why in the heck are there so many of those displays throughout the store? The store is crowded enough without having to manage around them.

Christmas

The boys have had a nice long break from school thanks to the snow. They have enjoyed their time at home especially since Dad was on vacation.

They were very excited on Christmas Eve. The boys had just finished eating a donut. We went to a children's service at church and then came home and had Christmas dinner.

As usual we left treats out for Santa. Jay also wrote a long letter to Santa. Santa sent them letters this year and Jay was responding to his. He also asked Santa 2 questions, one was how do reindeer fly and how does Rudolph's nose glow. We hope that Santa will answer his letter. It was a really cute thoughtful letter.

It was early to bed for everyone to await the morning.

I had the boys sit on the stairs so that I could take them one by one in to see their gifts. We went from the oldest to the youngest and Tee almost started to cry. I guess I can relate to him being that I am the youngest of 5 and my parents did the same thing. Except my parents would make us wait forever or maybe it just seemed that way.

Santa left lots of nice presents for the boys. They are so fortunate to have so many people who love them also that sent them nice gifts. We try to get the boys to take their time. They looked at their Santa gifts first and then emptied their stockings. We then took a break for breakfast, which is always Monkey bread. Then it was back to unwrapping gifts.

My husband and I decided to let the boys finish and we could open our gifts in peace which worked out nicely but we realized they had no idea what we got. We may have to re-think that for next year.

I am not sure what Santa was thinking with the skateboards but they seem to like them. Tee loves his Spider man Scooter and helmet.

We had such a nice Christmas but as always miss being with family.

Why could the snow not have waited?

I just received an email from the school system notifying me that school is once again canceled tomorrow. That means just as it was last year, the boys will have 2 full weeks of vacation.

I am a little baffled as to why they could not attend school today. The roads for the most part are clear. There are a few areas on the side roads that are a little slushy and frozen. We have been going everywhere we need to with no problem. And I can tell you that everyone else is out and about as well.

We ended up getting somewhere between 21 and 23 inches of snow. We had blizzard conditions for most of Saturday. I don’t think I have ever seen this much snow in my life.

We are so fortunate that our neighbors have a snow blower and they cleared our driveway several times on Saturday and Sunday. My husband had to shovel a lot also. The snow is still piled deep on the grass.

We are expecting rain on Friday which will melt the snow a little quicker. But snow is once again in the forecast for the weekend. Not as much snow this time around, at least that is what they are predicting right now.

My husband has the week off. We were hoping to be able to get a lot done while the kids were at school this week but you can see how well that has worked for us.

The boys have LOVED playing in the snow. My husband and niece took the two older boys sledding (on a hill in the neighborhood) several times this past weekend. They loved it. Of course, the camera was not taken so I don’t have any pictures. Tee liked playing in the snow as well but he could not stay out for too long.

Well, I think we will have to work hard tonight to get all of our stuff done.

Snowed In

The snow started falling last night and has not let up one bit. We probably have over 24 inches right now. And snow is expected to continue until tomorrow morning.

The boys got ready for their first adventure outside to play.

Jay playing in the snow that Dad shoveled off the driveway!

EE was doing flips while Tee was shoveling snow on the grass.

How fun!

Rosy cheeks and a runny nose.....lovely.

The kids went out again after lunch. They had fun. Then Dad took the older two down the street so the boys could sled down a hill. They had a blast.

We have heard that the last time it snowed this much it took them 3 days to get dug out. I am so happy that my husband is off of work next week.

The last few days

I won and yes I do like winning. My husband brought home HIS gift. It is one of those brownie pans where you put the divider down before you bake for perfectly cut brownies every time. My husband pointed out it has many more uses.

I spent the entire day yesterday baking. And today I sent all of my packages out. I am now worried that all my cookies will be destroyed before reaching their destination. The postal worker was not very kind to them. So if you are a recipient sorry. I need to find a better way to mail them out for next year.

I think there is something wrong with having to smell food while you work out at the gym. I do the StairMaster which is near where it is open to the bottom floor. And wouldn't you know that is where the cafe is. Maybe this is how they keep gym membership up.

Speaking of being wrong. This past weekend, EE was invited to a birthday party of one of his good girl friends in his class. The invitation did not request a RSVP and the time was from 1-3:30. My husband dropped him off at the house which is in our neighborhood. The Mom said that she had things for the kids to do so pick them up between 5 and 5:30. I thought that was a bit much. So at 3:30 I started pestering my husband to go pick him up. He finally left and when he didn't come home right away I knew I was going to be in a little bit of trouble. He has gotten there right when they were doing the cake.

I found many things about this party bizarre. A 2 1/2 hour party is good a 4 1/2 hour is a bit too long for everyone involved. EE came home with nice gifts. Imagine getting a gift for going to a party. He got a boxed set of 3 small balls (football, basketball and soccer) along with a winter hat and a little bag with chips, candy bar and a truck.

Later in the evening, as we sat down to eat our pizzas EE asked if he could have something else. He didn't want to eat pizza again. So somewhere in that time frame she fed them pizza. They played games but not sure what they did the entire time. He had a great time from what he tells us but I still think it was a little weird.

Christmas re-gifting

Yesterday, I prepared a few hams and about 10 lbs of pork BBQ and picked up a few chicken nugget trays for my husband's work office pot luck lunch today. A few years ago, I opened my mouth about how much they were having to pay for a catering company to bring in meats. It is not a big deal and I get to eat with them.

After the lunch they feast on desserts. I opted not to make anything this year. I had enough with the meats and I still have to get my Christmas cookies made and sent.

The last part of the work party is a gift exchange. I spoke with my husband a few minutes ago and asked what he got as his gift. He said he would not tell me because he was going to wrap and put under the tree as a gift for me...a Christmas gift. My response was that he could not re-gift his gift to me, but that he could bring it home and just give it to me.

He goes on to say that this item was on his list so he went after it with that in mind. I gave him more grief. His response was that he should have gotten the $20 Target gift card in order to go buy this item instead. He was being facetious. What do you think?

Baby it is cold outside

Last weekend we had our first snow of the season. The boys had a great time making a snowman. Luckily, Dad was home to help because Floridian Mom is no help in that area. I had to search for items to make eyes, a nose and mouth. We settled on cherries for the eyes and nose and apple slices for the mouth.


Men at work

By this time Tee was way to cold to still be outside.

Later on in the day we decorated the Christmas trees. The boys have a small one in the basement. The snow got us all in the Christmas spirit. The tree turned out so nice.

Late Sunday evening as we were all upstairs I heard something. I wasn’t sure what it was so I went along with what I was doing. My husband goes running downstairs calling for my assistance. The tree had fallen over.

We had a hard time getting the tree in the stand (especially with the husband’s hurt arm). The tree stood a little crooked. When we added the ornaments, mainly on the front, the weight was too much. I was so shocked and upset but I couldn’t cry. I did say a few choice words though.

Many of our sentimental ornaments broke. It was very sad to have to throw all of the broken glass in the trash. It took us close to 2 hours to get it cleaned up and the tree back in the stand, straight this time. For security the tree is also tied.

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The weather has been unbearably cold here for the last week. The winds have not let up. I am trying to spend as much time as possible inside.

The two older boys have been wound up. I know the excitement of Christmas has a little part in it all. Some days I wonder if the punishment they receive is really MY punishment. They lost their gaming system the other day for misbehavior. They were awful all afternoon. Two more weeks!

Wow, that is right two more weeks. I still have a bit to get done. I hope to have a productive weekend.

Almost busted

The boys like to play a game where one of them hides these army men and then the other one has to find them. What normally happens is that they hide them everywhere and the other child doesn’t find them all. So I will find them all over the place at different times.

Thanksgiving weekend they decided to play the game. I requested that they only hide them in one space, whether it be in the sun room, family room or one of their bed rooms. They took off and I cleaned up the kitchen.

I headed upstairs to get ready for the day and as I did my husband walked out of our bathroom to find our closet doors wide open with the boys in our room. He got incredibly mad at the boys and sent them to their rooms. We had some presents in there that we had not had a chance to move yet. Not one of them was in a bag. We thought about moving them the previous night but I was really tired and thought it could wait one more day.

My entire shower I was trying to come up with something we could say. Yes, we would probably have to tell a few white lies but what could we do. My husband came in a few minutes later and said he talked with both boys. They did not see anything. They were probably wondering why we were so upset.

This led us to our discussion of when is it time to not believe any more. I have friends whose kids in 5th grade still believe (or else they are playing along). I personally think that 5th grade is a bit too late. A 5th grader has so many more reasoning abilities.

I stopped believing early on thanks to be the last of 5 children and having an older sister who I would overhear talking about gifts. That and the fact that I would hear the rattling of the bags as my parents brought gifts from their bedroom. We lived in a small house and I shared a room with my 2 sisters.

I am not going to tell them anytime soon. I enjoy their excitement of Christmas and the crazy ideas that pop into their heads about Santa. I know at some point it will happen.

So on December 24th, we will leave cookies on a plate and a glass of milk for Santa and reindeer food on our driveway for the reindeers.

Media....really?

Who knew that Media (Library) class could cause such problems in our household? I will start off by saying the media teachers are all new this year. Last year the media teachers were horrible and I am trying to figure out if they are much better this year.

In Media, EE got a grade of W (with assistance) and a 2 (Satisfactory) for conduct. The highest grade is I (independent) and 1 (great) in all of their courses. I found it odd that he would be struggling in media and questioned his teacher. She forwarded my concern to the media teacher who called me one evening.

She was on the defensive for the duration of our call. My approach was to determine how I could help him do better in class. She went on to say that W2 is average and NOT bad. She has a curriculum she follows from the county. And she is teaching lifelong skills to the kids. The kids must contribute in class and they must be able to answer questions. She did feel bad because she scored EE incorrectly. He was tied in both the grade and conduct and she typically moves it up. His grade has been changed to I1.

That was the end of our conversation. I didn’t get a good feeling and felt she was talking down to me the entire time. My feeling is that media should be fun learning especially for a 2nd grader. EE loves the library and I don’t want him to dread class every Monday.

I wish it ended there but there is more. On Monday, EE received a work paper home from Media with the following note: a drawn sad face followed by “I know you can do better. I expect more from you”. It was a map of the library and the kids were to color code the different areas as stated in the instructions. He did not complete the assignment and may not have gotten much correct. There were 10 areas to identify.

I have to say I was very upset that a teacher would write this on anyone’s paper. The school has symbols used for grading papers. I have NEVER seen anything like this written on my kids papers.

I asked some of my friends what they thought about the comment and they all felt like me. I felt it needed to be addressed with her. Then if I didn’t feel satisfied I would talk to the principal.

I sent her a note letting her know that EE was confused by the map and told me he could not walk around. I then said that I thought her comment on his paper could have been worded more appropriately for a 2nd grader.

She responds with details (very detailed) of the assignment. They had been given 2 tours of the library and they were told they could get up if needed. At the end of the explanation she writes the following “If you can think of a way I can adapt my instruction to be more supportive, I would gladly welcome your feedback.” That is really the part that made me mad. She goes on to say that she is sorry I feel the way I do. She has high expectations for her students, like she knows I do.

I do think that it is important to not discourage children. This is just media class and in the whole scheme of things not as important as reading and math.

I have witnessed and have had other people tell me that she is not nice to the kids. In class, she often raises her voice. That really bothers me also.

I am not sure what to do at this point. My friends think I need to take it to the principal. I will think about it for a while, but I will definitely file this correspondence for safe keeping.

First Quarter

Report cards came home a few weeks ago for all of the boys. First quarter has flown by.

Even Tee received a report from school. It was funny to read. Imagine this….he acts like a 2 year old. He still tends to play on his own a lot but listens and follows instruction. The biggest shock is that he is quiet in class. No wonder he talks non-stop with me. The teachers are great and he loves going to preschool.

Last week conferences were held for the boys. It is always nice to speak with the teachers to get their perspective of your child. We typically only meet with the home room teacher but I try to meet with their Math teachers at least one time during the year.

Both boys did well on their report cards. They both are a little ahead in Reading and Literature. They have a few things to improve for next quarter but over all they are doing well.

Jay’s home room teacher loves him. This is obviously a good thing for him. She is definitely strict but I feel is a very good teacher. His Math teacher this year is the teacher he had last year. He tends to be a little chatty in class but I think that the majority of the class is the same way. It is hard not to be sucked into a conversation here or there.

EE’s home room teacher is great as well. She thinks Ethan is a neat kid. She is surprised about his love of reading and his ability to comprehend so much. EE has to work on his penmanship.

I have 2 dilemmas with the school and EE. I will start with Math. We met with his math teacher. She is in her first year of teaching. She seemed a little disorganized. We were there to discuss math and she didn’t have any of his 1st quarter tests. She was able to pull up his scores on her computer but we couldn’t see them. She rattled off some numbers. I feel that he could be pushed a little harder in Math. He picks up on concepts very quickly. He could be moved into a class that is a bit faster paced. They review topics quicker and may take them a step further. My experience from last year was that the class was too easy for him and I feel like it is happening all over again.

I voiced my concern to the teacher and she said she would follow up with the other teacher. The other teacher already has 20 students whereas his current class is only 13. We are concerned that if we move him he will not do as well. We have talked with him about it and he does not want to change his Math class. He tells us that Math is his favorite subject.

I have followed up with the teacher because I never heard anything from her. He is on the agenda to be discussed at a team meeting soon. I wish I knew the right thing to do.

The other issue I have is with Media (Library) of all things. This has gotten out of hand and needs its own post.

Thanksgiving

My husband was off of work all week last week. We had so many projects we wanted to complete and got little to none of them done. My husband's arm (above the wrist all the way to his thumb) started hurting him on Sunday and he was unable to use his left hand very much. The Drs. are baffled. He is being sent to an orthopedic specialist.

We were so happy to have my MIL join us for Thanksgiving. The kids love having her here. We had a huge meal with a ton of food. We got a little shopping done while she was here. We also went to a festival of trees event held annually. It was a fun time.

The kids and Grandma in front of the MANY trees at the festival.

We were lucky to be able to see Santa there also. EE was a big grumpy but we forced him to sit with Santa.

It seems like the time went by so quickly.

Old friends visit

It has been non-stop since the weekend prior to Thanksgiving. Definitely too much to post in one sitting but hopefully I will be able to catch up this week.

My husband keeps in touch with several of his fraternity brothers from college. There were 4 couples (and later families as we all expanded) that would take a mountain trip every year. Our last trip was about 3 years ago. It is a much further drive from Maryland. It was always so much fun. The guys knew each other and the girls got a long so well.

One of the families stopped and stayed the night with us as they were passing through on their way to Connecticut the weekend prior to Thanksgiving. It was so wonderful to see them and their latest addition. They have 3 super cute girls.

Here they all are!

It was typical. My boys were shy at first but after a short while the kids got along great. My boys were teaching the girls how to play football. They were also giving away all of their possession to the girls. It is such a shame we live so far away and can't see each other more often.

As I talk with my friend I briefly felt a little inadequate. She home schools her daughters and is very careful about what they eat and drink. All organic foods and milk. She really seems to be doing great.

She mentioned that she makes her own flour. Then uses the flour to make bread or for any kind of recipe requiring flour. The flour you make is supposed to retain a lot of the enzymes and nutrients than the flour you purchase in the store. I remember the bread my sister-in-law used to make was so good. She brought and shared with us during one of our vacations.

This has really intrigued me. I need to do more research. But I think it is definitely something I could do for us.

Hair woes

I had the same person cut and color my hair for most of the years we lived in NC. Once I found her I knew I had to stay with her. At times, it would drive me a little crazy that she was running so far behind. But for the most part I always got a good cut and my color looked great. The advice she gave me before I left was to go to a spa type salon.

When you move along with finding new doctors for everything a good hairdresser must be found. I started out by looking at people’s hair. I never looked at anyone and thought wow I really need to know who cuts their hair. But eventually I did ask someone. I looked the salon up on-line and it looked nice and seemed to be what I was looking for.

I ended up with some one who was newer because she had an opening when I wanted to go in. She did not want to thin my hair out like I wanted her to and that frustrated me a lot. My hair is very thick and must be thinned A LOT. I was also a little nervous after she colored my hair and put highlights in. She ended up having to put more product in to tame the color of my hair.

I ended up trying someone new. She understood my need to thin and cut my hair really well. I do have a little problem with how she does my highlights. She doesn’t put color right up to the root of my hair. My hair tends to grow quickly and by 2 months my gray is popping through and the highlights have grown out. But she normally cuts my hair so good.

Last weekend, I had an appointment for the works. Trust me on this, when you stylist tells you that she went out the night before, had a lot to drink and didn’t get to sleep until 4am run like the wind. My color doesn’t look great and she left my sides too long. I ended up calling her to talk about my issue. Something was not right. I went in on Friday for the correction. She didn’t wet my hair. She just “fixed” the sides. Now she ended up cutting them too short and it looks really goofy.

I am not sure what to do at this point. I can’t afford to get my hair colored every 2 months. I don’t think I am up for trying to find a new stylist right now. Maybe a good new years resolution.

Houses

We are currently living in our 3rd house. We like most started with a smaller house and then had to step up as our family grew. Then a job change brought us to Maryland.

I find it a little odd that I have trouble remembering the details of our first house. We built the house before we got married (we were engaged). I remember the hassle of building the house and how there were so many choice to make. In the end, we loved the house and had many good memories there. We also knew that we would probably not want to ever build a house again.

While we were living in the house, we got our dog. She was our look into what parenthood would be like. And then a while after that the boys were born. We stayed in that house until the husband nudged me to think about moving. The boys were not yet 2 years old. I resisted for a LONG time. We ended up selling the house in 3 weeks I think.

We did a lot of looking around but nothing ever stood out. Then one day we were walking in the neighborhood, which we did often. A house was for sale and there was an open house the next day, which happened to be the day we were going out with an agent to look at more houses. There was a contract pending on it but I guess it was about to expire.

The minute I walked into that house I KNEW it was the house for us. I remember telling my husband that he needed to get me that house that evening. It was perfect plus we loved our neighborhood. It had 4 bedrooms 3 ½ baths plus a large bonus room. The main floor was nice and spacious. We lived in that house for 4 years. We did a lot of work within those 4 years.

I found out the other day from an old neighbor that the people who bought our house are selling it and moving back to their old hometown. I have heard she is not happy and wants to move back to be closer to family and friends. We were of course were curious and had to go look up the listing to see how much they were selling it for and check out the pictures. They have listed it for the same price we listed it for. You know the one that they thought was outrageous at the time. The pictures showed many aspects of the house. There are some things that look similar and other things they have changed completely.

That house brings back so many awesome memories. It reminds me of the good friends and good times we had there.

I like the house we are in now but I would have done some things differently. It definitely was all about the neighborhood and school district for us this time. But we are making some really good memories and friends here as well.

We have been in Maryland for 2 years now. I meant for us to “celebrate” our 2nd anniversary but I got my weeks messed up. Maybe I will do something special this weekend. I love having a reason to celebrate.

Crazy Hair Day 2009

Crazy hair day was this past Friday at school. This year Jay decided that he would participate. Last year he didn't want anything to do with it. Ee was so incredibly excited about it ALL week. In fact, he drove me crazy because that was all he could think about. We kept wishing for Friday to get here and if finally did.

Jay had tiger stripes on his head

Ee wanted pony tails in his hair with a lot of color.

I volunteered at school on Friday. The smell in the classrooms was enough to make you nauseous. But all this kids had fun. The minute they walked in from school they went straight to the shower to wash the color out.

Rainy and dreary

It is a rainy dreary day here today. The rain is supposed to be around for the next few days. It really does make me want to lay on the couch and watch TV. But I have things I need to get done especially writing here.

The rain has put me into a mood so this post is going to be about what drives me nutty, well maybe nuttier.

The boys are all waking up WAY too early for me. As I turned in bed, I could see Jay’s light on in his room and it was only 5:30. EE was up at a little after 6am and then Tee. Even if I am awake in the morning I really like to have time to fully wake up and watch a little news by myself. That has not happened much lately.

I don’t understand why people liter. I was leaving the ball field on Sunday. I turned around and this person threw trash out of his car and onto the ground. Where exactly do they think the trash will end up? And why would anyone think this was ok?

Tee had a play date with one of his friends in the neighborhood. We played at their house today. I really like the Mom a lot. However, it is hard to have a conversation with her because she is always tending to her child’s needs. I like to play here because we can be in the basement but the play room is hidden from the sofa area. The boys will go play and only come out every so often. I can’t tell you how many times I would start a story and not finish because she was interrupted. Very frustrating!

Do you know a crackberry addict? A crackberry addict is a person who owns a blackberry and must attend to the blackberry every time a vibration occurs. It doesn’t really matter where this person is or what he is doing. They stop in their tracks to attend to the vibrating that just transmitted on their phone. I live with an addict and sometimes I would like to toss the thing out the window.

Something happened the other day that really sent me into a tizzy. We have a neighbor who I have written about many times. She has a son in 2nd grade also. She is never really happy with anything and everything she does is to the extreme.

She does a lot of nice things for people and volunteers but she always has to make it a point to let you know what she has done. She gets gratification by praising herself. She is a nice person but I can only take a little bit of her.

She and her husband helped with basketball evaluations this past weekend. Her husband will be an assistant coach. They convinced the coach to draft my boys for their team. It is a 2 for 1 deal with them. She shared the information with me at the bus stop the other day. I really would have been ok with the boys NOT being on that team. Another season in which I will have to deal with her nuttiness.

Make my day

Today I heard something I will probably never hear again. I was driving Tee to preschool singing along to a song on the radio. He says “Mommy you a good singer.” It just made me crack up because it is so far from the truth. But at least he thinks so for now.

I never thought parenting would be such hard work some days. Don’t get me wrong it is the best thing in the world. But it is made nicer when something funny happens or the kids say or do something to make your day.

This past weekend, Jay started what he calls a “book” to thank his Dad for everything he does. The “book” has 7 or 8 pages complete with drawings. He is still working on that “book”. What I find very interesting is that I am the one home with him everyday. I make him 3 meals a day, do his laundry, help with homework, arrange play dates and the list goes on and on. Yet he wants to thank his Dad.

My husband thinks it is funny I am a little bitter by it. Jay truly is a Daddy’s boy. I guess my husband should be entitled to one Daddy’s boy because the other two are certainly Mommy’s boys.

Yesterday, Jay handed me a picture he drew at school for me. No words just a picture of grass, a sky and birds flying around. This is the first picture I have gotten from him in a very long time. It made my day.

The boys

The boys played their last two baseball games for the season on Sunday. They won one and lost the other. It has been so nice to see how much the boys’ skills have improved over the last few years. I never thought I was very competitive and when it involves me I still don’t think I am (that competitive). My husband will probably think this is very untrue especially when we play games. He is a sore loser and I am a sore winner.

I feel a little competitive for the boys although I don’t show or say anything. They need to understand you win some and you lose some but the most important thing is to have fun. The boys play on a team in which some of the kids are really good and some are not. Sorry no nice way to say it. There is one kid who finally made his first hit of the season on Sunday.

The boys tried out and made the spring travel baseball team. They currently only have 6 definite players and are trying to recruit more. I believe they need 12 players. We are very excited for them as I think this will be a great experience. They really do love to play baseball.

The boys (and the rest of the team) will have to work on their skills over the winter. They will be practicing at an indoor baseball facility and possibly do a few clinics.

The boys had basketball evaluations this past weekend. I believe basketball will start in a few weeks. They will practice 2 times a week until the league starts in December and then they will practice one day and have a game on the other. We will be a little busy this winter.

The other little boy has been growing, talking and getting into mischief lately. He has learned how to ride his tricycle. Very cute to see him pedaling down our driveway. He does well going down him but can’t pedal up the slight hills.

He is talking non-stop. Every question he asks me has to be repeated about 10 times. Yes, the same exact question. For example, after the boys get on the bus to go to school he will ask me “when my guys be home?” Then he will start with when will Daddy be home. I feel like I repeat what I say so much, almost enough to make me crazy.

He has gotten a little taller also. The 2T clothes are now high waters. It is amazing how quickly he has grown.

This morning he bit, and I don’t just mean a little bite, his brother Jay. I am not sure what was going on but Jay laid down on something Tee was making. Tee climbed on him and bit him on the back side of his shoulder. It looked like it hurt so badly. Honestly, I wanted to cry for Jay. I felt bad about having to put him on the bus a short while after that happened.

The Force be with you

Despite the unpredictable weather and an injury, Halloween ended up being a nice evening. Jay dressed as Darth Vader, EE as Jenga Phet (I hope that is right) and Tee as a football player.

We grilled burgers, dogs and brats at our neighbor's house. My neighbor, me and another neighbor down the street made a cozy spot for ourselves on the front driveway. We each had a TON of candy. The other neighbor always makes cider, spiked to order if you desire. I came loaded with shots. I don't remember the name of them but they compared them to chocolate covered cherries. They were made with Raspberry rum and Chocolate liqueur. They were all gone by nights end. Not only were the shots gone but all of my candy was gone as well. I bought 3 very large bags of candy from the warehouse store.

The husband's took the kids door to door. Tee couldn't keep up with "his guys" (as he calls them) so the husband took him while the others went ahead with neighbor's husband. Tee was dropped off with me and then the kids forged on. They got so much candy.

What to do with all the candy? I will tell you what we are going to do. Our dentist office will buy candy from the kids $1 for each pound. They will then send the candy to our troops overseas. We are headed there tomorrow.

Oh, and about the injury. It was so warm and humid Saturday that my neighbor's garage was a bit slippery. EE ended up falling on his arm. It hurt him at first but by night's end it was fine.

EE was invited to a Halloween party Friday evening at one of his friend's house in the neighborhood. He had a great time. The rest of us were at my neighbor's house for pizza.

Sunday brought lots of rain and our baseball games (the double header) was canceled. We are going to make them up this weekend.

Boy oh Boy

A boy down the street is in 2nd grade as are my boys. The boys don't play with him often. I think he has a little bit of a behavioral problem. In my opinion, the parents let him do, watch and play things that I don't in my house. I am not sure there is much supervision. Honestly, I feel the same way about several parents in this neighborhood.

Last year, he would come down and ask if he could play. He would then have to go home and let his Mom know where he was. I know what you are thinking, it would just be easier if she would come down and talk to me right. When we went inside he would go home. He doesn't live that far away.

He called once or twice this year to have EE go over and swim in his new pool. I can't get into the pool and amenities they put in their backyard. A story for another day. I didn't let him go.

This boy typically plays with another boy in the neighborhood who has a big behavior problem. Every year he gets written up at school several times. And he has been "suspended" from riding the bus.

The boys calls yesterday to see if my boys can play. I had a week moment and said that he could come down at 5pm. My kids were almost done with their homework and I wanted them to play outside and get some fresh air. The Mom didn't come down but she walked him to the end of his driveway.

It really bothers me that she can not talk to me about the kids playing. I don't let my children call their friends, I do it for them. I just don't think they are old enough yet.

There is another Mom in the neighborhood that allows her child to ride his bike down to our house. He comes and goes as he pleases. I would be happy to call her and let her know he was on his way home but she has never asked.

Maybe I am a bit too protective and I am ok with that. I need to know what my kids are doing and who they are with. I am not sure when I will be ok with anything different.

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The other night we were sitting at the dinner table and Tee gets his cup bangs it on the table once and says "more milk a**hole". I was sure I didn't hear what I just heard. I asked him to repeat and he said it again. I am hoping that is NOT what he said. I am not sure where he would have heard that word. We don't use it in our family. Part of us thought this was really funny and the other part was blown away.

Tomorrow Tee will have a party at his preschool. He can wear his costume and they will have special treats. The parents were initially invited. But a lot of kids are still having separation issues that they have asked the parents to not come. I am very happy about that because I have things to do tomorrow.

A very busy week

There was a lot going on last week. Last Monday, I received a call from the health room at school stating Jay had a fever. The school made it very clear that he was not able to return until he had been fever free for 24 hours. His fever was low and never made it to 101 degrees. He ended up being fine on Tuesday and was able to return to school on Wednesday. It was a little weird.

On Tuesday, the school had the annual golden shoe race. All second grade classes compete to win the coveted golden shoe. The kids run 3/4 of a mile. The class which has all of the students come in first wins the golden shoe. EE came in 16th and Jay was sick.

EE coming into the finish line.

Tee has been learning to ride his trike on his own. It is really cute on how he wants to keep up with the other kids riding their bikes.

Tee posing for me.

On Wednesday, I took the morning and volunteered in the boys' classes. I was in EE's class from 10:15-11:45. I have a need to know what goes on in the class. EE's teacher is absolutely awesome. She is so patient and kind. I spent the morning folding the corners down on a construction paper and then tracing and cutting out a figure. I then went to Jay's class. She forgot I was coming but she had some things for me to do. I organized a sticker box and then made a gazillion copies of different things. I left a little after 1pm and I was wiped out. Jay's teacher is nice but very stern. She likes Jay so much. At least he behaves in class.

On Thursday, I took EE to a pediatric dermatologist. Because of my husband's history with Melanoma, we have to be more careful with our children. As a child my husband had melanoma three times. He is still carefully monitored. This past summer, I took the 2 older boys to have a mole check. EE has a mole in his nether region that has grown in size. The dermatologist I took him to thought it should be removed. He sent us to the specialist. I especially wanted a second opinion. The Dr. thought it looked ok. He asked us to continue to monitor them and bring them back in about 1 1/2 years.

On Friday, the school held the medal ceremony for children who completed a certain portion of their summer workbooks. I always have my children work on these during the summer. It is nice that they get recognized for their work.

We had been anxiously counting down the arrival of our friends from South Carolina. My friend and her husband ran the Marine Corp Marathon this past weekend. They stayed with us on Friday night. We went down to DC for the day. We were so lucky that they rain held off until the afternoon.

My friend and I.

A group picture minus one.


Me and Tee.


The boys and their friends(triplets). The connection between the kids blows my mind. They have been friends since they were about 2 years old. Each time we get them together (which is only about once a year) it seems like they have not missed one beat. How awesome to form such wonderful friendships so young. We have vowed to get the kids together as often as possible.

The girls came home from DC with us on Saturday night and stayed with us one more night. Their grandparents picked them up on Sunday morning. What a fun time we had.

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A magnet update. I am happy to report that Tee has had 2 bowel movements today. I am going to assume the magnet has made its way out. Tee is still talking about swallowing the magnet.

There always has to be a first

We are always so diligent about capturing kid's first. There is the first smile and walking for the first time and the many other milestones we wait for. Each of my boys has a calendar documenting when their "firsts" took place. But between you and I sometimes I had to make a guesstimates. When I had the twins it was overwhelming to document everything and then when I had Tee I had so much else to do.

As with all things, there always has to be that first visit to the ER. We remember Jay's first trip. He was about 3 jumping on the sofa and hit the edge of the coffee table on his eye. I looked at it and immediately knew it was going to need stitches. I have to say I am the calm one in the family. My husband tends to get worked up to the point that I have to knock him down a bit. He will deny this but it is true. EE's first trip was when he was having pain in his stomach and had to be hospitalized. That was a little over 2 years ago right before we moved to Md.

Tee was certianly not wanting to be left out. We have had a really busy weekend. I will write more about that later. I tried to put him down for a nap today but he was not interested. I let him out of his room after an hour. He was playing in the sunroom while I was getting dinner ready. I was in the process of making chilli.

He showed me a magnet from his easel. I asked him to put the magnet away and turned around to finish browning my meat. The next thing I know I hear Tee cough and then call my name. I asked him where the piece went and he pointed to his mouth. I asked him if he swallowed the piece and he said yes. I looked around and I did not see it anywhere.

My husband got home from dropping the boys off at a birthday party and we were off to the ER. I cringed when I walked in the doors. So many people in there sick and wearing masks. They whisked us off to the Pediatric area which was good. There were not too many people in that area. But then a little boy came in and he did not look well. We waited about an hour or so to get our x-ray. After waiting here and there for a little bit we were taken back to a room.

The magnet had made it down to his stomach. It had made it through the most dangerous areas. The Dr. was sure it would work its way out within the next day or so. We had Tee drink some juice and eat some cookies to make sure he could hold food down. If he had any issues it would indicate that the object did some damage to his esophogus. He didn't and we were discharged.

Our time there was a little over 2 1/2 hours. Not that bad in my eyes. As for dinner, chilli will be made tomorrow.

The weekend has come to an end

After 3 full days and nights of constant rain sometimes down pouring, freezing temperatures and maybe some sleet mixed in with rain, it has FINALLY stopped. Our high temperatures were records for the last few days. I thought I was going to go stir crazy if it kept raining today.

As you have guessed we have had a very wet weekend. The boys' were out of school on Friday and they were not well behaved. I was anxious of what Saturday was going to be like.

The boys and I were scheduled for our flu shots on Saturday. I had made up my mind that the boys would NOT get the swine flu shot just the regular seasonal flu shot. I wasn't asked about it when I made our appointment and honestly I didn't think my office would have a supply. When we checked in my husband confirmed that he wanted to two older boys to get the swine flu vaccination. I guess at some point prior to the appointment I should have made my concerns vocal to him. I really didn't want them to get it and my husband could not understand why. We ended up deciding to have them get both.

The office was packed and we waited an hour to have our shots administered. There were 2 nurses working and we were hoping for one over the other, which we were happy to get. The delay was being caused by the paperwork requirement for the swine flu vaccination. Tee was the first one up and he did not shed one tear. I went next and then Jay. When it came to Ee's turn he freaked out a bit. My husband had to hold him on his lap.

We decided to keep the kids out of the house for a while. We went out to lunch and then to the bookstore. At the bookstore I had a lady approach me and start talking to me. I think she was a little off. She started by saying how looking at Tee brought back memories. She has a 9 and 13 year old. She just took white flour, processed sugar and a whole bunch of other stuff out of their diet because her son was struggling with his memory. She said he has gotten so much better and she lost 20 pounds already. She then changes the subject to tell me that she lost 8 pregnancies, 7 miscarriages and 1 ectopic. So her kids mean everything to her. Luckily, she was called away by her son because I honestly did not know what to say to her. Not that I had one chance to get a word in mind you.

Saturday afternoon we watched the movie Nim's Island. The boys enjoyed it and it broke up our afternoon a bit.

On Sunday, we decided to take the boys to the Aquarium. We have an annual membership that we had yet to use this year. We like it because we typically go but don't like to stay the entire day. It just so happened that Diego was visiting and Tee was able to get his picture taken with him. I will upload it tomorrow. He was so happy.

We took a few other pictures as well and I will hopefully download them tomorrow. I have a supper busy week. A few Dr. appointments (me and Ee) and several school commitments. On Friday, one of my friends in coming in town. Her and her husband are running the DC marathon on Sunday. My boys are so excited to visit with her triplet girls. I believe they are going to stay with us Saturday evening. Should be fun.

Color Wonder saves the afternoon

It has not stopped raining since yesterday. Constant drizzle. And it will be around through Sunday. In fact, they are calling for a snowy mix on Sunday. I have had to check my calendar twice, it is just October right?

The rain means we are stuck inside today. Did I mention school is out today? I was ready to pull my hair out by 9am. There has been nothing but crankiness and fighting all morning, except the 1 hour that I let the boys watch TV while I was running on the treadmill. This goes for all 3 boys.

I started laundry this morning. I went to change it over and as soon as I opened the washer I wanted to say a few choice words. Yes, once again I washed a pull up. This is so aggravating to me. I wash all of Tee's clothes together and I don't have to pick through them. I take them from the hamper to the basket and from the basket to the machine. I will have to put up a reminder note to look through his clothes.

We had to pick up my niece at lunch time to take her to get her car at the service place. She decided she would take us out to eat at the chicken place. I thought this would be a nice distraction for the kids. We ate and then the boys traded their toy for ice cream. Not everyone knows that you can do that. I kept hoping the play area would start clearing out. It was close to 1:30. The boys ended up finishing and we headed on over to the play area. It was crowded. Ee and Jay were not that interested in playing with so many people. Tee was a little uneasy as well. We let him play for a while and then decide to leave.

I thought since we were out it would be a good time to stop by the toy store for a few gifts. Tee's friend has a birthday coming up and the boys are invited to a party next weekend. It is for a female friend and I am not sure what to get for her. We may end up with gift cards, I always look for the safe gift. Tee did not want to go but I made him. I didn't find anything for either child. By this point I was frustrated and we left.

As we were driving home, Tee fell asleep in the car. Luckily, I was able to get him in bed right when we got home and he fell back to sleep. The moment I came to sit at my computer the other 2 started fighting again and being very loud. I tell them that their brother is sleeping and that they need to be quiet. Jay decides to go play the piano. I don't get it either. I looked over and saw the 2 color wonders (star wars) that I had purchased for a trip but never gave to the boys. They were so excited. They are sitting at the table quietly coloring. I am hoping this will buy me a little time this afternoon.

On my list for the weekend is to go to the craft store and get different crafts for the boys to do on a rainy/snowy day. They love it and it keeps them happy.

I am sure in a few hours the TV will be back on for a while. But for right now I am going to rest and maybe read one of my magazines.

Sally homemaker

I have had around 13 pounds of apples sitting in my fridge since we went on our apple picking adventure. My normal mornings are a bit busy and by the time nap time comes I have little time to get a few things done and then showered. Wednesdays tend to be the day that I don't rush off in the morning and can get a task or a phone call made.

Tee had his twin friends over this morning. They had a nice time playing and the grownup had a nice time chatting.

As soon as lunch was done, I started in the kitchen. First I made apple bread. I then made apple crisp. We will have the apple crisp for dessert tonight. I still have a little less than 1/2 of the apples we picked. It may mean another apple bread loaf.

I was actually able to get the house cleaned up this morning as well. But I know that it won't last long but I have relished in it and have about 20 minutes until it will get disrupted.

Tee has a field trip to a farm tomorrow. They have a petting zoo, hayride and a pumpkin patch. The weather is calling for rain tomorrow. The field trip is rain or shine. I have no desire to go if it is raining. I heard it is not good to go the day after it rains much less when it is raining. I am glad to know that the school will offer refunds if you decide in the morning to cancel.

My first

I have been running for almost a year now. I have worked out on and off for many many years now. I have also at time run for my exercise. The last time I was serious about running was when the husband and I were together, before kids actually before we were married.

I decided to add running to my exercise regiment for a few reasons. Tee tends to get sick during the winter which mean I can't get to the gym. We purchased a treadmill about 9 months ago.

So I started running on the treadmill and worked my way up to about 7 miles over a long period of time. I had not been running outdoors until recently. My friend sparked an interest in running but she had to take some time to build endurance. Running in my neighborhood is very hard as there are so many hills. But I have been running outside as much as I can. My friend and I have been running together once a week either here or around a trail at a park.

We decided that we needed to work towards a goal so we signed up for a 5k. We ran the 5k this past weekend as part of the Baltimore Marathon. My time was 29 minutes and my friend came in just a bit after me at 31:33.

We had a nice time and now that we know what it is like we are thinking about signing up for another one. We may even consider doing a relay event with a few other ladies.

We were approached 4 or 5 times for a picture together. Here is one of them.

Busy with the PTA

My PTA work has kept me busy this week. The membership cards had to be distributed to the grades yesterday to make it in the Friday folders. It was a lot of work getting 403 cards ready. We are starting our second push for membership today. The second push involved drafting another letter to go out to those who have not joined yet. Luckily, the co-chair is very creative and was able to whip something together. I am now ready for the second batch that should start next week.

This week I also helped host the coffee and conversation that is held every year. It is an opportunity to ask questions to the principal and vp. An interesting topic was discussed. There are about 700 students in our school. Twenty of those students have severe allergies that they require an epi-pen. On the last Friday of every month, the students enjoy a little celebration with a special snack and drink. Awards are handed out to students who are respectful, responsible and ready. Last Friday, a child had an allergic reaction and the school had to react quickly. The child is allergic to milk and ate cheese covered popcorn. The child nor the teacher thought about milk being in the cheese. The child is fine and was able to recover quickly.

The principal asked those who were at the meeting if any of us had children with allergies. This one ladies raises her hand and says that her children are "allergic" to foods that contain red dye. I honestly wanted to drop on the floor. I am not sure how she could compare herself to a mother who has a child with very real severe allergies. She went on to say that red dye makes her children very hyper. My thought is that it is her personal choice not to give her children red dye and that is fine. But honestly I would not put her in the same category as someone who has a child with allergies.

The PTA is proving to be interesting again this year. My neighbor is the president and has had such a hard time with so many individuals. This one guy on the board continues to commit himself to a lot of projects and follow through on none of them. A lady on the board has befriended the guy and I have to tell you that I think they are both crazy. They have already made a name for themselves at school with the staff (not a good thing). Together they displayed the school spirit wear for 4th graders during their lunch time. They asked the kids to take a look and they also gave out tickets (tickets are used as a positive behavior reward which can then be used to purchase an item) to students. They did not get approval to be there and really ticked off a lot of the administration. The other thing that crazy guy did was put letters in kids' folders (in his child's class) regarding a party he was hosting on a weekend. He was getting everyone together at a park and asking for donations to order pizza. One parent did not like this and talked with the principal. This guy has twins and I can tell you every teacher is hoping the kids don't make it to their classroom in the future.

I could go on and on about all the drama in this PTA. It truly is unbelievable in my opinion. I feel like the PTA is so important within the school. They are able to offer so many nice programs and events for the children. It is a great way to be involved and know what is going on. And these are the reasons that I will continue to be a part of the organization. I am trying to pace myself as in another 3 years Tee will be starting Kindergarten. That is a lot of years.

It has been a busy week and I am ready for a little relaxation this weekend. It is supposed to be a nice weekend but then get cold for most of next week. I am not ready to pull out my sweaters just yet.

A beautiful fall weekend

Saturday turned out to be such a beautiful day. We decided to take the boys to a farm to pick apples. They were all very excited about our adventure. The farm is about a 30 minute drive from our house. They are open certain months of the year and have all sorts of fruit and vegetable picking based on what is in season. I have wanted to do this for so long and I am glad we finally did it.

There are so many different kinds of apples to choose from. We got a variety and tried to get more of one used for baking.

We tried to teach the boys how to determine if an apple was good and worth picking. When we arrived the signs say if you pick it you bought it. The fields were filled with apples on the ground though.

The farm had pumpkins but we decided to wait and go to a local farm stand near our house. They had some very large pumpkins there. Here the kids are sitting on one.

Who are those 3 little pigs. A little fun while we waited for our hay ride.

The boys loved the hay ride. Part of the ride was in the woods and there were different scenes set up. For example, they had the houses of the 3 little pigs with the wolf standing at the house made of brick. They also had little red riding hood and many more.

We had a great time. I ended up making Fried Apples last night. It is was very easy and very delicious. You melt butter, then add the apples, apple pie spice and 3/4 cup brown sugar. Saute until the apples are tender. Tonight I will make apple bread. Now only another 13 lbs of apples to use.

On Sunday, the boys had 2 baseball games. We were rained out last weekend and were able to make that game up yesterday. We were blessed with another beautiful day. Jay had a home run in the first game and EE had one in the second. They were both so excited about their first home runs.

Teeth and School

No these are not related in any way.

After being in Md for 2 years one would think I would have found the perfect Doctors and Dentists. I went a dentist I was referred to, but the hygienist would torture my mouth. I can't tell you how many times she stuck her fingernail into my gum. I decided after the 2nd visit I was done with that. I didn't really like the dentist that much to stay there.

I tried a new dentist that my friend referred me to. I made an appointment which was about almost 2 months over my 6 month check up. I got to the appointment and the hygienist took an hour looking in my mouth and making notes. Ok, I know I have lots of issues and work in there but honestly move along. I was shocked when at the end she told me that she wouldn't be cleaning my teeth. I would have to come back for that. I was a bit upset because A) my teeth really needed to be cleaned and B) I paid a sitter to watch Tee so that I could be there. My husband had also made an appointment at the same place but couldn't keep it due to a meeting. Somehow I ended up getting it to work out with the sitter and I was able to take his place. Wow my teeth still hurt from the cleaning.

Today I spent 2 hours at the orthodontist with Jay. He has a cross bite (his upper teeth sit inside of his lower jaw) that needs to be corrected. He will have an expander put into his upper jaw plus will need braces on his four front teeth. This will straighten out his very crooked teeth and allow for his permanent teeth to have space to come in. This will be a year long process. Luckily, I will not have to do anything to the expander. This is not cheap!

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Yesterday, I ended up attending the meeting put on by the board of education (BOE) regarding redistricting. There were groups of people there to argue the few transfers that will take place next year. The neighborhoods are so divided. I was not aware nor do I fully understand what will take place. It doesn't affect us so I am ok not knowing.

The planner at the BOE was respectful and open to hearing from the people. He explained that the trend of children along the east side of the county continue to increase which is causing schools to be over crowded. In addition, neighborhoods will continue to be built along the east making the problem worse. And this is when redistricting is considered.

Our neighborhood had about 10 people show up. Our point was that our neighborhood was being moved in 2011 and then again in 2015, which violates the board policy to not move the same group of children more frequently than every 5 years. I think he heard our point.

Next summer they will update the report and take the ideas to the committee for review and comments. They will then refine the redistricting which would be voted on next November. So we will have to wait until this time next year to determine if any changes have been made on the plan.

Preschool

Our first day of preschool was last Thursday. It was only for 1 1/2 hours to give the kids an opportunity transition away from Mom. Tee was very reluctant and told me repeatedly he did not want to go.


We got ready to go. Tee with his bag.

Tee was fairly quiet on the ride to preschool. There is a process for both drop off and pick up. In the mornings the kids can play on the playground equipment until the doors for the classroom open. Once the doors open you can walk your child in. I took him into his room and he was attached to my leg. With a really tight grip I might add. The teacher kindly peeled him off of me and I was able to leave. But I was able to take a few pictures before I left.


Tee was very unsure about being in class. He was reluctant to sit down at the table to play with play doh.

Eventually the teacher got him to sit down and he gave me that look. You know the one that says you really aren't going to leave me are you.

I did. And I went back 1 1/2 hours later to pick him up. For pick up, you stand outside the gated playground. The teachers walk kids out of the classroom 2 at a time. Tee was so happy to see me. On the ride home, he was all smiles telling me what he did that day.

Tee missed his second day of preschool. He had a bit of a runny nose and a cough. I thought it would be best to keep him home. I did start his nebulizer treatments again. I heard a little wheezing and I wanted to be safe.

I did send him on Thursday. He told me he did not want to go all morning long. We got there a little early for him to play on the playground. He would go play but then he would come back to me and hold on for a minute or two.

As soon as the doors opened I grabbed him and took him inside. Again the teacher was so kind to pull him off my leg. He was fine, meaning he was not crying when I left.

I went to pick up and one of the Moms that I knew from My Gym was there. She is having a hard time with her child not crying. She checked on hers during the day and said a lot of the kids were crying and Tee was one of the few who was not.

He was happy to see me when I picked him up. He didn't tell me what he did or sang but he said he had fun.

I get a paper each day that tells me the songs he sung, his snack and whether he went to the bathroom. They have not marked anything on the bathroom part. So I guess they get him to go during the day.

I am sure we will have the same conversation in the morning on Tuesday about not wanting to go to preschool, but I know he will have fun.

My time

It seems like laundry has been never ending in this household for the last few weeks. Every time I turn around I have another load staring me in the face. The bad part is that I still have stuff sitting on the bench in my bedroom that I have yet to put away.

My parents left today. It was a very nice visit. I am not sure the next time we will see them. My husband's father is coming in town this Friday. They are playing in a golf tournament on Saturday. That would be 36 holes of golf. Boring if you ask me.

Yes, that means I will be doing more laundry and getting beds ready. Maybe this time I will actually get to put some laundry away.

We still haven't finalized our petition for the school redistricting. I am hoping we will have it done tonight. We need to make sure it says what we want it to say. But we also need to get it out there to get signatures. We are thinking about ordering t-shirts but I think we are running out of time.

I am still in the middle of the school PTA membership campaign. We are in the process of recruiting members. Then I will have to get the cards ready to be issued. I am trying to figure out how I can print them on the computer vs. hand writing almost 400 cards.

The husband is out of town until Friday. I like how he goes out of town before his father comes in town. I have procrastinated on cleaning the house so tomorrow I will be working hard to get it all done.

Tomorrow evening will be fun as I am hosting the girls for the season premiere of Grey's anatomy.

Where did last week go!

This week has flown by and we have been non-stop. So much has gone on this week and I will update as I have time this week with pictures and stories. But here is a quick run down.

My parents arrived in town on Tuesday and will stay through Wednesday of this week. A little embarrassed that my house was a mess when they got here. I usually can tidy up and give the appearance of clean but not this time. They specifically came up for my cousins wedding this past weekend, but also planned some extra time to visit with us. My sister also came in town for the wedding but she only stayed the weekend.

The wedding was held on Friday night and a cocktail party on Saturday night. It was so nice. We saw family that we have not seen in such a long time. I don't have the time to go into details right now but I am sure good stories will follow.

Tee started preschool on Thursday. He was reluctant when I dropped him off, meaning the teacher had to pull him off of my leg. When I picked him up he had a huge smile when talking about what he did that morning.

We have still been working on organizing our petition on the school redistricting. I am trying to be positive but hard for me to deal with the change. The positive is that the school we would be transferred to is a really good school. I heard today that a neighborhood is being moved from the school we are moving to, to another school that does not have a great reputation. They all must be going crazy. Not sure if any good will come out of our pleas but we will at least be able to say we tried.

Fall ball has started. Our first game was today. Our boys did so well. Together they had a great play that got the batter out at first. Jay got the ball when he was playing third and threw it to EE playing first. Got him by a step. Tee did not have such a good report from the field. He almost fell off the play set at the playground.....luckily I caught him. He also almost fell off the bleachers. At that point I determined it was time for us to leave.

My Mission

When my husband got this job opportunity in Maryland, we really spent a lot of time researching and thinking about the move. What we found out was that there was a particular county that we wanted to reside in because of the school system. The school system we would moved out of in NC had many issues. It was a win win, a great opportunity for my husband plus a great FREE public education for our children.

As we were looking for houses, the most important aspect was the school district. My husband would call me and I would do a quick search and tell him whether it was worth his time or not. We ended up in our neighborhood because of the school we wanted to attend, plus the fact that we are close to my husband's job.

Last year I heard rumblings of a possible redistricting plan. As fast as it came up....it went away. Well, it has reared its ugly head in a big way.

What it means for us. My boys will do 3rd grade at our school now, then move to a different school for 4th and 5th. They will then move to middle school for 6th and 7th but have to do their last year of middle school at a different school. So in a span of 6 years 4 different schools. After looking at the document a little more, it is 76 pages, I determined we are being moved because another school is overcrowded. These changes will be needed until a new school can be opened in 2013.

I sent out a note on Friday and was overwhelmed by the responses. There are a few of us who will meet to devise a game plan on how we will fight this plan. We will not sit by while they make these changes without considering what is best for the children.

This has been consuming my thoughts for the last 3 days. We will meet today. I can't wait to get started. There is a meeting set for tomorrow evening which one of the husbands will attend. This is a listen only meeting. Then on the 29 and 30 a meeting will be held for public comments. Our neighborhood will be represented by as many people as I can get together. We have a lot of work to do between now and then.

Just in case you were wondering

It is never a good idea to wash a pull-up in the washing machine. Most would put them in the trash after wearing then for a night. Tee feels like they should go in his laundry basket along with his clothes. Most mornings I pull it out and explain once again that they go in the trash. Not only did I miss it in his basket, I didn't realize I put it in the wash. When I opened the washing machine I saw this gel like substance everywhere. Once I took all the clothes out I realized what it was. No need for you to try it at home. It creates more work and running the same load over.

It is tacky to have business cards of your plastic surgeon and landscape company placed in your home for guest to have. My neighbor down the street got a pool in her backyard, well more like an oasis. There is a covered sitting area with a t.v over a fire place, the pool area complete with hot tub and diving rock and the out door kitchen. The furniture all matches. My description does not give it justice. It is absolutely beautiful. Last week, she invited the ladies in the neighborhood over to hang out. I could not make it as I had the funeral stuff going on. My friend so informed me of the business cards. I had a hard time believing it until she told me the names.

An ice cream sandwich doesn't seem like a good choice for a breakfast item. When we were driving a few weeks ago, we saw a lady eating an ice cream sandwich in her car while driving. I like ice cream....but I could imagine it at 8 in the morning.

Maybe I need to learn the word no

I like to be involved in the boys' school. I am trying to pace myself a little. When the boys are in 5th grade, Tee will just be starting Kindergarten. It will be the only year that they will be at the same school. Then I will have another 6 years there with Tee. So that is about another 9 years.

I wanted to take a role on the PTA this year so I volunteered for the membership committee. I thought this would be somewhat simple. Most of the membership work is at the beginning of the school year. Of course, there is always more involved than you think there is.

I was then asked by the President to help out on the family involvement committee. I agreed, I have a hard time saying no sometimes. One event has already come and gone and right now we only have one other event planned.

I can't stop there, I have signed up to be the room parent for both boys. I feel like if I do it for one then I should do it for the other. I am not sure if I will get "picked" to be the room parent for either class though.

I am helping out another committee by checking the push up books for the 2nd grade. No one stepped up to be the point person, so I am coordinating.

It is really not that bad but I am just very busy right now. So writing will be scarce and short for the time being.

Tooth Tales

The tooth fairy has been a frequent visitor in our house for the last year plus. The new teeth coming in our so big and crooked that they are pushing the baby teeth out. After conversations with friends, it seems that our tooth fairy has been hit by the recession and only leaves $1 per tooth.

About a month ago, EE wrote a letter to the tooth fairy asking if she could please leave a $5 bill. When he woke up the next morning there was a $5 bill under his pillow. I wondered what would happen next time either he or his brother lost a tooth.

EE has had a loose tooth in his mouth and it finally came out on Monday. They were home with my niece at the time. When we got home he proudly showed us that his tooth came out. It wasn't until later in the day I found out he had written a letter to the tooth fairy that went like this (exactly as he wrote it):

"bear tooth fairy could you please give me a 20 dollar Bill and 15 pennies"

He did not tell me about the letter. My niece clued me in. I always ask to see where the boys put their tooth under their pillow at night. This night was no different. I saw the note and asked EE if I could read it.

The tooth fair responded:
"EE, Thank you for your note. I am sorry I could not bring you $20. I have so many children to see every night so I have to be fair to all of them. Keep up the good work and continue to work on your writing and spelling. TF"

The tooth fairy left a $1 bill and scattered 15 pennies on the floor from his bed to his door.

EE thought it was funny and was very excited to receive the letter back from the tooth fairy.

Today at breakfast, Jay tells EE that the TF know his name.

Catholic memories

I went to a Catholic parochial school for my K-12 years of school. We were the typical Catholic family. We went to church every Sunday. We also attended mass at school on holy days. I was able to get all of my Catholic education at school in Religion class. In our area, the public school system did not have a good reputation. I am sure my parents struggled to give us a private education.

During my many years, Religion class always took a different form. Some years it was a joke. I had a teacher that made us do Religious crossword puzzles all of the time. I am fairly certain I did not learn much in her class. Then I had a teacher who made us watch Star Wars and somehow made a connection with Religion. My memory has blocked the movie as well as anything I may have been taught in her class. I had a few nuns teach me in elementary school and there were several nuns in high school. I remember Sister Susan chasing me around the halls because my skirt was too short. Those were the days.

I remember going to church every Sunday but not always willingly. I found the homilies to be boring and often times no connection to me as a child. So I basically sat and waited the hour for the mass to be done. I did not want to have my children go through this as well. The Methodist church we have been attending offers Sunday school for the kids during service. So they get to learn in a somewhat fun manner and we don't have ancy children that we have to tend to during service.

We did give a lot of thought on how to raise our children. I never thought that a public education would be for my children. Our ultimate decision was that we could not raise our children in the Catholic church. I do not believe in all of the Catholic teachings and would not ask my children to.
The school issue for us was solved when we moved into one of the best school districts in Maryland. They will get a good education. We still are not sold 100% on the church we have been attending. I hope we can figure this one out soon.

Why does this come up? We went to a Catholic church on Thursday for the funeral of our neighbor's mother. The church was beautiful. The service was lovely. It is funny how it has been so long since I have been to a mass but still remembered all of the responses. It was communion time when the priest made it clear that you are not invited to participate unless you are Catholic and have the same beliefs regarding the Eucharist. And that is when I remembered why we would not raise our children Catholic.

Change is not always easy

Change is definitely necessary but not always easy. We change seasons, hairstyles and sometimes friends. It is not always a smooth transition but it all usually works out in the end. I tend to have a hard time with change so I guess my boys should not be any different.

Now that school has started we are all trying to get used to our new routines. I never realized how much time EE and Jay spent with Tee. I think he misses his brothers when they are at school. He has all of the sudden become scared of everything. He is not wanting to go to the gym child watch area. He used to love playing there and would sometime ask me first thing in the morning if we were going to the gym. Today we took a walk with a friend in the park that neighbors our street. He held my hand the entire time we were walking. It was like he was afraid to be away from me. I do hope this is just a phase.

The boys have gotten a new bus driver. The neighborhood has had the same bus driver for many years. It came as a surprise to all of us when a different number came driving down the hill. The bus driver is an older very petite lady. All of the parents keep getting stories from their kids (all at different times) about how she drives in the grass or how she almost hit a car. Everyone says that she is mean....aren't all bus drivers supposed to be mean? It is a wild bunch that she has to drive. Luckily, the school is less than 10 minutes away. None the less, the parents are worried about the stories. I followed the bus driver half way to school this morning. She did fine, stayed in her lane and went slow. But we are still going to periodically follow her to see if she is consistent. It is possible that she will need to drive all our children home in rain, snow or sleet.

The boys have adjusted well to school. We have a 4 day week this week and next. This should help with the transition back to school. EE was very clingy (on me) the two weeks prior to school starting. He tends to have the hardest time with new things. We are fortunate that he got a really good teacher this year. I think it will also help that there are only 17 kids in his class.

The next transition for us will be Tee starting preschool. He will go 2 days a week for 2 1/2 hours. I am hoping he will do ok.

My change will come when I have to re-work my workout schedule. I won't be able to get him to preschool and make my class on T/Th. The preschool is in the opposite direction from any of the places I visit. I am sad about my class but I guess I will have to try another class.

I am sure just as we get settled into our routine something will pop up to ruffle our feathers. And once again we will adapt.