Kids are so strange

Why is it on school days it takes a bunch of cajoling and back rubbing and kissing before my kids roll out of bed?

Why is it on days when I would let them sleep in that they're eyeballs are wide open BEFORE the time I'd planned on waking them?

Take this morning:

My son has a DR appointment at 9:30am.
The summer program the kids are in has a scheduled field trip where they all leave the facility at 9:30am.
Needless to say, my kids aren't going to their summer program today. 
Since my son has a DR appointment, I wasn't going into work until after he's seen.
To get to work in time so that I can leave at a reasonable hour, the kids and I head out the door by 6:30am.
I wake them at 6am so they can get ready.

Today? Oh, the luxury of waking up later in the middle of the week! I woke at 5:55am rather than 5am. Woohoo!

But folks? My son was already getting out of bed as I was stretching in bed. Yes. He was already awake before 6am! ARGH!

Then my normally sleep-loving daughter just pranced her way towards me at 6:50am as I'm sitting on the computer. This girl normally rolls out of bed at 8am on the weekends. But SIX FIFTY on her own?

My crazy kids. Can't they just sleep in?

A positive turn

My husband told me this morning that he received a verbal offer today.

Yeah!

The company is now doing a background check on him.

The Hubs decided that he will put in his notice once he clears the background check.

He doesn't want to submit his resignation until he completes the check "just in case" there's some unknown glitch.

The Hubs is just being cautious.

That's just the way he is.

I am really happy for him.

He sounded happy when he told me.

I'm hoping that this will be a turn for the positive for us. For our family. That good things will start happening.

Not to say that horrible things have been happening. But we've had a bunch of large bumps in the road this past year. It's been difficult for both the Hubs and myself.

But with all the hairpin turns that have way-laid our plans and diverted our energy? I am ever so grateful for what's most important. The kids have been growing like weeds and been so healthy (except for a few minor illnesses). We have a roof over our heads and enough food to fill our bellies. The kids have lots of new friends and love their school. We've been enjoying being around my folks, my sisters, my nephews and nieces, and the rest of the extended family. I mean, family gatherings are loads of fun for each of us.

We're surrounded by love. And that warms my heart.

A day for 3

Today was a lovely day.

A day where the kids and I spent the entire day together.

I was able to sleep in until 8am.

The kids made themselves breakfast.

I cleaned & did laundry.

The kids straightened their rooms then folder their laundry and put it away.

The Bear and I went to the store to grab some lunch. I walked. He scootered.

The kids watched movies, read, and played on the computer.

I was able to take a 45 minute nap.

We ventured out to Barnes & Noble to get a screen film and cover.

We ended up spending about an hour inside the bookstore. Me downloading books and the kids browsing and reading some books.

We then dropped by Rubio's for some fish tacos!

We ate outside & enjoyed the setting sun.

Lovely day for the three of us.

Just what I needed.

Obstacles a plenty

It's been a rough week for me here.

Probably one of the worst weeks since I moved out here.

Everything seems to be going wrong.

So many days where things aren't going well.

Not just at work.

Just doing everyday tasks has been...difficult.

I'm feeling overwhelmed.

It's been mentally and physically exhausting.

I cried on Tuesday night.

I cried on Wednesday night.

I cried last night.

[sigh]

But it's now Friday night -- the weekend!

I can finally get a break.

All I need to do is hang with the kids while I finish up chores.

I'll have time to re-group.

Take some time to just be.

Making Mommy Laugh

As I'm sitting here surfing the web, my kids are having a "butt war" behind me.

What this game consists of, I don't know.

But they are getting along and laughing up a storm, so all is well.

Isn't that all that matters?

How to spend a sunny afternoon

The kids and I headed out to a local lake today to attend a birthday party.

It's been cloudy every morning this week. The sun has broken through every day but it's stayed pretty cool.

Today? Today? It was beautiful from the get go. B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L!!!

A sunny afternoon at the lake was JUST what we needed.

You always see new things at the zoo

Since I'm doing the single parent thing, the kids are in a summer program now that the school term is over and they've just completed their first week.

While they had fun all week, my daughter is the one who gave the most memorable moment of the week.

Mom, we walked all over the place. We got to go into the petting zoo. There were a LOT of goats. And there was this one that was facing away from me. All of a sudden, its bottom hole opened up like a flower. And then all these little pellets plopped out onto the ground. It was so weird looking. Then its bottom hole was empty. 

She was cracking up like crazy after she said this. She just makes herself laugh and that totally kills me. Because I start laughing like this when I say something that tickles my funny bone.

So the next time you're at the zoo. Don't look at a goat's bottom because you might see it open up like a flower. HA-HA-HA!

Getting enough?

As parents, we all now how precious sleep can be.

Now that I'm basically running the show, I'm the all-around go-to person. I have to cook, clean, buy supplies, and do anything else that needs to be done. It's quite physically and mentally taxing. No break for the weary! So I love to grab naps on the weekends. Oh...it's lovely.

My kids? They love their sleep. Well, when they're finally asleep. Both do NOT take naps during the day. Even when we're on vacation and they stay up late and we're out and about all day. At night after they get into bed, they are typically out. O-U-T.

On school nights, the kids are in bed between 8:30pm-9pm. I wake them up between 6am-6:30am. That's about 9 1/2 to 10 hours of horizontal time. I end up having to invest a few minutes to wake them up with sweet nudges, kisses, and a soft voice. They are so cuddly and warm when I wake them, I sometimes am so tempted to just curl up beside them and fall asleep. But alas, we've got places to go!

Last night the kids went to bed like they normally do. I usually spend the rest of the night watching tv shows/movies online while I'm surfing the web. Around 10pm, I sense another presence in the room. I turn around and there's my Bear! Totally surprised me.

Me: Hey Buddy. [in whispered voice]
Bear: Hey Mom.
Me: What're you doing up?
Bear: Oh...I think I've had enough sleep.
Me: You have?
Bear: Yeah...what do you want me to do?
Me: What?
Bear: Do you want me to change or...
Me: Buddy? It's still night time. It's only 10 pm.
Bear: 10 pm?
Me: Yes. You've only been in bed about an hour.
Bear: Oh...
Me: Do you think you can get back to sleep?
Bear: I don't know...
Me: You want to sleep in Mom's bed?
Bear: Yes, I do.

So I ended up with a sleeping partner. He was out like a light once he was in my bed.

I just am so amused that he thought it was already morning. After only 1 hour of sleep! Crazy kid. He cracks me up.

Turn key and nothing...

This afternoon my car greeted me with a dead battery.

While most would see this with grumblings of the inconvenience this snafu put into my life, I am not seeing it that way.

You see, my car got the kids to their day camp on time. It was an early arrival day because they were going on a field trip to the city zoo today.

My car got me into work on time.

My car got me back to pick up the kids.

My car got us home so that we could quickly eat dinner.

My car got us to a local park where we attended a meeting with the Bear's new football coach and the rest of the team staff.

My car got us home and into a nice spot behind a fire hydrant so no one could park in front of me.

This is when the snafu happened.

I got out of the car and took a better look at how much space I had in front of me before I felt that I was too close to the hydrant. I figured I had another foot or two that I could move up. I handed the Princess the housekeys and the kids walked into towards the townhouse. Me? I got in the car to move it forward. I turned the key and....NADA.

Nothing happened! The battery was as dead as a smashed bug under your foot. I couldn't even press my clicker to lock the doors!

I was able to call my BIL who was available to switch out the battery. The kids and I walked over to their townhouse (which is about a block away) and my BIL and I got the dead battery out of my car. We headed to CostCo and discovered that they didn't carry my specific battery. Where to go next? Where to go? We drove over another 8 miles over to the Kragen (now O'Reilly) and found my battery. The guy behind the counter looked up my info and found that I indeed could get a discount on a new battery if the old one was not "chargeable". So we waited and waited for the machine to tell us that my old battery was indeed DEAD. We waited about 30 minutes. It was almost 9pm before I was able to buy a new battery.

I was ecstatic when the guy found that I had the Hubs had indeed purchased my old battery from Kragen. And it had a guarantee for like seven years. The Hubs got the battery in Aug 2009, so it lasted just under 2 years. So I only ended up paying $31 for a $95 battery. Woohoo!

My BIL got the new battery installed via flashlight power and my car now works! I am happy, happy, happy!!!

So while some might consider a dead battery a huge hassle, I am looking at today as a blessing. I was able to do all the things I needed to do and get to each place safely. I think that's all that matters. Don't you think?

My son thinks he's a speed racer

My son attended a birthday party at an indoor driving facility.

While the kids got into rides that had less horsepower than the adult versions, they still got into some snags.

One boy ended up hitting a barrier on the first lap in the first race for the first group of boys. This boy continued to race after one of the organizers moved him off the wall.

Another boy ended up hitting a barrier on the first lap in the second race for the second group of boys. This little guy chose to go into the pit stop because he was too shaken.

My son kept on hitting the same wall because he couldn't wrap around a tight turn. He hit that wall about 60% of the time. Ay-yay-yay! He did end up hitting the same barrier as the other two boys and continued to race after being moved off the wall.

But all the boys had a good time so that's all that counts. Just another day at the track!

"Another picture Mom?"

Kind of better and then not really

Remember how I had a doctor visit a couple weeks ago?

After 10 days of cutting caffeinated coffee from my diet, I wasn't back to normal. [sigh] I'm pretty bummed that it didn't fix me.

When I was at my doctor, he mentioned that I might want to try to take another 150mg pill before bed. Another 150? I just didn't want to take another full dose pill. So...for the last 4 days I've been taking a 75mg pill about 30 minutes before I get into bed. And it's definitely been helping. Not totally mind you but definitely allowing me to actually sleep most of the night. I was waking up coughing every hour or two before, so getting some solid sleep has been a blessing.

This past Tuesday, I finally went in for the blood workup that the doc asked me to go in for. It was a fasting blood draw. Oh how I detest those kind. Don't like them at all! But thankfully I did have the day off so that I could attend my daughter's commencement, so I was able to fit in the blood draw. I went in there and was out within 10 minutes. Can I hear a woo-hoo?

My doc left me a voicemail on Thursday and I got to touch base with him on Friday. Most of baselines are a-okay. But there was one item that was out of whack. Like big time. My vitamin D levels were horrendous. Where a normal level would be 30 -- my level was at 16.5. That's right folks. I was under by almost half what I should be. Therefore, back to the drug store I went. I have to take a megadose of vitamin D (40,000 units) once a week for the next 8 weeks. Yup, it's a prescription level dose for sure.Then I'll need to take a regular 2000 unit vitamin D pill every day. The reason behind the weekly megadose? So that I'll be able to accumulate the backlog and get back to a normal level.

40,000 units - (2000 units * 7 days) = 26,000 extra units per week

26,000 units * 8 weeks = 208,000 extra units

Since I had such deficit in my vitamin D? I'm going to have to up my calcium intake. Because if I'm low in vitamin D then I'm pretty sure my calcium levels have been compromised as well. I've never been a milk drinker. Milk has never sat well in my stomach. But I can eat yogurt and cheese without much trouble. Maybe because it's processed? I normally get the kids a few containers of yogurt at the grocery store. This time I grabbed a large Greek yogurt for myself. I also picked up a half gallon of soy milk. I'm planning on drinking a cup before I head out to work every day.

As I'll be taking a vitamin D pill every day soon enough, I'm going to start taking a multi-vitamin every day. Yes. At my age, I should have already been taking a multi-vitamin every day but I just haven't. No real reason. No real excuse. I just haven't been doing it. And now? I'm going to have to...if I want to stay healthy.

Sadly enough, I ended up buying one of those 7-day pill boxes so that I can keep my daily pill intake organized. I used to make fun of my Dad with his box but now here I am. Do I feel old now or what?

Let the games begin!

Today was my kids last day of the school year.

Another year gone and done.

[sigh]

Tomorrow will be the first day of summer.

What's funny to me is that the schools in Arizona got out about a month ago.

Yes, it's true!

The kids had a good last day. My daughter's class had "improv" day along with loads of time to sign yearbooks. My son's class played games and even had ice cream sundaes.

Here the kiddos are on the first day of school.

Here is how they looked today on the last day of school.

They'll be attending a summer program starting next week. I looked at the weekly schedule today and they are going to have FUN! They'll be going on a weekly field trip. They'll get to go to the movies and the pool every week. Then they'll have loads of computer time. Outside playtime. Indoor quiet playtime. There's even reading time every day. I want to go with them! But it'll be nice that they'll be busy all summer. They won't be stuck with only each other for amusement.

Are your kids out of school already? What are they going to do for the summer?

The ceremony was great

I was so impressed and touched by the 5th grade commencement.

The 5th graders did the walk to honor through the main hall of the school before the ceremony. All the younger kids lined the hallways and clapped as the 5th graders walked down the main hall. Loads of whooping and hollering. It was so fun to see how the little kids really enjoyed cheering for the older kids.

It was so interesting (as I expected) to watch the girls walk into the auditorium. Most were wearing dresses in black/white. I found that SO interesting. And what's great is that there were no repeats of the same dress. Such variety of dresses too. My daughter had a flapper style dress. There were girls with petticoats underneath. Only one young lady was wearing pants. ONE out of 30 girls. I thought that was pretty amazing since most of these girls wear jeans/pants/shorts every day. Skirts/skorts/dresses aren't their normal garb.

They acknowledged achievements. The kids did a few speeches. Then the kids got to walk across the stage and get their "diploma" so that each one got the limelight. It was great. They put together a DVD with photos that captured their year. That was fun to watch and also hard to watch as well. There was a part they showed a baby picture of each student followed by a current photo of the student in a cap. Oh...it really caught me off-guard at how that touched me. Tears formed in my eyes unexpectedly and I caught myself. I stopped the tears from flowing but I couldn't help my lip from twitching at the emotion I was feeling. It was so hard to control. But when the DVD ended, I looked to my right and that Mom was wiping visible tears from her face. It was nice to see that I wasn't the only one who was brought to tears.

Once the ceremony was over, we walked outside and were handed a piece of cake. What was great was that the rest of the happened to be coming out for recess. I went to the fence to look out onto the playground searching for the Bear but couldn't find him. But as I walked back to my table, he was right there with my Mom and my BIL. He ran up to me and did a Spiderman style jump at me. I caught him mid-air and gave him a huge hug. Then I realized that we were not at home, but at the school's lunch area surrounded by his peers. I looked at him to see if he was embarrassed and he didn't have one inkling of hesitation at all. Just joy. And I LOVE that. He isn't embarrassed to show his love. I'm amazed I've got a son that's so open like that because my daughter (who is so much like myself at her age) is so restrained. My son had my cake, he played with my littlest niece for a bit, his friends ended up hanging out with us for a bit, and then it was time for him to go back to class.

All the kids in my daughter's class were meeting up for lunch. We put all the kids at some center tables, while all the parents/families stayed at the smaller tables surrounding. It was so much fun watching all the kids interact -- talking excitedly together -- move from table to table -- all smiles and laughter.

Oh gosh...I was so happy to watch them. To watch my girl in the midst of it all. She's growing up. And this is just the first of many more milestones before I totally let her go into the world on her own. I'm so proud of her. I'm so lucky that she's my daughter. I feel so blessed to have the privilege to be her mother. I love the little girl she once was.

I love the young lady that she is.

And I know I will love the woman she will be.

End of an era for one

Tomorrow my daughter will be participating in 5th grade Commencement.

Yes!

My daughter will be finishing up 5th grade this week.

[sniffle-sniffle]

It'll be the end of one chapter in my daughter's life.

One more milestone that Mommy needs to get through.

My daughter is SO excited. She's going to be wearing a new dress with little heels. She's going to look so beautiful. [cringing again inside]

Thankfully the ceremony is being held mid-morning. This way we can attend and then head out of school. The class is actually meeting up for lunch after. It's just going to be time for me and my girl. My son is going to stay at school all day so he can relish in some fun time with his friends. Because once summer comes around he'll be missing them like crazy.

But I'm really glad to be able to spend time alone with my girl in the middle of the week.

Girl Time! Girl Time!

I'm going to relish in this special time with my girl because before I know it, she'll think she's too cool to spend time with me.

Anyone else having to deal with one of their kids' milestones? 

Surprises even come in the early morning

Today marked the annual Rock and Roll Marathon held in my fabulous home town.

As always, it was a beautiful day.

The sun was up early ~ about 5:45am.

And as the runners got situated this morning?

This hit the scene at 6am!

Fun, no?

Partners in crime

It's Saturday!

And what's the routine for Saturdays?

Vacuuming. Laundry. Sweeping. Cleaning bathrooms.

Then there's the inevitable...trying to relax.

Unexpectedly my Mom gave me a buzz after lunch.

Mom: Hi honey, it's Mom.
Me: Hey Mom. What's going on?
Mom: Nothing. I was wondering what you were doing. I wanted to take Princess out to buy a promotion dress.
Me: Oh yeah?
Mom: Is she busy?
Me: She's working on an art project right now but she can finish it up tomorrow. When do you want to go?
Mom: I can be over in about 30 minutes.
Me: Oh okay.

And so my daughter went shopping with her Grandma for about 4 hours. Yes. They went to the mall (only 15 minutes away) didn't get back for over FOUR hours. Yes. My daughter is a shopper. A trait that her Mama (me) doesn't have. I so dislike going to the mall. Too much stuff. Too many people. Too confusing.

I am so not looking forward to my daughter's teenage years. I can imagine the amount of time she'll want to spend at the mall. How much money I'll have to invest. Ay-yay-yay!

But my daughter had a blast with my Mom. Of course, my Mom was super tired by the time she dropped my girl off. The two were super happy though about their time together. And we even got a little fashion show once they got here.

Nothing like seeing a happy Mom and a happy child, eh?

Running = Fun Times

While some folks dread the thought of running, most kids relish in any kind of horseplay.

My kids are no exception. When we're at the park, they run around all over the place. Even if there aren't any other kids at the park, my kids are happy as clams just playing with each other. They have their own kind of communication together on what they want to do. It's fun to watch. They just need each other.

But today? They didn't play at the park together. The entire school got to play games outside. That's right. It was FIELD DAY today.

Oh my goodness, they both couldn't talk fast enough to tell me the games that they played. Egg (actually a ball) on a spoon. 3-legged race. Obstacle course. Tug of war.

Here are a couple comments from my kids:
"We ate Otter Pops! They were huge. About twice as big as a normal one!"
"Mom, today definitely wasn't the day to forget to put on deodorant."

They were totally cracking me up something fierce.

Listening to them just made me appreciate how fun being a kid can be. How much such simple things in life like playing outside can just make a day better. Not doing anything special really. Being with friends. And just running around.

Here's a bit of "Wow" that pleasantly surprised me.  My son received an award from the Running Club for logging more than 55 miles this school year. Can you believe it? More than fifty-five miles! The kids who were in the club would run laps at recess on Tuesdays and Thursdays. They'd earn "sticks" for every lap (which was the same length as what you'd see at a typical track).

At the start of the year my son would get about 4 sticks each time he ran. After a while he gained more endurance and was able to earn 5 sticks. And by the end here, he was earning between 6 to 7 sticks each running day.

But I have to tell you that there was one exceptional second grader who earned just over 100 miles for the year. Can you believe it? Given the opportunity, it's amazing what these kids can achieve. We just have to give them the time and the chance to do it.

Both kids went to bed late. In our house, the kids are in bed by about 8:30pm. But like every Friday/Saturday, they crawled into bed between 9:30-9:45pm. So with all the activity of today and staying up late, I'm hoping they'll sleep in a bit tomorrow morning. [crossing fingers]

Now does your kids' have Field Day at their school? What kind of games did they get to play?