We’re On Summer Vacation!

The boys got out of school last week!

I can’t believe the school year is over already and I can’t believe the boys have been out of school for a week!

Bye Bye Summer...

Well today marks the "official" end to all our summer plans and happenings.

The kids are in school -- and have been for a few weeks. Our trips are done, we have no more visitors planned for a while...

We had our last-eating-bad-food- stuffing-our-face-with-chips for the summer yesterday and the detox starts today. I stepped on the scale this morning and was mortified.

Oh well, at least I've got the motivation now!

And as luck would have it, we're really busy for a while too.

Josh starts baseball practice today -- his first game is on Saturday. He's on the Cubs this year. He's quite excited that the Cubs are from Chicago because that's where his cousins live. So he feels a connection. Anyway, so he's got baseball until the end of October. He's also in the school chorus and has practices after school one day a week. His first performance will be in just a few weeks at the schools 100th year celebration!

Sam starts gymnastics on Friday mornings in October. This is his first extra curricular activity and he's very excited about it. He loved watching the Olympic gymnasts. Some how I don't see him every being that coordinated, but he's excited about trying something out.

So, life goes on here in our little corner of Atlanta. I'm actually looking forward to the cooler weather of fall and winter, getting back into a routine... I would say "slowing down" but that never seems to happen.

And now for some shameless self promotion so my mom and dad know where to go to read my Savvy article...

I know quite a few parts of the country are getting ready for the first day of school. Over at the Being Savvy the topic today is "On the first day of Preschool..." My post is a list of five fun books to ease you into the school year. Feel free to leave me some comments over there too... I'm not sayin', I'm just sayin'... well, begging....

Monday, Monday....

*** I realized I forgot to publish this yesterday. I must have been tired. Anyway, here is yesterday's post... I will have another one today...

maybe.***


So after my weekend of nursing a sick little boy, he woke up today happy, cheerful and full of life!

What a relief. Even though he had no fever yesterday, he was completely wiped out! I guess it's understandable though after battling 104 temps the whole day and night before!

It was good he was happy today because we had his "Tea with Teacher" at school today. He starts pre-k3 (pre-k for 3 year olds) on Wednesday.

He's got several friends that have been in his class over the last two years plus quite a few new friends. He clung to my side most of the time, but sure enough, with 10 minutes to go got off my lap and said, "I'm going to go play now Mommy" and went off.

He made a new friend who also likes Lego StarWars and Lego Indiana Jones (but he has a Wii, we just have a PS2, but Sam doesn't know the difference). And the other boy had on green crocs just like Sam. And his favorite colors were green and blue just like Sam. Of course you would think this would be a great friendship in the making. I'm saying they never talk to each other again.

Josh came home from school on Friday and announced he wanted to try out for the 2nd grade Chorus. Apparently it's a big deal to be a part of because you have rehearsal after school and get to sing in performances at the PTSA meetings and around town. I don't know if he'll get in, but he does carry a tune quite well if I do say so myself. He'll be trying out this week and if he gets picked has to start practices next Monday.

So, that was my Monday. Nothing exciting. I still have heaps of laundry to fold and a bathroom or two to clean before my parents come the end of the week.

Anyone want to help?

A New Post Because My Mom Wants an Update

Yesterday was Josh's first day of school.

We had a little "getting out of bed" issue in the morning. All summer long both boys have been getting up between 5:30 and 6:00 -- occasionally they have "slept in" until 6:30 (thankfully they entertain each other and not me).

But of course yesterday I had to go wake Josh up at 6:00 for school. He gets up, goes potty, comes back, gets back under the covers and informs me he is "not going to school today."

I'll let you guess who won that discussion.

He seemed to have a really great day. He's still telling me things that happened. I always try to pry information out of him and get the inevitable, "I don't remember."

But if I let him be, he always tells me what happened in his own time at his own pace. You'd think I'd learn!

Apparently, he made a new friend that is "really funny!" and his lunch table is next to some of his friends from the neighborhood and class last year, so he's happy.

Today, the second day of school, he had a long awaited dermatology appointment. His eczema has been worse than ever this summer -- and that's bad. I brought him to his normal doctor two and a half weeks ago and she recommended we go to a dermatologist to help control it. Meanwhile, she gave us a 'scrip for yet more products to help control it and they seemed to be working. The eczema was better -- but still bad!

The whole trip today was just frustrating. We got there 15 minutes before our appointment (like they recommend) and then sat there -- me with two children in a waiting room that is NOT kid friendly -- for an hour!

Finally, we were taken back to be seen and the doctor seemed a tad put off by the kids because they were antsy. And in the end he didn't really help at all. Just gave us another prescription for another type of cream and told us, "well, it doesn't seem to be that bad...." Um yes but two and a half weeks ago when I tried to get in it was REALLY bad and bleeding....

It just really irked me. The main reason we were going there was because we have so many partial tubes of stuff that either half work, don't work, sting badly (and I know they do because I've used them on me), work for a while then stop working, or work great then I stop using it (because it's a steroid) and the eczema comes back immediately.

I just want something that will keep it under control most of the time.

You should see his poor hands and feet! They hurt just to look at.

So at any rate, we have yet another prescription to try and yet another combination of creams, lotions and ointments (yes, there is a difference) and a new plan of when to apply what type of medicine to see what works.

I dropped him off at school just as his class was getting out of lunch (at 11:00! Thankfully I gave him a sandwich in the car) and he finished the day at school and was just as excited about school today as he was yesterday! Yippee!

He and Sam are happy as clams playing on the PlayStation2 at the moment!

Dog Days of August

Things have been slowly getting back to "normal" lately, and by normal I really mean "controlled chaos" as usual.

Josh is settling into his first week of school and we're gearing up for Sam to start next week. It's been a strange sort of twilight zone week. Nothing bad has happened. We had some colds and sore throats and Josh missed his 2nd day of school, but you know, nothing really weird. It just feels a bit twilight-y around here. It's like getting ready to finish a chapter in your book and start on the next one.

I think it's the summer winding down. We had a great summer! Full of lots of trips, meeting lots of new people, swimming, riding bikes and all sorts of fun. August is nearly over and with it the summer is coming to a close. And with it, a bit of normalcy returns.

Josh is really excited about school and Sam cries when the bus comes everyday because he wants to go to school with Josh. In fact, Sam has to wear his backpack to the bus stop too. Next week Sam, next week!

I'm anxious for cooler weather and the fall. We'll be able to go outside and play at the playground after school -- something that is always fun for us all! The weekends we can go back to some of our favorite parks and the State Park that is just up the road from us.

Forget the New Year. The start of school and September always brings to mind the hope of what will happen this (school) year. It's like starting all over again in the middle of the year! What will the kids learn? How will they like school? Will their teachers be nice, strict, fun? And their classmates? What will they be like?

Who knows? But I'm excited to find out!

Here's to a happy, healthy, full of fun Fall and school year for both the boys.

First Day of School

Just a quick post.

Josh had his first day of First Grade today! He did really well and seemed to like his teacher and classmates.

His teacher seems really nice. She's been a teacher for several years, has 3 children of her own and is very, very nice! She even called this evening to tell us that Josh had a great first day and to see if we had any questions! I was very impressed!

It looks like he's going to have quite a bit of homework... well, bits and pieces sent home but he is expected to read four times a week and do flash cards and review work at home as well.

The best thing is, he seems excited about first grade and I just want the enthusiasm to continue throughout the year!

My Moment Wednesday

I know. It's not Wednesday. But better late than never!

Things are quite exciting around here this week. School starts on Monday and today we got Josh's class/teacher assignment. He's excited because he knows several people in his class and one of his best friends from the playground is in his class too! He's very excited!

Today we went to the school and met his teacher and his class. It was all very excited. The buzz in the air as we visited with old friends, visited his new class and even dropped by his old Kindergarten class to say hi.

I belong to a local mom's group and the message board has been very active with "First Time Kindergarten" mom's. I read their posts about what is going on and what to expect and it's all so familiar to me. And in the halls today, the new Kindergarteners and their parents were easy to spot. So full of excitement like everyone else, but a different kind of excitement than those who have "been there" before.

I remember not knowing anything about Josh getting on the bus last year. How the initial days of school go, what to bring, what to expect, how does this happen, or that happen... so many questions for first time kindergarten moms! And so much excitement, not just for the kids but for us, the parents too.

When your oldest child goes to Kindergarten, it's like the parents are starting Kindergarten too. There's a whole Freshman parent thing going on. You rely on the other parents who have been there before to help out, show you around, appease your fears.

And as a sophomore parent this year, I do my best to help out, answer questions, allay the fears and anxieties of the other parents.

But I know no matter what, I can't take that anxiety away from the Freshman parents. Nor do I want to. It's a great feeling when you discover they will be okay and so will you.

Of course, I have my own too with Josh starting First Grade. The first real grown up grade with tests and grades and such. But I know he'll be fine because we made it through Kindergarten.

So My Moment this week was reveling in the beginning of the school year. Wondering what next week and next year will hold for all of us.

I've Come to the Conclusion....

.... that "practice" school schedules for "kids" are really for the parents.

School starts next week for us. That means we have to be up by 6:00 to catch a 7:00 bus.

I know so many people that start "practicing" for school early risings a week or two before school starts so the kids will be used to the early mornings and early bed times.

Not us.

In our house the "practice" is for me. The kids have been getting up between 5:30-6:00 all last week and this. I've been lazy and have not been able to drag my behind out of bed until 6:30/7:00 while the kids play in Josh's room!

I suppose I should start going to bed earlier!

My Moment...

I had insomnia last night, so I didn't get much sleep. I think by the time I actually fell asleep until I woke up was only 3 hours. And the sleep I got was not "quality" sleep.

I really hate when that happens!

I was really expecting today to be me completely knackered, while trying to keep Sam entertained and not loose my cool. However, things didn't go so badly...

It was Josh's end of year school party today. Sam and I went up and met him for lunch, then attended the party. It was really fun! The kids all sang songs they'd done throughout the year in "LIFT" -- Learing Is Fun Times. The songs were so cute and the kids all sang and danced and really got into them! It was fun.

And Sam entertained himself with the dolls in the "home living" corner -- which was good because all this took place at his nap time!

Josh's teacher this year was absolutely wonderful! I keep asking her to move to First Grade, but she won't do it! All the kids got an award of sorts. There was the "Happiest Student" award, the "Daydreamer" award, the "Math" award, etc... I think Josh got one of the best ones. He got the "Qualities of Good Friendship" award because he's everyone's friend in the class! And she said in her eight years of teaching, this was the best behaved class she's ever had!

The teacher also gave us all packets of work for the kids to do over the summer to prepare them for First Grade -- worksheets and sight-words and such, each packet was made specifically for each student and their skill level! She really was a wonderful teacher!

We are going to miss Mrs. Laird!

She also gave us all a CD with pictures of our kids throughout the year so we could see how they'd changed.

Here we are on the first day of school...

... and here is Josh near the end of the school year -- just a few days ago.

I can't believe how he's matured and grown!

So, my moment this week came just a few moments ago when I was looking through the CD of the pictures and the workbook his teacher gave us.

Each and every day, I am in awe of this child. I'm amazed at his thirst for knowledge, his joy in learning, his ability to APPLY what he's learned to his life -- something some adults I know have difficulty with.

This little boy, just 6 years old, has completely captured my heart more and more each day.

It seems just yesterday we were putting him on the school bus.

I can't believe he's going into First Grade soon.

On another note, today was the UEFA Champions League Final. Liverpool played AC Milan and lost 2-1. Apparently, Liverpool out-played Milan, but it just wasn't Liverpool's day. So some of us are in mourning tonight!