A Decade

10 years ago this morning, God blessed us with a second baby boy, our third child. He was a big round roly-poly boy and sweet as could be. He was the answer to many prayers and a delight to our family. He challenges me more than any of my other children, but he also fills my heart in a way no one else can. We are often in awe of the way his brain seems to work and if he doesn't become some type of engineer or scientist, I'll be very surprised. It is a joy and a privilege to parent this boy every day.



Happy 10th Birthday FE!

15

15 years ago today I married the love of my life. He still makes me laugh. He still makes my heart beat faster when he walks into the room. He takes care of me in every way. He's the best husband and father I know. And I love him so.

6 Years

Six years ago today I lost the person I was closest to in the world, with the exception of my husband and children.

My grandmother died six years ago today.

My mother was 21 when I was born, as was I when I had my first child, but she was completely and totally unready or able to be a mother. She went back to work two weeks after I was born and I stayed with my grandma.

It was my grandma who fed and clothed me and took me to school each day. It was she I cried for when life treated me badly. She taught me to cook and to sew. She listened to me endlessly. Always. She was without a doubt, the kindest, most loving person I've ever known and I miss her deeply, still.

The Princess was with me at the hospital when my grandma died. We had been at the hospital all day and I was in the room with my grandma when she died. The Princess was in the lobby with an aunt. After she died, we sat around in the waiting room for a while, all of the family who was there, and suddenly The Princess,who was almost one and had not yet walked, stood up and walked across the room as though she was walking right to someones outstretched arms. Only there was no one we could see there. I know it was my grandma calling her and God giving us all something to ease the sadness a bit. The blessing of abundant life in the midst of sorrow.

I miss you Grandma.

Still Alive

But barely. The Olympics are killing me! I need to be in bed earlier!

We're almost through the second week of school. Everyone is still happy and doing well. The dance schedule is still hard. And FE will be starting football soon, so I'm scared to think what that will add to the mix. But, this is the life I chose and I know in a few short years, all of this will be over. So, as tired as I am, I keep trudging along and trying to enjoy every moment.

Tomorrow night is the Youth Group Back to School Bash. It's a family event this year, which is cool. The Princess is going to spend the night at my mom's house and Bubba is working, but the rest of us are going. And then Mark and I are taking off early on Saturday for our Anniversary weekend. Our actual anniversary is on the 28th, but next weekend is FE's birthday and the rate for the hotel we're staying at is $40 cheaper this weekend! We're staying at a hotel in town, but an extravagant one, with an anniversary dinner and gondola ride at the hotel. I'm thrilled! It's our 15th anniversary which, these days, is a pretty big deal!

Grow up!

There are few things in life that irritate me as much as the "silent treatment". I mean really, could you just grow up already? What on earth are you accomplishing here? Isn't it more adult to talk to the person you are having issues with? What a childish game to play. And I don't have time for it.

uh-oh!

When I was at Target over the summer, they had some ice packs for lunch boxes in the dollar section. They were decorated with the Disney Princesses and I picked up a couple to put in The Princess' lunch box this year as a special thing since it's her first year having lunch at school. I guess I was distracted yesterday morning when i was putting the ice packs in because when the kids came home, FE thanked me for making all the girls at his table laugh at him when he took out the Princess ice pack from his lunch box. Luckily, this kid has the BEST sense of humor and got a big kick out of it. Still, I think I'll be more careful in the future!

By Jove, I Think He's Got It!

My FIL can, in a word, be a little...dense sometimes. Being a grandfather,while important to him, is not always his first consideration. Since I grew up with grandparents who thought I had hung the moon and have a mother whose seeming first priority is to be a wonderful grandmother, this attitude is quite foreign to me. And I'm not ashamed to say it irritates me on a pretty frequent basis. He has been getting better over the years though, and with the exception of my mother, is the person most frequently found at any of my children's events and is a pretty big cheerleader for them.
Anyway, FE and the Princess have birthdays coming up very quickly. We're doing friend parties for each of them and a small family get together as well. It's generally my practice to check dates with people before I decide on a time, but our schedules are jam packed right now and I didn't have any leeway on the dates and times. I just figured whoever makes it, makes it. Mark was talking to his dad about the dates and his dad said that the date for the Princess' party was fine, and that although he had tickets for a football game (season tickets for the school I don't name on my blog!lol!) on the evening of FE's party, going to his grandson's birthday party was much more important, so he is going to skip the game. WHAT??? Who are you and what have you done with my FIL??? I am quite shocked. This is not his usual attitude, at all! And? Because he has a big trip coming up and the Grand Canyon hike around Mark's birthday? He wanted to plan for Mark's birthday dinner now. 6 weeks ahead of time! This is a man who calls the week of to try and plan events (which, if you know me, you must know makes me INSANE! My calendar fills up QUICKLY!). I don't know what is happening to him, but I must say I like it!!

We Survived!

The first week is over! Everyone had a great week, but we're happy for the weekend! Tonight, the oldest and youngest boys are off to see the new Star Wars movie, Sb is at a movie with youth group, Bubba is working, so the princess and I are on our own. We've had some time outside and now she's playing in a lovely bubble bath, after which we'll cuddle together on the couch and watch the Olympics for what I'm certain will be a very short time before one of us falls asleep!

Tomorrow brings us a relaxing morning, except for Mark who will be hiking with his dad at 5:30a.m. in preparation for their Grand Canyon hike in October. FE has a birthday slumber party tomorrow night, which begins with seeing the, you guessed it, new Star Wars movie again!lol! Mark and I are headed downtown with the girls to have dinner and see a show.

We'll swim and watch Olympics on Sunday before going to church in the evening. It's a busyish weekend, but it's fun busy and we are ready for that!

Hope you all have a restful, fun weekend as well!

Frustrated and so tired

I have heard, in the past, about people being mean to the moms at SB's dance facility because their daughters made it to the performing group, but I hadn't really seen it first hand. Until last night.
SB is one of only three girls at her level who take hip-hop as it is not a required class for performing group. So, her actual class is a group of girls who are not in performing group, and it's the same group of girls she had hip-hop with last year. SB was a stand out in that class, but it was a good experience for her as she really got to be a role model. And she'll do that again this year. So, as I stayed at that class every week, I got to know the moms quite well and we talked all the time. Well, last night? Those moms wouldn't even look at the three of us whose daughters made group. They all sat together and whispered and then would laugh really loudly. They never even said hello. Now, I know for sure one of them has two older daughters who have not made the group, and she is quite bitter about it. But, why take it out on us? We don't make those decisions. There are lots of things taken into consideration when deciding who makes it and I am not privy to those decisions, nor should any parent be. Not all girls make it. some make it when they are 12, and some not until they are 17. But my thought is, if you are that unhappy? Find another studio! There are plenty around!

On top of that, SB has a friend who she dances with and goes to church with. This girl has been in Sb's classes sometimes, but not always. She usually dances a level down from SB. And her mom has complained bitterly about it for years. It's never really affected the girls' friendship, or my friendship with the mom. Until, again, last night. Sb saw her friend, for the first time since recital, and walked up to say hi to her. The girl and the mom were very short with SB. SB asked if the girl was going to the youth group event tonight and the girl replied that she was no longer doing youth group. And her mom cackled and said, to her daughter,"Aren't you glad it's YOUR choice now and not your MOTHER'S??" And then the girl went into class. SB was hurt. But later? The girl came out of her class, her mom went in and slammed the door and could be heard screaming at the teacher before she went slamming out of the studio. Apparently, she's unhappy with the class her daughter was placed in. It was just bizarre. And I was just sad. For SB. For myself. For the whole thing. Because, as much as dance is instructional, it's also supposed to be FUN! And parents put too much emphasis on what level the girls are dancing at. I give the director of the studio much credit. If I were her and had to deal with these parents who are calling and complaining and yelling and wanting their kids moved every 5 minutes, I would shut the studio down. I can't take the negativity 11 hours a week, much less every day all day. It also gave me some pretty great insight as to why the performing group moms seem to just stick together and not socialize as much with some of the other parents. I don't want to have to be ashamed of my daughter's achievements, or feel badly because she got rewarded and someone else didn't. There will always be other kids who do something better than your own kid. There are girls who make the group younger than SB did, but there are girls who are older. And it's not all about ability. There are other factors involved. And, again, I didn't make the decision. But it hurts. I like to be social. I like to talk to people while I'm at dance waiting for the girls. And I just don't understand...

Busy Bees

I'm worn out already and it's only the third day of school. Sb has a heavy dance schedule this year and between that and The Princess' classes, it really feels like we are spending a lot of time at the studio. 5 hours on Monday, we'll be there 4 hours tonight and 2 hours tomorrow. Next week I won't stay on SB's late nights, but I wanted to be there this week to see what is going on.

On top of that, last night was the only night this month that it really worked out for my monthly girls' night. We weren't out late, but you know how it is, just being away from home on a school night is taxing. Getting everything ready for the next day before I went out, along with dinner for my family, homework checks, etc.

The weekend is shaping up to be just a busy with a youth group outing for SB and a sleepover for FE. I'm just hoping for a nap in there somewhere!

1 Down, 184 to go

School started yesterday. It was a tough morning for me as I sent my baby off to school all day. She did great. I cried!lol! But, I have great friends and a great husband. My friends converged from all parts of campus to check on me (and one emailed), my very good friend, the Vice-Principal, checked on the Princess during both recesses and lunch and reported back mid-day to ease my mind, and my husband took the day off to spend with me. All three of the kids had a great day! They love their teachers and were excited to see all their friends again!

In other good news, the girls also both started back to dance last night. At the studio they dance at, you have to be invited to join the performance group. Sometimes they invite many girls (last year-14), sometimes they don't invite any at all, this year, they invited 7, and SB was one of them! It's the group they call "the babies". This means an additional 3 hours a week of rehearsal time in order to get ready for the performances they do around the valley (5 or 6 a year). It also means that at least some of her dances for recital will be danced in all 4 shows next summer. There's a possibility of travel to competition next summer, but that remains unclear at this moment. Usually they take the baby group with them, but this past year they did not as they felt the group wasn't mature enough. So, we'll wait and see on that. The baby group does not compete, but does perform if they get to go. It was an exciting night for SB and her group of girls. She's been dancing with this exact same group, with no additions only subtractions, for the last 3 years. All but one of them made the group, plus one older girl from another group of dancers. We're very excited for her and she's thrilled!

Today my day care charges are back and I'm on my own at home. At least I have the Olympics to keep me entertained!

And?

Now my washing machine has quit working. In the middle of the first of 8 loads of laundry.

Why I Want to Cry...

1) My air is still not fixed. They came out to fix it, but company #2, the second opinion, damaged one of the parts that was still working. No company # 1 needs to get authorization to repair that part.



2) My tv, which was not working properly on Sunday afternoon, miraculously fixed itself Sunday night and worked Mondya and Tuesday, but is dead dead today.



3) This is the last week of summer. My baby is going to school all day starting on Monday. My big girl is starting her last year at the school she's been at for 8 years already. I am not ready for eithe rof these things to happen. For 18 years I have a child home with me at least part day. I am seriously having issues with this.



4) Mark is working like crazy and I miss him a lot.

Tomorrow!

The air will be fixed some time tomorrow afternoon. Hallelujah! After all that, the warranty company gave the job to the first company who came out. So really, if the warranty company hadn't been idiots, we would have had air yesterday! UGH! It's so frustrating, but the fact of the matter is we pay a $50 fee and nothing else. So it's hard to be too upset since we always get our money's worth out of the warranty.

The boys are at a baseball game with grandpa tonight and the girls and are are ordering pizza and watching a movie because it's too dang hot to cook with no air! (at least that's my excuse!!)

Still No Air

Our warranty company decided they didn't like what the first company had to say about the problem with the air conditioning, and they wanted a second opinion. The second opinion company (who said the same thing as the first) did not get here until 5:30 tonight. I'm thinking between ordering the parts and getting the people back out here it'll be at least Wednesday before we get air. UGH!

Send Air Conditioning!

Our air went out last night. It is very warm. Luckily, this is considered an emergency by our home warranty company, so the tech will be here shortly. Pray that he doesn't have to order a part and can get us some relief today!!

Update: No luck. The motor has burnt out and welded itself to other parts, so the motor cannot be removed without damaging said parts. The guy had a motor on his truck but not the other necessary parts. It will be Monday before we get any relief.