Back to School

2011 is a momentous academic year for us. We have a Senior and the eldest of my little people is starting Kindergarten. I've had moments of elation. I'm excited for them both. I've also had moments of serious weeping. The thought of how quickly my little guy is growing up and the realization that my firstborn will be off to college next year is emotionally overwhelming.

We survived Kindergarten Orientation. All the parents were corralled in the auditorium and pumped with tons of information. We were also given lots of forms to complete. The children were taken to their classrooms to explore their new world and spend time with their teacher. At the conclusion of the parent session, a really heartwarming poem was shared. My eyelids rimmed with tears, but I managed to hold it together. My son was very excited but also very nervous. His teacher seems like a super lady. Her vivacious personality could hold the attention of most anyone. She genuinely appeared to love kids and her profession. Witnessing that made me very happy and even more excited for him.

We're still setting up lunch accounts, processing fees and finalizing Senior Portraits. 7 more days and their off. One on a school bus, and the other driving. I'm not sure what this year will bring? There will be a lot of firsts for my little guy and lasts for my big girl. I'm going to sit back and relive all the firsts with him because it's been quite awhile for me. I also plan to cherish this final year of school and activities for my daughter. Bitter and sweet!

Beach Trip(s)

We took a family trip near the end of May to the beach. It was a great time. The weather was actually great for several of the days. We enjoyed the beach. We enjoyed the hot tub. The kids thought it was their personal heated pool. We sure wish the indoor pool had 'heated' anything. It was frigid the entire time. Of course the kids still wanted to swim. We were fresh off the swim lessons and it was a lot of fun. Cruising the boardwalk, late night jaunts on the strip, people watching, ice cream runs, visiting the carnival or arcade. We attended the Grand Opening of a new play area for children with special needs. We enjoyed being a part of the festivities and seeing all the smiles on the faces of the children. We ate at all our favorite spots, even tried out a new place that was awesome.

We decided to take a second beach trip this summer to Topsail Island. My son renamed it Africa Beach, because they have some really cool trees that actually look like the trees found in Africa. Topsail is more low key than some of our other beach spots, but it was so relaxing and fun. Great beach, several really good local restaurants. We enjoyed just kicking back, setting up the Bolton camp and hanging out. We also took a little road trip to Wilmington for the day. We didn't want our time there to end, but we're back and now on a mission to get ready for SCHOOL. All good things must come to an end. Can't wait to plan next year's beach trip.

Writing

All my life I've been a writer. Always had a pen and paper in hand, capturing my thoughts. I started journaling as a teenager. Writing is an outlet that allows you to freely and openly express yourself. Your worries and fears, your hopes and dreams, your frustrations and your happiness. There are no rules. There is nothing better than a pen, a blank piece of paper and your thoughts. While in college, my English professor was a huge fan of my writing style. He strongly suggested I keep writing. I've never forgotten the conversations we had or the feedback I received from him. I enjoy blogging. I need to find time and discipline myself to do it more often. I also do some freelance writing. My husband is a awesome writer too. I love his writing style. When we were dating we often talked about the prospect of us writing a book or two. We all have a story to tell and an inspiration to share. I'm in the process of penning a few projects. I can't wait to actually complete them and see where the next level of writing takes me.

The Germ Share Program

There's a program for everything. I've dubbed mine, well ours the germ share program. That's right the germs start with one child and undoubtedly will rotate through each child before it's over with. Sometimes it would just be better if everyone were sick and quarantined at the same time. It's so hard to keep everyone out of each others face, when all they want to do is love, hug and kiss one another, or your Kindergartner brings home the latest virus from school. One day it's a rash, the next a fever. Or perhaps it's a fever with no other accompanying symptoms. My children are the ones who seem to have a high tolerance for pain. They end up with a significant cough so we go in, only to find we have strept, double ear infections and bronchitis. It's classic and has happened more time than I care to recall. So we brace ourselves and pray that it will not move down the line. The copays and prescriptions alone can break the bank. And Lord forbid one of us get it. There is nothing worse than a house full of sick little ones and a sick stay@home Mom. Help! When that happens, my husband takes GREAT care of us. There was one time we were all down for the count. We tag teamed as best we could and just limped along until it was over. We rejoice over the weeks when everyone is well, but we understand there are a lot of instances where hand washing, Lysol, humidifiers and open windows just can't combat the madness.

Swagger Wagon

I never thought I'd say this, but I own a mini-van. No offense to those who always wanted one, couldn't wait to have that second child to justify getting one, but I swore I would never drive a mini-van. I wanted no part of it. So when that last little one was on the way, we knew we had to look at other options. Mini-vans are practical for larger families, but I love my SUV. Realistically we 'can' all fit in the SUV, but it's just the way you have to access the back seating area that is the challenge. I dug my heels in all the way to the dealership. We went in to 'look', got a incredible deal, and walked out owners. Yes, my kids play soccer and I'm their Mom, but I don't like the implication that I 'could' drive the entire team around. I do enjoy the storage and automatic doors, but it's still a mini-van. Thanks to Toyota, we've dubbed ours the Swagger Wagon. Those You Tube videos do add a certain amount of sexy to it. However, when I'm flying solo I jump in the SUV. Instantly my street cred increases. Well, at least in my head.

Moonlighting

The show "Moonlighting' helped launch the careers of Cybil Shepard and Bruce Willis. A little Moonlighting is allowing me to supplement the our income and the little ones to do a variety of activities and lessons. I've taken on a contract as a consultant for a local media company. I handle all distribution, circulation, billing and payables for their corporate based accounts. Production hours are typically from 2am up until 7am or later, seven days a week. That's right, I'm hustling every day. There are days I may have the chance to get a hour of so of rest before starting the day with the rest of the crew. Being up for 19-20 hours a day is no joke and has been a major adjustment. It would be difficult for me to find something part-time to really work with our life schedule, school schedule and personal schedules. This would require having a sitter or placing the girls in a program. It defeats the purpose. My husband and I work together to make this work. Sometimes it feels like "Tag your it", but overall it works out. I continue to pray and ask the Lord to give me the capacity to do all that I need to do. And he does.. I'm looking to put some things in place that hopefully will give me a break, yet still allow me to manage this workload. Until then I keep pressing. This is not a forever solution. It is basically a means to an end.

Surgery

My son's breathing started sounding like Darth Vadar while he slept at night. We had been dealing with this on and off for quite some time. It was usually as a result of a sinus infection. They were becoming increasingly more present. Our pediatrician told us his adenoids were very large and would likely need to be removed. Recently we've witnessed a few episodes of sleep apnea and immediately took him to a specialist to determine what our next steps should be. Who knew while at that visit he had strep throat and his tonsils were such a mess that he only had a sliver of a opening visible. This infection ultimately landed him in the hospital for several days with a antibiotic and steroid needing to be administered intraveneously. Our attempts to schedule his surgery were thwarted even further due to another infection and round of medication.

Last Friday my little guy had his tonsils and his adenoids removed. The procedure has changed considerably over the years. The surgery takes about 5-10 minutes and the recovery varies from 30 minutes to an hour. My son has had a few unpleasant experiences and this was a major ordeal. I was very concerned about how he would do. I prayed about it and knew everything would be ok. When we arrived his assigned anesthetist came in. His approach was very light and comical. Just want I needed. Our Dr. came in and went over everything with us and just as he was leaving he asked if he could pray with/for my son. I was so touched and had great peace after that. My son did great. He is such a trooper. Who knew anesthesia could make kids so combative. I wasn't prepared for that, but he recovered beautifully. Nothing like all the popsicles and ice cream you want. Darth Vadar has left the premises and all is well.