Friday, August 29, 2008

A few random thoughts:

I love The Colbert Report. For some reason, he makes me laugh out loud and that doesn't happen often.

It is very bizarre to see a man you used to throw koosh balls at offering commentary on national TV. Unfortunately, I tuned in at the end of ABC's convention recap with Matthew Dowd and Donna Brazile. I'm glad Matt hasn't been ostracized from the political world. I need to be more aware of when he is going to be speaking or has posted a column. He's one of my political gauges.

My eating habits are atrocious. It is after 11 p.m. and sitting next to me would be chips, dip, fudge stripe cookies and a coke. I'm pathetic, but I feel no desire to change -- especially since the migraines have eased up considerably.

Maybe I can counteract the junk food with a little Wii -- if I can get the energy. Oh, it's a vicious cycle.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

So many kids, so many rules to remember, so many fundraising packets to choose from. I have spent the past two evenings at parent meetings for pre-K, second grade and fourth grade. The pre-k meeting was a breeze, and the second grade meeting was relatively simple. Of course, we've already been through those grades with other kids. The fourth grade meeting was a new experience.

This is the first year Anna has a homeroom teacher and rotates to a different classroom for other subjects. So much information, and there I was sitting in the back of the room with D and some friends making wise-cracks and talking about other stuff. Hopefully, the teachers won't hold it against our children.

I also found out tonight that pretty much every kids in Anna's class is running for STUCO. When I got home, Anna was making her campaign sign. I asked her who she plans to vote for, and she's smart enough to say herself. I hope she's not swayed by any tempting promises, such as pizza every day for lunch and every day will be Fun Friday. It will be interesting. But she's off to a good start. Her campaign sign says "Go bananas with your vote 4 Anna." Hopefully, they will be impressed with the yellow posterboard and slogan.

Speeches and the vote will be next week. I'll keep you posted.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Work, clean house, take a nap -- oh the possibilities! It is the first day of school. Currently, the two oldest chidren are filling their heads with math, grammar and rules, while #2 son, Jack, is anxiously awaiting the beginning of afternoon pre-k. I'm pretty anxious, too.

When I woke up this morning, my plan was to put Spencer down for a nap after taking Jack to school. But of course Spencer enjoys making his own rules. He crashed on the floor of my room around 10:30. Maybe I can get lucky and sometime before 3:00, he'll be ready to nap again. Yeah, right.

Monday, August 18, 2008

It is that time of year -- FINALLY. We had meet the teacher night tonight, and as I type, my children are piling up the school supplies all around me. Thank goodness for our PTO. I'm one of those parents who is more than happy to let that group purchase and package the supplies for the different grades. I willingly fork over the bucks just to avoid those school aisles at Walmart. Since I'm already going to be stressed out by those crowds at school on meet the teacher night, I don't see any reason to add to that stress by fighting more crowds aAmat the store.

We were disappointed Jeremy didn't get the same teacher Anna had, but his teacher seems very nice. Anna's teacher told Mrs. H that she was lucky because she was going to really like our family. Maybe she says that to a lot of parents, but I'd like to think not. Anna's teacher is the SIL of one of my good friends, so I slipped that connection into our conversation. In a school our size, any personal connection can really help open the lines of communication. As for Jack's teacher, there's only one pre-k teacher, so we're pretty familiar with her. She was Jeremy's teacher, and she also has a little girl in pre-k. So there should be no surprises there.

Strangely enough, Anna has managed to go from kindergarten to fourth grade without being in the same class with her best friend. I have no idea how the organize the classes, but I think it's odd that they've never been in the same class, and yet she's shared several classes with a few of the same kids.

Two more days before they return. Can I hear an amen? I love my kids, but it's time to implement more rules and structure than they've had this summer. I had great hopes back in May -- dedicated reading time, bike rides to the library, maybe even some workbook pages. Where did the time go? Maybe next year.

For now...three kids in school. One to go.

Friday, August 15, 2008

I have returned, and it almost feels like I haven't been gone. The kids were very excited to see me and to see what I brought them. Maybe the germs on the Boston train invaded my brain because I actually got Jeremy and Jackson little Red Sox bats. Anna is thrilled with her apron that has an illustration of Boston on it. Spencer got a soft Red Sox baseball. The guy tried to talk me into a real baseball, and even though I bought two bats, I'm not that stupid.

One of the first things I did when I got home was pick up a package at the post office. Jack missed me so much he wanted to go along. During the drive we were discussing ages. He has decided that when he turns seven, he wants to stay seven forever. I'm OK with that.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Boston is a great city -- at least what I've seen of it which is mainly the North End, part of the Freedom Trail and a suburb called Newtonville. The food last night was amazing. I kept eating like I may never get a meal again. Of course, that's not true because tonight we're headed to a seafood place. I'm thinking clam chowder.

Monday, August 11, 2008

What a day! My two oldest children accepted Christ as their Savior back in January. Actually, Jeremy made the decision about two years ago, but we weren't sure he fully understood the commitment. Anyway, today they took another big step and were baptized. Jeremy asked D to baptize him, so that was very special. Anna chose one of our ministers to do the task. Fortunately, the one she chose has known D and I since before Anna was born, so he was able to personalize the experience. All the grandparents and one aunt were there to witness the event. It was a great night!

I'm headed to Boston this week and am greatly looking forward to it. The meetings should be very interesting, and I've never been to that city. I also think the kids and I could use a break from each other. It's incredibly late right now and since I have an early flight, I'd better shut it down and try to get at least a few hours of sleep. I'll let you know how the Boston cuisine rates.

Friday, August 8, 2008

Let's play Final Jeopardy!

Answer: A horrifying experience.

Question: What is your child throwing up in your boss's office?

If you bet more than $1, you are the winner! Yes, my sweet Jack could not contain himself any longer today and lost his lunch while he was sitting on my lap at my boss's desk. I'm leaving on a business trip soon. I still had a project to finish, so I picked up the kids from Mother's Day Out and brought them back to the office.

The last few evenings Jack hasn't felt well, but this morning, he was acting happy and normal. I'm not sure if he has some type of virus, but since he was insisting that I hold him, I know that the constant back and forth from my office to the printer was not helpful.

After this experience, I couldn't get the kids to the van fast enough. To top it all off, while I was pulling the sliding door shut on the van, I looked down and was holding the handle in my hand. It broke off completely. Even better I had to drive through a horrible rainstorm to get home. I would rather drive on ice than semi-flooded highways.

While all of that just about wiped me out, I was once again reminded how fortunate I am to have four wonderful, healthy kids. I watched Steven Curtis Chapman and his family on Larry King. What an amazing testimony!

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

I am typing this post from the comfort of my bed. However, since our bedroom is ridiculously hot, I plan to utilize my newfound mobility to work at the dining room table tomorrow -- or the couch, or recliner -- ooh the possibilities!

The kids constantly ask to use my new computer, so I'm using it as a reward. If they will do their chores without a reminder and act respectfully and responsibly, they may earn the privilege of using the laptop. Of course, Jeremy asked if he was respectful once tomorrow would that count? Talk about making a lowball offer. Anna countered by saying that should would be respectful THREE times tomorrow. Obviously my children are not over achievers.

Sunday, August 3, 2008

I FINALLY have my laptop!! I would write this blog from the laptop, but I haven't gotten the wireless router (which has been in a drawer for months) set up yet. Regardless, it is a beautiful machine and once I tear myself away from the Internet, I plan to spend some quality time with it.

In other news, it is official -- I gave birth to a mer-boy. I thought Spencer was an ordinary baby. As his mother, of course I thought he was one of the cutest babies ever. Very smart, too, even though he is a boy of very few words. However, while we were swimming Friday evening with Jeremy's Cub Scout pack, Spencer decided he wanted to take a stab at the diving board. He was wearing a built-in life vest in his swimsuit, but he was able to make quite the splash and be fully submerged. He would push, pull and drag me over to the board to do it again, and then he would try to jump before I was ready to let him go or D was ready to catch him. For a toddler who has never had swimming lessons, that mer-boy knows no fear.