Its the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Nope, I'm not talking about Christmas. I'm talking about Back to School. And Yes, I know I am behind in this post, but I've been very busy. Last week was back to school for Luke and Gavin. The preschool that they are attending starts about 2 weeks after the public school does. So while all my friend's children were back I had two more weeks of Summer vacation. It was nice to take the kids a few more places and not have to worry about a big crowd.

Luke is attending preschool for a second year and will be going every morning from 9-11:30 and Gavin will be joining him on Tues. and Thurs. in a different classroom. I could have put them in the same class, but part of the reason they need school so much is to get a break from each other. And I need a break from them. And the First day of School could not happen without the traditional back-to-school photo taken on the front porch. So here they are:

Luke's First Day: 9/12/11


Gavin's First Day: 9/13/11






I signed both boys up for a week long soccer camp this summer, which Luke really liked. It was for one hour a day, perfect for this age group. Gavin said he wanted to do it too, but played about 5 minutes the entire week. Luke has decided he wants to play Soccer again this Fall, and now that he is on the U6 team, he has one practice a week and a game on Saturday. Luke Also started Karate, which was an activity I was really hoping Gavin would pursue, since he is not interested in Soccer. They both met with the instructor for a 15 minute lesson and evaluation of their skills. They both listened and followed directions. Luke was put into the little Tigers class and Gavin in the Little Dragons. Luke continues to enjoy it, and Gavin decided he didn't want to do it unless he could be in Luke's class. So Looks like he is just not ready for activities, and wait for him to show more interest. I just don't want him to feel over-shadowed by the older sibling. As a second born, I'm more sensitive to that.

OK enough about the kids. I have been studying my butt off to take the Primary Group Exercise Certification Test through AFAA, which is why I have not posted. My test was on Sept. 9th. I think I did well. Fingers crossed, I find out in 4-6 weeks.

I started teaching Zumba® at the YWCA one night a week and at Curves one morning a week, plus some subbing. I have been getting good reviews at both locations from the participants, which is very good considering the reason I got the job(s) in the first place is because they didn't like the instructor before me. Talk about pressure. Im hoping to pick up 2 more classes a week while both boys are in school, but I'm really enjoying having some free time to do the things I can't do with 2 children in tow—like get my hair cut. And I got it CUT—short.



And I'm loving it—so far. I've only had it for about 3 hours. Tomorrow will be the real test when I roll out of bed, stumble into the bathroom and see a boy staring back at me in the mirror. Hopefully I will be able to recreate this look. The inspiration for this cut was my gal pal Lyndsay. I suggest you pop on over to her blog if you haven't yet. She rocks the pixie cut like no other and will give you tips on how to do the same!

Holy Smokes—A blog update

So I'm sure many of you have been wondering if I was ever going to post again. I've got some very cute and funny stories to share. First I will share what I have been up too. The Ankle is mostly healed, and I'm still working on getting my full range of motion back, but I don't have to wear that awful brace anymore. I'm teaching Zumba® on Saturday mornings at 8am for the months of July and August and subbing for my current instructor once a month and whenever else she may need me. I'm also studying to get my Group Exercise Certification in the fall. I haven't studied since grad school, and it is hard to get motivated when you are taking care of children for 12 hours a day and have an absent husband. But I really need to buckle down and get it done.

Gavin turned 3. I am officially the mother of two preschool boys. They are busy and do everything at full speed. Its exhausting. And fun. And frustrating. And I wouldn't trade it. The big gift was a big boy bike like Luke's with training wheels. He loves it and is getting really good at riding. Luke has asked if he can take off his training wheels, but then quickly retracts and says he's not ready. I agree.

Gavin said he wanted to wear big boy underwear instead of diapers. 5 hours later, 3 changes of
pants, a poop on deck and he was back in diapers per his request. We'll try that again in 2 months.

OK, now for the good stuff. Funny stories involving the boys. One night, as I'm getting the boys out of the tub, Luke asks me, "What are these called?" me: Those are your nipples. Luke: Do You you have nipples? Me: Yes. Luke: No you don't, you have breasts. Me: Yes, but I also have nipples on my breasts, that's how Mommies feed babies, that's where the milk comes out. That's how I used to feed you. Luke: How Could you DO THAT TO ME! (in a completely appalled voice. The look on his face was pretty priceless too). Mike is down the hall dressing Gavin and I seriously thought he was going to give himself a hernia he was laughing so hard.

The Pool is open! and we have been enjoying it just about everyday that we can. One morning as I was getting them ready to go outside. Gavin looks at me and says, "Look at my cute butt!" at which point he turns around and starts to shake it. Then I almost gave myself a hernia from laughing so hard. And of course it would not be complete until Luke drops his pants and joins the cute butt shaking event.

Gavin says Damn it! when he is frustrated. Any advice on how to get him to stop would be greatly appreciated.

I have jury duty next week. That should be fun. Can't wait for that.
OK Thats all for now. I promise to try and post more regularly.

Suck It Sunday

Remember that feeling when you were a kid when Sunday evenings would roll around? I used to call it Sunday Night Anxiety. Ugh, back to school, uniforms and the dreaded nuns with rulers. And that feeling would continue until I found a job I loved. They Monday didn't seem so bad. Now, I loathe Sunday nights for an entirely different reason. It is the night Mike heads out of town to whatever city he happens to be working that week. As of late he has been traveling to DC on a long project. This is week 5 and there are 3 left for a total of 8 weeks straight. Since Jan1st, 2011, Mike has spent a total of 4 weeks maybe 5 at home—one of which was spent with pneumonia. I never sleep well when he is gone, and sunday night is the worst night. I can never get to sleep and I can never stay asleep. Friday and Saturday night, I sleep like a rock.

Sunday seemed worse this week than usual, probably because I'm hurt. (see previous post) But I also feel blessed. When news spread of my situation, the MOMS® Club that I belong to sprang into action and organized Sunshine meals for me. Sunshine meals are delivered when a member needs some extra support, such as after the birth of a baby, illness, injury or other family situation. In two hours, every slot was filled and people were still volunteering. How lucky I feel to be a part of this group that would help out any and all of its members in a time of need. Thank you. It is so appreciated.

See?! They ARE Trying to Kill Me!

I've always joked that the kids are trying to kill me—with their bickering, sleep issues, eating issues, keeping them safe, etc. If you are a parent, you know what I'm talking about. I've also joked that the way I'm going out of this word is via stepping on a one of their toys and breaking my neck. Well, the latter came true this week. I didn't break my neck, just a grade three ankle sprain that involves an ACE bandage, an air cast and crutches that I've decided I don't need.

It all went down wednesday evening when I SHOULD have been at Zumba®. But Luke has been having a hard time with me leaving and my regular sitter had something come up for school anyway. So I stayed home. After putting the kids to bed, I came down the two steps that lead to the playroom and OUCH OUCH OUCH! I stepped on a truck with my left foot, rolled my ankle and fell. Snap, crackle, pop. CRAP! I crawled to the freezer and got some ice. crawled to the couch, put my leg up and iced for 2 hours. I'll be fine, I thought. I just pretend I didn't hear anything and there is nothing really wrong with my potato-sized ankle.

I drove Luke to the allergist the next morning, Thursday, and limped around. My neighbor is a nurse and was outside. I had her take a look at it. When I pulled off my sock, she said, "Oh My GOD! you should really go to the ER!" My response, "I will, when I have time."

When I got the kids home, fed and off to nap, I called my mom. She came down that evening and I drove myself to the ER. Two and a half hours and several X-Rays later, I was released with a Grade-Three sprain, which means that a little piece of bone was pulled off when the ligament tore. (Well, that would explain the pop.) I have to wear the ACE bandage and air cast for 2 weeks, then just the air cast for another 2 weeks. After that I only have to wear the air cast when I'm doing any kind of activity where I might re-injure it—for 2 months. Super. I'm going to be in major Zumba® withdrawal. This sucks.

But it is amazing to know that I have good friends that have offered to help with meals or anything else I might need, trips to the store, etc. So even though I have hit a bit of bad luck, I feel blessed to have such amazing friends to lean on.

Where Did March Go?

So my cousin called me out on my lack of Blog posts, and was all, "Don't you know this is how I stay updated while away at college? Is the next blog post going to be, "Where did March Go?" yes. yes it is. Thanks for the title idea Erica!

So last post I said that I had something in the works that I wasn't ready to share. Well here goes…drum roll please…yours truly is officially licensed to teach Zumba®! I sub taught my very first class this morning for the instructor whom I currently take class with. When I told her I was going to get my liscense, she was super supportive and all, "hmmm…I might have some date I need covered in April. I thought no problem, I know all this choreography. Well, I do know it…when I have Melissa to watch. Totally different when you are up there leading everyone and all eyes are on YOU. But I've been in class this many of these people, and they were super gracious, supportive and happy that I can now sub whenever Melissa can't make it to class.

I'm attending another training workshop in 2 weeks, and hopefully will have my own classes up and running in the fall. Perhaps my MOMS Club® friends will let me use them a guinea pigs this summer. hmmm

In other news: The Hubby has a completely insane travel schedule that is totally wearing me out—and him too. He has been gone every week in March and will be gone for the next 4 weeks. That's 8 weeks straight!! boo hiss. Missing him like crazy, and so are the boys. Luke told him last night that he doesn't want him to work anymore. It was super sweet—and really nice for Mike to know that they are missing him too. Most of the time they are all MOMMY, MOMMY, MOMMY!

Luke started swimming lessons. Mike will be taking him to those on Saturday so that they can have special Luke/daddy time. Our Best friends and neighbor's son turned 4 last week and we had our first trip to Chuck E Cheese. The boys thought that was the best place on earth. We had a hard time dragging them out of there. I had never been to one before either. It wasn't what I was expecting, and I was happy to see that they had different areas for different aged kids. And of course we had to document the first trip with some photos.



Spring had sprung, but not before mother nature enjoyed playing an April Fool's Day joke on all us North Eastern Folks with one last snow storm. Luckily, it was less snow then they said it was going to be—at least where I live, and it is almost all melted. Can we PLEASE be done with snow now? Thanks.

Well, I'm off to enjoy the quiet house now.

Where did February Go?

I cant believe I have not posted since January. Where did February go? I'll tell you. It was spent caring for sick kids, sick hubby, doctors appointments, birthday parties—yes, parties and shoveling snow. Not to mention a bachelorette party, spa day, broken furnace, new tires for the car and what seemed like the endless baking of cupcakes. Mike was gone most of the month and the week he was home, he had pneumonia. Luke had a stomach bug with a high fever, and Gavin got an ear infection. Everyone is on the mend and I seemed to have escaped without injury—for now.

Luke turned 4 on Feb. 13th—which was a Sunday. Mike arrived home on Friday night early enough that we were able to have a birthday celebration with Nana. Luke wanted pancakes and I HAD to make them—no going out for them. I had baked cupcakes that morning while waiting for the furnace guy to show up and repair the heat (at least with the oven on it kept the kitchen warm). So we had pancakes and cupcakes for dinner.

On Saturday, we went bowling with our good friends and neighbors for Luke's birthday followed by lunch at McDonald's. I was sure to bring more cupcakes for the kids to have after their happy meals had been consumed. Sunday, my brother and his family came by to bring Luke a gift and wish him a happy birthday. We had cupcakes, and Mike flew back to DC for the week.

Monday, Valentines day, Luke had a party at school for all the kids whose birthday were in Feb and to celebrate valentines day. Luke brought cupcakes—dairy and nut free cupcakes to school to share with his friends.

I got both boys registered for Preschool next fall. hooray! Luke will be going 5 mornings a week and Gavin will be going 2. I'm starting to think about how I want to spend my time while they are both in school. I have one thing in the works, which I'm not ready to share, but promise to share soon.

All I know is that Spring is around the corner and cannot get here soon enough. There is still about 2 feet of snow on the ground and I hope it is gone before my spring flowers decide to pop up.

Random Act of Kindness—I See You, you are doing a good job

This story was shared with me by my good friend and neighbor. Her son is the same age as Luke, so we spend a lot of time at each other houses having play dates and discussing hot topics like potty training and the perfect preschool. Anyway, we are tight.

Last week she had a dentist appointment and it would also be her son's first visit. Taking a child for a first anything always seems to create a bit of anxiety, at least for me it does. Not knowing how you child is going to react, and trying to plan ahead the the best possible experience for all. Anyway, "C" did great. He sat right in the chair, opened his mouth for the dentist, let her clean them with the electric toothbrush, did a fluoride treatment—the whole 9 yards. This is the same child that won't open his mouth for his mother to brush his teeth, but will do all this for a perfect stranger. For a reward, she took him to the pancake house for breakfast. When they were done, she asked for the check. The waitress replied, "it's taken care of. " Confused, my friend replies, "OH do I go to the counter to pay." The waitress replies , "No, that gentleman over there paid you bill." My stunned friend got their stuff together to leave and approached the elderly gentleman to thank him for his kindness. His reply, "You totally put a smile on my face. I can see how much you love your son and it is wonderful to know that there are mothers out there raising their children and spending time with them. You made my day. "

My friend came home and told me the story. "I feel like I am on cloud 9. How amazing to be recognized and 'seen' by a complete stranger."

So, to all the stay-at-home moms, Work-at-home moms, working moms, you are doing a good job. Keep up the good work.