Heard and Observed #58

The other morning Sam and I were watching The Today Show before school.  The anchors were killing time and doing a fun of exercise of answering what they thought was the more acceptable way to handle a situation -- call or text?

For example....if you need to apologize to someone.....should you call or text?    Break up with someone..... call or text?   RSVP to a party....call or text?   And so on.   Each of the anchors are giving their opinions.

Then we come to this one....Cancel plans with someone?  Call or text?   Before we even hear what Matt, Savannah, Al, Sheinelle, and Harry Connick, Jr (he was a guest that morning) think, Sam speaks up and gives her opinion:

Sam:  Text for sure because you don't want them to hear you lie.  

Ha!  The strange thing about this is, I NEVER cancel on anyone, neither does Jeff.  So I am not sure where she got the idea that you should lie to get out of doing something.  But I do find it very funny.

Sleeping beauty

We have a social experiment happening in our house.  Just how late can Samantha sleep in if there was no where she has to be?   10:30am?  11:00am?  11:30am?  12:00pm?   Yes, yes, yes and yes!

Our 9 year old has entered a new phase of sleeping in. She still goes to sleep by 8:30pm, 9:15pm the latest, but her sleeping in the morning after is getting later and later.  It's quite crazy.  While we all enjoy the peace and quiet of having her asleep, we are in awe just how late she will sleep till.

Yes, you can even go in to her room and take a picture and she'll sleep right through it!

This past Monday on Labor Day we had plans to take Lucy and go down to the Mall to walk around in the morning for a few hours.  Be back home in time for lunch.  If there is some place we don't have to be, we try to let the kids sleep as long as they'd like.  Rule #1, never wake a sleeping baby still applies to us even though the kids are 9 and 12.   However, by 11:45am, it was getting a bit ridiculous that Sam was still sleeping.  It had been over 14 hours since she went to bed!   Jeff finally went in and woke her up.  After all, she was going to need to go back to sleep in about 9 hours.  

Back in the day we were all early risers and got up as the sun rose.  We'd be up, dressed and having eaten breakfast and it would only be 6:30am.  I'm not kidding.  This went on for years and years.   Now, Jeff and I still wake very early, Ian gets up around 7:30am and Samantha doesn't stir until about half the day is over.  It's very weird.  She is epitome of why "brunch" was invented.  Her breakfast has turned into lunch.  

We've decided there are going to be some mornings when we still need to get things done but its not necessary to wake up Sam.  We will leave a note for her letting her know where we went, but most likely she won't even be up by the time we get back.  Sam is getting a jump start on her teen years early.  It's a whole new world for our sleeping beauty and we are still adjusting. 

Being sick sucks!

All last week I had a horrible cold.  It started as an annoying sore throat and then moved to my nose and finally, it landed in my chest and a horrible cough developed.  I was a mess to say the least.  Sleep was not happening and as the days went on, I felt my body shutting down more and more.

Timing for this cold was the worst!  The kids started back to school, my job at the preschool was kicking in at full speed, and The Crazy Man had quite a few issues that he needed help with.  There were dentist and orthodontist appts to go to, therapy appts that couldn't be missed and a few back-to-school events.  My usual strategy when I feel a cold coming on is to pay no attention to it and know that it will go away shortly.  Power on with everything I need to do and be everywhere I need to be.  For some reason this "mind over matter" stay strong way of thinking works out and I hardly miss a beat.

Not this time.  This time this cold kicked my butt.  By day 3 I threw in the towel and went to the doctor.  He said I had bronchitis and prescribed me an antibiotic. It was still another 48 hours before I felt human again.  It's amazing how a good night of sleep can make or break you.

I hate being sick.  I don't have time for it.  I wish there was a way I could find out in advance when I'll be sick and then I'll schedule it in.  But since that can't happen, I will never have 4 or 5 days completely responsibility-free to cater to a cold or bronchitis or whatever is ailing me.  No way.

I am thankful for a husband who is quick to offer to work from home and help me. I am thankful for an employer who is quick to take one look at me and tell me to go home early.  I am also thankful for medications that help me breathe and cough less. And Nyquil is a good thing too.  A very good thing.

I don't get sick often but when I do it is very memorable.  And it sucks!

7th and 4th Grade...Seriously, I'm not kidding.

Here's a crazy thought, Jeff and I are now the parents of a 7th grader and a 4th grader.  It's a bit mind blowing that these kids of ours are in 7th and 4th grade.  I really do feel like I was just watching them crawl around on the floor or pushing them on the swings.  And now their in 7th and 4th grades!  Yowzer!

First day of school came even earlier this year.  Fairfax County approved starting school the week before Labor Day and this was the first year it took effect.  So that means we had our usual late ending of school last year and our first ever early start this year which made for a very short Summer.

Two very different start times this year for us too.  Ian leaves the house to catch the bus at 7:15am.  And Sam doesn't need to leave the house until 8:55am for when her school opens their doors at 9:00am.  I got my first day of school photos, but wasn't able to get any of them together.

First day of 7th grade!

First day of 4th grade!

Sam walking into school.

Every year after dinner on the first day of school we get ice cream.  This is a well-loved and looked forward to tradition by the whole family.  We've been doing this since Ian started preschool.   This year we went to Cold Stone Creamery.  Yum-O!

Gosh, I love these kids and how silly they are.  There are days when they get along so well and its simply wonderful!  XOXO

First week of Middle School is in the books

Ian survived.  He didn't die.  Despite all his concerns that he wouldn't make it in one piece, I am glad to report he did.  Of course he was going to be fine.  We all knew it would be okay.  But in Ian's mind starting middle school was the end of the world and surely, he was going to die.

By the time orientation and locker day arrived, Ian was a nervous wreck.  His anxiety was sky high and he walked around the house muttering to himself, "I'm going to die.  I'm going to die."  Jeff and I tried to tell Ian that kids don't die from going to 7th grade.  If they did, there would never be an 8th grade or a 9th grade.  I told Ian that if there was a chance kids could die from 7th grade moms would never send their kids.

Fortunately Ian saw one of his buddy's first thing in the morning for orientation.  That alone helped him to survive the morning.  And then when Ian found out he had friends he knew in all his classes, his anxiety was greatly reduced.  Three of his core classes is with one of his best friends.  That's huge! It was still going to be challenging for Ian to be okay with this next big step but he was seeing a bit of the light shining at the end of the tunnel.

Ian learning how to open his locker.

Ian's locker...all set-up and ready to go!

Transitioning to middle school is no joke!  Ian had a class size of 108 in elementary school which has now jumped to 603 students in 7th grade. And since the middle school is also in the same building as the high school, it is like the size of a small country.  Other new things for Ian to get used to include using a locker and a rotating block schedule where half of his classes meet on one day and the other half meet on the other day.  And to top it off, Ian is now riding the bus to and from school.  This is a new experience too as we were close enough to the elementary school to be considered walkers.

It's a lot of changes all at once.

That first day of school, I wanted nothing more than to walk Ian to where the bus stop is in our neighborhood.  As soon as he saw the other kids gathering at the stop (no one had any parents!), he looked at me and made me go back home.  I couldn't wait with him for the bus to come and I certainly couldn't take pictures of him getting on the bus or even call out to him one last time "I love you Ian!  Have a great day!".   The air was let out of my balloon and I walked back towards home disappointed.  UNTIL, I crossed the street and started hiding behind the cars in our neighbor's driveways, crouching down lower and lower, making my way back closer to the bus stop. Some of the lawns I had to cross were wet from a recent rain and my shoes got soaked.  So there's that.  But I did it!  I got to see the bus come and Ian get on it.

Ian turning around and telling me to leave.  Go away!

From my hiding spot behind a car.  Waiting for the bus to come.

There it is!  There's the bus.  

The bus passing by.  I hope Ian doesn't see me hiding behind this car. :)

It's been a full week of school and Ian is doing very well.  He can open his locker most times without having to make too many attempts.  He finds the right bus (out of over 50!) for which one to take home in the afternoon.  And he has a group of boys he sits with at lunch that he knows from his elementary school.  All in all, he is off to a great start.

While the kids were gone...

I made the most of my time while the kids were at camp.  It felt good to catch-up on some projects I had started.  It was great to be able to just read a book, or 5 or 10 to be exact!  It was wonderful to binge watch a few new shows -- OMG!  Must check out "Ozark" on Netflix.  Sooooo good!  A bit like Breaking Bad, which in my opinion is like the highest compliment you can give a show.  Love Jason Bateman!

Jeff and I spent 48 awesome hours in NYC and a beautiful sunny day in Annapolis.  I met The Girls for lunch - each of them on their own day near their offices.  I was even able to meet up with my Sister-in-law for lunch and a little shoe shopping afterwards.  Fun!

I managed to keep up my 5:30am bootcamp workouts 3x a week.  This is pretty amazing given the fact that I didn't have to be up by any certain time to take care of Ian and Samantha.   I was able to keep the house clean -- for longer than two hours too!

I logged many, many miles with Lucy and started each day with a long walk with her.  This was definitely a highlight.  I also logged many, many hours working for the Crazy Man.  While the increase in money from working for him was nice, I discovered I can really only take him in 3 hour increments.  That 6+ hour day was a killer and not repeated again!  Wine was definitely on the menu when I got home for dinner that evening.

I had enough free time to start and finish a big billing project for Susanne's therapy practice.  It felt good to get that done.

I got all my doctor appointments in -- my mammogram, my yearly physical and my bi-annual dentist appointment for a cleaning, plus a training session with Lucy and her trainer.

Jeff wasn't expecting me to cook dinner the whole time the kids were away and I surprised the both of us by cooking at least 6 different evenings with leftovers for more dinners and lunches.  Wowee!

One of my greatest achievements while the kids were away was taking on the Pipestem Repavement project.  This was a HUGE deal and something the rest of the houses on my pipestem weren't touching.  Nothing had been done to the pavement in the 39 years this pipestem existed.  It was in bad shape and really needed to be resurfaced.  Can I just say how great the road looks now?  It's smooth, no cracking, and doesn't have big chunks missing or sinking down. It was several weeks of complete frustration figuring out the details and contacting several companies to give us an estimate.  Plus, contacting Fairfax Water and Fairfax Sewer to discuss their separate access points and issues on the pipestem.  Not to mention navigating the process with the Conservancy office on using the appropriate funds and getting it disbursed.  But it all got done and the effort was more than worth it. Yay for me on this one!

It was a jam packed 28 days where I didn't slow down much, but even so I had lots of time to miss the kids.  I am glad they are back home.  Our lives have resumed its normal la vida loca and we are back to running around like a chicken with its head cut-off.  Very quickly my zen existence of doing as only I please has ended.  We are very busy preparing for the first day of school on Monday.  There is much to be done and our lazy days of Summer are definitely over.  

I am currently feeling very overwhelmed...not just by one thing, but by all of it together...the starting of the kids' activities, two different school schedules, Ian now has Bar Mitzvah tutoring once a week in addition to religious school twice a week, getting back into the groove of working at the preschool, The Crazy Man being at "full moon crazy", making sure the kids are doing their homework, and being responsible little people helping out. Not to mention cooking dinner again every single night except Saturdays -- I'm still taking that day off each week.   And let's not forget all the back to school nights.  I really don't know how families with more than 2 kids manage all this.

I am counting down big-time to when The Crazy Man has sold his house and finally moved to the retirement community village he has put a deposit on.  I am hoping that by this time next month I am no longer his go-to person for everything under the sun. It will be nice to not have every hour the kids are in school filled with a part-time job.  As of right now, I plan to fill that newfound free time with a nap.  :)

A final thought - While the kids were at camp, Jeff asked me if having children was something I always wanted?  Without hesitation, my answer was "yes".  Not because there was ever a time in my life where I had to consciously think to myself "do I want kids?", but because it was never a question in the first place.  I never pictured my life any other way.  In my opinion it was always going to be this way.  I love it.  I love the craziness, I love the noise, I love watching them grow into these amazing people, I love listening to them talk and their opinions and seeing the world from their perspective, I love how it feels to be a part of this family.  I love my kids so much.  I know that I am mostly in survival mode getting thru each day, but when I have a month without them around me, I realize just how much I was meant to be their mother.  And how much this is who I am.  But yes, a nap does sound awfully good.

Camp is awesome!

The kids are back from Camp Ramah!  And its a good thing too because the house was so quiet without them. 

How quiet was it?  Jeff (all on his own, without any prompting from me) said we could get a 2nd dog when Sam leaves for college.   Yep, you know the house must've been quiet. Like hear the mosquitoes buzzing around outside quiet.  The kind of quiet when Lucy was shedding some of her fur you could hear it hit the floor.  It was so quiet that we could hear the ice maker in the refrigerator make each ice cube. 

I've come to the conclusion that a month is too long for the kids to be gone.  We're used to them visiting the family in Orlando or doing Gramps Camp in Baltimore without us, but the difference is, its for much less than a month and we can still talk to them on the phone or see the kids thru facetime as much as we want.  It's hard to miss them so much when you still feel connected.

I honestly don't think I would've survived this past month without my friends Susanne and Dawn working at the camp.  Their texts, photos and videos they sent me made it bearable. I am so fortunate that they were able to check up on them, make sure Ian wasn't getting homesick, give them lots of hugs and report back to me what they were up to. 

Here's the thing -- the kids had a great time.  Even Ian who was so worried about being away from us for a month had a fabulous time.  They both want to go back next Summer.  So Jeff and I will try to work our magic and see if we can make the impossible possible again.   Fingers and toes are crossed.  Because as much as I miss them, I know this experience is so good for their development.  And to be in a setting that surrounds them with other Jewish kids is the icing on the cake.

Sam looks like she is up to no good!

That cucumber in Ian's hand never stood a chance.

It is so wonderful to see her so happy! 

 

At the airport picking up the kids! 

Everyone's happy to be going home!