I freakin hate this time of year!

I really like fall- for the most part. However, we have a terrible problem with spiders outside (and inside) our house this time of year. They tend to return to the same places each year. Always one right by the slider door on the deck, one on the side of the house by the deck, and this year there are 2 in the landscaping in front of the house. One of the spiders in the landscaping is a wolf spider, albeit a small one. I can't wait until we get a good freeze and get rid of these things!

Still the mom of 2

Last night was Cameron's first night of private swimming lessons. When I first told him that he was taking swimming lessons he flat refused to go. Once we got him there he seemed to be doing fine, but the longer we waited on the deck of the pool the more scared he got. He started to cry and say that he didn't want to drown. There are 2 pools where he is taking the lessons, one of them is a shallow pool that is warmer for people that have arthritis and then they have the larger swimming pool. The instructor decided that they would start in the shallow pool. Cameron was doing pretty well with what she asked him to do, and he had a pretty successful lesson. At the end of the lesson she asked him if he wanted to try the big pool, and he said no.

I think that she is going to teach him how to swim in the shallow pool since he is small enough to be able to learn there, and offer the big pool every lesson. Once he is comfortable with swimming they will move him to the big pool. I really like the instructor, and I think that she is very well equipped to deal with his fear. All in all, it was a pretty big success in my eyes. Cameron even asked if we could join the community center so that he could practice his swimming. I'm really proud of him.

The wild things Becca says

I was taking Becca to school yesterday after skating and she asked me if Cameron was already at school. I told her no, that Cameron was just getting on the bus, and he would probably be at school in the next 10 minutes or so, right about the time we were getting there. She replied- he might be there already mom. That bus goes damn fast!

I guess it is time for her parents to reflect on the language they use around children. Whoops!

New Skates- again.

We are buying more new skates for Becca this week. Luckily I scored a pair that are consignment so they are half the price of new. We now seem to be buying skates about once every 6 months- not a pace that I would like to keep up! Poor thing, her toes were totally cramped up in the end of her old skates. We tried the consignment skates tonight and her scratch spin was much better. Of course her toes weren't folded under........

I'm springing swimming lessons on Cameron Thursday night. That should be fun! He is doing private lessons for the next 4 weeks and we will go from there. Once I am done with him I think it will be Becca's turn. It would be fabulous if they could both swim before we go to Disney in December. I might be getting a bit ahead of myself there though.

Becca is in the Literacy group in her reading challenge. They divided up the challenge kids into 2 groups, ones that still need to work on advanced sight words and the ones that are already reading. Becca is in the already reading group. There are 3 in the group, and none from her class. I think she will have a good time though.

Not much else going on here. I am shadowing my cousin at her job again tomorrow. Craft night is tomorrow as well. All in all, a pretty easy week!

Congratulations Becca...

Becca brought home a note in her backpack Friday letting us know that she had been accepted in the reading challenge at school. I am a proud mama for sure! The goals for this reading challenge are to read at an instructional level, chart comprehension, and expand the number of sight words she can recognize. They will meet 2 times a week from Sept 15th until the end of October.

Yay Becca!

A big weekend & I'm done with Disney!

We have quite a weekend coming up! Becca has Power and Edges tonight and Skate-A-Thon, then tomorrow morning she has a cheer clinc. She is participating in a cheer clinc with the high school and then next Friday they get to cheer at halftime during the football game. I think she will have a good time. Cameron will be spending the weekend with his nose in a book- he has a book project due on the 23rd and he isn't even half through his book yet. He is reading A Wrinkle in Time. David read it when he was about Cameron's age, but I have never read it.

Our Disney accomdations are finally finished! We had some flight changes that made it necesscary for me to make changes and add a night. The first night we are staying at the Coronado Springs and then switching to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for the rest of our trip. It is very exciting to finally have those decisions made. We also have our tickets to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party and Cirque du Soliel purchased, and reservations for our Sunrise Safari. All of our dinner reservations are made and confirmed, and yet it seems like I still have so much left to do. At least I have gotten this far! I keep reminding myself that at this point last year we hadn't even decided to go and everything was fine. Of course, then I remind myself that none of us had been there before and we didn't have any idea what to expect. Ah my internal conflicts.

The bus will be here soon and then I am on the run! Have great weekend!

Back in the groove

Ah- the school year schedule is underway! We only have to add dance class next week and then we are set. I think we are adding swimming lessons for Cameron in the next couple of weeks, but then that is really it.

We have had some exciting things going on around here. Monday they tested Becca for the reading challenge at school. I haven't heard if she got in or not, but it's hard for me to imagine that she didn't. Cameron was one of only 2 kids that got an A on his Social Studies test, and synchro started up again. Becca started her new class- Bronze Freestyle- and loved it! I looked out on the ice and she was landing toe loops left and right. They looked really good, even her coach was surprised. she must have landed 20 of them!

It looks like we will be going on an all girls trip to Arkansas for the Ozark Invitational skating competition. Aunt Stephanie and cousin Emma are going to join us. We are in progress with getting dresses made and I started stoning a cowboy hat this afternoon. All I have left to do is figure out how to build a fence for her to pull out on the ice and I am done.

I shadowed my cousin Carrie at her job on Tuesday. She works for the company that takes the newborn pictures in the hospital. It was really pretty fun and I think I might be interested in working for that company as well. We will have to see what comes of it.

Becca has a cheer clinic this weekend and next Friday night she will get to cheer at the high school football game during halftime. I am hoping that I can convince her that is enough cheering for the fall.

My allergies are horrible right now, but they were talking on the news this morning about how they are expecting an early freeze and colder weather. I was so excited to hear that!

ugh, I've got to get the backpacks together and get to bed. Becca has an early lesson tomorrow. I think skating is going to force me into being a morning person. blech!

Did you know that life isn't fair?

Ugh- I am not a fan of 5th grade! Cameron forgot to bring home something from his science notebook for me to sign- the consequence of that action is he misses his entire recess tomorrow. I think it is a little harsh, but I don't get to make the rules. I am pretty sure at this point that it will be a good long time before he forgets to bring something home again. The downside for me at this point is now he is in a total rage about the situation and the fact that it isn't fair. I tried explaining to him that it was fair, he knew ahead of time that missing recess was the consequence of not having all his papers signed. He didn't have to like it, and he could think that the rule was wrong, but it absolutely was fair. That was not what he wanted to hear. He is currently locked in his room and is never going to school again. Honestly, this is the part that just wears me out. You can not reason with him, nothing is going to convince him that missing recess isn't the end of the world, and he is basically inconsolable- and he will be until he gets home from school tomorrow. Ack- it gives me a headache.

I also went and registered Becca for dance tonight. The line was pretty long, but she is in the class at least. I saw a couple of familiar faces- Valerie that recommended that Becca take classes there and Donna who was her teacher this summer. I am still not quite comfortable there yet. I am just so spoiled by knowing so many people at the rink and having been there so long that I practically could work there. It is a very nice place though.

I guess that we are off the cheerleading. Becca would love to do it, but I can't seem to get this one place to give me information and cheerleading at the place she did gymnastics just doesn't fit into her schedule. I think I will sign her up for a clinic hosted by the high school cheerleaders. Maybe I can convince her that is all there is!

I think David is home from band and I need to get the laundry started. I think I need to plan in a nap tomorrow!

I went back to school!

Last night was back to school night- my first ever with 2 kids in school. That was a rush! Luckily I have the correct age spacing so I could make both teacher presentations. I went to Becca's classroom first. I was just dying to ask her about how much trouble Becca was getting in. Everyday she comes home with a story about how she got in trouble- not laying down during rest time, etc. Her teacher was totally surprised with that information. She told me that Becca had been a perfect angel since school started. It came as a bit of a relief to me, as I know that Becca can be prone to a bit of misbehavior, but not really a surprise. I had figured that if Becca had been in all the trouble she thought she was in I would have heard from the teacher by now. It was really neat to sit next to all the parents of the girls I have heard so much about the past 3 weeks and hear that they had heard about Becca too. I skipped the principal meeting and went to talk to Cameron's 4th grade teacher. It was great to get to talk to her for a few minutes. Then it was time to go to 5th grade. I wasn't excited for Cameron to have her, and really last night didn't make me feel a ton better about her. Cameron thinks she is nice enough, so we will have to see what the year holds.

Last night was the final summer synchro, so I can cross Thursday night skating off my list. When synchro starts in 2 weeks we will be at our regular Tuesday time slot. Yay! I know that if I do something all summer it should become a routine, but it just seems so off to have synchro on Thursday when I know it will be on Tuesday eventually. And I wonder why Cameron is the way he is! ha

We are officially double digits for our trip to Disney- 99 days from now we will be in Disney World. Really the trip is under control from an organization standpoint but there is always more that can be done!

I am meeting an old friend at the airport this morning before she heads out of town. David used to work with her husband at Reuters. They are from Austrailia and left the country when Becca was a baby. I have been trying to hook up with her all week, and it has finally come down to this. It will be nice to see her again. If I don't get in the shower I will never get there though.

Nothing exciting planned for Labor Day weekend- oh well. Maybe some stuff can get done around the house!

Finally!

We had a big skating moment tonight- Becca finally passed the pewter freestyle class! She has been in this class since JANUARY. In her defense, it is a tough class and she was the first 4 year old in the class. I am expecting a long stay in the bronze freestyle class since it contains a salchow, a toe loop, and half lutz, and a change foot spin. She is pretty close on her salchow, is moving forward pretty quick with her scratch spin, and just started her toe loop yesterday.

Cameron and David went to an Orchestra meeting tonight. Cameron is going to start playing the violin at school after labor day. I guess that I will be heading out later this week to get him a violin. I don't know if he will play more than just this year or not, in 6th grade band is an option and he will be able to play the drums. I think he will enjoy it though.

We have officially started school- Cameron has had homework every day since last Friday. Becca even brought homework home today. Cameron has had all math homework. I hate math homework. It's a good thing I have David to help him do it. Much to Becca's dismay they are working on letter recognition at school. Her homework tonight was to have me read her the title and first page of a book and then help her find the end of the book. I made her do all the reading.

Things are well here. I am getting used to the quiet, and noticing the days going by faster. Right now I am ready to head to bed though. :)

One week down.....

The kids made it through the first week of school. There was only a little trouble for Becca. She had some problems with remaining in the recline position during rest time, and a run in with a boy over a carpet square. She wanted his square, so she told him to get out of her way. I guess I don't have to worry that she will allow people to boss her around.

Cameron is no longer sitting next to his "mortal enemy" and seems to be adjusting to school. He actually brought homework home for the first time today. This is the first year that he has ever had weekend homework- I don't think I really enjoy it. He got measured for a violin at school and is going to play with 5th grade strings. He decided not to play hockey this year, but he will still have his drums, the violin, and I think he is going to play basketball. My plan is to get him enrolled in private swimming lessons as well, although he is not nearly so impressed with that.

It's been tough to get used to the quiet around the house. I have waited years to be alone, and now I don't know what to do with my self! Word on the street is that I will get used to it. It was nice to head to the doctor today and not have to find a sitter or ask grandparents. We only have 3 and a half months until we go to Disney- maybe I can spend the time planning that trip!

I did get some exciting news at the doctor today. The nodes on my vocal cords are gone. He really didn't have an explanation for why I still can't sing, maybe you do lose it if you don't use it! I am going to keep on my reflux diet to keep them from returning, and he made some changes in my allergy meds, but otherwise I am fine.

I decided that I am going old school with my birthday present. We are headed to Crown Center so that I can get a Franklin Planner with my birthday money. I have tried all of the "new hotness" methods, and it seems that I am just a paper and pen kind of gal.

We have quite the boring weekend planned- all we have is a birthday party on Sunday for one of Becca's friends. Maybe I will get something done for a change!

alone.

Ignore the fact that this is quite possibly the worst first day of school picture of *all time*. For the first time in 10 years I am alone for the day every day. It is kind of surreal actually. I thought I would be sad- but I'm not really. I thought I would be happy- but I'm not really that either. Mostly, it's just nice to watch something other than the Disney Channel on tv!

I never thought this would happen to someone I knew...

It seems that earlier today my second cousin was murdered. They think that it was a case of domestic violence, and I think that her kids were there when it happened. What a tragedy for those children to have to witness their mother die at the hands of her boyfriend. Her children are 11 and 13. I wasn't particularly close to her, but I still feel sad for the loss of someone I have known since I was a child. I remember many Thanksgivings and Christmases with our families all together.

I suspect that this is a particularly devastating blow for her mother. 5 years ago she lost her husband suddenly, and now her daughter is gone. I would imagine that she will be responsible for raising Lynn Ann's children now and I hope that all turns out well for their family.

Meet the Teacher Night

Well, I survived my first Meet the Teacher with 2 kids in school. Let's just say it is overwhelming!

We met Cameron's teacher first. She seems okay, but he doesn't have any of his friends in his class. To make matters worse, there are a few boys in his class that he doesn't like. One of the boys that brought him a lot of problems in 3rd grade, and one boy that he has had problems with since kindergarten. I tried to put a positive spin on it for Cameron, but the fact is I am worried. I just have a gut feeling that this is going to be a long year for him. He was pretty disappointed in the situation and is not very excited to go to school now. Hopefully he will develop a more positive attitude in the next couple of weeks.

Becca's teacher comes with very good reviews. I know quite a few people who have had her, and they all just think she is the best. With Kindergarten there is no anxiety about having friends in class and everything is new. I didn't recognize any of the kids that were there, but there seem to be a lot of girls in her class. She has seemed very unsure of the whole going to school thing lately, but I am sure a few days in class and she will be fine. Because of the later start to our school day (9:05-4:05) she will be skating on Monday and Thursday mornings for the school year.

I think I will have to make an appointment for a pedicure for the first day of school in addition to my annual lunch with friends. I am afraid that it will be way too quiet for me to be at home on Tuesday!!

Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini

Becca's Light Entertainment Spotlight. This was probably her best event, and it is so stinkin cute!

I Got Nerve

This is Becca's Beta Solo, again from Worlds.

Someday My Prince Will Come

I finally have the video of Worlds and figured out how to put it online! This is Becca's Character Spotlight. This was the first time she did this program and she got a touch confused and had a fall, but I think she still did well.

Lots of stuff going on!

Ah- we just got off a busy week at ISI Worlds in Denver! Becca skated really well and made some new friends along the way. She got first in Couples Spotlight, Light Entertainment Spotlight, and her Solo skate. She skated really well in her Character Spotlight until an unfortunate fall on her catch foot and that dropped her to third. She got the dreaded :) "also skated" in her least favorite event, stroking. We keep putting her in stroking and she never does very well- this time she didn't really even try. After calling her coach I think we may skip the stroking events from now on. Depending on what level her coach decides to compete her in the fall, stoking may not even be an event that she can sign up for.

Cameron stayed at home and took a vacation with Grandpa around town. They hit the zoo, a movie, and he went swimming with his cousins. He was *much* happier here then he would have been in Denver. Now all that is left is to ponder a trip to San Jose next July for ISI Worlds...............

I thought I might have a minutes rest when I got home, but I immediately went to a baby shower and for the rest of the week we have skating, cheerleading practice and drums, the first synchro practice of the season, and Synchropalooza- the yearly synchro skating camp that Becca has to be at Friday and Saturday. Throw in my nephew Andrew's birthday and David playing in the pit band for a show that runs this weekend and I won't know which was is up by Sunday! I love these end of summer weeks where we try and cram in every last thing possible before school starts!

Just as an aside, Cameron still has an area the size of a dime on his cheek that is bruised. I am not sure it is ever going to go away!

My birthday passed rather uneventfully, although we did go to Benihana with some of the other people that went to Denver to skate. I am getting to know the figure skating parents more and really enjoying it.

I'm off to bed- I have not quite gotten it together since I got back. I didn't get enough sleep in Denver and I am not getting enough here yet. Lack of sleep makes me forget things! I did finish the last book in the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. The movie comes out in December- I don't usually have good luck with movies made from books I have read, but I think I will give this one a try. I think now I am going to read "Dead Before Dawn". I am kind of on a vampire kick right now. It will give me something to do when the kids go back to school in a couple of weeks. Have a good night!

Pint Sized Pyros

We had a great holiday with wonderful weather. David even convinced me to let Becca light a few things- highly supervised of course. All in all, a successful 4th of July for our family!

 

 

 

 

Not much going on

It's been pretty low key around here lately. Cameron finished his baseball season on Monday, his team won 7/8 and they beat the team they played Monday night 20+ to 2. Cameron had 2 good solid hits, but struck out his last time at bat. All in all, it was a good season.

I am reaching near crisis mode with my trip to Denver. I have so much to do and I am quickly running out of time. We are still in process with the Snow White Dress, but I am not making it, so it isn't a big concern. The seamstress knows when I need it, and she has come through for me before, so it's a back burner worry at this point. I still have to come up with a dwarf/Prince Charming thing for her to push out on the ice, and put together her Laverne costume for her Laverne and Shirley program. I am having a hard time finding a cardigan sweater in the middle of summer, plus we have to have a matching one for her partner. Then I have to stone the sweater- I swore that we would not be doing this program again, but I am putting so much work into it that I may make her do this program forever.

I hope you all have a happy 4th- I will be at the same concert that I have been at for the past 8 years or so. I plan on hitting things hard this weekend, I have a quilt to get finished before next Saturday and and a lot of other stuff that just plain needs to get done. Yay!

Happy 4th!