Back.

Today.  First day of school for Coop. Sixth grade. 
Tomorrow.  First day of school for Jordan.  Eleventh grade.
Tomorrow.  First day of school for Nephew T.  Eleventh grade.
Wednesday.  Niece M. leaves for college.
I'm still trying to figure out the "leave" part.
What happened?
Yeah.  Kind of trying to process all that.
Seriously.
Can't deal.
Have had a few ugly cries this weekend.
Not so much specifically to all that... just the fact that now Niece M goes to college and it's the end of our four little babies at home all together.
Sometimes I have slight challenges dealing with the passage of time.
And, by slight challenges, I mean sitting in a room all by myself bawling my eyes out, making ugly snort noises and wiping snot off my face.
And, it's time to start talking colleges for Jordan, too.
Because Junior year is the time to start doing some tours and making some decisions.
Not ready.
Jordan says she wants to be home schooled for college.
Works for me.
Because two years from today we will be taking her to college somewhere.
Time flies.
Really.
No bueno.

Pens and paper and glue. Oh my!

So maybe I'm a school supply stockpiler.
I refuse to use the word hoarder.
But, I buy lots and lots of school supplies when they are on sale.
I use the drawers in my china cabinet for storage.
Pens, markers, highlighters, folders, notebook paper, graph paper, erasers.
Stock. Piled.
Don't ask me why I use my china cabinet for this. The drawers were available. It's convenient for the kids to just grab something when they need it. So, china on top, supplies on the bottom. It works.
Sooooo when the supply list came in guess who had almost every item on Cooper's list?
Meeeee!
Well, I'm going to go ahead and say I did have every item. Because the only thing we had to get was a red pocket folder without prongs.
Now, I have tons of folders.  All colors. Pockets. Prongs. And every combination of those features. But I didn't have red, pockets, no prongs.
So that's the ONE thing I had to get.
Yay me!!
Jordan is going through her list today.
We will have to get binders for sure.
And a protractor for geometry.
But we should have everything else she needs.
I'm kind of happy and sad at the same time.
Happy that I don't have to go buy tons of school supplies.
Sad that I don't get to go pile my cart full of supplies.
But, I will grab some things while we are out to add to my cache.
Oh dear...
I just realized this is the last year that Cooper will have crayons on his supply list.
Waaahhhhhhhhhh.
I'm off work today and tomorrow. Spending a few days with my people.
And hitting the china cabinet to get their things together for school.

One more week

It was a cozy weekend.
I may or may not have stayed in my jammies all day on Saturday.
And, at 5pm finally took a shower.
And put on clean jammies.
Don't judge.
I read two books, too.
And, did a little more cleaning and purging.
Annnnnnd, played more Candy Crush.
Quit judging.
Now it's Monday.
Ick.
One more week of summer for my people.
It was a long summer.
And a short summer.
One thing's for sure, it was a weird summer.
What with the double death thing and all.
But, it was summer nonetheless.
I never do all the things I want to.
All those grand summertime plans.
Swimming and movies and trips and stuff.
And then Mom Guilt sweeps in for awhile.
Moms, why do we do that to ourselves?
Build up all these magical and perfect plans in our minds.
I think moms may care more about all that stuff than the kids do.
Hope so.
But we had fun doing whatever we were doing. Or not doing.
It's so easy. Relaxing. No schedule. No routine. No bedtime. No homework.
Jordan had a good summer for sure.
She was on the go a lot.
She would show up for a shower and a tank of gas and she was off again.
Lots of youth group trips.
Boyfriend.
Friends.
The parasite sidelined her for awhile, but other than that... go go go.
Coop was a snuggle boy.
How long can a boy wear boxers and not get dressed?
You Tube videos.
Xbox.
Ping pong games on the coffee table.
Putting contests in the den.
Andy Griffith episodes during lunch.
So, we have one more week of summer.
I'm taking off a few days.
We'll do a little more of the same.
I'm a little melancholy.
I love having my people home.
Gonna squeeze the yummy out of the last few days of summer.

here we go

Survived the first day of fifth grade.

Fifth grade.

It's just not right.

Sunday night I told Coop it was time to go to bed since it was back to school time.

"Mom, I don't have to be smart tomorrow. I just have to have good handwriting."

OK, then. Probably so.

Jordan starts today.

I really can't say out loud how old she is because I'll start crying.

But, it starts with a soph and ends with an omore.

So, here we go.

Buckle in, people. It's back to school.

Blech

boo hoo

It's almost over.

Bye summer. 

I'm sad.

Really sad.

I'm in denial really.

Yes, we bought school supplies.  But they are all still in bags tucked away. Outta' sight, outta' mind.

I wish it could be summer for my kids forever.

Monday's gonna' be rough for the Coopster.

Then comes Tuesday.  Poor Jordan.

She's got big plans with Jane Eyre this weekend.

Talk about denial. 

She denied summer reading allllll summer.    But did manage to knock out two books this week. 

And, on top of all this tragedy, the Olympics end on Sunday.

So, let's recap.  Homework, bedtime, lunchboxes.  And no Olympics. 

Waaaahhhhh.

*taking a bow*

School supplies.

Check.

I'm so proud of myself.

Three weeks before school starts.

And we're done.

Even found those elusive "pocket folders with prongs."

And the $483,217 calculator Jordan needed.

OK, it wasn't that much.

But close.

The calculator cost as much as the total of both kids' supplies put together.

That thing better cook my dinner and wash her clothes.

Anyway, glad to have that little outing behind me.

We now resume our regularly scheduled summer forever, school denial activities.

Back at it.

Alrighty. Back at it. Reality hits hard this morning. Back to school and work. Back to uniforms and homework. No more jammie pants and naps. Dislike. Dislike. DIS. LIKE.

A random holiday recap:

The ham and pork tenderloins I was so obsessed about? Well, they froze. In that tiny little refrigerator. Frozen solid chunks o' pork. I discovered this tragedy just a few hours before they were supposed to go in the smoker. It was a serious refrigerator setting fail. So back to the grocery on Christmas Eve Eve to pick up more meat. I may have appeared desperate when I was crying to the butcher lady, "I NEED TWO MORE PORK TENDERLOINS AND A HAM. PLEEEEEEEEEEEEASE."

The holiday feeding of the five thousand went well. Food was delish. And plenty.

Santa brought Cooper tickets to WWE Monday Night Raw. It was last night. We got home at 11pm. While that late bedtime is not working out so well with the early alarm clock this morning, I figured today would be ugly regardless, so might as well go out with a bang. A good wrestlin' time was had by all.

We had a great week at the beach. Laziness abounded. Sun, naps, books, football, and lots of cream cheese.

Lots of cream cheese. And sour cream. Our annual Dipapalooza turned into a weeklong Dipapalooza.

It was chilly in the mornings and Connie and I took our heated throws (yes, we took those, thank you very much) and coffee out to the balcony. Nice.

I read Redeeming Love. If you haven't read it, read it. You won't be sorry.

I'm also almost finished with the current rage, The Hunger Games. It's a good one.

And, guess what? The Captain gave me a Kindle for Christmas!! Woot! I'm anxious to load some books on there. Since we already had the books that I'm reading now, I didn't do the ebook thing with those....

It's 25 degrees right now. That's ridiculous. Especially since this time last week I had my toes in the sand. Well, this time last week, I WAS ASLEEP, but you get my drift.

So, back at it today.

Oh, and volleyball practice tonight. Errrrrg.

OK, let's hear from you on this Whatever Day of January it is....

How were your holidays?
What did Santa bring you?
Any New Year's Resolutions to share?

Sound off.

Three hundred days to go

Two days into the school year.

And it's already mayhem.

Like the summer never happened.

Filling out forms.

Writing checks.

Washing uniforms.

Arranging schedules.

Rearranging schedules.

Setting up transportation.

Making lunches.

Checking backpacks.

Covering books.

Buying supplies (still).

Fighting tiredness.

Can't we just ease into the school year.

Apparently not. It's just jump back in with wreckless abandon.

Three hundred days until summer.

Awkward times a thousand

So Saturday we went to the Captain's family reunion thingy. Well, it was really a high school graduation party for (stay with me) the Captain's mother's cousin's kid's kid. Anyhoo, it was in SmallTown, Missouri.

And the day was filled with awkwardness. Including, but not limited to, these events:

Apparently I get carsick when I ride on the 3rd row of an SUV barrelling down the bumpy interstate. Who knew?

I called somebody a grandmother when she was really an aunt.

A man changed a baby's diaper - TWICE - on the dinner table.

In attendance was a woman wearing a shirt with a bedazzled frog on it.

They turned off the lights and turned on the disco ball at 3pm.

Somebody thought I was the Captain's daughter.

And, Jordan told 104,967 people, "Yes, I'm tall. Yes, I'm only 14."

Other than that, it was a fine day.

In other news, my newborn baby starts fourth grade today. How on earth did that happen?

Jordan doesn't start until tomorrow and will spend her last day of summer at a PT appointment, volleyball practice, and finishing up that Day Before School Starts Summer Reading.

Back to School. Bring it.

Ugly.

It's gonna' get ugly real quick.

Kids go back to school today.

Their almost three week break has felt like three months.

And now it's over and we are back to the regular ol' routine.

Waking up early. Going to bed early.

And by early, I don't mean 2am early like one particular teenage girl has been experiencing. During holidays, she turns into a newborn baby and gets her days and nights mixed up.

Uniforms, backpacks, homework.

Oh - and a lunchbox. I'm a teeny bit unprepared for that. How about leftover Christmas cookies and some cheese ball with crackers?

Back to carpool dropping off and picking up.

Volleyball back in full swing tonight. And Coop should have basketball starting up too.

I made it a full eight hours at work yesterday. Wearing pants that zip. And not eating every two hours.

So if I can do it, the kids can do it too.

Hopefully without anybody kicking and screaming.

Including me.

She's got sole.

My kids wear uniforms to school. {cue applause}

Jordan needed a new pair of saddle oxfords this year. She had a pair that she has worn the last two years but - alas - outgrew them. (She actually calls them saddle locksfords. Yes, she is my straight A++ student....)

The old beloved pair were very, very broken in.

Apparently it takes quite a while to break in saddle oxfords. I can understand that. They are stiffish and hard soled and all leathery and white and perfect and pristine and beautiful.

Monday night aka The Night Before School Started, she said she needed to break her shoes in. Well, the hour or so before bedtime didn't seem like long enough to wear them and break them in.

That's when she said, "....by running over them with the car."

Me: HUH? With the CAR? What on earth are you talking about?

Jordan: It's how you break the shoes in.

Me: BY RUNNING OVER THEM WITH A CAR?!? Those shoes were $70 $385. We are NOT running over them with a car.

Jordan: That's how you do it.

Me: Who does it? And do not answer with a pronoun. Do not say "everybody". I. Want. Names.

Jordan: The whole volleyball team.

That's about the time the Captain walked in.

Captain: What are you girls talking about?

Jordan: I want Mom to run over my shoes with the car to break them in and she says no.

Captain: RUNNING OVER THEM WITH A CAR?!? Those shoes were $70 $385. We are NOT running over them with a car.

So back and forth we go. To run over or not to run over? What exactly will it do to the shoes? Will it tear them totally up? If it tears them up, what would she wear to school the next day? Flip flops? Monkey socks? Neither are dress code appropriate. And if we DO run over them, should it be heel to toe? Or toe to heel?

Finally, in a moment of exhausted weakness, I agreed to run over the shoes with the car.

She wrapped them up in a bag and we headed outside in our jammies at 9:30 pm.

We agreed that regardless of what happened, we would NOT have an "I told you so" moment. And if the shoes were ruined by a 2,500 pound Camry, she would have to either glue them together and wear them anyway then buy a new pair herself. AND wear flip flops or monkey socks to school the next day.

I backed the car out of the garage.

She put the shoes under the tire, held her breath and closed her eyes.

I held my breath and gunned it.

And then I -- BUMP -- ran over them.

I ran over both of them a few times. And I don't know if it did what she expected it do to. But it didn't tear the shoes up. It just made them kind of creased-y. They looked like.....saddle oxfords that had been run over by a car.

She seemed content.

And she wore them to school yesterday.

Alrighty then....

In other news, Jordan and I are headed BACK to the orthodontist this morning to get that appliance expander cranky thing put in. We hope.....

Peace out people.

Proofread please and 6 other things.

1. Cooper survived his first day of school yesterday. So did his mother.

2. My biggest baby starts 8th grade today. Blah.

3. My 96 1/2 year old aunt died yesterday. Ninety-six. And a half. She was born in 1913. Think about all the things that happened in the world in her lifetime and how much change she saw.

4. Jordan went to the orthodontist yesterday to get her appliance cranky expander thing put in. After an hour in the chair, they determined it wouldn't fit. More impressions. Back on Wednesday. It will be our 9th dental appointment since June 1.

5. This volleyball-football practice schedule transportation thing is driving me nuts. Coordinating three different practices at three different times. Jordan and Niece M volleyball. Nephew T football. Cooper football. Drive. Drive. Drive.

6. It was nice to watch some football this weekend. Even if it was NFL preseason.


That is all. The end.

Farewell Summer

For all practical purposes, today is the last day of summer. Blah.

Cooper starts back to school on Monday. Jordan starts Tuesday.

Let's take a little look-back at Summer 2010...

It was HOT. It was very, VERY hot. It was MAGMA hot. In fact, it's STILL HOT. It's been "Send Hate Mail to the Weatherman" Hot. I know. Whiny whiny whiny. But good grief. (I just heard The Weatherman call 97 and 95 degree days next week a "cooling trend". Ri.Dic.U.Lous.)

For Jordan, it was the summer of youth group stuff, sleeping late, volleyball practice, and oodles of dental work.

For Cooper, the summer brought lots of SpongeBob, Phineas & Ferb, fort-building, car-playing, and magic show obsessing.

It was the summer of the smoothie.

And the TV show Bones. (Props to Connie!)

It had its share of tragedy and sadness. But we covered that yesterday and I'm not going back there today.

I did a lot of driving. If there were a Mom badge for Kid Carting, I have earned it. In spades. Connie and I managed to coordinate drop off and pick up schedules for four kids with church stuff, volleyball practices and football practices and other miscellaneous social events. Multiple kids. Multiple locations. Excel spreadsheets and highlighters involved. But we managed. {HIGH FIVE}

It was also the Summer of the Cash Outflow. A new air conditioner. Jordan's oral surgery and braces. Lots of youth group camps. Her trip to Houston. And of course the final whammy with the purchase of school supplies and uniforms. Cha-$$$-Ching.

And now, Summer 2010 is coming to a close. It was (kind of) lazy. It was (definitely) crazy. But it's riding off into the (HOT) sunset....

Goodbye Summer. You served us well. See you next year.

Double check your school supplies this weekend people. School bell rings next week!

Hydrate and have a good weekend. Muuuuuuah!

Weekend over. Week begins.

The weekend is over.

Connie and I survived twelve hours of volleyball on Saturday. It was a fun, but very long, day. Our girls played well. Connie and I discovered that an excessive amount of time sitting on high school gym bleachers leads to numb booties and the early stages of spinal fusion of the L4 and L5.

This week is the last week of summer for my peeps. It features two dental appointments, one orthodontic appointment, a hair cut, one trip to the uniform store, a search for notebook dividers and book covers, five volleyball practices, three football practices, and the completion of summer reading.

Heat is back in the 100's this week. Grrrrr.

I am tired. That is all.

I survived.

I made it through the weekend and lived to tell about it.

I made it through the Justin Bieber concert. And in case you haven't been at a concert full of 20,000 high-pitched squealing and screaming pre-teen girls, you just haven't lived. And you also still have full use of your ear drums.

I tried to get out of it.

I bribed everybody I saw. I offered to trade jobs with our waiter at dinner, the restaurant manager, a couple in the restaurant parking lot, the parking lot attendant, the security guy at the arena, the gal at the will call window at the arena....everybody I saw. I offered to do their job for the rest of the night if they would take Jordan and her friend to the show. No takers. Nobody even considered it. Not even the waiter -- who I offered not only to work his Saturday night shift, but to also pick up his Sunday shift, do his laundry for a week, and make five casseroles. Nope. No way.

Oh it was fine. It was fun I guess. In a loud, screaming kind of way. I enjoyed watching all the teeny-boppers who like him just as much as his music. And let's just say, it's a good thing he's cute. I was kind of over it when he got in a heart-shaped crane and floated across the audience. {cue groans}. But if Shawn Cassidy had done that when I was 13, I would have screamed my head off too.

In other news, I am happy to report that school supplies have been purchased. I think we have everything -- including the quadrangle something or other graph paper -- also known as notebook paper with little squares on it instead of lines. Well, we may still be in need of some book covers. Oh - and uniforms. Still have to get those. I do think the school administration will frown on kids wearing pajamas or birthday suits....

Finally, the heat this week is going to be beyond brutal. We are under an Excessive Heat Warning. Whatever that is. I think that means the high's are in the 100's and the heat indexes (indices?) are in the 300's. Coop has football practice this week (so does Nephew T). And I am a little bit concerned all this hotness. I am looking today for a 38,000 gallon water jug.

Stay cool people. Hydrate.


PS - Thank you for continuing to remember the LaVelle family. The memorial service on Saturday was very difficult. But an amazing testimony to that family -- over 1,000 people were at the service. Thanks for your prayers too for Nick. He is continuing his treatments for his brain tumor. There are so many people out there whose hearts are hurting....

Guess it's two out of three

Four weeks until school starts.

Say it ain't so!

I'm in total denial about all that.

I like the lazy, crazy, hazy days of summer.

We've had all that.

Lazy. Crazy. Hazy.

Now the crazy cranks up and the lazy ratchets down.

And the hazy just hangs around no matter what's going on.

Blah.

Jordan is full swing in daily volleyball practice.

And Cooper starts football next week. Practice three days a week.

Yes, he's playing football this year.

Tackle football. Tackle.

That's another story for another day.

Anyway, there's a lot of drop off, pick up, drop off, pick up.....

Let's see...what else do we have to cram into these last four weeks....

Jordan has oral surgery next week to get four teeth pulled followed by three appointments for braces. Erg.

Cooper needs to get a cavity filled. Mom guilt.

School supplies. School uniforms. That's another $57,209.

Hey Jordan - how's that summer reading coming?!

Oh blah.....

I just wanna' stick with the lazy.

And forget the crazy.

And the hazy.

Cause the high today is 296 degrees. And The Weatherman actually just used the word "scorcher".

Alrighty people. Wishing you lazy with no crazy.

Peace out.


P.S. Nick starts radiation and chemo today. Daily treatments for seven weeks. Hope you'll continue to pray for him. His CaringBridge page is right here.

Just a teeny dose of reality please

My kids go back to school today.

Back to bedtimes.

Backpacks.

Book reports.

Bah.

Uniforms will replace pajamas.

Spelling words will take the place of movies.

The alarm clock will substitute for the Wii remote.

It's gonna' be ugly people.

However....

It could be a very short week.

We have SNOW in our forecast.

Thursday is looking a bit iffy for school.

Fine with me.

Let's ease back into this "routine thing".

A two-day school week is fine with me....

Randomville

Randomness for you today people. Because it's Friday and I'm whipped. I'm too whipped to even do bullets.

First week back to school. Whew! I'm beat. Drained. Seriously.

Does anybody know where I can get this "back to school groove" everybody is talking about? It is painfully obvious we do not have one here. I hear the Emperor has a new one. Maybe he'll give me his old one.

To say that this week has been challenging would be an understatement.

The emotions and moods of a tweenage girl are very similar to a pendulum. Or a rollercoaster. Or anything else you can think of that goes up and down, side to side, or all over the place. Enough said there.

Sad about what it going on with my beloved Memphis Tigers. They can take away the wins, but they can't take away the memories of the sweet ride. Now all I have to say about that is Calipari is a cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater. Oh - and Kentucky, buyer beware. The end.

The Captain cleaned my oven yesterday. And that is very delightful.

Jordan finds out today if she made the volleyball team which will add a whole additional layer to my craziness.

First high school football game tonight. Woot!

Did I mention this has been one of the most challenging weeks I've been through in awhile? Oh, I did. Sorry. I'm just so tired. What's that? I mentioned that too?

OK people. That's it for me. Make it a good day ok?

Big Day

Today is the first day of school.

There.

I said it without crying.

I always get a bit weepy on the first day of school.

OK, so I cry on the last day of school too.

I am excited about what this year holds for my children.

Jordan faces the biggest change of all. 7th grade. SEVENTH GRADE. Yes, I have a junior high school student. *sniff* She is now not just in a whole new building. She is on a whole new CAMPUS. 7th through 12th are all in one building. New challenges coming our way. A whole new everything. I'm really excited for her.

Cooper starts 2nd grade. Surely there is a mixup somewhere in the records office.....That can't be right.

Pass the kleenix.

Time flies. My babies grow.

I'm heading to 7th Grade Parent Orientation all day today. Hope there's no test. Wish me luck.

It's the First Day of School!