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.

Time flies

Before.....



After....

I seem to have misplaced July

What happened to the summer?

June was so long and slow. Then I woke up and it was August. What happened?!? Seriously. What happened to July? Where did the summer go?!!?! We have just a few precious days left before the kids start school. Summer is over.

Let's take a moment to remember it.....

I drove Jordan to church for youth group stuff no less than 391,927 times. Not complaining here at all, because she has had a WONDERFUL summer getting plugged in and staying busy. I'm very thankful. But wowie. I made a lot of trips to and from church.

I have seen enough episodes of Scooby Doo, SpongeBob Squarepants and Phineas & Ferb to last about 3 years. (Speaking of SpongeBob....why does he live in a pineapple under the sea? Am I the only one that thinks that is stupid? Besides the fact that it's a show about a SPONGE??? Seriously. I don't get it.)

I have heard enough Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus to last another 3 years. Yes, you belong with me. And yes, it's the climb. OK. I got it. Move along girls.

Cooper discovered golf. And became obsessed.

Jordan discovered Facebook. And became obsessed.

We had our share of sunburn, mosquito bites, freeze pops and trips to Dairy Queen.

We played Uno & Blink & lots of Wii.

Jordan stayed up VERY late every night and slept VERY late every morning. Sister's got her a rude awakening coming her way in a few days.

Jordan discovered the joys of that thing called SUMMER READING. Hardy-har-har.

It was lazy. It was crazy. It was wonderful.

And it's over. Let us all stop for a moment of silence.

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

Paper and crayons and pens....oh my!

I am proud to announce that the task of the annual purchase of school supplies has been completed.

Personally, I like to go purchase school supplies. Because I love school supplies. Paper and pens and notebooks.....I could hyperventilate right now. Swoon.

Since The Daughter will be in 7th grade this fall, her list of supplies has changed greatly. It is basically 359 spiral notebooks, 29,381 packages of notebook paper (both wide ruled {my personal fave}and college ruled {not a fan}), aaaaannnnnnd my all time favorite item in all the school and office supply universe: INDEX CARDS (clap clap clap!!!). She needed 7,400 index cards (ok, it was really closer to 500, but you can never have enough of those lovely babies).

I was fortunate to snag multiple packages of the 29,381 required packages of notebook paper because I remember the quest for paper last year. I'm telling you -- notebook paper was non-existent. And people were stalking the poor Target stocker people as they filled the shelves with this hot commodity. So, I in my ever amazing wisdom, grabbed enough paper to last her until 10th grade. Or November. Whichever comes first.

She also needed a protractor -- and I'm not sure what that even is. But I pretended like I did. And I admit that I thought it was that thing that is actually called a compass. Whatever that is. Hey don't judge - science is not my best subject people.

Thankfully, The Son is still young enough that he still has to have crayons, glue sticks, and scissors. **Deep sigh**. So all is still right with my world.

One thing that was on his list, however, was a "clear ruler".

Me: 12" clear ruler. Clear ruler? Clear? What's a clear ruler?
Daughter: It means you can see through it.

I am so proud of that girl and her smartness.....

Summer is more than half way over. *sniff*

Speaking of sniff, I'm going to go sniff the crayons.

Flashback Friday

Before.....





After....

Yes, that's the same dog. Yes, that's the same truck.

This is the season of my life where I am juggling 834 balls (soccer & volley) between practices & games for two kids at multiple locations. (And trying to catch as many games as possible for Niece M. and Nephew T. -- so throw in a football and an additional volleyball.) Plus managing everything else life has to offer including homework, tests, projects, church work, housework, laundry, etc (All this on top of my putting in 40 hours of work at my 'real' job). And all I'm really hoping for is that the spelling words get done, some form of dinner gets cooked, and the kids show up at their appropriate practice with the appropriate gear on. I'll even let the underwear slide for Cooper as long as he has on his cleats and shin guards…..

It is so very easy for me to get overwhelmed, frustrated and anxious. My type A personality shines through during times like this. It shines so much it is often blinding. I have to work very hard to stay focused on the immediate task at hand and that day's activities. Otherwise, I will lock myself in the bathroom crying my eyes out eating ice cream directly out of the container not handle it well.

I know that, sooner than I expect or really want, the kids will be grown and gone. And I will be wishing for louder days with more activity and ballgame schedules carefully plotted on an excel spreadsheet. I will actually miss the loud music coming out of Jordan's room (did I really just say that?) and Cooper chasing the Bloggie Doggie with a pirate sword (I can't believe I really said that.)

So, as wild and nutty as it gets. And as many colors as I have to use on my calendar to remember who goes where when, I have to remember to stay grounded and really just enjoy every crazy, on-the-go minute that we have. Because really, all it boils down to is "Am I making memories?" Or am I setting my kids up for future therapy.... ha ha.

Deep breath…...

Enjoy every minute of your day people - no matter what you're doing!

Song of the day -
These are days you’ll remember
Never before and never since, I promise
Will the whole world be warm as this
And as you feel it,
You’ll know it’s true
That you are blessed and lucky
It’s true that you
Are touched by something
That will grow and bloom in you

~10,000 Maniacs "These Are the Days"

But it's barely September...

I ran by Hobby Lobby yesterday in search of some pumpkins and fall leaves for a little home decorating. And this is what I saw.....

Kicking off a crazy week

I am feeling much better today. Wanna' know why? I went to bed at 6:45 last night. Yep -6:45. And I only woke up one time all night. Amazing what 11 hours of sleep will do for a person. Who knows what my deal was yesterday, but I was exhausted.


Nutty week ahead of me. The Captain is getting ready to leave to go to a SWAT school for the entire week. The kids have VBS. My childcare has been shuffled around and I've had to reorganize that for the whole week. Anyway, it will all work out, but will just be a bit crazy.


The Bloggie Doggie is feeling better too. He thought he would give you people a little posey pose.





I've got to get cracking with some back to school stuff for the kids: dental appointments, check ups, uniforms, school supplies. I am *determined* to get the school supplies taken care of in the next week or so before the city-wide Great Wide-Ruled Notebook Paper Hunt begins. I think school starts 4 weeks from tomorrow. Unbelievable.

Hope you people are having a good weekend.