August PreK, K, 1st Grade Moms: Where are you?!

[LA98]

Okay, I could actually hear the crickets chirping on last month's thread! Could everyone be on vacation?? Time to check in! Kim? Joanne? Lara? (I so want to add Bueller here ;) )

Happy August, everyone. 8/1 is my 10-year wedding anniversary. DH and I will be celebrating in a most romantic fashion tomorrow evening by grabbing some burgers for dinner with the kids. :rolleyes: :)

Helene, just wanted to thank you so much for all your input about Brian's school situation (and a very belated hug for you for that camp story!). I was talking to my neighbor the other night, she's the director of the preschool he'll be going to in September, and she said for probably the tenth time or so that she's so excited for him to go there, and that she thinks the teacher will be great for him. I really can't wait. He did a summer "camp" program at a school in the next town this month. Today was the last day, I asked the teacher how he did, if he listened to them, and she said yes, and that he was great. It was nice to hear.

Cheryl, just want to say again I hope your nephew is not seriously injured and that he'll recover quickly. I was just wondering the other night as I made sure the pot handle on the stove was turned in, if Jason could still somehow grab it. Ugh, it's so awful just to think about.

Lori

[LaraW]

Hi Lori

We have had a really busy July - I have meant to post several times, and I just never get to it.

Well, we have had a good month. We had our Yellowstone trip over 4th of July weekend (happy birthday, by the way, Lori). It was a great trip. This was a celebration trip for my parents' 40th wedding anniversary and as it turned out, a celebration for my sister and BIL each getting their PhD's, (BIL defended his dissertation last summer, my sister just did hers on Tuesday). Other sis and new BIL getting married, other 2 sisters expecting babies within 3 weeks of each other and DH getting his architecture license. We have all had a lot going on this past year.

Developments with me. I quit my job on July 3, the day before we went on our trip. I didn't have a job, and my intent was to pull both kids out of daycare at the end of the month and be a SAHM. When we got back from our trip I had an email from a company that does PT staffing, who had a position and wanted to know if I was interested in pursuing it. I talked to her and told her of my plans to stay home, etc but figured I'd give it a shot, what do I have to lose? I had 2 interviews and then found out last Weds I didn't get it. OK, whatever, we pursued our looking for pre-school for Natalie for the fall. We were looking at church-based programs.

Well, I got a call late in the day yesterday that I DID get it if I wanted it. It is kind of a long story, and I thought about it and I accepted it today. I will start next Thursday. I'm excited but it was hard prepping Natalie for her last day of school that was supposed to be today - we made treats yesterday morning and everything - and then it didn't happen. I did call daycare and find out that they still had spots available, if we wanted to stay.

I feel so...I don't know...wishy-washy about all of this. :o I do have to say that I really had mixed feelings about all of this. Whether we could really afford it, taking the kids out of daycare, and taking Natalie away from her friends. I think this will be a good move for me, professionally, and I am looking forward to starting next week. I do kind of feel like I could like doing my job again for the right company, and this company I was at just was not a good fit.

Anyhow, that is it for me. I hope everyone is having a great summer. It is hard to believe that school starting is just a few weeks away for some of you!

[cchhbb]

Hi everyone.

We went on a nice beach vacation in the middle of July and I don't think I've caught up yet. The boys had a terrific time at the Outer Banks flying kites, digging in the sand, and playing in the surf.

Garrett starts school a week from Monday. I went out last night and bought a ton of school supplies. I still need to check and see what uniforms he needs. His school is a charter school and requires uniforms, but at least I can get them at Target, Marshalls, ect. My friend just spent close to $1,000 for uniforms since they had to buy them at this uniform place and even the pants have to have the school logo on them.

Lori, I'm happy that Brian did well at Camp. I really think having the right fit for kids is important. It sounds like his last teacher really had a personality conflict with him.

My nephew is in the burn unit at the Children's Hospital. I understand we're not going to have a prognosis for about 2 days. He pulled a caraffe of hot tea over him that my sister in law was making for iced tea. He burnt his chest, leg, and toes I think. He's on morphine for pain. My parent's can't visit yet so we're getting some second hand info.

Lara, Congratulations on the new job. It sounds like a great opportunity. I hope its a great fit. I know from experience that a terrible fit makes a good job rotten so I understand why you didn't want to keep working for your previous company. I left a company when I had a ton of options because I just couldn't stand it anymore. The decision to leave probably cost me $50K, but I just couldn't go to work there one more day.

Poor Garrett now has to try on all his uniforms and see what fits from last year. He absolutely hates this. I'll probably have to bribe him with something.

Cheryl

[HRJ]

Hi -- nice to "see" everyone. Thanks for starting, Lori!

Cheryl, I almost couldn't bear to read about your nephew -- poor little guy. It was heartening to hear all the stories on your other thread from people whose kids had similar incidents and came out OK. Please let us know how he's doing.

Wow -- I can't believe how much your friend had to spend on uniforms. Isn't part of the idea behind having uniforms to make things easier for the families? I don't come anywhere close spending that much for "regular" school clothes for Victor.

Can't believe Garrett is going back to school so soon -- we still have 5 1/2 weeks of vacation!


Lori, so glad that Brian had a good experience at camp. Happy anniversary -- in my world, burgers with the kids sounds plenty romantic! ;) And happy belated birthday!

Lara, congrats on the new job -- it sounds like this was a good choice for you. I'm hope you'll feel less "wishy-washy" once you get into the swing of things there. The Yellowstone trip sounded great -- that's one place that I would eventually like to visit.


We've been having a nice summer -- Victor is having a great time at his day camp. They had "Family Night" there on Wednesday -- the parents came at the end of the camp day, and we had some free swim time with the kids (well, some parents went swimming -- I didn't :o ). Then the kids did a little swimming demonstration -- I continue to be amazed at how well Victor is doing with his swimming, considering how scared he was of the water when he was younger. That has completely changed. Then we had a picnic dinner with the other families from Victor's "bunk" and then the kids put on a show in the amphitheater.

DH's summer project was building a new patio in the back yard -- it's not huge, but it's big enough for our picnic table, and he did a really nice job; I'm quite impressed.

My project has been re-decorating Victor's bedroom -- the theme was "Thomas" and, well, he's moved on from that ... last night as I was taking down the Thomas window valances, he said, "I'm so glad to get rid of all this Thomas stuff -- Thomas is really for babies!!" And I said, "Yeah, but Thomas was a lot of fun, wasn't it?" (Another melancholy moment for me ;) ). And he thought a minute and said, "Yeah -- listen, don't get rid of all my Thomas trains just yet, OK -- maybe I still might want to play with them." So he's not all "grown-up," yet! The new room theme, BTW, is Star Wars. Target has a whole new line of Star Wars bedding and accessories. (Pottery Barn Kids does, too, if you feel like spending a small fortune!)

BTW, for those of you with kids who are still into Thomas, the Smith-Thompson online store is having a "going out of business" sale: http://www.rrgifts.com/ I have gotten some good stuff from them in the past.

I did get some really sad news a few weeks ago -- I dear, dear friend of mine from NJ died of breast cancer. (I can't even believe it, as I'm typing that -- it still seems very unreal.) She leaves her DH and 6-year-old DD. My heart breaks when I think about her little girl. What a horrible, horrible disease. (Sorry to end this post on such a sad note.)


Helene

[Terri_A]

Hi! I don't usually post on this thread but would like to join you all. The weeone is 6 and starting 1st grade in a few weeks. I can't believe she's this old already. Summer has flown by as she spends her days at a day camp nearby that she loves. I'm usually at work, but with my foot broken I'm home on medical leave for a few more weeks.

We've already stocked up on uniforms for school (ours are like Garrett's, Cheryl- I can find them anywhere and are not costly really). I always worry that I don't buy enough, but then end up overbuying clothes - does anyone else do this? You'd think I was a child of the depression rather than of the 70's!!!;)

We didn't get to go on our summer vaca dur to my broken foot so I'm hoping we can take a little trip in the fall when things aren't so hot in Texas.

Cheryl- I really hope that you nephew's prognosis is a good one. It's tough waiting to hear news, I know, so hang in there and know that I'm praying for healing.

Lara- Your job situation sounds similar to mine, in that I think I could actually like my job with the right company, but the one I'm at just doesn't fit the bill these days. I'm actively looking for something new. (Since I'm a single mom, being a SAHM isn't option without welfare!!!:eek:) I hope to find something before the holidays get close since companies tend not to hire during that time. I hope the new position works out well for you and your family.

Helene- Very sweet that your son wants to keep his trains - they grow up so fast, don't you just want to encourage them to stay little!? Also thanks for the heads up on the Star Wars bedding at Target - I have a friend who saw the PBK set and wants it, but not the price!

Lori- I think that burgers with the kids sounds like a perfect anniversary!!! I hope you have a great night.

Thanks, ladies, for letting me join you and I hope that I can be a "regular" around here!

[JoanneOR]

Thanks for starting us up again, Lori! I missed you all! It's been a really great summer so far, just really busy, but things are slowing down now. I've been in a bit of a funk - we found out Caitlyn has to have open heart surgery again. We knew it was coming, but were so used to her cardiologist saying "she's doing great, come back in six months", that when he said it's time to schedule the surgery, it was a quite a blow. She has an artificial pulmonary conduit from her original surgery that they need to replace. She's outgrowing it and it's becoming blocked, which is what they told us would happen. It was such a shock because she has no symptoms really. But her cardiologist said the rest of her heart is compensating for it and you don't want to let that go on too long since it can damage her heart. So, the surgery is scheduled for Sept. 18. She'll be able to go to her first day of kindergarten and will be in school a couple weeks before the surgery. At least she'll get to know the kids and her teacher for a bit. The surgeon said she'll probably be out of school for a month. We found out about all this in early July - since then I've been having huge ups and downs. The first few days I was a total basket case. Then we went on our planned vacation, had a really nice relaxing week as a family. We rented a cottage in Michigan. Then, I don't know, I just came to the realization that it's all going to be OK. It has to be. We haven't told her anything yet, still trying to figure out the best way to go about it.

Anyway, the kids have really been having a blast this summer. The boys all went to a sports camp that they loved. Jameson and Colin had a couple soccer camps. Caitlyn went to Camp Sunshine and loved that. Then DH took the kids camping for a few days and we all went to the cottage for a week. Now for the last four weeks of the summer, they don't really have any planned activities. We're letting them sleep in and they're mostly just playing outside with their friends most of the day. Somehow all the neighbor kids seem to wind up at our house! Sunday I counted a total of 17 kids in and out all day. Quite hectic, but fun.

Terri, hi!! Yes, you are welcome and please join us!! I've seen some of your posts about the "weeone" on other threads and she sounds adorable! Sorry to hear about your foot.

Helene, that's a sweet story about Victor and his Thomas decor! I'm so glad now that I never got around to putting up the Buzz Lightyear border in the boy's room! I'm sure I'd be scraping it all off! That's heartening to hear about Victor's swimming. Caitlyn's gone to swim lessons but is still wary in the water. I see other kids her age swimming all over and just jumping in like it's nothing. I hope she gets more comfortable over time. I'm so, so sorry about your friend. I hate cancer!! :mad: So many stories of the cruel things it does to people and families.

Cheryl, how horrible about your nephew. I'm praying for good news and a full and quick recovery. How are your brother and SIL doing? Wow, $1000 for uniforms?? Yikes. We're at public schools with no uniforms. Sometimes I wish we did have them - it would make it easier. I'm dreading the annual school supply shopping. :( Now I have four lists to work from. And, of course, no one store has everything. I need to make one big list from the four and just do it. The boys start on the 25th, Caitlyn starts the day after Labor Day.

Lara, Yellowstone is one of the family vacations I want to do. There and the Grand Canyon. Where did you stay? The job sounds like a good opportunity, but I'm sure it was such a difficult decision. I hope it all works out. The company and the people you work with make such a huge difference in how happy you are in your job.

Lori, happy 10th!! DH and I have had many "romantic" anniversary dinners with the kids, either at home (usually pizza) or out. Our 20th is in Sept. We were thinking about taking a short trip (yep, just us!), but with Caitlyn's surgery, we've put that on hold. I really hope Brian's new school is a good fit - it really sounds like it will be. I'm sure the new teachers and environment will prove all those naysayers at the other school wrong!!

OK, this may be a record for my longest post...better get back to work! Have a great day everyone and I hope we all have more time to chat this month!

Joanne

[HRJ]

(((Joanne))) I'm sorry to hear Caitlyn needs more surgery -- but you're right, everything's going to be OK. It sounds like you have a fantastic medical team backing you up. I know when I've had my eye surgeries, the lead-up time is the worst -- it's so much better when the actual surgery happens and you can start to put it behind you. Please remember that we're all here for you.

Hi Terri! Glad to have you join us. Victor is also starting first grade. About the Target bedding -- I think some of it may only be available online, just so that your friend doesn't waste a trip to the store. Hope your foot's doing better soon!


Helene

[cchhbb]

Joanne, I'm so sorry to hear that Caitlyn has to have another surgery. Poor kid. What a bummer for her to miss a month of kindergarten. I know our Children's Hospital has certified teachers for children that are in the hospital. Hopefully yours does as well.

Welcome Terri. My friend bought 8 sets of uniforms. So that was 8 short sleeve shirts, 8 long sleeve, 8 shorts, 8 long pants, 3 or 4 pairs of shoes, 2 dress shirts, and a tie.

I hope your foot gets better. I had to have a huge surgery on my leg when Garrett was 1. It was a really tough recovery. I had a stress fracture, a torn tendon, and stretched out liagments making my ankle unstable. It took about 4 or 5 months to recover.

I just made Garrett try on all his uniform type clothes from last year. Last year, he didn't have to wear them, but when he had a growth spurt and needed new clothes in March, I bought some uniform clothes. And if I stumble on used uniform clothes I buy them in any size larger than Garrett is wearing knowing he'll be in this school until 5th greade. Most of his short sleeve shirts fit him, he just needs a few long sleeve ones, his shorts will work for this fall (but not for spring) and most of his long pants won't work.

Helene, too funny about Thomas. A friend's son who is in first grade just said the same thing. She's selling most of the buildings and some track at the next consignment sale, but is keeping the trains for awhile at least.

Cheryl

[tbb113]

I have all of Michael's wooden trains and track (some Brio, some knock off) saved in the garage for my grandchildren. I spent a fortune on that stuff and I plan on getting my money worth :D and I still think that if I pulled it out ... Michael would play with it for a while :cool:

[MrsReber]

Hello! Yes, it was quite quiet around here in July. I stopped checking in because there was no one here.

Helene, I have the same problem as you. Brenden told me he needs a new backpack for school. It's in perfect condition so I told him he can use it again. He kept making excuses and then he finally told me that his Thomas backpack won't do for first grade. It was okay for K, but now he needs something like Power Rangers. Sigh. I painted his room blue, like Thomas, but we only added valances and the bedding. I knew it wouldn't last long and blue is something we can work into other themes. But it makes me sad.

Lara, sounds like a very busy summer for you, but it's also a lot of good things!

Terri, please join us! DS is starting first grade and DD is starting 2nd grade. They go back the last week of August. Summer went by so very fast. Oh, and DD is glad you joined this thread because of Hello Kitty.

We'll be taking a trip up to my mom's in a couple of weeks. I'm not looking foward to the drive with both kids. They start asking if we're there yet 1/2 an hour into the ride. The trip should be interesting. I'm not telling the IL's that we're coming. DH didn't go to my sister's wedding in March so I don't feel obligated to go out of my way. Sounds mean, I know, but the politics in his family are hard to deal with. I need an actual vacation, not a bunch of days running around trying to make them all happy. Besides, my mom really needs some company now and she'd make my life miserable if I took off with the kids. We will probably go to the beach one day with my friend from grade school and her new husband. I never met him so that should be fun.

Other than that, it's been a lot of running around- horse camp, the Y camp, library activities, karate, and friend's houses-- and trying to get my work done in between! The days fly by.

Well, it's late and I need to go relax. Didn't feel like watching Hannah Montana for the 100th time with Casey and her friends. DH was out back burning some brush with his buddies. My exciting Saturday night! Lori, I'm sure my 10th anniversary will be as exciting as yours! DH and I went out to dinner when my mom was here at the beginning of July. Neither one of us really wanted to go. It was the third day of Food Fest. We had 10 people here all weekend so there was a ton of food and the last thing we really wanted to do was go to dinner. My mom insisted we needed to go. I agree, DH and I need time together because we don't have any ever. It's becoming an issue for me, but that's a whole other story :rolleyes: . Now that I actually want to go to the movies (must see the X-Files movie) there's no one around to watch the kids.

Okay, time for me to go! I am very tired and possibly (probably :D) rambling!

Oh, wait- one more thing- I'm starting school in a few weeks! I'm going to get my Bachelor's degree yet. 83 of my college credits transferred. I'm going into interdisciplinary studies for the time being- going to focus on English and Education. It's all online and the college is actually about 30 minutes from here, so if I want to attend classes on campus, I can. If I can find the time......I'm excited about going back. I ordered my books already. I can take up to 4 classes each semester. It'd be 2 at a time. They have 8 weeks sessions for online courses. I need 120 credits, I just need to see how my transferred credits fit into the curriculum requirements. I am hoping it's no more than 18 months. Even if it is, I can finally achieve this one goal that has eluded me for some time.

Okay, now I'm going! :D

[LaraW]

Susan, congrats on going back to school. That is fantastic, and I know how hard it is with having life all around you. I have been thinking about going back to school for quite a while now, and the only thing stopping me is not knowing what I would study. One area I am really thinking about researching more is speech and language pathology. I have seen the difference our speech therapy has made with Colin, and so that is one area I may be interested in. I know that job opportunities are pretty good - speech path/therapists can do private clients, like ours, or they can work in schools or hospitals.

Joanne, I'm sorry that Caitlyn will need to have another surgery. I know that is hard, even though you probably knew it was coming eventually. I don't have surgery experience specifically but I do agree with Helene that the anticipation is probably worse than the actual event. I know she will do fine.

Hi Terri - welcome! I look forward to reading more of your posts!

I thought about some of you when I was at Target after church this morning. Colin is starting to show some interest in the potty and has been really fighting me with diaper changes, etc, so I stopped and got him some underwear just to give it a try, and guess what we got? Yep, Thomas. :D He seemed thoroughly unimpressed with it when I got home, though. We are doing laundry today and so I stuck it in to be washed, so we have not actually tried it on yet.

[LA98]

Just popping in quickly after reading Lara's post: I also recently looked into going back to school for a master's in speech therapy! I had a lot of interest in it after Brian's therapy the first time around. But I found out that the classes are only offered during the day, no nights or weekends, and it would take me about 3 years because I don't have an undergrad background. Looks pretty unworkable for me, but I've been looking into some other health-related careers too.

I want to respond to everyone else too but it will have to wait till tomorrow -- I just sat down to start working and it's nearly 10:30! Of course I didn't have to check the CLBB first... :rolleyes: :D

[LaraW]

Lori, if I do go back to school, it will be after Colin is in 1st grade and is in school all day. That's about the only way we could do it - we can't afford to pay for daycare if I'm not working - I don't think we'd want to take on debt to pay for daycare. Maybe once Jason is a bit older you will have the opportunity to do that. It might be worth it! :)

[MrsReber]

I have a friend who is a speech pathologist. At first, out of HS, she went to nanny college out in CA. They found a family right in NJ for her so she began a career as a nanny. I think she may also have taken some college courses at the county college then. After a few years, she decided to go back to school. It was several years later that she finally graudated with her Masters degree. It seemed like quite a long time, but now she is extremely happy with her job and the children. She helps special needs children and has been through some heartbreaking times, but she has a big heart and just loves the kids.

Anyway, just wanted to throw that out there. It's a lot of school and a lot of hard work, but she is completely satisfied with her career.

Went to the beach at the lake yesterday. The kids had a blast. Poor Casey got her first taste of sunburn. She slept without a shirt on last night because her back was a bit red. We put sunblock on 2 or 3 times, but with them being in the water, it came off pretty quickly. She's just so pale! It wasn't red at all this morning, thankfully. I think she'll be over it pretty quickly. Brenden just gets so dark in the sun. He never seems to burn.

Joanne, sorry I didn't mention anything earlier. Casey was hanging on me and reading over my shoulder and commenting on everything during my last post. Sometimes she doesn't know when to stop! I know that everything will be fine with the surgery. Seems like you've been working with a great team of professionals. However, I cannot even imagine how difficult it all is for you. I know when Caitlyn was younger, it was hard to explain everything. But now she's older and the explanation is probably very scary, poor kid. Hang in there! Pretty soon it will be behind you. The good news is that they do have doctors who know all this stuff and have helped Caitlyn in the past so that her life can be normal. We're all here for you so feel free to come here for support whenever you need it!

Conference call in 5 minutes. Casey is at horse camp and Brenden is home this week. We had the opposite last week, with Brenden at the Y camp. He was there the same 2 weeks as his friend. Now his friends aren't there so I didn't see any point in sending him. He wouldn't have had much fun. I figure he and I can do some stuff during lunch time. We had vacation bible school last week, too. They always recruit me to help out (which is actually fine). I had such a great time this year. They had another pastor and his wife helping out and I just loved them. They took our number so we can get together. I looked foward to going each night just to see them.

[JoanneOR]

Thanks for everyone's support with Caitlyn - you all are the best! :) She has to go in on Sept. 15th for her pre-op tests, so I figure we'll talk to her about it right before then. This is going to be tough. Her birthday is Sept. 6, so I'm planning a special party for her. It's a bit expensive, but I figure for what she's going to go through - she deserves it. I found a party company that does princess/tea parties. I did something similar last year, but this sounds a bit better. They do a fashion show, a dance, a tea party and make jewelry. We're also going to American Girl again in a couple weeks. I haven't told her yet because she'll be asking me everyday when she wakes up if we're going that day!

Susan, congrats on going back to school! That's very exciting!

Lara, I'd say go for it (going back to school for speech path) if you can!! I've always been interested in the medical field and wished I had pursued it as a career. Just never found the right time to go back to school or figured out exactly what I wanted to do.

I have kind of the opposite problem with backpacks with Ian. He's had his SpongeBob packback since kindergarten. The thing is disgusting!! I try to clean it as best I can, but it's still gross!! Every year I tell him we can get a new one. No, he wants Sponge Bob! Doesn't even want to get a new SpongeBob one. I think he's determined that this thing survives through grade school with him!! Next year he goes to the middle school - maybe there'll be hope of retiring SpongeBob then!

Cheryl, how is your nephew?

Have a great day all!

Joanne

[LaraW]

I have kind of the opposite problem with backpacks with Ian. He's had his SpongeBob packback since kindergarten. The thing is disgusting!! I try to clean it as best I can, but it's still gross!! Every year I tell him we can get a new one. No, he wants Sponge Bob! Doesn't even want to get a new SpongeBob one. I think he's determined that this thing survives through grade school with him!! Next year he goes to the middle school - maybe there'll be hope of retiring SpongeBob then!

LOL, Joanne. That is really funny, and it sounds so....Ian. :D

[hrk]

Good morning all. What a summer it has been

Lori- Congrats on 10 years. DH and I celebrated 10 years in June. We had originally wanted to take a dive trip just the two of us but that was not in the cards, so we just had a nice quiet dinner out. That is great to hear about the new school and I do hope it works out.

Lara- Congrats on the job. Going back to school is quite the decision I am sure. I did my doctorate after working for a year in my degree and realizing it was going to be a very boring life if I didn't get an advanced degree. And that actually made going back to school easier, since I felt like I was doing it on my terms. Ari is starting to show interest in the potty as well, I think we may see what happens after he transitions classes in September.

Cheryl- So sorry to hear about your nephew, he is in my prayers. Glad to hear the Outer Banks was fun.

Joanne- So sorry to hear about Caitlin's surgery and I am sure it was very hard on you, being unexpected. But that birthday sounds fantastic. Can your doctor offer any advice about how to discuss the surgery with her? Glad to hear the kids had so much fun at camp.

Terri- Welcome to the group. Hope your foot feels better soon.

Susan- Have a safe trip back up to New Jersey and enjoy the time with your mom.

Helene- That is interesting about Thomas. Logan stills plays with Thomas, but now his biggest thrill is in setting up the biggest most complicated tracks that he can. He has built some quite unbelievable layouts on our floor.

Well our summer has been crazy. We have not spent more than two weekends in a row at home. And on Monday we leave for two weeks in California at my parents home. Logan doesn't start school until the day after labor day so we still have some summertime vacation left. But in the meantime, I need some help before our trip.
How do you explain divorce to kids? My brother and SIL just got divorced over the summer and we haven't told the kids yet, but they are going to be seeing my brother while we are in California. I am just at a loss for what to say, especially since my brother is just a mess over the whole thing.

Other than that DH and I have decided to try and move back to Northern California. His company has an office in Pleasanton, so he could transfer easily enough, but I need to find a new job. The government has some FDA offices out there, so I have been trying that but we will see. We have given ourselves a maximum of 3 years to do this, so it will be getting even busier in our lives I suspect.

Hope everyone has a great end of summer, no matter how long.
Heather

[KristaMB]

How do you explain divorce to kids? My brother and SIL just got divorced over the summer and we haven't told the kids yet, but they are going to be seeing my brother while we are in California. I am just at a loss for what to say, especially since my brother is just a mess over the whole thing.
Heather, I have no idea how to do this, but I just had to tell my kids (7 and 3) that my brother and SIL are getting divorced. I had to tell them before I was really ready to because my brother and 3 year old nephew moved into my parents house quite suddenly, just before my kids were scheduled to spend a long weekend there. We all live locally, so there was no way to explain why Uncle and Cousin had all the extra bedrooms at their grandparents house. I didn't want them to question my brother too much, because like your brother, he is absolutely crushed. I just told them that Uncle and Cousin were going to be living there for awhile. My 7 year old asked some more questions, and I explained that Uncle and Auntie had decided that they didn't want to be married anymore. He didn't ask why, and that really saved me! My 3 year old didn't seem to care. My kids are at my parents house quite frequently, and to my knowledge they haven't asked about my SIL's whereabouts and seem happy to see their cousin more often. I don't know if I did it the "right" way, but I was really put on the spot since it was so sudden. I was really shocked that they didn't ask more questions. If the topic comes up again, I'll get a few books recommended in this (http://community.cookinglight.com/showthread.php?t=119250&highlight=divorce) thread.
HTH,
Krista

[MrsReber]

Heather, I've had to deal with that, too, since my sister's divorce. I do see my sister and her kids more often since moving and my kids have noticed the obvious absence of their uncle. I haven't seen him in over 2 years now. However, my kids have some experience with divorce since my parents are divorced. The thing is, at that age, it's been my experience that the "why" doesn't occur to them. I explained that their aunt and uncle decided the didn't want to be married anymore and sometimes that happens to people. I then reassured them that it was not going to happen to them (I think that pops into their heads and makes them nervous). I went over it a few times with Casey, actually, and made sure she understood that her mommy and daddy had no plans to live apart like her aunt and uncle. It's funny in a way because they never questionned why my mom lives in NJ, but my dad lives in AZ with a whole other family.

Well, I guess what I'm trying to say is to be honest with them and don't give them more information than what they need. My neice and nephew visit and talk about thier father. My kids remember him and I have no ill will toward him. We don't discuss the "why" and I don't think they really asked. They were pretty accepting. They've met my sister's boyfriend, too, and they just accept it all as pretty normal, I guess.

Heather, that's some news about moving back to CA. That's a huge move, across country! But then you fly there so often to visit. I don't know how you do all that traveling! I'm more of a homebody, myself, I suppose.

The troops are home. DH dropped Casey off and picked her up today from horse camp. She's having a great time.

[Sarah428]

Quick check-in, seems like it's been ages.

Joanne - Sending wishes your way to Caitlyn for a speedy recovery, I'll be thinking of you all next month.

Welcome Terri and weeone!

Lara - Best of luck with your new job.

We've been busy with summer stuff, just like the rest of you. I keep saying "we'll have to do that this summer" and then realize it's now August! Ella's 5th bday is this Sunday. We're taking 1 friend to Chuck E Cheese :eek: with us on Friday, family party on Sat and then DH, the kids & I are going to the zoo on Sunday.

We're starting a kitchen remodel next week that I'm not ready for. I was actually hoping to have it started in May so it would be done before the start of school but that won't happen now.

Ella also starts her first year in soccer at the end of this month and then Kindergarten in Sept....I'm not ready! She's ready, and I'm excited to have her back in school. There aren't alot of kids her age at daycare and I know she's getting bored.

That's the run down for now, talk to you sooner or later! ;)

Sarah

[cchhbb]

I put Garrett on the bus today for his first day of school. It was supposed to come at 7:05 so I had him out there about 6:55 so we could get pictures ect. Well, the bus didn't come, didn't come, didn't come. Finally, I called the bus company after it was 25 minutes late. It came about 5 minutes later. Garrett was so excited that he ran up the steps before I could get a picture.
I hope he has a great day.

This morning I went in to wake him at 6:20 and he told me that it was still dark and I should go back to bed until it gets light and be a good girl. I thought that was pretty funny. I pretty much had to stand him up to get him out of bed.

He has to wear a uniform so it makes it easy when it comes down to what do you want to wear type questions.

Griffin went to his first day camp today. He went to one at the nature center and had a great time. It's only 2 1/2 hours, but I really need the time this week to get my house picked up.

Heather, good luck on the move. Also, sorry to hear you will be explaining divorce to your sons.

Sarah, good luck on the remodel. We did ours nearly 2 years ago and it was fairly painless except for the floor which was a nightmare.

Joanne, Garrett was the same way about his backpack, but it just disappeared over the summer so he needed a new one. I got him one with dinosaurs on it from Hannah Anderson.

In case any of you are looking for lunchboxes. Costco has a great one for $11. I ended up buying 2 of them so I could rotate them so I could do a really good cleaning.

The bus is due here in 10 minutes so I need to run. Dismissal is in 5 minutes and since we leave in the neighborhood across the street from the school, Garrett is the last one on the bus and first one off.

Cheryl

Cheryl

[JoanneOR]

Heather, you may have already dealt with the divorce issue with your kids, but I'd echo what others said. My ILs are separated (after about 40 years of marriage) and the kids were pretty young when it happened. They really never asked why, just were a bit confused as to why they had separate residences. We just answered their questions and didn't go into it any further. Now they just kind of accept it.

Cheryl, didn't you have alot of bus issues last year? That has to be so frustrating! That's funny about waking him up. At least he was somewhat pleasant about it! Caitlyn can be quite ornery if I have to wake her up early!

Hi Sarah! Good luck with the remodel. Our kitchen needs it desparately, but I just don't want to deal with it or the expense right now! Happy Birthday Ella!!

Things are going along with us. Kids go back to school on the 25th - the summer just flew by. I'm not ready to deal with all the homework and project stuff! I'm excited for Caitlyn to start kindergarten, though.

[cchhbb]

Joanne, buses are my nightmare. On the second day of school, they put Garrett on the wrong bus and by the time they realized it, his bus had already left. I had to go pick him up and it took me 25 minutes to make it through the carpool line only to be told that I had to park and walk in. Garrett was so annoyed that he didn't get to ride the bus that he refused to get out of the car until I took him back to school. BTW, he finally gave in after 30 minutes of sitting in the car. Everyday when he gets off the bus, he says I get to ride it tomorrow back to my school.

This year is nice though since he's the last kid on the bus and the first one off. His bus ride is less than 10 minutes. I really like his bus driver.

Cheryl

[cchhbb]

Wow, It's quiet around here.

I just finished up the 9th consignment sale. We grossed about $67k so will give about $22k to charity. I am offically retiring. I have this incredible level of peace about it.

Joanne, one of my closest friends son's has upcoming heart surgery this week. He's about 9 months younger than Caitlyn and hasn't had surgery since he was about 2 months old. She's really stressing. Hopefully it will we a quick procedure. Since her son is a summer birthday, I think she's considering pulling him from kindergarten and putting him in a private preschool if he has to miss very much school.

My neighbor's son (3) just was diagnosised with leukemia. They were in the process of moving. They put their move on hold since we live about 15 minutes from a great Children's Hospital. Poor kid just started chemo.

Garrett seems to be adjusting to school really well. He's pulled from the classroom for both reading and math since he's so far above grade level. He is a behavior problem when he's bored so this is going to help with that. He's had homework everyday so far this year. He even has had a book report due weekly. He's supposed to read a book to me by himself and then write the title, author and illustrator, a sentence about the book and a picture of his favorite part. He's so happy to be riding the bus to and from school everyday.

Griffin is going to spend the week at sports camp at our church. I think he'll really enjoy it. The head of the camp gave it to me at the staff rate so it worked out to $4 per hour. I'm so excited to have a few minutes to myself this week. I really want to start decluttering around my house. We have too much stuff.

I have decided to go on sabbatical this year. I'm only going to volunteer at things I like to do. Nothing that I feel obligated to do. I will not take a leadership role in anything this year. I already am starting to feel better. I even had to buy myself a book to teach me how to say no. I really need a year 'off'. I think I'm probably going to try to go back to work next year and need to refresh.

Hope you are all doing well.
Cheryl

[MrsReber]

Hello! I am here. Put the kids on the bus at 7:45. And now......silence......wow. It's weird. I will miss them, but I do need the quiet time to get my work done--- both my paying job and my school work. Casey was very excited. She couldn't even eat breakfast. Brenden ate plenty and was his normal self. I tried my best to get them to bed early last night. They couldn't seem to fall asleep- bathroom, read me a story, everything they could think of to get out of going to bed.

I also thought to check in with my class last night, just in case I had the date wrong for the first quiz. And yep, I had it wrong. I had to take the quiz last night! I had 30 minutes and there were only 10 questions. However, that makes each question worth 10 points. Yikes! I went through and answered all the ones that I knew right away. There was only 1 that I was stuck on. I took a guess and got it right. I'm so proud of myself- my first quiz in a lot of years and I got them all right! I requested an alternate topic for my research paper. I can't define myself as a Christian (using their definition) so I got approval to do a paper on Christianity in our PC world. Should be interesting. The whole class is really interesting so far. It's a very Christian university so I'm sure it will be enlightening to me on so many levels.

Joanne, how are things going? I hope everyone is coping well. It must be rough, hating to go through all that, yet knowing that it's necessary. We're all here for you!

I can't wait until the kids get home so I can hear about their day. I just love the first day of school. I was excited when we dropped off their school supplies last Thursday. Brenden has a wonderful teacher. I just love her. I think he'll do well with her. She has a son starting kindergarten and she's very warm and caring. It really shows through with her. Casey has the same teacher she had last year! I was surprised. She was pretty happy. It's good, I guess, since they know each other. At first, I thought it'd be good for her to have a different teacher, but this teacher knows her abilities and will fight for her. They're going to test her for the gifted and talented program this year. I think they do that in October for some reason. I know Casey will have to take the Stanford test and one other test this year, too.

We took our trip to NJ last week. It was actually a very good trip, but I was worn out afterwards. We got there in time for dinner on the Thursday before last. On Friday, I had lunch with some co-workers and met some of the new faces in the office. On Saturday, my soon to be ex-SIL came to breakfast. That was after my ex-BIL came by with my neice and nephew (my sister's kids). They were also visiting in NJ, but they were going home that day. I couldn't tell DH's family that I was in NJ. I have a feeling some of them might know. If they were closer with the kids, I might've made the effort, but they don't go out of their way to send a card or pick up the phone. Anyway, Saturday afternoon we went to my mom's friend's house for thier party. My mom's ex was there (it was EX Saturday!). He followed her around all afternoon. It was weird. He left her so it doesn't make much sense. Casey and Brenden saw him the year before, but when he said hello, they had no idea who he was. It was kind of sad.

On Sunday, I wanted to take them to the boardwalk. We met my friend and we drove around forever looking for parking. They had parking lots right next to the boardwalk and parking was anywhere from $25-$40!!! :eek: !! No way. We went and had lunch in town instead. Afterwards, we tried again to find a free spot on the street. It took about 20 minutes. It was about 4:30 by this time and we caught someone leaving, luckily. However, the people were so rude there. We went to play the game where you squirt water out of the gun to shoot the target and win a prize. It was $3 each to play. When the game started, no water came out of Brenden's gun! I told the guy running the game. He said "oh, he moved over. He was supposed to be standing over there." Uh, he's 6. I asked if he could play again (it's not like he won!) the kid said "no, sorry." I asked him again and he said he couldn't do anything about it. I was so angry. I told my mom that's half the reason we moved away. I ran into attitudes like that too many times. There was a time when I would've ripped that kid a new one, but I knew that was the wrong thing to do in front of the kids. If we lived there still, I'd only be creating 2 more young people with snotty attitudes. I politely thanked him for ruining my son's fun and we walked away. WE got dirty looks from a woman standing there, as if WE did something wrong! Well, after that, I was more than ready to drive home the next day. Not to offend any NJ folks, this is just my personal experience. I have never seen it so crowded there (I was there about 2 years ago) and the crowds always bring out the "best" in people. Living here in VA has been such a relaxing, eye opening experience. People are so much different when the stresses of daily life aren't so great.

Anyway, I must get to work. Casey and Brenden will be home before I know it. I also have to run to the library and return the 25 books we have out.

Cheryl, that's so great that they're working with Garrett and recognizing his ability. I think the schools fail the brighter kids sometimes because they're so concerned about making test scores. I heard that VA didn't make the scores this year, but almost every school in our county did. 2 schools failed, but not our school.

I better stop writing! I just saw how long my post is! I bet we'll have more activity here after Labor Day!

[MrsReber]

Whoops- one more quick question. When we dropped off the school supplies, there was a form asking parents if they were interested in a boat trip for the class trip for 1st and 5th grade. The trip would be at a local lake. The kids would be wearing life vests at all times. They need 1 chaperone for each group of 4 kids. I was wondering if you'd let your child go on a trip like that? To make it worse, there was a church group outing there earlier this month. A 12 year old boy somehow drowned, but they were on the beach, not on the boat.

I would probably insist on going along and it seems like they'll need the help. I was just wondering if it seemed like a crazy idea or not.

[JoanneOR]

Hi Susan and Cheryl and everyone else!! It has been slow around here.

Cheryl, I think your sabbatical idea is great. You need time to yourself. The more you do, the more stressed you are. For me, when I'm too stressed, I'm no good to anyone! Wow, I can't believe all the work that must go into that consignment sale. I hope they appreciate you! I'm so sorry to hear about your neighbor's son. And, about your friend's sons upcoming heart surgery. Please post and let us know how he's doing. I can imagine how she's feeling. It's so hard. I hope he has a quick recovery. The doctors told us Caitlyn will probably be out of school a month. Our school district will provide a tutor that will come to our house once she's feeling up to it. And, it will count as time in school.

Susan, things are OK. I have ups and downs. The surgery is 3 1/2 weeks away now. There's times when it's all I think about and it's hard to keep it together and others when I'm OK. Caitlyn still doesn't know. She has some testing on the 15th, so we'll tell her right before then. I'm almost more worried about after the surgery as the surgery itself. How she'll react to waking up will stuff attached to her and the actual incison. Everyone says kids are resilient, I hope she bounces back quickly. But, it has to be done.

Honestly, I'd be really wary about that boat trip. But, take my view with a grain of salt. I'm afraid of water and there have been several incidences around the Chicago area this year with kids drowning. A few were in lakes and others in swimming pools. It's just one of my biggest fears. Personally, if I wasn't able to chaperone, I wouldn't send my kids. Or, I would, but I'd be really nervous about it. Now, that's coming from someone who has a thing about water! So, don't take it too seriously! I'd be more wary about the 1st graders than the 5th graders, though.

We've been busy, as usual. We had my parent's 50th anniversary party Saturday. It was really nice. Saw lots of people I haven't seen in years, like 20-30! Jameson had soccer games very early in the morning Saturday and Sunday about an hour away. I took him. Between getting up at 5am and getting ready for the party, I was completely exhausted Sunday.

The boys started school today. I'm a bit dissapointed - I haven't missed a first day of school since they started, but I had to be at work today for a retreat. Yea. :rolleyes: Just a half day today. Friday is Caitlyn's orientation and the day after Labor Day her first day. I'll be at both of those.

Lots going on, but that's about it for now! Hope everyone is well.

Joanne

[hrk]

Joanne- Caitlyn and your entire family are in my prayers. I hope the surgery goes well and that she recovers quickly. I am sure it is very scary for you and your DH, and I hope you know your online friends are always here to talk to.

Cheryl- Good for you for taking some time for yourself. That is great that Garrett is getting the extra attention and advancement he needs. We have enrolled Logan in an online program run by Johns Hopkins for gifted and talented kids. Until he is in 3rd grade he can do math programs online at any speed he wants and then once they hit 3rd grade more areas open up. He seems excited about it, so we will see how it goes.

Susan- Sounds like that trip to NJ was quite the trip. As for that boat trip, I would not let my kids go. When it comes to kids and water I don't think that a school field trip is the type of environment to be in. And I am very surprised that the school is even considering accepting that kind of liability.

Well I am back to work today for the first time in 2 weeks. The boys and I had a fabulous time in California. They woke up every morning wanting to go into the pool immediately (my parents have a pool in their back yard) We went to the beach, to the zoo, we had family friends over for BBQ's and one of my best friends from grad school came down for a few days. We were so busy, I would collapse ever night into bed. It actually felt really nice being there for such a long time and the boys were actually very sad to leave.

We have one more week until Logan starts Kindergarten, so he is going to baseball camp this week. We will see what he thinks of it. He is actually very excited to go back to school and went to a birthday party on Saturday with friends from school which made him even more anxious. We have our "pre"school conference with his teacher on Friday so I am looking forward to meeting her. I have heard great things about her, so I hope they hold up.

Hope everyone else is well.
Heather

[Terri_A]

Hi everyone -

It's amazing how busy everyone is at the end of summer/start of school. Today was Sabrina's first day of first grade. I'm about to go and pick her up. She was so excited this morning - not at all nervous or scared. She's such a grown up sometimes it amazes me. On the way to school (we walk) she was talking about how they would probably start with easy work and it would get harder as time went on, but she would try and be patient about things she already knew. Just amazes me sometimes.

I hope you're all surviving this busy time of year!!! Time to go do the car line -
ugh!!!

[MrsReber]

Heather, I actually agree with you on the boat trip. The teachers were real excited about it. The polled the parents on a trip when Casey was in kindergarten. They wanted to go to a zoo in NC- about a 2 1/2 hour or so trip one way. They would have to leave at 6:00am and get back at 6:00pm. Just about every parent said no. They weren't allowing parents to go on that trip due to the amount of space on the bus. It just seemed like way too much for a bunch of 5 and 6 year olds so they nixed that idea. With this boat trip, I asked a few questions to see how they would secure the safety of the kids. They want to pair up the 1st graders with the 5th graders and then they'd still have one adult for every 4 kids. And they have to wear a life vest at all times. Even so, it did sound scary to me, which is why I told the teacher I'd be happy to go along as a chaperone. Quite frankly, I think the biggest problem for most parents will be the cost ($17/per child). However, they said they'd find a way to pay for it if the parents couldn't afford it. I'm curious to see what happens.

Glad you had a nice trip to CA. That online program sounds pretty interesting. I never heard of it. Brenden seems to have a knack for math. He gets it more easily than Casey does so I want to keep him interested in it. They'll be home in a few minutes. I made some brownies for them. Then it's off to karate. At least my days will be somewhat quieter and I can focus more. I loved having them home, but I was also torn in different directions each day. They wanted to do fun stuff (and I wanted to do fun stuff with them!) but I also had to work 5-6 hours each day. August was a pretty slow work month, at least.

Cheryl, I didn't comment before, but that is so sad about your neighbor's son. I hope that everything goes well for him.

[tbb113]

Susan -
What kind of boat? MIchael did a great field trip in 4th or 5th grade on a boat on the bay (big enough that it slept 10 and the family sailed around the world on it before starting these field trips). They also do one in 5th grade on the bay on a big boat as well. 1st grade would make me nervous unless it was a ferry ;)

[MrsReber]

It's a pretty big boat. They do events on the boat, too. Here's a link to it:

http://www.vadarecruises.com/

I actually want to go on it for a dinner cruise one day. The teacher explained that they took a course over the summer where they learned some computer skills. What they want to do is take pictures around the lake, then use the class room computers to make postcards. It's a cute idea. But I know safety comes first. I have my own concerns as well. It's just different when you're there. My mom's co-worker wouldn't let her son go on a trip on the Circle Line (around Manhattan) because she wasn't able to go on the trip. They didn't allow parents at all! Her son is about 10, I think.

The first day of school seemed to go well. I was surprised that they didn't come home with any homework for the week! Casey only had to read 15 minutes last night. That's something we do anyway so it was no big deal. This morning, we were waiting for the bus. Casey said "I hope I get some homework tonight." My kids are weird.

[cchhbb]

Susan, Maybe I could send Casey some of Garrett's homework. He had about 1 hour 20 minutes last night. Part of it was doing his book report that isn't due until next Monday, but the rest was sight words, math problems, spelling words, and reading homework. Poor little kid. Tonight is open house so I will definitely be talking to Garrett's teacher about this. It's just too much for a little kid. He is working on it pretty hard, using his time well, but it is just a lot for him to do.

I'd have a really hard time letting my kids go on a boat trip if I didn't go. We've taken our kids boating several times, but we've almost always had one adult/one child. It's just too hard to keep an eye on everybody. It sounds like it might be a long trip and I wonder if the kids would get bored and then be more likely to wander off, ect.

Heather, how did you get Logan signed up for the John Hopkins program? I'd be interested in something like that for Garrett for summer, ect.

Heather, sounds like you had a terrific trip to California. I'd love to be closer to my family. I know when my nephew got hurt it was great for them to have both sets of grandparents 10 minutes away. It took everybody to keep everything going.

Garrett woke up this morning and said it's the 12th day of school. Oh boy, I wonder if he is going to start counting how many days until the end of the year soon.

Griffin is at sports camp at our church and having a great time. He really wants DH to be his soccer coach next month when he plays on a 3 year old league. I don't know if DH is going to do it or not. I'm looking for Garrett a league now. I need to find a small one where there aren't 10 different teams playing at once. The crowds really bother him.

Cheryl

[hrk]

Cheryl- Here is the website address:
http://cty.jhu.edu/index.html
It is the Center for Talented Youth and it is run through Johns Hopkins. In order to qualify there you have to have scores from one of about four or five tests they will accept. Logan had to take one of the tests as a prereq for the private schools we were applying for so we were able to just use that score, even though it is over a year old.
How is your nephew doing?
As for living closer to my family, that is the reason we are looking to move back to California. Truth be told, I never realized how much I would miss my parents and I guess after 7 years of living here I am ready to go back.
Is Garrett counting the days of school cause they are doing it at school? One of the big activities I know they do in K at Logans school is counting to the 100th day of school.

Susan-
That is great that you kids had a great first day of school. Here's hoping they get homework.;):rolleyes:

Terry- How was Sabrina's first day of school? I saw her picture on the other thread you posted, she looked so cute. Since I am a big scrapbooker, I think I have my kids trained to take pictures, but we will see how much longer that lasts.

Well Logan came home from baseball camp yesterday all excited that he learned how to slide and throw a 4 seam fastball. And he was truly exhausted last night. OMG I finally found something that wears the kid out :)
Heather

[MrsReber]

Cheryl, that's a lot of homework! Casey came home with a math worksheet and a reading book. She had to read one story from the book. That took her about 5 minutes. The math worksheet took her about 10 minutes.

I am not happy with our new bus driver. I expected some issues having a new driver. The first day, she was 10 minutes late picking them up and 15 minutes late dropping off in the afternoon. No big deal as I expected it'd be slower the first day. Yesterday, she showed up on time in the morning (just after 7:40) and then "forgot" to drop them off in the afternoon. I saw her drive right by! She dropped the kids off around 4:10!! This morning, it's pouring rain out. At 7:31, I catch a glimpse of a bus flying by, but I couldn't see the number because it was going too fast. We waited in the rain for 15 minutes then I called the school. The driver told them "I drove by the house twice and the door was closed." So I had to drive them. I would think on a very rainy day that the driver would be driving more slowly. Also, she just drove right by our house, she didn't slow down or anything (which is why I figured it wasn't our bus). And she was early. The prinicipal got on the phone and said she'd talk to her. I wasn't going to complain about yesterday, but I see a pattern here so I mentioned that the driver forgot to drop them off. When she got here yesterday afternoon, she yelled that she was "confused" because she picks them up on one side of the road and drops them off on the other side. I really don't see any reason to put them on the bus at 7:20 simply so they can take a ride around the neighborhood. She passes our house twice- once at 7:20 and once at 7:40. It was the driver last year who suggested we get on later to give us more time. We didn't miss the bus once last year so I'm pretty sure the problem is not on our end! This woman showed up at a different time each day so far and dropped them off at 2 different times. Can't wait to see what time they get home today. It used to be 3:45 last year. I hope she gets her act together. Ugh! Just venting. It really cut into my time this morning as I wasn't planning on driving my children to school. We'll see what happens the rest of the week.

Heather, I think after you have children, your own parents become more important. I know I miss my mom mostly because I'd like her to see the kids more often. I talk to her on the phone several times a week, but I know that she misses seeing her grandchildren. They miss playing with her, too. When I was living in NJ, 30 minutes from my mom, I didn't see her all that much before having kids. After I had Casey, I saw her all the time. Baseball camp sounds like fun! I won't mess up with the t-ball sign ups for next year! Got to get Brenden into baseball. He loves it.

Well, I better get to work since I'm getting a late start! Ugh!