Heading to Curwood

In just three days, I will be getting on an airplane with my two lovely children, heading to my hometown.  It's my father's birthday, but also, it's Curwood weekend (the annual festival of the town).  My beautiful niece is on the Princess Court and we are going to support her.

So, what is Curwood weekend?  It's a small town festival just like most other.  There are parades and carnival rides.  There are carnival games and activities.  There is carnival food and carnival people.

So, my children are going to love it.  They are going to get to ride rides and eat junk food, all with their cousins and grandparents.  What could be better than that?!

I am so proud of my niece!  She is absolutely gorgeous and so outgoing.  She is going to be so perfect representing the city.

So, I am going to put up with carny people, carny games, carny food, and flying with two small children by myself because I love my family.

Summer is here

Summer is here.  Both of my kids had their last day of school last week and now the summer schedule is upon us.

Today was our first day of summer break (after the long Memorial Day weekend) and we've started it out with a bang.  While I see moms on Facebook taking their kids to the museum to see the cool, latest kid-friendly exhibit, and other moms making their summer fun adventure lists, what did we do?  I had a colposcopy and took the kids grocery shopping.  What are we doing tomorrow?  We might go to a park, but we're definitely going to make a chain to count down the days until we head out to visit family for a week.

Ok, so I'm not just going to sit around the house and do nothing all summer.  But I'm also not going to  jam pack this summer with so much stuff that I am exhausted every single day.  I've signed up my oldest for 3 summer camps, one for each month of summer.  So, she'll be away during the day 1 week of each month, but home with us, the remaining 3 weeks.  I've also promised her that we would do three things this summer.  The first is to dig for worms in the back yard.  The second is to spend a morning at Kiddie Park.  The third is that we would go to the library once a week, all summer long.  None of those are very hard to accomplish, so I think we're good.  I also promised my son that we would go to the YMCA three times every week.  So, with all that, I think we'll be good.

I have crafts to do around the house (nothing too elaborate because with a 2 year old and a 5 year old, you have to keep it simple).  I have created them each a workout chart, because they really wanted one.  This requires that they each do something active every day of the summer.  This includes Kids in Motion at the YMCA and their gymnastics classes.  On the other days, we'll go for a jog around the neighborhood, or play the dancing game on the Xbox Kinect, or practice gymnastics, or go for a bike ride.  But, I don't want them sitting around doing crafts and being lazy all summer.  I am realistic though.  It looks like it is going to be a rainy, miserable summer (and even it if isn't rainy, this is Texas and it is hot), so we'll be inside a lot.

So, I'm not "super mom" making sure that every day has some activity to learn and have fun.  Some days we'll go to the YMCA and go grocery shopping.  Some days we won't even leave the house.  I'm not promising too much, so my kids won't get upset.  But, we're going to have fun and enjoy each other's company, because that is most important (at least to me who is losing my little girl to kindergarten next year).

Show time!

My daughter is a star!!! I know I'm biased, but I think she is born to be on stage.  She had her first recital this past weekend and although it wasn't perfect, she was amazing.  She was beautiful and she was great!  I am one proud mom!!!

I have been a bit upset because her show experience has been different than I imagined it to be when I thought about my children dancing.  I don't get to be backstage.  I don't even get to see the dress rehearsal.   But, when I saw her up on that stage being beautiful and perfect, none of that mattered.  She is a star!  I imagine we will be seeing her on stage a lot in the future.

If you're interested, here is the video.

Mother's Day

Some people think that you celebrate Mother's Day just by celebrating your mother and that is the only thing the holiday is for.  Others people think that Mother's Day is to celebrate all mothers, but especially the ones that are in your life and mean something to you.

I am in the second group of people.  I want to make sure that every Mother in my life knows that she is special and is doing a good job.  And, I want to do what I can to make sure my own mother knows that she is special every day of the year, and not just on Mother's Day.  So, since Mother's Day is in 2 days, I'm going to do a little tribute to some of the very special mothers in my life.

First, we'll start with my husband's grandmother.  She raised 4 children and is one of those very strong women that I look up to.  She isn't afraid to say what's on her mind and is so real.  You don't ever have to wonder with her and I admire that so much.  There aren't a lot of people out there like that.

Next, we'll go to my husband's other grandmother.  She also raised four children, mostly by herself, starting at a very young age.  When her husband was a prisoner of war, for 6 1/2 years she stayed strong and continued to be strong.  She is one of those women who always puts a smile on her face no matter what is going on, and always looks great.







Next, we'll move to my mother-in-law.  Through a time of unhappiness and the difficulties of divorce, she helped make my husband who he is today.  Without her, I would not have the life I have today.  I thank her for giving me her son. Also, I thank her for being such a loving grandmother to my beautiful children.

Next, we'll talk about my sister.  She is a supermom to three kids.  Juggling her work and all the many activities her kids are in is so much.  Between soccer, swimming, dance, school and everything else, she holds it together and has 3 wonderful children.  I look to her for advice so often.  I feel weird about it, because she is my little sister, but she's been through it all before me and did it so well.














And, although there are many other wonderful mother's that I'd love to highlight, I would be going on  forever, so we're going to finish this post with my mother.  This woman has made me who I am.  She's made me strong.  She's made me independent.  I would not be where I am today if it weren't for her.  And, not only is she a wonderful mother, she is a wonderful grandmother.  My children love her so much and look forward to seeing her.

To these women and all the other wonderful mothers, keep up the great work and thank you!

I've been missing for a little while

Well, it's been over a month since my last writing.  Things have been a bit crazy around, and I just haven't found the time to sit down and write.

We had Kinder Roundup this past month.  This is NEISD's way of getting information out to parents of children who are going to be starting kindergarten next fall.  Jade had a blast, getting to meet the teachers at the school and doing a fun craft.

Then, in an effort to support to school, we attended their festival.  Now, about once a week, Jade has asked "when do I get to start at my new school."  I am not ready for her to be so grown up!!!

Then, I took my beautiful daughter on a wonderful Mommy-daughter date day.  We went to lunch on the riverwalk and to the Majestic to see Annie.  Now, she asks me, "how old do I have to be to do that?  Annie was 11, so 6 more years?"

Then, we went on a trip back to Florida to visit family.  Little Maxwell ran up to his Great-grandfathers, yelling their name in happiness. You should have seen the look on their faces. They were the two happiest men in the world!  Jade got to have some play time with her cousin and she was so happy.  And, Jeremy got some quality time with his grandfather, which was very good for the both of them.  We really miss them and were very happy to see everyone.

When we got back, we returned to field day at school, a garage sale, a trike-a-thon for school, and a nature scavenger hunt for Maxwell's playgroup.

I'm tired.  And, tomorrow, I'm going to register Jade for kindergarten.  And, the fun doesn't stop there.  Jade has her dress rehearsal on Saturday and her show is in a week and a half (which means my mother-in-law is coming to town).  I am ready for summer to be here for me to have some fun with my kids!