After the last update, I wanted to let you all know that my daughter did not get a part in the Lion King at her school. She was heartbroken, but has quickly moved on. Now, we're a little less busy, and I'm good with that.
So, we've been having a wonderful time, enjoying life in San Antonio, just the four of us. We are exploring and loving life here as the perfect family. But, I have to say that there is one thing that is missing, time with our elders.
I grew up with a huge extended family that we saw all the time. We spent every Friday, before I started school, at my grandmother and grandfather's house. And, after I did start school, we had dinner with Grandma and Grandpa a couple of times a week, at least. We visited my Grandpa Max at least once a month. We saw my aunt and my cousins quite regularly.
But, my kids have no family around. We do our best to Skype or FaceTime with her grandparents whenever we can, but it just isn't the same. And, we go to Michigan once a year and Florida once a year, and so they're able to see most of the family, but we don't get to see them all. We haven't seen my husband's father since we moved here, almost 2 years ago. And, we haven't seen my niece, Isabella, in almost as long.
So, I'm sitting here on a Sunday evening, after a wonderful weekend with my family. I had a perfect day yesterday, taking my daughter to see the Little Mermaid at the Majestic followed by a wonderful dinner out for sushi with the whole family. We had so much fun and the great conversation you get with a 5 year old and a 2 year old. You can't ask for a better time. And, today, we watched Papa play soccer and made my daughter's star student poster! She was so excited and we had fun putting it all together. But, I still miss my mom and dad. I miss my sister and her beautiful children. I miss my brother and his beautiful daughter. I miss my husband's grandparents, his mom and dad, and his sisters and our nieces and nephew. I hope we can plan a trip to see them again soon. And, I hope they can plan a trip to come see us in our great city soon, too.
Sunday, September 27, 2015
Sunday, September 13, 2015
What is too much?
We're back into the swing of things for the new school year now. My 5-year-old started out kindergarten with no complaints. She didn't collapse after her first day because she was so tired. She kept right on going. She actually didn't show any signs of tiring for the whole first two weeks. We just finished week three of school and she started complaining about her legs hurting on the walk to school. She's no longer running around the track at school, but walking instead so she doesn't get too tired. The year is starting to take a toll on her. But, I don't think it's school that is the problem. It might be all the extra stuff.
Every Tuesday, after a full day of school, she comes home to a quick rest (soon to be homework time) and then she heads off to an hour of gymnastics. After that, its home for dinner and then off to bed, with no time to play.
Every Wednesday, after another full day of school, she comes home to change and then heads straight off to an hour of Broadway. Then, it's home for dinner and off to bed, again not much time to play, and will soon be filled with finishing her homework for the week.
This past week, she tried out for the school play. If she gets a part, that will mean an hour and a half every Monday after school.
Her school also has a lot of other fun stuff too. Last Thursday, after school, we came home for a quick rest, then headed back for her play auditions, then back home for a little more rest, then she turned right back around and went back to school for a Daddy/Daughter meeting. She didn't get home until an hour after her normal bedtime.
So, knowing that she's only 5 and needs some time to do her homework and just be a kid, do I make her quit gymnastics or Broadway to make room for the school play, which she is super excited about? She's also super excited about Broadway and gymnastics too, although gymnastics is her least favorite of the three. Have I let her overload herself and set her up to fail by not saying no? What is too much and can she succeed with such a busy schedule?
Every Tuesday, after a full day of school, she comes home to a quick rest (soon to be homework time) and then she heads off to an hour of gymnastics. After that, its home for dinner and then off to bed, with no time to play.
Every Wednesday, after another full day of school, she comes home to change and then heads straight off to an hour of Broadway. Then, it's home for dinner and off to bed, again not much time to play, and will soon be filled with finishing her homework for the week.
This past week, she tried out for the school play. If she gets a part, that will mean an hour and a half every Monday after school.
Her school also has a lot of other fun stuff too. Last Thursday, after school, we came home for a quick rest, then headed back for her play auditions, then back home for a little more rest, then she turned right back around and went back to school for a Daddy/Daughter meeting. She didn't get home until an hour after her normal bedtime.
So, knowing that she's only 5 and needs some time to do her homework and just be a kid, do I make her quit gymnastics or Broadway to make room for the school play, which she is super excited about? She's also super excited about Broadway and gymnastics too, although gymnastics is her least favorite of the three. Have I let her overload herself and set her up to fail by not saying no? What is too much and can she succeed with such a busy schedule?
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
Back to School
We survived our first week of kindergarten and our first day of preschool. Back to school is officially in full swing.
Jade is now on her second week of kindergarten and she is starting to get frustrated. They spent the first week learning the rules of the class and learning their way around the school. They got to know their teacher and their specials teachers. Now, in week two, and they are still learning the rules and getting acquainted with the school. She wants to read. She wants to write. She wants to do math. I keep telling her that it is coming and she'll have plenty of time to do lots of things, but I can see the frustration on her face. I ask her about her day and she says "we went to the library." I asked her if they got to check out any books and she said "no, they just told us a story about a kid who ruined a book by spilling red kool-aid on the book, and told us that we shouldn't eat or drink while reading a library book." The look in her eyes was a bit of disappointment and a lot of frustration. She was really hoping to get a BabyMouse book to read at school.
Maxwell started preschool today. He walked right in and sat down and started doing his puzzle with a big smile on his face. He had a wonderful day. He said, "I played with that boy." He couldn't remember his new friend's name but he liked meeting new friends. He was so proud of his "superstar" sticker he got. I am so proud of what a big boy he is and how he can so easily go into a room of strangers and make friends.
So, we're in full swing. As they get older, I'm running them around like mad. Someone in this family has something almost every night of the week. My only problem ... tonight we had to go straight from gymnastics to the PTA meeting. I didn't get to eat dinner, and I'm okay with that. What I'm not okay with is that I didn't get to eat dinner with my kids and put them to bed. I want to our family to always sit down together. I want to read stories to my children every night. Tonight, I didn't get to do that. So, I kiss them softly so I don't wake them and watch them sleep on the baby monitor, and I will give them an extra big hug tomorrow.
Jade is now on her second week of kindergarten and she is starting to get frustrated. They spent the first week learning the rules of the class and learning their way around the school. They got to know their teacher and their specials teachers. Now, in week two, and they are still learning the rules and getting acquainted with the school. She wants to read. She wants to write. She wants to do math. I keep telling her that it is coming and she'll have plenty of time to do lots of things, but I can see the frustration on her face. I ask her about her day and she says "we went to the library." I asked her if they got to check out any books and she said "no, they just told us a story about a kid who ruined a book by spilling red kool-aid on the book, and told us that we shouldn't eat or drink while reading a library book." The look in her eyes was a bit of disappointment and a lot of frustration. She was really hoping to get a BabyMouse book to read at school.
Maxwell started preschool today. He walked right in and sat down and started doing his puzzle with a big smile on his face. He had a wonderful day. He said, "I played with that boy." He couldn't remember his new friend's name but he liked meeting new friends. He was so proud of his "superstar" sticker he got. I am so proud of what a big boy he is and how he can so easily go into a room of strangers and make friends.
So, we're in full swing. As they get older, I'm running them around like mad. Someone in this family has something almost every night of the week. My only problem ... tonight we had to go straight from gymnastics to the PTA meeting. I didn't get to eat dinner, and I'm okay with that. What I'm not okay with is that I didn't get to eat dinner with my kids and put them to bed. I want to our family to always sit down together. I want to read stories to my children every night. Tonight, I didn't get to do that. So, I kiss them softly so I don't wake them and watch them sleep on the baby monitor, and I will give them an extra big hug tomorrow.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)